14. GOOSEBERRIES

 14. GOOSEBERRIES

Anton Checkhov‟s story “Gooseberries” presents two brothers of entirely different  nature.They are Ivan Ivanitch and Nicholai Ivanitch. The elder Ivan was a veterinary  surgeon. The younger Nicholai was a government servant. Ivan was happy with the   ind life he was leading. But Nicholai always dreamt of a peaceful life in the country.  He would always dream of eating out in the open air and of sleeping in the sun. When  the story begins we can see Ivan about to tell a story of his brother to his friend  Bourkin. At that time, the rain began to fall and the two men went to their friend  Alliokhin‟s estate. There they saw Aliokhin ner a winnowing machine. He was tall  and stout and looked like a professor. Aliokhin was happy to see his friends and he  invited them to his house. At the house, Ivan and Bourkin were received by a  chambermaid named Pelagueya. The maid gave them towels and soap and all the three  took bath in the bathing shed. At this time Ivan began to tell the story of is brother  Nicholai. In their childhood daythey spent their days „running wild in th country‟.

After their father‟s death, their life became more difficult. Their father‟s estate was sold to pay debts. Though Nicholai had a good job, he was not satisfied with the job. His ambition was to own a country estate. Then he married a rich widow not because  he loved her, but to buy a big estate. After the death of the widow, Nicholai bought an  estate where he planted twenty gooseberry bushes.

Once Ivan paid a visit to his  brother‟s estate. He was no longer poor. He saw Nicholai as a real land owner. He  gave gallons of vodka to the peasants on holidays. Nicholai gave a delicious dinner for  
his brother. He served gooseberries after the meal. For Ivan, they tasted „sour and  unripe‟, but Nicholai ate them commenting that they were delicious.Ivan feels guilt  that he too has been content without realizing the fact that behind every idle  satisfaction, there exists the poverty and suffering of the poor. The story ends with  Ivan‟s request to Aliokhin to do good things in life. Bourkin and Aliokhin found the story uninteresting. If the story was about „elegant people‟ and „lovely women‟, they  would have been happier.