The House with a Mezzanine

A painter who leads an idle life meets the Volchaninov sisters—Lida and Zhenya, nicknamed Misus’. Proud Lida “serves humanity,” fussing over medicine and education; she keeps her mother and sister in obedience and fiercely argues with the painter, who—more out of spite than seriousness—explains that small help only further enslaves people, and that real help requires some kind of spiritual revolution. The planned romance between the painter and Misus’ is shattered by Lida’s despotism. Memories of the old estate (one of Chekhov’s most poetic descriptions) and the house with a mezzanine remain precious to the painter, while Lida’s “service to the people”—a kind of grassroots politics full of pride rather than love for people—only adds to Chekhov’s typology of vulgarity.