Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

 

                  Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860-1904) whom Maxim Gorky acknowledged as his teacher is one of the great 'classical' writers of Russia. Having graduated from the School of Medicine at the University of Moscow in 1884, he started work as a doctor and took to writing as a means of additional income. In the beginning, he published stories under pen names like The Doctor without Patients and My Brother's Brother. A genius of all time, Chekhov breathed life into the subtle aspects of human existence and gave shape to nearly six hundred stories and a number of plays. The Seagull (1896). Three Sisters (1899), Uncle Vanya (1902) and Cherry Orchard (1904) are his major plays.

Like the atmosphere that envelops our earth, Chekhov's plays and stories are bound by a life-giving atmosphere. In the stories, it is created by setting, description and dialogue. He, as it is with many modern writers of fiction (though, for the Russians, he is a 'classical' writer), leaves themes in his stories for the reader to find and interpret. Most of his stories seem to condemn the fallible human nature characterized by greed and lack of compassion.

In "The Lament", Iona is the victim of forces beyond his control. He is, in a way, unable to comprehend the way of the world. The story is realistic and it encourages our identification with the protagonist. The tension is between the state of mind of an individual and the attitude of the urban society. This is suggestive of the ideological position of the writer.