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Enemies by Anton Chekhov |
Summary and Analysis
It was about ten o'clock of a
dark September evening the doctor Kirilov's only son; Andrey died of
diphtheria. A disappointed doctor’s wife was on her knees before the dead
child’s cot. In the meantime, the bell rang sharply in the hall. Kirilov
himself went to the door as all the servants were sent away from the house,
that very morning when the diphtheria was recognized. Kirilov opened the door,
but could not distinguish the person as the hall was dark. He could only see
the man who was of middle height wearing a white scarf with a big
extraordinarily pale face. The visitor, Aboguin, asked if the doctor was in.
Then Kirilov replied that he was the doctor and asked what he wanted.
The man was very glad to find
the doctor at home. He requested the doctor to go with him because his wife was
seriously ill. The man's voice was sincere and he was frightened. The doctor
listened in silence, but it seemed as if he did not understand anything. When
he was asked to go again, the doctor said that he was unable to go because his
son had died five minutes before. The man cursed the unlucky day. He could not
decide what to do. Then he requested him to go because there was not another
doctor nearby.
The doctor went into the
drawing-room. He moved uncertainly. He was not taking interest in anything. He
had forgotten that there was a visitor in the hall. Then he moved into the
bedroom. His son's eyes were open and his wife was not moving at all. The doctor's
face showed indifference, but the tears shining on his beard revealed that he
had been weeping. The fear of such death was absent in the room. There was
complete silence. The beauty of human grief could be expressed by music only.
After the death of this son they had no chance of having another child any
more. Feeling pain in his soul, the doctor moved to the hall. Then he
remembered the visitor and told him that he could not go. The visitor had
supposed that the doctor had gone to change his dress. In the name of humanity,
Aboguin asked the doctor to save a human life. But the doctor was unable to do
anything because of his own grief Aboguin's eloquent speech did not affect the
doctor. But when he said that the doctor could return home within an hour, the
doctor was ready to go.
The coach was driven quickly.
It was dark outside. The carriage drove into the thick trees. The wheels awoke
the rooks and they cried as if they knew the doctor's son was dead and
Aboguin's wife was ill. Once again the doctor wanted to go home to send the
attendant to his wife and come. In all nature one felt something hopeless and
sick. The nearer the carriage reached Aboguin's home, the more restless he
became. There was no noise in his home. Leaving the doctor in his drawing-room,
he went to inform the doctor's arrival. The luxury of the room did not affect
the doctor.
After five minutes Aboguin
reappeared. His manners had been changed. He was horrified and disgusted. He
said that his wife had deceived him and ran away with Papchinsky. Tears were
flooding from his eyes. Now the doctor was curious and asked where the patient
was. Aboguin replied that she was not ill and that she ran away with a fool.
The doctor was unable to understand why he had been called although his wife
was in sorrow and all alone in his house. The doctor had never seen such a
situation in his life. The doctor felt insulted. But Aboguin told him how he
loved his wife and how he had given up his family, his service, his music for
her. He was speaking deeply to the doctor. If the doctor had listened to him
and sympathized with him, he would have been changed. But the doctor was angry
with Aboguin and was not interested in his secrets. Both of them were obsessed
with their own unhappiness. They both started quarrelling, bitterly with each
other. They abuse and insult one another. This unhappiness was separating them
instead of uniting them. The doctor did not accept his fees. He wanted to go
home. Aboguin ordered his servant to send the carriage for the doctor. As they
were waiting, Aboguin was trying to make as if he did not notice his enemy. The
doctor was looking at him hatefully.
A little later the doctor was
driving back home. All the way he did not think of his wife and his dead son.
He was thinking of Aboguin, his wife and Papchinsky. He hated them and his
heart ached with his hatred for them. His sorrow would pass after some time,
but the conviction he formed about them would remain forever.
The story portrays two
completely different characters in their moments of grief. They are so much
filled with their own agonies that they fail to understand others sufferings.
The story is trying to say that grief does not unite people, but separates
them. We may think that Dr. Kirilov and Aboguin who are passing through the
most difficult moment of their lives should have been able to understand each
other better. But that does not happen in reality. Instead, they fall down to
such an extent that they even forget their self-respect.
The story also seems to be
pointing towards the issue of class consciousness. Dr. Kirilov’s anger and
hatred towards Aboguin heightens when he comes to know that Aboguin belongs to
the wealthy aristocratic class. Dr. Kirilov thinks that Aboguin’s request for
him to visit his home is a part of a long chain of insults inflicted by the
rich upon the poor. Therefore, when the Dr. Kirilov returns home, he is filled
with anger for the people belonging to that class and feels that he will not be
able to forget them throughout his life.
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