The Duel (Chekhov story)

"The Duel" was first serialized in Aleksey Suvorin's newspaper Novoye Vremya from October–November 1891, after which Suvorin edited the novella and published it as a separate edition. The book enjoyed nine re-issues during the 1890s. Chekhov included "The Duel" in Volume 6 of his Collected Works, published by Adolf Marks in 1899–1901.[1][2]

Chekhov started writing the novella in January 1891.[1] According to Mikhail Chekhov, while working upon it Chekhov regularly met with the zoologist and writer Vladimir Wagner. The two had lengthy discussions, one of which was on the subject of the then-popular concept of "the right of the strong one", which formed the basis of the philosophy of main character Von Koren, for whom Wagner apparently served as a template.[3]

Ivan Andreitch Laevsky is an educated Russian aristocrat who has run off to a Black Sea village with a married woman, Nadyezyhda Fyodorovna. When the novella begins, he has fallen out of love with Fyodorovna, who is having affairs with other men, and wants to leave her. He receives a letter informing him that her husband has died; however, he hides the letter in a book and does not tell her about it. That, he says, would be like inviting her to marry him.

Laevsky confides in Alexander Daviditch Samoylenko, a military doctor who has befriended Laevsky and looks after him. Samoylenko urges Laevsky to marry Fyodorovna, even if he does not love her. Laevsky says he cannot marry a woman he has no feelings for, but he cannot leave her because she has no relatives and relies on him for survival. Samoylenko tells him to give her enough money to live on. Laevsky, however, says he is 2000 rubles in debt and cannot afford to do that.

Samoylenko has two boarders in his house, and they discuss philosophy, science, and literature around the dinner table and elsewhere. One of them is Nikolay Vassilitch Von Koren, a zoologist; the other is a deacon in the Russian church. The doctor, the zoologist, and the deacon discuss the new idea of evolution. In a friendly discussion, the deacon says that man was descended from God, while Von Koren argues that man was descended from the ape. He explains how fitter animals survive to pass their strength on to their descendants, but weaker animals die off.

Von Koren uses Laevsky as an example of a man who is not fit to survive. When Laevsky came to town, he brought with him habits that the townsfolk view as uncouth. Von Koren says that Laevsky should not be permitted to reproduce; otherwise there would be children as uncouth as Laevsky all over Russia. Von Koren goes on to compare Laevsky to the cholera microbe and says he would like to kill Laevsky himself, as one would kill a pest. Samoylenko and the deacon reject these ideas, Samoylenko out of compassion and the deacon because he believes in the love taught by Christ. Samoylenko is offended by Von Koren insulting Laevsky and they reject his "German" ideas.

Laevsky decides to leave town for Petersburg. He says that he will go first and send for Fyodorovna after he is settled, but Samoylenko and Von Koren know that this is his way of abandoning her. Since he has no money, he asks Samoylenko to loan him 100 rubles. Samoylenko agrees but does not have the money. He tells Laevsky he will have to borrow it in turn from a third party, then, after Laevsky leaves, asks Von Koren for a loan. Von Koren agrees on the condition that Laevsky take Fyodorovna with him to Petersburg.

Laevsky returns a day later to get the money. Von Koren treats him contemptuously and refers to his personal difficulties. Laevsky becomes furious and accuses Samoylenko of betraying his confidence. Samoylenko indignantly denies the accusation, but Laevsky threatens both of them in an attempt to get them to leave him alone. Von Koren twists this into a challenge to a duel and accepts. Laevsky agrees, their friends cannot talk them out of it, and they make arrangements for a duel with pistols.

Meanwhile, Fyodorovna is being pursued by Kirilin, the police captain of the town. The two of them once had an affair, which she admits was a mistake. He attempts to blackmail her into having sex with him again under threat of being exposed as an adulterer. She finally agrees to meet him again that night and one more night afterwards. Another of her pursuers, the tailor's son Atchmianov, discovers her assignation with the police captain.

The night before the duel, Laevsky is drinking and playing cards. Atchmianov tells Laevsky to follow him to meet someone about very important business. He leads Laevsky to the room where Kirilin and Fyodorovna are having sex. Laevsky then goes home, more upset about Fyodorovna's affair with the police captain than about the duel.

The morning of the duel, both Laevsky's and Von Koren's friends try to talk them into forgiving each other. Laevsky agrees and apologizes, but Von Koren insists on going through with it. Laevsky deliberately misses, firing his pistol into the air. Von Koren, who is a practiced shot, takes aim at Laevsky's head. Meanwhile, the Russian Orthodox deacon, who has been hurrying to the scene, appears over a hill and shouts. Von Koren fires and misses Laevsky.

Laevsky returns home and has a change of heart. He falls back in love with Fyodorovna; they marry three weeks later. In the wake of the wedding, Laevsky is a changed man, working hard to pay off his debts. Von Koren prepares to leave town. He is amazed at Laevsky's transformation and says that if Laevsky had been like this originally, they could have been good friends. Before he leaves, he visits the newlyweds' home, where Laevsky and Fyodorovna greet him warmly. Laevsky and Von Koren shake hands, and they all say emotional goodbyes.

Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Duel (Chekhov story)

• The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Duel and Other Stories
• The Duel public domain audiobook at LibriVox