Zinotchka (Chekhov)
Short summary
A group of sportsmen spent the night in a peasant's hut. One of them, a stout man with a bass voice, told a story about being hated. When he was eight years old and called Petya, he lived with his family and was taught by a young governess named Zinotchka.
One day, Petya followed Zinotchka into the garden and witnessed her secret rendezvous with his older brother Sasha. He saw them kissing by the pond. Feeling powerful with this knowledge, Petya began tormenting Zinotchka with hints about revealing her secret.
Zinotchka became increasingly desperate as Petya exploited her secret, not studying his lessons and behaving rudely. Eventually, at dinner with guests, Petya nearly revealed the secret, causing Zinotchka to turn pale. After this, her attitude toward him changed dramatically.
She hated me passionately, and could not exist away from me. The contemplation of my hated pug of a face had become a necessity to her... "Oh, how I hate you! I wish no one harm as I do you! Let me tell you that!"
Frightened by her intensity, Petya complained to his mother about Zinotchka and Sasha's relationship. His mother gradually arranged for Zinotchka's departure. Later, Zinotchka married Sasha, becoming Zinaida Nikolaevna. Even years later, when the narrator became an ensign and then a balding, corpulent man, she still looked at him with hatred whenever he visited his brother.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Setting and introduction to the conversation about hatred
A group of sportsmen spent the night in a peasant's hut, resting on freshly mown hay. After discussing dogs, women, and first love, the stoutest of the sportsmen posed an unusual question to his companions. He asked if any of them had ever been passionately hated by someone, particularly by a pretty girl.
Has any one of you fellows been hated―passionately, furiously hated? Has any one of you watched the ecstasies of hatred? Eh? It was the first, because it was something exactly the converse of first love.
Zinotchka and young Petyas lessons
When no one responded, the narrator began his own tale of being hated. The story took place when he was eight years old and known as Petya. One summer evening, he was studying with his governess, Zinotchka, a charming young woman who had recently graduated from boarding school. While they were discussing oxygen and the horizon, Petya's father was preparing to go hunting, and his mother and sisters were leaving to attend a name-day party.
After the family departed, Zinotchka became visibly agitated. She took out a note, looked at her watch repeatedly, and then abruptly left the room, telling Petya to work on a math problem until she returned. Curious about her behavior, Petya watched as she hurried across the yard and disappeared through the garden gate.
The secret rendezvous between Zinotchka and Sasha
Suspecting that Zinotchka had gone to steal cherries, Petya decided to follow her. He searched the cherry orchard but didn't find her there. Continuing his pursuit, he eventually spotted her by the pond, where she was meeting his older brother, Sasha. Petya observed their romantic encounter from a distance. Sasha, who had been suffering from toothache, appeared overjoyed to see Zinotchka.
The couple embraced and kissed by the pond, surrounded by the beauty of nature. The setting sun, willows, green bank, and sky were all reflected in the water. Butterflies gleamed above the reeds, and cattle were being driven beyond the garden. Petya understood that Sasha was kissing Zinotchka and felt that this was improper behavior. Feeling ashamed, he returned to the nursery without waiting to see the end of their meeting.
Of all I had seen the only thing I understood was that Sasha was kissing Zinotchka. That was improper. If maman heard of it they would both catch it. Feeling for some reason ashamed I went back to the nursery.
Petyas blackmail and Zinotchkas growing hatred
Back in the nursery, Petya felt a sense of power knowing he possessed their secret. He realized that both Sasha and Zinotchka were now at his mercy, and he could expose their inappropriate behavior at any time. When Zinotchka came to check on him before bed, Petya couldn't resist hinting that he knew her secret. He told her he had seen her kissing Sasha by the willows.
A triumphant smile strayed upon my countenance. On one side it was agreeable to be the possessor of another person's secret; on the other it was also very agreeable that such authorities... might at any moment be convicted by me.
Zinotchka was horrified and begged Petya not to tell anyone, especially his mother. She called his spying behavior low and unworthy of a decent person. Petya noticed that she appeared terrified of his mother, a stern and virtuous lady. The next morning, when Petya boasted to Sasha about what he had seen, his brother simply called him a fool.
For the next week, Petya exploited his knowledge by misbehaving during lessons, knowing Zinotchka wouldn't report him to his father. Eventually, at dinner with guests present, he began to hint at his secret again. Zinotchka turned pale and ate nothing more. That evening during their lesson, she looked at him with cold, marble-like eyes and hissed that she hated him, detesting his cropped head and prominent ears. She quickly covered her outburst by claiming she was reciting lines from a play.
"I hate you! Oh, you vile, loathsome creature, if you knew how I hate you, how I detest your cropped head, your vulgar, prominent ears!" But at once she took fright and said: "I am not speaking to you, I am repeating a part out of a play."
Consequences and resolution years later
Later, Petya observed Zinotchka staring at him while he slept. Her hatred had become so intense that she couldn't stay away from him. One summer evening, as Petya walked in the garden thinking about cherry jam, Zinotchka approached him. She confessed her hatred directly, saying she wished no one harm as much as she wished it for him. Initially, Petya enjoyed her attention, but then became frightened and ran into the house.
Petya decided to tell his mother about Zinotchka and Sasha's kiss. His mother was indignant about the bad example being set for children but handled the situation diplomatically. Rather than dismissing Zinotchka immediately, she gradually arranged for her departure to avoid scandal. As Zinotchka left, her final glance was directed at the window where Petya was sitting, a look he remembered even years later.
And even now, in spite of my good-humoured baldness, meek corpulence, and unassuming air, she still looks askance at me, and feels put out when I go to see my brother. Hatred it seems can no more be forgotten than love...
Eventually, Zinotchka married Sasha and became Zinaida Nikolaevna. Years later, when the narrator was an ensign, she didn't recognize him as the hated Petya. Even in the present day, despite his baldness and corpulent appearance, she still looked at him with discomfort whenever he visited his brother, proving that hatred, like love, could not be forgotten.