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THE DEATH OF CLERK

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Russian: pronounced 29 January 1860[2] – 15 July 1904)[3] was a Russian playwright
and short story writer who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short
fiction in history. His career as a playwright produced four classics and his best short
stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Along with Henrik Ibsen and
August Strindberg, Chekhov is often referred to as one of the three seminal figures in
the birth of early modernism in the theater. Chekhov practiced as a medical doctor
throughout most of his literary career: "Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said,
"and literature is my mistress.
STORY
ONE fine evening, a no less fine government clerk called Ivan Dmitritch Tchervyakov
was sitting in the second row of the stalls, gazing through an opera glass at the
Cloches de Corneville. He gazed and felt at the acme of bliss. But suddenly. . . . In
stories one so often meets with this "But suddenly." The authors are right: life is so
full of surprises! But suddenly his face puckered up, his eyes disappeared, his
breathing was arrested . . . he took the opera glass from his eyes, bent over and . . .
"Aptchee!!" he sneezed as you perceive. It is not reprehensible for anyone to sneeze
anywhere. Peasants sneeze and so do police superintendents, and sometimes even
privy councillors. All men sneeze. Tchervyakov was not in the least confused, he
wiped his face with his handkerchief, and like a polite man, looked round to see
whether he had disturbed any one by his sneezing. But then he was overcome with
confusion. He saw that an old gentleman sitting in front of him in the first row of the
stalls was carefully wiping his bald head and his neck with his glove and muttering
something to himself. In the old gentleman, Tchervyakov recognised Brizzhalov, a
civilian general serving in the Department of Transport.
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"I have spattered him," thought Tchervyakov, "he is not the head of my department,
but still it is awkward. I must apologise."

Tchervyakov gave a cough, bent his whole person forward, and whispered in the
general's ear.

"Pardon, your Excellency, I spattered you accidentally. . . ."

"Never mind, never mind."

"For goodness sake excuse me, I . . . I did not mean to."

"Oh, please, sit down! let me listen!"

Tchervyakov was embarrassed, he smiled stupidly and fell to gazing at the stage. He
gazed at it but was no longer feeling bliss. He began to be troubled by uneasiness. In
the interval, he went up to Brizzhalov, walked beside him, and overcoming his
shyness, muttered:

"I spattered you, your Excellency, forgive me . . . you see . . . I didn't do it to . . . ."

"Oh, that's enough . . . I'd forgotten it, and you keep on about it!" said the general,
moving his lower lip impatiently.

"He has forgotten, but there is a fiendish light in his eye,[ extremely cruel or
unpleasan ] " thought Tchervyakov, looking suspiciously at the general. "And he
doesn't want to talk. I ought to explain to him . . . that I really didn't intend . . . that it
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is the law of nature or else he will think I meant to spit on him. He doesn't think so
now, but he will think so later!"

On getting home, Tchervyakov told his wife of his breach of good manners. It struck
him that his wife took too frivolous a view of the incident; she was a little frightened,
but when she learned that Brizzhalov was in a different department, she was
reassured.

"Still, you had better go and apologise," she said, "or he will think you don't know
how to behave in public."

"That's just it! I did apologise, but he took it somehow queerly . . . he didn't say a
word of sense. There wasn't time to talk properly."

Next day Tchervyakov put on a new uniform, had his hair cut and went to
Brizzhalov's to explain; going into the general's reception room he saw there a number
of petitioners and among them the general himself, who was beginning to interview
them. After questioning several petitioners the general raised his eyes and looked at
Tchervyakov.

"Yesterday at the Arcadia, if you recollect, your Excellency," the latter began, "I
sneezed and . . . accidentally spattered . . . Exc. . . ."

"What nonsense. . . . It's beyond anything! What can I do for you," said the general
addressing the next petitioner.

"He won't speak," thought Tchervyakov, turning pale; "that means that he is angry. . . .
No, it can't be left like this. . . . I will explain to him."
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When the general had finished his conversation with the last of the petitioners and was
turning towards his inner apartments, Tchervyakov took a step towards him and
muttered:

"Your Excellency! If I venture to trouble your Excellency, it is simply from a feeling I

may say of regret! . . . It was not intentional if you will graciously believe me."

The general made a lachrymose face, and waved his hand.

"Why, you are simply making fun of me, sir," he said as he closed the door behind
him.

"Where's the making fun in it?" thought Tchervyakov, "there is nothing of the sort! He
is a general, but he can't understand. If that is how it is I am not going to apologise to
that fanfaron any more! The devil take him. I'll write a letter to him, but I won't go. By
Jove, I won't."

So thought Tchervyakov as he walked home; he did not write a letter to the general,
he pondered and pondered and could not make up that letter. He had to go next day to
explain in person.

"I ventured to disturb your Excellency yesterday," he muttered, when the general
lifted enquiring eyes upon him, "not to make fun as you were pleased to say. I was
apologising for having spattered you in sneezing. . . . And I did not dream of making
fun of you. Should I dare to make fun of you, if we should take to making fun, then
there would be no respect for persons, there would be. . . ."
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"Be off!" yelled the general, turning suddenly purple, and shaking all over.

"What?" asked Tchervyakov, in a whisper turning numb with horror.

"Be off!" repeated the general, stamping.

Something seemed to give way in Tchervyakov's stomach. Seeing nothing and hearing
nothing he reeled to the door, went out into the street, and went staggering along. . . .
Reaching home mechanically, without taking off his uniform, he lay down on the sofa
and died.

SUMMARY
The story opens with a governement clerk called Ivan Dmitrich Tchervyakov sitting in
a stall listening to opera. He is enjoying himself, but suddenly he sneezes. He wipes
his face with a handkerchief and looks around the stall to see whether he had disturbed
anyone. To his misfortune, Thchervyakov sees an old gentleman in front of him
wiping his head and neck with a glove. The old gentleman is Brizzhalov, a civilian
serving in the Department of Transport. He is not from Tchervyakov's department,
but nonetheless an important man, so Tchervyakov decides he must apologize at once.

Tchervyakov leans forward and whispers an apology to the general's ear. Brizzhalov
responds with "never mind," but Tchervyakov feels the need for further explanation.
The general finds this annoying and tells Tchervyakov to forget about it and let him
listen. Tchervyakov feels embarrassed and he is no longer able to enjoy the
performance. He feels uneasy and tries to apologize again. Brizzhalov says he has
already forgotten about it, but he looks impatient. Tchervyakov is under the
impression that there is a 'fiendish light' in Brizzhalov's eye and that even though he
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says he has forgotten about it already, later he will think Tchervyakov spit on him on
purpose.

When he comes home, Tchervyakov tells his wife about the accident. At first, she is a
bit frightened, but when she learns that Brizzhalov is from different department, she
does not find the matter so serious. Nevertheless, she suggests it would be better if
Tchervyakov went and apologized.

The next day Thervyakov puts on a new uniform and goes to Brizzhalov to explain
himself. When he arrives, he sees a number of petitioners and the general himself,
who is interviewing them. After several petitioners are questioned, Tchervyakov starts
speaking of his dreadful breach of manners. The general ignores him and continues
questioning the petitioners. Tchervyakov thinks the general's lack of response means
he is angry about the incident, so after the questionings are over he tries to apologize
again. Brizzhalov accuses Tchervyakov of making fun of him. This makes
Tchervyakov angry and he resolves to stop trying to apologize personally.

When Thervyakov arrives home, he decides to write a letter to Brizzhalov, but he is

unable to make it up. He is left with no other option than to go to the general's office
the next day and try to apologize in person once more. After he apologizes, the
general feels seriously frustrated and shouts at Tchervyakov: "be off!" Thervyakov
decides to go home; he feels sick and keeps staggering along. Upon his arrival, he lies
down on the sofa and dies.

IMPORTANT ANALYSIS
And this is not to imply positive surprises, as the moral of this story teaches us. A
government clerk dies after a few days of anxiety. While at the theater, Ivan
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Dimitritch Tchervyakov sneezed and bespattered a general that is not his direct
superior, but important enough in the Department of Transport. Tchervyakov tries to
apologize, but every time he attempts it, the general interrupts the apology, so the
clerk never gets the chance to express his apology completely.

Every time Tchervyakov is cut off in the middle of a sentence, his anxiety rises to
explain even more about the sneeze, then about the first unfinished apology, the
second one, the first visit to the general’s house, the second visit… An innocent
situation quickly becomes a ridiculous occurrence by constantly bringing up the
incident. The story takes a satirical form, and the civil servant is reduced to a mere
caricature.
be off

But this type of portrayal is indicative of the despotic nature that defines the relations
between clerks and their superiors. The theme of the chinovnik (clerk) illustrates the
fear that exists for the clerk’s career and the complete surrender to the authority of the
higher rank. The death of the clerk has a significant figurative meaning – gaining the
disposition of this general means preserving the job, may be even receiving some
types of career benefits; injuring this rapport means career suicide. Ironically enough,
the clerk dies during this period of a severed relationship, symbolizing the loss of
purpose and identity that are gone along with the job.

SUMMARY \
The key question for Chekhov's short story is why does Chervyakov, the obsequious
government clerk, keel over dead at the end of the story? The answer is that
Chekhov's short story is a study of character and it is because of his character (or lack
thereof) that Chervyakov drops stone dead at the end of the story.
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One of the windows into Chervyakov's character is his dialogue, which throughout the
story is filled with stammers and trains of thought; the man cannot even convey a
complete sentence in full. Moreover, the content of his speech is perennially filled
with apologies and self doubts: I really didn't intend... I had absolutely no intention
of... extremely sorry...

It is clear that Chervyakov lives to ingratiate himself with his superiors. Thus he is
agonized when his apology for a trivial matter to General Brizzhalov is constantly
rebuffed. And when it becomes clear that he no longer has a reason to live, ie. he
cannot get Brizzhalov to like him, Chervyakov fittingly stops living, In the living
body of Chervyakov something snapped.. he lay down on the divan and died.

Death of a government clerk finds its impetus in the character of the clerk and then
logically, even cruelly, tries to see how far the clerk's character flaw can be stretched
before it snaps. Chervyakov's flaw is clear in his dialogue to how his single obsession
is to hear redemption from Brizzhalov, a man who is not even his direct superior.
Ultimately it is this fatal flaw which Chervyakov expires from.