# The Story of the Snake explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Leonid Andreyev.

## What happens

A snake delivers a monologue, recounting its transformation from a gentle, loving creature into a deadly, isolated queen. It describes its past suffering—hunted, trampled, and scorned—and how it developed poison and a piercing gaze. The snake lures its listener closer, promising a fatal kiss, and revels in its lonely power over life and death.

## Themes in this chapter

### Isolation and Alienation

The snake repeatedly declares 'Alone in the multitude!', emphasizing its profound loneliness despite its beauty and power.

### Suffering and Injustice

The snake describes being hunted, burned, trampled, and scorned, transforming its suffering into deadly poison.

### Death and Mortality

The snake's kiss becomes a kiss of death, and it wields poison that holds 'the death of all the living.'

## Key lines

> Alone in the multitude!

I am isolated even when surrounded by others.

_Recurring refrain highlighting the snake's alienation._

> I had no poison then.

I was harmless before my suffering.

_The snake traces its deadliness to past torment._

> Accept this bridal kiss of mine, this only kiss.

Take my fatal kiss, the only one I can give.

_The snake offers a deadly embrace as a twisted wedding gift._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_34_se/chapters/the-story-of-the-snake
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_34_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_34_se/chapters