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.
Summary
I
“After the wedding there wasn’t even a light snack.” The young people immediately went to the station, “on pilgrimage.” Modest Alekseich married a very young girl. They said that he started the trip to the monastery in order to show that in marriage he would give “first place to religion and morality.”
Anna's drunken father, with tears in his eyes, tried to say something to her goodbye, but the girl's brothers, Petya and Andryusha, pulled him back in embarrassment.
Left alone with his wife, Modest Alekseich remembered the story. A friend of his had a grumpy wife, Anna. And when a friend was awarded the Order of St. Anne of the second degree, his Excellency said: “So you now have three Annes: one in your buttonhole, two on your neck” (this award was customary to be worn around the neck). Modest Alekseich hoped that His Excellency would not say this to him.
Anna “was scared and disgusted.” The girl remembered how painful the wedding was. No one understood why she was marrying “this elderly, uninteresting gentleman.” She felt deceived. The wedding dress had to be sewn on credit, and Modest Alekseich never helped her family. The girl wasn’t even sure if her father and brothers had anything for dinner.
Anna's father was a drawing and penmanship teacher at the gymnasium. When his mother died, he became a heavy drinker, poverty set in, and they even wanted to fire him. The ladies I knew “fussed around” and found a groom for Anna - Modest Alekseich. The girl hoped that he would put in a good word for her father and the man would not be fired from his job.
The train stopped at a stop. The girl stepped onto the platform. Seeing the officers and the rich owner of the dacha, Artynov, she began to flirt. The girl's spirits rose, and she drove to the monastery in a great mood.
In the city, Anna and Modest Alekseich lived in a government apartment. Left alone, the girl played the piano, read books, and cried from boredom. Over dinner, Modest Alekseich talked about “that you have to work, that family life is not pleasure, but duty” and that “every person must have his own responsibilities.”
Anna often came to her father and brothers, but they seemed to condemn her for an arranged marriage. Her ladylike appearance embarrassed and offended them. Every time at dinner, my father drank a lot, and on holidays he played the harmonium.
Sometimes Anna and her husband went to the theater. Modest Alekseich forced his wife to bow to persons occupying a higher position. Anna was embarrassed to ask her husband for money, but he himself did not spoil her with anything. “She did everything her husband wanted, and she was angry with herself because he deceived her like the last fool.” She now had less money than before her marriage. Sometimes her husband gave Anna jewelry, but he regularly made an “inspection”, checking that everything was in place.
Only once Pyotr Leontyich asked Modest Alekseich to borrow 50 rubles. He gave, but said that he would not give any more until the man stopped drinking. Each time, Anna’s relatives had to listen to Modest Alekseich’s instructions, although he did not give them money.
II
A winter ball was planned. Modest Alekseich told Anna that she should sew herself a ballgown and gave her one hundred rubles. The girl decided to buy an outfit that her late mother would have worn - the woman was a fashionista and taught her daughter to flirt.
At the ball, surrounded by high society, Anna for the first time felt like “not a girl, but a lady.” She understood that the closeness of her old husband did not humiliate her, but “put a stamp of piquant mystery on her.”
The girl was popular with men, everyone invited her. His Excellency himself invited Anna to take part in a charity bazaar. Artynov, who was present, bought champagne and tea from her for a hundred rubles. “She already realized that she was created exclusively for this noisy, brilliant, laughing life.” Anna began to feel embarrassed about her drunken, “ordinary” father. When the girl was escorted home, it was already dawn.
The next day, Artynov came to visit Anna, and then his Excellency with gratitude for participating in the bazaar. Finally her husband arrived. Modest Alekseich looked at his wife with “an ingratiating, sweet, servile-respectful expression, which she was accustomed to seeing from him in the presence of the powerful and noble.” Realizing that nothing would happen to her, the girl told him: “Go away, you idiot!”
“After that, Anya didn’t have a single free day.” She returned home in the morning. Anna was not afraid to take money from her husband, spending it as if it were her own.
When Modest Alexei received Anna of the second degree on Easter, his Excellency said: “So you now have three Annas, one in your buttonhole, two on your neck.” Modest Alekseich, trying to make a pun, replied that now he could only wait for little Vladimir to be born, meaning the Order of Vladimir, IV degree, but His Excellency no longer listened to the man.
Pyotr Leontyich drank harder than before, they had no money, and had to sell the harmonium for a debt. When the man tried to call out to Anna on the street, his sons took him by the arms and said pleadingly: “Don’t, daddy... It will be, daddy...”
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.
Wedding and trip to the monastery
Immediately after the wedding, Modest Alekseevich and his young wife went to the monastery. But the point was not that the newlyweds wanted to be alone as quickly as possible, or that they were very pious. With such a decision, the husband, a 52-year-old man with ranks, showed eighteen-year-old Anna that for him the main thing in marriage was morality and religion.
Among the mourners were colleagues and relatives. The drunken father kept baptizing his daughter and whispering something in her ear, while two high school-student brothers tugged at his sleeve, persuading him to calm down.
The story “Anna on the Neck,” a summary of which you are reading, continues with a description of the trip. In the carriage, Modest Alekseevich, short, very plump, freshly shaved, began to tell his wife about a certain Kosorotov. He had a frivolous wife, Anna. She left her husband and later returned. In this regard, His Excellency, presenting Kosorotov with the Order of St. Anna, said the phrase: “Now you have three Annas: one in your buttonhole, and two on your neck.” Modest Alekseevich expressed the conviction that when his turn comes to receive the award, there will be no reason for such a statement.
And at that time the young wife was thinking about how she got married for money. In fact, her husband turned out to be stingy, and she felt deceived. In addition, her family was left without a penny, and she could do nothing to help them. Then the girl remembered that after the death of her mother, her father began to drink, and she constantly felt shame for him and her poor life. Then Modest Alekseevich turned up - not young, but with money.
Music interrupted the thoughts of the heroine of the story “Anna on the Neck.” A brief summary of the scene at the station where the train stopped can be summarized as follows. The girl saw summer residents walking, among whom was the owner of these places, Artynov. She immediately wiped away her tears and left the carriage, wanting to show her new outfit to her friends. Soon Anna was looking coquettishly at Artynov, assuring herself that she would certainly be happy.
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...”
Chapter 1
There are two main characters in the work. This is an unequal marriage. The family consists of a young girl, 18 years old, Anna, and her husband, Modest Alekseevich, who has lived for more than half a century. Immediately after the wedding ceremony, the couple does not go to celebrate the event, but goes to the monastery on the initiative of the husband, who wanted to explain to the young wife a couple of important fundamental laws of marriage of that time - religiosity in life and morality.
The girl is seen off by her father, who because of this got very drunk and became unsettled - cried, crossed himself, and with him are his sons, Anna's brothers, who are ashamed of their father and worried about their sister.
Outwardly, Anna’s elderly husband looks neat and is always shaven. He himself is obese and short.
On the way to the monastery, Modest told Anna a story about a certain Kosorotov - his wife was also named Anna, and she was unfaithful to him - she cheated on him, but she always came to him. And he was awarded the Order of St. Anna, for which the boss, when awarding the man, joked that he now had three Annas, one of which was on his chest, and two on his neck.
Modest does not want to find himself in a similar situation.
And the girl listened to everything that this stranger, who is now her husband, said, and she was disgusted by the realization that this old man could freely kiss her with his big lips, because now he is in his right. Of course, she did not go down the aisle of her own free will - her mother died long ago, and her father was a drunkard. Only the brothers remained, who did not have enough money even to buy normal shoes for themselves.
The girl hoped that with this marriage she would help her family. More precisely, her husband would help, because he was rich and influential and would help the girl’s father with work, and his brothers too.
But her plans were not destined to come true, because Modest turned out to be a grabber, he was greedy and stingy. And she was left without anything, unable to help her own, and now she had nowhere to go.
At one of the stops, the train stopped, and Anna went out onto the platform, where she found herself in the walking company of her old friends. But now they looked at her differently, for she stood proudly, dressed in a new luxurious dress, and spoke in French to her acquaintances. Even the owner of the dacha place looked at her carefully.
After this walk, Anna was no longer so disgusted and bitter about her marriage.
A couple lived in an apartment that was a service apartment. The girl consoled herself in every way available at that time - she read, played the piano, and sometimes cried. Modest was often busy with work for a long time. His favorite topic of conversation was politics, and he often talked about awards.
He believed that marriage in life is a debt that must be repaid, and the wife in marriage must fulfill her duties. Her husband repeatedly told her about this, which is why the girl was afraid of him and was even afraid to eat in front of him.
Sometimes the girl visited her family. She understood that they were judging her for marrying for money. Father, looking at her, dressed in everything expensive, drank more and more. After marriage, the family did not get better, because the husband did not give his wife any money at all, she was afraid to even ask him for money for chocolate. He invested all his finances in jewelry, which he folded and saved for a rainy day. He didn’t give her family money either, but he often taught them how to live.
And Modest had fun only with the help of the theater, where he always went with his wife on his arm and did not let her go even a step. In addition, Modest turned out to be a sycophant and often asked his wife to bow to rich people and bigwigs she did not know.
