Short Fiction · Chapter
IV: Wild Pranks explained
The headman hosts the brandy-distiller for an evening of drinking and storytelling.
What happens
The headman hosts the brandy-distiller for an evening of drinking and storytelling. The drunken Kalenik stumbles in and is allowed to stay. The headman's sister-in-law is rescued from a hut where rioters had imprisoned her, and she scolds the headman. The village councillors fail to capture the devil in a sheepskin, instead bringing in Kalenik. The headman orders them to seize the rioters, but they flee. The distiller tells a story about his mother-in-law and a cursed glutton. Outside, a mocking song ridicules the headman.
Themes in this chapter
Supernatural and Folklore
The distiller's story about a cursed glutton and the belief that only pipe fire can burn a witch highlight folk superstitions.
Absurdity and Satire
The chaotic scene with the drunken Kalenik, the failed capture of the devil, and the mocking song satirize village authority and disorder.
Characters to notice
- The Village Headman
Hosts the distiller, deals with the drunken Kalenik, and is mocked by a serenade.
- Kalenik
Drunkenly enters the headman's house and is allowed to stay by the distiller.
- Mr. Notary
Participates in the interrogation of the headman's sister-in-law.
- Agafya Fedosyevna
The headman's sister-in-law, who was locked in a hut by rioters and later scolds the headman.
Key passages
“Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right.”
Only the embers from a pipe can burn a witch, and the distiller claims he knows how to do it.
Reflects folk belief about witches being immune to ordinary fire.
“If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil.”
The notary suggests that if the person inside crosses herself, she proves she is not a witch.
Shows the community's reliance on Christian symbols to test for witchcraft.
“The devil really has something to do with it!”
The headman mutters that the devil must be behind the night's strange events.
Highlights the headman's superstitious interpretation of the chaos.