Short Fiction · Chapter
IV explained
Yegorushka, half asleep, reflects on the mysterious Varlamov and the beautiful Countess Dranitsky, while the wagon train stops at a well.
What happens
Yegorushka, half asleep, reflects on the mysterious Varlamov and the beautiful Countess Dranitsky, while the wagon train stops at a well. Dymov's crude behavior and mockery deepen Yegorushka's hatred for him. The chapter vividly describes the steppe at night, its sounds and shadows, and ends with the chaise stopping to ask the wagoners about Varlamov.
Themes in this chapter
Isolation and Loneliness
The steppe at night is described as solitary, with mournful cries and a sense of wasted beauty.
Illusion vs. Reality
The mist and darkness make objects appear as sinister figures, blurring the line between perception and reality.
Characters to notice
- Yegorushka
Half asleep, he thinks about Varlamov and the Countess Dranitsky, and feels hatred for Dymov.
- Dymov
Drinks at the well, laughs loudly, uses bad language, and mocks Yegorushka.
- Panteley
Drinks from a small icon lamp glass at the well.
- Vassya
Notices Yegorushka, laughs at the idea of him being a wagon driver.
- Ivan Ivanitch
Rides in the chaise and later calls out to the wagoners, asking about Varlamov.
- Ivan Ivanitch
Discusses the countess and Varlamov with Father Christopher.
Key passages
“For fifteen years I was in the choir. In all the Lugansky works there was, maybe, no one with a voice like mine. But, confound it, I bathed two years ago in the Donets, and I can’t get a single note true ever since.”
Emelyan laments losing his singing voice after bathing in the Donets River two years ago.
Emelyan explains his ruined voice to the other wagoners.
“I say, lads, the old man has been brought to bed of a boy in the night!”
Dymov mocks Yegorushka by saying the old man gave birth to a boy.
Dymov's crude joke at Yegorushka's expense.
“The monotonous twitter soothes to sleep like a lullaby; you drive and feel you are falling asleep, but suddenly there comes the abrupt agitated cry of a wakeful bird, or a vague sound like a voice crying out in wonder 'A-ah, a-ah!' and slumber closes one's eyelids again.”
The steady chirping of insects lulls you to sleep, but a sudden bird cry startles you awake.
Description of the steppe's nighttime sounds and their hypnotic effect.