Summary of Kuprin’s Duel
Romashov, being a lieutenant from the parade ground, was returning home. He decided today not to go anywhere, since he decided not to bother. He liked to sit at a party quite late, but today he went home. Gainan said that the lady sent him a letter. They had already deceived her husband quite a while and met secretly.
He was disgusted with the letter received and he still decided to go to the Nikolaevs. Mr. Nikolaev was busy with his own affairs. He wanted to enter the academy for a long time, but did not have enough knowledge to take exams. Shurochka, his wife, helped him in everything.
Alexandra sat with Romashov and talked with him about the new law, which gave permission for fights in the armies. It seems to Shura that they are necessary, because it is impossible to solve the problem with sharers differently, one of such people was Archkovsky or another Nazanskiy, who was a serious drunkard.
Romashov thought that she undeservedly blamed Nazanskiy, because this
Romashov talked with Alexandra for a long time, until everyone dispersed through the bedrooms. Soon Romashov broke up relations with his mistress, but she did not like it and she began to threaten revenge. He did not worry only because of the fact that, apart from her, there were enough people who wanted to play at it. Romashov believed. that the fights of the sergeants are out of place, and objected to such actions and even promised to file a report to Silva.
But over time, it became still more terrible, not only that his bosses disliked him, but even the barman did not give him a cigarette in debt. He began to experience depression due to loneliness, insanity, boredom and attitudes toward service.
Once he received a letter, in which Alexander invited him to their mutual name-day. He took a small amount of money from Rafalsky. Without thinking twice, he went in and bought some good spirits and came to them for a picnic. The picnic was
Periodically Romashov and Alexander touched each other, but did not show it. After the holiday, Romashov decided to retire, but behind him went Shura. They sat down on the grass. She said that she misses him very much, and he started kissing her back.
A declaration of love on her part was a habit, but after that she did not hesitate to say that he was very pathetic and she had to give it up. Alexandra asked me not to come to the estate anymore.
In the spring there was a review of the army. The commander saw the companies, but was very unhappy. And only the fifth, under the command of Stelkovsky, he fell in love.
But for Romashov the worst was ahead. For some reason during the review, he felt part of a gigantic force. And inspired by his veneration, he did not notice how he moved from the central part. He was disgraced.
But this did not end there, because later he had a conversation with Nikolayev, who demanded that he no longer appear on his doorstep. Killed by grief, he met Khlebnikov, whom no one had taken seriously for a long time.
Khlebnikov told how he was treated with the fact that he would like to kill himself because he does not have the strength to live like that.
Romashov took pity on him and tried to inspire the unhappy man. Romashov had the strange idea that all of them are such that everyone has his own grief.
His resignation gave him the opportunity to immerse himself in his thoughts and he could understand that he really liked it. He recognized for himself that only a few vocations can exist for him. Among them was science with art and the opportunity to be absorbed in physical labor.
Late in the spring, Osadchy killed a soldier who was hanged in a company. And the commander began to drink impatiently. In Shleiferesh, where the drunkenness continued, a scandal broke out. One of the present Bek-Agamalov attacked people with a saber.
Romashov saw Nikolaev sitting with Osadchev, one of whom pretended not to notice him. Osadchy decided to talk about the deceased, and expressed himself extremely obscene, in which Romashev intervened. Nikolayev was embittered by him, but Romashov managed to cool his ardor.
An officer’s court of Nikolayev and Romashov was held, at which it was asked not to mention the name of Nikolayev’s wife. The court recognized that reconciliation is impossible.
Romashov almost all the time before the fight was with Nazanskiy. The latter discouraged to shoot.
At the end of the day he saw Alexandra. which begged him not to abandon the duel, and the fact that in any case her husband would not fall into the academy. But she very much asked that no one be hurt and the husband agrees with this.
In the official report, the regimental commander from Captain Dietz reported details of the duel between Nikolayev and Romashov. On command, the opponents met in a duel in which the pounder Nikolaev fired on the second lieutenant Romashov and hit the latter in the stomach, mortally wounded him and Romashov died after seven minutes of intra-abdominal blood loss. Also, an inspection report was filed by a junior physician, Mr. Znojko.
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