Sanine · Chapter
Chapter XLIII explained
Sanine decides to leave town, feeling bored with everyone including Lida, Sina, and Semenoff.
What happens
Sanine decides to leave town, feeling bored with everyone including Lida, Sina, and Semenoff. He asks Ivanoff to accompany him to the station, but Ivanoff declines. Sanine overhears a tense conversation between Lida and Novikoff about sacrifice and love, then packs hastily and departs. At the station, he and Ivanoff share a farewell drink, and Sanine jumps onto a moving train, leaving Ivanoff to return to his grey life.
Themes in this chapter
Nihilism and the Meaning of Life
Sanine states he expects nothing from life and that old age and death are all that await, reflecting a nihilistic outlook.
Despair of the Intelligentsia
Ivanoff's return to a grey, tedious life and Sanine's boredom with his acquaintances illustrate the despair of the educated class.
Characters to notice
- Yourii Sanine
Decides to leave town because he is bored; expresses nihilistic views about life; jumps onto a moving train.
- Ivanoff
Accompanies Sanine to the station, shares a farewell drink, and returns home feeling mournful.
- Vladimir Sanine
Overheard arguing with Novikoff about sacrifice and love; cries during the conversation.
- Sascha Novikoff
Argues with Lida about the nature of their union, insisting it should not be seen as a sacrifice.
Key passages
“I don't expect anything from life, and I don't ask for anything either. As for luck, there's not much of that at the finish. Old age and death; that's about all.”
Sanine says he has no expectations or desires from life, and that the only certain outcomes are aging and death.
Expresses Sanine's nihilistic philosophy.
“You're the only real man that I have ever met.”
Ivanoff tells Sanine he is the only genuine person he has encountered.
Ivanoff's farewell compliment to Sanine.