# XIV explained — The Duel

> Chapter companion for The Duel by Aleksandr Kuprin.

## What happens

The regiment goes into camp in May, and Romashov endures a grueling daily commute between town and camp. The oppressive heat and brutal training for the General Review lead to widespread exhaustion and cruelty, with officers and noncoms violently abusing soldiers. Romashov feels isolated and humiliated after muddling his division during the review, earning the General's public criticism and the contempt of his peers. He identifies with the wretched soldier Khliabnikov, who is beaten by an ensign, and contemplates suicide in his despair.

## Themes in this chapter

### Critique of Military Life

The chapter exposes the brutality and absurdity of military training, with officers and noncoms violently abusing soldiers, and the General criticizing the regiment's inefficiency and moral slovenliness.

### Alienation and Loneliness

Romashov feels isolated and despised after his public failure, standing alone while others gossip and pity him, and he identifies with the outcast Khliabnikov.

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

The General criticizes the officers for treating soldiers like plough horses, yet the system itself fosters cruelty; Stelikovski's company thrives without abuse, highlighting the unnecessary brutality elsewhere.

## Character check-ins

### Sublieutenant Romashov

Feels like a banned fugitive after the General's criticism; identifies with the abused soldier Khliabnikov and contemplates suicide.

### Khliabnikov

Beaten by Ensign Rynda; Romashov sees their fates as linked, both cripples arousing compassion and disgust.

### Captain Sliva

Passes Romashov with contempt and orders him to request a transfer to another company.

### Lieutenant Viätkin

Approaches Romashov with pity and offers a cigarette, but Romashov refuses.

### Captain Stelikovski

Commander of the 5th Company, praised by the General for his calm and effective leadership; keeps his men well-fed and avoids corporal punishment.

### Colonel Shulgovich

Invites the General to dine at the mess, but the General declines.

## Key lines

> During all the drill the smacking sound of ears being boxed and other maltreatment was heard all over the plain. More than once Romashov noticed how the Captains, in a furious rage, like wild beasts, attacked the poor recruits, and boxed the ears of the entire line from first to last; but, nevertheless, the noncoms displayed the greatest cruelty.

Throughout the drills, the sound of slaps and abuse echoed across the field, as captains furiously beat recruits and noncommissioned officers inflicted even harsher punishments.

_Highlights the pervasive violence and dehumanization in military training._

> It seemed to Romashov as if this wretched soldier’s fate had today become linked with his own. They were both, he thought, cripples, who aroused in mankind the same feeling of compassion and disgust.

Romashov felt that his own degraded state mirrored that of the beaten soldier Khliabnikov, both of them pitiful outcasts.

_Shows Romashov's deep identification with the oppressed and his own sense of worthlessness._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters/xiv
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_duel_2_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters