Chekhov

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov January 29, 1860-July 15, 1904

 Grandfather was a serf; bought freedom for the family even before the Emancipation of 1861  Father was a grocer  Received an Orthodox religious education; later lost his faith Family…

 Reinvented the short story  opened up areas of life not yet explored by Russian literature  One of those who reinvented drama (in addition to Ibsen, Strindberg, and others) at the end of the 1800s- beginning of 1900s Literary accomplishments…

 Studied medicine; was a doctor who once said his real commitment was to medicine, while literature was a mistress he would abandon.  With encouragement from Grigorovich devoted himself to writing and won the prestigious Pushkin prize in 1888 Career…

 “The people I am afraid of are the ones who look for tendentiousness between the lines and are determined to see me as either liberal or conservative. I am neither liberal nor conservative, nor gradualist, nor monk, nor indifferentist. I would like to be a free artist and nothing else….My holy of holies imaginable, freedom from violence and lies, no matter what form the latter two take.”  “The people I am afraid of are the ones who look for tendentiousness between the lines and are determined to see me as either liberal or conservative. I am neither liberal nor conservative, nor gradualist, nor monk, nor indifferentist. I would like to be a free artist and nothing else….My holy of holies is the human body, health, intelligence, talent, inspiration, love and the most absolute freedom imaginable, freedom from violence and lies, no matter what form the latter two take.” Chekhov:

1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of a political-social- economic nature 2. total objectivity 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects 4. extreme brevity 5. audacity and originality: flee the stereotype 6. compassion Chekhov’s 6 principles that make for a good story

  Up until Chekhov, all short stories, virtually without exception, were event-plot ones. In these stories the skeleton of plot is all important, the narrative is shaped, classically, to have a beginning, middle and end.   Chekhov’s Revolutionary technique:   he did not abandon plot, but made the plot of his stories like the plot of our lives: random, mysterious, run-of-the- mill, abrupt, chaotic, fiercely cruel, meaningless. The Event-plot story…

  Chekhov is the father of the modern short story. His influence is still massive and everywhere.   What is the essence of the Chekhovian short story? Chekhov wrote: "It is time writers, especially those who are artists, recognised that there is no making out anything in this world.“   The Chekhovian point of view :   look at life in all its banality and all its tragic comedy and refuse to make a judgment. Refuse to condemn and refuse to celebrate. Record the actions of human beings as they are and leave them to speak for themselves (in so far as they can) without manipulation, censure or praise.   His famous retort when he was asked to define life: "You ask me what is life? That is like asking: what is a carrot? A carrot is a carrot and that's all there is to it."

{ Chekhov As Playwright

 Overturning of the old social order: social change and progress  Independence, Emancipation and Freedom  Memory: source of identity or burden? Central Themes

 C. considered his plays comic satire: “All I wanted was to say honestly to people: 'Have a look at yourselves and see how bad and dreary your lives are!' The important thing is that people should realize that, for when they do, they will most certainly create another and better life for themselves. I will not live to see it, but I know that it will be quite different, quite unlike our present life.” Style

 Jumbling together of comic and tragic  Emphasis on dialogue and offstage action  Surprise and tension are not key elements  Ordinary conversations are key  There are no villains in a Chekhov play…all characters have flaws and gifts Historical Background

 1900: Russian Empire = 8.8 million sq. mi.  Twice the population of the U.S. at the time (136 million)  200 nationalities led to much internal conflict Historical Background

 Prior to 1861, serfs made up 44% of Russia’s population  Just over 100,000 lords owned the land the serfs were tied to  Russia lagged behind the rest of Europe in industrialization and politics (Czar as absolute ruler)  Illiteracy, poverty, scarce land and food