In reality the narrator does not know if they have had a conversation with a murderer or whether the Russian’s wife’s death and her dream are coincidental.
Possibly taking the narrator out of their comfort zone and left feeling very uncomfortable about the whole situation.
The narrator despite the passing of time allows for what the Russian has told him to play on their mind. One obviously being the Russian’s wife and the narrator themselves. In many ways there are two victims in the story. However it is important to remember that though paper thin the Russian does have an alibi. If anything some readers might suggest that the Russian’s wife has predicated her own death and the Russian himself has gotten away with murder. It is as though the narrator is in shock when he discovers how the Russian’s wife died and he thinks about her dreams. Even if it may be paper thin and unchallenged by the narrator. Though the reader may believe that the Russian had a motive to kill his wife. Though this does leave the bigger question unanswered as to what the narrator thinks a murderer looks like.
Again this may be based on appearance and the narrator’s inability to believe that the Russian looks like someone who could kill their wife. Still nonetheless shows no fear when it comes to the Russian. It may also be significant that the narrator though confused and uncertain about whether the Russian killed his wife. She lived the last period of her life in fear and some critics might suggest that her fear was justifiable when one considers the Russian’s story. This alone is enough to cause reckless damage to an individual’s psyche and the effects are clear on the Russian’s wife. She may have no longer trusted the Russian who by all facts was open about the fact that he had cheated on his wife. According to the Russian’s story the reader is lead to believe that he has cheated on his wife on several occasions which may have been a trigger for the wife’s dream. One thing however is certain and that is the fact that the narrator does not know for sure as to whether the Russian killed his wife. Whether this is because the narrator is relieved that the Russian is not asking the narrator questions about himself is difficult to say. What is also interesting about the story is the fact that the narrator is totally engrossed in what the Russian is telling him. It is difficult to understand how somebody could love someone though at the same time wish that they might leave them as the Russian wishes.
Something which confuses the reader somewhat. The Russian who speaks fondly of his wife at times still finds time to wish that his wife had left him for another man. This may be important as Maugham may be suggesting that not everything a person sees, particularly when it comes to another individual, can be certain. The narrator does not believe that that Russian has the appearance of a murderer but cannot be sure. Taken from his Collected Short Stories collection the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that Maugham may be exploring the theme of appearance. Somerset Maugham we have the theme of appearance, fear, uncertainty, trust, insecurity and infidelity.
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