Marriage in 10-15 Years’ Time by Anton Chekhov. Short summary

5 seconds

The writer imagines what marriage will be like in ten to fifteen years. There will be no romantic dating, unions will be mediated and based not on feelings, but on sheer calculation.

1 minute

A maiden sits in the living room. Her dress takes up two chairs, a brooch the size of a frying pan on her chest, and a huge hairdo «adorns» her head. A representative of the «Happy Marriage Society,» Balalaikin, comes to see her. He checks the girl’s dowry in detail.

She has a house and a large sum of money. The girl flirts and says she cannot give the entire sum at once to her future husband. The balalaikin gives her a year’s instalment.

The representative describes the girl’s future husband: he is 52 years old and cheats and takes a lot of things on credit, does not pay the cabmen, and sells counterfeit coupons by hand. The girl agrees to get married. She gives the representative a deposit, he gives her a receipt.

This is how, according to the writer, marriages will be made in the future. Romantic dates and poems will fade into oblivion.