Short Fiction · Chapter
Boots explained
A piano-tuner named Murkin, a rheumatic man, wakes to find his boots missing.
What happens
A piano-tuner named Murkin, a rheumatic man, wakes to find his boots missing. The waiter Semyon, who was drunk, mistakenly left Murkin's boots in the room of an actress next door. When Murkin retrieves them, he discovers they are two left boots belonging to an actor named Blistanov. Semyon explains that Blistanov only visits on Tuesdays, so Murkin must wear the mismatched boots all day. He suffers humiliation and physical pain as he goes about his work. That evening, he goes to the theatre to confront Blistanov, but a misunderstanding leads Blistanov and the injured husband King Bobesh to believe Murkin is slandering a woman. Blistanov chases Murkin out of the theatre with a revolver, and Murkin ends up bedridden for a fortnight.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Compassion
Murkin's physical and moral suffering from the ill-fitting boots and the public humiliation he endures highlights the theme of suffering, while the lack of compassion from others underscores his isolation.
Social Class and Inequality
The contrast between Murkin's lowly status as a piano-tuner and the theatrical performers, as well as his desperate need to maintain appearances, reflects class tensions.
Characters to notice
- Murkin
The piano-tuner, a rheumatic man with a yellow face and snuff-stained nose, who suffers humiliation and physical pain after being forced to wear mismatched boots.
- Semyon
The waiter who drunkenly misplaced Murkin's boots, causing the central mix-up.
- Blistanov
The actor who mistakenly took Murkin's boots; he plays Bluebeard in the theatre and later chases Murkin with a revolver.
- King Bobesh
The injured husband who becomes enraged when he believes Murkin is slandering his wife.
Key passages
“I am a man in delicate health, rheumatic. The doctors have ordered me to keep my feet warm.”
Murkin repeatedly explains that he is frail and has rheumatism, and his doctors told him to keep his feet warm.
This phrase is used multiple times by Murkin to justify his need for proper boots.
“What God has sent him, that he wears. Through poverty… where is an actor to get boots?”
Semyon remarks that the actor Blistanov wears whatever boots he can get because he is too poor to afford proper ones.
This highlights the poverty of actors in the story.