AP Chekhov's story "The Duel" is included in the school curriculum and is analyzed in detail by high school students in literature lessons. However, this work should be read even at an older age: already familiar characters are perceived differently, and their actions and thoughts make one think.
The main characters and their relationship
The story "Duel" begins in a small town on the Black Sea coast. This is not a resort with promenades, beautiful embankments and a high society. Life here is measured, boring, without bright events. The local society is accidental: it unites both local residents and people who have arrived for a while. The latter include one of the main characters, the future duel participant Laevsky.
Ivan Andreevich Laevsky is a very young man of 28 years old. Despite his blooming age, he is already tired of a life that has nothing to do with fascinating novels. Laevsky has the means, he can choose any field of activity, a loving woman is nearby, and besides, she is also married, not claiming to be married. However, Ivan Andreevich is unhappy: he does not want and does not know how to work, his mistress is tired, life in a dusty seaside town is boring and simply unbearable. He dreams of leaving, but there is no money for a normal arrangement, the creditors are worried. The husband of Nadezhda Fyodorovna has died a little; the woman is waiting for her beloved to marry her, as decency requires. However, Laevsky himself realizes with horror that not only does he not love his partner, but every day he hates and despises her more and more.
The reader will learn all these details from a conversation between Laevsky and the military doctor Samoilenko, a local resident. The kind and patient doctor listens to Laevsky's outpourings and tries to give advice, but the interlocutor does not hear him. He is intoxicated with his own misfortunes, compares himself with famous literary heroes: Pechorin, Onegin, Hamlet, assures that he cannot live in an atmosphere of boredom, lies and hatred. Laevsky sees the way out in moving to St. Petersburg. He wants to leave his annoying mistress and start a new life: interesting, bright, eventful.
Samoylenko keeps a home canteen for additional earnings. The young zoologist von Koren and the clerk Pobedov, who recently graduated from seminary, gather for lunch every day. They discuss Laevsky, and the zoologist speaks out sharply against such parasitic people and proposes to destroy them by any means. Samoylenko is categorically against, and the clerk simply does not take such statements seriously.
Another important character is Nadezhda Fyodorovna, Laevsky's concubine. A young woman lives in an imaginary world, reality seems to her much more rosy than the eternally dissatisfied Ivan Andreevich. Nadezhda Fyodorovna considers herself a star of the local society and is sure that every man is secretly fascinated by her. The woman loves her roommate, but cheated on him a couple of times with the police officer Kirilin. She tries to forget about this shameful connection, convincing herself that her soul is not faithful to Laevsky. Nadezhda Fyodorovna also has a platonic admirer - the son of a local wealthy merchant Achmianov.
Development of the plot
The whole society goes to a picnic by the mountain river. Laevsky is in a bad mood, he does not know how to explain himself to his mistress and feels von Koren's dislike, which he does not even think to hide. The evening ends with a quarrel between Ivan Andreevich and Nadezhda Fyodorovna, which is witnessed by all those present. After the picnic, Laevsky asks Samoilenko to help him with money. He wants to settle things with his partner and leave as soon as possible. The military doctor advises to reconcile with von Koren, but Ivan Andreevich is sure that the zoologist will not even want to talk to him. The only way out is to disappear immediately and break this vicious circle.
Nadezhda Fyodorovna is on the verge of collapse. She found out about the death of her husband, deeply experienced the dislike of Laevsky, got confused in relations with Kirilin and Achmianov. He experiences and worries the woman begins to fever, but this does not stop Laevsky from the intention to leave. He realizes that he is acting meanly, despises himself, but does not know how to get out of this situation. Trying to keep calm, Ivan Andreevich spends the evening playing a card game, but suddenly receives a snide note, the author of which is believed to be von Koren. A hysterical fit ensues, after which Laevsky realizes that his reputation has been completely ruined.
Dramatic denouement
The predictable ending of the story is a duel between von Koren and Laevsky, the latter being the initiator. In a fit of rage, he accuses Samoylenko of gossip and, in his presence, insults von Koren. He immediately demands satisfaction.
After the challenge, Laevsky feels a surge of strength, but gradually realizes that the duel may end tragically. He spends the whole night before the fight in thought and comes to the conclusion that he is really to blame in many ways. On his conscience the fall of Nadezhda Fyodorovna, her mistakes, the shameful connection with Kirilin. Ivan Andreevich wants to repent, he intends to return alive and save her - the only loved one.
Von Koren and Pobedov spend the night before the duel in a conversation about love for one's neighbor and the teachings of Christ. The zoologist convinces the clerk that people like Laevsky have a destructive effect on society, corrupting and destroying it. The only way to deal with them is total annihilation. The clerk does not agree and tries to prove to a convinced materialist that any person has the right to life and is capable of changing his own destiny.
The day of the duel is coming. The participants do not know the rules of the fight, but they try to remember how the heroes behaved in the novels. Laevsky defiantly shoots into the air, but von Koren takes aim with the intention of hitting the enemy. The desperate cry of the clerk, present at the duel, knocks him down, the bullet flies by.
The further fate of the heroes can be learned from the conversation between Samoilenko and von Koren. Three months have passed since the duel. Laevsky married Nadezhda Fedorovna, he works a lot, plans to pay off debts and start a new life. Von Koren is the first to extend his hand to his former opponent. He did not give up his beliefs, but admits that a person can change.
Brief analysis
A. P. Chekhov is a master of complex, diverse works. He does not give unambiguous assessments of the characters, many important questions remain open. The author's attitude to heroes is guessed in the little things. One of Chekhov's favorite tricks is the speaking surnames of the characters. They are not as straightforward as in the early humorous stories, but they create a certain atmosphere.
The name of the protagonist Laevsky hints at his intelligent (and possibly noble) origin. At the same time, there is something imperceptibly unpleasant, petty, even scandalous in her. The reader does not associate himself with this person, instinctively moves away from him. The complete opposite is Samoylenko. A cozy and fairly common surname, as it were, completes the image of a hospitable owner, a person who does not like conflicts and dreams of reconciling others. Von Koren is an obvious stranger, a supporter of the German "Ordnung", ruthless to his antagonists and all the weak, restless, doubters. He does not evoke sympathy, but the reader is imbued with involuntary respect for this person and listens to his opinion.
An interesting artistic device is the disclosure of intrigue in the title of the story. The reader understands that there will be a dramatic duel with an unpredictable ending, tries to understand who will be the main participants in this event, to guess what the ending will be like. It turns out that the duel itself is not the end, but the beginning of a new life for all the characters. The shock was especially beneficial for Laevsky. From an empty, deceitful, hating and despising oneself, he gradually turns into a stronger and more responsible person. He is ready to admit his mistakes and deal with debts, relationships with if not too beloved, but quite worthy woman. It is unlikely that Laevsky's future life will be especially joyful and useful for society, but there is no doubt that he will never be an unnecessary ballast.
The special meaning is that the clerk Pravdin prevented the end of the duel with a fatal shot (and von Koren really wanted to kill Laevsky): a little ridiculous, funny, but very honest and kind. Religion, to which both participants of the duel are absolutely indifferent, saves one from the sin of murder, and gives the other a chance for repentance. In the finale of the story, Chekhov tells about the rebirth of the heroes and the long-awaited reconciliation. Moreover, the indomitable von Korn is the initiator of peace, which means that for him the duel has become the beginning of a new life.
