The Death Of A Government Clerk Flashcards
by Anton Chekhov — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: The Death Of A Government Clerk
Where is Tchervyakov when the inciting incident occurs?
He is sitting in the second row of the stalls at the opera, watching the Cloches de Corneville through opera glasses.
What happens immediately after Tchervyakov sneezes?
He looks around and sees an old gentleman in the first row wiping his bald head and neck with his glove, muttering to himself.
How many times does Tchervyakov apologize to General Brizzhalov throughout the story?
He apologizes at least five times: twice at the opera (during the performance and at the interval), once at the general's reception room the next day, once when the general is leaving that room, and once more the following day.
What does Tchervyakov's wife advise him to do after he tells her about the sneeze?
She tells him he should go and apologize, warning that otherwise the general will think he does not know how to behave in public.
What does General Brizzhalov finally yell at Tchervyakov during their last encounter?
He yells "Be off!" twice, turning purple and shaking all over.
What does Tchervyakov resolve to do after the general accuses him of making fun?
He decides he will write a letter instead of apologizing in person and refuses to grovel to a "fanfaron" any longer. However, he cannot compose the letter and returns in person the next day.
How does the story end?
Tchervyakov goes home, lies down on the sofa without removing his uniform, and dies.
What is Tchervyakov's full name and occupation?
His full name is Ivan Dmitritch Tchervyakov, and he is a low-ranking government clerk.
What is General Brizzhalov's position in the Russian bureaucracy?
He is a civilian general serving in the Department of Transport, which is a different department from Tchervyakov's.
Why is Tchervyakov's wife initially frightened but then reassured?
She is frightened when she hears about the sneeze, but she is reassured when she learns Brizzhalov is in a different department and therefore has no direct authority over her husband.
How does Tchervyakov interpret Brizzhalov's dismissive responses?
He interprets them as signs of hidden anger, believing there is a "fiendish light" in the general's eye and that the general secretly thinks Tchervyakov spat on him intentionally.
How does the general's emotional state change across his interactions with Tchervyakov?
He moves from genuine indifference ("Never mind") to impatience ("I'd forgotten it") to bewilderment ("What nonsense") and finally to explosive rage ("Be off!").
What does Tchervyakov's inability to stop apologizing reveal about the class system?
It reveals that rigid social hierarchy has conditioned lower-ranking people to live in constant fear of offending their superiors, even when no real offense has occurred.
How does the story illustrate the theme of self-destruction through anxiety?
Tchervyakov creates his own catastrophe by obsessing over a trivial sneeze. The general repeatedly forgives him, but Tchervyakov's anxiety escalates until it literally kills him.
What does the story suggest about the gap between perception and reality?
Tchervyakov's perception that the general is secretly furious is entirely fabricated. The reality is that Brizzhalov genuinely does not care, but Tchervyakov's class-conditioned paranoia prevents him from accepting this.
How does the story explore the dehumanizing effect of bureaucratic rank?
Tchervyakov cannot relate to Brizzhalov as one human being to another. He sees only the rank, which transforms a simple sneeze into an existential crisis requiring endless penance.
What narrative technique does Chekhov use in the opening line about "But suddenly"?
He uses a metafictional aside, directly acknowledging the literary convention of the unexpected twist ("In stories one so often meets with this But suddenly") and breaking the fourth wall.
How does Chekhov use repetition as a structural device in this story?
The cycle of apology and dismissal repeats with escalating intensity across multiple scenes, creating a rhythm that mirrors Tchervyakov's compulsive behavior and builds comic tension toward the absurd ending.
What is the effect of Chekhov ending the story with the blunt sentence "and died"?
The abrupt, matter-of-fact statement creates darkly comic bathos. After pages of emotional escalation, the sudden flatness forces the reader to confront how absurd and tragic the situation truly is.
How does free indirect discourse function in this story?
Chekhov blends Tchervyakov's thoughts with the narration (e.g., "there is a fiendish light in his eye"), letting the reader inhabit the clerk's paranoid perspective while simultaneously recognizing its irrationality.
What does "fanfaron" mean, as Tchervyakov uses it to describe the general?
A fanfaron is a braggart or blowhard. Tchervyakov uses it in a moment of frustrated defiance, briefly daring to criticize his social superior.
What does "lachrymose" mean in the phrase "the general made a lachrymose face"?
Lachrymose means tearful or sorrowful. Here it describes the general's pained, exasperated expression when Tchervyakov approaches yet again.
What does the phrase "acme of bliss" mean in the opening paragraph?
It means the highest point or peak of happiness. Tchervyakov is at the summit of contentment before the sneeze disrupts everything.
Who says "Oh, please, sit down! let me listen!" and what does it reveal?
General Brizzhalov says this at the opera. It reveals his genuine disinterest in the sneeze -- he simply wants to enjoy the performance and considers the matter completely trivial.
What does Tchervyakov mean when he thinks, "He has forgotten, but there is a fiendish light in his eye"?
He is projecting his own fear onto the general. Despite Brizzhalov's words of dismissal, Tchervyakov convinces himself the general is hiding his true anger, illustrating his paranoid thinking.
What is the significance of the narrator's statement, "It is not reprehensible for anyone to sneeze anywhere"?
It establishes that the sneeze is objectively harmless and universal. By stating this plainly, Chekhov highlights how irrational Tchervyakov's subsequent obsession becomes.