The Privy Councillor (Chekhov)
Short summary
Russian countryside, 1870. Klavdia Arhipovna received a letter from her brother Ivan, a privy councillor from Petersburg, announcing his visit due to liver trouble. The news caused great excitement in the household, and extensive preparations began.
The house was cleaned thoroughly, and a tailor made new clothes for Andryushenka and his tutor Pobyedimsky. When Ivan arrived, he surprised everyone with his youthful appearance and frivolous manner, quite unlike the stern general they had expected.
Initially, Ivan spent most of his time working, but gradually abandoned his work to enjoy country life. He became particularly interested in Tatyana Ivanovna, the bailiff Fyodor's beautiful young wife. Ivan's attention to her caused tension, especially with Fyodor and Pobyedimsky, who secretly admired her.
One evening, Ivan sat with them at the lodge, admiring Tatyana and asking to kiss her hand.
At that moment there was the scrape of a chair. Fyodor jumped up, and with heavy, measured steps went up to his wife. His face was pale, grey, and quivering. He brought his fist down on the table with a bang, and said in a hollow voice: "I won't allow it!"
Pobyedimsky also protested, and Ivan retreated in confusion. The next morning, Andryushenka discovered his tutor had been taken to the hospital with a broken arm after Fyodor threw him out. Later, the governor unexpectedly visited, causing more household chaos. After the governor left, Ivan complained of boredom and heartburn, expressing a desire to go abroad. Klavdia offered him three thousand roubles, and Ivan departed, still not recognizing Andryushenka despite having stayed with them all summer.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The announcement of uncle Ivans visit
In early April 1870, Klavdia Arhipovna, a lieutenant's widow, received a letter from her brother Ivan, a privy councillor in Petersburg. Among other things, he mentioned that his liver condition required him to spend summers abroad, but lacking funds for Marienbad, he might spend the summer with her at Kotchuevko.
"My liver trouble forces me to spend every summer abroad, and as I have not at the moment the money in hand for a trip to Marienbad, it is very possible, dear sister, that I may spend this summer with you."
Upon reading the letter, Klavdia turned pale and began trembling, then burst into a mixture of tears and laughter. She gathered the household and explained emotionally that there had been four Gundasov brothers: one died as a baby, another in war, the third was an actor, and the fourth had risen far above them all, becoming a privy councillor with the rank of general.
Klavdia told her son Andryushenka that he should rejoice at this stroke of luck God was sending them.
Frantic preparations for the esteemed guest
After hearing about the Gundasovs, a flurry of activity began in the household, similar to preparations for Christmas or Easter. Everything except the sky and river underwent thorough cleaning and scrubbing. The walls were whitewashed despite already being white, and floors were washed daily. The cat Bobtail was banished to the kitchen under Anisya's supervision, and Fedka was warned to keep dogs away from the front door.
The sofas, easy chairs, and rugs suffered the most, being beaten so violently that pigeons took flight at the sound. Spiridon, the only tailor in the district who made clothes for the gentry, came from Novostroevka to outfit Andryushenka and his tutor, Yegor Alexyevitch Pobyedimsky.
Despite his skill, Spiridon was a terrible tailor whose work was ruined by hesitation and fear of being unfashionable. He charged one rouble twenty kopecks for Andryushenka's suit and two roubles for Pobyedimsky's, with the family providing materials. When they tried on the tight, basting-threaded garments, Klavdia frowned and blamed the fashion, not the tailor.
The privy councillors arrival and first impressions
The family awaited Ivan's arrival with the suspense of spiritualists expecting a ghost. Klavdia suffered from headaches and constant tears, while Andryushenka lost his appetite, slept poorly, and neglected his lessons. He dreamed of seeing a general with epaulettes, an embroidered collar, and a naked sword like the one in the drawing room portrait. Only Pobyedimsky remained calm, merely commenting that it would be pleasant to have someone new to talk to.
In early May, two wagonloads of large boxes arrived from the station, looking so impressive that the drivers instinctively removed their hats. Andryushenka imagined they contained uniforms and gunpowder, the latter notion connected in his mind with generals and cannons.
On May 10th, Andryushenka was informed that his uncle had arrived. He rushed to meet a tall, solid gentleman with fashionable whiskers and a foppish overcoat in the vestibule. Following his mother's instructions, he bowed deeply and attempted to kiss the man's hand, only to discover this was not his uncle but Ivan's footman, Pyotr.
Andryushenka was astonished that such a dignified, respectable-looking person could be a footman. Pyotr informed him that his uncle was in the garden with his mother. When Andryushenka found them, he was surprised to see not the stern general he had imagined, but a dapper little gentleman in white silk trousers and a white cap, who moved with youthful energy despite his silver hair.
Uncle Ivans growing fascination with Tatyana Ivanovna
Ivan was enthusiastically admiring the garden, barely allowing Klavdia to speak. When Pobyedimsky suddenly appeared and introduced himself with an elaborate bow, Ivan responded with genial laughter and a handshake rather than the dignified acknowledgment the tutor expected. Ivan then noticed Andryushenka, who performed the ceremonial bow his mother had taught him. His uncle stroked his head and asked about his studies.
As Klavdia was describing her son's academic achievements and suggesting he deserved a government nomination to cadet school, Ivan suddenly stopped and exclaimed in amazement. Tatyana Ivanovna, the bailiff's wife, was approaching with a starched white petticoat and ironing board. She looked shyly at Ivan and blushed as she passed.
Ivan watched her with interest, and Klavdia explained that Tatyana had been chosen as a bride for Fyodor despite living over seventy miles away. Though not conventionally beautiful, Tatyana was a plump twenty-year-old with black eyebrows and a graceful figure, always rosy and attractive-looking. She was shy and modest, moving softly and speaking little.
Ivan smiled as he watched Tatyana walk away, prompting Klavdia to ask why he had never married. He sighed and explained that in his youth he had been too busy working, and when he finally wanted to live, he was already fifty years old—too late.
"Make all the haste you can to live, my friends... God forbid you should sacrifice the present for the future! There is youth, health, fire in the present; the future is smoke and deception! As soon as you are twenty begin to live."
Rising tensions in the household
Due to Pyotr's arrival, Andryushenka and his tutor were moved to the bailiff's lodge. Despite this change and Ivan's presence, life continued monotonously. The boys were excused from lessons, with Pobyedimsky spending most of his time sitting on his bed thinking or trying on his new suit, while Andryushenka ran about the garden or made kites.
For the first few weeks, they rarely saw Ivan, who spent days working in his room despite the heat and flies. Whenever Andryushenka peeped through the keyhole, he saw his uncle writing with one hand while turning book pages with the other, constantly moving—swinging his leg, whistling, and nodding his head. He always wore a smart jacket and cravat, and smelled of feminine perfume.
Ivan only left his room for dinner but ate little, despite Klavdia's efforts to prepare special dishes for him. She complained that he would only eat a bit of broth and meat, then perhaps drink a glass of milk, ignoring her entreaties to eat more.
A confrontation at the lodge
Evenings were more lively. Typically, as sunset approached, Andryushenka, Pobyedimsky, and Tatyana Ivanovna would sit on the lodge steps in silence until dusk. Pobyedimsky never took his eyes off Tatyana's face and frequently sighed. When darkness fell, Fyodor would return from shooting or fieldwork, put down his gun angrily, and sit beside his wife, asking a few questions before falling silent.
One evening in late May, Ivan suddenly appeared and joined them on the steps, commenting on how charming it was to see them singing and dreaming in the moonlight. After an awkward silence, Pobyedimsky began talking about epizootic diseases, his only topic of intellectual conversation. Ivan found this amusing and encouraged them all to talk, sing, and not waste time.
When supper was brought out, Ivan joined them in the lodge and ate heartily. He was delighted by everything they did, even retrieving a dropped knitting needle for Tatyana with a bow. From that night on, Ivan came to the lodge every evening, abandoning his work. By day, he wandered the garden, hindering the workmen and offering to help Tatyana whenever he saw her carrying something.
"My life has been wasted. I have not lived! Your young face makes me think of my own lost youth, and I should be ready to sit here watching you to the day of my death. It would be a pleasure to me to take you with me."
The privy councillors hasty departure
One night around midnight, Andryushenka was struggling to stay awake on his box. Tatyana was sewing at a table while Fyodor stared at her from one corner and Pobyedimsky sat in another. Ivan was pacing the room, then stopped before Tatyana and spoke of his attachment to their way of life. He took her hand and asked to kiss it. Suddenly, Fyodor jumped up, struck the table, and declared, "I won't allow it!" Pobyedimsky did the same.
Confused and alarmed, Ivan hurried out of the lodge, forgetting his hat. When Klavdia arrived to investigate, Fyodor and Pobyedimsky were still pounding the table. The next morning, Andryushenka learned that his tutor had been taken to the hospital with a broken arm.
Later that day, the police inspector and captain arrived, followed by the governor in a coach. The household was thrown into chaos preparing food for these unexpected guests. After a sumptuous dinner, the officials departed, and Andryushenka saw his uncle complaining to his mother about the dinner and his inability to work or sleep due to heartburn.
"Simplicity is a very good thing, but there must be limits to it... And then that dinner! How can one give people such things? What was that mess, for instance, that they served for the fourth course?"
Ivan asked how much it would cost to go abroad, saying he would go if he had the money. Klavdia offered him three thousand roubles. Three days later, Ivan's boxes were sent to the station, and he departed. As he said goodbye, he kissed Klavdia's hands and wept. When he was about to leave, he noticed Andryushenka and asked with surprise who the boy was, mortifying Klavdia who had previously called his visit a stroke of luck for her son.
"A charming boy, upon my soul! How natural, how living it all is, upon my soul!..." The carriage set off... I looked after him, and long afterwards that farewell "upon my soul" was ringing in my ears.