In Passion Week (Chekhov)
Short summary
Russia, late 19th century. A boy nearly nine years old prepared to go to confession during Passion Week. On his way to church, he observed the spring day and contemplated the journey of chips floating in the gutter water. At the church, he felt sinful and insignificant beneath the crucifix and icons.
While waiting for his turn to confess, Fedya observed others, including a beautiful lady and Mitka, a troublesome boy he disliked. After a brief scuffle with Mitka over who would go first, Fedya finally approached the priest. Nervous and burning with shame, he sincerely answered the priest's questions.
How lighthearted I am now, with joy in my soul! I have no sins now, I am holy, I have the right to enter Paradise! I fancy that I already smell like the cassock. I go from behind the screen to the deacon to enter my name...
That night, Fedya went to bed hungry to avoid seeing others eating supper, dreaming of enduring martyrdom and living a holy life. The next day, he attended church feeling pure and joyful in his special shirt made from his grandmother's silk dress. Even Mitka seemed transformed, and Fedya, feeling magnanimous, invited him to play at Easter.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Preparation for confession and journey to church
A young boy prepared to attend confession during Passion Week. His mother gave him some copper coins and reminded him not to misbehave in church, warning that God would punish him. She then hurried back to the kitchen, quickly forgetting about him. Knowing he would not be allowed to eat after confession, the boy ate a crust of white bread and drank two glasses of water before leaving.
Outside, spring was in full bloom. The roads were covered with brownish slush, roofs and sidewalks were dry, and fresh green growth was piercing through last year's rotting grass. In the gutters, dirty water gurgled merrily, carrying chips, straws, and sunflower seed husks. Fedya tried to imagine where these small objects might travel - perhaps from the gutter to the river, from the river to the sea, and from the sea to the ocean - but his imagination could not follow them beyond the sea.
I try to imagine to myself that long terrible journey, but my fancy stops short before reaching the sea... A cabman drives by. He clicks to his horse, tugs at the reins, and does not see that two street urchins are hanging on the back of his cab.
Fedya was tempted to join the mischievous boys hanging on the back of a passing cab, but thoughts of confession made him reconsider. He imagined these boys would be punished on judgment day for their pranks, while those who obeyed their parents and gave to beggars would be rewarded with Paradise.
Observations in church while waiting for confession
The church porch was dry and sunny, but empty. Upon entering the church, Fedya was overcome by a sense of sinfulness and insignificance in the gloomy twilight. His attention was immediately drawn to a huge crucifix with the Mother of God on one side and St. John the Divine on the other. The candelabra were draped in black mourning covers, and the lamps glimmered dimly.
I feel that to them I am alien, superfluous, unnoticed, that I can be no help to them by word or deed, that I am a loathsome, dishonest boy, only capable of mischief, rudeness, and talebearing.
Near the candle cupboard, Prokofy Ignatitch was explaining to an old woman that matins would be held that evening after vespers, and the "hours" would be rung between seven and eight the next day.
Those waiting for confession stood beside the screen in the chapel of Varvara the Martyr. Among them was Mitka, a ragged boy with a hideously cropped head and protruding ears. Fedya felt resentful that this boy, whom he considered a bully and a ruffian, would soon have his sins forgiven.
In front of Mitka stood a beautifully dressed lady wearing a hat with a white feather. She appeared noticeably agitated as she waited for her turn.
The confession experience
After a well-dressed young man with rubber goloshes finished his confession, the beautiful lady took her turn. Through a crack in the screen, Fedya observed her bowing to the ground before the priest, who stood with his back to the screen. The priest spoke rapidly, not looking at the lady, who listened meekly with her head bowed. When the priest covered her head with his stole and absolved her of sins, she bowed again, kissed the cross, and returned with flushed cheeks but a serene, cheerful face.
"She is happy now," I think to myself, looking first at her and then at the priest who had forgiven her sins. "But how happy the man must be who has the right to forgive sins!"
When it was Mitka's turn, Fedya, eager to go before him, hit him on the head with his candle. Mitka retaliated, and they briefly scuffled before being separated. After Mitka finished his confession, Fedya approached the lectern, feeling as though he were walking on air. He glimpsed the priest's indifferent, exhausted face before seeing only his sleeve, the cross, and the edge of the lectern.
Despite his nervousness, Fedya answered the priest's questions sincerely, thinking of the Mother of God, St. John, the crucifix, and his own mother. He felt a desire to cry and beg forgiveness. When the priest covered his head with the soft stole and asked his name, Fedya felt a profound joy and lightness of spirit.
Feelings of purity after confession
After confession, Fedya went to the deacon to register his name. When asked, he gave his name as Fedya, his father's name as Ivan Petrovitch, and his age as nearly nine, though he could not provide his surname. The church no longer seemed gloomy to him, and he looked at Mitka without malice.
Upon returning home, Fedya went to bed quickly to avoid seeing his family eating supper. Lying in bed, he dreamed of enduring martyrdom, living in the desert, feeding bears, and giving his property to the poor. Yet despite these pious thoughts, he remained acutely aware of his hunger.
I dream of how fine it would be to endure martyrdom... to live in the desert and feed the bears, live in a cell, and eat nothing but holy bread... I would consent to endure any martyrdom... if only I might first eat just one cabbage pie!
The joy of communion day
The next day, Thursday, Fedya awoke feeling pure and clean. He went to church happily, proud to be a communicant and wearing his special shirt made from his grandmother's silk dress. Everything in the church seemed joyful, as if all past sins were forgotten and forgiven.
The next day, Thursday, I wake up with my heart as pure and clean as a fine spring day. I go gaily and boldly into the church, feeling that I am a communicant, that I have a splendid and expensive shirt on...
Even Mitka looked nice that day, having combed his hair and dressed in his best clothes. Fedya looked at Mitka's protruding ears with a newfound kindness, telling him that he looked nice and would look even better if his hair didn't stand up and if he were better dressed. He invited Mitka to play knuckle-bones at Easter, though Mitka responded with mistrust and secretly shook his fist at him.
The beautiful lady from the previous day was also present, now wearing a light blue dress with a sparkling horseshoe-shaped brooch. Fedya admired her and thought that when he grew up, he would marry someone like her, but then remembered that marriage was shameful and stopped thinking about it. He joined the choir where the deacon was reading the "hours."