The story was first published in the humorous magazine Oskolki on 19 March 1883, signed A. Chekhonte.[1] It made its way into the collection called Motley Stories (1886) and, with some stylistic revision, was later included into Volume 1 of Chekhov's Collected Works, published by Adolf Marks in 1899. During its author's lifetime, "An Enigmatic Nature" was translated into Bulgarian, German, Polish, Serbo-Croatian, Czech, Finnish and Swedish languages.[2]
Plot summary
In a train compartment, Voldemar, a provincial secretary of Special Commissions, who is also a budding young author, talks to an agitated young lady, reclining on a seat opposite to him. He is fascinated with the great enigma of her apparently wonderful inner world, eager to unravel its mysteries, and she, a self-proclaimed 'sufferer in Dostoyevsky's taste' implores him to reveal her soul to the world in one of his novellas.
So she tells him how she, a young girl, looking for brighter horizons, married an old army general, so as to become an heiress one day and, with all the wealth thus gained, go back to the man whom she really adored. Now, according to the plan, the general dies, but no happiness comes her way, for there is now a serious hurdle that stands between her and the man she loves. And that is… another army general, who is both rich and old.
As the train leaves the station, Voldemar the writer sits pondering on how indeed enigmatic this wonderful creature's soul must be.
^Commentaries to Загадочная натура // Чехов А. П. Полное собрание сочинений и писем: В 30 т. Сочинения: В 18 т. / АН СССР. Ин-т мировой лит. им. А. М. Горького. — М.: Наука, 1974—1982 / Т. 2. [Рассказы. Юморески], 1883—1884. — М.: Наука, 1975. — С. 90—92
External links
Загадочная натура, the original Russian text
An Enigmatic Nature, English translation
January 31, 2023
enigmatic, nature, russian, Загадочная, натура, romanized, zagadochnaya, natura, 1883, short, story, anton, chekhov, anton, chekhovoriginal, titleЗагадочная, натураtranslatorconstance, garnettcountryrussialanguagerussiangenre, humour, satirepublished, inoskolk. An Enigmatic Nature Russian Zagadochnaya natura romanized Zagadochnaya natura is an 1883 short story by Anton Chekhov An Enigmatic Nature by Anton ChekhovOriginal titleZagadochnaya naturaTranslatorConstance GarnettCountryRussiaLanguageRussianGenre s humour satirePublished inOskolki 1883 PublisherAdolf Marks 1899 Publication date19 March 1883 Contents 1 Publication 2 Plot summary 3 References 4 External linksPublication EditThe story was first published in the humorous magazine Oskolki on 19 March 1883 signed A Chekhonte 1 It made its way into the collection called Motley Stories 1886 and with some stylistic revision was later included into Volume 1 of Chekhov s Collected Works published by Adolf Marks in 1899 During its author s lifetime An Enigmatic Nature was translated into Bulgarian German Polish Serbo Croatian Czech Finnish and Swedish languages 2 Plot summary EditIn a train compartment Voldemar a provincial secretary of Special Commissions who is also a budding young author talks to an agitated young lady reclining on a seat opposite to him He is fascinated with the great enigma of her apparently wonderful inner world eager to unravel its mysteries and she a self proclaimed sufferer in Dostoyevsky s taste implores him to reveal her soul to the world in one of his novellas So she tells him how she a young girl looking for brighter horizons married an old army general so as to become an heiress one day and with all the wealth thus gained go back to the man whom she really adored Now according to the plan the general dies but no happiness comes her way for there is now a serious hurdle that stands between her and the man she loves And that is another army general who is both rich and old As the train leaves the station Voldemar the writer sits pondering on how indeed enigmatic this wonderful creature s soul must be References Edit ZAGADOChNAYa NATURA Chehov A P Dslov ru dslov ru in Russian Retrieved 2017 06 03 Commentaries to Zagadochnaya natura Chehov A P Polnoe sobranie sochinenij i pisem V 30 t Sochineniya V 18 t AN SSSR In t mirovoj lit im A M Gorkogo M Nauka 1974 1982 T 2 Rasskazy Yumoreski 1883 1884 M Nauka 1975 S 90 92External links EditZagadochnaya natura the original Russian text An Enigmatic Nature English translation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title An Enigmatic Nature amp oldid 1121913777, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
