Sleepy Flashcards
by Anton Chekhov — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: Sleepy
What is Varka doing when the story opens?
She is rocking a cradle and humming a lullaby to a crying baby in the middle of the night, struggling to stay awake.
Why is Varka afraid to fall asleep?
Her master and mistress will beat her if she falls asleep while tending the baby.
What happened to Varka's father, Yefim?
He died of a burst hernia after being taken to the hospital too late. A doctor was called but could only recommend surgery that came after the point of no return.
What does Varka's mother Pelageya do after Yefim's death?
She takes to the road, begging strangers for alms and charity -- "Give alms, for Christ's sake!" -- while searching for work with young Varka beside her.
What tasks does Varka perform during the day besides tending the baby?
She heats the stove, sets the samovar, cleans goloshes, washes steps, sweeps, dusts, peels potatoes, waits at dinner, serves tea to visitors, and runs errands for beer and vodka.
What "solution" does Varka arrive at in her delirium?
She identifies the crying baby as the "foe" that prevents her from sleeping and decides that killing it will let her finally rest.
What is the last thing Varka does in the story?
After strangling the baby, she lies down on the floor, laughs with delight, and falls asleep "as sound as the dead" within a minute.
How old is Varka, and what is her role in the household?
She is thirteen years old and works as a nursemaid ("little nurse") and general servant in a shoemaker's household.
Who are the master and mistress, and how do they treat Varka?
They are a shoemaker and his wife. They beat Varka, work her around the clock, and show no concern for her exhaustion -- the mistress is described as "fat" and "angry," talking so loudly it rings in Varka's ears.
Who is Afanasy?
He is the shoemaker's apprentice, heard snoring in the next room while Varka must stay awake rocking the baby.
What kind of person was Varka's father Yefim before he died?
He was a working man who fell ill with a hernia so painful he could only make "boo-boo-boo" sounds. Despite his suffering, he accepted death with quiet resignation, telling the doctor, "Since death has come, there it is."
How does Varka's emotional state change over the course of the story?
She moves from exhausted misery to passive endurance during the day, then to hallucinatory confusion at night, and finally to a state of deranged relief and delight when she decides to kill the baby.
How does the story present sleep as more than a comfort?
Chekhov portrays sleep as a fundamental biological need whose denial leads to psychosis -- Varka's hallucinations and eventual violence demonstrate that without sleep, the human mind literally breaks down.
What does the story suggest about moral responsibility under extreme deprivation?
It implies that Varka cannot be held fully responsible for her actions because her capacity for rational thought has been destroyed by the conditions imposed on her -- the true guilt lies with those who created those conditions.
How does Varka's situation reflect the broader exploitation of child servants?
As an orphan with no protector, Varka has no recourse against abuse. Her masters treat her exhaustion as laziness, illustrating how the servant system dehumanized children by treating them as tools rather than people.
What is ironic about the cycle of suffering in the story?
The baby -- another innocent -- becomes the target of Varka's desperation. The cycle of exploitation produces a victim who destroys another victim, compounding the tragedy rather than escaping it.
What narrative technique does Chekhov use to reveal Varka's backstory?
He uses hallucinations and dream sequences triggered by sleep deprivation. Varka's past -- her father's death, her mother's begging -- emerges through visions she experiences while half-asleep at the cradle.
What effect does the repetition of "Hush-a-bye, my baby wee" create?
It creates a hypnotic, suffocating rhythm that mirrors Varka's trapped existence -- the lullaby becomes an incantation marking the endless, inescapable cycle of sleepless nights.
What point of view is the story told from, and why does it matter?
Third-person limited, closely aligned with Varka's consciousness. This pulls the reader into her disoriented perception so we experience reality dissolving alongside her.
How does the final simile -- sleeping "as sound as the dead" -- function?
It creates a devastating double meaning: Varka sleeps as deeply as a dead person, while the baby she just killed is literally dead. The simile links her sleep to the death that purchased it.
What is a "samovar" as mentioned repeatedly in the story?
A traditional Russian metal urn used to heat water for tea. Varka must heat it multiple times a day for her masters and their guests.
What is an "ikon" (icon) in the context of the story?
A religious painting or image, common in Russian households. The small green lamp burning before the ikon casts the green patch on the ceiling that haunts Varka throughout the story.
What does "churring" mean as used to describe the cricket?
It means making a continuous, low trilling or vibrating sound. The cricket's churring in the stove blends into the oppressive nighttime soundscape that torments Varka.
What do the travelers on the muddy road say when Varka asks why they are lying down?
"To sleep, to sleep!" -- their answer echoes Varka's own desperate longing and foreshadows her willingness to do anything for rest.
What words reveal Varka's final delusion before she acts?
"That foe is the baby." This single sentence marks the moment her hallucination-warped logic identifies the infant as the obstacle to sleep, leading directly to the killing.