Short Fiction · Chapter
Overdoing It explained
Land surveyor Glyeb Gavrilovitch Smirnov arrives at the remote station of Gnilushki and hires a peasant named Klim to drive him to General Hohotov's estate.
What happens
Land surveyor Glyeb Gavrilovitch Smirnov arrives at the remote station of Gnilushki and hires a peasant named Klim to drive him to General Hohotov's estate. As they travel through the dark, frozen wilderness, the surveyor grows increasingly paranoid about the possibility of being robbed or murdered by his driver. To intimidate Klim, he falsely boasts about carrying three revolvers, having superhuman strength, and being under police surveillance. His fabrications backfire when Klim, terrified, leaps from the cart and flees into the forest. After two hours of shouting, the surveyor convinces Klim he was only joking, and they continue on their way, the surveyor now feeling the road and driver no longer seem dangerous.
Themes in this chapter
Illusion vs. Reality
The surveyor creates an elaborate illusion of being a dangerous, well-armed man to mask his true cowardice, leading to a comedic reversal when his driver believes the lie and flees.
Hypocrisy and Moral Failure
The surveyor's false boasts about his strength and connections reveal his moral weakness and hypocrisy, as he pretends to be brave while being terrified of his own driver.
Characters to notice
- Smirnov
Glyeb Gavrilovitch Smirnov, a land surveyor, is the protagonist who arrives at Gnilushki station and hires Klim to drive him to Dyevkino. He is cowardly and resorts to elaborate lies about revolvers and strength to intimidate his driver.
- The Tramp
Klim, the peasant driver, is a sturdy, sullen, pockmarked man in a tattered smock and bark-shoes. He is initially calm but becomes terrified by the surveyor's boasts, fleeing into the forest.
Key passages
“If the driver were not drunk and the horses were not bad, it would hardly be twenty miles, but if the driver had had a drop and his steeds were worn out it would mount up to a good forty.”
The distance to the estate could be as little as twenty miles or as much as forty, depending on the driver's sobriety and the condition of the horses.
This sets up the uncertain and unreliable nature of travel in the story.
“I am thin and sickly-looking, but I have the strength of a bull. Once three robbers attacked me and what do you think? I gave one such a dressing that that he gave up his soul to God, you understand, and the other two were sent to penal servitude in Siberia.”
Despite my frail appearance, I am incredibly strong; I once fought off three robbers, killing one and sending the other two to prison in Siberia.
The surveyor's lie escalates as he tries to intimidate Klim, revealing his own fear.
“Klim suddenly rolled off the cart and ran as fast as he could go into the forest. 'Help!' he roared. 'Help! Take the horse and the cart, you devil, only don't take my life. Help!'”
Klim jumped off the cart and fled into the forest, shouting for help and offering the horse and cart to the surveyor if he would spare his life.
The climax of the story, where the surveyor's lies cause Klim to panic and abandon him.
“But I was joking, my dear man! I swear to God I was joking! As though I had revolvers! I told a lie because I was frightened.”
I was only kidding; I don't actually have any revolvers. I lied because I was scared myself.
The surveyor admits his deception to coax Klim back, revealing the irony of the situation.