Volume 8 of a collection of short stories by Anton Chekhov. The selection includes The Chorus Girl, A Gentleman Friend and A father, among others.
By : Anton Chekhov (1860 - 1904),Translated by Constance Garnett (1861 - 1946)
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The singer Pasha's quiet evening together with her 'fan' Kolpakov is interrupted by a mysterious visitor, who soon reveals herself to be the latter's wife. She first demands to see her husband (who'd by now hid in another room), then barrages Pasha with insults and finally demands that she'd return all the gifts that he'd given her, so as to collect the sum of money he appears to have embezzled. Scared and overwhelmed, the girl gives all the presents that she’d received from all of her male 'guests', of which only two very modest items had been brought by Kolpakov. After the woman, still rather dissatisfied with what she'd collected, leaves, Pasha tries to reproach her lover, only to be confronted with disdain and high posturing. "And this saintly woman was on the verge of throwing herself on her knees before a lowly worm like you!.. For this, I shall never forgive myself," he proclaims before departing in disgust.
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