The Looking-glass Page #2

"The Looking-Glass" by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is a poignant short story that explores themes of self-perception, identity, and the complexities of human relationships. Through the lens of an intimate encounter, Chekhov delves into the characters' internal struggles and desires, revealing how individuals often grapple with their reflections—both literal and metaphorical. The narrative highlights the contrasts between reality and illusion, prompting readers to reflect on how they see themselves and the masks they wear in society. Chekhov's trademark subtlety and keen psychological insight make this story a thought-provoking examination of the human condition.

								

making him sit down on the sofa in the dining-room. "Sit still and wait
a little, and I'll see how he is going on."

On her return from her husband, Nellie found the doctor lying down. He
was lying on the sofa and muttering.

"Doctor, please! . . . doctor!"

"Eh? Ask Domna!" muttered Stepan Lukitch.

"What?"

"They said at the meeting . . . Vlassov said . . . Who? . . . what?"

And to her horror Nellie saw that the doctor was as delirious as her
husband. What was to be done?

"I must go for the Zemstvo doctor," she decided.

Then again there followed darkness, a cutting cold wind, lumps of frozen
earth. She was suffering in body and in soul, and delusive nature has no
arts, no deceptions to compensate these sufferings. . . .

Then she saw against the grey background how her husband every spring
was in straits for money to pay the interest for the mortgage to the
bank. He could not sleep, she could not sleep, and both racked their
brains till their heads ached, thinking how to avoid being visited by
the clerk of the Court.

She saw her children: the everlasting apprehension of colds, scarlet
fever, diphtheria, bad marks at school, separation. Out of a brood of
five or six one was sure to die.

The grey background was not untouched by death. That might well be. A
husband and wife cannot die simultaneously. Whatever happened one must
bury the other. And Nellie saw her husband dying. This terrible event
presented itself to her in every detail. She saw the coffin, the
candles, the deacon, and even the footmarks in the hall made by the
undertaker.

"Why is it, what is it for?" she asked, looking blankly at her husband's
face.

And all the previous life with her husband seemed to her a stupid
prelude to this.

Something fell from Nellie's hand and knocked on the floor. She started,
jumped up, and opened her eyes wide. One looking-glass she saw lying at
her feet. The other was standing as before on the table.

She looked into the looking-glass and saw a pale, tear-stained face.
There was no grey background now.

"I must have fallen asleep," she thought with a sigh of relief.
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