In 1895, Anton Chekhov wrote one of his famous works, “Anna on the Neck.” It is no secret that Anton Pavlovich loved to explore the spiritual world of the individual. Thus, in the story “Anna on the Neck,” the writer explores the impact of wealth on a person’s moral guidelines. To quickly learn the main events from the work “Anna on the Neck” and remember the plot, read a brief retelling of the book. “Anna on the Neck” in abbreviation is not as interesting as in the original, but this material will help save a lot of time. The many-wise Litrekon wishes you pleasant enlightenment!
Description of the story
The story begins with the quote: “After the wedding there was not even a light snack.” A young girl, only 18 years old, becomes the wife of an elderly 52-year-old official, Modest Alekseich. This marriage was of convenience, as Anna’s family was on the verge of poverty. When Anna's mother died, Anna's father, Pyotr Leontyich, began to abuse alcohol. The younger brothers who study at the gymnasium (Petya and Andryusha) were left practically in poverty, they didn’t even have new boots.
To save Anna's reputation and arrange her personal life, her acquaintances find her a husband in the person of a rich, but ugly and old official. While riding on a pilgrimage, Anna's husband shares his memories of a funny incident that happened to an acquaintance during the presentation of the Order of St. Anna by His Excellency. Modest Alekseich also strives to receive the Order of Anna of the second degree.
Soon the main character’s family life takes on a grayish tint, she is bored in the company of her husband, and is alone all day long. The husband turns out to be a rather stingy person, so Anna had to beg for money if she needed to buy an outfit. It was not possible to help his brothers due to the lack of his own money. And he constantly checked for the presence of the jewelry that her husband gave Anna. Modest Alekseich did not feel any compassion for his wife’s family and did not want to help financially.
After one evening, which was successful for Anna, because she became the center of attention, her life changes dramatically. Anya “realized that she was created exclusively for this noisy, brilliant, laughing life with music, dancing, fans.” Now she is ashamed of her husband, who looks unworthy of her, and demands money from him without any embarrassment. She is also ashamed of her father, who comes from a simple family. Driving past her brothers and father, she did not even deign to pay them attention.
Anna on the neck. Married life.
The couple began to live in a government apartment. Anya played the piano all day long, or cried from boredom, or read novels and fashion magazines. Modest Alekseich at dinner talked about politics, about appointments and awards, and about how family life is not pleasure, but duty. In society, Modest Alekseich forced Anya to bow obsequiously to people of high rank. He was greedy when Anya asked him to buy her something. When Anya came to visit her father and brothers. I felt that they were embarrassed and did not know how to behave. The weak and kind father Pyotr Leontyich played the old harmonium on holidays. And he still drank. And the brothers “Petya and Andryusha, thin, pale boys with big eyes, took the decanter from him and said in confusion: “Don’t, daddy... That’s enough, daddy...”
Anya’s money situation got even worse after marriage. Only once did Pyotr Leontyich ask Anya’s husband for 50 rubles. Modest Alekseich gave money. But he threatened that it would be the last time, because Pyotr Leontyich drinks, and this is shameful. And the brothers who came to visit Anya also had to listen to the instructions of Anya’s husband: “Every person must have his own responsibilities!” Modest Alekseich did not give money. But he gave Anya jewelry, saying that these things are good to have for a rainy day. And he often checked whether all things were intact.
Long before Christmas, Modest Alekseich began preparing Anya for the traditional winter ball and even gave her 100 rubles for a dress.
Main characters
An 18-year-old girl from a simple family who marries an official in order to save her position. At first she is modest, worried about her family, but in the second part of the story her heroine experiences a complete personality change.
Modest Alekseich
— The 52-year-old official, driven by success and career, is very stingy. In the end he receives the coveted Order of St. Anna.
Petr Leontyich
- Anna's father, an art teacher at the gymnasium. I started drinking a lot when my wife died.
Petya and Andryusha
- Anna’s younger brothers, high school students, “thin, pale boys with big eyes...”
Artynov
- a rich man, a lover of noisy life, in whose company Anna often spent time after meeting her at the ball.
Anna on the neck. Ball.
It's time for the ball. Anya shone and charmed even the most indifferent men. Even His Excellency himself noticed Anya and invited her to host a charity bazaar. Things from Anya's hands were selling like hot cakes. “Artynov, a rich man, came up. Without taking his eyes off Anya, he drank a glass of champagne. I paid a hundred rubles, then drank tea and gave another hundred.” Anya “realized that she was created exclusively for this noisy, brilliant, laughing life with music, dancing, fans.” She began to feel ashamed of her father. “She was already ashamed that she had such a poor, such an ordinary father.”
The next day Artynov came to visit Anya, and then His Excellency. When her husband, Modest Alekseich, arrived. Then “he also now stood before her with the same servile-respectful expression that she was accustomed to seeing from him in the presence of the strong and noble. And with delight, already sure that nothing would happen to her for this, she said, clearly pronouncing every word: “Go away, you idiot!”
Chekhov A.P. 1903
Life has changed.
After that, Anya didn’t have a single free day. Since she took part either in a picnic, or in a walk, or in a play. She returned home every day in the morning. We needed a lot of money. But she only sent bills or notes to her husband: “pay 100 rubles immediately.”
At Easter, Modest Alekseich received Anna of the second degree. His Excellency said to this: “So you now have three Annas: one in your buttonhole, two on your neck.” Modest Alekseich replied: “Now all that remains is to wait for the birth of little Vladimir. I dare to ask your Excellency to be my successor.” He hinted at Vladimir IV degree. And I was already imagining how he would talk about this pun of his everywhere.
And Anya rode troikas and went hunting with Artynov. And she visited her father and brothers less and less. Pyotr Leontyich drank harder than before. There was no money. The harmonium was sold long ago for debt. And when, during walks, they met Anya in a troika with Artynov, “Peter Leontyich took off his top hat and was about to shout something, and Petya and Andryusha took him by the arms and said pleadingly: “Don’t, daddy... It will be, daddy...”
Story Analysis
In the face of the main character, a sharp change in personal qualities is visible after understanding her social significance. Initially, Anna seems to the reader to be a subtle person who has feelings of compassion, morality and love for her family. But the rise of a person in aristocratic circles awakens hidden vices in Anna in the form of self-interest, pride and neglect of her family.
The depth of the story and its essence are fully revealed in the climax. The author makes it clear to the reader that Anna is a flighty person, for whom the meaning of life lies in expensive clothes, lush balls and an influential environment in the form of wasteful rich people.
“After the wedding there wasn’t even a light snack.” An 18-year-old girl, Anya, married a 52-year-old official, Modest Alekseich. After the wedding, they go to the monastery for a pilgrimage. On the train, Modest Alekseich, smiling, recalls one incident: “When Kosorotov received the Order of St. Anna of the second degree and came to thank, His Excellency put it this way: “So, you now have three Annas: one in your buttonhole, two on your neck.” At that time, his wife had just returned to Kosorotov, a grumpy and frivolous person named Anna. I hope that when I receive Anna of the second degree, His Excellency will not have a reason to tell me the same thing.” And Anya thinks that even though she married a rich man, “she still didn’t have any money, and when her father and brothers saw her off today, she saw from their faces that they didn’t have a penny.” After the death of her mother, her father (teacher of calligraphy and drawing at the gymnasium) Pyotr Leontyich started drinking, Petya and Andryusha (younger brothers-school students) did not even have boots. “But the ladies I knew began to fuss and began looking for a good man for Anya. Soon this same Modest Alekseich was found, not young and not handsome, but with money.” The couple began to live in a government apartment. Anya played the piano all day long, or cried from boredom, or read novels and fashion magazines. Modest Alekseich at dinner talked about politics, about appointments and awards, and about how family life is not pleasure, but duty. In society, Modest Alekseich forced Anya to bow obsequiously to people of high rank. He was greedy when Anya asked him to buy her something. When Anya came to visit her father and brothers, she felt that they were embarrassed and did not know how to behave. The weak and kind father Pyotr Leontyich played the old harmonium on holidays and still drank. And the brothers “Petya and Andryusha, thin, pale boys with big eyes, took the decanter from him and said in confusion: “Don’t, daddy... That’s enough, daddy...” Anya’s money got even worse after marriage. Only once did Pyotr Leontyich ask Anya’s husband for 50 rubles. Modest Alekseich gave money, but threatened that it would be the last time, because Pyotr Leontyich drinks, and this is shameful. And the brothers who came to visit Anya also had to listen to the instructions of Anya’s husband: “Every person must have his own responsibilities!” Modest Alekseich did not give money, but he gave Anya jewelry, saying that these things were good to have for a rainy day. And he often checked whether all things were intact. Long before Christmas, Modest Alekseich began preparing Anya for the traditional winter ball and even gave her 100 rubles for a dress. It's time for the ball. Anya shone and charmed even the most indifferent men. Even His Excellency himself noticed Anya and invited her to host a charity bazaar. Things from Anya's hands were selling like hot cakes. “Artynov, a rich man, came up. Without taking his eyes off Anya, he drank a glass of champagne and paid a hundred rubles, then drank tea and gave another hundred.” Anya “realized that she was created exclusively for this noisy, brilliant, laughing life with music, dancing, fans.” She began to feel ashamed of her father: “she was already ashamed that she had such a poor, such an ordinary father.” The next day Artynov came to visit Anya, and then His Excellency. When her husband, Modest Alekseich, arrived, “he also now stood in front of her with the same servile-respectful expression that she was used to seeing from him in the presence of the powerful and noble. And with delight, already sure that nothing would happen to her for this, she said, clearly pronouncing every word: “Go away, you idiot!” After that, Anya did not have a single free day, since she took part in a picnic, sometimes on a walk, sometimes in a performance. She returned home every day in the morning. She needed a lot of money, but she only sent bills or notes to her husband: “pay 100 rubles immediately.” At Easter, Modest Alekseich received Anna of the second degree. His Excellency said to this: “So you now have three Annas: one in your buttonhole, two on your neck.” Modest Alekseich replied: “Now all that remains is to wait for the birth of little Vladimir. I dare to ask your Excellency to be my successor.” He hinted at Vladimir IV degree and was already imagining how he would talk about this pun of his everywhere. And Anya rode troikas, went hunting with Artynov, and visited her father and brothers less and less. Pyotr Leontyich was drinking harder than ever, there was no money, and the harmonium had long been sold for debt. And when, during walks, they met Anya in a troika with Artynov, “Peter Leontyich took off his top hat and was about to shout something, and Petya and Andryusha took him by the arms and said pleadingly: “Don’t, daddy... It will be, daddy...”
Chekhov “Anna on the Neck”, chapter 1 – summary
An 18-year-old girl, Anya, married an official, Modest Alekseich, who was already 52 years old.
She did it only for money, but not for self-interest, but unwillingly. Anna's father, Pyotr Leontyich, a penmanship and drawing teacher at the gymnasium, began drinking after his wife's death. The family was in need, a bailiff came and described the furniture. Anya had to look after her drunken father, darn her brothers' stockings, and wear the cheapest, patched clothes. They threatened to fire Pyotr Leontyich from the gymnasium. The ladies I knew found a middle-aged husband for Anna, a man with money and in good standing with his superiors, who could save the bride's father from being fired... Chekhov. Anna on the neck. Summary. Listen to audiobook
There was no wedding celebration. Immediately after the wedding, Anna and her husband, at his request, went to the monastery on a pilgrimage. Modest Alekseich made it clear to his young wife that in marriage he gives first place to religion and morality.
Family life turned out to be very difficult for Anya. The husband talked almost only about appointments, transfers and awards, instilling in her that a penny saves a ruble. Once he told how “his Excellency,” while awarding the Order of Anna of the second degree to the official Kosorotov, whose grumpy wife was also called Anna, put it this way: “So you now have three Annas: one in your buttonhole, two on your neck.” Modest Alekseich wished that when he himself received the same order, His Excellency would not have a reason to say the same thing to him.
Anna married only for money, and yet she now had less money than when she was a girl. Previously, the father gave at least two kopecks, but the stingy, boring husband did not allocate a penny. Modest Alekseich saved on everything. Visiting the theater with Anna, he was greedy to buy her even a pear, but he demanded that she bow to strangers, old ladies - the wives of his high-ranking colleagues. The father and brothers now treated Anya aloof: her new adult, ladylike appearance embarrassed them, and the reason for the marriage was well known to them. Modest Alekseich did not spoil his wife's relatives. Seeing his wife’s brothers at home, he read instructions to them, and Pyotr Leontyich, who once asked his son-in-law for a loan of 50 rubles, had to listen to a long lesson that the passion for wine had ruined many capable people...
