A family man
A family man ( Russian Отец семейства , Otez semeistwa ) is a short story by the Russian writer Anton Chekhov , which appeared on August 26, 1885 in the daily newspaper Peterburgskaja Gazeta . During the author's lifetime, the text was translated into Bulgarian, Finnish, Norwegian, Romanian and Czech.
content
The wealthy landlord Stepan Stepanytsch Shilin has to find out from his wife in a bad mood, it is grandmother Anfissa Ivanovna who arrives. The wife wants to appease her husband. It's the same Anfissa who helped with the birth of their son Fedja a few years ago. In addition, Shilin invited the grandmother herself. The head of the house thinks that Anfissa is just parasitic. Shilin's housewife is next to get her fat off. He worked like an ox and she quarreled with him out of boredom.
The woman starts a counterattack; demands accountability for Shilin's last gamble. The landlord parries the attack.
During the meal, Shilin spoils the appetite of everyone at the table; draws on the quality of the soup. Only the governess Varvara Vasilyevna hesitantly contradicts. Then Shilin makes his son, seven-year-old Fedja, cry at the table. The housewife campaigns in vain for the intimidated child. Fedja has to stand in the corner until his father makes him howl a second time.
At lunchtime, Shilin goes to his bedroom. Afterwards, rested, he regrets his behavior, but only inwardly, and strokes the house, sulking and grumpy.
The next morning the host wakes up in a good mood. Fedja is allowed to kiss the father. The frightened boy obeyed with trembling lips.
Used edition
- Gerhard Dick (Hrsg.), Wolf Düwel (Hrsg.): Anton Chekhov: Collected works in single volumes : A family father. P. 369–374 in: Gerhard Dick (Ed.): Anton Chekhov: From rain to eaves. Short stories. Translated from Russian by Ada Knipper and Gerhard Dick. With a foreword by Wolf Düwel. 630 pages. Rütten & Loening, Berlin 1964 (1st edition)
Web links
- The text
- Wikisource: Отец семейства (Чехов) (Russian)
- online in Lib.ru (Russian)
- online in FEB (Russian)
- Chekhov Bibliography, Entry Stories No. 303 (Russian)
- Reference to first appearance in the Laboratory of Fantastics (Russian)