After The Theatre
by Anton Chekhov
NADYA ZELENIN had just come back with her mamma from the theatre where she had seen a performance of "Yevgeny Onyegin." As soon as she reached her own room she threw off her dress, let down her hair, and in her petticoat and white dressing-jacket hastily sat down to the table to write a letter like Tatyana's.
"I love you," she wrote, "but you do not love me, do not love me!"
She wrote it and laughed.
She was only sixteen and did not yet love anyone. She knew that an officer called Gorny and a student called Gruzdev loved her, but now after the opera she wanted to be doubtful of their love. To be unloved and unhappy -- how interesting that was. There is something beautiful, touching, and poetical about it when one loves and the other is indifferent. Onyegin was interesting because he was not in love at all, and Tatyana was fascinating because she was so much in love; but if they had been equally in love with each other and had been happy, they would perhaps have seemed dull.
"Leave off declaring that you love me," Nadya went on writing, thinking of Gorny. "I cannot believe it. You are very clever, cultivated, serious, you have immense talent, and perhaps a brilliant future awaits you, while I am an uninteresting girl of no importance, and you know very well that I should be only a hindrance in your life. It is true that you were attracted by me and thought you had found your ideal in me, but that was a mistake, and now you are asking yourself in despair: 'Why did I meet that girl?' And only your goodness of heart prevents you from owning it to yourself. . . ."
Nadya felt sorry for herself, she began to cry, and went on:
"It is hard for me to leave my mother and my brother, or I should take a nun's veil and go whither chance may lead me. And you would be left free and would love another. Oh, if I were dead! "
She could not make out what she had written through her tears; little rainbows were quivering on the table, on the floor, on the ceiling, as though she were looking through a prism. She could not write, she sank back in her easy-chair and fell to thinking of Gorny.
My God! how interesting, how fascinating men were! Nadya recalled the fine expression, ingratiating, guilty, and soft, which came into the officer's face when one argued about music with him, and the effort he made to prevent his voice from betraying his passion. In a society where cold haughtiness and indifference are regarded as signs of good breeding and gentlemanly bearing, one must conceal one's passions. And he did try to conceal them, but he did not succeed, and everyone knew very well that he had a passionate love of music. The endless discussions about music and the bold criticisms of people who knew nothing about it kept him always on the strain; he was frightened, timid, and silent. He played the piano magnificently, like a professional pianist, and if he had not been in the army he would certainly have been a famous musician.
The tears on her eyes dried. Nadya remembered that Gorny had declared his love at a Symphony concert, and again downstairs by the hatstand where there was a tremendous draught blowing in all directions.
"I am very glad that you have at last made the acquaintance of Gruzdev, our student friend," she went on writing. "He is a very clever man, and you will be sure to like him. He came to see us yesterday and stayed till two o'clock. We were all delighted with him, and I regretted that you had not come. He said a great deal that was remarkable."
Nadya laid her arms on the table and leaned her head on them, and her hair covered the letter. She recalled that the student, too, loved her, and that he had as much right to a letter from her as Gorny. Wouldn't it be better after all to write to Gruzdev? There was a stir of joy in her bosom for no reason whatever; at first the joy was small, and rolled in her bosom like an india-rubber ball; then it became more massive, bigger, and rushed like a wave. Nadya forgot Gorny and Gruzdev; her thoughts were in a tangle and her joy grew and grew; from her bosom it passed into her arms and legs, and it seemed as though a light, cool breeze were breathing on her head and ruffling her hair. Her shoulders quivered with subdued laughter, the table and the lamp chimney shook, too, and tears from her eyes splashed on the letter. She could not stop laughing, and to prove to herself that she was not laughing about nothing she made haste to think of something funny.
"What a funny poodle," she said, feeling as though she would choke with laughter. "What a funny poodle! "
She thought how, after tea the evening before, Gruzdev had played with Maxim the poodle, and afterwards had told them about a very intelligent poodle who had run after a crow in the yard, and the crow had looked round at him and said: "Oh, you scamp! "
The poodle, not knowing he had to do with a learned crow, was fearfully confused and retreated in perplexity, then began barking. . . .
"No, I had better love Gruzdev," Nadya decided, and she tore up the letter to Gorny.
She fell to thinking of the student, of his love, of her love; but the thoughts in her head insisted on flowing in all directions, and she thought about everything -- about her mother, about the street, about the pencil, about the piano. . . . She thought of them joyfully, and felt that everything was good, splendid, and her joy told her that this was not all, that in a little while it would be better still. Soon it would be spring, summer, going with her mother to Gorbiki. Gorny would come for his furlough, would walk about the garden with her and make love to her. Gruzdev would come too. He would play croquet and skittles with her, and would tell her wonderful things. She had a passionate longing for the garden, the darkness, the pure sky, the stars. Again her shoulders shook with laughter, and it seemed to her that there was a scent of wormwood in the room and that a twig was tapping at the window.
She went to her bed, sat down, and not knowing what to do with the immense joy which filled her with yearning, she looked at the holy image hanging at the back of her bed, and said:
"Oh, Lord God! Oh, Lord God!"
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "After the Theatre" by Anton Chekhov about?
"After the Theatre" is an 1892 short story about sixteen-year-old Nadya Zelenin who returns home from a performance of Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin in an emotionally heightened state. Inspired by the opera's heroine Tatyana, Nadya sits down to write a dramatic love letter to an officer named Gorny, romanticizing the idea of being unloved and unhappy. She then thinks of a student named Gruzdev, tears up the letter to Gorny, and decides she prefers Gruzdev instead. The story captures the whirlwind of adolescent emotions as Nadya's feelings shift rapidly from melodramatic sorrow to irrepressible, almost inexplicable joy.
What opera does Nadya see in "After the Theatre"?
Nadya attends a performance of Eugene Onegin ("Yevgeny Onyegin"), the famous opera by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky based on Alexander Pushkin's verse novel of the same name. The opera tells the story of Tatyana, a young woman who writes a passionate love letter to the aloof Eugene Onegin, only to be rejected. This plot directly inspires Nadya's own behavior when she returns home: she immediately sits down to write a love letter imitating Tatyana's confession. The parallel between Tatyana's sincere, deep love and Nadya's playful imitation is central to the story's ironic tone.
Who are Gorny and Gruzdev in "After the Theatre"?
Gorny is a military officer who loves Nadya and has a concealed but passionate love of music. He declared his love to Nadya at a symphony concert and again by the hatstand in a draughty corridor. Gruzdev is a university student who also loves Nadya and recently visited her family, staying until two in the morning and impressing everyone with his conversation. Nadya begins writing her dramatic letter to Gorny but, after remembering Gruzdev's charm and a funny story he told about a poodle and a crow, tears up the letter and decides she would rather love Gruzdev. Neither man appears directly in the story; both exist only through Nadya's shifting romantic imagination.
What is the main theme of "After the Theatre" by Chekhov?
The main theme is the powerful influence of art on a young, impressionable mind. After watching Eugene Onegin, Nadya does not simply enjoy the opera -- she absorbs its emotional world and begins performing it in her own life, writing a love letter modeled on Tatyana's. also explores the theme of adolescent romanticism: Nadya finds unrequited love beautiful and interesting, preferring dramatic suffering to mutual happiness. The story suggests that at sixteen, emotions are intense but fleeting, shaped more by imagination and outside influences than by genuine experience.
Why does Nadya romanticize being unloved in "After the Theatre"?
Nadya romanticizes being unloved because she has been deeply affected by the opera Eugene Onegin, in which unrequited love is portrayed as noble and poetic. She reflects that Onegin is interesting because he does not love, and Tatyana is fascinating because she loves so deeply -- and concludes that if they had been equally in love, "they would perhaps have seemed dull." At sixteen, Nadya has no real experience of love, so she treats it as an aesthetic experience rather than an emotional reality. gently satirizes this youthful tendency to prefer the drama of suffering over the plainness of contentment.
What literary devices does Chekhov use in "After the Theatre"?
Chekhov employs several key literary devices. Irony pervades the story: Nadya writes a heartfelt letter about being unloved while two men genuinely love her, and she cries over imagined sorrow before dissolving into unexplained laughter. Free indirect discourse blends the narrator's voice with Nadya's thoughts, allowing readers to experience her emotional turbulence from the inside. also uses symbolism -- the "little rainbows" quivering through Nadya's tears on the table, floor, and ceiling suggest the prismatic, distorted way she sees reality. The parallel with Tatyana's letter from Eugene Onegin functions as a literary allusion that frames Nadya's imitative behavior.
What is the significance of the joy Nadya feels at the end of "After the Theatre"?
The overwhelming joy that fills Nadya at the end of the story represents the pure, undirected vitality of youth. After cycling through dramatic sorrow, nostalgic longing, and romantic indecision, Nadya is suddenly overcome by a happiness that has no specific cause -- it "rolled in her bosom like an india-rubber ball" and then grew into a wave. This joy is not about Gorny or Gruzdev specifically; it is the exuberance of being sixteen and feeling that the future holds limitless possibility. suggests that this formless anticipation -- "in a little while it would be better still" -- is more authentic than the theatrical sadness Nadya was performing earlier.
How does "After the Theatre" connect to Pushkin's <em>Eugene Onegin</em>?
The story is a deliberate intertextual dialogue with Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, which 's readers would have known intimately. Just as Tatyana writes a confessional love letter to the indifferent Onegin, Nadya sits down and writes "I love you, but you do not love me" to Gorny. However, where Tatyana's letter is sincere and consequential, Nadya's is self-conscious play-acting -- she writes it and laughs. Chekhov uses this parallel to highlight the difference between genuine emotional depth and its adolescent imitation. The story can be read as a gentle comedy about how great literature gets absorbed and trivialized by impressionable young readers.
Why does Nadya choose Gruzdev over Gorny in "After the Theatre"?
Nadya's decision to "love" Gruzdev over Gorny is impulsive and whimsical rather than deeply felt. While composing her dramatic letter to Gorny, she remembers that Gruzdev also loves her and "had as much right to a letter." She then recalls Gruzdev's charming visit and especially his funny anecdote about a poodle chasing a crow that said "Oh, you scamp!" This humorous memory triggers uncontrollable laughter, and she abruptly decides "No, I had better love Gruzdev" and tears up the letter. uses this sudden reversal to show that Nadya's romantic attachments are based on momentary feelings rather than any real understanding of either man.
When was "After the Theatre" written and what is its place in Chekhov's work?
"After the Theatre" was published in 1892, during a prolific middle period in 's career when he was producing many of his finest short stories. The story exemplifies Chekhov's characteristic technique of exploring profound psychological truths through seemingly small, everyday moments -- here, a girl writing a letter after attending an opera. Its use of free indirect discourse to render a young woman's consciousness anticipates modernist techniques later developed by writers like Virginia Woolf. The story belongs to a group of Chekhov works that examine how art, performance, and social convention shape private emotional life.
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