This brief sketch lampoons Russia’s corrupt bureaucracy.
The satire is about as broad as an ocean. A man has come to make an inquiry, and the clerk will not even acknowledge his presence (literally) without a bribe. The impudent clerk is a human gargoyle hunched at his desk: Not only does he have a long, pimply nose, but there is a fly crawling around his nostril. That’s how grotesque these lousy government clerks are!
There’s not a lot to this story. I’m sure the audience was pleased to read something that made fun of insolent bureaucrats: that was the point of writing the tale. But it’s interesting that Chekhov provided one sympathetic portrait: the office porter. He alone, among the bureaucrats, is willing to speak without receiving a bribe, even as he is explaining that bribes must be paid. He’s the low man on the totem pole and, at least in this cartoonish tale, he’s the good guy. Chekhov almost always shows respect for people who do their jobs, however menial or momentous – ferrymen, porters, doctors, governesses. He admires anyone who does a job well.
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This story has certain parallels to “Oh! The Public,” a tale about a self-pitying train conductor. They are both, in their ways, plaints about dealing with public servants–grifters in government sinecures, bothersome conductors in trains. They’re both pretty easy targets, and as a result the stories haven’t aged very well, except as peepholes into daily Russian life of the time.
A Chekhov Circus 