"But suddenly his face puckered up, his eyes disappeared, his breathing was arrested..."
The narrator describes the moments leading up to Tchervyakov's sneeze in an exaggerated and dramatic fashion. While watching the opera, something suddenly happens that makes Tchervyakov's affect shift. The reader might think it is something quite serious, but soon the narrator reveals that Tchervyakov simply had to sneeze. This set-up to the rest of the story establishes the inherent absurdity of the narrative to follow, while also conveying Tchervyakov's own perspective that a sneeze is indeed a dire offense.
"It is not reprehensible for anyone to sneeze anywhere. Peasants sneeze and so do police superintendents, and sometimes even privy councillors."
After Tchervyakov sneezes, the narrator provides this remark. This quotation helps establish the tone of the story as parodic and critical, while showcasing the narrator as an intrusive voice. This could also be considered a moment of free indirect discourse – a literary device whereby the narrator develops the voice of one of the characters in the story. Here, the narrator parrots Tchervyakov's thoughts – easing his own mind about his sneeze – just before he realizes that he has disturbed the higher-ranking government official sitting near him.
"Pardon, your Excellency, I spattered you accidentally..."
Tchervyakov resolves to apologize to Brizzhalov after accidentally sneezing on him. Here, he speaks with utmost respect and decorum about a minor and humorous incident, juxtaposing a severe tone with comedic content. This is the first of many apologies Tchervyakov will attempt to make to Brizzhalov over the course of the story.
"Never mind, never mind."
When Tchervyakov makes his first apology, Brizzhalov responds by attempting to forget the incident altogether. Readers will likely interpret Brizzhalov's words as an apathetic, slightly embarrassed desire to move on from the situation. Tchervyakov, however, does not know how to take Brizzhalov's comment, and continues to badger him with apologies during the performance.
"He has forgotten, but there is a fiendish light in his eye."
Here, the narrator explains what Tchervyakov is thinking after Brizzhalov tells him that he has forgotten all about the incident. While readers will be able to understand that Brizzhalov is telling the truth – or at least that he no longer wants to talk about what happened – Tchervyakov is plagued by anxiety and uncertainty. In this quotation, he imagines that Brizzhalov behaves and even looks physically different after the incident, emphasizing his detachment from reality.
"Seeing nothing and hearing nothing he reeled to the door, went out into the street, and went staggering along ... Reaching home mechanically, without taking off his uniform, he lay down on the sofa and died."
In the final sentences of the story, readers see Tchervyakov turned out of Brizzhalov's office after yet another attempt to apologize for the sneeze. This rejection sends Tchervyakoy into a state of extreme anxiousness and unrest, so much so that he can no longer bear to live under the pressure. His death is presented as, on one hand, humorous – he works himself up so much over a simple sneeze that he lays down and dies. However, on the other hand, a true tragedy - his concern for the arbitrary rules of social decorum plagues him so thoroughly that its leads to his demise. In this way, the story demonstrates its critique of social hierarchy at the same time it makes Tchervyakov the butt of the joke.
