The Steamer Saratov (Bunin)
Short summary
Russia, early 20th century. A young officer arrived late to meet his lover after spending the afternoon drinking with fellow officers. The woman, elegant and distant, informed him this would be their last meeting as she was returning to her former partner.
Despite his protests and accusations that she only wanted her former lover's money, the woman remained firm in her decision. Enraged and unwilling to accept rejection, the officer pulled out a Browning pistol, threatening her. When she dismissed him as a "drunken actor" and attempted to leave, the confrontation escalated violently.
He seized her so firmly by her bared forearm that she bent backwards and, turning quickly, with eyes that slanted even more, she aimed a blow at him. Dodging deftly, with a sarcastic grimace, he fired.
By December of that same year, the officer was a prisoner aboard the steamer Saratov crossing the Indian Ocean to Vladivostok. Half-shaved, shackled, and stripped to the waist in the sultry heat, he stared at the blue waves with feverish eyes, his body thin and sunburnt, his future bleak.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The officer wakes from his nap and hurries to a rendezvous
A young military officer woke up in fright when his batman informed him it was past nine o'clock. He had fallen into a deep sleep after spending hours lunching with fellow officers, drinking, smoking, and chatting. Despite this, he felt excellent upon waking. The smell of spring freshness and poplars wafted through the open windows of his study.
The officer quickly washed, applied cologne, and combed his short curly hair. His batman handed him his sabre, cap, and light summer greatcoat. Leaping into a cab, the officer promised the driver a generous tip for speed. As they rushed through the streets, he enjoyed the greenery, streetlamps, and the anticipation of his upcoming rendezvous.
Everything was splendid: the greenery, the streetlamps, the imminent rendezvous and the taste of the cigarette he contrived to light while flying along. And everything merged into one: a happy feeling of readiness for absolutely anything.
The officer arrives at the womans home
Upon arrival, a small maid on wobbly high heels opened the door. The officer quickly removed his greatcoat, unbuckled his sabre, and tossed his cap onto the mirror table before entering a cramped boudoir room. His lover soon entered, moving gracefully in a tight, snake-like housecoat with slits up to her shoulders, revealing her bare heels.
The woman had long, somewhat slanting eyes and held a cigarette in a long amber holder. The officer kissed her hand and apologized for being late. She noticed his shining eyes and detected the smell of wine on him. She sat down on a silk pouffe, crossing her legs and revealing her knee through the slit in her housecoat, while he sat opposite her on a silk canapé.
The woman announces shes ending their relationship
The officer suggested they attend a "Japanese night" at the Merchants' Garden, but the woman declined, stating that this would be their last rendezvous. Surprised and amused, the officer asked for an explanation. She revealed that she was returning to her former lover, admitting that their separation had been a mistake. She confessed that she had been seeing him secretly during Lent and had realized she never stopped loving him.
The officer sarcastically suggested she was only interested in her former lover's money, which she denied. Their conversation grew tense as he accused her of treating him as a temporary amusement, while she reminded him that though she was a kept woman, it was vile of him to mention it. The officer walked around the room, struggling to process this unexpected turn of events that had destroyed his hopes for the evening.
"I'll ask again: this isn't all a joke?"
Closing her eyes, she gave a wave with the cigarette which had gone out long before.
He fell into thought, lit another cigarette, and again began chewing the filter, saying distinctly...
The officer declared that he wouldn't simply allow her former lover to have her. She responded that she wasn't an object to be given up or not. The confrontation escalated as he took out a small Browning pistol from his pocket, claiming it as his "right." She dismissed his behavior as melodramatic and called for Sonya to bring his greatcoat, ordering him to leave.
The confrontation escalates to violence
When the officer asked if this was her final word, she confirmed it was. She rose, adjusting the slit over her leg, and he stepped toward her with what the narrator described as "joyful decisiveness," warning her not to let it become her last word. She called him a drunken actor and turned to leave the room.
He hurriedly put the cigarette down in the ashtray and, bending, took out of the back pocket of his trousers a slippery, small, weighty Browning, and rocked it on the palm of his hand:
"This is my right."
The officer seized her firmly by her bared forearm. She bent backwards and turned quickly, attempting to strike him with slanting eyes. He dodged her blow with a sarcastic grimace and fired the gun.
The officer as a prisoner on the Saratov months later
In December of the same year, the Volunteer Fleet's steamer Saratov was crossing the Indian Ocean on its way to Vladivostok. Under a hot awning on the forecastle, prisoners sat or lay on the deck in the sultry heat. They were stripped to the waist with half-shaved heads, wearing white canvas trousers and shackles on their ankles.
Like all of them, he too was stripped to the waist, his thin body brown with sunburn. Only half of his head, too, was dark with short-cropped hair, the coarse hairs on his long unshaven, thin cheeks were redly black and his eyes glistened feverishly.
Among these prisoners was the officer, now transformed. His thin body was brown with sunburn, half his head covered with short-cropped hair, and his unshaven cheeks showed reddish-black stubble. With feverishly glistening eyes, he leaned on the handrail, staring at the blue waves below and occasionally spitting into them.