Here we have another Chekhov story that takes place on a train. In this case, the traveling companions are a writer and a beautiful woman. The writer, bent on seducing her, urges her to tell him her tale, and she obliges: The daughter of a poor man, she raised her station by marrying a very old general. And now that he has died, she is ready to truly live her life.
The writer is in ecstasy, practically nibbling the skin off her wrist. He waxes poetic about her suffering and she in turn moans with the pleasure of his empathetic powers.
The writer figures he’s captured his prey.
There’s only one catch: She has found another old general to marry.
Nice little twist. As it turns out, the supposed expert on human nature – the writer – is a perfect ignoramus. And the apparently helpless beauty is in fact a tactical genius with the predatory skill of a hawk.
It’s old-fashioned and not really the kind of thing people read any more, but it’s a good story for the sort of tale it is.
READ THIS? READ THAT!
“An Enigmatic Nature” must surely be in the running for the worst title of all of Chekhov’s stories, although it would by no means be a lock to win the competition. In any case, this story is of a piece with half a dozen stories featuring women who appear to be helpless or at least weak and simpering, but who in fact are managing the men in the spheres very capably. It’s an outdated conceit but Chekhov was a man of his time, so take it or leave it. You can find a similar dynamic in the story “Martyrs.”
A Chekhov Circus 