The Unparalleled Anton Chekhov

I was introduced to Chekhov during my college days. For obvious reasons, this author was part of the syllabus. Before approaching Chekhov, I was introduced to "Russian Formalism", a school of literary criticism in Russia. Russian Formalism and its literary scholars never excited me. Hence, my initial reaction to Chekhov was somewhat similar. I could hardly deal with and understand the works of Viktor Shklovsky, Yuri Tynianov, Vladimir Propp, and others (all highly influential Russian and Soviet scholars). Therefore, my initial decision was to skip reading Chekhov. I had decided already, no more Russian literary giants! Thankfully that decision was revoked when my end-term exams approached. I had no choice but to read!

And that was it! Once you are in Chekhov, there is no coming back. Until that time, I was judging a "book by its cover", and just for the sake of examination, I decided to take up another Russian literary scholar. But who would've known that Chekhov's stories still sprinkle magic upon me whenever I come across his works.

“The Cherry Orchard” which happens to be the last play by Chekhov, was my first read.

Anton Chekhov's works cover a broad spectrum of human emotion and spirit, often described as ambiguous, lyrical, bizarre, humorous, and even haunting. A Chekhovian short story or play points to — but refuses to open — the cupboard where the skeleton is concealed; rather, secrets are slowly revealed. Chekhov’s contributions to the Russian literary canon, and subsequent translations, include stories and plays that are told and retold. Chekhov's works span both time and place by raising thought-provoking questions through his complex characters as they labour through their life situations.

Chekhov began writing short stories during his days as a medical student at the University of Moscow. After graduating in 1884 with a degree in medicine, he began to freelance as a journalist and writer of comic sketches. Early in his career, he mastered the form of the one-act and produced several masterpieces of this genre.

Ivanov (1887), Chekhov's first full-length play, a fairly immature work compared to his later plays, examines the suicide of a young man very similar to Chekhov himself in many ways. His next play, The Wood Demon (1888) was also fairly unsuccessful. In fact, it was not until the Moscow Art Theater production of The Seagull (1897) that Chekhov enjoyed his first overwhelming success.

In 1899, Chekhov gave the Moscow Art Theatre a revised version of The Wood Demon, now titled Uncle Vanya (1899). Along with The Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904), this play would go on to become one of the masterpieces of modern theatre. However, although the Moscow Art Theatre productions brought Chekhov great fame, he was never quite happy with the style that director Constantin Stanislavsky imposed on the plays. While Chekhov insisted that his plays were comedies, Stanislavsky's productions tended to emphasize their tragic elements. Still, despite their stylistic disagreements, it was not an unhappy marriage, and these productions brought widespread acclaim to both Chekhov's work and the Moscow Art Theatre itself.

Chekhov considered his mature plays to be a kind of comic satire, pointing out the unhappy nature of existence in turn-of-the-century Russia. Perhaps Chekhov's style was described best by the poet himself when he wrote:

“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. And so long as this different life does not exist, I shall go on saying to people again and again: 'Please, understand that your life is bad and dreary!”.

Chekhov successfully performed dual careers of writing and practicing medicine during a short but productive life. Many biographers overlook Dr Chekhov's role, although his medical training and practice flowed over into his writing, influencing both his subject matter and his style. His stories and plays reveal the insights that Dr Chekhov discovered about the human psyche at work, thus delving into psychosomatic medicine nearly 50 years before its time. Despite orders to stop practicing medicine because of his own deteriorating health, Chekhov devoted himself further to the study of medicine, publishing a landmark study in social medicine that advocated reform of the Russian penal system. Meanwhile, his fictional works earned him the coveted Pushkin prize for the best literary work of the year in 1888. Shortly after celebrating his third wedding anniversary to actress Olga Knipper, Anton Chekhov died at age 44, victim of a nearly lifelong battle with tuberculosis.

Image Courtesy- Russkiy Mir Foundation  (Anton Chekhov, The Hero of our time)