Grasshopper recap

Olga Ivanovna, fascinated by artistic celebrity, marries the quiet doctor Osip Dymov but treats him as a dependable background figure in her fashionable life. During a summer trip with artists, she begins an affair with the painter Ryabovsky. The romance soon becomes jealous and disappointing, and she returns to her husband while continuing to pursue the painter. Dymov bears the estrangement quietly and devotes himself to medicine. He later contracts diphtheria while treating a child and dies despite the efforts of his colleagues. Only when Korostelev describes Dymov's rare professional gifts and moral generosity does Olga understand that the remarkable man she had been looking for was her husband. She reaches that understanding too late to ask his forgiveness or change their life together.

Olga Ivanovna builds her identity around a circle of artists and performers, continually searching for people she considers original or famous. She marries Osip Dymov, a hardworking hospital doctor who had cared for her dying father. Although she praises his goodness, she regards his profession and quiet habits as separate from the brilliant world she values. Dymov supports the household, welcomes her guests, and accepts being overlooked. During a summer journey on the Volga, Olga falls in love with the painter Ryabovsky and begins an affair. Its excitement fades into quarrels, jealousy, and humiliation, while Dymov seems to understand more than either spouse says openly. Olga returns home but remains preoccupied with Ryabovsky until she discovers him with another woman. Meanwhile, Dymov gains professional recognition and immerses himself in medical work. He contracts diphtheria while treating an infected child and becomes gravely ill. Korostelev, one of the doctors attending him, tells Olga that Dymov is dying and that his colleagues considered him an exceptional talent as well as a selfless man. Olga finally realizes that she ignored the very distinction and generosity she claimed to seek. She rushes to him with hopes of making amends, but Dymov has died, leaving her insight powerless to change their marriage's end.

Dymov contracts diphtheria after exposing himself to infection while treating a sick child. As other doctors gather at the house, Korostelev tells Olga that her husband is dying and rebukes her for failing to understand him. He explains that Dymov was an unusually gifted physician and scholar whose unassuming nature kept his ability from public view. Olga suddenly sees that the exceptional person she had sought among celebrated artists had been beside her throughout her marriage. She goes to Dymov intending to acknowledge his greatness and begin again, but he is already dead. Her recognition cannot repair either her neglect of him or the ordinary happiness she discarded.