The Duel

4 hrs. 29 min.

Classics

Language Russian

Author Anton Chekhov

Narrator Alexander Bordukov

Description

The Duel is one of A. P. Chekhov’s most substantial novellas. It was first published in the newspaper “Novoye Vremya” in 1891.

In a small town on the Black Sea coast, two acquaintances meet while swimming: twenty-eight-year-old Ivan Laevsky and the military doctor Samoylenko. Laevsky shares with his friend the twists and turns of his personal life. A few years ago, he met a married woman; together they fled from St. Petersburg to the Caucasus, deciding to begin a new life there. But from the very first day everything went wrong—not the way it had been planned at the start. The town turned out to be dull, the people uninteresting, and the former passion faded. Ivan Andreevich dreams of escaping back north, but what should he do with the boring mistress? She can’t work, and has no relatives or close friends. By chance, Laevsky’s plans become known to zoologist von Koren, who accuses him of irresponsibility and loose morals. A furious Laevsky insults the young man, and the latter challenges him to a duel.