Chekhov’s “About Love” in Brief Content


Ivan Ivanych and Burkin spend the night in Alekhin’s mansion, In the morning at breakfast Alekhin tells the guests the story of his love.

He settled in Sofia after graduating from university. The estate had big debts, since Alekhine’s father spent a lot of money to educate his son. Alyokhin decided that he would not leave his estate and would work until he paid the debt. Soon he was elected to the honorary world judges. To participate in the meetings of the district court, he had to visit the city, which amused him a little.

In court, Alyokhin met a friend of the chairman, Dmitry Luganovich, a man of about forty, kind, simple, reasoning with “boring sanity.” Once in the spring Luganovic invited Alekhine to dinner with him. There Alekhin first saw Luganovitch’s wife Anna Alexeevna, who at that time was no more than twenty-two years old. She was a “beautiful, kind, intelligent” woman, and Alyokhin immediately felt in her “a

close being.” The next meeting Alekhine with Anna Alekseevna occurred in the autumn in the theater. Alyokhin was again fascinated by her beauty and again felt the same closeness. Luganovichi again invited him to his place, and he began to visit them every time he came to the city. They took a lot of participation in Alyokhin, they worried that he, an educated person, instead of engaging in science or literature, lives in the countryside and works hard, gave him gifts. Alyokhin was unhappy, constantly thinking about Anna Alekseyevna and trying to understand why she married an uninteresting person, much older than she, agreed to have children from him, why he did not turn up in the place of Luganovic.

Coming to the city, Alyokhin noticed by Anna Alexeyevna’s eyes that she was waiting for him. However, they did not admit to each other in their love. Alekhine thought that he could hardly give much to Anna Alekseevna, agreeing to go after him. She, apparently, thought about her husband and children and also did not know if she could bring happiness to Alekhine. They often went together in the theater, in the

city they were told about God, but it was all untrue. In recent years, Anna Alekseevna had a feeling of dissatisfaction with life, at times she did not want to see either her husband or children. With outsiders, she began to feel irritated against Alekhine. Anna Alekseevna began to be treated for a nerve disorder.

Soon Luganovic was appointed chairman of one of the western provinces. There was a separation. It was decided that in the end of August Anna Alekseevna would go to the Crimea, as doctors told her, and Luganovich would go with the children to their destination. When Anna Alexeyevna was seen off at the station, Alyokhin ran into her compartment to give one of the baskets she had left on the platform. Their eyes met, the emotional forces left them, he embraced her, she clung to him and cried for a long time on his chest, and he kissed her face and hands. Alekhine confessed to her in his love. He realized how petty it was that prevented them from loving, realized that when they love, “then in their reasoning about this love one must proceed from the higher, from a more important sin or virtue in their walking sense, than happiness or unhappiness, or no need to argue at all. “


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Chekhov’s “About Love” in Brief Content