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In this episode, we delve into the complexities of mental illness and societal perceptions through the adaptation of Anton Chekhov's short story, "Ward Six." Our protagonist, Dr. Andrei Yefimich, is a well-intentioned doctor in a small Russian village who becomes disillusioned with the state of his hospital and the futility of his efforts to improve it. As he grapples with the moral and philosophical questions surrounding his work and life, he finds solace in conversations with a patient in the lunatic ward, Ivan Dmitri. These interactions challenge his understanding of sanity and reality, leading him down a path of introspection and eventual downfall.
The narrative explores themes of rationality versus irrationality, the societal constructs of sanity, and the personal journey of a man caught between his ideals and the harsh realities of his environment. As Dr. Yefimich's visits to the lunatic ward become more frequent, rumors spread, and his mental state is questioned by those around him. The story culminates in a poignant reflection on the nature of suffering, the search for meaning, and the thin line between sanity and madness. Join us as we unravel this thought-provoking tale of existential crisis and human frailty.
(00:17) Introduction to Mental Illness
(01:26) Ward 6: The Hospital's Dark Secret
(05:47) Dr. Andrei's Struggles with Hospital Management
(09:21) The Doctor's Friendship and Isolation
(13:09) Dr. Andrei's Visits to the Lunatic Ward
(18:04) Conversations with Ivan: Sanity and Insanity
(24:09) The Investigation into Dr. Andrei's Mental State
(28:18) The Downfall of Dr. Andrei
(36:08) The Tragic End
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[00:00:17]
Unknown:
Come in. Welcome. I'm EG Marshall. Physical illness is generally something that can be diagnosed, labeled, and treated. But mental illness,
[00:00:43] Unknown:
certain
[00:00:45] Unknown:
Standards are frequently relative and depend on an individual's point of view. Yes. I am ill. But there are hundreds of madmen walking around free simply because you doctors are too ignorant to distinguish them from the same.
[00:01:02] Unknown:
I agree with you. You agree. What do you know anyway?
[00:01:07] Unknown:
You are the first intelligent man I've met in twenty years in this town. Ah, well, if you think that, then you've got me locked up here illegally or you are as crazy as I am. Our mystery drama, Ward six, was adapted from a short story by Anton Chekhov especially for the mystery theater by Percy Grainger. It stars Norman Rose. It is sponsored in part by Contact, the twelve hour cold capsule, and the True Value Hardware stores. I'll be back shortly with act one. Hegel spent his lifetime trying to prove that all which is rational is real, and all which is real is rational.
But the great Spanish mystic, Una Muno, contends that reason builds on irrationality. Perhaps we can set ourselves a middle course at the outset of our story. If one looks deeply enough, one can always find an explanation for things. But that explanation won't always be rational. It may be banal or bizarre, or it may be both. We're in a small village in the Russian heartland of the last century.
[00:02:47] Unknown:
My name is Daryushka, and I don't understand anything. I readily admit it. So I doubt that makes me better than anyone else. For twenty years, I was a housekeeper for Andrei Jepimic, a doctor who was once in charge of our local hospital. The doctor was a good man, and he had noble intentions. So how could such a thing have happened? Well, I remember when he was first appointed to his position. The mayor himself showed him the hospital.
[00:03:21] Unknown:
Well, doctor, there you have it. Now what do you think?
[00:03:25] Unknown:
I think some improvements will have to be made. No doubt. No doubt. I noticed filth and vermin everywhere. The attendants sleep in the wards. The superintendent's wife uses the bathtubs for storing potatoes.
[00:03:40] Unknown:
There's not a single thermometer and only two scalpels in the surgical room. Well, maybe as you say, of course, I I have no experience with medicine myself. And and this is just what we need, you know, young blood,
[00:03:52] Unknown:
a fresh point of view. I think that I've seen enough for one day. Oh, but there is still one more ward. It's, in the annex out back. It's Ward 6. Oh, Oh, what patients are kept there? The insane. Well, here we are.
[00:04:13] Unknown:
Oh, be careful of that rubbish there.
[00:04:16] Unknown:
Old mattresses, hospital gowns, shoes. What? This must be cleaned up. Isn't there an attendant here? Right. That's me, your honor. Oh, this is Nikita.
[00:04:26] Unknown:
Nikita, this is the new doctor, Andrei Yefenik.
[00:04:30] Unknown:
Everything's under control here. I see to that. But foyer is filthy. What's the ward like? Mhmm. See for yourself. So dark. Sir, you can't give them candles. They'd burn the place down. The place reeks. It needs ventilation. Open windows, they'd only try to escape. Tell me, how many patients are there? Five. Everything's in order. You you see how quiet they are. Because a man is quiet means nothing at all. What care are they given? Well, they're fed twice a day and the barber comes once a month. Everything's under control, sir. Everything's under control. Yes. Thank you. I can see that. That man Nikita, he's really not at all suited to be the attendant for that ward.
I think he ought to be replaced. Oh, no. No. No. No. Well, why not? Well, he is a retired soldier. You see, he he lives on a pension which comes to him only because he holds a job here at the hospital. But I could see bruises on the patients where he's beaten. Yes. Yes. Yes. Well, it is up to you, of course. Perhaps I can see to it that he mends his ways then, that at least ventilates the ward.
[00:05:47] Unknown:
At first, the doctor was a very hard worker and saw patients from morning till night, and he was honest too. No question about that. The only person in the whole village whose presence didn't irritate him was Mikhail, the postmaster. Mikhail wasn't especially well educated, but he was the best the town had to offer. And he came to see the doctor almost every evening.
[00:06:14] Unknown:
Hello. Hello. Here I am. What a day. Well, my friend and how are you? You look concerned. Is something the matter? It all seems so futile, Mikhail. I just had two new cases of instruments installed in the surgical ward, but I can't see what earthly good they'll do unless the ward itself is kept cleaner. Well, well, what can you do? The town is too poor to support a decent hospital without help from the district. Plus the district refuses to build a new hospital on the ground that we already have one. Well, look at it this way. Who uses the hospital? Only working men and peasants, and they've got nothing to complain about.
They'd be worse off at home. In theory, a hospital exists to cure disease, not spread it. I give orders, yet they never seem to be carried out. Dariushka? Yes, doctor. Dariushka, we might have some beer now. Yes, sir. Right away. One can see very clearly where the problem lies. You're too timid, Andre. Mind you, that's not meant as a criticism, just an observation. You think that I'm timid? Well, look how you ordered our beer just now from your servant. We might have some beer. But what was wrong with that? I sometimes suspect you must have taken a vow once never to raise your voice. Why should I raise my voice with Dariuszka? Not here in your own home, at the hospital.
You're in charge there. You're the leader as it were. People look to you for decisions.
[00:07:50] Unknown:
Excuse me. Here's your beer. Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you, Dariushka. Will there be anything else? No. Nothing more just now.
[00:07:58] Unknown:
Very well. Well, you see, you did it again. An apologetic. Oh, that was my nature, I suppose. Anyway, none of this matters. Giving orders, taking them. What's the difference? What difference does any of it make? A hundred years from now, we'll all be dead and forgotten. Absolutely right. My friend, I cannot stay today. A comrade of mine from my old cavalry regiment is in town. You will excuse me? Of course. And mind what I said. A man in your position needn't apologize for giving orders. I suppose not. Au revoir. Good night, my friend. Daryushka.
Yes? I might have dinner now if it won't be too much trouble.
[00:08:51] Unknown:
Once the doctor settled into the routine of life in our village, the irregularities at the hospital seemed to bother him less and less. The futility of trying to cure the endless stream of patients depressed him. And eventually, he turned his duties over to his assistants and gave up going to the hospital every day. Aberjanic. Here I am.
[00:09:24] Unknown:
How are you today, my friend? You're probably getting sick of me by now. For the contrary, I'm delighted to see you.
[00:09:33] Unknown:
They would sit and smoke in silence for a while. It was always the doctor who began the conversation.
[00:09:41] Unknown:
What a pity that our town is devoid of people who enjoy intelligent conversation. It is the mind which separates us from the animal. The mind which is the only possible source of enjoyment. Yet, we neither see nor hear any traces of intellect around us. I tell you, it's not like the old days. Life was gay. People were clever. There were values. I often dream about intelligent people and conversations with them. There was the wife of one of the battalion commanders. She used to put on an officer's uniform and drive off alone into the mountains. It was said she was having a romance with some prince in one of the native villages. We can only hope things will be better in the future.
If only we could return to the past.
[00:10:37] Unknown:
Day in, day out, it was always the same. So nice, so orderly. The doctor hardly troubled himself at all anymore about the hospital, but left it to run itself. Then one day, only a few years ago, the mayor came to call on the doctor who was as usual reading in his study. Hey, usual leading in his study. Hey, Andrej Yefemich.
[00:11:03] Unknown:
I come with some good news, with some excellent news. The district council has magnanimously decided to contribute 3,000 rumors a year to your hospital. 3,000?
[00:11:14] Unknown:
Why then at last, we can renovate some of the ward. Oh, but the money has already been spent. They've hired another doctor as your assistant. But I have one assistant already. Now in my opinion, it would be better to buy medicine and new bedding. Nevertheless,
[00:11:28] Unknown:
doctor Khoboto arrives to Mars.
[00:11:35] Unknown:
There you have it doctor Khoboto. What do you think? A fine hospital doctor. You're to be congratulated. That is your honest opinion. Well, of course. Well, the stench is rather strong, I'm afraid. Oh, it's to be expected. Besides, one gets used to it. And no matter how many times I ask for things to be cleaned up, it never seems to get done. The sign of a busy institution. So they've finally given me the money I asked for years ago and with it they have sent me you. I am honored doctor and happy to be here in this town working with you. You are happy to be in this town?
Have you looked around? To be sure, this village is a pit. I know very well that miraculous changes are taking place in medicine. Unheard of operations can now be performed. Anywhere else the public would have demolished this abomination years ago, and yet and what's the difference? Antiseptics, pastor, hygienic psychiatry. Yes. But the essentials haven't changed. Sickness and mortality remain the same. So it's all futile and senseless and well, there's not a wits difference between the best Viennese clinic and my hospital, and why should I trouble myself? I couldn't agree with you more, doctor. And now if, you'll excuse me, this tour of inspection has given me a most marvelous appetite.
[00:13:09] Unknown:
And then, only a few months ago, the rumor began. A strange rumor. Doctor Andrej Jefimic has begun visiting Ward 6. That's the annex out behind the hospital, The lunatic ward.
[00:13:32] Unknown:
Doctor Andrej Jefimic seems to be a man with an intense love of honesty and reason, but he lacks the willpower and self confidence to organize a reasonable and honest life around him. And now he has taken to visiting the lunatic ward. It could be that years of futile routine have driven him mad, But there is another possibility. From what we've seen of the town and its inhabitants, the madhouse just might be the sanest place in the area. I'll return shortly with act two. A mind is neither water, shell, skin, nor fire, says Edward Dahlberg. It is good and then evil, savage and then domestic.
We are each of us bound by the way we see the world, and that vision can become distorted by a process as gradual as aging itself. Indeed, it is possible to lose one's grasp of reality, not in any cataclysmic fashion, but step by step. And not only by wrong actions, but by no action at all.
[00:15:02] Unknown:
I can't say for certain when the doctor started his daily visits to the lunatic ward, but I think it was one afternoon when he was out by the gate saying goodbye to Mikhail. Moysika came by. Moesika was the one patient from the Ward 6 who was allowed to roam freely. He was a harmless old man who begged bits of food or kopeks from those he passed. This particular day was cold, and Moisesika was barefoot. The doctor watched him in pity and then followed him to the annex.
[00:15:42] Unknown:
Good evening, Nikita. Yes, sir, your honor. I saw a Mosaika. He was barefoot and it's quite damp out. Perhaps you could see to it that he gets a pair of boots. Otherwise, I'm afraid he might catch cold. Yes, sir. Yes, your honor. I'll report it to the superintendent. It was. Please do. Ask him in my name. Say that I requested it. Yes. Well, the doctor has come at last. I congratulate us. Who's that? Who's that new patient, Ivan de Vittich, the, young aristocrat you admitted three months ago? Well, the doctor has stopped looking for the That dirty dog. Don't worry, your honor. I'll I'll shut him off. No. No. No. I'll speak to him.
[00:16:21] Unknown:
No. Kill the cat. I'll kill him. No. No. No. No. Killing is too good for him. Crown him in the swamp.
[00:16:29] Unknown:
Why would you want to kill me? Why? Oh, thief. I've never stolen anything. Quack. Hangman. Now, try to compose yourself. Tell me, what is it that makes you so angry? Why do you keep me here?
[00:16:43] Unknown:
Because you are ill. So? So are thousands of others, but they walk around free because you are too ignorant to distinguish them from the safe. That's probably quite true. Yes. So why am I shut up here as a scapegoat for all of you? It is immoral. It it is illogical.
[00:17:01] Unknown:
Unfortunately, morals and logic have nothing to do with it. It all depends on chance. Well, you admit that then, do you? Yes. I do. Then let me out.
[00:17:12] Unknown:
I can't. Why not?
[00:17:15] Unknown:
You're a doctor. What would be the use? The police and townspeople would only bring you back. Yeah. So what what am I to do then? I don't know. The best thing would be to run away, but that would be useless.
[00:17:31] Unknown:
Better times better times will come, won't they? I mean, justice will triumph. I don't expect to see it, but other men's grandchildren will and I rejoice with them. I congratulate them. From behind these bars, I send them my blessing.
[00:17:48] Unknown:
I see no reason for rejoicing. Even if we do away with prisons and asylums, the essence of things won't change. People will still fall ill, grow old, and die. We'll all end up the same in the coffin or the pit.
[00:18:05] Unknown:
And immortality?
[00:18:07] Unknown:
I don't believe in it. You're an educated man. Yes.
[00:18:12] Unknown:
I attended the university. Why are you here?
[00:18:16] Unknown:
I have a persecution mania.
[00:18:20] Unknown:
In any case, you know how to think. That's what's important. You can find solace within yourself. Oh, I love life. I love it passionately. Give me news of the outside world.
[00:18:33] Unknown:
Tell me, what is it like in town?
[00:18:35] Unknown:
The town. Well, the town is insufferably boring. There's no one to talk to. No new people except a young doctor by the name of Chabotov.
[00:18:48] Unknown:
Yes. I've met him. He is a boar. Oh, no. Well, yes, he is. A man of no culture whatsoever. Yes. But but but how are things in general? Or what do they write about now in the newspapers and magazines that come from Moscow and Pampersburg? Well, let me see now where to
[00:19:07] Unknown:
begin. You know, in all the time that I've lived here, you are the first man I've been able to talk to. Good day, Von Dmitri. How do you feel today? You won't get a word out of me. Well, that's strange. Do you think that I'm a spy?
[00:19:26] Unknown:
Spy or a doctor. It's all the same.
[00:19:29] Unknown:
Does it follow then that there's nothing to be afraid of? It has been so long since I've lived like a human being. It is unbearably foul in here. But is there any difference really between a comfortable study and this ward? Contentment lies within man, not outside it. It's all in the mind. Marcus Aurelius said pain is merely the representation of pain. Change the image, reject it, and the pain will disappear. Then I must be an idiot. One must strive for a comprehension
[00:20:07] Unknown:
of life. No. That's all. Well, why do you consider yourself an expert on suffering? Have you ever suffered? Well, I mean, as well. And no. For more than twenty years now, you've worked here as a doctor. You have a servant, a free house, and the right to turn all your duties over to your assistance. You beguile yourself with all kinds of nonsensical thoughts. Strive for comprehension. No difference between this ward and a warm study. You've never seen life. This isn't philosophy. It's laziness and mental stagnation.
[00:20:46] Unknown:
You know, I must confess that talking with you gives me great pleasure.
[00:20:57] Unknown:
Good day, Is the doctor in? Hello, Mikhail. No. I'm afraid he's gone to the annex again. Again? It seems he goes there every day now. Oh, it's worse than that. Twice a day. And today, three times. It is strange. Oh, go to him, Nafael. Talk to him. Me? What would I say? You're his friend.
[00:21:20] Unknown:
The rumor about his frequent visits to the lunatic ward is spreading everywhere. But he is the head doctor after all. And if he chooses to visit a certain ward, he must have a perfectly good reason. I'll go and see him. Nikita. It? Oh, it's you, postmaster. Is Andrej Yasimic here? Yes. But I don't think he'd thank you for disturbing him. He's in consultation with one of the patients. Yes. So I've heard. Don't ask me what good it does. Oh? He sits and talks to that Ivan Dimitris for hours, but I've never once seen him write a prescription. Do you suppose perhaps I might overhear a bit of their conversation?
Well, that's easy enough. Come over here.
[00:22:16] Unknown:
I'll open the door a crack, and you can miss it. Be careful. They won't notice you. Not them. Not the way they carry on. You'll never succeed in converting me to your beliefs. You know nothing of reality, for you have never
[00:22:32] Unknown:
suffered. I have absolutely no intention of converting you. That's not the point my friend. Suffering and joy are transitory. The point is that we can think. You and I were capable of reasoning. That's what creates the bond between us. You see how they sit together on his bed side by side? Is it always like this? To be sure, I've heard enough. Doctor Cobalta, the assistant was here yesterday. He listened too. What does he think? It's his opinion that Andrej Affirmich has completely lost his moorings.
[00:23:17] Unknown:
Dariushka. Yes, doctor. Dariushka,
[00:23:21] Unknown:
have you noticed anything odd lately? Odd? Yes. I could swear that people are behaving differently towards me. Oh, you must be imagining things. The nurse looks at me inquisitively. And then they avert their eyes and they don't speak to me. They can help me. I'm sure it will pass. Then there is something, but what?
[00:23:45] Unknown:
I don't know. A letter came today while you were out. A letter? It's, it's from the mayor.
[00:23:56] Unknown:
The mayor wants me to come see him first thing in the morning. He says it's a very important matter. Doctor Andre Felix. Good morning, your honor.
[00:24:13] Unknown:
Well, I have a, deposition that concerns you. We're waiting for you at my office. We? Yes. Yes. Your assistant, doctor Wadol, and a a number of representatives from the district council. This way, doctor. Now gentlemen, may I present doctor Andrei Efimich Regin? Hello, Robotov. Good morning, doctor. Please, if we can proceed. The deposition concerns the setting up of a new dispenser.
[00:24:41] Unknown:
Thing. Well, why do that?
[00:24:43] Unknown:
Well, what I'll say is there's insufficient room in the main hospital. Yes. My suggestion is to renovate the left wing. Yes, sir. Well, what, what do you think doctor?
[00:24:53] Unknown:
I submitted such a plan years ago, and it was ignored. And now things have come to such a path, I think renovation would be too costly. No. No. No. I see. Well, and then
[00:25:03] Unknown:
what would you advise?
[00:25:05] Unknown:
Shutting down the hospital altogether. What? Oh, really, doctor? Come now. Except that it would serve no purpose. Wait. Wait. I'm, not quite sure we follow you. If you drive physical and moral impurity out of one place, it only moves to another. Doctor, you consider our hospital impure? You work there, Chabotov. You're a doctor. The place is understaffed, filthy, and under financed. But with diligence, couldn't this be remedied? Why bother?
[00:25:37] Unknown:
It's all a fraud. A
[00:25:38] Unknown:
fraud? The mortality rate never goes down. The sick never stop coming. To give any real help to the number of people who need it is impossible. Ergo, you have fraud. Well, can't we talk of alleviating these conditions? But why alleviate them? Since death is natural, why work to keep people from dying? But it's our job as doctors to ease suffering. Why? Suffering leads to self perfection. If we learn to ease pain with pills and drops, gentlemen, to what will eventually lead? The complete abandonment of religion and philosophy. Why should any of us here in this room be spared illness, when our insipid lives would be empty as an amoebas, were it not for our suffering.
[00:26:32] Unknown:
Yes. Thank you, doctor, for coming to, give us your opinion on the dispensary.
[00:26:38] Unknown:
Now it's, time for us all fellows to take a rest. Hey?
[00:26:42] Unknown:
Good day. Yes. Good day. Good day. I think they weren't interested in a dispensary at all. That was a committee appointed to investigate my mental condition. Andre. Andre, you're finished. Mhmm. Oh. Oh, Mikhail. Mikhail, what are you doing here? My dear friend, you are not well. Doctor Hobartoff has told me that for the sake of your health, it is essential that you have a rest. I'm taking a leave of absence in a few days myself, going away for a change of air. Prove to me that you are my friend. Come with me. Mikhail, I feel perfectly well. I don't want to go away. Don't you understand?
You must before it's too late. Yeah. Well, you may be right or maybe not. What difference does it make? We all end up in the same place. If those people consider you ill, you are very life is in danger.
[00:27:48] Unknown:
The mind may still function. Indeed, in a doctor's case, we might conclude it functions too well. For it is almost as if he were using a certain kind of philosophy and logic to hasten his own doom. I'll return in a few minutes with our final act. It has been observed that either we control events or the events will control us. Doctor Andrej Yefimich is now threatened by the very system he might have reformed. And just how serious his situation is can be realized if we remember this fact. While today, attempts are made to cure the mentally ill, in the nineteenth century, if you were locked up as insane, that was usually the last you were seen or heard of.
[00:28:56] Unknown:
Of. After the doctor's visit to the mayor's office, events moved very quickly indeed. I can say I couldn't understand it at all. When Well, for twenty years, everything had been exactly the same. The doctor had risen each morning at 08:00. He'd eaten his breakfast and then gone to the hospital to see patients. He'd return from the hospital in the middle of the morning and go straight to his study where he would read for hours on end. Every half hour, he'd pour himself a glass of vodka that he drank without taking his eyes off his book.
[00:29:36] Unknown:
At 03:00, he approached the kitchen door. He'd clear his throat and say,
[00:29:38] Unknown:
door. He'd clear his throat and say,
[00:29:43] Unknown:
Daliyska, I might have dinner now.
[00:29:48] Unknown:
He ate in silence, always lost in some deep thought. After dinner, he would pace from room to room. His arms folded on his chest, still thinking, still lost in thought. And then toward evening, the postmaster, Nifair, would come for his visit. And that was how it was year in and year out. He never raised his voice. He was never violent. Never would have thought of harming a soul. A week after he was called to the Mayor's office, an important looking person came to the house, a man I've never seen before. I heard him suggest to the doctor that he send in his resignation.
He talked for half an hour. The doctor sat very still. He didn't say a single word. Finally, the strange man left. Less than an hour later, Mikhail came by.
[00:31:01] Unknown:
Mikhail, I I feel perfectly well. I cannot go away. Why not? To go somewhere for no reason? Without my books, without Dariushka, to disturb my routine? Oh, it's too fantastic an idea. You must. You absolutely must, Andre. Really. For your own health. Well, if it's true that the stupid people here think I'm a madman, perhaps I should. But where would we go? Moscow, Petersburg, Warsaw. I spent the five happiest years of my life in Warsaw. What an amazing city. Let us go, my friend. We'll recapture our youth while there's still time.
[00:31:55] Unknown:
And in less than a week, they were on the stage coach, which would take them to the train station, 200 miles from our village. When we got to Moscow,
[00:32:06] Unknown:
Mikhail put on his old military uniform. When we were out on the streets, the soldiers saluted him. And tomorrow, just think of it, Andre. Tomorrow, we leave for Warsaw. My dear man, why should I go to Warsaw? Go without me. Let me go home. I beg you. On no account. Warsaw is an amazing city. I'm sure it is. I said the five happiest years of my life there. I'm sure you did, but please, please, you go on by yourself.
[00:32:39] Unknown:
But the doctor lacked the will to insist on having his own way. So they both went to Warsaw. There, Mikhail fell prey to the gaming tables. He lost all his money and had to borrow 500 rubles from Andrej Jafimic. After After making the loan and paying for the trip, which he'd only gone on in the first place because his friend had insisted, the doctor returned home with 86 rubles to his name. What was supposed to have been a vacation had frayed his nerves and left him broke. But that wasn't all.
[00:33:21] Unknown:
Daryushka. Daryushka, I'm home. Andre, how good to see you. Doctor Jaboto, what are you doing here? Come in. Come in. Thank you. How was your trip? Insufferable. Mikhail considered it his duty to talk hazzly to me the entire time. Where where is Dariuszka? She's not here anymore. Is there something wrong? No. Is she alright? Nothing has happened to her, has it? No. No. She's living in the house of Maria Bell Jorba. Living there? I don't understand. There is a room there for you too. But this is my house. Didn't you know?
I'm head of the hospital now. Oh. Oh. I see. But of course, I couldn't know. I you see, I I've been away. Oh, well, I I I was probably gone too long. What happened? Happened?
[00:34:27] Unknown:
Our life was much more cramped now, but Andre still rose at eight. And after morning tea, he would sit down to read. But reading no longer seemed to interest him. He even began going to church, something he'd never done in twenty years. He went twice to see that madman, Ivan Dimitrych, in Ward 6. Why do you keep coming to see me? Leave me in peace. I go sick of empty prattleback a long time ago. There's only one thing I want in repayment for all the suffering you scoundrels have subjected me to, and that is solitary confinement.
Both doctor Ceboto and Mikhail felt obliged to drop in on the doctor frequently to see how he was getting on.
[00:35:21] Unknown:
Now today, my friend, you've got much better color. It's high time you were improving, my colleague. You'll live to a 100. Just see if you don't. God, leave me alone. Get out. Both of you. What? Stupid people. Fools. I don't want your friendship or your medicine. Your vulgarity is sickening.
[00:35:46] Unknown:
Andrea Finch, you haven't moved since your two friends left.
[00:35:53] Unknown:
Are you sure you're alright? I I must go. This is terrible. It's awful. What have I done? I must go at once.
[00:36:00] Unknown:
Go where? Andre, wait. Where are you going? Wear your muffler. It's cold out.
[00:36:09] Unknown:
Mekhi, my friend. Andre, you're finished. I have come to apologize for my outburst. I I want to ask for your forgiveness. I I cannot for the life of me imagine why I was so rude. I have forgotten about it already. Where was my intellect, my tact? What happened to my my comprehension of things? Bygones are bygones. It never entered my head to take offense. Illness is no joke, you know? So you you too think that I'm ill? Why do you refuse to take it seriously? You live in crap, dirty quarters with no money for medical treatment. Really.
I implore you, take my advice. What advice? Go to the hospital. Go? You you mean my hospital? They'll give you proper treatment. My dear friend, don't believe it. It's a trick. I'm not ill. I'm simply caught in a vicious circle from which there is no way out. Go to the hospital. The hospital or the pit. It's all the same. I'm caught. Now everything, even my closest friend's interest is leading to only one thing, my ruin.
[00:37:43] Unknown:
Doctor Chobotov is here to see you.
[00:37:47] Unknown:
Doctor, I I want to apologize. No. No. No. No. Not a word of that now. I've come on business. Oh, on business? Yes. I I want to ask you to join me in a consultation. I think you're offering me a chance to make a bit of money. Yes. That's very kind of you. Tell me where is your patient? At the hospital. Oh, the hospital. Yes. To be more exact, it's in Ward 6. I've been wanting to show you this for a long time now. Most interesting case. Now, come into the ward. One of the, patients here has developed a complication in the lungs. Mhmm. You wait here. I'll be right back. I'm just going to get a stethoscope. Corboto?
Oh, Nikita. I brought you a dressing gown and some slippers, your honor. Please change your clothes. Oh, yes.
[00:38:53] Unknown:
This is your cart here next to Ivan Dimitris.
[00:38:57] Unknown:
Now don't worry. You'll get well, God willing. It's all the same. A hospital or the pit, a fuck coat, or a uniform or this gown is all the same. Who is that? The doctor in a hospital gown. So they'd lock you up too. It is delightful. Oh, no. No. No. You see, this is some sort of misunderstanding. I will speak to them. Yes. It won't do any good. It's getting dark. It's time for my beer and cigarettes. Nikita must have my cigarettes by mistake when he took my clothes. I'm going out. I'll tell them to give us some light. Where are you going? Nikita, you you must have taken my cigarettes. It's time you were in bed. But I'm only going out for a minute just difference will it make if I go out? I don't understand.
Nikita, I must go out. Don't cause any disorder at all.
[00:40:06] Unknown:
This is tyranny.
[00:40:08] Unknown:
I want to go out. You have no right to stop me. Open the door.
[00:40:12] Unknown:
Open it. Never let us out. We'll rot in here. No.
[00:40:17] Unknown:
Open the door, you dumb brute. Open it up or I'll break it down. I'll teach you to cause around. These these people, these poor people who are standing around me like black shadows in the moonlight. They must have experienced the same pain I'm feeling now, day in and day out. How could it have happened that in the course of more than twenty years, I didn't know. I refused to know.
[00:41:45] Unknown:
The doctor died the following day. Only me files and I were at the funeral.
[00:42:02] Unknown:
We go back to the question we raised in the very beginning. How do these things happen? Chekhov was not a writer to use the supernatural for striking dramatic effect. He built his stories from the brick and mortar of the smallest details of daily experience. And in the process, he showed how meaningless labels like sanity and insanity can be, and why they will always be with us. I'll return with a final word in a moment. It is said that God showed Solomon highest favor because he asked for understanding rather than a long life. But understanding without action can turn sour and pessimistic and lead a man to his ruin, especially if the times he lives in are less than perfect and what times are not.
Our cast included Norman Rose, Bryna Rayburn, Earl Hammond, Russell Horton, and Eugene Trubnick. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown. Radio Mystery Theater was sponsored in part by True Value Hardware stores and Contact, the twelve hour cold capsule. This is EG Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theater for another adventure in the macabre. Until next time, pleasant dream.
Come in. Welcome. I'm EG Marshall. Physical illness is generally something that can be diagnosed, labeled, and treated. But mental illness,
[00:00:43] Unknown:
certain
[00:00:45] Unknown:
Standards are frequently relative and depend on an individual's point of view. Yes. I am ill. But there are hundreds of madmen walking around free simply because you doctors are too ignorant to distinguish them from the same.
[00:01:02] Unknown:
I agree with you. You agree. What do you know anyway?
[00:01:07] Unknown:
You are the first intelligent man I've met in twenty years in this town. Ah, well, if you think that, then you've got me locked up here illegally or you are as crazy as I am. Our mystery drama, Ward six, was adapted from a short story by Anton Chekhov especially for the mystery theater by Percy Grainger. It stars Norman Rose. It is sponsored in part by Contact, the twelve hour cold capsule, and the True Value Hardware stores. I'll be back shortly with act one. Hegel spent his lifetime trying to prove that all which is rational is real, and all which is real is rational.
But the great Spanish mystic, Una Muno, contends that reason builds on irrationality. Perhaps we can set ourselves a middle course at the outset of our story. If one looks deeply enough, one can always find an explanation for things. But that explanation won't always be rational. It may be banal or bizarre, or it may be both. We're in a small village in the Russian heartland of the last century.
[00:02:47] Unknown:
My name is Daryushka, and I don't understand anything. I readily admit it. So I doubt that makes me better than anyone else. For twenty years, I was a housekeeper for Andrei Jepimic, a doctor who was once in charge of our local hospital. The doctor was a good man, and he had noble intentions. So how could such a thing have happened? Well, I remember when he was first appointed to his position. The mayor himself showed him the hospital.
[00:03:21] Unknown:
Well, doctor, there you have it. Now what do you think?
[00:03:25] Unknown:
I think some improvements will have to be made. No doubt. No doubt. I noticed filth and vermin everywhere. The attendants sleep in the wards. The superintendent's wife uses the bathtubs for storing potatoes.
[00:03:40] Unknown:
There's not a single thermometer and only two scalpels in the surgical room. Well, maybe as you say, of course, I I have no experience with medicine myself. And and this is just what we need, you know, young blood,
[00:03:52] Unknown:
a fresh point of view. I think that I've seen enough for one day. Oh, but there is still one more ward. It's, in the annex out back. It's Ward 6. Oh, Oh, what patients are kept there? The insane. Well, here we are.
[00:04:13] Unknown:
Oh, be careful of that rubbish there.
[00:04:16] Unknown:
Old mattresses, hospital gowns, shoes. What? This must be cleaned up. Isn't there an attendant here? Right. That's me, your honor. Oh, this is Nikita.
[00:04:26] Unknown:
Nikita, this is the new doctor, Andrei Yefenik.
[00:04:30] Unknown:
Everything's under control here. I see to that. But foyer is filthy. What's the ward like? Mhmm. See for yourself. So dark. Sir, you can't give them candles. They'd burn the place down. The place reeks. It needs ventilation. Open windows, they'd only try to escape. Tell me, how many patients are there? Five. Everything's in order. You you see how quiet they are. Because a man is quiet means nothing at all. What care are they given? Well, they're fed twice a day and the barber comes once a month. Everything's under control, sir. Everything's under control. Yes. Thank you. I can see that. That man Nikita, he's really not at all suited to be the attendant for that ward.
I think he ought to be replaced. Oh, no. No. No. No. Well, why not? Well, he is a retired soldier. You see, he he lives on a pension which comes to him only because he holds a job here at the hospital. But I could see bruises on the patients where he's beaten. Yes. Yes. Yes. Well, it is up to you, of course. Perhaps I can see to it that he mends his ways then, that at least ventilates the ward.
[00:05:47] Unknown:
At first, the doctor was a very hard worker and saw patients from morning till night, and he was honest too. No question about that. The only person in the whole village whose presence didn't irritate him was Mikhail, the postmaster. Mikhail wasn't especially well educated, but he was the best the town had to offer. And he came to see the doctor almost every evening.
[00:06:14] Unknown:
Hello. Hello. Here I am. What a day. Well, my friend and how are you? You look concerned. Is something the matter? It all seems so futile, Mikhail. I just had two new cases of instruments installed in the surgical ward, but I can't see what earthly good they'll do unless the ward itself is kept cleaner. Well, well, what can you do? The town is too poor to support a decent hospital without help from the district. Plus the district refuses to build a new hospital on the ground that we already have one. Well, look at it this way. Who uses the hospital? Only working men and peasants, and they've got nothing to complain about.
They'd be worse off at home. In theory, a hospital exists to cure disease, not spread it. I give orders, yet they never seem to be carried out. Dariushka? Yes, doctor. Dariushka, we might have some beer now. Yes, sir. Right away. One can see very clearly where the problem lies. You're too timid, Andre. Mind you, that's not meant as a criticism, just an observation. You think that I'm timid? Well, look how you ordered our beer just now from your servant. We might have some beer. But what was wrong with that? I sometimes suspect you must have taken a vow once never to raise your voice. Why should I raise my voice with Dariuszka? Not here in your own home, at the hospital.
You're in charge there. You're the leader as it were. People look to you for decisions.
[00:07:50] Unknown:
Excuse me. Here's your beer. Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you, Dariushka. Will there be anything else? No. Nothing more just now.
[00:07:58] Unknown:
Very well. Well, you see, you did it again. An apologetic. Oh, that was my nature, I suppose. Anyway, none of this matters. Giving orders, taking them. What's the difference? What difference does any of it make? A hundred years from now, we'll all be dead and forgotten. Absolutely right. My friend, I cannot stay today. A comrade of mine from my old cavalry regiment is in town. You will excuse me? Of course. And mind what I said. A man in your position needn't apologize for giving orders. I suppose not. Au revoir. Good night, my friend. Daryushka.
Yes? I might have dinner now if it won't be too much trouble.
[00:08:51] Unknown:
Once the doctor settled into the routine of life in our village, the irregularities at the hospital seemed to bother him less and less. The futility of trying to cure the endless stream of patients depressed him. And eventually, he turned his duties over to his assistants and gave up going to the hospital every day. Aberjanic. Here I am.
[00:09:24] Unknown:
How are you today, my friend? You're probably getting sick of me by now. For the contrary, I'm delighted to see you.
[00:09:33] Unknown:
They would sit and smoke in silence for a while. It was always the doctor who began the conversation.
[00:09:41] Unknown:
What a pity that our town is devoid of people who enjoy intelligent conversation. It is the mind which separates us from the animal. The mind which is the only possible source of enjoyment. Yet, we neither see nor hear any traces of intellect around us. I tell you, it's not like the old days. Life was gay. People were clever. There were values. I often dream about intelligent people and conversations with them. There was the wife of one of the battalion commanders. She used to put on an officer's uniform and drive off alone into the mountains. It was said she was having a romance with some prince in one of the native villages. We can only hope things will be better in the future.
If only we could return to the past.
[00:10:37] Unknown:
Day in, day out, it was always the same. So nice, so orderly. The doctor hardly troubled himself at all anymore about the hospital, but left it to run itself. Then one day, only a few years ago, the mayor came to call on the doctor who was as usual reading in his study. Hey, usual leading in his study. Hey, Andrej Yefemich.
[00:11:03] Unknown:
I come with some good news, with some excellent news. The district council has magnanimously decided to contribute 3,000 rumors a year to your hospital. 3,000?
[00:11:14] Unknown:
Why then at last, we can renovate some of the ward. Oh, but the money has already been spent. They've hired another doctor as your assistant. But I have one assistant already. Now in my opinion, it would be better to buy medicine and new bedding. Nevertheless,
[00:11:28] Unknown:
doctor Khoboto arrives to Mars.
[00:11:35] Unknown:
There you have it doctor Khoboto. What do you think? A fine hospital doctor. You're to be congratulated. That is your honest opinion. Well, of course. Well, the stench is rather strong, I'm afraid. Oh, it's to be expected. Besides, one gets used to it. And no matter how many times I ask for things to be cleaned up, it never seems to get done. The sign of a busy institution. So they've finally given me the money I asked for years ago and with it they have sent me you. I am honored doctor and happy to be here in this town working with you. You are happy to be in this town?
Have you looked around? To be sure, this village is a pit. I know very well that miraculous changes are taking place in medicine. Unheard of operations can now be performed. Anywhere else the public would have demolished this abomination years ago, and yet and what's the difference? Antiseptics, pastor, hygienic psychiatry. Yes. But the essentials haven't changed. Sickness and mortality remain the same. So it's all futile and senseless and well, there's not a wits difference between the best Viennese clinic and my hospital, and why should I trouble myself? I couldn't agree with you more, doctor. And now if, you'll excuse me, this tour of inspection has given me a most marvelous appetite.
[00:13:09] Unknown:
And then, only a few months ago, the rumor began. A strange rumor. Doctor Andrej Jefimic has begun visiting Ward 6. That's the annex out behind the hospital, The lunatic ward.
[00:13:32] Unknown:
Doctor Andrej Jefimic seems to be a man with an intense love of honesty and reason, but he lacks the willpower and self confidence to organize a reasonable and honest life around him. And now he has taken to visiting the lunatic ward. It could be that years of futile routine have driven him mad, But there is another possibility. From what we've seen of the town and its inhabitants, the madhouse just might be the sanest place in the area. I'll return shortly with act two. A mind is neither water, shell, skin, nor fire, says Edward Dahlberg. It is good and then evil, savage and then domestic.
We are each of us bound by the way we see the world, and that vision can become distorted by a process as gradual as aging itself. Indeed, it is possible to lose one's grasp of reality, not in any cataclysmic fashion, but step by step. And not only by wrong actions, but by no action at all.
[00:15:02] Unknown:
I can't say for certain when the doctor started his daily visits to the lunatic ward, but I think it was one afternoon when he was out by the gate saying goodbye to Mikhail. Moysika came by. Moesika was the one patient from the Ward 6 who was allowed to roam freely. He was a harmless old man who begged bits of food or kopeks from those he passed. This particular day was cold, and Moisesika was barefoot. The doctor watched him in pity and then followed him to the annex.
[00:15:42] Unknown:
Good evening, Nikita. Yes, sir, your honor. I saw a Mosaika. He was barefoot and it's quite damp out. Perhaps you could see to it that he gets a pair of boots. Otherwise, I'm afraid he might catch cold. Yes, sir. Yes, your honor. I'll report it to the superintendent. It was. Please do. Ask him in my name. Say that I requested it. Yes. Well, the doctor has come at last. I congratulate us. Who's that? Who's that new patient, Ivan de Vittich, the, young aristocrat you admitted three months ago? Well, the doctor has stopped looking for the That dirty dog. Don't worry, your honor. I'll I'll shut him off. No. No. No. I'll speak to him.
[00:16:21] Unknown:
No. Kill the cat. I'll kill him. No. No. No. No. Killing is too good for him. Crown him in the swamp.
[00:16:29] Unknown:
Why would you want to kill me? Why? Oh, thief. I've never stolen anything. Quack. Hangman. Now, try to compose yourself. Tell me, what is it that makes you so angry? Why do you keep me here?
[00:16:43] Unknown:
Because you are ill. So? So are thousands of others, but they walk around free because you are too ignorant to distinguish them from the safe. That's probably quite true. Yes. So why am I shut up here as a scapegoat for all of you? It is immoral. It it is illogical.
[00:17:01] Unknown:
Unfortunately, morals and logic have nothing to do with it. It all depends on chance. Well, you admit that then, do you? Yes. I do. Then let me out.
[00:17:12] Unknown:
I can't. Why not?
[00:17:15] Unknown:
You're a doctor. What would be the use? The police and townspeople would only bring you back. Yeah. So what what am I to do then? I don't know. The best thing would be to run away, but that would be useless.
[00:17:31] Unknown:
Better times better times will come, won't they? I mean, justice will triumph. I don't expect to see it, but other men's grandchildren will and I rejoice with them. I congratulate them. From behind these bars, I send them my blessing.
[00:17:48] Unknown:
I see no reason for rejoicing. Even if we do away with prisons and asylums, the essence of things won't change. People will still fall ill, grow old, and die. We'll all end up the same in the coffin or the pit.
[00:18:05] Unknown:
And immortality?
[00:18:07] Unknown:
I don't believe in it. You're an educated man. Yes.
[00:18:12] Unknown:
I attended the university. Why are you here?
[00:18:16] Unknown:
I have a persecution mania.
[00:18:20] Unknown:
In any case, you know how to think. That's what's important. You can find solace within yourself. Oh, I love life. I love it passionately. Give me news of the outside world.
[00:18:33] Unknown:
Tell me, what is it like in town?
[00:18:35] Unknown:
The town. Well, the town is insufferably boring. There's no one to talk to. No new people except a young doctor by the name of Chabotov.
[00:18:48] Unknown:
Yes. I've met him. He is a boar. Oh, no. Well, yes, he is. A man of no culture whatsoever. Yes. But but but how are things in general? Or what do they write about now in the newspapers and magazines that come from Moscow and Pampersburg? Well, let me see now where to
[00:19:07] Unknown:
begin. You know, in all the time that I've lived here, you are the first man I've been able to talk to. Good day, Von Dmitri. How do you feel today? You won't get a word out of me. Well, that's strange. Do you think that I'm a spy?
[00:19:26] Unknown:
Spy or a doctor. It's all the same.
[00:19:29] Unknown:
Does it follow then that there's nothing to be afraid of? It has been so long since I've lived like a human being. It is unbearably foul in here. But is there any difference really between a comfortable study and this ward? Contentment lies within man, not outside it. It's all in the mind. Marcus Aurelius said pain is merely the representation of pain. Change the image, reject it, and the pain will disappear. Then I must be an idiot. One must strive for a comprehension
[00:20:07] Unknown:
of life. No. That's all. Well, why do you consider yourself an expert on suffering? Have you ever suffered? Well, I mean, as well. And no. For more than twenty years now, you've worked here as a doctor. You have a servant, a free house, and the right to turn all your duties over to your assistance. You beguile yourself with all kinds of nonsensical thoughts. Strive for comprehension. No difference between this ward and a warm study. You've never seen life. This isn't philosophy. It's laziness and mental stagnation.
[00:20:46] Unknown:
You know, I must confess that talking with you gives me great pleasure.
[00:20:57] Unknown:
Good day, Is the doctor in? Hello, Mikhail. No. I'm afraid he's gone to the annex again. Again? It seems he goes there every day now. Oh, it's worse than that. Twice a day. And today, three times. It is strange. Oh, go to him, Nafael. Talk to him. Me? What would I say? You're his friend.
[00:21:20] Unknown:
The rumor about his frequent visits to the lunatic ward is spreading everywhere. But he is the head doctor after all. And if he chooses to visit a certain ward, he must have a perfectly good reason. I'll go and see him. Nikita. It? Oh, it's you, postmaster. Is Andrej Yasimic here? Yes. But I don't think he'd thank you for disturbing him. He's in consultation with one of the patients. Yes. So I've heard. Don't ask me what good it does. Oh? He sits and talks to that Ivan Dimitris for hours, but I've never once seen him write a prescription. Do you suppose perhaps I might overhear a bit of their conversation?
Well, that's easy enough. Come over here.
[00:22:16] Unknown:
I'll open the door a crack, and you can miss it. Be careful. They won't notice you. Not them. Not the way they carry on. You'll never succeed in converting me to your beliefs. You know nothing of reality, for you have never
[00:22:32] Unknown:
suffered. I have absolutely no intention of converting you. That's not the point my friend. Suffering and joy are transitory. The point is that we can think. You and I were capable of reasoning. That's what creates the bond between us. You see how they sit together on his bed side by side? Is it always like this? To be sure, I've heard enough. Doctor Cobalta, the assistant was here yesterday. He listened too. What does he think? It's his opinion that Andrej Affirmich has completely lost his moorings.
[00:23:17] Unknown:
Dariushka. Yes, doctor. Dariushka,
[00:23:21] Unknown:
have you noticed anything odd lately? Odd? Yes. I could swear that people are behaving differently towards me. Oh, you must be imagining things. The nurse looks at me inquisitively. And then they avert their eyes and they don't speak to me. They can help me. I'm sure it will pass. Then there is something, but what?
[00:23:45] Unknown:
I don't know. A letter came today while you were out. A letter? It's, it's from the mayor.
[00:23:56] Unknown:
The mayor wants me to come see him first thing in the morning. He says it's a very important matter. Doctor Andre Felix. Good morning, your honor.
[00:24:13] Unknown:
Well, I have a, deposition that concerns you. We're waiting for you at my office. We? Yes. Yes. Your assistant, doctor Wadol, and a a number of representatives from the district council. This way, doctor. Now gentlemen, may I present doctor Andrei Efimich Regin? Hello, Robotov. Good morning, doctor. Please, if we can proceed. The deposition concerns the setting up of a new dispenser.
[00:24:41] Unknown:
Thing. Well, why do that?
[00:24:43] Unknown:
Well, what I'll say is there's insufficient room in the main hospital. Yes. My suggestion is to renovate the left wing. Yes, sir. Well, what, what do you think doctor?
[00:24:53] Unknown:
I submitted such a plan years ago, and it was ignored. And now things have come to such a path, I think renovation would be too costly. No. No. No. I see. Well, and then
[00:25:03] Unknown:
what would you advise?
[00:25:05] Unknown:
Shutting down the hospital altogether. What? Oh, really, doctor? Come now. Except that it would serve no purpose. Wait. Wait. I'm, not quite sure we follow you. If you drive physical and moral impurity out of one place, it only moves to another. Doctor, you consider our hospital impure? You work there, Chabotov. You're a doctor. The place is understaffed, filthy, and under financed. But with diligence, couldn't this be remedied? Why bother?
[00:25:37] Unknown:
It's all a fraud. A
[00:25:38] Unknown:
fraud? The mortality rate never goes down. The sick never stop coming. To give any real help to the number of people who need it is impossible. Ergo, you have fraud. Well, can't we talk of alleviating these conditions? But why alleviate them? Since death is natural, why work to keep people from dying? But it's our job as doctors to ease suffering. Why? Suffering leads to self perfection. If we learn to ease pain with pills and drops, gentlemen, to what will eventually lead? The complete abandonment of religion and philosophy. Why should any of us here in this room be spared illness, when our insipid lives would be empty as an amoebas, were it not for our suffering.
[00:26:32] Unknown:
Yes. Thank you, doctor, for coming to, give us your opinion on the dispensary.
[00:26:38] Unknown:
Now it's, time for us all fellows to take a rest. Hey?
[00:26:42] Unknown:
Good day. Yes. Good day. Good day. I think they weren't interested in a dispensary at all. That was a committee appointed to investigate my mental condition. Andre. Andre, you're finished. Mhmm. Oh. Oh, Mikhail. Mikhail, what are you doing here? My dear friend, you are not well. Doctor Hobartoff has told me that for the sake of your health, it is essential that you have a rest. I'm taking a leave of absence in a few days myself, going away for a change of air. Prove to me that you are my friend. Come with me. Mikhail, I feel perfectly well. I don't want to go away. Don't you understand?
You must before it's too late. Yeah. Well, you may be right or maybe not. What difference does it make? We all end up in the same place. If those people consider you ill, you are very life is in danger.
[00:27:48] Unknown:
The mind may still function. Indeed, in a doctor's case, we might conclude it functions too well. For it is almost as if he were using a certain kind of philosophy and logic to hasten his own doom. I'll return in a few minutes with our final act. It has been observed that either we control events or the events will control us. Doctor Andrej Yefimich is now threatened by the very system he might have reformed. And just how serious his situation is can be realized if we remember this fact. While today, attempts are made to cure the mentally ill, in the nineteenth century, if you were locked up as insane, that was usually the last you were seen or heard of.
[00:28:56] Unknown:
Of. After the doctor's visit to the mayor's office, events moved very quickly indeed. I can say I couldn't understand it at all. When Well, for twenty years, everything had been exactly the same. The doctor had risen each morning at 08:00. He'd eaten his breakfast and then gone to the hospital to see patients. He'd return from the hospital in the middle of the morning and go straight to his study where he would read for hours on end. Every half hour, he'd pour himself a glass of vodka that he drank without taking his eyes off his book.
[00:29:36] Unknown:
At 03:00, he approached the kitchen door. He'd clear his throat and say,
[00:29:38] Unknown:
door. He'd clear his throat and say,
[00:29:43] Unknown:
Daliyska, I might have dinner now.
[00:29:48] Unknown:
He ate in silence, always lost in some deep thought. After dinner, he would pace from room to room. His arms folded on his chest, still thinking, still lost in thought. And then toward evening, the postmaster, Nifair, would come for his visit. And that was how it was year in and year out. He never raised his voice. He was never violent. Never would have thought of harming a soul. A week after he was called to the Mayor's office, an important looking person came to the house, a man I've never seen before. I heard him suggest to the doctor that he send in his resignation.
He talked for half an hour. The doctor sat very still. He didn't say a single word. Finally, the strange man left. Less than an hour later, Mikhail came by.
[00:31:01] Unknown:
Mikhail, I I feel perfectly well. I cannot go away. Why not? To go somewhere for no reason? Without my books, without Dariushka, to disturb my routine? Oh, it's too fantastic an idea. You must. You absolutely must, Andre. Really. For your own health. Well, if it's true that the stupid people here think I'm a madman, perhaps I should. But where would we go? Moscow, Petersburg, Warsaw. I spent the five happiest years of my life in Warsaw. What an amazing city. Let us go, my friend. We'll recapture our youth while there's still time.
[00:31:55] Unknown:
And in less than a week, they were on the stage coach, which would take them to the train station, 200 miles from our village. When we got to Moscow,
[00:32:06] Unknown:
Mikhail put on his old military uniform. When we were out on the streets, the soldiers saluted him. And tomorrow, just think of it, Andre. Tomorrow, we leave for Warsaw. My dear man, why should I go to Warsaw? Go without me. Let me go home. I beg you. On no account. Warsaw is an amazing city. I'm sure it is. I said the five happiest years of my life there. I'm sure you did, but please, please, you go on by yourself.
[00:32:39] Unknown:
But the doctor lacked the will to insist on having his own way. So they both went to Warsaw. There, Mikhail fell prey to the gaming tables. He lost all his money and had to borrow 500 rubles from Andrej Jafimic. After After making the loan and paying for the trip, which he'd only gone on in the first place because his friend had insisted, the doctor returned home with 86 rubles to his name. What was supposed to have been a vacation had frayed his nerves and left him broke. But that wasn't all.
[00:33:21] Unknown:
Daryushka. Daryushka, I'm home. Andre, how good to see you. Doctor Jaboto, what are you doing here? Come in. Come in. Thank you. How was your trip? Insufferable. Mikhail considered it his duty to talk hazzly to me the entire time. Where where is Dariuszka? She's not here anymore. Is there something wrong? No. Is she alright? Nothing has happened to her, has it? No. No. She's living in the house of Maria Bell Jorba. Living there? I don't understand. There is a room there for you too. But this is my house. Didn't you know?
I'm head of the hospital now. Oh. Oh. I see. But of course, I couldn't know. I you see, I I've been away. Oh, well, I I I was probably gone too long. What happened? Happened?
[00:34:27] Unknown:
Our life was much more cramped now, but Andre still rose at eight. And after morning tea, he would sit down to read. But reading no longer seemed to interest him. He even began going to church, something he'd never done in twenty years. He went twice to see that madman, Ivan Dimitrych, in Ward 6. Why do you keep coming to see me? Leave me in peace. I go sick of empty prattleback a long time ago. There's only one thing I want in repayment for all the suffering you scoundrels have subjected me to, and that is solitary confinement.
Both doctor Ceboto and Mikhail felt obliged to drop in on the doctor frequently to see how he was getting on.
[00:35:21] Unknown:
Now today, my friend, you've got much better color. It's high time you were improving, my colleague. You'll live to a 100. Just see if you don't. God, leave me alone. Get out. Both of you. What? Stupid people. Fools. I don't want your friendship or your medicine. Your vulgarity is sickening.
[00:35:46] Unknown:
Andrea Finch, you haven't moved since your two friends left.
[00:35:53] Unknown:
Are you sure you're alright? I I must go. This is terrible. It's awful. What have I done? I must go at once.
[00:36:00] Unknown:
Go where? Andre, wait. Where are you going? Wear your muffler. It's cold out.
[00:36:09] Unknown:
Mekhi, my friend. Andre, you're finished. I have come to apologize for my outburst. I I want to ask for your forgiveness. I I cannot for the life of me imagine why I was so rude. I have forgotten about it already. Where was my intellect, my tact? What happened to my my comprehension of things? Bygones are bygones. It never entered my head to take offense. Illness is no joke, you know? So you you too think that I'm ill? Why do you refuse to take it seriously? You live in crap, dirty quarters with no money for medical treatment. Really.
I implore you, take my advice. What advice? Go to the hospital. Go? You you mean my hospital? They'll give you proper treatment. My dear friend, don't believe it. It's a trick. I'm not ill. I'm simply caught in a vicious circle from which there is no way out. Go to the hospital. The hospital or the pit. It's all the same. I'm caught. Now everything, even my closest friend's interest is leading to only one thing, my ruin.
[00:37:43] Unknown:
Doctor Chobotov is here to see you.
[00:37:47] Unknown:
Doctor, I I want to apologize. No. No. No. No. Not a word of that now. I've come on business. Oh, on business? Yes. I I want to ask you to join me in a consultation. I think you're offering me a chance to make a bit of money. Yes. That's very kind of you. Tell me where is your patient? At the hospital. Oh, the hospital. Yes. To be more exact, it's in Ward 6. I've been wanting to show you this for a long time now. Most interesting case. Now, come into the ward. One of the, patients here has developed a complication in the lungs. Mhmm. You wait here. I'll be right back. I'm just going to get a stethoscope. Corboto?
Oh, Nikita. I brought you a dressing gown and some slippers, your honor. Please change your clothes. Oh, yes.
[00:38:53] Unknown:
This is your cart here next to Ivan Dimitris.
[00:38:57] Unknown:
Now don't worry. You'll get well, God willing. It's all the same. A hospital or the pit, a fuck coat, or a uniform or this gown is all the same. Who is that? The doctor in a hospital gown. So they'd lock you up too. It is delightful. Oh, no. No. No. You see, this is some sort of misunderstanding. I will speak to them. Yes. It won't do any good. It's getting dark. It's time for my beer and cigarettes. Nikita must have my cigarettes by mistake when he took my clothes. I'm going out. I'll tell them to give us some light. Where are you going? Nikita, you you must have taken my cigarettes. It's time you were in bed. But I'm only going out for a minute just difference will it make if I go out? I don't understand.
Nikita, I must go out. Don't cause any disorder at all.
[00:40:06] Unknown:
This is tyranny.
[00:40:08] Unknown:
I want to go out. You have no right to stop me. Open the door.
[00:40:12] Unknown:
Open it. Never let us out. We'll rot in here. No.
[00:40:17] Unknown:
Open the door, you dumb brute. Open it up or I'll break it down. I'll teach you to cause around. These these people, these poor people who are standing around me like black shadows in the moonlight. They must have experienced the same pain I'm feeling now, day in and day out. How could it have happened that in the course of more than twenty years, I didn't know. I refused to know.
[00:41:45] Unknown:
The doctor died the following day. Only me files and I were at the funeral.
[00:42:02] Unknown:
We go back to the question we raised in the very beginning. How do these things happen? Chekhov was not a writer to use the supernatural for striking dramatic effect. He built his stories from the brick and mortar of the smallest details of daily experience. And in the process, he showed how meaningless labels like sanity and insanity can be, and why they will always be with us. I'll return with a final word in a moment. It is said that God showed Solomon highest favor because he asked for understanding rather than a long life. But understanding without action can turn sour and pessimistic and lead a man to his ruin, especially if the times he lives in are less than perfect and what times are not.
Our cast included Norman Rose, Bryna Rayburn, Earl Hammond, Russell Horton, and Eugene Trubnick. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown. Radio Mystery Theater was sponsored in part by True Value Hardware stores and Contact, the twelve hour cold capsule. This is EG Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theater for another adventure in the macabre. Until next time, pleasant dream.
Introduction to Mental Illness
Ward 6: The Hospital's Dark Secret
Dr. Andrei's Struggles with Hospital Management
The Doctor's Friendship and Isolation
Dr. Andrei's Visits to the Lunatic Ward
Conversations with Ivan: Sanity and Insanity
The Investigation into Dr. Andrei's Mental State
The Downfall of Dr. Andrei
The Tragic End
