Short Fiction · Chapter
Elijah, the Prophet explained
Semyon Novikov, a peasant, decides to spend the night in his unfinished new house to guard tools.
What happens
Semyon Novikov, a peasant, decides to spend the night in his unfinished new house to guard tools. A storm approaches, and he has a vision of the prophet Elijah descending on a cloud to judge him for past sins, including resurrecting his son through witchcraft, selling his crop before a hailstorm, and building a new house after a fire. After bargaining, Semyon offers his two-year-old daughter Anfiska as a sacrifice, which Elijah accepts. Semyon awakens to find the storm has passed, but when he returns home, he discovers his daughter has died in her cradle, her nightcap burning. The chapter ends with Semyon living happily thereafter.
Themes in this chapter
Religion and Superstition
The vision of Elijah blends Orthodox iconography with folk beliefs, and Semyon's bargaining reflects a superstitious approach to divine judgment.
Violence and Cruelty
Semyon offers his own daughter as a sacrifice to appease Elijah, and the chapter ends with her death.
Mortality and the Futility of Wealth
Semyon's efforts to build a new house and secure his future are overshadowed by the death of his child and the arbitrary power of fate.
Characters to notice
- Semyon Novikov
The peasant protagonist who bargains with the prophet Elijah and offers his daughter as a sacrifice.
- Elijah
The prophet who appears in a vision to judge Semyon for his sins.
- Nikolai Ivannich
Semyon's thin-armed brother, who informs him of the trouble at home.
Key passages
“Two years ago I killed your elder boy Panteley with my lightning. Why did you bury him only halfway, and return him to life through witchcraft?”
Elijah accuses Semyon of resurrecting his son through sorcery after he was struck by lightning.
Highlights the conflict between divine punishment and peasant folk magic.
“Well, then, kill my girl, Anfiska. She's only two, anyway. Though she is a fine girl, and nice to look at; we'll all be awfully sorry for her. But what's to be done?”
Semyon offers his young daughter as a sacrifice to Elijah, acknowledging the loss but accepting it as necessary.
Demonstrates the theme of violence and the peasant's pragmatic, fatalistic attitude.
“And in the cradle lay a little girl, dead, her body turned black-blue, while on her head a nightcap, made of scraps of cloth, was burning slowly.”
Semyon finds his daughter dead in her cradle, her nightcap smoldering.
The fulfillment of the vision's bargain, showing the harsh reality of the sacrifice.