The Undiscovered Chekhov

A

WOMAN’S

REVENGE

THE BELL RANG. Nadyezhda Petrovna, the lady of the house in which this story took place, jumped up from the sofa and ran to open the door.

“It’ll be my husband!” she thought.

But when she opened the door, it wasn’t her husband she saw. A tall, handsome man in an expensive bear-fur coat and gold-rimmed spectacles stood before her. There was a frown on his forehead, and his sleepy eyes looked out on the world with languid indifference.

“How may I help you?” Nadyezhda Petrovna asked.

“I am the doctor, madam. I was called here by... let me see, the Chelobitevs. Do the Chelobitevs live here?”

“Yes, we are the Chelobitevs. But... I’m sorry, doctor. My husband had an abscess on his gum and a fever. He sent you a letter, but as it looked like you weren’t coming, he lost patience and rushed off to the dentists.”

“I see. But he might as well have gone straight to the dentist without inconveniencing me.”

The doctor frowned. A minute passed in silence.

“I am sorry, doctor, that we inconvenienced you, that we had you come all this way for nothing. If my husband had known that you were coming, I can assure you he would never have run off to the dentists! I am so sorry!”

Another minute of silence passed. Nadyezhda Petrovna scratched her head.

“What is he waiting for?” she thought, glancing at the door. “I have to go, madam!” the doctor mumbled. “Please don’t keep me. Time is money!”

“Well... I, well... I’m not keeping you.”

“But madam! I cannot leave without being compensated for my efforts!”

“Your efforts?... Oh, I see!” Nadyezhda Petrovna stammered, turning bright red. “You are right... it’s true, you must be paid for coming... you went to all that trouble, you came over! But doctor, this is very embarrassing... my husband left home taking all our money with him! I don’t have a kopeck in the house!”

“Well... that’s strange. Let me see. I can’t wait for your husband to return, but if you look carefully through the house you might find a little money... the amount, in actual fact, would be quite negligible.”

“But I can assure you, my husband took everything with him! I am sorry, this is so embarrassing! I would never want to go through all of this for a few rubles... what an impossible situation!”

“I have never understood the publics view of a doctors job, never! It’s as if we ourselves weren’t people, as if our job wasn’t a job! After all, I did come over to your house, I lost time, I was inconvenienced!”

“No, I’m fully aware of what you’re saying, but you will surely agree that there are times when there isn’t even a kopeck in the house!”

“That may well be. But what it is, is that you, madam, are simply... naïve, illogical. You must understand, not paying a person... that’s unethical. You take advantage of the fact that I can’t take you to court, and so... simply and without ceremo-ny... it’s so strange!”

The doctor fell silent. He was disgusted with humanity. Nadyezhda Petrovna blushed. She felt awkward.

“Fine!” she said sharply. “Wait for me here, and I’ll send

word to the store to see if I can borrow some money. I’ll pay you.”

Nadyezhda Petrovna went into the living room and sat down to write a note to the storekeeper. The doctor took off his coat, went into the living room, and slumped down on a chair. They both sat silendy, waiting for a response from the storekeeper. About five minutes later the answer came. Nadyezhda Petrovna took a ruble out of the envelope and gave it to the doctor. The doctors eyes bulged.

“Surely you are joking, madam!” he said, laying the ruble on the table. “My manservant might accept a ruble, but I... no, I’m sorry!”

“But how much would you need?”

“Normally I would take ten. From you, however, five would be fine.”

“You’ll have to wait quite a long time before you’ll get a fiver from me! I don’t have the money.”

“Send another note to the storekeeper. If he could give you a ruble, why shouldn’t he be able to give you five? Does it matter? I beg you, madam, not to keep me any longer! I am a busy man!”

“Doctor, you are being unkind! You are being impertinent... rude... inhuman! You are... loathsome!”

Nadyezhda Petrovna turned to the window and bit her lip. Big tears fell from her eyes.

“Scoundrel! Bastard!” she thought. “Animal! How dare he, how dare he! Can’t he understand my horrible, impossible situation! Just you wait, you swine!”

After a few seconds of thought, she turned to face the doctor. This time her face expressed suffering.

“Doctor!” she said in a low, imploring voice. “Doctor! If you had a heart, if you tried to understand, you wouldn’t torture me this way for the money. As it is, my life is full of trials and tribulations!”

Nadyezhda Petrovna squeezed her temples as if she were squeezing a spring. Her hair spilled onto her shoulders.

“One suffers as it is being married to a lout of a husband... one is forced to bear these horrendous surroundings, and then on top of it all one is reproached by the only educated person around! My God! I can’t bear it any longer!”

“But madam, please understand, the special conditions of our profession...”

But the doctor was forced to cut his sentence short. Nadyezhda Petrovna staggered and fainted into his outstretched arms. Her head fell onto his shoulder.

“Here, near the fireplace, yes,” she whispered after a few moments. “Come closer... I will tell you everything... everything!”

An hour later the doctor left the Chelobitev apartment. He felt annoyed, ashamed, and happy all in one.

“Damn it!” he thought, as he sat down in his sleigh. “It’s never a good idea to take too much money with you when you leave the house. You never know what you’ll run up against!”