Ivanov

Ivanov felt strong, courageous, enthusiastic. He had an estate, was well-liked by his neighbors. He had a vision of the world, and that vision broke. Barely a year later, he was a shadow of his former self, overcome by weariness, a strong sense of guilt and loneliness. His life is given over to the gossip of the small society that surrounds him, intoxicated with boredom, alcohol, clichés and malice against a backdrop of anti-Semitism. He is said to have married Anna Petrovna, a wealthy Jewish girl who, for love of him, renounced her religion and was disinherited by her parents. Now that she has fallen gravely ill, on the point of death, Ivanov is said to be neglecting her...