A Short Summary of the Essay "The Avenger" by Anton Chekov

The Avenger by Anton Chekov

About the Author:

    Anton Chekov wrote many short stories. His stories are about ordinary Russian people who face extraordinary situations in their life. Chekov was  a doctor by profession but writing was his hobby. So he said “Medicine is my lawful wife and literature is my mistress”. His famous short stories are The Black Monk, Ward Number Six, The Murder, etc.

Summary of the Essay:

The present story deals with the extreme mental suffering experience by a husband whose wife has been unfaithful to him. The story presents the troubling thoughts of revenge mixed with moments of doubt in the mind of the central character in the story, Fedor Sigaev. There is suspense in the story which keeps the readers captivated till the end.

Fedor Sigaev decides to take revenge when he finds out that his wife has been unfaithful to him. He wants to buy a revolver. He visits the shop of firearms. His face expresses anger, sorrow and irrevocable decision. At first, Fedor decides to kill his wife and her lover and kill himself afterwards. When he is in the shop he imagines different situations with different possibilities. He imagines how he would kill his wife, how people would gather at the scene, the police enquiry, news and editorials in the newspapers. While Fedor imagines, the salesman displays various revolvers. The salesman is a very active man always having smile on his lips.

The salesman shows him Smith-Wesson revolver at first. It costs 45 roubles which Fedor finds very expensive. The salesman explains the features of the revolver and persuades Fedor to buy the same. The salesman informs that it is the best revolver for defence, for murder and for suicides.

When the salesman understands that Fedor wants to buy a cheap revolver, he shows him the revolver of French make which costs 18 roubles. The salesman informs that this revolver is used only by working class people and mad women and the high class society uses only the Smith-Wesson. This revolver is not good for frightening away thieves because it produces a dull and weak sound and if Fedor wants to buy a revolver for frightening away thieves, he should buy a Mortimer pistol.

The shopman is busy in displaying various revolvers whereas Fedor is imagining different possibilities of taking revenge. He imagines that he would fire bullet into the head of his wife and the blood would come in torrents and she would die. He changes his earlier decision and now he decides to kill his wife's lover and himself but he will spare his wife. He imagines his funeral where his wife would walk in his funeral cortege, crying all the time like a veritable Niobe. She will have to face the contemptuous glances of the people.

The clerk disturbs the thoughts of Fedor and shows him another revolver made in Tula which costs 30 roubles. The clerk informs him that poor people would have to adjust with this revolver only. Fedor feels sorry that he will not live to see the sufferings of his wife. So, he again changes his decision again. Now, he will kill his wife's lover. He will spare her and will get himself arrested. His arrest will give an opportunity to prove the jury and society the baseless conduct of his wife. If he will kill himself, she will succeed in her attempts due to her boldness and natural habit of lying and prevaricating. She will clear herself of all guilt and put all blame on him and society would laugh at him. He again thinks that killing oneself is an act of cowardice. So, he will kill his wife's lover and will leave her. When she will come in the court, he can imagine her confusion when questioned by his lawyer. The sympathy of the press and public would be on his side.

The salesman is busy in showing different revolvers. He tells Fedor about a real incident that happened few days before. An army officer bought a Smith-Wesson revolver and killed his wife's lover. The bullet went through his chest, then through a bronze lamp, then it rebounded from the piano and killed a spaniel dog before wounding his wife. The salesman feels very proud that they have these kinds of good revolvers. He considers it as a splendid feat but also expresses his disappointment that an army officer is under arrest. He will be found guilty and will have to remain in jail in Siberia. The clerk thinks that the laws in Russia are old and jury is partial to the seducer because the judges, the jury and the public prosecutor all have a weakness of breaking the tenth commandment. They do not care if all the husbands in Russia are deported to Saghalin. The clerk feels very sad about the deplorable state of contemporary morals in Russia. According to the salesman loving somebody else's wife is very similar to smoking somebody else’s cigar or reading somebody else's book. He informs Fedor that their trade is falling off every year but it does not mean that family life is becoming pure and the breaking of the tenth commandment rarer. It simply means that the husbands are adjusting to their fate and afraid of the courts and penal servitude. The clerk thinks that it is the government’s fault.

Fedor thinks it unwise and impractical to kill anybody and go to jail in Siberia. He thinks that if he is sent to Siberia, his wife will be free to marry again and to betray her second husband and she will be victorious. Finally Fedor decides not to kill anybody, also not to commit suicide. He does not need a revolver now. He thinks to find another way to take revenge. He will start divorce proceedings against her in which her immoral behaviour will be shown before all the world and she will be disgraced forever.

The shopman has been busy showing revolvers and smiling all the time but Fedor does not need a revolver now. Fedor feels very awkward to leave the shop without buying anything and to please the salesman he decides to buy a net for catching birds which costs eight roubles. Fedor buys the net and leaves the shop.


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