Derrick Kiley Russian 121 Libman The Comic Short Stories of The Russian author (Anton Pavlovich Chekhov)

khov) is very well known for his plays, among them (Uncle Vanya), e (The Three Sisters), and (The Cherry Orchard). He was, however, much more prolific as a writer of short stories. He began contributing stories to different publications during his first year as a medical student in 1879. He often chose to write under a pseudonym, (Antosha Chekhonte), or , (Man Without Spleen,) perhaps to keep his identity secret from his fellow students, whom he knew were disinterested in his literary work. By the time he qualified as a medical Doctor in 1884 he had authored hundreds of short stories; in fact, by the time he was twenty-eight, in 1888, had authored some 528 stories. About half of these stories were comic. , however, essentially give up comic works nearly completely in 1888, in favor of serious works. This has earned him the reputation of being a heavy author of deep works, and the critics of the time were quick to discriminate between the simple works of with the serious work of . However, it is said that (Tolstoy), who did not like the plays of , was reduced to fits of laughter by the comic stories. This heavy reputation, in fact, stands in contrast with the man, himself, who was known as a lively and fun person. While his famous plays occupy a place of honor in Universities of the world, the short stories have not received nearly so much attention. This is a real shame; even though the stories are not serious, they still have much to offer, if even only the simple joy of reading their amusing tales. Many of them are basic, telling only a funny story, while others offer an interesting look at, for example, pompous officials, but all can provide an enjoyable experience. Here I recount a few. Among his simplest short stories is He Quarreled With His Wife, in which the main character comes home after a long day at the office and is unhappy with what his wife has prepared him for dinner. He erupts in anger at his wife with cries of why did I get married, slams his spoon down, and retires to his darkened study, leaving his wife in tears. Not long after, he hears soft footsteps outside the door. Oh yes, the usual pattern he thinks, She insults me, behaves outrageously, and now shes out there wanting to make it up. However, he remains steadfast against any advances. Even as the door opens and the footsteps slowly approach him, in full expectation of her sobs, he steels his resolve. However, as says, men are as weak as women, and as the husband feels the warm body near him and expects the forthcoming kisses, his barriers start to break down, Ill let her stew for an hour as a punishment and then forgive her. But then, he feels soft breaths in his ear, and a small hand on his shoulder, and his resolve fails,

completely. To Hell with it, he thinks, realizing that their fight was entirely his own fault, and ready to forgive her. With words of tenderness, he reaches behind him and embraces the warm body of his large dog, Diana. Such an amusing story contains no deep message, although there is of course a measure of satisfaction that the reader finds when the pompous husband, who has tormented his wife for so long, is made to look the fool. Such a story is purely amusing and enjoyable, and needs no deep message for this purpose. The same is true of many of the other short stories of . In Notes from the Memoirs of a Man of Ideals, a man saves and borrows for a long-overdue vacation, and finds an excellent deal staying with a young woman in the country, who rents out a room looking more for the company than the income. During his stay there the man grows closer to the woman and enters into a brief relationship, which the young woman seems to have been expecting all along. But at the end of his stay, the exorbitant bill surprises him, and includes a mysterious 75-ruble charge. From the Diary of an Assistant Book-Keeper tells the story of young man waiting for the bookkeeper to die so that he can assume the lead position. He dreams of the benefits that will one day be his in the new position, including a raccoon coat, and the prospects of marriage. An Incident at Law presents a lawyer defending a man against burglary and fraud. He expounds the qualities of the defendant, describing in great detail the mans honesty and integrity, the six months that he has been deprived of his wife and children. The tragedy of the accuseds position is so great that the jury, and even the judge are reduced to tears; so moving is his lawyers testimony that even the accused can no longer bear it, All right! he blurts out, I am guilty! An enjoyable comic thriller is found in A Dreadful Night. Here, a man recounts a story about the night that he headed home after a late sance, which was popular in these days. An intelligent man, he did not believe in such mystical nonsense, even when the leader of the sance claimed to channel Spinoza. However, the spirits words depressed him, The end of your life is at hand Repent So late did the sance end that the streets were completely deserted, adding only to his fear and dread. It was not until he arrived home that he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Entering into his darkened room he struck a match to light the lantern, and found a coffin in the center of his room. Immediately struck with terror, particularly that the coffin might be occupied, he scrambles out of his home this experience making him temporarily question his nonspiritual beliefs. He seeks shelter with his close friend nearby, but his friend is not home. However, he does know where his friend keeps the key, and so is able to enter the darkened home. He throws his wet coat on the floor and feels for the sofa. Finally relaxing for a moment he goes to light a match. However, the warming light didnt improve his mood, for he again saw, in the center of the room, a coffin! Understandably struck with further terror, he flees to the street once again. His last resort sends him to the home of another friend, Kryptin. As he gets to Kryptins home, Kryptin comes

barreling out in terror. Kryptin tells the man of the horrors that he has seen he has found a coffin in his home! Together the two men approach this coffin, wondering what could be inside, or is it meant for one of them? No longer able to restrain their curiosity, the open the lids with trembling hands. Inside there is no body, but rather a letter. The letter is from a mutual friend, who makes coffins. His business is being investigated, and so he must hide his stock. He has taken the liberty of storing them at the homes of his friends until the investigation is over. This is merely a taste of the collection; there are many, many more stories, all of them enjoyable. I have personally read the 40 short stories in the collection referenced below, and liked them all. Because they are all short stories, the longest of them running a mere twenty pages, it makes it easy to enjoy several of them at once and provides a fun read. Its particularly nice as a break from the reading materials that I typically spend my time with. I have not had the opportunity to read the more famous work of , but I have come to appreciate his humorous works perhaps someday Ill tackle the heavy stuff.

References
Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich. Chekhov. The Comic Stories. Trans. Harvey Pitcher and Patrick Miles. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1999.