The story begins with a description of the terrible fight between the Orlovs in their apartment, which is located in the basement of the old and dirty house of the merchant Petunnikov. The whole yard is watching the fight, led by Senka Chizhik, a painter’s student, a mischievous boy of about 12 years old. Senka is “a passionate lover of all kinds of incidents,” “a half-child, half-adult, lively and impressionable, like a sponge, he greedily absorbs the dirt of his life, he already has a fine wrinkle on his forehead, a sign that Senka Chizhik is thinking.” Although all the inhabitants of the house are already accustomed to these Saturday fights of the shoemaker spouses, they still resort to gawk. Gregory (husband) always defeated Matryona (wife) and went into the tavern, and she, somehow, having got out of the basement, was waiting for his return on the street. She was waiting for him to help her drunken husband go down to the basement, because one day he dislocated his hand, falling from the stairs, and could not work for two weeks. Gregory returned with a sense of guilt in front of his wife and hated her at these moments because she was right.
They were married for 4 years, they had a child, but died, they hoped that they would have more children, but they all were not. They lived very monotonously, got up in the morning, drank tea, worked together, Gregory did a clean job that required the hands of a master, Matryona did a simpler job. Sometimes they sang, sometimes cursed. “Both of them - young and healthy people - loved each other and were proud of each other. Grishka was so strong, hot, beautiful, and Matrona was white, full, with a twinkle in her gray eyes, “a vigorous woman,” they said about her in the yard. They loved each other, but they were bored of living, they had no impressions and interests that could give them the opportunity to relax from each other, would satisfy the natural need of a person to worry, think, to live at all. ” The Orlovs had no purpose in life, so it was difficult for them to live.
Once this monotony was broken. Early in the morning, a nurse student came down to their room, he was interested in their health, advised better to monitor cleanliness, because cholera begins in the city, asked questions, gave advice, then left. All day the couple were impressed by his visit, talking only about him. They were very pleased with his concern for them, because nobody else cared about them. In their gloomy basement, everything seemed to be lit up with the energy of youth and kindness of this student.
And the next day, the first victim of cholera appeared in the Petunnikov’s house - the harmonist Mitry. Gregory was friends with him, they drank together in a tavern on Saturdays. Gregory always liked the harmonist his love of life, optimism, carelessness. He was cheerful and handsome, dressed smartly, in general, very fond of life. One of the first Gregory came to him and did not recognize. It was no longer a man, but rather a corpse. Gregory was very struck by this sharp contrast, he brought a student, and the harmonist was taken away.
Gregory decides to go as a paramedic to the cholera barrack "I’ll get right into the mouth - swallow, and I will jump with my feet," he says about cholera. Matrena, after some thought, decides to go along with him. The 1st day on duty was difficult, both of them were very tired, then it became easier, because they were used to it. They live on different halves of the hut and do not see each other very often. Gregory very quickly earned the respect of senior doctors, because he was understanding, quick and well performed his duties; and envy on the part of their medical orderlies. He possesses a great desire to become famous for his exploits, he wants to help everyone, he wants to share his thoughts with someone, but not with anyone except Matryona. He often began to go to her and share his thoughts, which she poorly understood, but listened to every word. There came a period of reassurance between the spouses, they no longer swore, did not fight, Gregory became more gentle and caring. But along with the dreams of the great feat of Gregory, other thoughts also visited - about the equality of people whom he did not see; why doctors rejoice at the rescue of Mishka Usov, who has a place in hard labor; thoughts of death, its suddenness and inevitability; thoughts about an unclear future, etc.
Matrena also became a valuable worker, she does not have any global thoughts and contradictions in her soul, like Gregory, but she has increased self-esteem from the realization of her need. She herself seemed to have grown in her own eyes and now already allowed herself in conversations with her husband a condescending tone. She still loved her husband, but now she felt that he owed her. Gregory did not even suspect about the self-consciousness that awoke in his wife, because he could not even imagine such a thing.
Senka Chizhik was brought to the hut, he could not be helped, he died. Gregory, already accustomed to death, this boy’s death shocked to the core. "Boy, for what?" - he embodied his feelings in one question ... He told Matrona about Senka’s death, he was angry with the coldness, as it seemed to him, with which his wife received the news. His irritation with internal contradictions turned into anger at Matryona. Gregory began to reproach his wife for the fact that they still have no children. After these words, Matrena seemed to break through. She could not bear such an unfair accusation from her husband. He alone is to blame for their childlessness: after all, it was he who beat her mercilessly for all 4 years of marriage: “How did you torment, torture me? Do you know how much blood poured out of me after your torment? <...> You killed, you yourself killed your own children! <...> Surely I’m not like all women - I don’t want children! <...> I see a stranger’s child - I choke with bitterness from envy and self-pity ... ". Gregory did not expect this from his wife, he was simply amazed. “She was now twice as strong as him, he felt it and was cowardly; I couldn’t get up and hit her, as I would if I hadn’t understood that she was reborn, having absorbed great power from somewhere. ”
After this conversation, Gregory left and did not appear until the evening. He came and began to apologize to Matryona, but she only answered that she did not need anything from him. Then he took out a knife, but Matryona was not afraid, but said completely indifferently, “Oh, if you stabbed me.” Gregory laid down his knife and began to complain to his wife that he was worse than cholera - he had cramps in his heart, he was overcome by thoughts of the aimlessness of human life, then, again brutalized, began to beat her, and again her indifference struck him. The doctor, who had run up to the noise, drove out Gregory, who was already carrying utter utter nonsense, realizing it himself. He calls Barak more morill, "treat the sick ... and the healthy die from the cramped life ...". Gregory calls Matrena to leave with him, but she firmly decided to stay.
Orlov kept watch over his wife several times and beat him. After the dissolution of the barracks, the doctor arranged for Matrena to teach children bootmaking skills, she was given a room and 12 rubles of salary. She has not seen her husband since then. I took myself 2 children to bring up, and lived with them for these 12 rubles quite happily, albeit poorly. But most likely she develops consumption (tuberculosis), because she coughs, and an ominous blush plays on her cheeks. She told the author the story of her life. The author found Gregory in the same tavern and talked with him for a long time, Orlov still thinks of a feat, but not for the sake of people, but simply to spit on everyone from the height of his contempt for them. And tell them: “Oh you bastards! Why do you live? How are you? You’re a hypocrite and nothing more! ” And then downside down and - Shatter! He says of himself: “I was born with anxiety in my heart ... my fate is to be barefoot!” He is stifled by hatred of everyone and the entire world order.
The story ends with a description of the tavern in which the author and Orlov sit. “The heavy door of the tavern, in which I was sitting with Orlov, kept opening, and at the same time somehow squealingly voluptuous. And the inside of the tavern excited the idea of some kind of mouth, which slowly but inevitably swallows one by one the poor Russian people, restless and others ... ”
