Short Fiction · Chapter
I: Christmas Eve explained
On Christmas Eve, Anna Akimovna, a wealthy factory owner in her mid-twenties, feels burdened by her fortune and the moral weight of her position.
What happens
On Christmas Eve, Anna Akimovna, a wealthy factory owner in her mid-twenties, feels burdened by her fortune and the moral weight of her position. She reads begging letters and considers giving 1,500 roubles to a needy individual, but becomes conflicted about the futility of such gestures. She visits the Tchalikov family, a poor household, and encounters their lodger Pimenov, a factory worker who repairs watches. The visit leaves her feeling ashamed and disconnected from her own life.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Inequality
Anna Akimovna's wealth and the poverty of the Tchalikov family highlight the vast class divide, and her internal conflict reflects the moral burden of inequality.
Hypocrisy and Moral Failure
Anna feels ashamed of her charitable acts, recognizing them as insufficient and performative, while the Tchalikovs' flattery and manipulation expose the hypocrisy in their relationship.
Isolation and Loneliness
Despite her wealth, Anna feels isolated and longs for a simpler life, contrasting her loneliness with the crowded, noisy life of the working class.
Characters to notice
- Anna Akimovna
The wealthy factory owner, conflicted about her fortune and role as a benefactor, visits the Tchalikov family on Christmas Eve.
- M. Laptev
Mentioned as the late Akim Ivanovitch, Anna's father, whose bequest funds the poor relief.
Key passages
“Anna Akimovna disliked and feared such words as 'awarded damages' and 'won the suit.' She knew that it was impossible to do without the law, but for some reason, whenever Nazaritch, the manager of the factory, or the bailiff of her villa in the country, both of whom frequently went to law, used to win lawsuits of some sort for her benefit, she always felt uneasy and, as it were, ashamed.”
Anna Akimovna felt uncomfortable and ashamed whenever legal victories brought her money, even though she understood the necessity of the law.
Highlights Anna's moral discomfort with the legal system and its benefits to her.
“She thought with vexation that other girls of her age—she was in her twenty-sixth year—were now busy looking after their households, were weary and would sleep sound, and would wake up tomorrow morning in holiday mood; many of them had long been married and had children. Only she, for some reason, was compelled to sit like an old woman over these letters...”
Anna envied other women her age who led normal domestic lives, feeling trapped by her responsibilities as a wealthy factory owner.
Reveals Anna's longing for a conventional life and her sense of isolation.
“She recalled vividly that faraway time when she used to be called Anyutka, when she was a little girl and used to lie under the same quilt with her mother, while a washerwoman who lodged with them used to wash clothes in the next room... And she longed to wash, to iron, to run to the shop and the tavern as she used to do every day when she lived with her mother. She ought to have been a workgirl and not the factory owner!”
Anna nostalgically remembers her humble childhood and wishes she could return to a simple working-class life instead of being a factory owner.
Shows Anna's dissatisfaction with her current life and her idealization of the past.