My wife (Chekhov)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anton Chekhov

My wife ( Russian Жена , Schena) is a short story by the Russian writer Anton Chekhov , which was published in the January 1892 issue of the Sewerny Westnik magazine in Saint Petersburg .

Richard Hoffmann translated the story into German in 1926. Other translations: 1893 into Bulgarian ( Моята жена ), 1895 into Serbo-Croatian ( Žena ) and 1896 into Swedish ( Min hustru ).

action

The 46-year-old first-person narrator - the engineer Pavel Andrejitsch Assorin - is writing a book about the history of the railway . The councilor and chamberlain Assorin lives in the country in the village of Pestrovo - two day trips by train from Petersburg . The engineer earned his prosperity by building bridges. But these are bad times - even for the rich. In the area around Pestrowo the rampant famine fever . The desperate farmers had moved to Tomsk Governorate , but returned home. Assorin litigates the farmers and their neighbors. "Twenty sacks of rye were stolen from him." Three farmers have already been arrested.

Assorin is torn, but still wants to do something about the famine; wants to donate five thousand silver rubles. The money should never fall into the wrong hands. How does the distribution have to be organized? Assorin's 27-year-old beautiful wife Natalia Gavrilovna has an idea. Assorin is to invite old Ivan Ivanytsch Bragin as an advisor.

Bragin comes, can't help either, and leaves. Before leaving, he recommends the “young, healthy, rich man” to go to Petersburg or abroad.

Assorin's marriage to Natalie, as he calls his wife, is unhappy. In the seven years of marriage, he did not even live with Natalie for seven months. The woman distracts herself with a charitable venture. Together with the country doctor Dr. med. AM Zobel wants to help the starving farmers. Eight thousand rubles and grain have both already collected. Assorin checks his wife's bungling bookkeeping associated with the relief operation and attests to her inexperienced, unfaithful, trustworthy management. One of the obligatory, hideous marital quarrels flares up. Natalie feels humiliated; would like to flee abroad from her difficult husband, this selfish misanthrope. Assorin does not give Natalie the required passport. The resourceful engineer knows a way out: he himself, relying on Dr. Zobel and all other men in Natalie's circle of jealousy, will be leaving shortly - also because Natalie is "the only person in the world" whom he loves; whose hatred he cannot stand. Natalie believes all of this, longs for his departure, but predicts that this man will not get far and will soon return.

Assorin signed the list of donations with the five thousand rubles and left. He does not board the train to Petersburg, but makes a detour to the lonely Bragin estate before the forecast reversal. The old man's wife died. The son fell. Country doctor Dr. Zobel, always on duty, joins the two lavish dinners. You eat ten courses and talk about the hungry. Bragin's peasants still live like serfs. The Regulation has apparently not yet gotten around on the farm.

Bragin reads the riot act to his friend Assorin: he has complained against starving people who dragged twenty sacks of rye out of the barn for him. Assorin trivialized - the examining magistrate had released the detained suspect farmers after all. Bragin sums up his categorical condemnation of Assorin: he is very fond of the engineer, but does not respect him. Assorin trumps that he will feed a thousand families two hundred days. Back home, the repentant husband asks his Natalie not to chase him away again. In return, he wants to give his "entire fortune" away to the starving rural population. The Assorins take action. Dr. Zobel happily watches the “charity orgy”. Assorin cares little about his future poverty.

background

The Sewerny Westnik editor in charge enforced the title because he found it more piquant than the original - Auf dem Dorf -.

Tolstoy's family doctor Dushan Makowizki has passed on a statement by his patient on the story: "There is such a thing, but an artist shouldn't describe it."

German-language editions

  • Anton P. Chekhov: The gems. My wife. Translated from Russian and introduced with a foreword by Arthur Luther . 103 pages. Siegel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1946
  • My wife. Story Insel Verlag, Wiesbaden 1958 (Insel-Bücherei No. 666). 61 pages. Translator: Ottomar Schwechheimer and Walter Richter-Ruhland

Used edition

  • My wife. Translated from the Russian by Ada Knipper and Gerhard Dick , pp. 5–57 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. ↑ Russian reference to first publication
  2. ^ Richard Hoffmann entry in the German biography
  3. ↑ Gerhard Dick (Ed.) In the edition used, p. 561, 4th Zvo
  4. ↑ Russian references to translations
  5. ↑ Russian Маковицкий, Душан Петрович
  6. ↑ Gerhard Dick (Ed.) In the edition used, p. 560, 8. Zvu to p. 561, 3. Zvo