The man in a Case

The man in a Case. 

When we hear the word “a case”, we firstly think about a tightly closed thing without any chink for air to get into. We even have an impression that it is impossible to exist inside of it, but a strange thing is that inside we can find a wonderful violin. And it feels very comfortable, as everything exists only for it. The same thing comes to “the man in a case”. It is rather comfortable for him to live in his limited world, hidden from everyone and everything. The man in a case is a person who tries to hide from life and worries because of unknown reasons, and that’s why he puts himself in a tiny box. But it is interesting to understand the principle of Chekhov’s chose to send a man into a case. 

When I try to imagine Byelikov, I see a man locked in a small black box. “The man in a case”… It seems to be a very strange expression, but it reveals human’s nature very exactly. And the most interesting fact is that this person don’t try to get out of surrounding walls, it is fine, comfortable, calm there, he is separated from the whole world, this terrible world, that makes people suffer, face difficult problems, 

In Chekhov’s works “the man in a case” can be such person like Byelikov, locked in rules, or Alekhin, who is afraid of love, or Tchimsha-Himalaisky depended on his dream. All these characters portrayed in the stories of Chekhov. Signs of “the man in a case” are defined by the inner world of the character. 

And if to talk about a person who lives according to the rules? Will he be “the man in a case”? The man, who lives by general norms, won’t take anything new into his life. If he decides to wear only black raincoat, he won’t except any other color. And if he sees a man in a bright raincoat, it will be inappropriate for him. Byelikov is such person, who thinks that everything should be careful and disciplined. In such a form he lives in. But his punctual nature closes from the world, because people can’t understand him. His whole appearance has a protective form. It comes to glasses, that closes the mirror of his soul, and an umbrella, that protects from the world, and a black raincoat, that doesn’t attract attention. And Byelikov feels rather comfortable in his shell and don’t want to get out of it. 

Indeed, it is rather strange that some gymnasium teacher was remarkable only because of walking in boots, with an umbrella and in a warm topcoat while it was warm outside. “And his umbrella was in a case, and his watch was in a case made of grey chamois leather, and when he took out his penknife to sharpen his pencil, his penknife, too, was in a little case; and his face seemed to be in a case too, because he always hid it in his turned-up collar. He wore dark spectacles and flannel vests, stuffed up his ears with cotton-wool, and when he got into a cab always told the driver to put up the hood.” He taught Greek, and it was in some way a case too. It was ancient, nobody knew it, and it’s rules were biting into the heads. Here everything was usual for Byelikov and nothing was of ill omen. 

Byelikov’s thoughts were also hidden into a case, he liked and understood only directives, especially those ones that forbad anything. Even if the prohibition  was absurd (students can’t go to the streets after 9 p.m.), Byelikov was glad, everything was clear: it is forbidden and that’s all. If there was a directive that allowed anything or an article for human’s rights, even in a modest way, Byelikov felt doubt and threat, “I hope it won’t lead to anything”.  

And at home it was the same story: dressing-gown, nightcap, blinds, bolts, a perfect succession of prohibitions and restrictions of all sorts, he could not eat meat, as people might perhaps say Byelikov did not keep the fasts, and he ate freshwater fish with butter. He did not keep a female servant for fear people might think evil of him. Byelikov had a little bedroom like a box; his bed had curtains. When he went to bed he covered his head over; it was hot and stuffy. He was afraid that something might happen and so he had troubled dreams all night.  

The whole way of life ruined his desire to get married to a merry giggler, 30-year-old slim and rosy Varinka Kovalenko, the sister of e newly-appointed history and geography teacher. Well, matchmaking was contrived by local women bored with there’s-nothing-to-do. They had an idea to marry Byelikov, to make an impossible thing if to think about his character. The most strange thing was that nature law had its own rules and Byelikov in a way fell in love with Varinka, rather awkwardly and timidly, like having forgotten for a minute about his “I hope it won’t lead anything bad”. But Varenka was not only a giggler and singer, bt a woman with temper, that was obvious because of her constant quarrels with brother. She immediately agreed to marry Byelikov with his crooked smile. Nevertheless, he failed in the struggle with nature forces. The marriage fell apart because of a small thing. When almost everything was talked about, Byelikov went in a countryside walk and saw Varinka and her brother riding the bicycles. Byelikov hardly had a strike, he became green, then white and got torpid: “Is it normal to ride bicycles for teachers and women?” The marriage fell apart, there was an awful incident with Varinka’s brother, who couldn’t stand Byelikov. He died in a month. And now, when he was lying in a coffin, his face expressed cheerfulness, and it seemed that he finely reached his ideal only in the grave. 

Everything mentioned in the story won’t make it one of the greatest works of Russian literature. “The man in a case” would be only a story about a common thing, about a strange man, about one of thousands. The story is lead by a teacher of the same gymnasium. As a result, the very notion of “my friend” had rather wide meaning.  

Byelikov was not only funny, he was dangerous and frightening. With his “I hope it won’t lead to anything bad” he was reaching the top. The gymnasium was in his hands for 15 years! And not only the gymnasium, the whole town was. Women were afraid of making home performances on Saturdays, were afraid of his reports. The clergy was afraid of playing cards and eating food forbidden. In the town people were afraid of sending letters, getting acquainted, reading books, helping poor, teaching grammar. Byelikov was the result of social and governmental reaction. But he also was its basis. 

People were afraid of Byelikov and at the same time hated him. But how? Here we face the question about other people, who tried to hide themselves into cases, but their own ones. Finally, Byelikov lived only because he was indulged. We can suppose that every person hides from the whole world, because it is much more comfortable to live in your own small world, there you can do everything you want, there you can overcome rules and nobody will say a word to you. The problem was in the fact that Byelikov was the only one who wasn’t afraid of showing his “case” to the others, while they were trying to hide behind the walls of fear.  

We can say, if you live in you case – it’s up to you, you can do it. But Byelikov wasn’t such a person. He tried to tie his chains of rules, submission, true love towards the higher levels of society to the others. He depresses everyone with his incredible carefulness, case thoughts, he presses people, like surrounding them with his dark cover. Byelikov is against anything new, bright, he is always afraid that something bad might happen that something might become known to the higher-ups. The case covers his brain suppressing positive emotions in the roots. This black case can’t stand bright light and that’s why everything is forbidden, even the most innocent but out of the directive entertainments. Byelikov understands that working in a team he should have contacts with colleagues, and that’s why he tries to reveal friendliness and be a good friend. It’s surely great, but what feelings does he really show? He comes to a house of someone sits down into a cornet and keeps silence, thinking that he performs an obligation before his friend. But if we think twice, the same situation is familiar to many of us. We often meet such people in companies, they are sitting quietly on the side and trying not to attract attention. But really they influence the whole surrounding greatly. Gradually people become feeling uncomfortable, they start thinking more about their words and actions and finally the evening ends quicker and people tend to go home as soon as possible to avoid this feeling. 

It is obvious that the shy “grey mouse” wasn’t loved by anyone, and nobody searched for his love. But even in such person can wake up some feelings, even very weak, only in their beginning, but they exist. And these feelings appear towards Varinka. But even here Byelikov plays ostrich. Everything should be checked and thought over. “I like Varvara Savvishna,” he used to say, “and I know that every one ought to get married, but . . . you know all this has happened so suddenly. . . . One must think a little.”  

It was a very difficult and serious decision. He needed to get prepared for a long time, and then, who knows, everything could be solved by itself, and everything would be calm again. Moreover, Byelikov is very touchy and vulnerable. Maybe that’s why he is so careful? We can remember the effect made on him by the caricature, and when Varvara sees him falling down the staircase. It ruins his case and that is equal to death in its figurative meaning. When Byelikov dies we have an impression that he has lived for this moment. “Now when he was lying in his coffin his expression was mild, agreeable, even cheerful, as though he were glad that he had at last been put into a case which he would never leave again. Yes, he had attained his ideal!”  

First, we see Byelikov by the eyes of Burkin, then words of Ivan Ivanovitch and Kovalenko show that he is disgusting and finally that he is dangerous. 

A merry company returning after Byelikov’s funerals was darkened by the thought, that there are lots of the same people in cases, and there will be more of them. Ivan Ivanovitch continued his thought, that the fact of living in a town, in such a stuffy place, writing useless papers and playing cards is the same “case”. And life in the society of lazybones is also “a case”. 

To the image of Byelikov we can put the image of another Chekhov’s character-Alehin. He is a cheerful, sociable person, but he is also “the man in a case” because he loves a married woman and is afraid of changing his life. If a person is afraid of changes, risk and future, his life won’t change by itself. And this fear, this absence of courage of the man frames him, he starts living in a case, where everything goes round.  

And what about dreams? Can a dream frame a person? A dream can turn a man’s life in a case, if he depends on it. In this case the man lives only for this dream, and the dream understands it. The dream destroys money, feelings, human features and at last human life.  

If we try to think about the future of “the man in a case”, out thoughts won’t be rather positive. In the end of the life we need to have the feeling that we have lived for something, that we are needed, that we have someone to be cared about by. And “the man in a case” doomed to be alone without any wish of other people to take part in his life.  

On the examples of Chekhov’s characters we saw who “people in cases” are. And nowadays they are here, among us. And who knows, maybe we are ones of them.