Circumstances Summary

In chapter one, Tatyana reads a review of a translation of Guy de Maupassant's stories in "Russian Thought," finding a thought by the critic that supports her argument against her husband, Boris. Suddenly, she recalls the soup and darts to the kitchen. Tatyana meets Boris not long after graduating from the female gymnasium, while he is a law student, and they marry shortly after he graduates. Because the government is bent on keeping Jews out of the forensic field, Boris is unable to gain admission to the bar, and he and Tatyana relocate to New York. In chapter two, Boris returns from work at a pearl-button factory. Tatyana happily greets her husband and admits that she ruined the soup because he learned that others know things too. Noting that she must have received the latest edition of "Russian Thought," Boris wants to look...