Enemies (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Anton Chekhov
- First Published: 1887
- Type of Plot: Psychological
- Time of Work: The late nineteenth century
- Setting: Russia
- Principal Characters: Kirolov, Aboguin
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
- Subjects: Children, Nineteenth century, Marriage, Doctors, Adultery, Death or dying, Bereavement or grief, Medical ethics, Russia or Russian people
- Locales: Russia
The Story
A six-year-old child—the only son of Kirolov, an aging doctor, and his wife, who cannot expect to have another child—has died of diphtheria. Just as the parents are beginning to succumb to grief, the doorbell rings. Leaving his wife beside the dead child's bed, Kirolov goes to the door. There he finds a man who is so distraught that he can hardly speak. After the man manages to introduce himself as Aboguin, he says that his wife has collapsed and that he believes her to be dying of heart failure. Because he has no inkling of what has just happened to Kirolov's...
[The entire page is 1395 words long]
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