What is the summary of the story 'A Nincompoop' by Anton Chekhov?

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1269686

2026-02-19 13:50

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I've just read this Russian one act. It's about a widow who is in deep mourning because of her late husband's death 7 months ago. She has locked herself in and refuses to leave. The play begins with her and her servant speaking, and he tries to persuade her to leave her house. She will not. While speaking, there is a knock on the door. The widow, Mrs. Popov, refuses to see anyone. The person at the door refuses to leave until he speaks with Mrs. Popov. You find he is there to collect money which her late husband owes him for oats that he had purchased. Mrs. Popov explains that she is unable to pay him due to her finance manager not arriving until the day after tomorrow. The man, Smirnov, is very unhappy about this because he is broke and needs to be paid right then. She stands firm on the fact that she is unable to pay him that day and that he needs to leave. He refuses until he receives his money. Through the play you learn how Mrs. Popov's husband was not a kind man and cheated on her, along with other things. After Mrs. Popov refuses to pay and asks Smirnov to leave, she leaves the room to get away from him. While she is gone, Smirnov begins ranting about how he has not had any good experiences with woman in the past and how he cannot trust women. Near the end of the play, the two climax their anger to the point where they are going to have a duel. But as they prepare for the duel, Smirnov realizes how strong and fiery Mrs. Popov is. He immediately falls in love with her. He expresses his love to her and she begins to alternate telling him to leave and stay. At the end of the play he grabs her and gives her a long kiss.

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