# In Passion Week explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Anton Chekhov.

## What happens

A young boy recounts his experience during Passion Week, focusing on his confession and communion preparations. He struggles with hunger, resentment towards a rival boy named Mitka, and feelings of sinfulness and insignificance in the church. After confession, he feels purified and holy, dreaming of martyrdom and sainthood.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hypocrisy and Moral Failure

The narrator's internal conflict between piety and resentment towards Mitka highlights the gap between religious ideals and human weakness.

### Suffering and Compassion

The narrator's empathy for the suffering of Christ and the Virgin Mary contrasts with his own petty grievances, exploring the nature of compassion.

### The Passage of Time

The seasonal shift to spring and the ritual of confession mark a temporal transition, reflecting on childhood and spiritual growth.

## Character check-ins

### Mitka

A ragged, spiteful boy, son of the charwoman, who competes with the narrator for confession.

### Ivan Petrovitch

The narrator's father, whose name is given during the confession registration.

### The Lady

A grandly dressed, beautiful woman waiting for confession, admired by the narrator.

### The Priest

The confessor who hears confessions and absolves sins, described with grey curly hair and a broad back.

### The Deacon

The deacon who records names after confession.

## Key lines

> I would consent to endure any martyrdom, to live in the desert without my mother, to feed bears out of my own hands, if only I might first eat just one cabbage pie!

The narrator fantasizes about heroic sainthood but admits his immediate desire for food outweighs his spiritual ambitions.

_Highlights the tension between spiritual aspiration and physical needs._

> I have no sins now, I am holy, I have the right to enter Paradise! I fancy that I already smell like the cassock.

After confession, the narrator feels completely purified and imagines himself already sanctified.

_Captures the emotional release and perceived transformation after absolution._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/in-passion-week
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_5_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters