A Dead Body

A Dead Body by Anton Chekhov (1899)

The story revolves around a young woman who returns to her family's estate after being away for several years. She brings with her a dead body, which she claims was given to her by a stranger. The family is shocked and suspicious of the woman's intentions. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the woman has been involved in an affair with a man who has since died. The family's patriarch is particularly disturbed by the situation, as he had previously disapproved of his daughter's relationship with the deceased. The woman's actions are motivated by a desire to be reunited with her lover and to escape the constraints of her family's social status. However, her plan ultimately ends in tragedy, highlighting the societal pressures and expectations that women faced during this time period. Throughout the story, Chekhov explores themes of love, death, and the limitations placed on women in society. The narrative is characterized by its subtle yet powerful critique of the social norms of the time.

By Anton Chekhov · First published 1899 · Genre: Drama, Tragedy, Realism · 2,239 words

First lines

A still August night. A mist is rising slowly from the fields and casting an opaque veil over everything within eyesight. Lighted up by the moon, the mist gives the impression at one moment of a calm, boundless sea, at the next of an immense white wall. The air is damp and chilly. Morning is still far off. A step from the byroad which runs along the edge of the forest a little fire is gleaming. A dead body, covered from head to foot with new white linen, is lying under a young oak tree. A wooden icon is lying on its breast. Beside the corpse almost on the road sits the "watch" -- two peasants performing one of the most disagreeable and uninviting of peasants' duties. One, a tall young fellow with a scarcely perceptible moustache and thick black eyebrows, in a tattered sheepskin and bark shoes, is sitting on the wet grass, his feet stuck out straight in front of him, and is trying to while away the time with work. He bends his long neck, and breathing loudly through his nose, makes a spoon out of a big crooked bit of wood; the other -- a little scraggy, pockmarked peasant with an aged face, a scanty moustache, and a little goat's beard -- sits with his hands dangling loose on his knees, and without moving gazes listlessly at the light. A small campfire is lazily burning down between them, throwing a red glow on their faces. There is perfect stillness. The only sounds are the scrape of the knife on the wood and the crackling of damp sticks in the fire.

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A Dead Body is listed on Textopian as a short story by Anton Chekhov, dated 1899 CE.

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Short Story · Russian Literature · Mystery · Crime Fiction · Satire · Social Commentary · Psychological Insight · Character Study · Irony · Dark Humor · Absurdity · Existentialism

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