The Death of a Government Clerk

"The Death of a Government Clerk" is a short story by Anton Chekhov published originally the Oskolki magazine's 2 July, No. 27 issue, subtitled "The Incident" and signed A. Chekhonte. "Received the "Fragments of Moscow Life" and "The Death of the Government Clerk. Both are delicious", Nikolai Leykin, the Oskolkis editor, informed the author by a 29 June letter. It was included into Chekhov's 1886 collection Motley Stories published in Saint Petersburg and featured unchanged in its 2–14 editions.

Plot

Ivan Chervyakov, a petty government official, while in the theatre, sneezes right upon the head of a man sitting in front of him, who happens to be General Brizzhalov, a high-ranking government official. He spends the evening and the next day fawning before his sneeze victim trying to extract forgiveness, but what he succeeds instead is only bringing out a fit of rage in him. Shocked, Chervyakov returns home to lie there and die, due to the sheer stress of having endured such horror.