The Huntsman (Chekhov)
Short summary
A sultry summer day in rural Russia, late 19th century. Yegor Vlassitch, a huntsman, walked along a forest path with his gun and dog when he suddenly heard a soft voice call his name.
It was Pelagea, his wife, who had come to work in the fields with other village women. They walked together, and she asked why he never visited her. Yegor explained he had no reason to visit the village - he was a pampered man who preferred comfort, while she lived in poverty.
Pelagea reminded him they were married, but Yegor retorted that their marriage was forced upon him when he was drunk by Count Sergey Pavlovitch, who was envious of Yegor's shooting skills. Pelagea pleaded with him:
"It's a sin, Yegor Vlassitch! You might stay a day with luckless me, anyway. It's twelve years since I was married to you, and... and... there has never once been love between us! I... I am not crying."
Yegor mentioned he had built a new hut for another woman, Akulina. When he prepared to leave, Pelagea looked at him with tender affection. Sensing her gaze, Yegor turned back and gave her a crumpled rouble note before walking away. Pelagea stood motionless, watching until his red shirt disappeared into the forest greenery.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
A sultry day: Introduction of the huntsman
On a stifling, hot midday with not a cloud in the sky, a tall, narrow-shouldered man of forty walked along a road at the edge of a clearing. He wore a red shirt, patched gentleman's trousers, and high boots. A white cap with a straight jockey peak sat on his handsome flaxen head. He carried a cocked double-barrelled gun and had a game-bag with a blackcock hanging over his shoulder.
An unexpected encounter with Pelagea
As Yegor walked, he suddenly heard a soft voice call his name. Startled, he looked around and saw a pale-faced woman of thirty with a sickle in her hand standing beside him. She was trying to look into his face and smiling diffidently. Yegor recognized her as Pelagea and asked how she had come to be there. She explained that she was working as a laborer with women from her village.
They walked together in silence for a while before Pelagea spoke again, expressing how much she had missed him. She mentioned that she hadn't seen him since Easter when he had come to her hut for a drink of water, scolded and beat her while drunk, and then left. She had been waiting and longing to see him again, suggesting he should visit at least once to see how things were going at their place.
"From my childhood, you know, I have never had any calling apart from guns and dogs... Once the spirit of freedom has taken a man you will never root it out of him... You are a woman, and you do not understand."
A marriage of circumstances
When Pelagea suggested they sit and rest, Yegor agreed indifferently. She sat a little way off in the sun, trying to hide her joy. After a moment of silence, she again asked him to visit her. Yegor sighed and explained that there was no point in his coming. He described himself as a pampered man who needed comfort and refinement, while she lived in poverty and dirt in the village. He couldn't stand such conditions even for a day.
Pelagea asked where he was living now, and Yegor told her he worked as a huntsman for Dmitry Ivanitch, providing game for his table. He explained that hunting was not just a pastime for him but his true calling. He was the best shot in the district, recognized even by the gentry who had written about him in magazines.
When Pelagea began to cry, Yegor reminded her that they had been married for twelve years without any real love between them. He explained that they were mismatched - he saw himself as a free, pampered man while she was a simple peasant woman who worked hard and wore bark shoes. He was the foremost sportsman, while she looked at him with pity.
"Not married of our free will... Out of envy, because I shot better than he did, the Count kept giving me wine for a whole month, and when a man's drunk... To pay me out he married me to you when I was drunk."
Yegors refusal to return
Pelagea reminded Yegor that they were legally married, but he countered that their marriage was not of their free will. He explained that Count Sergey Pavlovitch had arranged it out of envy because Yegor was a better shot. The Count had kept Yegor drunk for a month, and when he was intoxicated, married him to Pelagea, a herd-girl. Yegor questioned why she had agreed to the marriage when she wasn't a serf and could have refused.
After a silence, Yegor asked how Pelagea was living. She told him that she worked and in winter took in a child from the Foundling Hospital to raise for a rouble and a half a month. Yegor made no comment. Pelagea then mentioned that he had built a new hut for Akulina, suggesting she was dear to him. Yegor remained silent on the matter.
Yegor stood up, stretched, and announced he needed to be at Boltovo by evening. Pelagea also rose and asked when he would come to the village. He replied that he had no reason to visit - he would never come sober, and she would gain little from him drunk as he became spiteful in that state.
A painful parting
As Yegor walked away, Pelagea stood watching him. Her eyes followed his tall, lean figure with sadness and tender affection. Sensing her gaze, Yegor stopped and looked back. Though he didn't speak, Pelagea could tell from his face and shrugged shoulders that he wanted to say something. She approached him timidly with imploring eyes.
She, pale and motionless as a statue, stood, her eyes seizing every step he took. But the red of his shirt melted into the dark colour of his trousers... and suddenly Yegor turned off sharply into the clearing and the cap vanished.
Yegor turned around, gave her a crumpled rouble note, and quickly walked away. Pelagea mechanically took the money and said goodbye. She watched him follow the long, straight road until he suddenly turned off sharply into the clearing and disappeared among the greenery. Even after he vanished from sight, she remained standing there, whispering her farewell.