CHEKHOV'S MONGOOSE, Мангуста Чехова, Sod the Scoundrel, Сволочь

The Russian word for mongoose is мангуста (mangusta), which sounds like a garbled mixture of French and Spanish (mon + gusta) for “my pleasure.” But apparently having a pet mongoose can be more trouble than pleasure.

Chekhov’s Mongoose, Sod the Scoundrel

On the way back home from his trip to Siberia in 1890, Anton Chekhov bought two animals in Colombo. He thought they both were mongooses; later one turned out to be a palm cat. Here is a letter he wrote to a friend: “If only you knew what lovely animals I have brought from India! They are mongooses, the size of half-grown kittens, very cheerful lively beasts. Their qualities are: daring, curiosity and affection for man. They fight rattlesnakes and always win, they are afraid of nothing and nobody, and, as for curiosity, there isn’t a parcel or package in the room they don’t open. When they meet anyone they first off poke around in pockets to see what’s there. Left alone in the room, they start to cry.” The palm cat was soon disposed of, but the mongoose, which they named “Svoloch” (Scoundrel) survived. In his biography of Chekhov—where I first came across Scoundrel—Donald Rayfield calls him “Sod.” Which is okay if you’re British and know that sod-off word.

More On Chekhov’s Mongoose

Along with the Suvorin family, Anton Chekhov left Russia on a trip to Western Europe in March, 1891. Chekhov claimed to speak all different languages, “except foreign ones.” Restless in Rome, he asked the hotel porter for the address of the most luxurious brothel. In letters home he did not ask after any of his relatives or lovers; he asked only after the health of his mongoose, Sod the Scoundrel. His brother Pavel reported to him, “The mongoose is well, his behavior is incorrigible, but he deserves leniency.” In a letter to a different brother Pavel wrote, “The mongoose gives us no peace; it bit off a piece of mama’s nose in the night.”

Sod the Scoundrel Joins the Zoo

“Last year I brought from Ceylon a male mongoose (mungo in Brehm). The animal is utterly healthy and in good spirits [but his behavior has now gone beyond intolerable]. As I am leaving Moscow for some time and cannot take him with me [besides which, I am thoroughly fed up with Sod the Scoundrel and can bear no more], I humbly ask the Management to accept this animal from me and to fetch him today or tomorrow. The best way of carrying him is a small basket with a lid and blanket. The animal is tame [ha, ha, ha, “tame”]. I have been feeding him on meat, fish, and eggs.”

Letter of Anton Chekhov to the Director of the Moscow Zoo, January 14, 1892

         

The bracketed passages were not included in the letter as sent. I made them up to give some insight into Chekhov’s hidden thoughts as he wrote his letter. The zoo accepted Chekhov’s gift of Sod the Scoundrel, who lived on there for several more years. Chekhov’s sister Masha even went to see him once. How Scoundrel behaved at the zoo is unknown, but the monkeys are rumored to have gone on strike, refusing to live in his company.

                                                                Mongoose At Work

                                                                   Mother and Child