A summary of Emil Braginsky’s "The Adventuress"

This book is a witty, lyrical play written in 1984. With subtle humor, it explores the limits of human decency and social compromise. The text unfolds the atypical story of a desperate doctor who resorts to absurd, everyday blackmail to save her son’s future.

The action opens with a difficult conversation. Doctor Elena Kirillovna Lebedeva is sitting in the office of the official Krokhina. The woman is facing criminal prosecution. Patients regularly gave her candy and perfume, but she naively sold the items to her neighbor, Marfa. Marfa turned out to be secretly involved with resellers. Now Lebedeva is publicly accused of bribery and is threatened with the loss of her 13-year-old son, Anatoly. Krokhina calmly advises her to repent before the staff.

Visit to Moscow

The Moscow apartment of renowned mathematician Oleg Nikitich Pevtsov is bustling. The scientist is relaxing after work with an old friend. Hippo specialist Pavel Veniaminovich Sukharev is complaining about the institute’s new, incompetent director. The men are reenacting old circus routines, calling each other the clown names Bim and Bom. The academician’s daughters are preoccupied with their personal lives. Student Marina is secretly bringing her latest suitor into the room, while lawyer Valya is chatting with her imperturbable fiancé, Makhonkov. Suddenly, Elena slips into the living room. She tells a stunned Pevtsov that Anatoly is his biological son from a brief affair in the town of Yuzhansk 14 years ago.

The guest demands that the academic intervene actively in the teenager’s life. The child is fascinated by higher mathematics, and Lebedeva wants to place him in a specialized Moscow boarding school. The academic is overcome with panic at such impudence. Valya assesses the situation from a legal perspective. The daughter convinces her father that the stranger is planning to sue for part of his wealth. The lawyer paints a grim picture of lawsuits, alimony payments, and false witness testimony. Pevtsov takes the woman to his dacha outside Moscow to avoid unnecessary witnesses and publicity.

Countryside negotiations

On the terrace, Elena presents the academician with material evidence. She shows him an album of Flemish painters, Rubens, with a dedication from Pevtsov, and an old photograph. In the picture, the scholar is embracing a young woman. The academician suddenly recalls that long-ago encounter. He declares that the girl’s name was Alena, and she had completely different, beautiful features. Lebedeva weeps bitterly at these words. She explains that she cut off her hair because of the demands of her work as a doctor, and her appearance has changed greatly under the weight of life’s hardships.

Pevtsov feels an unexpected sense of guilt and follows the fugitive to the airport. Near the ticket office, Elena openly recounts her experience with the investigation. Lebedeva has been made a scapegoat, orchestrated through a public media campaign. The scientist displays genuine human empathy. A warm, trusting conversation develops between them. Pevtsov jokingly demonstrates how to conduct an orchestra, and Elena laughs heartily. The academician makes a firm promise to place young Anatoly in a mathematics boarding school.

Returning home

The second act is preceded by a new meeting in Yuzhansk. The investigator closed the case due to a complete lack of evidence. However, Krokhina refuses to reinstate Elena as her attending physician. The official offers only boring paperwork in the medical statistics department. Meanwhile, in Moscow, Marina informs her sister that she refused to let Lebedeva, who had arrived from the south, into the apartment. The girl is genuinely proud of her aggressive behavior. Valya calls her sister stupid and takes firm control of the situation.

Pevtsov learns of Elena’s visit and is furious with his daughter. Valya, along with Makhonkov, brings their father a draft will. The children want to legally secure the dacha, car, library, and antiques. They are protecting their assets from the encroachments of a potential new wife. In protest against his daughters’ calculating cynicism, the academician stages a sarcastic performance. The scientist begins to remove his Swiss watch, shirt, and trousers. He suggests that his relatives immediately take all valuable personal belongings.

Secret Visit

The action shifts to a hotel in the seaside town of Yuzhansk. Pevtsov personally flew to the coast, unbeknownst to his family. Beforehand, he visited Krokhina and categorically demanded that Lebedeva be reinstated. Elena finds the academician in his room, but instead of expressing gratitude, she expresses sharp dissatisfaction. She declares that she is accustomed to complete independence and hates being indebted to anyone. Then she reveals to the mathematician the stunning truth: the teenager Anatoly has absolutely no connection to Pevtsov.

The whole story of genetic paternity turned out to be a complete fabrication, intended to save a talented child. The scientist feels deeply disappointed. He had gotten to know the gifted boy and had become genuinely attached to him. Lebedeva adamantly bids farewell and leaves, leaving the mathematician bewildered. On the street, she runs into Valya and Makhonkov. The couple had come south under the guise of a pre-wedding trip to secretly spy on the father. The doctor mockingly advises the lawyer to calm down and resolutely heads off to his business.

A month later, Makhonkov returns to Pevtsov’s office in the capital. The pragmatic fiancé returns Valya’s freedom and the antique family inkwell. The young man has found a more advantageous match abroad — the wealthy heiress of a Greek oil mill. Sukharev is astonished by the former "patriot’s" lack of principles. Soon, Elena appears at the door again. She has brought a seriously ill patient for a consultation at a Moscow clinic.

The woman claims she stopped by to see Pevtsov purely out of habit. The academician asks ironically why his guest isn’t rushing to leave. The doctor bluntly replies that she’s simply taking a break from his company. A long, emotionally charged pause ensues. Suddenly, Pevtsov utters a line from his favorite old clown routine: "Hello, Bim!" Lebedeva, without the slightest hesitation, picks up the chant and replies with a smile: "Hello, Bim!"