Before the wedding

A.P. Chekhov's story “Before the Wedding” was written in 1880, first published in the journal Dragonfly, 1880, No. 41 dated October 12, signed by Antos Chekhonte, also published in the collection “Prank”.

The action of the story "Before the Wedding" takes place in the house of the titular adviser Podzatylkin. Here there was a conspiracy of parents and the girl Podzatylkina was declared the bride of the college registrar Nazaryev. The event was successful.

Both sides drank champagne, a half bucket of vodka, a bottle of Lafite . The fathers and mothers of the bride and groom cried in time, the bride and groom kissed, and the eighth-grade gymnasium made the necessary toast. Chekhov describes in detail the girls Podzatylkina and Nazaryev.

The girl Podzatylkina had an ordinary appearance with facial features inherited from her parents; remarkable in that it is not remarkable in anything; no one found her mind; she loves handsome men and the name Roland.

Nazariev - a gentleman with a white face, curly hair, receives a salary that is barely enough for tobacco, does not miss a single young lady, not to say: “How naive you are! You would read literature! ”He loves his handwriting, the magazine“ Entertainment ”and boots with a creak.

The day after the conspiracy, the day passed with notations to the girl from mother and father. Mother made a remark to the girl about the clothes and warned her daughter that she did not like her fiance: “It’s painfully arrogant and proud. You besiege him ... What-o-o-o-o? And don’t think! .. In a month you’ll fight: both he is such and you are such. Only girls like to marry, and there is nothing good in it. I experienced it myself, I know. You will live - you will find out. Do not spin like this, my head is already spinning. Men are all fools; living with them is not very sweet. And yours is also a fool, although he holds his head high. You do not hurt him, obey him, do not indulge him in everything and do not really respect him: there’s nothing for it. Ask the mother about everything. ”

Dad’s opinion was completely different. He said to his daughter these words: “My daughter! I am very glad that you intend to combine with such a smart master as Mr. Nazariev. I am very happy and quite approve of this marriage. Come out, my daughter, and not be afraid! Marriage is such a solemn fact that ... well, what can I say? Live, be fruitful and multiply. God bless you! I ... I ... cry. However, tears do not lead to anything. What are human tears? Only cowardly psychiatry and nothing more! Listen, my daughter, my advice! Do not forget your parents! Your husband will not be better than your parents, right, he won’t! The husband likes only your material beauty, and we all like you. Why will your husband love you? For the character? For kindness? For the emblem of feelings? No with! He will love you for your dowry. ”

After some time, Nazariev arrived at the house of Podzatylkin. He told the girl that he had feelings for her that she had never felt and was a little angry about, the reason is that he was deceived by her dad, who called himself an adviser to the outside, and the former was titular. For this deception, he promised to restrain the girl’s parents, as he had long ago restrained his own.

At the end, the author of the story warns that if the groom behaves this way before the wedding, then what will happen later is “known not only to the prophets and somnambulists”.

• Chekhov A.P. Before the wedding // Chekhov A.P. Complete works and letters: 30 tons. Works: 18 tons / USSR Academy of Sciences. Institute of World Lite. them. A. M. Gorky. - M .: Nauka, 1974-1982.
• Dictionnaire Tchekhov, page 26, Françoise Darnal-Lesné, Édition L'Harmattan, 2010, ISBN 978 2 296 11343 5 .
• Premières nouvelles - Avant la noce, traduit par Madeleine Durand avec la collaboration d'E. Lotar, Vladimir Pozner et André Radiguet, éditions 10/18, Domaine étranger dirigé par Jean-Claude Zylberstein, 2004, ISBN 2-264-03973-6 .

• Chekhov A.P. Before the wedding . Original Russian text