Darkness (Chekhov)
Short summary
Rural Russia, late 19th century. A young peasant named Kirila waits outside a hospital to speak with the Zemstvo doctor about his brother Vaska, who has been sentenced to a convict battalion for three years.
Kirila explains that Vaska was imprisoned for breaking into an Armenian's shop while drunk. He pleads with the doctor to release his brother, as their family is starving without him. The doctor repeatedly tells Kirila he has no authority in legal matters.
Kirila leaves the hospital confused about who has the power to help him. An old man suggests he visit the permanent member of the rural board at Zolotovo. After traveling there, Kirila returns five days later with his elderly father to make another desperate plea to the doctor.
The young peasant bent a rapid glance on his father, pulled him by the sleeve, and both of them, as at the word of command, fell at the doctor's feet. The latter waved his hand in despair, and, without looking round, walked quickly in at his door.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Kirila waits for the doctor
Outside a hospital, a young peasant waited patiently for the Zemstvo doctor to finish seeing his patients. When the doctor finally emerged to go home, the peasant approached him diffidently. He introduced himself as Kirila, explaining that his brother Vaska, a blacksmith from Varvarino, was being held in the hospital's convict ward.
Vaskas story and the doctors refusal
Kirila explained his family's desperate situation to the doctor. Their father had only two sons - Vaska and Kirila - plus three daughters. Vaska was married with a child, while Kirila worked at a cotton factory and couldn't do blacksmith's work. Their father was too weak to work or even eat properly. With Vaska imprisoned, the family was suffering greatly.
Kirila fell at the doctor's feet, begging him to release Vaska. The doctor responded angrily, asking if Kirila was stupid or out of his senses. He explained that he had no authority to release prisoners - Vaska was brought to the hospital for treatment, but the doctor had no more right to free him than he had to imprison Kirila.
"Are you stupid or out of your senses?" asked the doctor angrily. "How can I let him go? Why, he is a convict." Kirila began crying. "Let him go!" "Tfoo, queer fellow! What right have I? Am I a gaoler or what?"
Kirila then explained that Vaska had been imprisoned unjustly. While drunk, Vaska had been convinced by two companions to break into an Armenian's shop for tobacco. They caused considerable damage, and all three were arrested. After a year in prison awaiting trial, Vaska was sentenced to three years in a convict battalion, while his accomplices received lighter sentences.
Kirila seeks advice in town
The doctor insisted he could do nothing and advised Kirila to go to the authorities. Kirila replied that he had already tried - he had been to the court, attempted to submit a petition, visited the police captain and the examining magistrate, but everyone told him it was not their business. Frustrated, Kirila argued that no one had more authority at the hospital than the doctor.
"You simpleton," sighed the doctor, "once the jury have found him guilty, not the governor, not even the minister, could do anything, let alone the police captain. It's no good your trying to do anything!"
After the doctor abruptly ended their conversation and went inside, Kirila stood motionless in the hospital yard for ten minutes, staring at the doctor's house. Finally, he heaved a deep sigh and walked toward the gate, wondering where to go next. As he trudged along the road, he encountered an old man driving a cow to town.
After hearing Kirila's story, the old man advised him that neither the doctor nor the officials he had already approached could help. Instead, he should seek out Mr. Sineokov, the permanent member of the rural board at Zolotovo, who was the chief authority for peasants' affairs. Though Zolotovo was twelve miles away or more, Kirila decided to go there.
Father and son plead with the doctor
Five days later, the doctor spotted Kirila in his yard again. This time, Kirila was accompanied by a gaunt, very pale old man who nodded his head continuously like a pendulum and mumbled with his lips. This was Kirila's father, who had come to join his son's plea.
Kirila explained that his journey to see the permanent member had been fruitless - Mr. Sineokov had refused to speak with him. Both father and son then begged the doctor for mercy, offering to repay him with work if he would release Vaska.
"Your honour, be merciful! We are poor people, we cannot repay your honour, but if you graciously please, Kiryushka or Vaska can repay you in work. Let them work." "We will pay with work," said Kirila, and he raised his hand.
The final rejection and Kirilas helplessness
Desperate to save their family from starvation, both father and son fell at the doctor's feet in a final plea. The doctor, overwhelmed and frustrated by their persistence, waved his hand in despair and quickly retreated into his house without looking back.
This final rejection left Kirila and his father with no further recourse. Their desperate attempts to navigate the bureaucratic system had failed at every turn. No one would take responsibility for Vaska's case, and the family would continue to suffer without the support of their skilled blacksmith. The story ended with this stark portrayal of the peasants' powerlessness against an indifferent system of authority.