The Darling Study Guide

As the story begins, Olenka, the daughter of a retired college professor, is sitting on her back porch deep in thought. Evening is approaching and it looks as though it might rain. The manager of a local outdoor theater, a man named Kukin, is in the garden bemoaning the threat of bad weather; his business is highly weather dependent and he has already had to cancel several other performances because of rain. In addition, he is highly critical of the theater's patrons. Despite his efforts to stage first-rate productions, it appears as though the patrons prefer to be entertained by clowns and other "vulgarities." Each evening, this scene repeats itself until it seems as though Kukin is nearly mad. (read more)