The Man in the Case

The thing that caught my attention almost immediately was the fact that this story is a story within a story. This means that there are two narrators: the unnamed, and Burkin. I think in order to discuss the style of these two narrators, we have to split them apart and discuss each story on its own.

The main story, telling of Ivan and Burkin in the barn, is told matter-of-factly, with no hints as to what is going on in each character's mind. The secondary story (which is really the main story, but that's just technicalities), told by Burkin, is a little more insightful. Through Burkin's side comments, we learn a little bit about his personality. Burkin tells the story as if he knows what others thought--and perhaps he did.

I think the characters' ideas on love and happiness don't come across as clearly. However, it does seem to me that Burkin doesn't think love happens naturally, that it's a destined thing... it seems as though marriage is what's expected, and one who doesn't marry is strange. It seems obvious to the reader that Byelikov wasn't happy living the way that he did. However, it seems to me that coming out of his shell is what made him so unhappy that it killed him.

What I took from this story is that there will always be people in boxes, and that some of those people absolutely cannot live outside them. There will always be people that conform strictly to rules, routines, etc., and to remove those things would be devestating to them.

So yeah. I liked this one a lot better than The Lady with the Pet Dog. However, I have to say that I didn't much like Burkin and his cohorts. They just seemed... I don't know, too nosy for their own good. We can't like everyone.