Une fin by Ivan Turgenev. Short summary

5 seconds

The landowner Talagaev is a horse thief. He takes the neighbor’s daughter Nastya away, enticing her with promises. At the fair the peasants quarrel with him, accusing him of stealing the horses. At night they axe Talagaev to death.

1 minute

Turgenev’s last story, consisting of four chapters. The author meets the landlord Talagaev at the inn. He comes from an old family that has fallen into decay. The landowner is an autocrat and a horse thief. He tries to sell the author his stolen goods — game and poultry — but he refuses.

The nobleman Pavel Martynych, the author’s neighbor, runs to him for help. His 15-year old daughter Nastia is missing. The author and the girl’s father search for her and find her at the Talagaev estate. It turns out that the landowner lured her there with promises of presents and a trip to Moscow. The father takes his daughter home with a scandal.

At a fair in the village, Talagaev quarrels with the man who bought a stolen horse from him. The men gather around him. When the author drives home at night, he sees Talagaev hacked to death with an axe on the road. This was his end for stealing a horse.