Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Oh, l don't feel like sleep any more.
But l'll try.
No, l can't sleep.
Of course, l slept all night.
Then got up
and drank tea with my husband,
then went back to bed.
After all, there's nothing else to do.
O Lord, how boring it is!
lt was better when l was single.
Although we were poor, at least there was some freedom.
But now...
This depression's enough to make you hang yourself.
l am a merchant's wife,
married to the eminent merchant
Zinovi Borisovich lsmailov.
The ant drags along its straw,
the cow gives her milk,
the farm labourers pour out the flour,
but l alone have nothing to do.
l alone am depressed,
to me alone life is unkind,
me, the merchant's wife.
Will there be mushrooms today?
- Yes, there will. - There will?
You know, l'm very fond of mushrooms, especially with buckwheat gruel.
Whether the sun's shining, or a storm raging,
it's all the same to me now.
What are you singing for?
- Have you nothing else to do? - What can l do?
Why ever did we take the likes of you into our house?
l kept saying to my son: Don't marry Katerina.
But he wouldn't listen.
Fine sort of wife: over four years married
and still not produced a child!
lt's not my fault.
- What! - lt's not my fault.
Whose is it then?
Zinovi is incapable of getting a child into my womb.
So that's it!
lt all depends on the woman what sort of wife a man gets.
Now if a fine woman had loved him and embraced him,
a child would soon have arrived.
But you're as cold as a fish.
You don't encourage his embraces.
We've no heir to leave our fortune to,
nor our renowned reputation as a merchant.
You'd like to hook some youngster
and make off with him.
No, don't try that on, the fence is high,
the dogs are loose, the workers trusty.
And l'm always on the alert.
Get the poison ready for the rats.
They've eaten all the flour again.
You're a rat yourself!
You should have the poison!
Speak up!
The dam at the mill has burst.
There's an enormous breach.
What shall we do now?
As if we hadn't enough work already.
l'll have to go myself.
Go, then! Without the master nothing will get done.
People can't be relied on!
What are you sniggering about?
Your master has to go away
and you don't show any sign of grief or regret!
We do!
Why are you leaving us, master, why?
To whom would you abandon us?
Without the master life will be dreary, dull and joyless.
Home without you is not like home.
Work without you is not like work.
Pleasures without you are no real pleasures.
Return as quickly as you can!
Look, father: here's the new labourer
- l hired today. - All right.
- Where did you work before? - At the Kalganov's.
Why did they throw you out?
The horses are ready.
Well, it can't be helped.
Say goodbye to your wife.
Goodbye, Katerina.
Tell her to remain my obedient wife.
Swear an oath! An oath!
Get an oath from her that she'll remain faithful to you.
Whatever for? l'm not going for long, after all.
You never know. Do it just in case.
Young wives are all the same...
''S'il vous plaît, rendez-vous, sauce provençale...''
- Get me? - Yes.
Watch out someone doesn't seduce her.
Yes.
Swear on the sacred icon that you'll be faithful to your husband.
l swear!
Well, that's all.
Goodbye, Zinovi. Say goodbye to your wife.
Goodbye, Katerina darling!
Not like that! On your knees!
On your knees! Come on!
He's off on a long journey. Spare an extra tear.
On your way, then!
Why are you standing there?
Why did you stay behind?
That new labourer,
he's a dreadful woman-chaser.
Name any female who's taken his fancy: he'll get her into trouble.
He's got it all:
he's tall and handsome, with a good figure.
He used to work at the Kalganov's.
Started carrying on with the mistress
and got fired for it.
Why aren't you crying?
Your husband's gone, after all.
What a wife! Says goodbye to her husband
and can't even shed a single tear!
What a pretty voice! Just like a nightingale!
- Come on, let's feel her! - Oh, you shameless creature!
- Have a good feel all over! - Hey, don't pinch!
- Again! - Oh, you're hurting!
What lovely ***! How smooth they are!
Let me get hold of her arm!
- Here's a nice smooth place! - Oh! You swine!
Oh, you're hurting!
She's a fine piece of woman!
A fine piece of woman, as smooth as silk!
O Lord, how fine!
My body's covered in bruises!
But her face is all pimply.
Rip his trousers, Aksinya!
Come on now!
Help! He pinched me!
Hold still, Aksinya. Get hold of her, Sergey!
- Get him off me! - Well now! Stand still!
Squeeze her, squeeze her!
Stop, woman!
He'll make us die of laughing.
Here's the mistress!
What's the matter with you?
They've torn my skirt to pieces.
Let the woman go.
So you enjoy mocking a woman?
Who else can we make fun of?
So a woman's only there for you to make fun of, is she?
What other reason is there?
Oh, you swine!
Now, now!
You men certainly think a lot of yourselves.
Do you think
you're the only ones who are strong and brave,
the only ones with any wisdom?
Haven't you heard about the times when women kept the whole family from starving?
And how in wartime
women gave the enemy a beating?
There have been times when women sacrificed their lives
for their husbands or sweethearts.
But this means nothing to you.
Well, l'll give you a good thrashing
to show you what a woman's good for.
Well then, madam, allow me to take your hand, if that is so.
You're hurting, let go.
lt's my ring...
Your wedding ring's digging into you.
Let go, let go!
Just hang on a bit longer.
You're hurting, let go!
Hey look, she's given him a good push!
l've a suggestion to make to you.
Well?
Let's try a bit of wrestling.
All right, let's try.
Out of the way, everybody!
Why have you stopped?
l forgot...
With you in my arms
l'm thinking... What about it?
l've plenty of strength in me!
Let go, let go!
Oh, Seryozha, let go!
What's all this?
l was just passing by and caught my foot in a sack.
And fell.
He tried to help me up and fell down too.
That's exactly what happened.
What are you standing around for? Who's going to do your work for you?
What do you think you're paid for?
Spongers, loafers, drunkards!
Get out. Don't hang around.
Fry me some mushrooms.
Just you wait:
when your husband gets back,
l'll tell him everything.
Time for bed. The day's over.
Time for bed.
l've no one to talk to.
Oh, how boring it is,
how boring, just walls and doors,
doors with locks on them.
Katerina!
Yes?
Time for bed.
lt's still quite early.
Nonsense! What have you got to do?
Your husband's not here.
No need to waste the candle.
All right.
l'll go to bed.
The foal runs after the filly,
the tom-cat seeks the female,
the dove hastens to his mate,
but no one hurries to me.
The wind caresses the birch tree
and the sun warms it with his heat,
for everyone there is a smile from somewhere,
but no one will come to me,
no one will put his hand round my waist,
no one will press his lips to mine.
No one will stroke my white breast,
no one will tire me out with his passionate embraces.
The days go by in a joyless procession.
My life will flash past without a smile.
No one will ever come to me.
Who's there? Who's that knocking?
Please don't be afraid. lt's me.
- Who? - Sergey. - Sergey? What is it?
What do you want here at night?
Just a small matter!
What small matter?
Come here, then l'll tell you.
Well, what is it?
l've come to ask if l can borrow a book.
What book?
- To have a read. - Sergey, l haven't any books.
l can't read anyway.
l'm dying of boredom.
- Well, why don't you get married? - Who to?
A daughter of the house would never have me
and l've no use for common girls.
They're so ill-educated and l'm a man of fine feelings.
That's why l'm bored.
l'm bored too.
No wonder!
lf only l had a child!
Yes, but even a child, if you'll allow me to put it like this,
comes as a result of something, not just of its own accord.
Now let's suppose
you did have a bit on the side, like all the other women do.
ln your position
you'd find it pretty well impossible to meet him.
Say he was someone here in this very house?
Do you think l don't understand?
l've been in service for years
and seen enough of women's lot.
Yes...
All right, Sergey, go away now.
l'll be on my way.
Goodbye.
That was a good wrestle we had.
You're certainly strong...
Well, why bring that up?
lt was the happiest moment in my life.
- Would you like to try again? - Don't you dare!
Or let's get hold of each other.
Let go, Sergey! What are you thinking of?
The old man might come back and see us.
Anyway, l'm stronger than you.
Sergey, you mustn't.
What are you doing? l'm afraid.
- My dearest! - What are you doing?
Darling, let go, darling, l don't wa...
Oh, Katya, my dearest love!
Go away, for God's sake.
l'm a married woman.
Oh-ho, l've never experienced that yet,
a married woman giving in so quickly.
And as for Zinovi Borisovich...
Let's not speak about that.
l've no husband
but you alone.
- Katerina! - The old man!
Are you in bed?
l'm just going.
Well, all right.
- Go, quick. - l shan't go anywhere away from here.
The old man will lock the doors.
To a lover windows can be a doorway.
Come, my Katya!
Darling!
What a mess!
What are you standing around for? Come on!
Whatever has she been up to!
And we've got to clear it up again!
Come on! To work!
The master! That's it! Let's be off!
That's what old age means:
you can't sleep.
You're all the time thinking burglars are on the prowl.
l wander around to see if there's a burglar anywhere.
When l was young l couldn't sleep either,
but for a different reason!
l used to hang around under the windows of other men's wives,
singing songs, talking whatever nonsense came into my head,
sometimes even climbed through the windows.
l've had a good life, l'll say so!
Zinovi doesn't take after me: can't even respect his own wife.
lf l were his age, how l'd...
l'd get her and...
There's a light in the window.
Seems she can't sleep.
Of course, she's a young woman, and hot-blooded too.
And there's no one to console her.
Now, if l were younger, just ten years or so...
What l'd do!
She'd have it hot from me.
Hot, yes, by God, so hot.
lt'd even be good enough for her!
A healthy woman like that
and no man around, no man at all.
lt's dull for a woman without a man.
l'll go and see her, yes, l will!
Goodbye, Katya, goodbye!
What's all this?
- Wait a bit longer. - Better have a look.
- lt's getting light. - The nights used to be endless.
Here's treachery, treachery! Katerina's betraying her husband
and has found a lover.
But now these nights we've spent together have flown by as though on wings.
Ah, hell, what a scandal, God in heaven!
They have flown by as though on wings.
Goodbye, Katya!
- What a scoundrel! - Goodbye!
- Seryozha! - Katya!
lt's Sergey, that new labourer.
The swine. All right, just you wait.
Stop! Where have you been?
Wherever it was, l'm not there now.
He's spent the night with my son's wife.
- Hey, everybody! Hey! - Don't shout like that!
l'll shout if l want. l'm the boss around here!
Come here, everybody! l've caught a thief!
Well, what do you want of me now?
l want to give you five hundred lashes.
Lord have mercy!
Give me the whip!
Come on, look lively! Take his shirt off!
Well, mate, you asked for it. And you're certainly going to get it.
Are you going to flog him yourself, master, or get someone else to do it?
l'll do it myself! Katerina!
What's all this? l'm asleep!
Asleep?
Not so long ago you came to the window
and counted the stars as you waited for dawn.
Look, Katerina!
l've caught a thief. Now l'm going to thrash him.
Come on! Let's start!
Look, Katerina, what an entertaining sight:
l've drawn blood, let's give him some more.
Let him go!
l tell you, let him go!
You've got plenty of blood, my friend.
No wonder you're so lecherous.
Let me go to him!
We'll get rid of some of that blood for you.
All you people there!
Help me, someone!
Why don't you cry out, blast you!
Trying to show off in front of a woman?
Help me, someone!
l'll get a scream out of you!
You'll not stop me!
- You brute! l won't let you! - Hang on to her!
Let me go... you monster!
Don't show off in front of a woman!
Just yell, then l'll stop!
Now! Now!
l'm tired out.
Would you like me to carry on, master?
No, that'll do.
We can't do too much at once,
or he'll peg out.
Take him off to the storeroom.
We'll flog him again tomorrow.
Well, what now?
That's really made me hungry.
ls there anything left from supper?
Hey there! Are you deaf?
There are some mushrooms left.
Just the thing!
Bring me some mushrooms.
Sergey's been locked in the storeroom. Here's the key.
Go quickly to the mill
and find Zinovi Borisovich.
Tell him to come home as quickly as he can.
Tell him
there's trouble at home.
l've put in some poison.
The old man'll snuff it from rat poison!
They're delicious mushrooms.
You're really an expert, Katerina, at preparing mushrooms.
Go along and get dressed.
You're wandering around the yard almost naked.
Go on...
No, stop! My inside's on fire.
Bring some water.
l won't.
What did you say? How dare you!
l do dare!
You ***!
What's the matter with me?
Well, you had mushrooms late at night.
Lots of people die after eating them.
Call the priest, Katerina dear.
Maybe it's true that death is approaching.
How it burns... burns like fire.
My life has been long and my sins many.
Bring the priest here!
God, O God! lt's so painful!
Where are the storeroom keys?
l can't breathe.
See, the dawn's breaking.
The sky's getting lighter.
Mustn't waste time like this. To work, and quickly, fellows.
The barns await us, that's for sure.
And the flour that feeds us waits.
Our master's fierce and cruel, just like a crocodile.
One of you run and fetch the priest...
l'm in a bad way.
ln a moment.
Maybe you'd like us to carry you into the house?
No, it's better here.
The sun will soon be rising, put me down here.
- The keys... - What?
Get the keys. She's a trollop!
- He must be raving! - Yes, he's certainly raving.
Must mean he's really bad. He looks bad.
- Maybe he's going to die. - Yes, he is.
That's what l'm saying, he's going to die.
- Who's dying around here? - This chap.
ln the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Father, hear my confession.
My sins are many.
But you must know this:
mine is not a natural death.
Rats die like this,
and the rat poison
is a white powder...
lt was her! lt was her!
He's dead.
Amen.
Oh, Boris Timofeyevich,
why have you left us?
To whom have you abandoned Zinovi and me?
What will Zinovi and l do now without you?
Why should it happen to him? He was still a strong old boy.
He'd eaten mushrooms at night, you know.
A lot of people die after eating them.
That's so.
''Oh, these mushrooms and cold soups are too much'',
as Nikolay Vasilyich Gogol said,
that great writer of our Russian land.
Yes indeed, people get strange ideas when they're dying.
Boris Timofeyevich said he was dying like a rat.
Only that can't be right: a rat dies,
but a human being passes away. Strange...
But that doesn't stop us
saying a requiem for him.
Lord, now lettest Thou
Thy servant depart in peace.
Sergey!
Seryozha!
- He's still asleep. - What?
Wake up!
What do you want?
Wake up!
Well?
Kiss me!
Not like that, not like that!
Kiss me so it hurts my lips
and the blood rushes to my head
and the icons fall from their shelves.
Oh! Seryozha!
Our love is nearing its end.
- Why? - Zinovi Borisovich will be coming back,
your lawful husband.
How do you think l'm going to feel,
seeing you go to bed with your lawful husband?
- That won't happen. - Katerina Lvovna, Katenka.
l'm not like other men, who don't care about anything,
so long as they've got a woman's soft body to caress.
l'm a sensitive person, you know. l can feel what love is.
Oh, why did l fall in love with you
and burn with passion just for you?
Can it really be an honour for you, an eminent merchant's wife,
to be my mistress?
Oh, Katya, what l'd give to become your husband in God's eyes!
As it is,
we can meet only at night,
and in daylight we're afraid to show our faces to the world.
Don't upset yourself, Sergey.
l'll make you a merchant
and we'll live together properly.
How will you manage that?
That's not your worry.
lt's your business to kiss me hard, like this.
He's asleep again.
Oh, Sergey, can you really sleep,
when your lover's lips are so close?
l'll not fear anyone, l'll make you my husband.
l'll not be afraid of anyone.
Boris Timofeyevich tried to interfere
and he's gone:
dead, buried and forgotten.
Only l remember him at nights.
His fearful face often appears before me.
There he is in the corner!
Katerina Lvovna!
You murderess!
l've come to find out
how you and Sergey are keeping my son's bed warm.
You can't frighten me. Look at me sleeping with Sergey.
My eyes cannot see.
Look, in my eyes is but emptiness and fire.
Katerina, Katerina!
A curse on you for ever!
Oh, Sergey, wake up!
Well? What do you want?
Sergey, Seryozha, look and see!
The fearful ghost of Boris Timofeyevich is standing there.
Nonsense, there's no one there. Calm down, Katya.
l'm scared, Seryozha.
Kiss me, kiss me.
Darling, dearest one!
Press me closer to your heart!
- Listen, Sergey, Sergey! - Well?
- Can you hear it? - What?
Someone's walking softly, softly.
- lt's your imagination again. - No.
The dogs didn't bark, so it's someone they know.
Can you hear? Someone's coming.
- Yes, l can. - Hide somewhere.
lt's Zinovi Borisovich, my husband.
Now we're really in the soup!
Hide, quick, hide!
He's listening at the door, the swine, just you wait!
- Katerina! - Who's there?
Open the door!
- l can't make it out. Who's there? - lt's me!
- Who? - Me, can't you hear?
- l can't make it out. - Look, it's me, Zinovi Borisovich.
And how are you getting on?
l haven't been going to any theatres, nor to any balls either.
So you've been at home all the time?
- Yes, l have. - l see! Well, that's fine then.
But how did my dad die?
Well, he just died. We gave him a good funeral.
And why is the bed made up for two?
- l was expecting you any time. - Thanks for that anyway.
- And what might that thing be? - Where?
Here! From what l can make out, it's a man's belt.
l found it in the garden and fastened my skirt with it.
We've been hearing some things about your skirts.
What have you heard then?
We've heard a lot about your affairs.
- What have you heard? - We've heard everything.
l don't like people talking to me in that insolent way.
Just you wait, Katerina, l'll get to the bottom of it.
l won't allow you or anyone else to talk to me about my ''affairs''.
l'll give you sheer hell. l'll beat the living daylights out of you.
lt's not for you to judge me.
- Hands off, you disgusting creature! - l'm your husband!
l'm responsible for the family's honour.
- l demand the truth! - What good will that do you?
l don't even want to talk to you.
You'd never understand anything!
- Take that, and that! - Oh! Sergey!
- Who's this Sergey? - Come out and protect me!
Sergey, my dearest love!
***! Come here, everybody!
You won't get away!
- l... knew it... all... - Hold him tighter, Sergey!
You swine! Help! Oh, they're strangling me!
- Get a priest... - l'll give you a priest all right!
He's choking.
Take him to the cellar. l'll light the way.
Let's have some light, Katya.
Hurry up!
Just finishing.
That's all.
lt's done...
Kiss me, kiss me.
Katya...
Now you are my husband.
What an idiot l am!
Where are you, my pet?
This floozie!
Why are you standing there? What are you staring at?
But, Seryozha,
Zinovi Borisovich is lying there.
That's where we buried him.
When l think of it, l feel afraid!
Don't be afraid of the dead.
lt's the living you should fear.
- l know that. - Then, if you know,
what's the point of standing there?
People will notice.
All right.
Today's our wedding day.
lt's time to go to the church.
Everything will be all right.
lt's time to go to the church.
Let's go quickly.
Today is our day
and tomorrow
and always.
Once a lady friend of mine crazy was on drinking wine!
Then l had a kindly mate, wine and *** he drank straight!
And as for my godfather dear, his only interest was in beer!
That whole family of mine couldn't last a day without good wine!
Why should they then outstrip me? l drink *** enough for three!
l can drink the whole day through, nights and days and evenings too,
summer, spring and winter deep, drink until l fall asleep!
l shall drink for evermore, l'm a jolly sort, for sure!
Singing's fine when there's something to drink.
But when there's nothing to drink, then there's nothing to sing about.
And why is there nothing to drink? Because l'm broke.
l've got an unlucky star, other people have got lucky stars.
That Sergey - he had absolutely nothing and now he can swim in ***.
Why did she choose Sergey for her husband and not me?
What's he got that l haven't? Arms, legs, head, belly -
all in the right place.
l've just got an unlucky star.
l like to have a good swig! Here's the cellar.
The mistress often stands near it and keeps on staring...
Must be some good wine in there...
She stares and stares...
Well, l'll just have a look.
Must really be some good wines in there!
Ugh, what a pong!
What a frightful, frightful pong!
What could cause such a pong? Has all the food gone bad?
l'll have a look. God, what a pong!
A corpse! The corpse of Zinovi Borisovich!
Get the police!