A. P. Chekhov "Dushechka": a brief summary of the work

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is a universally recognized classic of world culture. During his life he wrote many wonderful works that were translated into more than 100 languages. We all know his immortal plays "Cherry Orchard", "Seagull", "Three Sisters". But to many of his readers he was more remembered as the author of short humorous and satirical stories. One of them is called "Dushechka". The summary of the work is given in the article.

Acquaintance with the main character

Olga Semyonovna Plemyannikova is the daughter of a retired collegiate assessor. She lives on the outskirts of the city in the Gypsy Sloboda, not far from the Tivoli Gardens, where bored people are entertained by musical numbers and theatrical productions. Olenka is a young lady of pleasant appearance with a soft, gentle gaze. The people around love it. She makes a good impression. Her naivety and absolute kindness like both men and women, who call her that - darling. In the heart of the flowering rosy-cheeked young lady, there is always some attachment. She has a constant desire to love someone. At first Olenka adored her father, who now became old and sick, then - his aunt, who visited her twice a year. And before that the girl had tender feelings for the teacher of French. Now Olenka's heart is free and craves a new affection. Feel how sweet, naive and trustful the main character of this work, you can, even reading only its brief content. Chekhov "Dushechka" - a story about a simple-minded, simple-minded girl, yet very pleasant for others.

Olenka, Ivan Petrovich Kukin and his theater

Next to Olga in the wing lives an entrepreneur and owner of the entertainment garden "Tivoli" Ivan Petrovich Kukin. He often complains that the public is now ignorant and indifferent to art, that on the street that day pours rain, which makes it impossible to conduct performances. As a result of all this, he, a great fan and connoisseur of music and theater, suffers enormous losses. Olenka's soul is filled with pity for this man. Despite the fact that Kukin is short, thin and speaks "a thin tenor," the heart of a sweet young lady is filled with love. Young marry. Now Olenka in the evenings sings her husband a raspberry broth, rubs it with cologne and wraps herself in her soft shawls. And he continues to complain about life, grows thin and turns yellow. A young wife arranges for him to the theater, as well as he, scolds the audience for ignorance, complains about the bad weather and understands with the newspapermen who speak ill of the Tivoli garden. And this is the whole darling. The summary of the story given below is read quickly in one breath.

New marriage of the heroine

But the love story of Olenka and Kukina ended tragically - the husband of a loving young lady died suddenly in Moscow, where he went to recruit a new troupe. Our heroine very hard experienced the death of her husband, however, not for long. Within three months, a new attachment was in her heart. Vasily Andreevich Pustovalov, a very staid and economic man, worked as a forest store manager at the merchant Babakayev. Olenka fell in love with him with all her heart. Soon the young couple got married. Now the pink-cheeked young lady spoke with skill about the rise in price of the forest, the tariffs for timber, and so on. It seemed to her that she had been doing this for a long time. At home, the Pustovalovs always smelled deliciously of rich bread, fried meat, borscht and pies. Olenka was full of joy, pleased with her married life. Vasily Andreevich did not like any entertainment, including the theater. Even on holidays he was at home. Olenka shared all thoughts and thoughts of her husband. Now she told acquaintances that theater is a trifling entertainment not for people of labor, such as she and her husband. When Pustovalov was leaving for the forest in Mogilev gubernia, Olenka was very bored. Sometimes on such days she was visited by a veterinarian Smirnin, who broke up with his wife, leaving his little son. Our heroine, sighing, strongly advised him to make peace with his wife for the sake of the child. A young woman, described by the author in the story, perfectly characterizes even his brief content. Chekhov's "Dushechka" is a work about a young lady who gives her heart with all her heart, but only until she is replaced by another sympathy. And in this we will soon be convinced.

Another affection of Olenka

In complete love, understanding and agreement Pustovalov lived six happy years. And then Vasily Andreevich repeated the fate of his predecessor, Ivan Petrovich. Olenka's husband died suddenly, catching a cold in the frosty winter in the forest. The young widow plunged into mourning, which this time lasted six months. And after that time, the neighbors had already seen the young lady in the yard of the house in the company of veterinarian Smirnin. Since then, my darling has only talked about the diseases of cows, the plague of a horned stingray, the city's fighting, the contaminated milk, and so on. All the surrounding people realized that Olenka's soul had a new affection. She gave herself with all her heart, sharing all the thoughts and actions of Smirnin. Her happiness this time did not last long: soon the military veterinarian was assigned to a distant regiment, and he left. To understand what was happening in Olenka's soul after that, we will be helped by an assessment of her moral qualities, or rather, their analysis. Chekhov "Dushechka" narrates about a woman whose whole purpose of life is to love someone and make the existence of this person comfortable and happy. She can not and does not want to live for herself. After the departure of Smirnin, the surrounding people did not recognize the former Olenka: she had lost weight, she had grown old, she had grown fat. People no longer smiled at her, as before, avoided it. It was clear that the soul had started a completely different, lonely, empty life. It seemed that there would be no change in her any more.

Return of Smirnin

Day after day, year after year, there was a gray, dull existence of the main character. About how it was hard Olenka, you can understand, even after reading the summary of the story Chekhov. The little girl now did not speak to anyone for the reason that she simply had nothing to say. Earlier, when she was married, everything in her life had a meaning: both music in the Tivoli garden, and forest warehouses, and the courtyard, and the autumn rain ... And now she decidedly did not know why this rain, theater, yard was needed. Her heart was empty. Everything changed at a time when Smirnin appeared on the threshold of her large and empty house. He told Olenka that he had resigned, reconciled with his wife, and came to this city to find housing for his son, who was already growing up and had to go to the gymnasium. The woman burst into tears and invited Smirnina and his family to stay with her. If the former military veterinarian refused her, it would be a terrible blow to her. But Smirnin agreed, and the next day in the house painted the walls and whitened the roof. Olenka suddenly came alive, younger, a smile appeared on her lips again. She walked around the yard happy, disposed of. Her life filled with meaning.

Maternal feelings in the soul of Olenka

The next day an ugly lady appeared in the courtyard of the house with a capricious expression and a small, plump boy. They were Smirnin's wife and son. Olenka settles in the wing, releasing her home for the family of a retired veterinarian. Smirnin's wife soon goes to Kharkov to his sister and does not return for a long time. The head of the family often leaves somewhere. Sasha remains alone, abandoned by his parents. Olenka takes the boy to his wing. She takes care of him, teaches him lessons, goes to school, spoils sweets. And this is the whole point of her life. "This is my greatest affection from all that was before," says the little girl. The brief content of the work can fully convey the fullness of the maternal feelings that covered our heroine.

The new meaning of Olenka's life

Now the woman lives the life of the schoolboy Sasha. She tells others about the difficulties of studying in gymnasiums today, about lessons, teachers and textbooks. The maternal feeling for the boy flares up in her every day. She adores everything in him: his dimples on his cheeks, his hair, the big cap not big in size. The people around now see Olenka looking younger and brighter, with a smile. It again makes a pleasant impression. The only thing that the heroine is afraid of is that Sashenka will be taken from her. Every time she knocks on the gate she jumps up in fright and peeks: did the mailman bring a telegram from Kharkov from the boy's mother?

That's what an extraordinary woman tells us this work. "Dushechka" is an example of selfless love, self-sacrifice for the sake of another person's happiness. The heroine in view of recurring situations with finding the meaning of life and its loss is depicted by the author comically. Each time, her destiny develops according to one and the same scenario. However, we want to see in Olenka only good and rejoice, that she once again found her happiness.

The final of Chekhov's "Dushechka" is left open, the summary of which is given above. The reader raises the question: "Will the loss story for Olenka recur, or will she finally find happiness?" Each of us will answer it in his own way.