Story of a stranger

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anton Chekhov

Tale of a Stranger ( Russian Рассказ неизвестного человека , Rasskas neiswestnowo tscheloweka) is a prose text by the Russian writer Anton Chekhov , which appeared in 1893 in issues 2 and 3 of the Moscow magazine Russkaja Mysl .

A translation into Serbo-Croatian has been available since 1893 ( Pripoviest nepoznata čovjeka ). In 1917 a translation into English came out ( An Anonymous Story ).

background

In 1888 Anton Chekhov left the text, continued writing in 1891 and finished this work in autumn 1892. Because the author had chosen a Narodnik as the first-person narrator, that is, as the protagonist, he feared the intervention of the censors . The fear did not come true, also because the experienced literary editor of the Russkaya Mysl newspaper had waited for a favorable publication time.

In an afterword, Anton Chekhov originally wanted to comment on how the narrator's manuscript came into his hands. The author did not carry out this idea. Anton Chekhov also had other titles to choose from: My Patient's Story , In Petersburg , My Friend's Story , In the 1980s, and Untitled Story .

content

In the house of his master, the civil servant Georgi Ivanytsch Orlov, the consumptive first-person narrator has adopted the nickname Stepan. Orlov is around 35 years old from St. Petersburg and is a die-hard bachelor. Stepan, actually the noble Vladimir Ivanovich, - dressed as a lackey - sneaked into Orlov's noble household in order to spy on his father, a minister. The retired naval lieutenant Stepan does not manage to do this despite his diligent study of the paperwork on Orlov's desk. The espionage story then turns out to be quite irrelevant. Rather, it is about Orlov's mistress , who is about twenty-five years old - Sinaida Fyodorovna Krasnowskaya, who is married to Mr. Krasnowski.

Orlov's friends are the roughly 45-year-old, gaunt, very influential lawyer Pekarski, the careerist Kukushkin - a short, fat Real State Councilor and the about 35-year-old, short-sighted, blond lawyer Grusin. The latter works in Orlov's department, has five children and is cheating on his jealous wife. The friends always go to Orlov's apartment and spend the night playing cards. Orlov usually goes to work around noon. When Sinaida Fyodorovna ran away and lived with Orlov from then on, the friends could not suppress their outbursts of cheerfulness and joke: for example, Kukushkin wanted to relax his lover's lover.

Sinaida Fjodorovna's coexistence with the civil servant Orlov turned out to be difficult. The conclusion of the demanding lady to the address of the “lover”: “You answer my insane love with coldness and irony.” The mistress feels disregarded and wants to kill herself.

Stepan, who calls himself a cripple, is treated "like a being on a low level" by the gentlemen, but Sinaida Fyodorovna is favored by him.

Orlov flees from Sinaida Fyodorovna in Pekarsky's luxurious St. Petersburg apartment and sends word through Stepan that he has traveled to the provinces on business - only for a few days. When the bachelor returned to his mistress, she showered him with accusations: It was finally time. Orlov must introduce her to his father. The scolded man does not owe an answer: By moving to him, she was wrong. He, Orlov, was basically none other than Herr Krasnowski. Sinaida Feodorovna replied: "Then you should know that I hate you!" People quarrel and get along. Orlov then goes on a “business trip” again.

At one of the high points of the story, Orlov's father rings the doorbell. The well-known statesman wants to speak to his son. Since the junior is “away”, the father writes a short message to the son who is sitting at his desk. Stepan stands behind the hated statesman and lets the unique, irretrievable opportunity for an assassination slip by.

Grusin comes and comforts the lonely Sinaida Fyodorovna; confess his love to her. Kukushkin takes over from the friend; however, there is only a few minutes left to kiss the hand.

Sinaida Feodorovna recognizes: "He's not coming back!" Stepan confirms that Orlov lives with Pekarsky and reveals himself to her. Sinaida Fyodorovna checks this with Orlov's new Petersburg address. Stepan was telling the truth. Sinaida confesses to Stepan - actually now again Vladimir Ivanovich - her pregnancy. The lieutenant a. D. exchanges his lackey costume for a new, well-fitting suit and brings the mother-to-be to Venice . Via Florence it goes to Nice . Sinaida increases the distance to her companion; plays in Monte Carlo . Stepan reproaches her: "Didn't you ... then think that ... all this [gambling] is a mean, shameful mockery of the work of the worker ...?" The heavily pregnant woman does not give in. She doesn't want to know about someone who dragged her from Russia to Italy, nor about someone who left her in Petersburg. Stepan is considerately silent. Sinaida Fyodorovna gives birth to Sonja and dies.

Stepan takes self-sacrificing care of the young child. When, after two years, the seriously ill lieutenant was about to die, he had to turn to Orlov, Sonja's father. Orlov has long since known the true identity of his very emaciated visitor and quickly finds a patent solution for his child. Sonja has been named Krasnowski since she was born.

Self-testimony

On September 30, 1891 to the editors of the Russkaya Mysl newspaper : The first-person narrator “assumes the person of a former socialist [Narodnik], but hero number 1 is the son of the deputy foreign minister [in the story]. Both the socialist and the ministerial son are peaceful fellows with me and do not deal with politics in the story, but I'm still afraid to hand this story over to the public, at least I think it's premature. "

German-language editions

  • Sick room No. 6 . Story of a stranger. Small novels II. From the Russian by Ada Knipper and Gerhard Dick. Edited and annotated by Peter Urban . 196 pages. Diogenes, Zurich 1976 (Licensor: Winkler, Munich 1968), ISBN 3-257-20268-7

First edition (used edition)

  • Story of a stranger. Translated from the Russian by Ada Knipper and Gerhard Dick , pp. 205–293 in: Anton Chekhov: Weiberwirtschaft. Master stories , volume from: Gerhard Dick (Ed.), Wolf Düwel (Ed.): Anton Chekhov: Collected works in individual volumes. 582 pages. Rütten & Loening, Berlin 1966 (1st edition)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gerhard Dick (Ed.) In the edition used, p. 565, 10th Zvu as well as Russian reference to first publication
  2. ↑ Russian references to translations
  3. ↑ eng. To Anonymous Story , translator Constance Garnett
  4. ↑ Gerhard Dick (Ed.) In the edition used, pp. 565-566
  5. ↑ Edition used, p. 237, 15. Zvu
  6. ↑ Edition used, p. 253, 7th Zvu
  7. ↑ applied edition, p. 283, 2. Zvo
  8. ^ Anton Chekhov cited in Gerhard Dick (ed.) In the edition used, p. 565, 12. Zvo

annotation

  1. ↑ The social critic Anton Chekhov uses his first-person narrator as a mouthpiece when he castigates the luxury of St. Petersburg's “better society” - in the case of Sinaida Fyodorovna's addiction to cleaning: “To spend four hundred rubles on superfluous, unnecessary clothing while our day laborers do their housework Apart from the food, they only received a twenty kopeck piece per day ... "(Edition used, p. 241, 15. Zvo)