The Chemist's Wife (Chekhov)
Short summary
A small town, late 19th century. The chemist's wife couldn't sleep one night while her husband snored peacefully. She felt bored and depressed as she sat by the window.
Two officers returning from the Police Captain's passed by the shop. They decided to enter and buy something, hoping to see the chemist's wife. She served them peppermint lozenges, soda, and wine. The officers flirted with her, calling her enchanting and complimenting her beauty. Initially serious, she soon became lively, laughed, and even drank wine with them.
After they left, one officer returned but found the chemist awake instead. He bought peppermints and left, throwing them away after exiting. The chemist quickly returned to bed, leaving his wife alone with her thoughts.
"How unhappy I am!" said the chemist's wife, looking angrily at her husband, who was undressing quickly to get into bed again. "Oh, how unhappy I am!" she repeated, suddenly melting into bitter tears. "And nobody knows, nobody knows...."
Her husband, already falling asleep, merely reminded her about fourpence left on the counter before dozing off again.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The chemists wifes insomnia and loneliness
In the small town of B——, consisting of just a few crooked streets, everyone was asleep except for the young wife of Tchernomordik, a qualified dispenser who owned the local chemist's shop. Despite going to bed and getting up three times, she could not sleep. She sat at the open window in her nightdress, looking into the street, feeling bored, depressed, and inexplicably on the verge of tears.
Her husband lay curled up against the wall, snoring peacefully. He was dreaming that everyone in town had a cough and was buying his King of Denmark's cough-drops. Nothing could wake him - not pinpricks, cannon fire, or even caresses.
She felt bored, depressed, vexed… so vexed that she felt quite inclined to cry—again she did not know why. There seemed to be a lump in her chest that kept rising into her throat.
Two officers pass by and enter the chemists shop
From her window, the chemist's wife could see far into the fields and observed the eastern horizon growing pale, then turning crimson. Suddenly, she heard footsteps and the jingling of spurs. Two officers in white tunics appeared, walking slowly by the fence. As they passed the chemist's shop, they slowed down even more and glanced up at the windows.
One officer, thin and slender, commented on the smell of the chemist's shop and recalled buying castor oil there the previous week, mocking the chemist's large jawbone. The other officer, who was big and spoke in a bass voice, remarked that the chemist was asleep, as was his pretty wife.
"No, most likely she does not love him," sighed the doctor. "The little woman is asleep behind the window... I bet that fool the chemist doesn't realise what a lucky fellow he is... No doubt he sees no difference between a woman and a bottle of carbolic!"
Obtyosov suggested they enter the shop to buy something, hoping to see the chemist's wife. Despite the doctor's initial hesitation about going in at night, they decided to enter. The chemist's wife, who had overheard their conversation from behind her curtain, quickly dressed and hurried to open the shop door.
Flirtation and wine during the late-night shopping
When the officers entered, the chemist's wife no longer felt vexed or bored. The doctor was corpulent and swarthy with a beard, while Obtyosov was rosy, clean-shaven, and feminine-looking. They asked for peppermint lozenges, and as she served them, they stared at her back. The doctor remarked that it was his first time seeing a lady serving in a chemist's shop.
After purchasing the lozenges, the officers lingered. The doctor asked for soda, and Obtyosov requested seltzer water, calling her a "fairy." When she returned with the bottles, they began drinking and commenting on her husband's sleep. The doctor suggested adding wine to the water, and the chemist's wife brought them some red wine.
The officers sat at the counter drinking wine and flirting with her. The doctor called her enchanting and said he would kiss her hand in imagination, while Obtyosov declared he would give his life to do so in reality. Though she initially maintained a serious expression, the chemist's wife soon became lively, joining in their conversation, laughing, and flirting back.
"You officers ought to come in oftener from the camp," she said; "it's awful how dreary it is here. I'm simply dying of it."
After repeated requests, she even drank two ounces of wine herself. The doctor expressed sympathy for her situation, saying it was a shame that such a "peach, a miracle of nature" was thrown away in the wilds. When it was time for them to leave, they calculated the bill, which came to twelve roubles and forty-eight kopecks. Obtyosov paid, pressing her hand at parting and quoting Shakespeare.
The officers departure and secret discussion
After much talk and kissing the lady's hand, the officers finally left the shop. The chemist's wife quickly returned to her bedroom and sat in the same place as before. She watched through the window as the officers walked away about twenty paces before stopping to whisper together. Her heart throbbed violently, though she didn't know why, as if those two whispering outside were deciding her fate.
Her heart throbbed, there was a pulsing in her temples, and why she did not know.... Her heart beat violently as though those two whispering outside were deciding her fate.
Five minutes later, the doctor continued on his way while Obtyosov returned. He walked past the shop once, then a second time, lingering near the door before finally ringing the bell discreetly.
The officers return and the chemists intervention
Suddenly, the chemist's wife heard her husband's voice. He scolded her for not hearing the bell and got up, put on his dressing gown, and shuffled to the shop in his slippers, still half-asleep. When he opened the door, Obtyosov asked for four pennyworth of peppermint lozenges.
Sniffing continually, yawning, dropping asleep as he moved, and knocking his knees against the counter, the chemist went to the shelf and reached down the jar.
Two minutes later, the chemist's wife saw Obtyosov leave the shop and throw the packet of peppermints on the dusty road. The doctor came from around a corner to meet him, and they disappeared together in the morning mist. The chemist's wife looked angrily at her husband, who was already undressing to get back into bed, and burst into bitter tears, lamenting that nobody knew how unhappy she was. Her husband merely mumbled about forgotten money on the counter before falling asleep again.