I -The Witchand Other Stories

Nikolay Tchikildyeev, once a waiter in Moscow, is compelled by declining health and financial ruin to return to his ancestral village of Zhukovo with his wife, Olga, and daughter, Sasha. Upon arrival, the squalor and dilapidation of their family home starkly contrast the idyllic memories of his youth. The house is unclean, crowded, and seemingly on the verge of collapse, its poverty marked by the absence of pictures, replaced by bottle labels and newspaper cuttings. The family is greeted not by familiar faces but by a despondent, unkempt child and a beaten, deaf cat—an omen of the harsh life they have stepped into.

Exploring the village, Nikolay and Olga encounter a landscape that weaves the austere beauty of Russian rural life with its underlying hardship. The village, with its dilapidated homesteads, sits above a verdant meadow and winding river, presenting a picturesque yet deceiving promise of tranquility. The momentary enchantment with the scenic beauty and the ringing church bells is quickly overshadowed by the somber realization of the struggles awaiting them.

Their family home, a hive of activity and poverty, barely sustains its numerous occupants—Nikolay’s elderly, toothless parents, his brothers’ wives, and their many children. The meals, consisting merely of black bread and water, the dilapidated condition of their lodging, and the disheartening conversation revolving around deprivation and sickness, expose Nikolay to the grim realities of his homeland. The return home brings not comfort but a confrontation with the dire circumstances of his kin.

The chapter’s climax is marked by the ominous return of Kiryak, Nikolay’s brother, whose drunken shouts instill immediate fear and foreboding, particularly in his wife, Marya. This incident starkly symbolizes the cyclical nature of despair and dysfunction plaguing the family—epitomized by addiction and abuse. Despite the physical return to his roots, Nikolay faces the stark realization that the refuge he sought in his familial home might be illusory, laden with challenges far surpassing his health woes. The chapter encapsulates a poignant critique of rural destitution, familial decay, and the elusive quest for solace within the confines of one’s origin.