Memorial service (story)

The story was first published in the newspaper Novoe Vremya No. 3581 on February 15, 1886 in the section “Subbotniki” with the signature: An. Chekhov.

With slight modifications, the story was printed in 1887 in the short storybook " At Dusk ." With minor changes, the author was included in the third volume of his collected works published by Adolf Marx in 1899-1901.

During the life of Chekhov, the story was translated into Hungarian, German, Romanian, Serbo-Croatian and Finnish.

Chekhov, for whom this was the first publication in the New Time , had previously signed with his usual pseudonym A. Chekhonte . February 27 (old style) on February, he received a telegram from the newspaper asking him to publish a story with the author’s real name. A. S. Lazarev-Gruzinsky wrote in his memoirs: “Chekhov gave permission, but regretted it because he was going to publish something in medical journals and kept his real name for serious articles” ^[1] .

Responding to Suvorin’s letter, Chekhov wrote on March 6 (February 21, according to the old style): “Thank you for the flattering response about my work and for the speedy printing of the story‹ ... ›I share your opinion on the discarded end of my story and thank you for the helpful tip. I’ve been working for six years, but you are the first who did not find it difficult to indicate and motivate. ”

The manuscript of the story was lost, the version printed in the New Time has been preserved.

The shopkeeper Andrei Andreevich went to the local village church of the Odigitrievsky Mother of God to pray for the newly deceased daughter Mary. There he was scolded by a priest for writing the words “harlot” in a memorial note. The shopkeeper's daughter was a famous actress, and his father did not understand why the clergyman scolded him for the word used. Prayers awakened Andrei Andreyevich’s memories of his beautiful, sensitive and intelligent daughter, but since she was an “actor”, he thought the word used was quite appropriate.

Even the deacon condemned him for this word: “I would impose epithemy on you, so I would cease to be intellectual! Your daughter was a famous artist. About her death, even in the newspapers printed ... Filosof! ”

• Chekhov A.P. Panikhida // Chekhov A.P. Complete Works and Letters: In 30 vols. Works: In 18 vol. / Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Institute of World Lite. them. A. M. Gorky. - M .: Nauka, 1974-1982.

• The story "Memorial service"
• Memorial service , original Russian text
• Requiem , English translation