The Forged Coupon

This is a continuation of my previous entry, entitled Polikushka.

The Forged Coupon is the second of the two novellas in The Death of Ivan Ilyich and other stories, a collection of stories by Leo Tolstoy, (The other stories being, The Raid, The Woodfelling, Three Deaths, Polikushka and After the Ball.) all of which share a common theme, Death.

The story is constructed differently from the other texts in this collection, having being split in to two parts; and focusing on a much larger cast of characters. - Many of who pass through one another’s lives, and either directly or indirectly causes misfortune, in a series of events triggered by the forging of a coupon by two schoolboys. Reading through the web of interlinking stories is like looking at the world with a deterministic view – In that life is no more than a chain of events following on from one another according to the laws of cause and effect. But this would then mean that none of the characters have any control over their actions, because free will could not exist, yet some of the characters – notably that of Mitya, (whom; along with his friend Makhin, sets the tragic series of events in motion) has at least two chances to stop Makhin – but chooses not to.

I really enjoyed this novella; it is my favourite of the collection. I like the way Tolstoy shows how fragile people can be, how a perspective or belief can change so suddenly, and how the actions of one individual can affect so many others.

Part one begins with the forging of a coupon by two school boys called Mitya and Makhin; which they change at a local shop so Mitya can pay of a debt. The forgery is not spotted by the shopkeeper’s wife, but by the proprietor himself; Yevgeny Mikhailovich when he is counting up the money that evening. Yevgeny then manages to pass of the forged coupon on a muzhik named Ivan Mironov – who is arrested when attempting to change it at a bar.

Ivan attempts to clear his name by taking the police to the home of Yevgeny – But both Yevgeny and his yard keeper, Vasily (who takes a bribe) deny Ivan’s story. So aggrieved is Ivan that, after bribing his way out of jail he takes Yevgeny to court. But Vasily is the only witness and, after taking another bribe, continues to deny Ivan’s version of events.

It is this event that completely changes the lives of both Ivan and Vasily, almost overnight, and it is their actions that proceed pull others into an ever widening web of misery, theft, incarceration and death.

The chain of cause and effect continues, eventually touching the life of a muzhik named Stepan Pelageyushkin; who becomes central to the direction of plot, as it is his life we follow into darkness – before, in part two watching him recover and see the affects of the initial forging of the coupon come full circle.

In my mind, it is Stepan’s story that best shows the influence of determinism, because I believe him to have the least control over his actions, due to a mental illness perhaps sustained whilst serving in the military (as we are told he did). Tolstoy doesn’t mention mental any illness, but the way in which Stepan behaves when questioned in court after committing his first murder, and the thought process we see prior to and after the second and third murders (Chapter 15) shows a detachment from his actions, and apathy toward his victims. However the manner in which the fourth murder occurs (Chapter 23) place forces him to face his actions, and he breaks down.

Of all the characters Stepan’s journey is more predominant in the second part, as he finds redemption in the teachings of the Gospels. Which are taught to him by an inmate named Chuyev – who we meet earlier, learning the gospels himself from a tailor who himself learn them from Stepan’s fourth victim. Which again brings ideas of determinism to the forefront, especially when we see that with Stepan’s redemption; the tide of misfortune that has began with the forging of the coupon is turned into something more positive as the story draws to a close with a meeting that will bring events full circle.

This is such a good story, I hope you go away and read it if you haven’t already.