A Trifle from Life
Author: Anton Chekhov
Read “A Trifle from Life” by Anton Chekhov in Russian, German, English, Spanish and Japanese in Bibliott on your phone and tablet.
Languages: RU, German, English, Spanish, Japanese
Genre: Romance, Satire, Short story
Free to read
A self-satisfied lover coaxes from eight-year-old Alyosha the secret of his meetings with his father, then breaks his word of honour.
Characters
- Nikolay Ilyitch Belyaev — Olga Ivanovna’s lover: A complacent property owner whose wounded pride outweighs his promise to a child.
- Alyosha — Olga Ivanovna’s eight-year-old son: A trusting boy who reveals a family secret after an adult gives his word of honour.
- Olga Ivanovna — Alyosha’s mother and Belyaev’s lover: Separated from her husband, she does not know that the children meet him in secret.
- Sonia — Alyosha’s sister: She secretly meets her father with her brother in a confectioner’s shop.
- Alyosha’s father — Olga Ivanovna’s estranged husband: He meets the children secretly, worries about Olga, and blames Belyaev for the family’s ruin.
- Pelageya — the children’s nurse and servant: She arranges the children’s secret meetings with their father during walks.