The Crocodile (short story)
Encyclopedia
"The Crocodile" is a short story
written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky that was first published in 1865 in his magazine Epoch
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. The narrator, Ivan Matveich, and his wife Elena Ivanovna are at the Arcade to see a crocodile that was put on display by a German gentleman. After teasing the crocodile, Ivan Matveich is swallowed alive. He findsthe inside of the crocodile to be quite elastic and benign, and despite pleas from Elena Ivanovna to cut open the crocodile, the German would not cooperate. Ivan Matveich urges his friend to arrange for the crocodile to be paid for before it was cut open, but the crocodile is so expensive that no agreement can be reached. Elena Ivanovna eventually divorces Ivan Matveich, and he carries on his work as a civil servant as best he could from inside the crocodile.
who wrote his novel What Is to Be Done? and numerous letters while being arrested and confined to Peter and Paul Fortress
and his wife, socialite Olga Sokratovna Chernyshevkaya. Dostoyevsky himself denied the allusions were intentional.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky that was first published in 1865 in his magazine Epoch
Epoch (Russian magazine)
Epoch was a Russian literary magazine published in 1864-65 by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and his brother Mikhail.-Publication history:The first two combined numbers of Epoch, for January and February, 1864, were published in March,1864, containing the opening chapters of Notes from Underground by Fyodor...
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Synopsis
The story opens with the narrator telling the purportedly true events that happened to his friend Ivan Matveich, who is swallowed alive by a crocodileCrocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
. The narrator, Ivan Matveich, and his wife Elena Ivanovna are at the Arcade to see a crocodile that was put on display by a German gentleman. After teasing the crocodile, Ivan Matveich is swallowed alive. He findsthe inside of the crocodile to be quite elastic and benign, and despite pleas from Elena Ivanovna to cut open the crocodile, the German would not cooperate. Ivan Matveich urges his friend to arrange for the crocodile to be paid for before it was cut open, but the crocodile is so expensive that no agreement can be reached. Elena Ivanovna eventually divorces Ivan Matveich, and he carries on his work as a civil servant as best he could from inside the crocodile.
Allusions
Dostoyevsky was accused by the liberal press that the story is actually a low parody on the fate of Russian socialist writer Nikolai ChernyshevskyNikolai Chernyshevsky
Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky was a Russian revolutionary democrat, materialist philosopher, critic, and socialist...
who wrote his novel What Is to Be Done? and numerous letters while being arrested and confined to Peter and Paul Fortress
Peter and Paul Fortress
The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706-1740.-History:...
and his wife, socialite Olga Sokratovna Chernyshevkaya. Dostoyevsky himself denied the allusions were intentional.