Realism | Lecturia

Anton Chekhov: Sleepy

“Sleepy” (Спать хочется) is a short story by Anton Chekhov published in 1888 in the Peterburgskaya Gazeta. It tells the story of Varka, a young girl who works as a maid and is tasked with caring for a child who cries incessantly at night. One night, when she is utterly exhausted, as she struggles to fight off the overwhelming drowsiness, Varka experiences a series of visions and memories that intertwine with her reality, reflecting her deep fatigue and her desire to sleep. After two sleepless nights, Varka is at the end of her strength, and her body desperately begs her to do something to find peace and rest.

Edgar Allan Poe: The Purloined Letter

“The Purloined Letter” is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, published in September 1844 in The Gift for 1845. In Paris, the police prefect visits detective C. Auguste Dupin to consult him on a case that has him baffled: a letter of enormous political importance has been stolen right under its owner’s nose by Minister D…, who is using it to blackmail her. Although the police have thoroughly searched the alleged thief’s mansion, the letter remains missing. Faced with the failure of conventional methods, the prefect turns to Dupin’s ingenuity, who will use his unique analytical skills to solve the mystery.

Juan Rulfo: Anacleto Morones

“Anacleto Morones” is a short story by the Mexican writer Juan Rulfo, published in 1953 in the book El llano en llamas. Lucas Lucatero is at his ranch when, in the midst of heat and dust, he sees a group of devout women arriving from Amula. The unwelcome visitors come with the purpose of convincing him to return with them to the town to give testimony about the life and deeds of Anacleto Morones, whom they regard as a saint capable of performing miracles. However, they run up against Lucatero’s reluctance, for he holds a very different opinion of the man who was once his father-in-law.

Nathaniel Hawthorne: Wakefield

“Wakefield” is a short story by the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in The New-England Magazine in May 1835. Under the pretext of taking a brief trip, a man abandons his home and his wife and secretly installs himself in a room on the street next to his own. For no apparent reason, he observes from a distance the life he has left behind, becoming an invisible spectator of his own absence. What was meant to be a getaway of only a few days gradually stretches on, as Wakefield sinks into anonymity and indefinitely postpones his return.

Clarice Lispector: The Smallest Woman in the World

“The Smallest Woman in the World” (A menor mulher do mundo) is a short story by Clarice Lispector, published in 1960 in the book Laços de família. In the depths of equatorial Africa, the French explorer Marcel Pretre discovers a tribe of extraordinarily tiny pygmies and, among them, an even smaller woman: a human figure scarcely forty-five centimeters tall, whom he names Little Flower. Astonished by the discovery, the explorer decides to study her, while news and a photograph of the tiny woman spread through the newspapers, provoking a range of reactions among those who gaze upon her image.

Juan Carlos Onetti: The Cat

“The Cat” is a short story by Juan Carlos Onetti, published in the collection Liminar in 1980. The story follows John, a cynical and distant Englishman, who confesses to a friend the reason behind his decision not to marry. In his account, he recalls a former engagement to Marie, a French woman with whom he was deeply in love. Everything was ready for them to begin their life together, until an unexpected and strange situation changed the course of their plans.