The story of a senior gardener

The story of A.P. Chekhov "The Story of the Senior Gardener" was written in 1887, first published in 1894 in the newspaper " Russian Vedomosti " No. 356 of December 25, signed by Anton Chekhov, was included in the publication of A.F. Marx.

During the life of Chekhov, the story was translated into Bulgarian.

The Story of a Senior Gardener raises the issue of the death penalty. In 1888, in the story of A.P. Chekhov's " Bet ", the question was raised about the "immorality" of the death penalty from the point of view of natural law. This position was first formulated by C. Beccaria in his treatise “On Crimes in Punishment” ( Italian: Dei delitti e delle pene ). For a long time it was the subject of discussion in Russia. Chekhov had a translation into Russian of this book.

When traveling to Sakhalin, this question for Chekhov moved from the sphere of abstract-ethical to the realm of reality. Chekhov wrote to A. S. Suvorin that on Sakhalin he “saw everything except the death penalty.” The chapter of his book Sakhalin Island is Morality of the Exiled Population. - Crime. - Investigation and trial. - Punishment. - Rods and lashes. “The death penalty” was written according to eyewitnesses.

The main place in the "Tale of the Senior Gardener" is occupied by the legend, which expresses faith in a person who was created "in the image and likeness of God."

The critic N. S. Khudekov in his time drew attention to the story. In 1895, the elder brother of the writer, Al. P. Chekhov wrote to A.P. Chekhov: “Khudekov, when he saw me, jabbed his finger at“ Russian Vedomosti ”and said:“ But your brother found time to write a Christmas story in “Russian Vedomosti“! ” But he gave us nothing. Not a bad, not very bad story! ” ^[1] .

• Mikhail Karlovich, gardener, venerable old man.
• Thomson or Wilson, a doctor, an elderly and lonely gentleman.
• The neighbor is a landowner.
• Narrator.

The story is conducted in the first person. One summer in the greenhouse was a sale of flowers. A storyteller, a landowner neighbor and a merchant came to her. The flowers were laid by the old gardener, Mikhail Karlovich. Between the buyers came a conversation about a worker passing by them with a gypsy face. The landowner said that he had recently been tried in the city for robbery and acquitted, since he was declared insane. He, according to the landowner, is healthy. Excuses based on the illnesses and affects of the accused, in his opinion, demoralize people and dull the sense of justice.

Mikhail Karlovich listened to the conversation and said that he was once for acquittals, since jurors could be mistaken and blame the innocent. He believes this: “If judges and jurors believe more in a person than in evidence, material evidence and speeches, is this belief in a person not superior to any everyday considerations? ... you believe in a person!” Then he retold the story that he learned from my grandmother.

In a small town lived the elderly and lonely Mr. Thomson or Wilson, who treated people for free. Then scientists were not like ordinary people - they spent days and nights in contemplation, in reading books and in the treatment of diseases. Residents of the city understood this and did not bother with visits and chatter. The doctor loved the townspeople as children. He himself had consumption.

A doctor was needed for the city. One night, upon returning from a patient, robbers attacked him in the forest, but when they knew who he was, the robbers took off their hats and asked if he wanted to eat. When he said he was full, they gave him a cloak and escorted him to the city. Once this doctor was found murdered. The judges conducted an investigation and said: “Here we have all the signs of a murder, but since there is no person in the world who could kill our doctor, then obviously there is no murder and the totality of signs is just a coincidence. It must be assumed that in the dark the doctor himself fell into a ravine and hurt himself to death. "

Everyone agreed with this opinion. However, a killer was found. A certain dope was embarrassed when they began to convict him. He was searched and found in a shirt with bloodstained sleeves and a doctor’s lancet. The evidence is there. The villain was sent to prison. Despite the fact that everything spoke against him, in court he denied guilt. The court wanted to convict him of the murder of the doctor, but the chief judge did not finish the indictment and shouted: “I swear he is not to blame! I do not allow the thought that there could be a man who dares to kill our friend doctor! A man is unable to fall so deeply! ”The judges agreed with him and released the killer. At the same time, no one reproached the judges for injustice.

Mikhail Karlovich concluded the speech with the words that for such faith in man, God forgave sins to all the inhabitants of the town. “Let the acquittal bring harm to the inhabitants of the town, but ... what a beneficial effect this faith in man had on them ... she instills in us generous feelings and always encourages loving and respecting every person. ”

The listeners did not find what to object to and dispersed.

• Chekhov A.P. Story of a senior gardener // Chekhov A.P. Complete Works and Letters: In 30 Volumes. Works: In 18 Volumes / Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Institute of World Lite. them. A. M. Gorky. - M .: Nauka, 1974-1982.
• Le Récit d'un jardinier-chef, notes page 1016, traduit par Édouard Parayre, révision de Lily Dennis, éditions Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 1971, ISBN 2 07 0106 28 4 .
• Le Récit du jardinier-chef, traduit par Édouard Parayre, éditions Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 1971, ISBN 2 07 010628 4 .

• Chekhov A.P. Story of a senior gardener. Notes . Original Russian text.
• M. Raneva-Ivanova. "The function of mayevtics of the Christian motive in the" Tale of the Senior Gardener "by A.P. Chekhov . " J. Problems of historical poetics. Issue: No. 6, 2001.