In "An Anonymous Story," Anton Chekhov delves into his signature themes of superfluous men, exploited women, and the corrosive nature of social conventions. The hapless narrator is a would-be revolutionary who infiltrates the household of the frivolous aristocrat, Orlov, hoping to gather intel for his cause. Orlov seduces the beautiful Zinaida Fyodorovna away from her husband, but his interest wanes swiftly. The narrator, yet another superfluous man in Russian literature, becomes complicit in Orlov's deception, filled with self-loathing. When Zinaida Fyodorovna becomes pregnant, the narrator attempts a feeble rescue, adding to the heartbreaking ambiguity of the tale's ending.