The Secret (Chekhov)

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Anton Chekhov

The Secret ( Russian Тайна , Taina ) is a short story by the Russian writer Anton Chekhov , which appeared on April 11, 1887 in No. 15 of the St. Petersburg humorous weekly Oskolki . During the author's lifetime the text was translated into Polish, Serbo-Croatian and Slovak.

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On the evening of Easter Sunday, the Real State Councilor Nawagin looked through the entries in the guest book of his house in the hallway. Nawagin could despair - for thirteen years Fedjukov has been continuously registering for Christmas and Easter. Neither his wife Sina, a spiritualist , nor the porter know a Fedyukov. His Excellency Nawagin makes the porter think. The result of thought: Apart from the subordinates of His Excellency and the clergy with their cross, there was no one left. Nawagin racked his brain in vain. Sina Navagina is convinced that Fedyukov is a spirit that needs to be conjured up . Papperlapapp - the spiritist is handled by the landlord.

Secretly, Nawagin does not let go of the thought that there is a ghost involved; perhaps the ghost of a civil servant whom Nawagin's ancestors had hounded, or the ghost of a girl whom Nawagin herself seduced. When His Excellency no longer knows what to do, he asks Sina to summon Fedyukov. His voice will soon be heard. The short, profound responses of the mind cause Nawagin to spend weeks studying hypnotism , mediumism , spiritualism and going into the fourth dimension . Most of the subordinates voluntarily take the supernatural seriously at the suggestion of His Excellency . However, an old executor goes mad about it. For publication in a spiritualist organ, Nawagin wrote a bulky pamphlet within less than six months - titled Quite my opinion . When the manuscript is about to be sent, Nawagin calls in the copyist of the work and the sexton . The latter should quickly make a copy of the birth certificate for His Excellency's son. The junior should attend high school. Nawagin urges us to hurry.

No problem, adds the sexton. The certificate could be picked up by a messenger tomorrow. The servant should only ask about the sexton Fedyukov in the church. It seems as if the Real State Councilor Nawagin is going crazy too. Fedyukov admits that as soon as he, among the clergymen, is involved in the blessing of one of the noble houses, he always makes an en-passant note in each of the guest books on display. This is an inner compulsion with him, against which he is powerless.

reception

There are two statements in agreement with the text.

  • Letters dated April 3 and 12, 1887 from Alexander Semenowitsch Lasarew-Grusinsky to Nikolai Michailowitsch Jeschow.
  • Anonymous review in issue 3 anno 1900 of the magazine Knischny westnik under the heading Bibliografitscheski obsor on p. 52.

German-language editions

Used edition

  • The secret. P. 409–414 in Gerhard Dick (ed.) And Wolf Düwel (ed.): Anton Chekhov: The Swedish match. Short stories and early narratives. German by Georg Schwarz. 668 pages. Rütten & Loening, Berlin 1965 (1st edition)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ in German about privy councilor (Russian)
  2. ↑ Notes in the FEB under The Secret , pp. 653–654 (Russian)
  3. ↑ Russian Лазарев-Грузинский Александр Семенович in Lib.ru
  4. ↑ Russian Ежов, Николай Михайлович (1862–1942)
  5. ↑ Russian Книжный вестник - for example: book anzeiger
  6. ↑ Russian Библиографический обзор - Bibliographical overview
  7. ↑ Entry in WorldCat