Short Fiction · Chapter
Gone Astray explained
Two intoxicated lawyers, Kozyavkin and Laev, return from the station on foot and mistakenly enter a stranger's cottage in the dark, believing it to be Kozyavkin's home.
What happens
Two intoxicated lawyers, Kozyavkin and Laev, return from the station on foot and mistakenly enter a stranger's cottage in the dark, believing it to be Kozyavkin's home. Kozyavkin climbs through a window, only to find the room full of hens and a turkey, causing chaos. Laev waits outside, exhausted and thirsty, as Kozyavkin fumbles for his belongings. The commotion attracts the owner and villagers, leading to a confrontation where Kozyavkin learns they are in Sicklystead, not Rottendale. Laev collapses from weariness as the scene descends into a cacophony of barking dogs, cackling fowls, and angry voices.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This is the dramatic climax because it marks the psychological peak where Ivan Dmitritch’s paranoid resistance…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Illusion vs. Reality
Kozyavkin's drunken confidence in recognizing his own cottage is shattered when he discovers he has entered the wrong house, filled with chickens instead of his wife.
- Hypocrisy and Moral Failure
Kozyavkin's idealized vision of a loving wife welcoming him home contrasts with his actual drunken, disorderly behavior and the chaos he causes.
Characters to notice
- Verotchka
Kozyavkin's wife, expected to be home but absent; her name is called repeatedly.
- The Policeman
Mentioned as being summoned to the scene by the cottage owner.
Key passages
“Verotchka, my dumpling; Verotchka, my poppet... my little angel, my wife beyond compare, get up and tell Aksinya to unlock the gate for us!”
Kozyavkin affectionately calls to his wife, asking her to wake up and instruct the servant to open the gate.
Shows Kozyavkin's drunken, sentimental expectation of a warm welcome.
“I've had a cottage in Rottendale for five years.”
Kozyavkin claims he has owned a summer cottage in Rottendale for five years.
Reveals his mistaken belief about his location, leading to the comedic error.
“Do you take this for the Dale? This is Sicklystead, but Rottendale is farther to the right, beyond the match factory. It's three miles from here.”
The cottage owner corrects Kozyavkin, informing him that he is in Sicklystead, not Rottendale, which is three miles away.
Climactic revelation that the lawyers have gone astray, highlighting the theme of illusion vs. reality.
