A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life

“The Darling” is a story by Anton Chekhov, written in 1899. Its main character—the “darling” of the story’s title—is a woman named Olenka. Olenka is an affectionate and dependent woman, who always needs to be devoted to someone.

Olenka’s first love was her father, who died when she was young. As a young woman, she has a romance with Kukin, a boarder at her house. Kukin, the director of a small theatre, is a “sallow” and melancholy man (148). He and Olenka marry, and Olenka becomes obsessed with theater life, talking about it at length to her friends, and doing office work for Kukin. While on a theatre tour, Kukin dies unexpectedly. Olenka learns of his death through a misspelled telegram, brought to her in the middle of the night.

She mourns Kukin for a few months, and then meets Pustavalov, a prosperous businessman. Pustavalov is the owner of lumberyard, and is a conventional, comforting figure. Olenka and Pustavalov marry, and enjoy several happy years together; Olenka takes on his interests, just as she did with Kukin, this time becoming deeply interested in the lumberyard business. While Pustavalov is away on business, Olenka staves off her loneliness by talking to Smirnin, a “young army veterinary” (155) who rents a wing of the married couple’s house. Smirnin is separated from his wife and son, and Olenka counsels him to reconcile with his wife for the sake of their son. Pustavalov dies one day from a wind chill, having been underdressed for the cold. Olenka finds herself a widow once again.

She mourns Pustavalov for a period of a few months, and then begins a discreet affair with Smirnin. The two never marry, though their affair is apparent to everyone around them. Olenka now devotes herself to Smirnin’s work; however, Smirnin is not pleased by Olenka’s devotion, and snaps at her when she tries to enter into work chat with his friends. Their affair ends when Smirnin is transferred elsewhere with his army unit.

Olenka then begins a long period of decline. She ages visibly, ceases upkeep on her house, and experiences frightening feelings of emptiness and alienation. One day there is a knock at her gate. It is Smirnin, returned from his army posting. He has reconciled with his wife, and she insists that his family move into her house. They can stay in the main part of the house, and she will move into the wing.

Smirnin’s family moves into Olenka’s house, but Smirnin often travels for work and his wife returns often to her home town. Olenka is therefore often left alone with Sasha, their son. She devotes herself to Sasha’s care just as she once devoted herself to the other men in her life. She feeds him, does homework with him, and puts him to bed at night. Sasha experiences Olenka’s affection as strange and smothering, which she seems not to notice. The story ends with Olenka checking on Sasha in his bed one night and hearing the boy talking in his sleep, saying words that sound like a protest: “I’ll give it to you! Scram! No fighting!” (164)