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No. 57 – A Gentleman Friend
Sigh. Another day, another story flawed by Chekhov’s antisemitism. “A Gentleman Friend” concerns a woman – I suppose she would have been called a “fallen woman” back in the day – who approaches a former lover for money. The man, Finkel, is a grotesque. I was going to type up the description of him but…
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No. 95 – Zinotchka
A man recalls his efforts to blackmail his childhood tutor, who had falled in love with his older brother.
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No. 96 – The Chorus Girl
An angry wife confronts her husband’s mistress, demanding that she give up the jewelry he bought for her.
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No. 139 – My Life
Unwilling to live the way his rich father has, a man becomes a simple laborer.
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No. 39 – A Trivial Incident
This is a modest but nevertheless memorable tale of a prince, a once wealthy landowner who has fallen on hard times. The story begins in a forest where the prince, Sergey Ivanich, is out hunting, accompanied by the unnamed narrator. They are approached by the bailiff–the manager of the land–who explains that hunting is forbidden,…
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No. 67 – Verotchka
After a long stay as a guest at a house in the country, a statistician is taken aback when the daughter of the household tells him she has fallen in love with him.
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No. 73 – Bad Weather
An errant husband fools his credulous wife and mother-in-law with an obvious lie.
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No. 75 – A Father
A drunken father receives far better treatment from his diligent son than he deserves.
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No. 121 – Rothschild’s Fiddle
A sour coffin maker, coming to the end of his life, regrets his rough treatment of his wife.
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No. 79 – On the Road
In a modest country inn, a man traveling with his young daughter recalls the errors he has made in his life, and hopes to rectify them in a new job on the steppe.

