Summary of Chekhov’s story "My Life"

The narration is on behalf of Misail Poloznev. He lives with his sister and father. His mother died.

Pope demanded unconditional submission from Misail and Cleopatra. When they grew up, he continued to treat them severely.

However, after some time, the son ceased to obey his father. Not having time to get a job, he immediately changed it to another. He did not like clerical work. Misael dreams of starting his own business.

Father is angry about this. The sister of his desires cause fear. Misail now and then goes to performances. They settle in the house of the Azhogins.

Two girls go there. One of them, Anyuta, was the daughter of a fellow judge. The other, Masha, was the daughter of an engineer. Annie had a feeling of love for our hero.

With the help of dad, she helped him get a job at engineer Dolzhikov. He could not be called an intelligent person. In addition, he was constantly rude to others.

When Dolzhikov spoke with Misail, he behaved with him as if he were unemployed. He seemed to forget that the father of our hero was an architect.

When Misail began to work as a telegraph operator, he met Ivan Cheprakov. They were friends from an early age. It was the son of a general. Ivan turned out to be a drunk man.

Cheprakov, Dolzhikov, Azhogin and the dad of our hero belong to the provincial intelligentsia. It is difficult for Misail to come to terms with this. He is much better among the common people.

He got a job as a house painter for Andrey Ivanov. He still had a nickname - Radish. This man was to some extent a philosopher. When our hero began to work with him, many turned away from him.

Annie at the meeting made him understand that he should not talk to her in the presence of third parties. Dad began to send curses to his son.

Our hero had to settle near Karpovna. That was his nanny. She had a adopted son, Procopius. He worked as a butcher.

Misaila is constantly visited by Cleopatra and Dr. Vladimir. This is the brother of Annie. He really loves the sister of our hero. However, he has a wife. Therefore, they keep their relationship secret from others.

Misail and Vladimir talk all the time about the meaning of life. Our hero is fully confident that all people should do physical work. Vladimir was a fan of European progress. He is tired of having to lead a double life.

Misail has to experience all the hardships of life. Someone constantly sends him cookies, tea and lemons. After some time, it becomes clear that these gifts were from Anyuta.

After the "noble" still begin to respect our hero. Soon he had to take Masha at home. She began to complain to Misail that she was very bored and let him know that she would be glad to see him at home.

The father of our hero still does not want to see his son. He believes that he betrayed him. He asked the governor to have any effect on Misail, because he "dishonored the honor of a nobleman." This puts the governor in an awkward position.

After some time, Misail marries Masha. They move to the estate Dubecnya and are engaged in farming there. Our hero was very keen on this work.

At first, Masha is engaged in it with pleasure. A young woman reads literature on agriculture and tries to find a common language with men. However, she does not succeed.

Men now and then are rude to Masha. They do not consider her and Misael as masters. The woman soon became disillusioned with rural life.

As for Misael, he sees in men spiritual purity. He understands why they are angry. After all, they do not want to work for others.

Masha does not want to look at everything with their eyes. It turned out that she was not like her husband. She did not love him at all. She wanted independence.

After some time, the young woman left. Then she sent a letter to Misail and said that she had gone with her dad to America and she needed a divorce.

The man is very worried about breaking up with his wife. Gray days come for him.

Sister Misaila Cleopatra left her parent. She had to move to her brother. She suffers from tuberculosis and is expecting a baby from a doctor. Our hero told his father that Cleopatra needs his care. However, he refused to even listen to his son.

Then the son of the nanny, Procopius, told Misael that he should leave with his pregnant sister. Radish was the only one who felt sorry for the main character and Cleopatra.

Years passed. Misail grew old and harsher. He stopped visiting his father. The wife remained abroad. Cleopatra died giving birth to a daughter.

From time to time, our hero visits his sister’s grave with his niece. Sometimes he encounters Anyuta there, who still loves him.