The Schoolmistress (Chekhov)
Short summary
Rural Russia, late 19th century. Marya Vassilyevna, a schoolmistress, traveled to town to collect her salary. On her return journey with old Semyon driving the cart, they encountered Hanov, a wealthy landowner who had been an examiner at her school the previous year.
As they traveled through mud and difficult terrain, Marya reflected on her dreary existence. She had once lived in Moscow with her parents, but they died when she was young. Her teaching position offered no comfort - she struggled with a meager salary, an insolent watchman, and indifferent school officials. She envied Hanov's wealth and freedom, though she noticed signs of his decline into alcoholism.
After stopping at a tavern in Nizhneye Gorodistche, they continued their journey. They crossed a river where Marya's belongings got wet. At a railway crossing, a passing train triggered memories of her former life in Moscow.
A feeling of joy and happiness suddenly came over her, she pressed her hands to her temples in an ecstasy, and called softly, beseechingly: "Mother!" And she began crying, she did not know why.
In that moment, she imagined her past life had never ended and she had never become a schoolmistress. When Hanov drove by, she imagined a happiness she had never experienced. But the illusion quickly vanished as the barrier raised and reality returned. They crossed the railway line and finally arrived at Vyazovye.
Detailed summary
Division into sections is editorial.
The schoolmistresss tedious journey begins
On a warm April day, Marya Vassilyevna traveled by cart from her rural school to the town to collect her salary. Though the spring weather was beautiful, with birds flying over puddles and a marvelous sky overhead, she took no pleasure in the journey. After thirteen years as a schoolmistress, these trips had become routine and tiresome.
She felt as though she had been living in that part of the country for ages and ages, for a hundred years, and it seemed to her that she knew every stone, every tree on the road from the town to her school.
Her past life in Moscow with her parents seemed distant and dreamlike. Her father had died when she was ten, her mother soon after, and her officer brother had eventually stopped writing to her. All that remained of her former life was a faded photograph of her mother.
Encounter with Hanov and thoughts of social inequality
As they traveled, old Semyon, who was driving the cart, mentioned news about a government clerk being arrested for murder. Shortly after, they were overtaken by a neighboring landowner named Hanov in a carriage with four horses. Hanov recognized Marya Vassilyevna and greeted her, mentioning he was going to visit someone named Bakvist, who was not at home.
Marya Vassilyevna remembered Hanov from the previous year when he had been an examiner at her school. She had found him attractive and had felt embarrassed in his presence. Now, observing him, she wondered why such a refined, wealthy man lived in this remote area, enduring the same poor roads and discomforts as everyone else.
And it is beyond all understanding why God gives beauty, this graciousness, and sad, sweet eyes to weak, unlucky, useless people—why they are so charming.
Struggling through the difficult forest road
The journey grew more difficult as they entered the forest. The wheels sank deep into mud, water splashed through them, and twigs struck their faces. Hanov laughed about the terrible road, while Marya Vassilyevna continued to ponder the contrast between their lives. She thought about how strange it was that he lived in this remote place when he could afford to live in Petersburg or abroad, or at least build a better road.
As they struggled uphill through clay and rivulets, Hanov got out of his carriage and walked alongside the road in his long overcoat. Marya Vassilyevna noticed a whiff of spirits and felt pity for this man who seemed to be heading toward ruin for no apparent reason. She briefly imagined being his wife or sister and devoting herself to saving him, but quickly dismissed the thought as absurd given their different social positions.
Her thoughts returned to her difficult life as a schoolmistress - the cold mornings with no one to heat the stove, the cramped living quarters, her daily headaches, and the constant need to collect money from schoolchildren for wood and the watchman. She reflected on how her life was making her grow old, coarse, and ugly, and how she was always afraid in the presence of officials.
A brief respite at the village tavern
They reached Nizhneye Gorodistche, where Marya Vassilyevna stopped at the tavern for tea. The place was crowded with drivers drinking vodka and beer, and a concertina played continuously in the shop next door. A drunken man with a black beard began swearing but apologized when Semyon pointed out the schoolmistress's presence.
The peasants recognized her as the schoolmistress from Vyazovye and spoke approvingly of her. As she sat drinking her tea, Marya Vassilyevna continued thinking about the same problems - firewood and the watchman. When the peasants left, she and Semyon resumed their journey.
Crossing the river and reaching the railway
On the way, Semyon told Marya Vassilyevna about alleged corruption in the building of a local school, but she dismissed it as slander. They soon reached a river that had swollen from spring floods. Despite Marya Vassilyevna's suggestion to take the road to the bridge, Semyon decided to ford the river directly.
The horse struggled through the water, and Marya Vassilyevna felt a keen chill in her feet. When they reached the other side, her shoes, goloshes, dress, coat, and sleeve were wet, and worse still, her sugar and flour had gotten wet. She could only clasp her hands in despair.
At the railway crossing, they had to wait for a train to pass. Shivering with cold, Marya Vassilyevna stood watching as Vyazovye came into view with its green-roofed school and church crosses flashing in the evening sun.
A sudden memory and emotional revelation
As the train passed, Marya Vassilyevna noticed a lady standing on a platform between two first-class carriages. The woman bore a striking resemblance to her mother, with the same luxuriant hair and bend of the head. Suddenly, with amazing distinctness, memories of her mother, father, brother, and their Moscow flat came flooding back to her.
And with amazing distinctness, for the first time in those thirteen years, there rose before her mind a vivid picture of her mother, her father, her brother, their flat in Moscow... she felt as she had been then, young, good-looking, well-dressed...
A feeling of joy and happiness suddenly came over her. She pressed her hands to her temples and softly called out to her mother. She began crying, though she didn't know why. At that moment, Hanov drove up with his team of four horses, and seeing him, she imagined a happiness she had never experienced.
Return to reality and arrival at the school
In this moment of emotional revelation, Marya Vassilyevna felt as though her parents had never died and she had never been a schoolmistress - that her difficult life had been merely a long, tedious dream from which she had finally awakened.
Her father and mother had never died, she had never been a schoolmistress, it was a long, tedious, strange dream, and now she had awakened... And at once it all vanished. The barrier was slowly raised.
But the vision vanished as quickly as it had appeared. The railway barrier was raised, and reality returned. Shivering and numb with cold, Marya Vassilyevna got back into the cart. They crossed the railway line and followed Hanov's carriage. As they entered Vyazovye, Semyon announced their arrival at their destination.