A Defenseless Creature
by Anton Chekhov
A Defenseless Creature has become one of our favorite Chekhov works, featured in our Russian Writers and Realism Study Guide
IN spite of a violent attack of gout in the night and the nervous exhaustion left by it, Kistunov went in the morning to his office and began punctually seeing the clients of the bank and persons who had come with petitions. He looked languid and exhausted, and spoke in a faint voice hardly above a whisper, as though he were dying.
"What can I do for you?" he asked a lady in an antediluvian mantle, whose back view was extremely suggestive of a huge dung-beetle.
"You see, your Excellency," the petitioner in question began, speaking rapidly, "my husband Shtchukin, a collegiate assessor, was ill for five months, and while he, if you will excuse my saying so, was laid up at home, he was for no sort of reason dismissed, your Excellency; and when I went for his salary they deducted, if you please, your Excellency, twenty-four roubles thirty-six kopecks from his salary. 'What for?' I asked. 'He borrowed from the club fund,' they told me, 'and the other clerks had stood security for him.' How was that? How could he have borrowed it without my consent? It's impossible, your Excellency. What's the reason of it? I am a poor woman, I earn my bread by taking in lodgers. I am a weak, defenceless woman . . . I have to put up with ill-usage from everyone and never hear a kind word. . ."
The petitioner was blinking, and dived into her mantle for her handkerchief. Kistunov took her petition from her and began reading it.
"Excuse me, what's this?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders. "I can make nothing of it. Evidently you have come to the wrong place, madam. Your petition has nothing to do with us at all. You will have to apply to the department in which your husband was employed."
"Why, my dear sir, I have been to five places already, and they would not even take the petition anywhere," said Madame Shtchukin. "I'd quite lost my head, but, thank goodness -- God bless him for it -- my son-in-law, Boris Matveyitch, advised me to come to you. 'You go to Mr. Kistunov, mamma: he is an influential man, he can do anything for you. . . .' Help me, your Excellency!"
"We can do nothing for you, Madame Shtchukin. You must understand: your husband served in the Army Medical Department, and our establishment is a purely private commercial undertaking, a bank. Surely you must understand that!"
Kistunov shrugged his shoulders again and turned to a gentleman in a military uniform, with a swollen face.
"Your Excellency," piped Madame Shtchukin in a pitiful voice, " I have the doctor's certificate that my husband was ill! Here it is, if you will kindly look at it."
"Very good, I believe you," Kistunov said irritably, "but I repeat it has nothing to do with us. It's queer and positively absurd! Surely your husband must know where you are to apply?"
"He knows nothing, your Excellency. He keeps on: 'It's not your business! Get away!' -- that's all I can get out of him. . . . Whose business is it, then? It's I have to keep them all!"
Kistunov again turned to Madame Shtchukin and began explaining to her the difference between the Army Medical Department and a private bank. She listened attentively, nodded in token of assent, and said:
"Yes . . . yes . . . yes . . . I understand, sir. In that case, your Excellency, tell them to pay me fifteen roubles at least! I agree to take part on account!
"Ough!" sighed Kistunov, letting his head drop back. "There's no making you see reason. Do understand that to apply to us with such a petition is as strange as to send in a petition concerning divorce, for instance, to a chemist's or to the Assaying Board. You have not been paid your due, but what have we to do with it?"
"Your Excellency, make me remember you in my prayers for the rest of my days, have pity on a lone, lorn woman," wailed Madame Shtchukin; "I am a weak, defenceless woman. . . . I am worried to death, I've to settle with the lodgers and see to my husband's affairs and fly round looking after the house, and I am going to church every day this week, and my son-in-law is out of a job. . . . I might as well not eat or drink. . . . I can scarcely keep on my feet. . . . I haven't slept all night. . . ."
Kistunov was conscious of the palpitation of his heart. With a face of anguish, pressing his hand on his heart, he began explaining to Madame Shtchukin again, but his voice failed him.
"No, excuse me, I cannot talk to you," he said with a wave of his hand. "My head's going round. You are hindering us and wasting your time. Ough! Alexey Nikolaitch," he said, addressing one of his clerks, "please will you explain to Madame Shtchukin?"
Kistunov, passing by all the petitioners, went to his private room and signed about a dozen papers while Alexey Nikolaitch was still engaged with Madame Shtchukin. As he sat in his room Kistunov heard two voices: the monotonous, restrained bass of Alexey Nikolaitch and the shrill, wailing voice of Madame Shtchukin.
"I am a weak, defenceless woman, I am a woman in delicate health," said Madame Shtchukin. "I look strong, but if you were to overhaul me there is not one healthy fibre in me. I can scarcely keep on my feet, and my appetite is gone. . . . I drank my cup of coffee this morning without the slightest relish. . . ."
Alexey Nikolaitch explained to her the difference between the departments and the complicated system of sending in papers. He was soon exhausted, and his place was taken by the accountant.
"A wonderfully disagreeable woman!" said Kistunov, revolted, nervously cracking his fingers and continually going to the decanter of water. "She's a perfect idiot! She's worn me out and she'll exhaust them, the nasty creature! Ough! . . . my heart is throbbing."
Half an hour later he rang his bell. Alexey Nikolaitch made his appearance.
"How are things going?" Kistunov asked languidly.
"We can't make her see anything, Pyotr Alexandritch! We are simply done. We talk of one thing and she talks of something else."
"I . . . I can't stand the sound of her voice. . . . I am ill. . . . I can't bear it."
"Send for the porter, Pyotr Alexandritch, let him put her out."
"No, no," cried Kistunov in alarm. "She will set up a squeal, and there are lots of flats in this building, and goodness knows what they would think of us. . . . Do try and explain to her, my dear fellow. . . ."
A minute later the deep drone of Alexey Nikolaitch's voice was audible again. A quarter of an hour passed, and instead of his bass there was the murmur of the accountant's powerful tenor."
"Re-mark-ably nasty woman," Kistunov thought indignantly, nervously shrugging his shoulders. "No more brains than a sheep. I believe that's a twinge of the gout again. . . . My migraine is coming back. . . ."
In the next room Alexey Nikolaitch, at the end of his resources, at last tapped his finger on the table and then on his own forehead.
"The fact of the matter is you haven't a head on your shoulders," he said, "but this."
"Come, come," said the old lady, offended. "Talk to your own wife like that. . . . You screw! . . . Don't be too free with your hands."
And looking at her with fury, with exasperation, as though he would devour her, Alexey Nikolaitch said in a quiet, stifled voice:
"Clear out."
"Wha-at?" squealed Madame Shtchukin. "How dare you? I am a weak, defenceless woman; I won't endure it. My husband is a collegiate assessor. You screw! . . . I will go to Dmitri Karlitch, the lawyer, and there will be nothing left of you! I've had the law of three lodgers, and I will make you flop down at my feet for your saucy words! I'll go to your general. Your Excellency, your Excellency!"
"Be off, you pest," hissed Alexey Nikolaitch.
Kistunov opened his door and looked into the office.
"What is it?" he asked in a tearful voice.
Madame Shtchukin, as red as a crab, was standing in the middle of the room, rolling her eyes and prodding the air with her fingers. The bank clerks were standing round red in the face too, and, evidently harassed, were looking at each other distractedly.
"Your Excellency," cried Madame Shtchukin, pouncing upon Kistunov. "Here, this man, he here . . . this man . . ." (she pointed to Alexey Nikolaitch) "tapped himself on the forehead and then tapped the table. . . . You told him to go into my case, and he's jeering at me! I am a weak, defenceless woman. . . . My husband is a collegiate assessor, and I am a major's daughter myself! "
"Very good, madam," moaned Kistunov. "I will go into it . . . I will take steps. . . . Go away . . . later!"
"And when shall I get the money, your Excellency? I need it to-day!"
Kistunov passed his trembling hand over his forehead, heaved a sigh, and began explaining again.
"Madam, I have told you already this is a bank, a private commercial establishment. . . . What do you want of us? And do understand that you are hindering us."
Madame Shtchukin listened to him and sighed.
"To be sure, to be sure," she assented. "Only, your Excellency, do me the kindness, make me pray for you for the rest of my life, be a father, protect me! If a medical certificate is not enough I can produce an affidavit from the police. . . . Tell them to give me the money."
Everything began swimming before Kistunov's eyes. He breathed out all the air in his lungs in a prolonged sigh and sank helpless on a chair.
"How much do you want?" he asked in a weak voice.
"Twenty-four roubles and thirty-six kopecks."
Kistunov took his pocket-book out of his pocket, extracted a twenty-five rouble note and gave it to Madame Shtchukin.
"Take it and . . . and go away!"
Madame Shtchukin wrapped the money up in her handkerchief, put it away, and pursing up her face into a sweet, mincing, even coquettish smile, asked:
"Your Excellency, and would it be possible for my husband to get a post again?"
"I am going . . . I am ill . . ." said Kistunov in a weary voice. "I have dreadful palpitations."
When he had driven home Alexey Nikolaitch sent Nikita for some laurel drops, and, after taking twenty drops each, all the clerks set to work, while Madame Shtchukin stayed another two hours in the vestibule, talking to the porter and waiting for Kistunov to return. . . .
She came again next day.
This story is featured in our guide to Russian Writers. You may also enjoy reading a similar story in which a seemingly defenseless woman, is anything but; Bret Harte's Colonel Starbottle for the Plaintiff
This story is featured in our collection of Short Stories for Middle School II
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "A Defenseless Creature" by Anton Chekhov about?
"A Defenseless Creature" is a comic short story about Madame Shtchukin, a woman who storms into a private bank to demand twenty-four roubles and thirty-six kopecks that were deducted from her sick husband's salary. Despite being told repeatedly that the bank has nothing to do with her husband's government employment, she refuses to leave, wearing down the bank director Kistunov and his entire staff. Kistunov, already suffering from gout and palpitations, eventually pays her out of his own pocket just to end the ordeal. The story is a masterpiece of Chekhovian satire about bureaucratic absurdity and the ironic power of relentless persistence.
Who is the real "defenseless creature" in Chekhov's story?
The title is deeply ironic. While Madame Shtchukin repeatedly calls herself "a weak, defenceless woman," she is actually the most powerful person in the story, bulldozing through every attempt to redirect her. The true defenseless creature is Kistunov, the bank director, who is physically ill with gout, emotionally exhausted, and utterly helpless against her relentless persistence. inverts expectations so that the supposedly powerful bank official becomes the victim, while the supposedly helpless petitioner becomes the predator. This ironic reversal is central to the story's humor and social commentary.
What are the main themes of "A Defenseless Creature"?
The story explores several interconnected themes. Bureaucratic absurdity is central, as Madame Shtchukin has been sent to five different offices before arriving at the wrong one yet again. Persistence versus authority drives the plot, showing how sheer stubbornness can defeat institutional power. The theme of appearances versus reality runs throughout, since the "defenseless" woman is actually indomitable and the powerful bank director is genuinely helpless. also examines human weakness through Kistunov's inability to maintain boundaries despite knowing her claim is illegitimate, ultimately paying her from his own pocket to escape the torment.
What literary devices does Chekhov use in "A Defenseless Creature"?
Chekhov employs situational irony as his primary device: the title suggests vulnerability, but the "defenseless" woman dominates everyone she encounters. Repetition is used to comic effect, as Madame Shtchukin declares "I am a weak, defenceless woman" six times, turning the phrase into a satirical refrain. Contrast between Kistunov's physical deterioration and Madame Shtchukin's relentless energy heightens the comedy. also uses hyperbole in describing the cumulative physical toll on the bank staff, who all need laurel drops after the encounter. The story's deadpan realism makes the absurdity feel naturalistic rather than farcical.
What is the role of irony in "A Defenseless Creature"?
Irony operates on multiple levels throughout the story. The title itself is ironic, since Madame Shtchukin is anything but defenseless. There is situational irony in a bank director's being powerless inside his own bank, and in a petitioner's winning a claim she has no legal right to. Dramatic irony arises because the reader quickly sees what Kistunov cannot accept: that no rational argument will dislodge her. Even the ending is ironic'she asks whether her husband can get a job back, showing her demands are bottomless, and then she returns the next day, suggesting Kistunov's capitulation has only encouraged her.
Who are the main characters in "A Defenseless Creature"?
Kistunov (Pyotr Alexandritch) is the bank director suffering from gout, migraines, and heart palpitations who tries in vain to explain that the bank cannot help Madame Shtchukin. He is polite, institutional, and ultimately spineless under pressure. Madame Shtchukin is the petitioner whose husband, a collegiate assessor, had twenty-four roubles deducted from his salary at a government office. She is tenacious, theatrical, and completely impervious to logic. Alexey Nikolaitch is the clerk who tries to take over but eventually loses his temper, tapping his forehead to suggest she is senseless. The accountant also takes a turn attempting to reason with her, equally without success.
Why does Kistunov pay Madame Shtchukin from his own pocket?
Kistunov pays the twenty-five roubles from his personal wallet because he is physically and emotionally broken by Madame Shtchukin's relentless siege. Already ill with gout and suffering from palpitations and migraine, he has exhausted every avenue: rational explanation, delegation to his clerk Alexey Nikolaitch, and then to the accountant. None of it works. His payment is not an act of generosity but one of desperate self-preservation'he literally cannot endure another moment of her presence. uses this capitulation to satirize how persistence, not merit, wins in a bureaucratic world.
What is the significance of the ending of "A Defenseless Creature"?
The ending delivers a devastating comic punchline. After Kistunov pays Madame Shtchukin and begs her to leave, she immediately asks whether her husband can get his job back'showing that satisfying one demand only opens the door to more. When Kistunov flees home, the staff must take laurel drops (a 19th-century nerve tonic) to recover. Most significantly, the final two lines reveal that Madame Shtchukin waited in the vestibule for hours and then came again the next day. This cyclical ending suggests her siege is not a one-time event but an inescapable pattern, amplifying the story's dark comedy.
How does Chekhov use humor in "A Defenseless Creature"?
Chekhov's humor in this story is built on escalation and repetition. The comedy snowballs as each staff member takes a turn trying to reason with Madame Shtchukin and fails spectacularly. Her repeated refrain of being "a weak, defenceless woman" becomes funnier each time as her actual dominance becomes more obvious. Physical comedy appears through Kistunov's deteriorating health'his gout, palpitations, and migraine worsen with each interaction. The contrast between the formal, polite bank environment and the chaotic disruption Madame Shtchukin causes creates a sustained comedy of manners. Her final "sweet, mincing, even coquettish smile" after receiving the money is a brilliantly observed comic detail.
What is the conflict in "A Defenseless Creature" by Chekhov?
The central conflict is between Madame Shtchukin's immovable demand and Kistunov's inability to satisfy it through proper channels. She wants twenty-four roubles thirty-six kopecks deducted from her husband's salary at a government office, but she has come to a private bank that has no connection to the case. The conflict is irresolvable through logic because Madame Shtchukin simply does not accept the distinction between the institutions. This creates a secondary conflict: Kistunov must choose between enduring endless torment and paying her himself. uses this absurd, Kafkaesque situation to expose the futility of rational discourse against someone who refuses to listen.
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