Short Fiction · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for Short Fiction by Anton Chekhov.

Read with companions Book page

Each chapter has a companion in the reader — open a free preview to see notes beside the text.

Chapter 1
A Living Chattel
A story exploring the dehumanizing nature of marriage and property, where a woman is treated as a possession rather than a person, highlighting the moral failures of those who perpetuate such arrangements.
Chapter 2
I
Nadya, a 23-year-old engaged to Andrey Andreitch, feels joyless about her upcoming marriage. During a family evening at the Shumins' house, her distant relative Sasha criticizes the family's idleness and the unchanged conditions of the servants, stirring her annoyance. The chapter establishes Nadya's internal conflict and the stagnant, comfortable yet oppressive atmosphere of her home.
Chapter 3
II
Nadya is tormented by doubts about her upcoming marriage to Andrey Andreitch. Sasha urges her to leave her stagnant life and go to university, but she feels trapped. She observes her mother's unhappiness and begins to see the emptiness of her existence. Despite her engagement, she is increasingly drawn to Sasha's radical ideas, though she finds them naive.
Chapter 4
III
Sasha, feeling bored and disgusted by the town's lack of amenities, decides to return to Moscow early despite Granny's pleas to stay until the wedding on the seventh. He reluctantly agrees to remain until July 1st. Nadya and Andrey Andreitch visit the house prepared for their marriage, where Nadya feels increasingly repulsed by the vulgarity of the furnishings and realizes she no longer loves Andrey. Andrey expresses his idleness and dreams of working in the countryside after their marriage, while Nadya longs to escape. The chapter ends with Nadya returning home, dreading the evening's visitors and wedding talk.
Chapter 5
Joy
Late at night, Mitya Kuldarov bursts into his parents' home in a state of ecstatic excitement. He reveals that his name has been published in a newspaper after he was involved in an accident—falling drunk under a horse and sledge. Overjoyed at the prospect of being known throughout Russia, he rushes off to share the news with neighbors.

Free preview

369 more chapter companions sit beside the text in BetterReads — open a free preview to unlock the rest.

369 more companions → free preview

A Living Chattel

I

II

III

Joy