The Trousseau (Chekhov)
Short summary
A small Russian town, early 20th century. A narrator visited a tiny cottage where a mother and daughter lived. The house was filled with paper patterns and sewing materials for a trousseau.
Despite Manetchka's claims that she would never marry, her eyes glowed at the mention of marriage. The mother proudly showed the narrator five large trunks filled with items for her daughter's future wedding.
Seven years later, the narrator returned to find the mother and daughter still sewing, but now in mourning for the Colonel. The mother complained that her brother-in-law Yegor Semyonitch was stealing items from the trousseau to give to beggars. A year later, on his final visit, the narrator found only the elderly mother, still sewing and storing items at the priest's house for safekeeping.
And where was the daughter? Where was Manetchka? I did not ask. I did not dare to ask the old mother dressed in her new deep mourning. And while I was in the room... no Manetchka came out to greet me. I understood, and my heart was heavy.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Introduction to the little house and its inhabitants
In a small town stood a tiny one-story cottage with white stucco walls, a tiled roof, and a dilapidated chimney. The cottage was nearly hidden among mulberry trees, acacias, and poplars planted by previous generations of its occupants. Despite being in town, with its courtyard forming part of a street, the area was quiet and rarely visited. The shutters of the house remained perpetually closed, as its inhabitants had no interest in sunlight or fresh air, despite living surrounded by natural beauty.
People never prize what they have always had in abundance. "What we have, we do not treasure," and what's more we do not even love it. The little house stands in an earthly paradise of green trees with happy birds nesting in them.
The narrators first visit and discovery of the trousseau
Many years ago, the narrator visited this little house on business, bringing a message from the Colonel to his wife and daughter. Upon his arrival, he was met by a nervous woman of forty who was startled by his presence. After he introduced himself and explained his purpose, her alarm transformed into joy, and exclamations of "Ach!" echoed throughout the house.
The narrator was seated in the drawing room, which smelled of moth powder and goatskin shoes. The room contained geraniums in the windows, a portrait of a bishop on the wall, and various sewing materials scattered about. Two women were hurriedly picking up paper patterns from the floor in the next room, embarrassed by the untidiness.
Soon, a tall, thin nineteen-year-old girl in a muslin dress entered the room. She curtsied and blushed deeply, her slightly pitted nose turning red first, followed by her eyes and forehead. The mother introduced her as her daughter.
When the narrator inquired about the numerous paper patterns, the mother explained that they purchased materials at the annual fair and spent the year sewing, as they couldn't afford to have things made elsewhere due to the Colonel's modest pay. She revealed that these items were for Manetchka's trousseau.
"Oh… as though we were thinking of wearing them! They are not to be worn; they are for the trousseau!" "Ah, mamam, what are you saying?" said the daughter, and she crimsoned again. "I don't intend to be married. Never!"
Despite her protests, Manetchka's eyes glowed at the mention of marriage. During tea and later supper, the narrator heard a loud yawn from the next room. The mother explained it was her husband's brother, Yegor Semyonitch, who lived with them but was unsociable and planned to enter a monastery after being unfairly treated in his service.
After supper, the mother proudly showed the narrator five large trunks and numerous smaller ones in the storeroom, all containing Manetchka's trousseau that they had made themselves. Before leaving, the narrator promised to visit again someday.
The second visit seven years later
Seven years later, the narrator returned to the little house while in town for a legal case. The family immediately recognized him, as his first visit had been a significant event in their quiet lives. Entering the drawing room, he found the scene largely unchanged, with the same smell of moth powder and the same patterns, though now a portrait of the Colonel hung beside the bishop's, and the women were dressed in mourning.
I looked at the mother and daughter together. They both looked much older and terribly changed. The mother's hair was silvered, but the daughter was so faded and withered that her mother might have been taken for her elder sister.
The widow explained that her husband had died a week after being promoted to general. She complained that Yegor Semyonitch, who had been rejected by the monastery due to his drinking, had been breaking open the trunks and giving Manetchka's trousseau to beggars. She planned to lodge a complaint with the Marshal of Nobility, as they had to remake everything, and they were now alone in the world.
The final visit and the tragedy of Manetchka
A year later, fate brought the narrator back to the little house once more. In the drawing room, he found the old lady dressed entirely in black with heavy crape pleureuses, sewing on the sofa. Beside her sat a little bald-headed man in a brown coat and goloshes who jumped up and ran out upon seeing the visitor.
The old lady greeted him in French, saying she was making a blouse to store at the priest's house for safekeeping from Yegor Semyonitch. Looking at her daughter's portrait on the table, she sighed and repeated, "We are all alone in the world."
"It's a blouse. When it's finished I shall take it to the priest's to be put away, or else Yegor Semyonitch would carry it off. I store everything at the priest's now," she added in a whisper. And looking at the portrait of her daughter... she sighed.
Throughout this visit, Manetchka never appeared. The narrator did not ask about her absence, understanding the implication of the mother's new deep mourning clothes. He left with a heavy heart, comprehending the tragedy that had befallen the family.