Friday, August 12, 2011

A TRANSGRESSION


A very clever story.

Guilty conscience does him in.

Miguev is a cheating husband.

Gets the maid pregnant and she threatens to expose him.

Trying to cover up his transgression he cooks his own goose.

Just desserts.

In this story -- Chekhov keeps you guessing. What is Miguev going to do? Is he going to give up the baby? Keep the baby? Tell his wife? And then the final twist.

Really well played.

We also find out what the consequences are for immoral behavior. Your place in society is upset. Which in Russia at the time -- your rank was very important and you wouldn't want to do anything to jeapordize it.

Doors are shut. You become an outcast. Papers would publish the story. So, in effect, playing hide and seek with the maid comes with a heavy price -- but as usual -- then and now -- some are willing to risk everything for a bit of hanky-panky.
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousJuly 20, 2018 at 12:22 PM

    "Trying to cover up his transgression, he cooks his own goose."

    Though he's tempted, he actually doesn't cover up his transgression. That's what cooks his goose. He goes noble and confesses to his wife. He behaves like a decent human being for a change and is willing to take the consequences, however ugly.

    Another possible twist is that Miguev may not even be the father! The porter says that he was sleeping with Agnia, too.

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