Not sure that short stories are really my thing, probably because I enjoy character driven books and short stories don't really have the capacity to do that.
That said, this is Chekhov and although he usually writes about the mundane ordinary life, his writing is lovely and is easy to read.
This is a story about Nadya who is a young Russian woman from a fairly well off family who is engaged to be married. She likes the guy she is going to marry but doesn't really love him. He doesn't do anything apart from playing the violin so life with him is likely to be boring. She feels trapped and oppressed and realises that her mother, who is a widow and relies heavily on her mother in law, has no quality of life or freedom and she doesn't want to be like her. A family friend, Sasha, who is staying with them and is unwell tries to encourage her to go to university, to learn and do something to change her life and not to rely on others and let others do all the work. She realises she doesn't love her fiancé and just before the wedding she runs away and goes to university. All is forgiven eventually by her family who have had to put up with the reactions of their neighbours when Nadya did something totally unconventional. She ends up, though, free and able to choose her own future.
As I said, Chekhov does the mundane. It was really about finding a meaning in your life and making it count.
As Sasha said, 'in enlightenment...evil will not exist because every man will believe and every man will know what he is living for and no one will seek moral support in the crowd'.
I did like the imagery in the writing and it was interesting that a few times he talked about the 'Tick Tock tick tock' of the watchman as he 'tapped lazily' just like time marching on.
The ending was a bit vague but hopeful
'before her mind rose the vista of a new, wide, spacious life, still obscured and full of mysteries beckoning her and attracted her'.
Interestingly this was the last but one story Chekhov published as he was dying at the time and he knew that, which makes this story of making the most of your life and finding a meaning in it quite poignant.