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The Wife, and Other Stories

by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)

  • Free to read
  • 5 hours to read
  • 21 chapters
  • Reading level: 7th grade

"The Wife and Other Stories" by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is a collection of short stories written during the late 19th century, a time marked by significant social and political change in Russia. This specific narrative, titled "The Wife," explores the complex emotional landscape of marriage, duty, and the struggles of the protagonist, Pavel Andreitch, as he grapples with his relationships and the dire plight of the starving peasants nearby. At the start of "The Wife," Pavel receives a distressing letter about peasants suffering from famine and illness in the village of Pestrovo. Troubled by their plight, he finds himself unable to concentrate on his writing and feels a compelling urge to help them, despite his isolation from those around him, including his wife, Natalya Gavrilovna. Their relationship has become distant over the years, marked by mutual resentment and misunderstanding. As Pavel resolves to aid the peasants and organize assistance, their interactions reveal deep-seated frustrations and estrangements, culminating in a poignant reflection on love, duty and the meaning of happiness in a world rife with suffering. The contrasting dynamics of their relationship and the looming crisis outside set the stage for a rich exploration of human emotion and social responsibility.

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  • Short stories
  • Russia · Social life and customs
  • Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich, 1860-1904 · Translations into English

Read the opening

Chapter I: I RECEIVED the following Letter

“DEAR SIR, PAVEL ANDREITCH!

“Not far from you—that is to say, in the village of Pestrovo—very distressing incidents are taking place, concerning which I feel it my duty to write to you. All the peasants of that village sold their cottages and all their belongings, and set off for the province of Tomsk, but did not succeed in getting there, and have come back. Here, of course, they have nothing now; everything belongs to other people. They have settled three or four families in a hut, so that there are no less than fifteen persons of both sexes in each hut, not counting the young children; and the long and the short of it is, there is nothing to eat. There is famine and there is a terrible pestilence of hunger, or spotted, typhus; literally every one is stricken. The doctor’s assistant says one goes into a cottage and what does one see? Every one is sick, every one delirious, some laughing, others frantic; the huts are filthy; there is no one to fetch them water, no one to give them a drink, and nothing to eat but frozen potatoes. What can Sobol (our Zemstvo doctor) and his lady assistant do when more than medicine the peasants need bread which they have not? The District Zemstvo refuses to assist them, on the ground that their names have been taken off the register of this district, and that they are now reckoned as inhabitants of Tomsk; and, besides, the Zemstvo has no money.

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Contents

  1. Chapter I: I RECEIVED the following Letter
  2. Chapter II
  3. Chapter III
  4. Chapter IV
  5. Chapter V
  6. Chapter VI
  7. Chapter VII
  8. Chapter I
  9. Chapter II
  10. Chapter III
  11. Chapter IV
  12. Chapter V
  13. Chapter VI
  14. Chapter VII
  15. Chapter VIII
  16. Chapter I
  17. Chapter II
  18. Chapter III
  19. Chapter IV
  20. Chapter V
  21. Chapter VI

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About this edition

This free edition of The Wife, and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #1883, released 2006-02-26. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Short Stories, Russian Literature.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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