(367 words) The morning of Ivan Ivanovich and Burkin began at breakfast in the estate of Alekhine. The owner of the estate tells about the love story of the cook Nikanor, who went down to inquire about the wishes of the guests for dinner. The beautiful Pelagia fell in love with the hero, refused the wedding, preferring living together with him, but the devout chef demanded marriage, scolded for stubbornness, and sometimes beat her when he was drunk. Alekhine discusses the origin of love, wonders about the reasons for the feelings of a beautiful lady to such a "mug", coming to the conclusion that everything written about love poses more questions than it gives solutions. Each heart case needs its own explanation. Then the owner of the estate tells about his case from life.
Upon graduation, Alekhine settled in Sofyin and took up farming to deal with his father's debts, mostly recruited due to tuition fees. He worked diligently, trying to devote time to cultural habits, reading Vestnik Evropy in the evenings and sipping coffee with liquor for lunch.
After receiving the post of judge, he began to work more often in the city, where he became close friends with Luganovich, from whom he received an invitation to dinner. So he met Anna Alekseevna, the wife of Luganovich, a young 22-year-old lady and felt in her a "close being."
Their second meeting took place in the theater, where Anna admitted that he occupied her thoughts throughout the summer. Since then, Pavel Konstantinovich often visited the Luganovichi for breakfast, went with them to the cottage as "his own man." Anna was waiting for him to visit without a report, and already two of her born children hung themselves on his neck from the doorway. The whole family was worried about him in the event of his long absence and often offered material assistance, which Paul emphatically refused.
Longing for Anna forced him at home in the barn, but, talking about this love, he asked himself: where will she lead? Anna reasoned the same way, which made her irritable over the years, taking the side of his opponent in disputes and answered coldly.
Later, Luganovich became chairman of the western province and set out to move. Only his wife was supposed to go to Crimea, improve her health. On the day of departure, Alekhine runs into the compartment to return the forgotten basket to the hostess. In a fit of emotion, they hug, Paul realizes that insignificant occasions prevented their happiness. After a farewell kiss, he walks home.
At the end of the story, the rain ended, Burkin and Ivan Ivanovich went to the balcony, regretting that such a person had to “spin around here”, and not engage in his vocation.
This brief retelling outlines only the most important and important of the lives of the characters. You can feel the true beauty of Chekhov's prose only in the original.
Suzge
