Pelagea is a mere Shepherd labourer compared to Yegor so he acts if he wasn’t even her wife. Yegor states that he was drunk when he proposed as a reason to deny his marriage to her. In the end Yegor hands Pelagea some money and leaves.

One of the reasons why I liked the passage The Huntsman is because I found it rather clever how the author, Anton Chekhov, does not give us any history, background information or any details of the appearance of the two main characters. This could confuse the reader, or in my case allow the reader to imagine much of what the characters looked like, past events and why they acted the way they did.

While a lot is left to the reader’s imagination, many clues are given during the characters’ conversation. For example in the story Yegor says: “Not married of our free will. … Have you forgotten?” showing us that they were married but not married in a more conventional way. I also enjoyed the way in which Chekhov makes Yegor speak, in a very spiteful, harsh and rather blunt tone.

A good example of this is after Yegor explains how he was fooled into marrying Pelagea. Yegor says: “It’s a joke for the Count, but a crying matter for you. … Beat yourself against the wall.” Here he is showing no compassion towards poor Pelagea who is at that time is heartbroken and crying.

I liked the short story The Huntsman; because I found the story full of emotion and I am sure that people may take a side in what is almost like an argument between Yegor and Pelagea about their shaky marriage. You can almost feel what it would be like to be there.

About halfway through the story Yegor says “You don”t understand, you silly’ then continues abusing her. Pelagea replies: “I understand, Yegor Vlassitch”. Yegor then says, “You don’t understand if you are going to cry…” You can see that Pelagea is struggling to come to terms with Yegor arriving then wanting to leave immediately.

This passage instills feeling into the reader and is a depressing piece of work. I would not recommend this short story to any younger members of public but perhaps adults, especially in times of doubt, would find this an interesting piece. I would advise that you take a side during the passage, but that is just my own opinion. The Huntsman is very interesting and touching; which makes it well worth reading.