6. Ufa: Capital of Bashkir Autonomous Republic, on Belaya River, near the Urals.
7. Perm: Large city on River Kama, in western Urals. An important cultural and industrial centre.
8. The line runs straight… : From N. A. Nekrasov’s The Railway (1865); also the following excerpts. The poem is full of strong civic protest.
9. Before he had time to groan… : From the fable The Peasant and the Workman (1815), by I. A. Krylov.
10. ‘And thou shalt be que-een of the world’: From the opera The Demon, by A. G. Rubinstein, based on Lermontov’s famous narrative poem (1841).
Ionych
‘Ionych’ was first published in the Monthly Literary Supplement to the Journal The Cornfield in 1898. Chekhov completed this story at Melikhovo in about one month. Previously it had been thought that ‘Ionych’ had originally been intended for Russian Thought and then taken back, but this has been shown to refer to another story.
On 13 March 1898 Chekhov wrote from Nice to Y. O. Gryunberg, managing editor of A. F. Marks’ publishing house and of the journal The Cornfield: ‘I’ll send the story without delay, but not before I return home. Here I can’t write, I’ve grown lazy. I’m going to Paris around 5–10 April and then back home… in May or June probably I’ll be able to write for The Cornfield.’
According to Mikhail Chekhov the cemetery in the story is based on that in Taganrog, together with other details from Chekhov’s earlier life in the provincial town (A. P. Chekhov and His Subjects, Moscow, 1923).
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1. ’Ere I had drunk from life’s cup of tears: From the poem Elegy (1821) by Anton Delvig (1798–1831), a close friend of Pushkin. The poem was set to music by M. L. Yakovlev, a friend of Delvig’s.
2. ‘Die now Denis, you’ll never write better!’: Words attributed to Prince Potyomkin after seeing the first performance of Denis Fonvizin’s satirical comedy The Minor (1782). The same quotation also appears in Dostoyevsky’s Winter Notes on Summer Impressions (1863).
3. Thy voice for me is dear and languorous: Line from Pushkin’s Night (1823), slightly altered. The original reads: ‘My voice for thee is dear and languorous.’ The poem was set to music by A. G. Rubinstein, Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky.
4. Pisemsky: Aleksey Feofilaktovich (1821–81). Novelist. His A Thousand Souls (1858) is an entertaining satirical novel about the rise and fall of an ambitious young man from the provinces. The requisite number of serfs for a landowner to be considered wealthy was one thousand. The shortened version of the patronymic is conversational.
5. The cemetery: Possibly the cemetery in Chekhov’s native town of Taganrog, or Feodosiya. Chekhov was very fond of wandering around cemeteries.
6. ‘The hour is coming when…’: John 5:28. The full verse is: ‘For the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice.’
My Life
‘My Life’ was first published in the Monthly Literary Supplement to the Journal The Cornfield in 1896 and subsequently published by Suvorin as a separate volume (together with ‘Peasants’) in 1897.
On 11 July 1895 Chekhov was invited by the editor of The Cornfield, A. A. Tikhonov (pseudonym A. Lugovoy), to contribute to the journal and he accepted. The first definite indication that work on the story had begun is given in a letter to I. M. Potapenko (1856–1928; writer and close friend of Chekhov after 1893): ‘I’m writing a novel for The Cornfield…’; and shortly afterwards he added: ‘I think it will be called “My Marriage”… I can’t say for certain yet… the subject’s from the life of the provincial intelligentsia.’ On 16 June he sent the first nine chapters to Lugovoy, which he did not consider as final, for he asked for them to be returned after being read: ‘I’ll have to correct a great deal, since it’s not a story yet, only a crudely constructed framework that I’ll whitewash and paint when I finish the building.’ On 11 July he told Suvorin that the story was nearly finished and it was sent to the editors on 10 August. The following day Chekhov confessed to M. O. Menshikov: ‘A big story, exhausting, and hellishly boring.’
After the Coronation of Nicholas II there had been a great increase in the number of workers’ strikes and Lugovoy expected a more oppressive regime, with a harder line from the censors. Moreover, at this time a new censor had been appointed, which did not bode well. Therefore Lugovoy suggested that the first and ‘safest’ five chapters be printed in the October issue of The Cornfield, hoping to ‘lull the censor’s vigilance’. As it happened nothing was excised in these chapters. Lugovoy, however, foresaw problems with the continuation, especially in the sixth chapter with its discussion about social progress, and told Chekhov to ‘tone down’ a few details – for example, the father beating the son, and the son of a general’s wife fighting with her lover. In particular, Lugovoy, who had great experience of the censors’ methods, advised Chekhov to be especially careful with the last chapter.
When the completed story was submitted to the censors, in galley form, it was severely mutilated: they cut the scene with the Governor and the son’s final humiliation with his father. These were later restored. The publication was sorrowfully greeted by Chekhov and in letters to Lugovoy, Suvorin and T. L. Tolstaya (Tolstoy’s eldest daughter) he voiced his distress, complaining to Tolstaya: ‘Toward the end of summer I had a story ready… “My Life” – I couldn’t think of any other title and I was counting on bringing it with me to Yasnaya Polyana, in page proof form. But it’s now being printed in the Supplement and I feel revulsion for it, since the censors have gone over it and many parts are unrecognizable’ (letter of 9 November 1896). He was particularly shocked at the rough censorial treatment of the last chapter, writing to Suvorin: ‘It’s horrible, just horrible! They’ve turned the last chapter into a desert.’
Chekhov never liked the final title (Lugovoy had persuaded him to retain the present title, with the subtitle ‘A Provincial’s Story’), which struck him as ‘revolting’ – especially the word ‘My’, preferring to call it ‘In the Nineties’, which Lugovoy thought pretentious.
It was the mutilation at the hands of the censors that prompted Chekhov to have the story published as a separate book, together with ‘Peasants’, but in accordance with conditions laid down by A. F. Marks’ publishing house this could not be published until one year later.
The background of the story is most probably Taganrog, Chekhov’s birthplace, and there are several features linked to the author’s childhood. Like Chekhov, the story’s hero, Misail Poloznev, has a loathing for Greek and suffers humiliating beatings from a tyrannical father.
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1. Borodino: Village about eighty miles west of Moscow, scene of the bloody battle in 1812 between Napoleon’s army and the Russians under Kutuzov. In about fifteen hours more than a third of each army had perished, totalling over 100,000 soldiers. After the battle Napoleon marched into Moscow.
2. Dubechnya: Name of actual village where Chekhov lived for a time; it was close to Melikhovo.
3. Kimry: Small town in Tver province on left bank of the Volga and centre of shoe-making industry.
4. Tula: See ‘A Visit to Friends’, note 1, p. 337.
5. pig-faced freaks: Reference to the human ‘monsters’ in Gogol’s Dead Souls. Lit. ‘swinish snouts’.
6. Serfdom has been abolished: Serfdom was officially abolished in 1861.
7. ‘Make to yourselves…’: Luke 16:9.
8. vegetarian: Vegetarianism, widespread among opposition circles (e.g. Tolstoyans), was deeply frowned upon by the official church.
9. Zalegoshch: Village in Tula province, east of Oryol.
10. Khlyst: Member of religious sect practising flagellation.
11. Russia began…: AD 862 is the traditional date of the foundation of Russian statehood, when the Varangian (Viking) Ryurik was established as Prince of Novgorod. See also ‘The House with the Mezzanine’, note 4, p. 331.
12. ‘Holy Virgin, Intercessor’: Hymn in honour of Our Lady of Kazan.
13. ‘Why do I love thee,
O radiant night?’: From Night (1850), a poem by Ya. P. Polonsky, set to music by Tchaikovsky.
14. Exhibition in America: The World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893.
15. Ostrovsky: A. N. Ostrovsky (1823–86), major Russian playwright; his chief plays are The Storm (1860) and The Forest (1875).
The Lady with the Little Dog
Chekhov began writing ‘The Lady with the Little Dog’ in Yalta, in August or September 1899. In a letter of 15 September that year he wrote to V. A. Goltsev, editor of Russian Thought: ‘Forgive me for not sending the story, because it’s not ready yet. Parquet floor layers and carpenters are banging away from morning to night and stop me from working. And the weather’s very good, so it’s difficult sitting indoors.’ The story was published in the December issue of Russian Thought and for the Collected Edition of 1903 Chekhov made significant changes, chiefly in elimination of superfluous detail and material in the depiction of Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna. In the later version Chekhov gave much greater emphasis to Gurov’s capacity for abstract thought and analysing his own actions. Similarly, lengthy description of the heroine’s married life and her life in S— was eliminated.
At the time of writing this story Chekhov’s relationship with Olga Knipper was deepening. Together they made many excursions around Yalta, which are reflected in the story.
1. Yalta: Crimean town on the Black Sea, a major health resort from the 1880s. Chekhov built a villa there in 1899 and lived chiefly in Yalta until his death in 1904. ‘The Lady with the Little Dog’ is his only story set in Yalta. In the summer of 1899 Chekhov had a meeting at Vernet’s restaurant with the young writer Yelena Shavrova, who was infatuated with him.
2. Belyov or Zhizdra: Small, insignificant towns to the south and south-west of Moscow respectively.
3. Oreanda: Picturesque viewpoint about three miles west of Yalta, formerly a royal estate. A summer residence was built there by Nicholas I, but burnt down in 1881. A beautiful park leads down to the sea from the ruins.
4. Feodosiya: Fashionable resort on the south-eastern Crimean coast, about seventy miles from Yalta.
5. the waterfall: Uchasu Waterfall, a beauty spot about five miles from Yalta and very popular for excursions.
6. Petrovka: One of the most aristocratic streets in Moscow and a major thoroughfare.
7. The Geisha: An operetta by the English composer Sidney Jones (1861–1946), written in 1896. This very popular work was performed in Paris, London, Berlin, Vienna, etc., and enjoyed great success in Russia, with more than 200 performances in Moscow. Chekhov had possibly seen this operetta in Yalta in 1899, where it was performed by a local opera group. Impressions of the Yalta and Taganrog theatres are no doubt reflected in the theatre in the town of S—. In a letter of 15 December 1898 Chekhov wrote to his sister: ‘I’m writing this in the theatre, in a fur coat, sitting in the gallery. This lousy little orchestra and gallery remind me of my childhood.’
8. Slav Fair Hotel: See ‘Peasants’, note 1, p. 333.
In the Ravine
‘In the Ravine’ was published in the journal Life in 1900. Chekhov had begun work on the story in Yalta, in November–December 1899, widely using random material from his First Notebook (1891–1904). The close ties with ‘Peasants’ are evident from these preliminary notes. ‘In the Ravine’ was written at the persistent request of V. A. Posset, editor of Life, and of Maxim Gorky, who took part in the literary section of the journal. From December 1898 both Posset and Gorky had repeatedly invited Chekhov to contribute to Life.
Chekhov mentions the forthcoming story in a letter to his sister (14 November 1899): ‘I’m writing a big story. I’ll finish it soon and begin another.’ On 19 November 1899 he had written to Posset: ‘I’m writing the story for Life and it will soon be ready, probably by the second half of December. There’s only three sheets in all, but masses of characters, a real crush. It’s very cramped and I’ll have to take great care so that the crush doesn’t become too apparent. Whatever, it’ll be ready around 10 December and can be typeset. But the trouble is – I’m afraid the censors might start plucking it. Please return my story if you feel that certain places won’t pass the censorship…’ (After ‘Peasants’, Chekhov was understandably apprehensive about the reception this new story might have at the hands of the censors.) On 6 December Chekhov wrote to V. I. Nemirovich Danchenko8 about his work on the story. However, it was not sent to Life until 20 December, with Chekhov repeatedly apologizing to Posset for the delay.
On 26 December he wrote to M. O. Menshikov (editor of the magazine The Week): ‘I’ve written a lot recently. I’ve sent my story to Life. In this story I depict factory life, I discuss how sad it is…’ On 2 January 1900 he wrote amusingly to Olga Knipper about ‘In the Ravine’: ‘My story will appear in the February issue of Life – it’s very strange. Many characters – and a landscape too. There’s a crescent moon, a bird called a bittern, which makes a booming noise far off somewhere, like a cow locked in a shed. There’s everything.’ And in a letter to G. I. Rossolimo (Professor of Neuropathology at Moscow University and once a medical student with Chekhov) he called the story ‘my last from the life of the common people’.
On 11 January Chekhov complained bitterly to Posset (on receipt of the page proofs) that lines had been left out, with chaotic punctuation. For all that, the story appeared in Life with numerous misprints. The exasperated Chekhov concluded the letter with the words: ‘Such an abundance of misprints is something I’ve never encountered before and it strikes me as a veritable orgy of typographical slovenliness. Please forgive my irritation.’
From the memoirs of Chekhov’s brother Mikhail (A. P. Chekhov and His Subjects, Moscow, 1923, p. 146) we learn that an incident from Sakhalin is incorporated in the story and that the scene is set near Melikhovo. S. N. Shchukin, a Yalta teacher and man of letters, who has left interesting memoirs of Chekhov, records his saying of ‘In the Ravine’: ‘I’m describing life as it is encountered in the provinces of Middle Russia. I know them best. And the Khrymin merchants really do exist. Only, in actual fact they are worse. From the age of eight their children start drinking vodka, and from childhood they lead dissipated lives. They have infected the whole area with syphilis. I don’t mention this in the story, because I don’t consider that kind of thing very artistic. Lipa’s baby being scalded to death with boiling water is nothing out of the ordinary. Local doctors often meet with such cases.’ The writer Ivan Bunin (1870–1938) stated that he told Chekhov of an incident involving a parish priest consuming two pounds of caviare at his father’s name-day party, altered by Chekhov and used at the beginning of ‘In the Ravine’.
1. Yepifan: Large village about 140 miles south-east of Moscow.
2. ‘inspection’: Old Russian peasant ceremony when the prospective bride was ‘viewed’.
3. Yegoryevsk: Small town about seventy miles south-east of Moscow.
4. kvass: Fermented drink made from malt, rye or different kinds of fruit, in this case pears.
5. Amur: Siberian river, 800 miles of which form the boundary between Russia and China. It flows into the Tatar Strait.
6. Altay: Mountainous region in southern Siberia.
7. I was on a ferry once: This is reminiscent of an incident recorded by Chekhov in his Out of Siberia (prologue to The Island of Sakhalin) where he describes meeting a freezing peasant when crossing the Kama River on his way to Sakhalin.
8. Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko (1858–1943), co-founder, with Konstantin Stanislavsky, of the Moscow Art Theatre. He was one of the first to recognize the merits of The Seagull, with which he launched the Moscow Art Theatre in 1898. Olga Knipper, who played Arkadina in the play, was one of his prize pupils.
Disturbing the Balance
The text of this unfinished story is based on a manuscript, in Chekhov’s writing, in the Lenin State Library in St Petersburg. Probably written in 1902–3, it was published in 1905, after Chekhov’s death, in Everybody’s Magazine, a popular St Petersburg mo
nthly. On the manuscript there are signs of editing by V. S. Mirolyubov, editor of the magazine.
1. Monte Pincio: Hill in the north of Rome, linked to the park of the Villa Borghese, with a superb view, especially at dusk.
The Bishop
First published in Everybody’s Magazine, 1902. In the autumn of 1899 Chekhov promised to send a new story to Everybody’s Magazine, at the persistent request of V. S. Mirolyubov, its editor, who required the story for the January 1900 issue: he had to wait two years for it. There are many mentions of a story in his letters on this subject that point to a much earlier conception of the main idea. In a letter of 16 March 1901 to Olga Knipper he refers to the subject as ‘already being in my head for fifteen years’. However, work on the story was exceedingly spasmodic, protracted, constantly interrupted by ill health. No story cost Chekhov so much effort.
In November 1899, when he was working on ‘In the Ravine’, Chekhov told his sister: ‘I’m writing a big story. I’ll finish it soon and begin another’ (letter of 14 November 1899). There is no doubt that the second story referred to here is ‘The Bishop’. Although work on the story was interrupted by ill health, Chekhov returned to it after completion of Three Sisters. But work was slow, interrupted by idle visitors, creative self-doubts, as well as by bad health. In January 1901 he wrote to Olga Knipper: ‘I’m writing of course, but without any desire at all. It seems Three Sisters has worn me out – or, simply, that I’m bored with writing, grown old. I don’t know. I should stop writing for five years, travel for five years and then return and sit down to work.’
Mirolyubov, who was in Yalta in February and March 1901, again urged Chekhov to finish the story for his journal. But for reasons of health Chekhov could only return to work at the end of August; despite this he still went to Moscow in the autumn, from where he wrote to the frantic Mirolyubov: ‘Forgive me, dear chap, for not sending the story before. It’s because I broke off work and I’ve always found it difficult to take up interrupted work again. But the moment I’m home I’ll start from the beginning and send it. Don’t worry!’ (19 October 1901).