An Avenger
Husband catches wife doing the nasty.
Wants to kill her and her lover and then himself.
First he needs a gun.
The shopkeeper seems very eager to sell him one.
But the husband, Sigaev, is having second thoughts. Chekhov guides us through the mind of someone who wants to get revenge and is still able to think things though.
A crime of passion is avoided by rational thought. Fyodor Fyodorovitch seems very rational. Too rational. When the shopkeeper presents him with the perfect weapon for his crime -- he seems to think the price of the gun is too much. Finding a bargain at these moments should not be very high on the agenda.
Maybe this is Sigaev's problem and the reason his wife is cheating on him. He lacks passion. Everything is weighed. Measured. Until what's left is all rationality and no passion.
So what saves Sigaev from committing his crime is most likely the cause of his wife's hanky-panky.
Sigaev does need to pack some heat -- in his heart.
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