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Lieutenant-Colonel Vikhrin's wife
Vikhrina
also: подполковница Вихрина, Vikhrina
An unnamed, pregnant neighbor for whom Tolkachov must fetch the midwife daily. Corresponds to Vikhrina, the same errand-list neighbor in Chekhov's close source story "One of Many" (1887).
Reading notes
- A Tragedian in Spite of Himself §23 Lieutenant-Colonel Vikhrin's wife
is in an interesting condition
"в интересном положении" ("in an interesting condition") is the period euphemism for pregnancy; Tolkachov is obliged to call daily on the midwife on this unnamed neighbor's behalf despite having no personal stake in the matter -- one more example of the play's running joke that dacha neighbors treat any commuting husband as common property. Corresponds to Vikhrina, the identical pregnant neighbor in "One of Many" (1887). No further sexual or medical content is implied; the detail functions purely as one more entry on the errand list.