NATURE IN THE SHORT STORIES

OF
ANTON CHEKHOV

NATURE IN THE SHORT STORIES

OF
ANTON CHEKHOV

By
CAROL C. GILPIN, B.A.

A Thesis
Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies
in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements
for the Degree
Master of Arts
McMaster University
November 1971

McMASTER UNIVERSITY
Hamilton, Ontario.

MASTER OF ARTS (1971)

(Russian)

TITLE:

Nature in the Short Stories of Anton Chekhov

AUTHOR:

Carol C. Gilpin, B.A.

SUPERVISOR:
Nill~BER

(University of Toronto)

Professor C. J. G. Turner

OF PAGES:

SCOPE AND CONTENTS:

v, 1)1
A brief analysis of the element of
nature in a selecti.o n of Chekhov's
short stories.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DESCRIPTIVE NOTE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE

CHAPTER I:

Introduction.

CHAPTER II:

The Early Stories

CHAPTER III:

A Literary Debut.

CHAPI'ER IV:

The Mature Stories.

CHAPTER V:

Conclusion.

iii

iv

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

..
...
.1J.l

14

48

J.J.

..

75

.113

.128

PREFACE

Among the several hundred stories which Anton

Chekhov wrote during his brief lifetime p "Step,1/ is the
tale which immediately comes to mind

wh~n

theme of nature in Chekhov's works.

However, the occurrence

one considers the

of nature in the stories is not limited solely to this

tale~

for nature passages may be found in stories of

varying lengths and SUbjects written throughout the authorls

career.

In the present work I have chosen a selection of

Chekhov's stories spanning the years between 1883 and 1902,

....... and.I.haveanalysed the element ofnature-in these works
according to methods of portrayal, function, and concept.
Chapter I contains further comments regarding my
method of analysis and my choice of stories to be examined.
It also offers some introductory remarks about Chekhov's
personal life and literary style.

Chapter II begins the

analysis of nature and concentrates on some of the authorls

early tales pUblished between 1883 and 1887.

In Chapter III

the study begun in the previous chapter continues with a

discussion of "Step,1/ and several other stories first pubChapter IV, in which I

lished between 1888 and 1892.

examine some tales written d.uring the years of the

artistic maturity, concludes my analysis.
iv

author~s

In the Conclusion

an attempt is made to describe the evolution undergone" by

the element of nature as revealed by my analysis of the
selected stories.

I wish to express my gratitude to my supervisor

Dr. C. J. G. Turner, Department of Russian, McMaster
Universi ty, and to Dr. Louis J. Shein, Chairman of the
Department of Russian, McMaster University, for their
advice and assistance.
I also wish to thank McMaster University for

granting financial aid in the form of a Graduate Teaching

- --Fellows hip.

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

OITMCaHMH ITPMPO~~ XOpOlliM, HO ~YBCTBYro,

M~ yxe
OTB~HaeM OT
OITMCaHMH TaHOrO po~a
M ~TO HY~HO ~TO-TO ~Pyroe.l
~TO

Such Was the comment of Anton Chekhov on reading 'the

works of Turgenev.

While Chekhov admired Turgenev 1 s nature

descriptions, he felt that the highly sUbjective, verbose

descriptive passage had had its day, and that new methods of
expression were needed.

In analysing the element of nature

as it appears in Chekhov's short stories, I shall examine

some of these new methods which came to di'stinguish Chekhov's
literary style from that of most of his predecessors and
contemporaries.

Chapters II, III and IV of the present work

will contain examples of Chekhov's nature description, discussions of how the landscapes and other natural details fi t into
the individual stories both structurally and thematically, and
an appraisal .of how Chekhov's characters apprehend the reali ty
of natureo

By examining the nature passages in each of the

selected stories on the basis of methods of portrayal,

func~

tion and concept, I hope to determine what kind of relationlAo Po Chekhov, Polno..ye sobr~aniye sochiner.lL.v i_.lll.eIll,
Moskva: Gosudarstvennoye izdatel'stvo khudozhestvennoy
literatury, 1944-1951, XVI, 32. Future references to Chekhov's
works and letters will be to this edition and will give only
volume and page.

ship exists among these aspects of nature in the short sto=

ries.

Chapter V will contain the conlusions which I have

drawn as a result of my study.

In my discussion of Chekhov's descriptive methods,
I shall deal closely with the author's use of imagery by
pointing out striking examples and then indicating where and
with what function each is used.

When considering the

func~

tion of the nature passages, the first question which must

be asked is whether the nature element constitutes merely a
background, an accompaniment to the action, which isdivorced
entirely from theme.

This leads to a consideration of wheth-

er, in any of the works, nature provides something more than

-a setting in which the plot of the story unfolds.

If nature

does, in fact, serve as more than a setting, one must determine whether it becomes an intrinsic part of the theme of
each story and whether Chekhov combines his landscape

paint~

ing with the psychological and philosophical aspects of his

art.

An important point to be studied here is how the nature

sketches are fitted into the story.

Do they come from the

author directly, from one of the characters, or from both?

Nas..iroyeniye. or mood is an important factor in Chekhov's
stories.
mood?

Is nature perhaps used to create or to sustain the

Does it emphasize a particular theme in a story or

comment on the characters in any way?

One final question

which I shall consider in my discussion of nature's function

is whether or not Chekhov's works can be completely under-

3
stood or appreciated without an understanding of the nature
passages.
A study of the function of nature description leads
to a consideration of the concept of nature in the stories.
This involves an appraisal of the relationship between man
and nature as portrayed by Chekhov.

One must determine

whether nature is a participant in the inner world of Chekhov's

characters.
to man?

Is nature shown to be sympa the tic or indifferent

In short, I shall try to determine how Chekhov's

characters relate to nature.

The stories which I have chosen to discuss rangeD in
respect to date of initial publication, from 1883 (ItOsen'yult)
to 1902 (It Arkhiyerey").

An attempt has been made to select

____________~t~~i~~~!"t~_~_l: __8_J;_e__!'~~E_E!~_e~t~ t~ ~~_

artistic development.

~ fall

s ta ge s

f the aut hoI"

This method of selection was used in

order to enable me to make note of Chekhov's treatment of

nature portrayal from an evolutionary basis, for it provides
a cross section of his stories dating from the time when he
was a regular contributor to Leykin's Oskolki (a connection
with a humorous magazine which began in 1882) until the turn
of the century, when his brief but prolific literary career
was largely behind him.
There is an equally broad range in my selection
regarding the length of each story, its subject or theme,
and the extent to which nature is present, simply in terms
of number of lines or of references to it.

In the story

4
enti tIed "Panikhida", for example, there is only one nature
passage occurring in the entire tale; it consists of a few
lines near the conclusion of the story.

In a work such as

"Stepf", however, there are a large number of passages

devoted to describing many aspects of nature.

I stress the

point that my selection is varied in these respects because,

in order to assess the element of nature in Chekhov',s short
stories, one must give fair representation to -a wide variety
of works, inclUding not only those especially noted for their
nature

cont~nt.

Chekhov's earlier tales may hold revealing

clues as to what part nature will play in those stories

written during the author's mature period.
Before proceeding to an. analysis of Chekhov's short
-~~ories,

I would like to make a few introductory comments

regarding Chekhov's personal life, his literary career, and

his style of writing.

Since this stUdy deals with nature,

I shall begin with some remarks about Chekhov' s personal

attitude to nature as it was revealed in his everyday life.
Sketches of nature, both brief and extended ones,
appear frequently in Chekhov's short stories.

They are

lovingly and knowledgeably drawn and reveal to the reader an

appreciation'and a love of nature on the part of the author.
Chekhov was never indifferent to nature; he always found it
amazing because it was never static -- something new was
always happening.

Chekhov felt that the novelty and beauty

of nature to a certain extent made up for the inconveniences

5
of llfee

At times nature was a kind of pacifier which could

offer man solacee

The steppe of southern Russia was often us.ed by the
author as a setting for his stories e

Chekhov's first visit

to the steppe was made in 1876 with the Kravtsov family

whose son he tutored during his student days alone in Taganrog, after the rest of the Chekhov family 'had moved to Moscow.
The visit was spent at a Don steppe farmhouse owned by the
Kravtsovs.

Chekhov enjoyed this first experience of living

in a semi-primitive manner immensely, and he was deeply moved

and impressed by the steppe itself, with its seemingly boundless plains dotted with multicoloured wildflowers.
Chekhov loved to travel, and it was during his exten'--'-sive --trips throughe>u t Russia -and--Europe-andhis overland
journey to Sakhalin Island that he was able to observe nature
in its many aspects and moods.

The letters written in diary

form which he sent home to his sister, Mariya, are filled with
accounts of the countryside through which he was travelling,
and they were kept as a source of literary material to be
used by the author at a later date.,
Many of Chekhov's personal letters written to other
members of the family and to friends while he was living in
the country contain comments on nature, some of them quite
rapturous.

These are worth examining because of the delight

and marvel at his natural environment which the author

expressed in them.

During the summer of 1888, Chekhovand

6
his family rented a Ukrainian dacha near the Psyol River.
It is not difficult to find, in the letters written during
this summer, paragraphs describing nature which are reminiscent of descriptive passages in the short stories.

In a

letter addressed to Leont'yev-Shcheglov and dated May 10,

1888, we find the following:

I<pI'p-IaT JIHrymKI1 11 BCHH11e ITT11JJ;bI .f{PW-I11T

r~e-TO
B HaMYWaX HaHaH-TO Ta11HCTBeHHaH
nTHu,a, HOTOpyro TPY~HO YB11~eTb 11 HOTOpyro
30ByT 3~eCb 6yraeM. HP11"411T OHa, HaH
HopOBa, 3arrepTaH B capae, 11JI11 HaH Tpyoa,
oY~FIll(aR MepTBeJJ;OB. Ee CJIbIWHO ~eHb 11 HOtIb.

(XIV, 108)

From the experiences of travelling and living in the

country stems much of the author's precise knowledge of
nature.

In some of Chekhov's stories such as "Agaf' ya"

and "Step'lI the narrator displays an intimate acquaintance

with nature.

There is further evidence of this in Chekhov's

personal correspondence; some passages in his letters

catalogue aspects of nature as one might expect a natural
scientist to do. In a letter to his youngeM brother, Ivan,
Chekhov describes the Psyol River which flowed past his
~

in the Ukraine:
PeHa W11pOHa, rJIyOOHa 11 HpaC11Ba. BO~fITCH
B He~ CJIe~yroll(11e pYOY: OHyHb, tIeOaH, H3b,
cy~aH, OeJI113Ha, (nopo~a weJI11WITepa), rOJIaBJIb,
nJIOTBa, COM, CH011JIb, ll(yHa JIaCH11pHa (XIV,

107)

7
Certainly none of the natural description found in
Chekhov's works is quite so drily conveyed, but in some
passages which I will note in another section of this stu.dy,
the impression with which one is left is that the scientist
in the author occasionally comes to the fore.

This is,

however, in no way a fault, for it does not negate the aesthetic element present.

Rather, it serves to conve.y the

experience of seeing nature from still another point of view.

It was perhaps the combination of Chekhov's love of
nature and his scientific interest in it which made of the
author an avid gardener.

During his youth he planted a

small vineyard in the garden of the Chekhovs' family home

in Taganrog.

Later at Melikhovo he planted hundreds of

cherry trees and repla nted the bare pa tches in the forest

Even when, because of his serious illness, he lived in Yalta,

Chekhov continued to plant flowers, bushes, trees -- anything
that would make the earth more beautiful.

And again his

letters to family and friends contained many refere'nces to

the beauties of nature, particularly to the flowers which
he was cultivating.

Chekhov once commented to Gorky that

if everyone would do everything he could on his patch of

earth, how beautiful the land would be..

One finds in the

author's personal attitude to nature a harmonious combination

of aesthetic appreciation and practicality.
As well as bearing testimony to Chekhov's love of
nature, the author's letters reveal his ideas on the subject

of how nature descriptions should be presented in literature.

Throughout his literary career Chekhov was in the habit of
helping and encouraging hopeful young authors; there is
much evi.dence of this in his correspondence.

Time and time

again he wrote letters containing advice regarding descriptive methods in general and the related matter of the treatment of nature.

A study of such letters helps one to under-

stand the evolution of the techniques which he himself used

in his own works.

In another section of the present work

attention will be brought to such letters, especially those

dealing with descriptions of nature, in an effort to elucidate in the context of his short stories what Chekhov's
ideal was in respect to descriptive procedures.
Although the principles governing description of
nature in Chekhov's stories can be appreciated by the modern
reader, this was not generally the case when Chekhov's first
serious works appeared in the mid 1880's.

At that time the

short story was far from new to Russian literature, but the
form which Chekhov gave it was$

The low-key atmosphere with

its absence of striking climaxes and of definite conclusions,

coupled with the author's use of natural imagery as an
important element of his stories' structure, created problems of comprehension no less for the critics than for the
ordi.nary reading pUblic.

This caused Chekhov to experience

feelings of frustration which elicited the following comment

in a letter to Suvorin:

9
ltPHTHRH HeT. J(YIO[J~Ht1 B llla6JIOH TaTHll\eB,
oceJI MHXHeBWI H paBHo.n;YlllHhIM EypeHHH -BOT H BCH pOCCHHCRaH RpHTH~eCRaH CHJIa.
A TIHCaTh .n;JIH 3TOM CHJIhI He CTOHT, RaR
He CTOHT .n;aBaTh HIOxaTh ~BeThI 70My, y
Roro HamWpI<. (XIV t 257)

Two elements of literary technique which distinguished Chekhov's style from that of most other writers
of the time are those usually referred to"by commentators
as "impressionism" and "objectivity". An inability to
-

understand these unfamiliar techniques often caused Chekhov's

cri tics to consider him an unprincipled writer who was alien
to social problems and uninterested in the burning issues of
the time.
The principle of objectivity as Chekhov applied it
-- - - ---

-~--

- -- .. ------;-------

in his writing created problems of comprehension for the

critics.

They accused him of lacking opinions and failing

to give the solutions to social problems which they expected

a writer to provide.

Chelchov, of course, refused to submit

to the belief that writers should be a source of panaceas

for whatever problems were plaguing society.

But he certain-

ly had opinions which he never failed to express.

He simply

preferred to do so with a restraint which shunned both

sentimentality and didacticism.
A striking example of how important this principle
of objectivity on the part of a writer was to Chekhov can
be found through an examination of two versions of a sentence

10
contained in the story entitled. "Pripadok"e

While walking

along a street lined with brothels, Yasil'yev, a student

and the central figure in the story, wonders that the clean,
pure snow can fall in that street.

In the first version of

the story, written in 1888, Vasil'yev's thoughts are expressed

by Chekhov in this line:

"11 HaH He CTbI.n;HO cHery rra.n;aTh

:3TOT rrepeYJIOH!" (VII, 546)

In the 1901 version which Chekhov

prepared for the first complete collection of his works, he

changed the sentence to read: . 11 11 HaH MOJKeT CHer na.n;aTh
:3TOT rrepey]lOI{? II (VII,

51~6)

"s tydno" has been deleted.

In the seco nd version the word

It seems a strong possibility

that the change was made in an attempt to a.dd a greater

degree of poignancy to Vasil'yev's thoughts by presenting
---them---withgreater restraint.

It is precisely the contrast

between Vasil'yev 8 s love of the snow, which is mentioned

earlier in the story,. and the unemotional simplicity of
his thought that is so startling.

The impact of the contrast

which Vasil'yev senses is greater for the reader when he is

left to arrive at his own conclusion than when the idea of
shame is actually mentioned.
One further general aspect of Chekhov's writing
technique is his impressionism.

The first use of the term

"impressionist" in regard to Chekhov has been credited to

Tolstoy, although Dmitry Chizhevsky points out that since
certain comments which Tolstoy made about Chekhov's works
are recorded only in the notes of a friend, A. B. Goldenweizer,

11

the use of the word "impressionist" could just as likely

have been an attempt on the part of Goldenweizer to elucidate Tolstoy's comments as a use of the word by Tolstoy
himselfo 2 However, Tolstoy did realize how important the
individual detail was in Chekhov's art, for he pointed out
that, although details seemed thrown in at random, they all
--added to the total effect, and the seeming discord culminated
in harmony and the creation of a mood.
The aptness of the application of the term "impressionism" to the literary style of Chekhov becomes clearer
when one examines the exact import of the word as it is used
in the field of painting where it originated.

The term is

associated with a specific artistic movement of the nineteenth century, when a group of artists who had organized
an exhibition of their works in Paris dubbed themselves
"Peintres Impressionistes".

They had gotten the idea of

the name from the title, "Impression-Sunrise", of a painting by Claude Monet, one of their group.

Later, when the

Impressionists were trying to work out a definition of the

term "impressionism", one suggestion was "painting in terms

2Dmitry Chizhevsky, "Chekhov in the Development of

Russian Literature", in R. Lo Jackson, ed., Chekh.9v. A Collection of Critical Essa~. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: PrenticeHall, Inc., 19b7, pp. 53-54.

12

of tone rather than in terms of the object itself".

In

other words, the Impressionists were more interested in

reproducing the effect of light reflected from an object
than in analysing the form of the object. 3

John Canaday

describes the phenomenon this way:

-And in painting colored light -- light

colored because it is reflected from the
varicolored objects making up the world -the impressionists will shatter the surface of their can as into thollsands of
fragmented tints.

The result is a vagueness of form on a canvas covered with

seemingly unrelated daubs of colour.

Chekhov was often

criticized at one and the same time for both a certain

vagueness in his works and a concentration on unnecessary,
trivial details.

He tried to clarify this method by

explaining that he chose to

write after letting facts

filter through his memory until only those details which

were typical and important remained.

The process was a kind

of distillation.

3John Canaday, l-Iainstreams of Modern Art, New York:

Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1959, pp. 180-184.
4 Ibid ., p. 184..

13
Chekhov's style of writing was subjected to much
criticism by the author's contemporariese

Some offered

commentary which was intelligent, enlightened and appreciative of the innovations which Chekhov brought to the short
story.

Others rejected what they failed to understand and

appeared to miss the significance of Chekhov's work in the

evolution of Russian literature.

Chekhov was a revolution-

ary in prose who not only understood that Russian 1iterature was ready for "something new", but who also sensed
that he had this "something new" to offere
Having made a few general, introductory remarks
which should help to give my more specific .discussion of
nature a suitable perspective, I shall now proceed to an
_-El n~~y:sX$ __ QJ _Q:Cl_t_\l~'~_ClS_ i t. _C3,ppea!,s_~!.l_

ghek~0\l"~_s

Elho_rt stories.

CHAPTER II
THE EARLY STORIES

As a youth, Anton Chekhov enjoyed playing practical

jokes, organizing amateur theatricals and writing jingles.
His ever-present sense of humour and his flair for humorous
writing proved an invaluable asset when Chekhov, having
completed his studies at the gymnasium in 'llaganrog, joined
the rest of the family in Moscow.

The Chekhov family was

large and their financial position was precarious.

Anton's

years alone in Taganrog had instilled in him an air of

independence and self-assurance.

Chekhov's family appreci-

ated Anton's steadiness and sense of practicality, especially since in these respects he contrasted so greatly to his
older brothers, Aleksandr and Nikolay who, since the move to
Moscow f had begun to grow more and more wayvvard and undependable.

As a result, 'the family turned to Anton for hope and

help despite his youth and the fact that he was only beginning his medical studies and was hardly able to support such
a large family.

Chekhov recognized the family's need and

assumed the burdensome responsibility.

It was at this time that his enjoyment of humorous
~riting

proved useful in a practical sense.

Needing money

badly for the support of his family, Chekhov began to write

material for comic magazines which were published in Moscow.
He turned out a constant supply of copy comprised of anec-

14

15
dotes, puns, sketches, cartoon captions -- anything that
would be acceptable to these pUblications and which would
earn him a few more kopeckso
In 1882 Chekhov began his associati.on with Osko..1ki,
a Moscow humorous magazine, the editor of which was Leykino
During his years of wri ting for Oskolld, Chekhov was responsible for a column called

"Pragmen~s

of Moscow Life ".

The column was made up of notes on what was going on in the"

city of Moscowo

Chekhov spent many tiresome hours dashing

about the city finding material for his columno

Although he

was not particularly fond of this task, it undoubtedly contributed to the wealth of situations and diversity of char- .
acters which eventually appeared in his serious writingo
~. ~--besides--

disliking -hisjo bas -a - columnist -for--Q.kolki,

Chekhov was troubled by the fact that any stories he wrote

which were too long and which did not run completely in a
humorous vein were rejected for pUblication in Leykin's
magazine

This was largely due to the fact that Leykin's

and other similar magazines were at the mercy of a strict

polic'y of government-directed censorship, and any deviation
from the type of writing acceptable to the censor could
result in serious trouble for a magazine's editor and ownero
Chekhov, however, determined to see some of his more serious
tales pUblished and he in fact managed to do so, despite
Leykin's disapproval at his submitting material for printing

16
in publications other than his own.

One such story,

ItOs en'yu", somehow managed to be pUblished in

~j:.l'qik,

another humorous magazine issued in Moscow, despite the

fact that this same story, reworked into a play and entitled
uNa bol'shoy doroge", was refused publication in 1885 by the
censor, who called it a gloomy and unsavoury play.
The atmosphere of the story, in which the element of
nature is an important one, is indeed gloomy.

On inspection

the story shows that Chekhov was using nature with a specific
purpose in mind long before that element, as it appeared in
"Step''', caused a great deal of comment from both the critics
and the general reading pUblic.

In this tale nature is not

greatly elaborated, but no stronger impression could have

P--O e-e-n evoked- had then author used an accumulation of
u

descrip~

tive detail rather than the four brief, succinct references

that he did make in an effort to create a suitable setting
for the events 6f his story.

It is the setting which is

responsi ble for the crea tion of the story's atmosphere.

The first two nature descriptions, which provide a
setting for the events that occur, have a twofold function:
firstly, they provide a physical background for the action
and, secondly, they create and maintain a suitable atmosphere.
The first example of nature description is found in the
second paragraph of the story and consists of a reference
to the autumnal downpour and the accompanying violent wind

17
which beat passers-by on the face like a lash..

Chekhov

draws a comparison between the wind and the slapping of a

whip and, in a brief phrase, succeeds in suggesting the
sounds heard on a rain-soaked, windy autumn evening and
the sensation of being pelted by the rain stinging the face
the way a lash of a whip might do.

The reader perceives

the autumn evening with both the sense of hearing and the
sen..se of touch.

In the third paragraph Chekhoy uses

animation to describe the sound of the wind as it is heard

from within the tavern.

The eerie sound of the wind is

conveyed by comparing it with a wolf which howls and whines.

And later the sound and especially the force of the wind is
suggested by describing it as attempting to tear the tavern
~

---~

- ----

___

--_.

door off its hinges.

-_._--

---.--_ .. -

---.

These two descriptive passages, although

numbering only seven lines in all, express perfectly the

sounds and sensations required to imagine a wet, dreary
autumn twilight.
After the setting and atmosphere have been established, the action which takes place in a tavern begins.

man asks Tikhon, the proprietor of the tavern p to give him a

drink~

The man is an alcoholic who begs the tavernkeeper

to give him a drink on credit, but when the latter refuses

to do so, he gives Tikhon a small medallion with a woman's

picture in it as security.

After drinking, the alcoholic

retreats to a bench and, at this point, the author again

18
alludes to the state of nature: the wind is singing its
autumn rhapsody"

Then a muzhik enters the tavern and

recognizes in the alcoholic his formerly wealthy master

who took to drinking when, on his wedding day, his new
bride ran off with her lover..

The muzhik ends his story,

the alcoholic has several drinks, and then asks Tikhon to

let him see the picture in the medallion.' Both the scene
and the story end with a further reference to nature which
is juxtaposed with the portrayal of the alcoholic who is
trying to see a picture that is no longer there because
Tikhon has removed it.

The nature setting becomes, in the

last lines of the story, more than just an intensifier of

mood..

It assumes the role of a psycho,logical image in that

---the autumnal weather is'paralleled wi ththe--alcoholic' s

frame of mind .. The final line of the story, "BecHa, r,n:e
ThI?"

(II, 289), emphasizes this.

Like the autumn rain that

pours as if it will never stop, the alcoholic's sorrow seems

endless and bOLm.dless..

It is now the "autumn" of the

alcoholic's life, when everything is cold, dreary and without hope..

The mention of spring in the story's concluding

line is a reference to the blissful time of the man's life,

when he thought himself both in love and loved.

The happi-

ness of that memory seems as remote as does spring during

the miserable, rainy days of autumn.
During the mid 1880's Chekhov was turning toward

19
more serious themes than was the case when he first began
writing for the Moscow newspapers.

However, he still wrote

stories which were purely in a comic vQin.

1, 1885.

One such story

The incident in the tale was actually supposed

to have occurred at Babkino, where Chekhov and his family

spent the summers of 1885, 1886 and 1887.

The story tells

of two carpenters who are lured away from their job of

building a new bathhouse by the temptation of trying to
catch an eel-pout which is in the pond.

There are some

brief passages devoted to nature, the first of which occurs

at the beginning of the story and describes a quiet summer
morning"
---tlie-

A second passage, in keeping with the humour of

subject,

describes the ripples caused by one of the

carpenters falling into the water as running in fear from

the shore.

And the third passage echoes the introduction:

H ne~eT. TeHH CTaHOBHTCH

H YXO~HT B caMHX ceOH, HaH pora
Y~HTHH .. BMCOHaH TpaBa, npHrpeTaH
CO~HneM, Ha~HHaeT HcnycHaTh H3 ceOH
rycToH, npHTopHO-Me~OBMH 3anax. (IV, 9)

CO~Hne ne~eT

Hopo~e

In this third passage Chekhov has used nature description

to suggest the passing of time.

This in turn emphasizes

how long the carpenters have been spending in trying to

catch the elusive eel-pout.

"Nalim" is a simple, humorous

20

l:?tory in which nature content is mi'nimal

But the natural

details which Chekhov has included are not superfluous or

simply decorative; rather, they serve to reflect the humour
of the situation.
It was in the July 18, 1885, issue of
'd@~a..

Pe.i~L~urggkya

that Grigorovich, an old, res'pected fiction writer,

read Chekhov's IlYeger'" and praised the young author's

literary talent:

MeHH TIOpa3H~H B HeM qepT@ oco6eHHoH

cBoeo6pa3HoCTH, a r~aBHoe -- 3aMeqaTe~bHaH
BepHoCTb, TIpaB~HBOCTb B H306pa~eHHH
~eMcTByro~HX ~H~ H TaH~e TIpH OITHCaHHH
npHpo,F,@. (IV, 589)

his nature descriptions.

Even at this early stage in his

literary career Chekhov was beginning to display the masterful technique of nature portrayal which moved Levitan, a
great Russian landscape painter, to remark that the landscapes in Chekhov's stories were the height of perfection.
IIYeger'lI opens with a brief paragraph of nature
description:

3HOHH@H H ~YlliH~H no~~eHb. Ha He6e HH

06~aqHa .. B@~%eHHaH TpaEa r~H~HT YH@~O,
6e3Ha~e~Ho: XOTb H 6y~eT ~O%~b, HO y%
He 3e~eHeTb eM ... Hec CTOHT MO~qa,
HeITO~BH%HO,
C~OBHO
BCMaTpHEaeTcH Hy~aTO CBOHMH BepxylliHaMH H~H %~eT qerO-TO. (IV, 21)

21
This paragraph of description, which gives ample

~vidence

of

-the author's use of animation, sets a suitable atmosphere

for the story&

Nature is in a sultry mood and the introduc-

tion conveys a feeling of tension and expectationc

At this

point the huntsman of the story's title is introduced, in

the second paragraph.
bright,
~o

vibr~nt

Ilike nature, which is described in

colours -- "HarrpaBo 3eJIeHeeT

caMoro ropH30HTa,

THHeTCH

ce~a,

HaJIeBO,

30JIOTHCToe Mope rrocrreBweH

P}l{H .. " (IV, 21) -- the huntsman is described as

red shirt and being red from the heato

wearing a

This paragraph

closes with a reference to the lack of sound and again

tension and

expectation mount.

Now the huntsman's wife greets him and the drama

---begins. . A conversation between the two

reveals that the

huntsman, Yegor, married his wife twelve years before while

he was drunk and does not live with her because, as he puts
.t
~

: "H

~JIR

TeOH ~HHHa ~eJIOBeH

oaoa, HenOHHMaIOll\aH. HeWTO

M~

eCTb,

T~ ~JIR

MeHR rrpOCTaR

napa?" (IV, 24)

Yegor loves

the freedom of wandering the open fields with gun on

shoulder, while his wife cannot comprehend what to him is
not merely a pastime but a psychological necessity.
can be no meaningful communication between them.

There

Near the

end of the story the author inserts a natural detail which

intensifies the sketch he has given of the huntsma n' s character't-

22
CeqeH

TpH ~HRHe yTRH.

Ha HHX H npoBo~aeT HX
r~a3aMH
~o
Tex nop, nORa OHH,
npeBpaTHB~HCh
B TpH e~Ba BH~H~e
TOqHH, He onycRaroTcH ~a~eRo 3a
~eCOM. (IV, 24)
Ha~

Erop

npo~eTaroT

r~H~HT

The three wild ducks at which the huntsman gazes so

represent the

freedom that is vital to Yegor.

int~ntly

Without the

freedom which his spirit demands, the huntsman would find

life unbearable.

The story concludes with an impressionistic'

description of the huntsman disappearing into a field of

wheat.
Nature in this story does not constitute merely a
baclcgrou.nd, although this is one of its several functions
in the story.

- -----

p-af~C

It is more than just a setting, for it becomes

6r bot h -a-c tl 0 n~ and'-cha ra C ter ra ti on~' 'pa riTe i pa ting

u

actively in both.

Each occurrence of natural description

is closely linked tothe huntsman.

In the opening scene

Yegor is perceived against the background of the fields of

grain.

In the closing scene he walks away into the fields

and merges with them.

And, of course, the scene with the

wild ducks is again linked to Yegor's personality.

These

three scenes serve to suggest the intimate relationship

which exists between the huntsman and his environment.

The

natural element is important to the story because it helps

the reader to understand the huntsman's character and the
impossibility of the development of a mutually satisfying

23
relationship between Yegor and his wife.
A short story with a format similar to that of
tIeger'" had been written earlier by Turgenevo

This story,

which is enti. tied ItS vida niye", is recounted by the hunternarrator of Turgenev's

ZaRi~ki

okhotnika and was first

pUblished in Sovremennik in 1850.

Akulina, a peasant girl

who is in love wi th Viktor, a spoiled you.ng valet of a rich

nobleman, is being callously left behind by Viktor who is
going to- Petersburg with his master.

Like Chekhov's story,

"Svidaniye" contains passages ofnat~re description.

But

the natural description in this story differs greatly in

quantity and quality from that in "Yeger'''.

An examination

of nature in both stories gives an idea of what Chekhov may

---have-had- -in-mi nd -when-he-hremarked to'-Suvorinthat a- new -way
of treating nature description was needed.

"Svidaniye

ll

opens

with several paragraphs of detailed commentary on the state

of nature in a small birch forest in early autumn.

This is

an example quoted from the introductory paragraphl

AHCThR

~YTb lliYMe~H Ha~ MoeH ro~oBoH; no

HX rnYMY MO~HO 6M~O y3HaTb, HaHoe
Tor~a CTOR~O BpeMR ro~a.
To 6M~ He
Bece~HH,
cMero~HHcR TpeneT BeCHM, He MHrHoe
mymYRaHbe, He ~o~rHH rOBop ~eTa, He po6Hoe
M XO~O~Hoe ~eneTaHbe n03~HeH oceHH, a e~Ba
O~HOMY

24
C~HlliHaH, ~peMoTHaH 60~TOBHH. C~a6HH

~YTb-~YTb THHY~ no BepXYlliHaM. 5

BeTep

The style of writing is similar in the other passageSI

the description of nature is sUbjective, detailed and florid.
The landscape is a beautifully drawn setting, but this seems
to be its principal reason for being included in the story.
While the nature description contributes

~o

the drama which

the hunter describes, it does seem somewhat overstated for

the purpose.

There is also a long paragraph devoted to

nature near the end of the story.

It is written in a senti-

mental tone, presumably i.n keeping wi.th the unhappy conclusion to the meeting of Akulina and Viktor and the SUbsequently
unhappy frame of mind of the

hunter~narrator:

MHe CTa~o rpycTHo; CHB03b HeBece~yro, XOTH

CBe%yro Y~H6HY YBH~aro~eH rrpMpo~H, Ha3a~ocb,
npoHpa~HBa~cH YHH~HH CTpax He~a~eHoH 3MMH. 6

By contrast, Chekhov treats nature objectively, with

economy and terseness of language and an intent to make each

51, So Turgenev, Polt]Q.ye sobraniye sochineniy i pisern,

Moskva-Leningrad: Izdatel'stvo akadernii nauk SSSR, 19601968, IV, 260.

6Ibido, IV, 269.

25
nature passage pertinent to his story.

There is an obvious

difference in attitude to the detail.

In "Svidaniye" details

are amassed, whereas in "Yeger'" there is greater importance

attached to the individual detail and its contribution to
the story.

Chekhov once told a young playwright seeking his

advice that if he had a gun hanging on the wall in his first

act, he would have to shoot it off later on.

'This principle

is applied to nature description in "Yeger'''.

Each detail is

functional, whether in. establishing a mood, providing a sui t~

able background, or clarifying character.
Another of Chekhov's stories which
inPeterburgsk,a,y'g...1@,?e,ta. is "Gore

~as

first pUblished

This story appeared in

ll

______ ~he November 2,5, 1885, issue of the newspaper, still under his
pseudonym of Antosha Chekhonte.

The story is abOLl.t Grigory

Petrov, a very talented turner, who looks back at a misspent

life as he is taking his sick wife to the hospital during a
blizzard.

His wife, Matryona, dies en route, and Grigory, at

the end of the tale, finds himself in the hospital sUffering

from severe frostbite and near to death.
With the exception of the last scene the events in
the story take place in a snowstorm.

There are really two

dramas taking place in "Gore", one on a physical level and

the other on a psychological plane, with the nature element
uniting the two.

As in "Yeger'" the introductory paragraph

contains a description of nature e

It consists of a few lines

26
describing the whirling clouds of snowflakes and the sharp,
cold winde

There are additional references to the blizzard

in the form of comments made by Grigory which punctuate his

thoughts about the past.

Remarks such as "11mb MeTeT I Bee

rJIa3a 3anOpOlllI1JIO." (IV, 93) and itA MeTeT-TO, MeTeTI" (IV, 93)
remind us that Grigory is fighting a physical battle with
nature.

It is interesting to note that,

~lthough

wind is blowing, there is no reference to sound.

a fierce
The absence

of words suggesting the sounds of nature emphasizes the

feeling of isolation which Grigory experiences during his
trip to the hospital.

When he does hear something, he knows

without turning around that the sound is the banging of his

dead wife's head against.the side of the sledge.
___ortis -the snowstorm which will cause Grigory's death,
for it contributes to his feelings of confusion and
entation.

disori~

But as well as having a physical presence in the

story, the snowstorm also functions as a backdrop to the

psychological drama which occurs.

The blizzard intensifies

Grigory's sense of isolation during the trip.

In addition

it provides a suitable accompaniment to the spiritual strug-

gle which the old man undergoes.

For a man who has spent

the major part of his life in a drunken stupor, remembering

only drinking, lying about and fighting, the realization that
his life has been wasted causes as much mental anguish as the
storm causes him physical distress.
The use of the word "tuman" in two different contexts

27

should be noted.

It first occurs in the introductory para-

graph: "3a CHe)JI:HbiM TyMaHoM He BH)J;HO HH rrOJIH . . 11 (IV, 91)

Later it is used in reference to Grigory's life with Matryona:
"}leHJI OH C HeIO COPOl< JIeT, HO Be)J;h 3TH COPOl< JIeT rrpOUlJIH CJIOBHO
B TYMaHe." (IV, 94)

This word acts as a link between the

thoughts Grigory has about his life, and the nature description, which serves as a psychological

im~geQ

There is one striking natural detail to be noted in

the concluding scene of the story.

When Grigory awakens in

the hospital, bright sunshine is pouring into the room.

Al-

though sunshine after a storm is usually associated wi th

thoug11ts of peace, this is not the case in ."Gore".

Grigory,

now at the end of his life, realizes how badly he has lived,
but it is too late for him to rectify his errors.

Time has

run out for him, and all that remains is the torment of
knowing that he could have accomplished a great deal in a
life that had promised so much.

The detail is cruelly

ironical.
Although "Gore" is one of Chelchov's early works, it
bear~

the earmarks of a literary style which came to be

regarded as a typically Chekhovian method of short story

composition.

The story is one in which atmosphere dominates,

whereas action is minimal.

In "Gore" Chekhov concentrates

on oonveying Grigory's thoughts and sensations and. on creating

a mood.

Like the seemingly unrelated daubs of paint on an

Impressionist's canvas, the details focused upon in the story

28

all contribute to the production of a desired effect.

this regard the details of the natural setting are

In

particu~

larly significant, for they serve to establish and maintain

the story's mood of isolation, frustration and futility.
Another story in which Chekhov used the natural
imagery of the snow is one entitled "Toska".

This tale,

which was first published on January 27, 1886,. in PeterblJ.gska'y"~,

deals with an old cabby named Iona Potapov

whose son has just died.

The old man tries to Qnburden his

heart by talking to his fares about his sorrow, but when no

one wants to listen or to offer sympathy, he drives back to
the yard, takes his horse to the stable and says:

Tarrepfl, CHa~eM, y TeOfl ~epeoeHo~eH, H

TY 3TOUY ~epe6eHOqHY pO~Hafl MaTb .. H
B~pyr, CHa~eM, 3TOT caMH~ ~epe6eHOqeH
npHHa3an ~onro ~HTb Be~b IanHO? (IV, 140)

The story's events begin during evening twilight.

Snow is falling and it covers Iona and his horse, who are
both motionless:
npHBH~eHHe

I1H3B03~HH

. . . Ero

HOHa IToTarroB BeCb

nowa~eHI<a

6en,

HaH

TOilee 6ena . " (IV, 135)

When his first fare of the evening rouses him, Iona tugs
at the reins, "
CblTI.lIIOTCfl TI.lIaCThI

OT~ero

cH8ra ... "

co CIIHHhI

(IV, 136)

nOilla~H

H C ero

rrne~

But when Iona's attempts

to relate his feelings of sorrow to his fare end unsuccessfully,

29
the scene echoes the first description of the cabby and his
horse: "MoI<PhIH CHer OTIHTh HpaC11T Ha6eJIo ero 11 JIOIlla.n;eHHy. 11 (IV,

137)

After further attempts to talk to people fail, rona

returns to the yard.

The theme of "Toska" is the lack of

communication between people and the resultant sense of

iso~

lation acutely felt by an individual whose heart is bursting

with a sorrow that he is forced to bear alone.
As in "Gore", nature detailS e while few in number
and treated simply, contribute to the expression of the story's theme.

At the beginning of the tale, rona and his horse

are set apart from others because only they are completely
covered in layers of snow.

The detail of the snow acts as an

image which suggests a state of isolation from other people

-~.

--

- -

~-----

a nci events.

Whe-n--16na---shakes--

off-tne-sno-\v --8 ria-

begins to drive,

his sense of isolation is slightly relieved only to be felt

again when the driver is once more alone.

And again he and

his horse are completely covered by the snow.

In "Toska" the

snow represents in a physical sense the barrier which exists

on an emotional plane between rona and the people with whom
he comes into contact.

It insulates him and his grief.

The

voices of people whom he cannot see for the snow shout at him
in anger; they threaten and curse, but never really communicate.

The snow image emphasizes the lack of communication

and the despair of Iona, who wants to unburden himself, but

is repulsed by one person after another.

30
The story with which Chekhov began his contribution
to Suvorin's
~Panikhida~.

NovoY~.20:emy~ on

February 15, 1886, is entitled

This is the story of a father who has never

understood his deceased daughter's choice of acting as a

profession.

In church he insists on referring to her as an

- adultress and,even after the priest has explained that the

man's daughter was a famous actress whose" death was written
up in the newspapers, the father still refers to her as an
adultress during the requiem service.
"Panikhida

It

.contains only one reference to nature,

but this single episode is extremely important for an

tlnd.er~

standing of the conflict between the father Andrey and his

daughter Mariya.

During the requiem service for his daughter.

-

Andrey recalls Mariya's life and, in particular, a visit she

paid him when she was already an actress in Moscow.

Before

her departure Marlya "insisted that her father take a walk

with her by the river.

During their walk the daughter reacted

in this manner:

-- HaRMe ~Y~H~e Y Bac MeCTa! -- BOCXMma~aCb

OHa rY~HH. -- qTO sa OBparM M 6o~oTa! BORe ,
RaR xoporua MOH pO~MHa!
H OHa SaTI~aRa~a. (IV, 166)

The father's reaction was a contrast to his daughter's:

)1

~3TM

MeCTa

TO~hHO

MeCTO 3aHMMaWT -Tyrro r~H~H Ha

oBparM M He rroHMMaH BOCTopra ~OqepH.
--OT HMX HOpbICTH, HaH OT H03JIa MO~OHa~.

~YMa~ AH~pe~ AH~peMq,

(IV, 166)

This brief episode involving nature summarizes the conflict

of the story.

Whereas Mariya is moved by the beauty of

nature, her father is indifferent.

"Their reactions to nature

as revealed in this passage help to explain Andrey's attitude

toward his daughter.

The father obviously lacks an aesthetic

sense; if he cannot see a utilitarian aspect to something,

then it is of no use to him.

For this reason he could not

possibly understand and approve of the theatre and Mariya's

career as an actress.

Nature in "Panikhida" is used

to

reveal this conflict which is at the core of the father's

inability to understand his daughter.
The way in which Chekhov employs nature in "Panikhida"
is similar to the technique he uses in "Yeger' ".

In both

stories nature helps to clarify an irreconcilable difference

between two people.

Rather than giving full character

des~

criptions, Chekhov skilfully introduces external details

which enable the reader to understand the problem and its
implications.

In both "Panikhida"and "Yeger'" references

to nature and incidents involving nature help to explain

the central conflict of the story.

32
Another of Chekhov's early serious stories which
impressed Grigorovich was "Agaf'ya".

This tale was first

published in the March 15, 1886, issue of N~y~e~.

In a letter dated March 25, 1886, Grigorovich comments on
Chekhov's nature descriptions

BQT qTO XOqy TIpH6aBHTh: TIO pa3HOo6pa3H~M C~o~cTBaM Barnero HecOMHeHHoro

Ta~aHTa,
EepHoMy qyBCTEy BHyTpeHHero
aHa~M3a,
MaCTepcTEy B OTIHCaTe~hHOM po~e
(MeTe~b, HOqh, MeCTHOCTh B <.:r.:: Araephe
H
T. ~.), qyBCTEy TI~aCTHqHOCTH, r~e B
HeCHO~hKHX
CTpOqHaX HB~HeTCH TIO~HaH HapTHHa TyqHM Ha yr aCaIOLqeM3 ape, ~sHaH
TIerre~ Ha TIOTyxaIOLqHX yr O~hHX 7/
H T.
~.,
E~,
H yBepeH, rrpH3BaH~ H TOMy, qTO6~ HaTIHCaTb HeCHO~bHO rrpeBocxO~H~X
MCTHHHo-xy~o~ecTBeHH~x rtpoH3Be~eHHM. (IV, 619)

Chekhov's style in "Mechty " and "Agaf D ya":

HH E O~HOM c~oBe, HH B O~HOM ~BH

xeHHH He qyBcTEyeTcH COqHHeHHOCTh,
Bce TIpaE~a, Bce HaH ~O~XHO 6bITh Ha caMOM
~e~e;
TO ~e caMoe rrpH orrHcaHHH HapTHH
H ErreqaT~eHHi1 rrpHpo~~: qYTh-qYTh TPOHyTO, a Me%~y TeM TaH EOT H EH~Hillh TIpe~
rJIa3aMH; (IV, 619)

The natural details in "Agaf 9 ya" are reported by a

h"llnter~narrator

who inadvertently comes to visit Savka the

gardener on a n even], ng when Savka is expecting a visit from

Agaf'ya p one of the village women.

Savka, a strong and

handsome young ma n, does not feel impelled to have a regular

job, and is finally sent by the villagers to be a watchman
in the community ki tchen gardens _.. a job for an old man.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that Savka lazily

misspends his strength and talents, the women of the village.
have a weakness for him, and the arrangement of a rendezvous
with one of them is not uncommon.
Chekhov's description of a sultry summer evening
suits the theme of a rendezvous welle

The narrator early

in the story mentions lying down near Savka's shack on a torn,

threadbare sledge-rug which emits a
3aTIaX CyXHX TpaB. 1I (IV, 197)

II

rycTo~

AYillHW~

Later the narrator describes

the smell of the kitchen gardens:

TeMHwe rpRAM

HaH 60~billHe TIpHOT HHX BeR~O 3aTIaXOM

BCHOTIaHHOH 38MRH H H8KHOM CHpOCTbID pacT8HHH, HaqaBlliHX TIOUpHBaTbCH pocoM . (IV, 203)

TI~IDCHYTHe

r~RAe~H,

MorH~H.

And he further mentions that Agaf'ya was intoxicated by the

sultriness of the night.

The description of the setting is

closely linked to the portrayal of Agaf'ya, who is completely

overcome by her passion and recklessly stays with Savka until

34
morning.

In two instances of nature description the tech-

nique of animation is particularly well used, for it proves

suitable to the mood and events of the story.

The first

example speaks of the night tenderly embracing naturel

II

a neTHHR HOqb yI OXBaTHBana

nHlOIl\eM JIac1<oM rrpHpo.n;y.1I

c~oeM

(IV,198)

HexameM, yCHrr-

The second passage des-

cribes a flower tenderly brushing against" the narrator's

facel

Ha1<oM-TO MRr1<HM MaxpoBHM ~B8T01< Ha BHC01<OM

cTe6ne HeIHO 1<OCHyJICH MoeM me1<H, 1<a1<
pe6eH01<, HOTOpHM XOqeT ~aTb rrOHRTb, qTO H8
crrHT. (IV, 204)

-----As -in--"Nalim"--natural details are cleverly intro-

duced to convey the passing of time.

In "Agaf'ya", how-

ever, this technique ,is more fully developed than it was

in "Nalim".

The events in the story begin to unfold in

the late evening, just as the afterglow of the sunset is

fading from the sky.

It is the description of this scene

which was praised by Grigorovichl

3a 6yrpoM ~oropaJIa BeqepHHR 3 apR. OCTaJIaCb

o.n;Ha TOJIh1<O 6JIe.n;Ho-6arpOBaH rroJIOC1<a, .n;a H
Ta CTana rro.n;eprHBaTbCR MeJI1<HMH o6JIaq1<aMH,
1<a1< yrOJIbR rrerrJIOM. (IV, 197)

35
With his homely comparison of the clouds covering the strip
of crimson to ashes on embers, Chekhov evokes a striking
picture of the fading sunset.

PeriodicallY throughout the

rest of the story, there are additional references to nature

accompanying the passing of the hours

Soon after the des-

cription of the sunset, the growing darlcness is suggested

~ould

when the narrator remarks that the eyes

tinguish field from sky.

no longer dis-

The growing stillness is mentioned,

and then there are further references to the deepening darkness, as objects lose their contours.

A final reference to

the crimson strip in the sky, which has now completely disappeared, leads the narrator to mention the stars, which are
becoming brighter and more luminous.
-

---~describes--the--night

At this point Chekhov

-in terms of its sounds and the stars

which now dominate the sky:

TpeCHOTHR Hy3HpMH rreperreHa

He HapyrnaHM HO~HOM THrnMH~, a, HarrpoTHB, rrpM~aBaHM eM e~e 60Hbrnyro MOHOTOHHOCTb.
Ka3aHocb,
THXO 3By~aHM H ~apoBaHM CHyX He rrTMU~, He
HaceHoM~e,
a 3Be3~H, rHR~eBrnMe Ha Hac C He6a .

Me~aHxo~H~ecHM-o~Ho06pa3HaR
He~MHOB,

~epraHbe

HopOCTeHR

(IV, 199)

Although he concentrates on only two details -- the night

sounds and the stars -- the description of the summer night
is vivid.

The narrator later mentions the stars growing

36
misty, the coolness of the later hours. and the bright morning light of the following day.

The reader is made aware

of the passing of night and the beginning of another day

through descriptions of nature.

Chekhov's portrayal of na-

ture in "Agaf'ya" is highly successful both as an intensifier

of mood and a complement to theme.
A story written by Chekhov in 1886 which elicited a
letter of rebuke from a
"Tina".

fema~e

acquaintance is one entitled

Chekhov received the letter (V, 485) from Ivlariya

Kiseleva, on whose estate he and his family spent the summers

from 1885 to 1887.
Nov~~vre~a

The story, which was first pUblished in

on October 29, 1886, is about a young Jewess

who seduces two men and cheats one of them out of a sum of
-

--------money--which-sheo\"le-s-him~--WhefCMarlya--1{IseTeva

reproached

the author for dwelling on such a distasteful topic, Chekhov's

reply was that to expect him to concentrate on only the
"pearls" of life was like asking the artist Levitan to paint
a tree while forbidding him to depict the dirty bark and the
withered leaves. (XIII, 261-265)
Chekhov succeeds in portraying the Jewess in the
story as a thoroughly disgusting woman.

His success in this

portrayal is in part due to certain natural details which he

introduces into the story.

The first instance of a passage

.dealing with nature occurs in the opening paragraph of the

3'1
story.

It describes the wholesome beauty of a summer day,

and is particularly effective because it is j uxtapos-ed with

the description of the dirty,

evil~smelling

distillery owned by the Jewess Susanna.

yard of the vodka

The action of the

story then moves to the Jewess shouse, the interior of which

I

is described quite fully.

The description leaves the impres-

sion of a dwelling unsuited for human habi tation:

HaTa rrOXO)J;l1JIa 60JIhille

(V, 203)

Ha

OpaH:JKepero,

'IeM Ha :JKHJIOe

II

I<OM-

rrOMerneHI1.e. II

In this description Chekhov emphasizes two natural

details which convey the impression of a sUffocating, unnatural atmosphere that pervades Susanna's house.

When Lieu-

tenant Sokol'sky calls on the Jewess to collect, on behalf

of his cousin, an outstanding debt, he is escorted by the maid
---- --to--a--rOcffn Which; he soon realizes, is Susanna's bedroom.

So-

kol'sky is amazed at the abundance of flowering plants in the

room.

There are blossoming plants allover.

They trail

along the walls on trellises, blocking out the light from

the windows, hang from the ceiling, and twine about the corners of the room.

In the greenery there are small birds

which bang against the windov/S.

And pervading the room is

a heavy, sweetish, sickening smell of jasmine.

The Jewess's

bed is located in a corner in which the plants are particularly dense.

and shoes.

On two chairs near the bed are piles of clothes

It seems to Sokol'sky that the overpowering odour

is coming from these rather than from the blossoms.

In all

38
there are seven references to the smell of jasmine.

Although

the plants and the odour of jasmine are part of the natural
world, in "Tina" they seem unwholesome and unnaturaL

The

scent of the flowers affects Sokol'sky physically, causing

him to cough and grow dizzy.

To rid himself of the oppres-

sive odour he breathes deeply when he leaves the room, but

he continues to feel bemused and disoriented .
Again one is struck by how much importance Chekhov
placed on an individual detail of setting.

Simply by

stress~

ing the natural details of the jasmine and the other plants
in the Jewess's room, Chekhov creates an atmosphere which
complements the unsavoury character of the woman.
It is not llnusual to find the element of nature in
those of Chekhov's stories dealing with romanceo
true of "Verochka
yre~~

rl
,

This is

written in 1887 and published in N.ovoye

on February 21 of that year.

The events of this story

take place on a warm, moonlit August night.

Verochka is an

attractive young woman who with her father has befriended

Ognev, a young statistician, and helped him in his work.

At

the beginning of the story Ognev, having completed his work,

is leaving the country and returning to Petersburg.

Because

she has fallen in love with Ognev, Verochka reveals her feelings toward him but is repulsed by Ognev who, for reasons
which are later revealed, suffers from an emotional deficiency

39
which manifests itself in a kind of coldness ~
The conversation between Vera and Ognev takes place
in a garden.

The setting is a romantic one; there is a

.grance of flowers in the air and the moon is shining.

nature is covered in a fog and is still.
a feeling of mystery and expectation.

fra~

But

It is filled with

Chekhov's description

of the state of nature sets the stage for- Vera's avowal of

love:

H TYMaHH~e R~O~hH, H ~epH~e

no OORaM AoporH, Ra3aflOCh,
npHTHXflH, C~YlliaH ee, (VI, 69)
~ec,

RaHaB~

After the conversation there is only one further reference

-- ----------1;0.

t"lle--i'og~-----This

occurs neal" the conclusion of the story,

when Ognev returns to the garden:

"TIo Aopore H B caJJ.Y

TYMaHa yJKe He ObIflO, .. -. " (VI, 72)

for the mood has changedo

The fog is now gone,

There is no longer any tension,

everything has been said, and the outcome has been determinedo
Before and during his conversation vvi th Vera, Ognev
thinks and talks about nature.

o" ueCCHflHe
as h 1S
F:

r~yooRo

~YlliH,

Despite what he refers to

HecnOCOOHOCTh BocnpHHHMaTh

HpaCOTY, paHHHH CTapOCTh,

appears to be sensitive to nature.

. . ."

(VI, 72) Ognev

He recalls the beautiful

40

day in April when he arrived in the country and, when he is

leaving at the end of summer, mentions to Vera that he does
not want to leave in such beautiful weather.

But although

na ture gives Ognev a sense of well-being, it also makes him"

aware that there is something missing from his life.

He tells

-Vera that the element of romance has never entered his life
and that he has never had a love affair.

Ognev is not so

aware of this deficiency when he lives in the city, but he

feels it acutely in the country.

Nature, perhaps because of

its completeness, makes Ognev aware of his incompleteness.

As in all the stories which I have discussed to this
point, nature in "Verochka" is lightly drawn, with concentration on only a few details.

It provides a romantic setting,

contributes to the establishment of atmosphere, and is involved in the portrayal of OgnevOs character.

But, unlike

the other stories, "Verochka" cOTJllnents on the relationship

between man's life and nature.

The story suggests that there

is a disparity between man and the natural world which man

senses when he is confronted by nature.

When Ognev recog-

nizes nature's perfection, he becomes aware of his own

perfection.

im~

"Verochka" shows the reader a man whose pre-

o?cupation with work and ensconcement in the city shield him

from the realities of his life until he comes to the country.
There his new perspective forces him to view his life against

41
the background of nature and reveals to him his own inadequaciesCl
In the spring of 1887 Chekhov visited the Don steppeD
His impressions of the area are reflected in the story entitled "Schast'ye", which appeared in

Novq.YJL.Y.reT~Y. on

6, 1887, less than a month after his return homeD

June

The story

consists largely of a conversation betwee.n an old shepherd

and a horse trainer.

Their discussion takes place at night

on the steppe and concerns the treasures which are said to

be buried there, but which are very difficult to find.

The

old shepherd equates the finding of these treasures with the

attainment of happiness.

The theme of "Schast' ye" is that

there is much happiness in the world, if people only knew

----where-to find -it J -a-nd-the-steppe in -the-story is -an -image
which represents the world.

The incomprehensibility of' this

world and of life is .again touched upon when the horsetrainer

Panteley, before travelling on, gazes into the distance and,
noticing some rooks flying over the plain, makes this comment:

TIpoCHYBlliHeCH rpaqH,

MO~qa H B O~HHOqRY,
HH B ~eHHBOM ITO~eTe
~THX ~O~rOBeqHMX ITTH~,
HH B yTpe, ROTopoe
ITOBTOpHeTCH aRRypaTHo RaK~Me CyTRH, HH B
oe3rpaHHqHOCTH CTeITH -- HH B qeM He BH~HO
OM~O CMMc~a. (VI, 167)
~eTa~H

Ha~

3eM~eH.

42
A contemplation of nature leads Panteley to the conclusion

that-there is no sense in nature.

And he remarks, still

gazing over the steppe: ";)I<aR: lllHpb,

,1l;H-Ha HaH){H

c-qacTbel" (VI, 167)

rOCrrO){H rrOMHJIy:11

I Ilo.t1.-

The word "schast'ye"

refers to the buried treasure, but the

para1~el

drawn by

Chekhov between the treasure on the steppe and happiness

in life is obvious.

Just as the treasure" said to be buried

on the steppe is difficult to fi.nd, so also is happiness

elusive in a world which is vast and incomprehensible.
Chekhov's portrayal of the steppe in "Schast'ye"
gives the reader a foretaste of the author's depiction of
nature in "Step' ", pUblis hed in 1888.
is a central feature of the tale.
----------and--the

-subJect~of--t-he--conversation

and Panteley.

In .iSchast' ye

It

na ture

It is both the setting

-between the old shepherd

And, as the story progresses, one realizes

that Chekhov has used the steppe as an image to help him

express certain condi tions of human existence. "
Another story dealing with the sUbject of romance
or, more correctly, an illusion of romance, is entitled
"Potse1uy".

This story first appeared in

December 15, 1887.

Novoy~ vr.e1l1'L~.

on

In "Potseluy" Ryabovich, a timid,

undistinguished artillery officer, is kissed by mistake by

an unidentified young woman in a darkened room.

The i.ncident

is cherished by Ryabovich and causes him to escape into

daydreams for several monthse

But on his return to the vil-

lage where the incident occurred, Ryabovich's dreams are

shattered.
In the story there are two nature passages which
accompany the development of events.

These passages are

descriptions of the same scene -- the river and the surrounding area.

The first portrays the scene

the stars shining and a nightingale singing.

~n

May, with

It is a ro-

mantic picture which suits Ryabovich's mood well.

Near the

conclusion of the story the scene is again described, this

time as it appears in August:

A Ha 3TOM 6epery 6~~0 Bce TO ~e, ~TO

- ----~- lL_R._Mae :' __T-poiTI1HKa, -.Ry.cT~ ,-_BepOb1 , ..HaB:I1ClliMe Ha~ BO~OH . TO~bRO He C~b1lliHO 6b1~O
xpa6poro CO~OBbH, ~a He TIax~o TOTIo~eM
H Mo~o~OH TpaBoH. (VI. 354)

As Ryabovich gazes at the river he finally sees the past

and the present in a clear light, and his illusions are
dispelled.

But he understands nothing.

As he watches

the river flowing by he is puzzled:

Bo~a 6e~a~a HeM3BeCTHO Ry~a H 3a~eM.

EeIana OHa TaRMM Ie oopa30M H B Mae;
H3 pe~RM B Mae MeCH~e OHa B~M~aCb B
60~blliYro peHy, H3 peRM B Mope, TIOTOM
HCTIapM~aCb,
06paTM~aCb B ~OI~b H,

44
6MTb MOXeT, OHa, Ta xe caMas Bo~a, onSTb
6eIHT renepb nepe~ rna3aMH PS60BHQa . ;
H QeMy? 3aqeM? (VI, 355)

Ryabovich, like Panteley in "Schast'ye", sees no sense in

nature, and from his contemplation of nature he proceeds
to a reflection on life.

It seems to Ryabovich that the

world and life are an unintelligible, aimless jest.

In "Potseluy", as in "Verochka", there is philosophical comment regarding nature and man's relationship
to ito

At the story's conclusion Ryabovich finds himself

confounded by the

neYer~ending

cycle that is nature.

In

"Potseluy" Chekhov portrays a man intimidated by a universe

which he cannot fa thom. . Although Chekhov continues to
. t irv.manre
\....
1 a t'lons h'lpS In'InT
II
. d
lip'
..---- d ep:t-c
..,,-e-roe } 1:k a-an
01,;Se I uy " ,
Un

there is a new element present.

also examines the

qU~lity

In these stories the author

of the relationship between man

and nature, and finds man to be aware of his own imperfection and frightened by nature because it can make life
appear meaningless.
In the present chapter I have analysed a group of
ChekhoY's early short stories which offer a wide range of
themes.

In each of these stories the element of nature

is present, although not always to the same degree nor for

the same reasons.

The techniques used to present nature

45
are similar in all the storieso

The emphasis is on indi-

vidual details which seemed to Chekhov to be representative

of the Scene being portrayedo

There are no extended pas-

sages describing nature in the manner of Turge_nev.

the style is economical yet highly
termed impressionistic.

suggestive~

Rather,

and aptly

The generally popular technique

of animation occurs .frequently, as I have indicated in stories such as "Osen'yu", "Nalim", "Agaf'ya" and "Verochka".
Just as Chekhov's' themes and characters vary from
one story to the next, so, too, does the function of nature.
In each story nature provides a physical setting in Which
some or all of the events of the tale take place.

But in

each instance the natural details function as 'more than a

---------mere---background. --For example; nature in-"YegeT"" ,- "A-gar'ya" t
n

npanikhida" and "Tina" contributes to the depiction of charactero

"Nalim" and

'~Agaf'yalt

gest the passing of time.

show nature being used to sug

A very important function of

nature in these early stories is the creation of mood or

atmosphere.

It is often the mood, established by details of

natural setting, which lingers in one's memory long after

exact details regarding the story's events have been forgotten.

One remembers the feeling of isolation created by the

blizzard in "Gore", or the

gentle~

the summer night in "Agaf'ya".

velvety seductiveness of

Chekhov's merging of nature

46
sketches with the psychological aspect of his art is highly
successfuL
Nature functions in still a different way in the last
three stories which I have examined.

Here the nature pas-

sages are involved in Chekhov's philosophical comments.

The

author portrays nature as vast, incomprehensible and indifferent to man.

It can make man's life appearabsurd and D so,

easily intimidates him.

The suggestion that this is the

quality of the relationship between man and nature undoubtedly contributed to the view of Chekhov as a pessimist.
The stories discuss ed in the present chapter span
- Chekhov's career from when he was a major contributor to
Oskolki until, in the latter part of 1887. he had severed
his connection with this Moscow newspaper.

Chekhov's

attitude to his work had undergone changes during these

years.

Although the need to write for financial reasons

was still great, Chekhov was taking more care with his writing
in the late 1880's.

This was due in part to Grigorovich's

letter of March 25, 1886, which both praised Chekhov's

talents and chastised him for not respecting these talents.
The fact that his works were popular in Petersburg and that
he was being referred to as a coming new force in Russian
literature must also have caused Chekhov to reevaluate himself as a writer.

By 1887 Chekhov felt the pressure on him

to wri te something "big".

When an attempt to write a novel

in 1887 failed, Chekhov turned to dramatic form and wrote

Ivanov, which was first performed in Moscow on Novernber 19,

1887.

By the beginning of 1888 Chekhov was again concen-

trating on a lengthy prose work which he entitled "Step'''.

and which appeared in the "thick" magazine ever.:.I1YY.
in March of that year.

vestni~

CHAPTER III
A LITERARY DEBUT

fl npHHfl~CH 3a 60~blliYro Bemb.

HanHca~
H HeMHoro 60~bllie ~BYX ne~aTH@X ~HCTOB
H, BepoHTHo, HanHlliY eme TpH.
~~R ~eoroTa B
TO~CTOM ~ypHa~e H
B3H~
CTenb, HOTOpyro
~aBHo y~e He OUHCYBa~H.
H H306paxaro paBHHHY, ~H~OBYro ~a~b, oB~eBo~OB, L ], nonOB, HOQHye rp03Y, nOCTOfl~Ye ~BOPW, 0003Y,
CTenHYX nTH~ H npOQ. (XIV, 14)
y~

In this letter to Grigorovich dated January 12, 1888,

Chekhov went on to discuss his problems a nd apprehensions
regarding his writing of "Step'''.

Chekhov was unaccustomed

to writing at length and expressed concern that this principle of brevity was driving him to extremes.

He was afraid

that instead of an artistic, uniform portrayal of the steppe,

he was presenting to the reader a "steppe encyclopaedia".
But he felt that even an encyclopaedia might be of use, if it
succeeded in opening the eyes of his contemporaries and showing them what wealth and beauty lay untouched and unapprehended in Ru_ssia.

Chekhov said that he would be thankful if his

story merely reminded his colleagues of the steppe, which

they had forgotten, and made them thoughtful.
"Step'" is a story about the Russian steppe and its
people as perceived by a nine-year-old boy named Yegorushka.
Yegorushka is being taken by his uncle, Ivan Ivanych KuzmichoV',
to a far-away town to go to school, and it is the events and

impressions of the boy's journey which form the substance

of the tale."

Yegorushka sees the steppe

~n

its many moods.

He experiences its scorching heat and is caught in a sudden,

violent storm.

Yegorushka is one of the few who notices and

is moved by the beauties and wonders of the land.

Chekhov's choice of Yegorushka as the story's narrator has both advantages and

disadvanta~es.

A child's

naive perception, coupled with his imagi.nation, promises to

result in a view of nature very different from that of an
adult observer.

For the very reason that the child is naive

and inexperienced, his observations, especially those on

nature, will be tinged with a sense of wonder and mystery.
He wi.ll probably notice things to which the adult eye has
...__._lopgsince..grown accustomed.

.There .are obviously. certain

advantages to using a child-narrator.

But the problems

encountered by an author in choosing a nine-year-old child

to act as a narrator are equally obvious.

While a child

is able to make observations, he is not always capable

of drawing mea ningful conclusions from what he sees. 'llhis
wou14 present a problem for the author when he wanted to
express an idea or a concept which was not within a child's
grasp.

To remedy this problem, Chekhov's own voice is

sometimes interj ected into Yegorus hka I s thoughts and observations.

But Chekhov accomplishes this so skilfully that

50
one is sometimes unaware of who is making the observations
and where the transition from child to author is made.

This

treatment of the narrative element in "Step'" is reflected

in the nature passages and will be referred to again later
in the present chapter, in the context of the story itself.?
Yegorushka's journey begins on an early morning in
Julyo even before the sun has risen.

As the town is left

behind, a wide, boundless plain stretches before the travellers~

plain.

Chekhov at this

p~int

describes the sunrise over the

But rather than concentrating on the sun itself,

which is behind the travellers, he describes only that evidence of the s unri-se which ca n be seen a head of them:

----c- -----

,1l;aJIeI<O Bnepe,1l;H, r,1l;8 He60 CXO,II;HTCH

-----cCHa-qaJIa,
---:3-eMJI-eiO-;-OHO.7IO-i<"yp-raH'-IHRoB H- B8TPHHOH MeJI bHHnH, I<OTOpaH H3,1l;aJIH noxo~a Ha MaJIeHbI<OrO
-qeJIOBeI<a, pa3MaxHBaromero pyI<aMH, nOnOJI3JIa
no 3eMJIe lliHpOI<aH HpI<O-~eJITaH nOJIOca; -qepe3
MHHyTy TaI<aH ~e nOJIoca 3aCBeTHJIaCb HecI<OJIbI<O 6JIH~e, nOnOJI3JIa BnpaBO H OXBaTHJIa
XOJIMbI; (VII, 21)

The passage continues, telling how Yegorushka feels something

warm touch his back, and how a streak of light steals up from
behind, darts between the trap and the horses and meets the
?N. A. Nilsson, Studies in Cechov's Narrative 'l'ecl~,
Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1968, pp~ 13-25.

51
other streak.

Soon the whole steppe is bathed in sunshine.

The steppe in this story is portrayed in a symbolic

as well as a Ii teral sense, and there isa constant interplay of these two aspects which accompanies the interplay
of narrators.

There are instances in "Step'" when there is

a certain vagueness as to the narrating voice.

Usually it

is a case in which Yegorushka is perceiving a scene, whereas the observations, thoughts and comments are those of the
adult author.

The scene in which Yegorushka hears the sing-

ing on the steppe contains this vagueness in narration.

While

his uncle, Father Khristofor and the driver Deniska are sleeping, Yegorushka suddenly hears a soft singing.

At fi.rst he

cannot tell where the song is coming from, but then it seems
to him that the grass is singing.

The next few lines des-

cribing the song come from the aLlthor:

B CBoe~ neCHe aHa, nO~YMepTBaH, yRe

norM6rnaH, 6e3 C~OB, HO Ra~o6HO M MCHpeHHO
y6e~~a~a HorO-TO, qTO OHa HM B qeM He
BMHOBaTa, qTO CO~Hue BM~r~o ee nOHanpacHy;
oHa YBepH~a, qTO eM cTpacTHo XOqeTCH ~MTh,
qTO OHa e~e Mo~o~a M 6M~a 6M KpaCHBOH,
eCAH 6M He 3HOM M He 3acyxa; BHHM He 6H~O,
HO OHa Bce-TaHM npOCM~a y HorO-TO npo~e
HMH H H~H~aCh, qTO eM HeBMHOCMMO 60~hHO,
rpycTHo M ~a~HO ce6H (VII, 30)

Then there is a switch back to Yegorushka, to whom it seems

that the dreary, mournful song is making the air hotter, more

52
suffocating and more stagnant.
At the end of the first day of travel, a storm threatens to spring up.

Chekhov' s description of the restless

steppe, and especially the paragraph near the end of Chapter

2, has symbolic overtones.

The first part of the passage

describes the plants, insects, feathers and dust which rise

skyward in a blaclc column.

'-rhen Chekhov describes the reac-

tion of the steppe birds to the sudden whirlwind.

Certain

details are animated: a cloud exchanges glances with the

steppe and frowns

while some uprooted plants get caught in

the whirlwi nd:

11 EroPyulHa BHJ(eJI, HaH J(Ba rrepeHaT11nOJIe CTOJIRHyJIHCb B rOJIy6o~ BHlli11He 11

- ----13gerr-H-lfHCb -.n;pyr--B- ;ll;pyra, --RaH-Ha-noe,n:11HHe.

The animation is

app~opriate

(VII, 34)

to a child's perception of

nature, especially during such a violent scene.

The entire

section is animated, but the quality of language used and

the kind of ideas expressed indicate whose view of the scene
is being expressed.

Both the beginning and the end of this

section contain expressions more sui table to an adult viewpo.int than a child's.

that at sunset,

Chekhov begins the passage by saying

53
CTerrb, XO~MN H B03~YX He BH~ep
rHeTa H, HCTO~HBillH TeprreHHe, H3MY~HBillHCb, rrorrHTa~HCb C6POCHTb C ce6H
Hro. (VII, 34)
~a~H

But when the storm fails to materialize, the steppe becomes

submissively subdued:

rHeTymaH CH~a Ma~o

BeTep H B03~YX, y~o
IH~a rrH~b, H orrHTb, HaH 6Y~TO HHQerO
He 6H~O, HacTyrrH~a THillHHa. 06~aHo
crrpHTa~oCb,
3arope~He
XO~MH
HaxMypH~HCb, B03~YX rroHopHo 3aCTH~
11
O~HH TO~bHO BCTpeBoxeHHHe QH6HCH
r~e-To rr~aHa~11 H ~a~oBa~HCh Ha CY~h6y . (VII, 35)

Hb

HeBH~HMaH

rroMa~y

CHOBa~a

Chekhovts liberal use of the technique of animation

in this story results in the depiction of the steppe as a
great, living beingo
phrases such as

f1

The author's inclusion of words and

rHe ia", "Hro", and "rHeTymaH

cH~a"

the idea that it is somehow fettered and oppressede

convey
Such

a portrayal of nature has led to interpretations of Chekhov's

steppe as a symbol representing the Russian land and its
peopleo

There are further examples of such descriptions in

"Step'" which lend support to this interpretation.

These

will be pointed out and examined as they occur in the narrative.

As night approaches, the travellers stop briefly

54
at an inn owned by Moysey Moyseich, a Jew.
their journey.

Then they resume

As they ride along, Yegorushka is awed at

the steppe and the sky; the dark hills seem to be concealing something terrible, the sky is crimson, and the steppe
is hiding in a mist ". HaR ..n;eTH MOMceH Moticew-ra TIO..n;
o..n;e.FIJIOM." (VII, 50)

At this point the author begins a long

description of a July night on the steppe.

In this beauti-

ful description the voices of the child, the sensitive poet,

and the naturalist merge.

The naturalist talks about the

steppe crea tures, the sounds of bird.s and insects in the grass.
The child, with his lively imagination, transforms a bush or
a stone into a silhouette which looks like a monk or, perhaps,
a robber.

He apprehends the steppe as a combination of broad

---------shadows,- mons-trousshapes and-uncanny sounds.

The poet ani-

mates nature, seeing it as a huge, living and breathing

organism.

He also ir:-terjects the philosophical comments

which occur throughout.

Listening to the sounds echoing

over the steppe, he asks:

Roro OHH RpH~aT H RTO HX CJIyrnaeT

Ha GTOM paBHHHe, oor HX 3Ha8T, HO B
RpHR8 HX MHoro rpycTH H }J{aJIOObI (VII, 51)

~JI.FI

He looks at the sky and speaks of its depth and infini ty,
quali ties which he says one can appreciate only when viewing

55
it at sea or

011

the moonlit

~teppe.

These comments build

up toward and finally culminate in the inspiring passage in

which the steppe calls in vain for singers.

The poet recog-

nizes in everything that he sees and hears on the steppe

beauty, youth, power, and a passionate thirst for life.

And

his soul wants to take flight over the steppe with the night
bird.

But the author is aware also of the steppe's yearn-

ing a nd grief:

RaR

CTeITb C03HaeT, ~TO OHa

ooraTcTBo ee H B~OXHoBeHHe
rHoHyT ~apOM ~~H MHpa, HHReM He BOCITeT@e
H HHHOMy He HY~H@e, H CHB03b pa~OCTH@~
ryn C~@illHllib ee TOCRnHBHM, oe3Ha~e~H@~
npH3@B: ITeBua! ITeBual (VII, 52)
O~HHORa,

OY~TO

~TO

This passage invites symbolic interpretation.

Again the

steppe is an image of the fatherland and its people, whose

rich potential has sofar been wastedand which cries for
expression.
On this night Yegorushka, at his uncle's request,
joins a group of peasants who are driving a train of

wag~

gons, loaded high with bales of wool, across the steppe.

The remainder of Yegorushka's journey is made with these
people.

One

o~

the peasants whom he meets is named Vasya.

This man is unique among the characters in the story, for

56
he possesses a special kind of vision.

His eyesight is

extraordinarily keen and, because of his extreme longsightedness, he is in the enviable position of being able
to observe and appreciate the most intima te aspects of
nature.

He can see foxes playing and hares washing them-

selves with their paws.

hauntse

He can watch

a~.mals

in their own

Vasya's vision gives him access to a private,

beautiful world unseen by anyone else.

He is, perhaps,

closer to the steppe than any other character in the story.

One evening, as Yegorushka continues his travels with
the peasants, he lies on his back and gazes up at the sky.
The sunset which he sees is described in childish images:

.,_,..._._._.

I' OpMpacrrOJIa-

~ .. _L.A_~I:IreJ,[.hl-X'pp,HkIT
E ;JIH , .. 3.a.c TMJI aH

30HT

CBOHMM

raJIHCb

30JIOTHMH

Ha HO'IJIer;

HpHJIbHMM,

(VII, 72)

As Yegorushka watches the stars appearing, Chekhov interpolates a paragraph of philosophical comment.

He describes

the feeling of loneliness that is felt when one stares at

the sky fixedly and for a long time.

He implies a sense of

disorientation in the realization that man's brief life and

all that he holds dear and of value are insignificant against
the background 'of nature.

Nature, because of its constancy,

indifference, and silence, frustrates man when he tries to

57
grasp its significance.

He gJes on to say that one is

reminded of the soli tUde of death, and that such a thought

makes the reality of life

se~m

full of despair.

Chekhov

uni tes this passage with Yegorush1ca' s thoughts by

return~

ing to the boy who is now thinking about his dead grandmother.
Another peasant whom Yegorushka meets is Yemel'yan,
a former church chorister who, after bathing in the Donets
River, caught cold and lost his singing voice.

No matter

how hard Yemel'yan tries, he emits only discordant gasps.

There is clearly a parallel between this frustrated, melancholy peasant who passionately desires to sing, and the
steppe, which cries for a singer.

--1J:l1:1e- nature description-in-"Step'"- reac-hes a-tense

climax in the storm scene in Chapter 7.

The discu.ssions

of nature in earlier.chapters have helped to create a feeling of tension which the storm relieves.

There are many

references to the scorching heat and the suffocating air;

there is the violent whirlwind, which occurs at the end of
Chapter 2, and the tense nerves and ruffled tempers of the
drivers and Yegorushka just before the storm begins.
Chapter 7 of "Step,n is devoted to a magnificent

description of a steppe storm"

Chekhov sets the stage for

the storm by first talking about the drivers and Yegorushka

58'

sitting around the fire and cooking their evening meal.

The

weather is sultry.

Everyone feels oppressed and their tem-

pel's are strained.

An argument begins.

lightning is flashing every minute.

In the distance

Chekhov uses the detail

of the lightning cleverly to augment the tension during the

period just previous to the beginning of the downpour.

As

the storm approaches, the flashes of lightning occur more

frequently.

Chekhov's descriptions of the lightning, seen

through the child's eyes, become more detailed and more

fantastic.

Winner complains that Chekhov's description

of the storm shows "an uncharacteristic lack of restraint. ,,8

Unfortunately he ei ther does not realize, or ignores, the
fact that Chekhov is describing the storm from the viewpoint
--oi"an -awestruck,

frightened~child with

a vivid imagination.

Unlike other nature descriptions in "Step''', the account of

the storm is written.from a viewpoint which is consistently
Yegorushka's, and the result is delightful.

The frequency

of the lightning flashes is expressed this way:

HanpaBo cBepRHy~a MO~HHR H, TO~HO OTpa3HBlliHCh B 3epRa~e, aHa TOT~ac Ke

cBepRHy~a B~a~H.

(VII, 91)

Yegorus hka thinks of the lightning and thunder in these

childish images:

8 T Winner, Chekhov and his Prose, New York: Holt,

Rinehart and Winston, 1966, p. 53.

59
Ha~eBo~
CnHqHOM~

HaH
HaH

HaH

6Y~TO

Me~hHHy~a

HTO

qHPHHY~

o~e~HaH,

no He6y
OCOpHqeC-

H TIOTyx~a. nOC~Hrua~och,
OqeHh ~a~eRO HTO-TO npome~CH no ~e~e3HOM HpHrue. BepOHTHO, no
HpHllie lli~H OOCHROM, nOToMy qTO ~e~e30
rrpOBOpqaXO r~yxo.
(VII, 91)
TIO~OCHa
r~e-TO

Whenever he is not too frightened to keep his eyes open,

Yegorushka watches the storm in amazement.

The black sky

yawns and breathes white fire, and the black'shreds of

clouds look to him like claws.

The frequency of the light-

ning and the intensity of the thunder increase.

The light

penetrates even his c;Losed eyelids, while the thunder explodes allover the steppe.

Inadvertently opening his eyes,

Yegorushka sees three huge giants with long pikes who later
,

turn out to be peasants carrying pitchforks.

Overwhelmed

by the violence of the storm, Yegorushka, numb with cold,

finally decides that it will never end.
This last example of nature description in "Step'"
cost Chekhov a full week of effort and provides a fitting
climax to the portrayal of nature in the story.
story is a union of two themes
and

Yegor~shka's

adventures

~-

While this

a description of the steppe

the steppe dominates as the

central feature, and the story is more saturated with nature

than anything else Chekhov wrote.
Chekhov's fear that his story would seem to be merely a "steppe encyclopaedia" was unfounded. In "Step'"

60
Chekhov combines several viewpoints to produce an emotional
work of art which has with justification been termed a
Uhymn" to naturee

The methods of depicting nature which I

have mentioned in previous chapters continue to be used in

"Step'"e

Animation occurs frequently both because the

steppe is being seen through the eyes of a child, and because the author is portraying the steppe as a great and
vibrant beinge

In "Step''', as in "Schast'ye"; nature func-

tions as a symbol.

In this tale it represents the Russian

land and its people with their hopes and aspirations, as

well as their frustrations and burdens.
When "Step'" appeared in Sever.!1Y..Y v.estntx in March,
1888, the periodical press assessed it as a talented, orig.

.inal. wor.k, bu.t __they.l1ad_some __ reservations

&.

Mikhaylovsky,

for example, praised "Step''', but he also criticized Chekhov

for a lack of discipline which resulted in the chance nature
of impressions, and he referred to an "emptiness" in the
worke 9

The difficulties encountered by readers of "Step'"

were probably due to Chekhov's system of imagery.

While

"Step'" expresses humanistic ideas regarding Russia and its

people, these ideas are embodied in the story's imagery
rather than being stated more straightforwardly.

9 Be p. Gorodetsky, ed., Istopiya russlcQ..Y kri tiki,

Moskva: Izda tel' stvo akademii na u]c SSSR, 19.58, II, 3.50.

61
In December, 1888, "F,:,ipadolc" was pUblished in a
collection of stories compiled in memory of the writer
Gars hin, who had committed su.icide earlier tha t yeare

At

a literary gathering attended by Grigorovich, the actor

Davydov read the story alou.d, and a lively discussion fo1lowedo

But Grigorovich complains:

R 6ecH~cH, ~TO HHHTO He oueHH~ CTPO~HY

6 -ID Ha 308 -M cTpaHHue [-- (.c.H Hal< He
CTH~HO CHery rra~aTh B 3TOT nepey~oHl ];
H 6H~H, rOBopH~H MHe, eme rr03TH rrpH
~TeHHH B ~HTepaTypHoM o6mecTBel (VII, 549)

In a letter to Suvorin Chelchov mentions thls, and his frus=

tration with his readers is evident:

06mecTBo, cTy~eHTH, EBpeHHoBa,

H npoq. paCXBa~H~H MO~
npHrra~OH
BOB CID, a OI1HCaHHe rrepBor 0
CHera 3aMeTH~ O~HH TO~hHO FPHPOPOBHq. (XIV, 257).

~HTepaTypHoe
n~emeeB,

~eBHUH

The detail of the snow in "Pripadolc" is obviously

an important one in this story about a student named
Vasil'yev who is taken by two friends to visit the Moscow
brothels.

Vasil'yev, shocked and overwhelmed by the

debasement he f}e8s

returns home and tries to devise a

method of correcting the situation.

He feels helpless and

62
his mental anguish soon results in a nervous attack.

When

his friends find him in a distraught condition, they take

him to a psychiatrist who dispels the emotional pain arising
from Vasil'yev's tortured social conscience by prescribing
bromide and morphine.
The description of the snow 'noticed by Grigorovich
first occurs near the beginni ng of the story, when Vasil' yev
and his two friends set out to see the brothels.

It is fresh

and white and imparts a certain mood to the night:

HpaBHACH eMy B03~YX H ocooeHHO 8TOT

HexHHR, HaHBHHR, TO~HO ~eBCT
B8HHHR TOH, RaKoR B npHpo~e MOXHO HaOAID~aTb TOAbKO ~Ba pa3a B ro~y:
Kor~a Bce noRpHTO CHerOM H BecHoro B HCHHe ~HH, HAH B
__~ _..lIyHHHe _B6'Iepa, _Hor ~a Ha peKe AOMaeT Ae~.

npo3pa~HHtl,

(VII, 175)

After surveying a number of brothels with their

garish cheapness and blatant vulgarity, Vasil'yev becomes
miserable and disgusted and runs outside to wait for his
friends to come out.

As he stands outdoors Vasil'yev

notices that the snow is still falling, and he wonders

how it can fall in such a street.

Vasil'yev is troubled

by the contrast between the natural, pure, untainted snow

and the brothels, w.hich are so grotesque as to seem entirely alien to the world in which they exist.

Chekhov's use

63
of the snow detail underscores the sensitivity of Vasil'yev,
who alone is affected by nature's beauty, and whose attitude to the degradation that he has witnessed in the brothels
is so different from that of everyone else whom he meets.
JUdging from Chekhov's comments, the author was obviously
upset by the reading pUblic's inability to cope with his
style.

The incident which I have mentioned concerning

"Pripadolc" illustrates how important a single detail of

setting could be to the appreciation of a Chekhovian short
story.
In 1890 Chekhov wrote "Gusev", the story of a discharged soldier who has been serving for fi.ve years in the
Far East and who is now ona ship destined for Russia.

Like

- ----~many -o-t-her-soldiers -and sailors --on the- ship,--Gusev is so

seriously ill that he will never reach home.

As the journey

continues, Gusev realizes that this is the case but, unlike

Pavel Ivanych, a consumptive soldier Who predeceases him,
he does not complain about his fate.

Rather, he regards

death in the same simple , naive way in which he apprehends

other natural phenomena.

When Pavel Ivanych berates Gusev

as ignorant because he believes that a big fish can smash a

hole in a ship's bottom, and that the wind is a beast which
sometimes breaks loose from its chain, Gusev muses:

64'
qTO CTpaHHOrO, HHH My~peHorO, HanpHMep,
XOTh B pwoe, HHH B BeTpe, HOTOpWM CPWBaeTCH C ~errH? nOHO~HM, ~TO pwoa BeHH~HHOM C ropy H ~TO crrHHa y Hee TBep~aH,
HaH y oceTpa; TaH~e rrOHO~HM, ~TO TaM,
r~e HOHe~ CBeTa,
CTOHT TOHCTwe HaMeHHwe
CTeHW, a H CTeHaM npHHOBaHW 3Hwe BeTpw
ECHH OHH He copBaHMCh C ~enH, TO no~eMY
~e
OHM Me~YTCH no BceMy MOpro, HaH yropeHwe, H pByTCH, CHOBHO cooaHH? ECHH HX
He rrpHHoBwBaroT, TO Hy~a ~B OHH ~eBaroTcH,
Hor~a oWBaeT THXO? (VII, 300)

Gusev is a man of simple faith who is incapable of probing

too deeply into anything and who accepts both life and death
as he accepts nature -- at face value and with no disturbing
questionso
He does, however, long for home.

homeland and his brother's family.

During hot days

In his delirium he

speaks out as though his dreams actually had substance.

In

contrast to his sweltering surroundings, Gusev's vision of

home has a winter setting.

He sees his brother and his

brother's children in a sleigh.

and it is very cold.
snow o

There is snovl everywhere

He watches the sleigh glide over the

But SUddenly this scene disappears and is replaced

by the sinister vision of a bull's head without eyes.

In his

delirium Gusev continues to imagine idyllic scenes of home,

and each time the bull's head, like a premonition of death,

65
appears to blot them outo

Chekhov juxtaposes Gusev's dreams

of winter and frost with references to his unquenchable thirst

and the unbearable heat.
Shortly before his death, Gusev goes out onto the
deck and surveys the sky and the sea.

While the sky is

peaceful and quiet, the sea is restless.

It seems to Gusev

that there is neither sense nor pity in t11e sea. and that if
the ship were not strongly built, both it and its passengers
would be crushed by the waves.

And yet the ship is very much

like the sea; it, too, seems cruel and pitiless as it presses
forward, fearing nothing.

And SUddenly everything in nature

and in life seems absurd.

But Gusev is not afraidc

He des-

cribes his feelings this way:

HllqerO HeTy cTpawHoro, -- rOBopllT OH.

-- TO~bHO ~YTHO, C~OBHO B TeMHOM ~ecy
Cll.IJ;llWb, ' . ' (VII, 310)

Three days later Gusev is dead and is given a sea burial.

Chekhov's description of Gusev's body, sinking toward the
ocean bottom and being toyed with by a shark. is chilling.
The concluding paragraph of the story is a dazzling
description of a sunset which contrasts with the previous
scene.

The sky and the sea are bathed in beautiful colours:

66
Heoo CTaHOBHTCH He~HO-CHpeHeBHM. r~H~H
Ha GTO Be~HRO~errHOe, OqapOBaTeAhHOe
HeOO, OR8aH CHaqa~a XMypHTCH, HO CROPO
caM npH06peTaeT ~BeTa ~~CROBHe, pa~OCT
HHe, CTpaCTHHe, RaHHe Ha qe~OBeqeCROM
H31IRe H Ha3BaTh Tpy,n:HO.
(VIl t 312)

Nature is completely indifferent to Gusev's grisly fate

beneath the surface of the sea.
last two scenes is startlingo

The

juxt~position

of the

Again the indifference of

nature seems to indicate the absurdity of lifeo

The story of Gusev paints a gloomy picture of man's
life in which nature dominatese

Just as the ship is at

the mercy of a pitiless sea, so is man in the hands of an

indi.fferent force which he cannot understand.

Chekhov offers

no words of comfort in conclusion, no consoling philosophy

which might anaesthetize the mind to the full implication
of the story's conclusion .
.

In 1892 Russkaya mysl e pUblished

~l'Palata

No. 6",

one of Chekhov's most praised and most famous workso

The

story's title refers to the ward for mental patients in a

Russian hospital located in a remote provincial town.

The

hospi tal's doctor, Andrey Yefimych Ragin, spends twenty

years there, ignoring unsanitary conditions, brutality to
patients, and scandalous behaviol:lr among the staff.

He

attempts to remedy nothing, for his philosophy is one of

67
passivi ty a nd inactions

Ragin justifies this phi.losophy

by saying that, because the basic laws of nature will never

change, there is no point in troubling to ameliorate the
condi tions of man's day-to-,day life.

Only when he himself

is confined to Ward 6 because of his conversations with

Gromov~

one of the inmates, does he .get a brief but enlight-

ening glimpse of reality as it is understood by the people

whom he, by doing nothing, has helped to victimizes
Ragin I s pessimism, which he conveniently uses as an
excuse for doing nothing, is partly a result of his attitude
to nature and the universeo

On one occasion, while he is

reading, he smiles with pleasure at the workings of the human

mind.

This thought leads him to a contemplation of man and

. ~---his -pIa c e in the unive rs e :

0, 3aqeM

qe~OBeR He 6eCCMepTeH? -- ~YMaeT

OH. -- 3aqeM M03rOB~e ~eHTp~ H H3BH~HH~,
3aqeM 3peHHe, peqb, CaMOqyBcTBHB, reHHH,
eC~H BceMy 3TOMy CYX~8HO yHTH B rrOqBY H,
B ROH~e ROH~OB, ox~a~8Tb BMBCTe C 38MHOro
ROPOH, a rrOTOM MH~~HOH~ ~BT 6e3 CM~c~a H
6e3 ~e~H HOCHTbCH C 3eM~eH BORpyr CO~H~a?
~~H Toro, ~T06~ ox~a~eTb H rrOTOM HOCHTbCH,
COBceM He HyXHO H3B~eHaTb H3 He6~THH qe~OBeHa C ero B~CORMM, rrOqTH 60xeCHHM yMOM,
H rrOTOM, C~OBHO B HacMewHy, rrpeBpamaTb
ero B r~HHY. (VIII, 126)

This passage summarizes Ragin's fallacious perception of

68
man and his place in the universe.

Ragin views man's brief

life against the perspective of eternity and the laws of

nature, and his conclusion is that nothing in this life is
of any consequence.
The unconscious cycle of natu.. re troubles Ragin be-cause there is no will in it.

It sitnply occurs without end.

Neither does the concept of seeing one's imrnorta1i ty in the

transmutation of matter give him any comfort:
CBoe 6eCCMepTMe B o6MeHe BemeCTB
CTpaHHO, HaH rrpopo~MTh 6~eCTHmYID
6y~ymHocTh YT~Hpy rroc~e Toro, HaH pa36M~aCh H CTa~a Hero~HoID ~oporaH CHpMITHa.
(VIII, 126)

BM~eTh

TaH

~e

----------Ragin---aIT6v.;s--hHf at--ei ttide--t-o-1ife to be governed" by the fact

H

that man, superior though he may be, is ultimately subjected

to the unconscious processes of nature.
with Gromov, Ragin expresses these ideas.

When he i.s speaking

While Gromov

speaks fervently of his beli.ef that the future will be better,

Ragin says that ". cymHOCTh BemeM He
rrpHpo~bI

M3MeHMTCH,

3aHoH~

oCTaHYT CH Bce Te :liCe." (VIII, 132)

After Ragin loses his position at the hospital, his

comfort in such a philosophy dimi.ni.shes.

When some personal

matter annoys him, he tries to imagine the world as it would

appear in a million years: "Bce -- H

HY~hTypa,

H HpaBcTBeHHbIM

3aHoH

--

npOrra,I(8T

11 ,I(allC8

JIOnyxoM H8

nopacT8T."

(VIII p 151)

But this line of reasoning no longer offers any solace.

Ragin's viewpoint begins to change and, finally, confined
in Ward 6, he sees at first-hand what he has been ignoring
all -his life.

Conscience-stricken he jumps up, wanting to

do something that will remedy the situation, but he falls

unconscious and dies of a stroke the next day.
Ragin in "Palata No.6" views nature in much the same
way as does the soldier Gusev.

Both men feel that nature is

indifferent to them.

Yet their sfmilar conclusions bring

differing reactions.

Gusev simply accepts his fate and

thinks no more about it.

Ragin, however, adopts a negative

attitude, rationalizing that because, in the end, the laws

of nature conquer man, the way in which he lives his life is
unimportant.

As the story progresses, we watch Ragin's

philosophy crumble; we see his torment as he realizes that

his life has been ruied by a fallacious belief in a philosophy of inaction.

Chekhov's message in Itpalata No. 6'1 is a

positive one, for the story suggests that, although life may
appear meaningless in the face of nature f one cannot renounce
one's responsibility to it and its demands.
On December 25, 1892, the short story enti tled It Strakh
was pUblished in NOv.QXQ.....Y.remY.:a...

The central theme of the

story is a philosophical one dealing with the incomprehensi-

lt

bility of life.

As Dmitry Petrovich Silin, a landowner,

and his friend, the storyOs narrator, sit on the church

porch one evening, a fog begins to rise over the river.
The description of the patches of fog is extravagantly
animated, but sui ted to the sUbject of the story:

OHR Ha~~yro MHHyTy MeHHHH CBOH BH~ H

Ka3aHOCb, QTO O~HH o6HHMaHHch, ~pyr~e KHaHHHHCh, TpeThH rrO~HHMaHH K
He6y CBOH pyKH C lliHpOKHMH rrorrOBCRHMH
pyKaBaMH, RaK 6Y~TO MonHnHCb (VIII,

164)

The narrator comments that the appearance of the fog must

have made Dmitry think of ghosts and the dead, for he
begins to talk about how people fear these things.

Dmitry

. - -does not understand why people fear the supernatural. and

yet do not fear life.

He feels that life is incomprehensible

and is unable to asce,rtain its purpose or its meaning.

Dur-

ing this conversation Dmitry reveals that his wife does not
love him and that, when she accepted his proposal of marriage,
she told him that she did not love him but would be fai thful.
Dmitry then comments on her words:

(!.

H Bac He nro6nro, HO 6y~y BaM BepHa?/, -QTO 3TO 3HaQHT? 3TO TyMaH, rrOTeMKH (VIII,

167)

The word "tuman" here takes on a psychological connotation.

71
In Dmitry's case, it is a comprehension of the situations
of life that eludes him;
Dmitry's friend, however, does not share this fear
of life:

(/.}I{M3 HI"

no er 0 MHeHHlO, OTpaUlHa, -- ,n:yMaJI

TaR He ~epeMoHI,CR ~e c Hero, JIOMa~
ee
nORa oHa TeOR He 3a.n:aBHJIa, oepM
Bce, 'tITO MO~HO ypBaTb 01' Hee >7. (VIII, 171)

H,

-H,

Later that night a strange thing happens; the

narrator has an affair with Dmitry's wife, Mariya Sergeyevna.

seems separate from reality.

And then, in the early morn-

ing, as Dmitry is leaving on a trip, he discovers his wife

walking from his friend's room.
he understands nothing.

Once more he comments that

And his fear is soon communicated

to the narrator:

H CMOTpeJI Ha rpa'tIeM, M MHe OMJIO CTpaHHO

CTpalliHO, 'tITO OHM JIeTaroTo (VIII, 172)

Nature seems strange, terrifying and incomprehensible.

And the narrator in perplexity ponders the incomprehensibility of what has just happened.

72

,Natural details in "Strakh

ly to the development of the

lt

contribute

story~s

theme.

significant~

Dmitry's con-

templation of the rising fog leads him to broach the subject

of his fear of life and his inability to comprehend its
realities.

References to the fog which recur in the story

create a dream-like atmosphere of unreality in which the

affair between Dmitry's friend and his wife takes place.
Then, at the conclusion of the story, the reference to the
rooks completes the thematic development.

The narrator is

now searching for meaning and sense in life, just as Dmitry

was doing the previous evening.
The stories discussed in the present chapter show
Chekhov's growing maturity as a writer and span the years
_______p~~wl:)-f?n-18E)8 and 1892.

These years were both difficult and

rewarding for the author.

He began contributing his stories

to the better Petersburg literary journals and in 1888 received the

Pushki~

prize for literature.

While both his

reputation and his fame were growing, Chekhov was becoming

more anxious about his work and what was expected of him as
an author.

Perhaps because of his increasing spiri tual

ma~

laise, Chekhov spent a large part of 1890 working on a stUdy

of the penal colony on Sakhalin Island.
time travelling and working on the

He also spent much

long~hoped~for

which he never succeeded in completing.

novel

There was a sharp

73
decrease in the number of stories Chekhov had pUblished
during these years

The stories which I have examined

in the present chapter are generally longer than the ones

discllssed earlier, and their subjects are more serious e
As I have indicated in individual tales, Chekhov's
methods of presenting nature are similar to those used in
earlier workso

Chekhov continues to apply a light touch

in his landscape painting, suggesting a scene or a mood

throLtgh the choice of only a few details.

The author's

descriptive techniques appear to undergo refinement rather

than change.

Like the stories dealt with in the previous

chapter, the tales examined in the present 'chapter (with

the exception of "Palata No.6") show nature being used to
-----provide a setting for the events which occuro

Nature also

continues to be used in the function of underlining a certain theme.

In "pripadok", for example, the snow whi.ch

symbolizes innocence and purity is a contrast to the degradation witnessed by Vasil'yev in the brothels.

In "Strakh"

the background of a foggy, moonlit night intensifies the

sense of mystery felt at a contemplation of the incomprehensibility of life.

In several instances nature forms an

important part of the authorO s philosophical comments.

This is true of nature passages found in "Step''', "Gusev",
"Strakh", and "Palata No.6".

As Chekhov's career as a

writer progresses, the function of nature in the short sto=

ries undergoes an evolution.

While it continues to appear

as an element of setting and an intensifier of mood, its

function varies to satisfy the needs of the SUbject.
In the stories considered in the present chapter,
the author examines the relationship between man and nature
..

In tlStep''', tlGusev", and "Strakh" Chekhov's concept of

na~

ture is similar to the one expressed earlier in "Verochka",

"Schast'ye", and "Potseluy".

Nature, which is vast and

incomprehensible, makes man's life appear absurd.

In "Palata

No.6", where Ragin succumbs to the sense of hopelessness

generated by this concept of nature, Chekhov strongly criti=

cizes his attitude and points the way to a different perspective on life that advocates concern and actions rather than
indifference and passivity.

Man's attempts to understand his

role in respect to nature, and the effect which his view of

the man-nature relationship has upon him are discussed in
these stories.
The conclusion one draws from a study of these stories
is that nature will probably remain an important element of
Chekhov's works, both as an aspect of his method of expression and as a factor in the philosophy expressed, throughout
the works of his maturity.

In the chapter which follows, I

shall analyse a selection of Chekhov's works written between

1894 and 1902, and examine the validity. of this conclusion~

CHAPTER IV
THE MATURE STORIES

The dates of initial pUblication for the stories to be

discussed in the present chapter range from 1894 to 1902.
Some of these stories, products of the author's mature period,
contain stringent criticism of specific aspects of Russian
society.

Yet they all reveal truths regarding the human condi-

tion which are relevant to people everywhere, not only to the

society with which Chekhov was familiar.

~:his

is perhaps why

these stories hold meaning for the modern reader.

The first s tory to be examined ini tially "appeared
in Artist in ,January, 1894, and is entitled "Chornyy monakh" ..
The sUbject of "Chornyy"monakh" is the experience of a young
man named Kovrin, who is

suffer~ng

from megalomania.

The

story's title refers to the vision of a monk, dressed in black,

which Kovrin sees and which assures him of his sLtperiori ty
among men.

Because of overwork Kovrin's nerves are shattered

and, on the advice of a doctor, he decides to spend the spring

and summer in the cou.ntry.

Most of the events in the story

take place on the estate of Yegor Semyonych Pesotsky, a horticUlturist, and formerly Kovrin's guardian.

At the beginning

of the story Kovrin arrives at Borisovka to spend some time

with Pesotsky and Tanya, his daughter.
Early in the tale there is a description of Pesotsky's
gardens, which are very beautiful, and on which much time" and

75

76
effort are expended daily. Between the house and the river
stretches an old gloomy park which has a melancholy
phere:

II

atmos~

H Bcer,n;a TyT 6hIJIO TaRoe HaCTpoeHHe, 'iTO XOTh

ca,n;HCh H 6aJIJla,n;y rrHwH." (VIII, 264)"

But there is a different

mood to the flower garden, orchard and nursery closer to the

house: " . 6hIJIO BeCeJIO H :JKH3Hepa,n;OCTI-IO .n:aJ!Ce B ,n;ypHyro
rroI'o,n;y.

II

(VIII, 264)

Although it is just early spring,

there are enough flowers in bloom to give Kovrin the feeling

of being " B

~apCTBe He~HMX

RpaCOR, oco6eHHO

paHHH8

'iaCM, Ror,n;a Ha Ra:JK,n;OM JIerreCTRe CBepRaJIa poca. 1I (VIII, 264)

Another section of the garden which is purely ornamental has
ah'lays impressed Kovrin as fantastic:
6MJIO

rrpHqy,n;,

po~ott!"

H3~CRaHHHX

(VIII, 264)

1~I<am:ix

TOJIhRO TyT He

YPO,n;CTB H H3,n;eBaTeJIhCTB Ha,n; rrpH-

Here Pesotsky has used his knowledge

of horticulture to coax bushes and trees into shapes and forms

unnatural to them. Life at Borisovka revolves around Pesotsky's
gardens. Even indoors one is reminded of the garden, as in
Kovrin's room, where there are flowers wet with dew in vases
on the table.
While the gardens are very beautiful, there is a certain unnaturalness about them. The ornamental section of the
garden is abnormal, and the lushness of the blooms seems
exaggerated and forced.

There is an artificiality to the

perfection which has been achieved in these gardens, not by

77
nature, but by the tireless efforts of Pesotskyo

These too

well-ordered gardens are largely a creation of Pesotsky and

would seem more appropriate to the realm of the imagination
than to the natural world.
During a

Kovrin, however, loves the gar?ens.

outdoors he is reminded of the happy child-

stro~l

hood he spent there, and his joy at returning approaches

ecstasy.
Kovrin t s pattern of living does not change \'1ith his
move to the country; he reads and writes a great deal, drinks
wine, and sleeps little.
aiways cheerful.

Yet he never seems tired and is

One evening he hears a group of young visi-

tors singing a familiar serenade which tells of a young girl

with a morbid imagination who heard mysterious sounds' in the
----.--~.garden-at--night.

These sounds "Jere so beautiful and so

strange that the girl decided that they were heavenly and
inaudible to ordinary mortals.

After listening to the serenade,

Kovrin takes Tanya aside and tells her about the legend of
the black monk which has been troubling him since morning.
The monk in the legend is a mirage which, because of some
phenomenon of nature, keeps reappearing throughout the universe.
According to the legend, the monk is soon due to reappear
on the earth.

Kovrin lets Tanya return to her guests while he

goes out into the garden.

The sun is just setting and there

is a strong smell of flowers in the air.

begins thinking:

As Kovrin walks he

<,~,:f{aH

3)J;eCb npOCTOpHO, CBOO O)J;HO, THXO t

-- )J;YMa~ :f{OBpHH, H)J;H no TponHHHe. -H HaxeTCH, BeCb MHp CMOTpHTHa MeHH,
npHTaH~CH H X)J;eT, 'lJ:TOOl1 H nOHH~ ero

(VIII, 270)
Kovrin finds nature peaceful, spacious and free.

It seems to

-reassure him that an understanding of the world and of life

is within his grasp, and it gives Kovrin a feeling of
mente

content~

Then, suddenly, the vision of the black monk appears;

it looks at Kovrin, smiles, and vanishes.

On another evening similar to this one, Kovrin sees
the black monk a second time.

Again there are guests, a

violin is playing, people are singing, and Kovrin, who is

strolling in the park, is reminded of the black monk. No
sooner does he think of the vision than it appears.

On this

occasion the monk speaks to Kovrin and assures him of its

existence in nature: .

cymeCTByro B TBoeM BOOOpaJKeHHH, a

BooopaxeHHe TBoe eCTb 'lJ:aCTb npHp O)J; 11 ,
3HaQHT, H CymecTByro H B npHpO)J;e. (VIII,

278)

The monk tells Kovrin that he has been chosen by God to serve
eternal truth and
. that he is gifted and far above the common
herd. Then the monk begins to merge with his surroundings
and finally disappears.

Throughout the summer Kovrin continues

to see the monk and to speak with him.

In the fall Kovrin

79
returns to the city accompanied by Tanya, who is now his wife.
One winter night Tanya awakens to find her husband talking to
his hallucination.

She and her father take Kovrin to a

doctor who undertakes a cure.

When
country.

su~ner

arrives, Kovrin and Tanya go back to the

The story at this point comes full circle.

much like Ryabovich in "Potseluy",

return~

Kovrin,

to the scene of

his former happiness to find that things have changed.

Walking in the garden, Kovrin fails to notice the luxuriant
flowers which the previous year had seemed so attractive.
Having reached the river, he surveys the area where he first
saw the black monk:

YrpIDMue COCHU C MOXHaTUMH HOpHRMH, HOTopue

B npOill~OM ro~y BH~8~H ero 3~eCh TaHHM
MO~O~UM, pa~OCTHUM H 60~PUM, Terreph He
merrTa~HCh, a
CTOR~H HerrO~BH~Hue H HeMue,
TO~Hti He Y3HaBa~H ero. (VIII, 287)

Nature is indifferent to Kovrin and seems not to recognize

him. The intimacy he thought he shared with nature was an
illusion.

When the vision no longer appears, Kovrin feels

that the cure which he has undergone has made him a mediocrity
who is nOVl like everyone else.

Inside the house Kovri.n is

reminded of the joy and beauty of the previous

st~er:

80
BH~O

THXO, H B OTRpHTHe oRHa HeCCH H3

apOMaT Ta6aRa H H~arrTIH.
B rpOMa~HOM
TeMHOM 3a~e Ha no~y H Ha POH~H 3e~eHHMH
ITHTHaMH ~e~a~ ~YHhdn CBeT.
fOOBpHHy
npHrrOMHH~HCb
BOCToprH rrpOlli~oro ~eTa,
Ror~a TaR ~e rrax~o HnarrrrOn H B ORHax
CBeTH~aCb ~YHa. (VIII, 288=289) ,
ca~a

He dashes to his study, lights a cigar and drinks some wine

in an attempt to recreate the mood, but his attempt fails.
Kovrin eventually leaves Tanya, blaming her and her
father for his unhappiness, and lives with another woman.
Because of his failing health he travels with her to the
Crimea.

One night he stands looking at the sea from his

balcony.

The view of the moonlit sea is enchanting and seems

very peaceful to Kovrin.

After reading part of a bitter,

unnerving letter from Tanya, Kovrin again gazes at the sea,

and it seems to beckon to him. Then he hears the familiar
serenade and the vision of the black monk appears one final
time.

Kovrin collapses and dies soon after, believing that

he is, indeed, among the chosen ones of God.

As he dies,

he remembers once more. his wife, his youth, and the happy
months spent at Borisovka with its huge garden filled with
luxuriant flowers drenched in dew, the park, the pines with
their shaggy roots, and the field of rye.
The fantastic and beautiful gardens at Borisovka provide the perfect backdrop for the drama which takes place in
Kovrin's unhinged mind, for the atmosphere of the gardens
complements Kovrin's state of ecstasy and even increases it.

81
The sensation of a beautiful unreality which characterizes
the atmosphere of the gardens aggravates rather than soothes
the mental condition which leads Kovrints mind to fabricate
the vision of the black monk.

While ill and in a state of

ecstasy, Kovrin apprehends the natural world as something

which he will soon understand e

To his deranged mind, a com-

prehensioI"l of the mysteries of nature seems accessible.

When

his condition has been treated and cured, however, he no

longer feels close to nature, and it seems. totally oblivious
to him o

Only when he has been restored to health does Kovrin

see that his belief that he could understand nature \"as a

delusion, and that nature must remain incomprehensible to him
. On April 16,

l894,BusskiL~. ve~~~

tfStudent" which was at that time entitled

published

"Vecherom". The

title was changed to "Student" in the collection E.2.vesli....l.

!assk~z..:l.,

1894, and it remained "Student" in subsequent

collections.
This short story of only four pages is about a young
seminary student, Ivan Velikopoltsky.

As he is returning

home through the woods, the weather suddenly changes:

Ho

Hor~a

c BOCTOHa

CTeMHe~o

xo~o~H~tl

Bce.CMO~H~O.

ITo

~ecy,

HeHCTaTM rro~y~
BeTep,

rrpoHM3~BaIDmMtl

~y~aM

rrpOTHHY~MCh

M CTano B ~ecy HeyIDTHo, r~yxo

He~ro~HMO.
3arrax~o 3MMOtl. (VIII,

Mr~~,

~e~RH~e

345)

82
It seems to the student that the sudden cold has upset the
harmony and order in everything.

The unexpected change in

the weather intimidates and depresses Ivan, and his thoughts

become pessimistic.

He thinks about his home and of the

illness and poverty there.

Then it occurs to him that this

same bitter, indifferent wind which is numbing his fingers

blew throughout history -... in the time of Rurik , Ivan the
"

Terrible, and Peter the Great.

And he concludes that the

poverty and hunger, the anxieties and burdens of life have been
as constant in man's life as this wind.

Ivan fears that the

future will bring no improvements.

On his vmy home he stops to warm himself at an open
. fire tended by two village widows, a mother and daughter,
------whG-look -Hfter-the-kitchen gardens.

While he is warming

himself, the student recounts the story of Peter's denial of

Jesus.

Both women

begins to sob.

ar~

visibly moved and the mother even

Continuing on his way, Ivan thinks about what

has just happened and arrives at this understanding of its

meaning:

rrpOlli~oe, -- ~YMa~
Herrpep~BHOro uerrbro

OH,

-- CBH3aHO C HaCTOHmHM
BHTeHaBlliHX O~HO
H3 ~pyroro.
H eMY Ha3anOCb, qTO OH TonbHO
qTO BH~en o6a HOHua 3TOH uerrH: ~oTpoHyncH
~O OAHoro HOHU a , HaH ~porHyn ~pyroH. (VIII, 348)
Co6~THH,

\.

83
As he climbs the hill near hi3 village, the student looks at
the cold, crimson sunset and thinks:

H HpaCOTa, HarrpaBHRBWHe
KH3Hh TaM, B ca~y H BO
~Bope nepBOCBRmeHHHHa,
npO~OHKaAHch
HerrpepHBHO ~O cero ~HR H, nOBH~HMOMY,
Bcer~a COCTaBHRHH rHaBHoe B ~eHOBeqeCHOn
KH3HH H Boo6me Ha 3eMHe; 0 (VIII, 348)
npaB~a

~eHOBe~eCHYID

The weather is still bitter, but the state of nature no longer

intimidates Ivan, for he has unexpectedly succeeded in finding
meaning in a lj_fe which he had only recently considered without hope or significance.
In nStudent U Ivan finds himself drawing the same
--

~--

devastating
conclusion arrived at by Ryabovich in UPotseluy".
_. - --

----

._-~

Nature seems to him to be 90mpletely indifferent to' man.

Thii conclusion

fr~strates

and depresses Ivan, as it did

Ryabovich. But after his conversation 'with:the two women,

Ivan moves a step further toward an understanding of his life
and its significance.

Regarding himself and his life as a

link in the chain of human endeavour, a chain which continues

unbroken through time, Ivan feels heartened.

He finds solace

not in a religious philosophy but in the thought that his

place in the CRain of human progress assures him of a kind of
immortality..

Finding comfort in this thought, Ivan no

longer fears the indifference of nature.

This tone of optimism contrasts sharply with the mood

84
of the concluding pages of "Uchitel' slovesnosti", the second
chapter of which was published in ~usskiye~~~~osti on July
10,

1$94.

The first chapter, entitled "Obyvateli" had

No~oY~=y'~my~ on

appeared in

November 28, 1$89.

These two

chapters were published as one story entitled "Uchitel'

slovesnosti II in the 1894 collection -Povesti
i rasskazy.
-

===--.~~~~~

The story is about Nikitin., a school-teacher, who

falls in love with a young woman named r.1anya Shelestova,
marries her, and then, becoming deeply troubled by the
"poshlost'ff of his wife's family's life and of the growing
banality of his own existence, .yearns for escape.
As a counterpoint to the theme of Nikitin's growing
-love, Chekhov introduces descriptions of nature in the spring:

Be~epa -- BpeMH, Hor~a

H CHpeHb rraxHyT TaH CH~bHO,
~TO,
Ha~eTCH,
BOS~YX
H caMH ~epeBbH CTHHyT OT
CBoero sarraxa.
BH~ ce~bMoH ~ac
6e~aH aHa~HH

3.n;eCb
C~HlliHO

y~e

rrax~o

aHa~HeH

H CHpeHbIO, He

Uy3HHH, HO 3aTO rrax~o rro~eM,

PO~b
H rrllieHH~a, rrH~a~H
HapHa~H rpa~H. Ky.n;a HH B3r~HHellib,

6H~O

3e~eHe~H

CYC~HHH,

Bes.n;e

He

Mo~o.n;He

3e~eHO,

(VIII, 350)

Nikitin surveys these scenes during a horseback ride with

Manya and some other young people.

The sight of trees

bursting into leaf and of the sky crimson from the sunset
increases Nikitin's feelings of happiness and well-being.
Even while he is at school, Nikitin gazes out the window,

85
entranced by the cloudless blue sky, the gardens, and the
azure distance., Nikitin is completely enchanted by nature,
which enhances the joy of his

roman~e

with Manya.

After his

proposal of marriage and her acceptance, Nikitin and Manya

run out into the garden, where even the flowers seem to share
. in the romance:

CBeTHn nonyMecnu, H Ha
TpaBY, cnaoo oCBemeHHo~
3THM rronyMecR~eM, TRHynHcb gOHHHe TroHbTIaHY
H HpHCY, TO~HO rrpOCR, ~To6y H C HHMH
OObRCHHnHCb B nrooBH. (VIII, 361)
~eMne

Ha~

li3

ca~OM

TeMHo~

During his marriage ceremony, Nikitin reflects on the events

of the past mont,hs and recalls the lovely weather,
Hal<

HapO~HO,

Bce

neTO

6b!na

~HBHO

IIHOTopaR,

xopOllIa; 11 (VIII, 364)

For several months Nikitin is ecstatically happy with

Manya and his marriage.

Then, as spring approaches, he feels

a vague discontentment with his life, but at first is unable

to define the cause.

This new tone in Nikitin's attitude is

heralded in the text by a reference to the weather:

3HMa oyna BRnaR, oe3 MOp030B, C MOHpYM

CHerOM; rro~ XpemeHbe, HarrpHMep, BCro HO~b
BeTep ~anOOHO Byn rrooceHHeMy, H TeHno C
HpblllI, (VIII, 368)

After this gloomy nature description, Chekhov begins to

86
introduce suggestions that something is disturbing Nikitin.
There is one more reference to nature in the story which is
found in the concluding paragraph:

Ha~llHa~aCb

II

BeCHa TaRaR %e

rrpOlli~OM

pa~OCTH

ro~y,

II

~y~ecHaR,

o6ema~a

RaR

Te xe

(VIII, 371)

The following sentence and, in fact, the rest of the paragraph

reveal NikitinVs assessment of his situation and his desire
to escape it.

The reference to spring and its joys strikes

an ironic note, for NikitinVs new perspective makes him

realize that there will be no future joy if he continues to
live as he has lived in recent months.
____

yaH~~ge

And from his new

__ point he reassesses the "joys" of the previous spring

and understands that he has been living under an illusion:

OH

~TO ll~~ro3llR llCCRR~a H yxe

HOBaR, HepBHaR, C03HaTe~bHaR
Xll3Hb, ROTopaR He B ~a~y C rrORoeM II ~H~HHM
c~aCTbeM. (VIII, 371)
~ora~@Ba~CR,

Ha~llHa~aCb

Chekhov makes interesting use of animal imagery in

"Dchitel' slovesnosti".

In the opening pages of the story

Nikitin, the Shelestov daughters, and another friend, Pol-

yansky, are going riding.

Manya is an expert horsewoman who

fusses about the finer points of horsemanship.

Like her

87
father, she is passionate about horses, whereas Nikitin's
only concern is that Manya might prefer some officer who is
a better horseman than he e

Nikitin has no genuine interest

in the sporte
After their ride the young people return to the
Shelestovs'.

Nikitin enjoys visiting this family; he likes

their home, the garden, evening tea, even.the word flkhamstvo fl ,

which Manya's father frequently uses.

The only things that

upset Nikitin are the great number of dogs and cats kept by
the family, and the large cage of pigeons on the terrace e
There are so many dogs at the Shelestovs' that Nikitin knows
only two by name: Mushka and Some

Mushka is a nasty dog that

constantly growls at Nikitin, while Som is a benign, stupid

animal which lays its snout on Nikitin's knees and repeatedly
slavers on his clothes.

When Manya's older sister Vera pro-

nounces her fir's" with particular emphasis, Mushka seems to

answer her:

11 3TO ppp BbIXO,Z1)-IJIO y Hee Tal<

BHywHTeJIbHO, qTO Mywl<a H8npeMeHHO
OTBeqaJIa et! H3-no,n: cTyJIa: ppp
Hra-Hra-Hra:;;' (VIII, 353)

Chapter 1 concludes with Nikitin, who has now proposed to

. Manya, dreaming of the Shelestovs' horses e

88
There are further references to animals in the second
chapter of the storyo

After a few months of bliss, Nikitin

is annoyed by something:

TOAbHO O~HO HHor~a BonHOBaHO H cep~HAO

ero H, HasanOCb, Memano eMy 6~Th BITOHHe
c~aCTnHB~M:
3TO HOlliHH H co6aHH, HOTOP~X
OH IIonY~H.JI B IIpH~aHoe.
(VIII, )68)

The house smells like a menagerie and it is impossible to

get rid of this odour.

The cats and dogs fight, while Mushka

eats ten times a day and continues to growl at Nikitin.

One

night, when Nikitin comes home from his club, he finds a cat
sleeping on his bed and Mushka growling beneath ito

There is

an obvious parallel between the physical encroachment of

Manya's cats and dogs upon Nikitin's household, and the
grmving "poshlost H of his life.
In Chapter 1 Chekhov's use of animal imagery suggests
the quality of life led by the Shelestovs.

The animals

symbolize the banality and stupidity of the family's existence.

Perhaps the fact that Nikitin is annoyed by the

animals and even dreams about them indicates that, subconsciously, he recognizes the "poshlost'" of the Shelestov
household.

However, at this stage, he is too enchanted by his

romance with Manya and the remarkably beautiful weather to

come to grips with the situation and distinguish reality from
illusion.

Eventually Nikitin does reevaluate the past.

The

expression of his growing disillusionment and subsequent

self~knowledge

begins with a complaint about Manya's cats and

dogs and finally culminates in an honest appraisal of his

situation:

~r~e H, 60xe MO~?t MeHH OHPyxaeT

rromnOCTb H rrownOCTb. CHyqHUe, H~q
TOXHUe nID~H, rOpWOqHH co cMeTaHo~,
HHyBWHHbl C MonOHOM, TapaHaHbI, rnyIIble
xeH~HHU HeT HHqerO CTpaWHee, OCHOpoHTenbHee, TOCHnHBee rrornnOCTH. BexaTb
OTCID~a, 6exaTb cerO~HH xe, HHaqe H
co~~y C yMa!
(VIII, 372)

-.. In-fJUchitel'- slovesnosti" . Chekhov- uses -nature to_create

mood and to support and develop the story's theme.
development of the

p~ot

is aided by nature passages.

The
The

descriptions of nature found near the beginning of Chapter 1

accompany Nikitin's growing love for Manya.

Nature even

seems to want to share in the excitement and romance of the

marriage proposal.

Later, in Chapter 2J a nature passage

accompanies Nikitin's grOWing dissatisfaction and disillusionment with his marriage.

Finally, in the last paragraph

of Chapter 2, a reference to nature echoes the beginning of

90
the story and brings the events of the tale full circle.
The animal imagery found in "Uchitel t slovesnosti"
is largely responsible for characterizing the Shelestovs.
References to the numerous cats and dogs owned by the family
are amusing and yet danming, for they embody the Shelestovs t
banality.

After Nikitints marriage, this same banality

envelopes his life, too.

The final reference to Manya's'

cat, which is now sleeping on Nikitints bed, portends for

him a life characterized by flposhlosttff. In "Uchitel t slovesnosti" nature, in the form of scenic description and animal
imagery, is instrumental in creating the storyts nuances of
mood.
In April, 1896)Russkava
mezoninom".

my~~

published "Dom s

The story is narrated by a landscape artist

whose romance with a young girl named Zhenya is ended by her

older sister, Lida.

Because of ideological differences

between herself and the artist, Lida decides that Zhenya must
not remain under his influence and sends her away.
The storyts theme of love is enhanced by nature descriptions which are romantic and, in this respect, complement
the personality of the artist.

The first nature passage

occurs near the beginning of the story and describes an estate

which the

arti~t

comes upon but has never seen before.

The

description creates a melancholy mood, perhaps a presentiment

of the outcome of the story:

91
ITOTOM H rrOBepHY~ Ha ~~HHHYID ~HrrOBYID
H TyT TOJKe 3arrycTeHHe H CTapOCTh;
npOill~OrO~HHR JIHCTBa rreqa~hHO ille~eCTeJIa no~
HOraMH H B cyMepHax Me}l{~y ~epeBhHMH npHTaJIHCh
TeHH. HanpaBo, E. CTapoM eppyHTOBOM ca~y,
HeXOTH, CJIa6HM rOJIOCOM neJIa HEOJIra, ~OJIJKHO
6HTh, Toxe cTapylliKa. (IX, 87)

a~JIeID.

It seems to the artist that he has seen this very same land'M
scape at some time in his childhood o

He continues to visit

the estate, falls in love with Zhenya, and the surnmer days
pass happily and leisurely.

Then one August evening, after

a spirited discussion with Lida which angers her, the artist

sees Zhenya for the last timeo

He does not realize that

this will be their final meeting, but nature seems to prophesy

it:
-

._~-.-----~.

--

...

---

_._-

----

-- - -

-~-

BHJIa rpycTHaH aBrycToBcKaR HOqh, -rpycTHaH, nOToMy, qTO yJKe naXJIO oceHhID;
nOKpHTaH 6arpoBHM 06~aKoM, BOCXO~H~a
JIyHa H eJIe-e~e OCEemaJIa ~opory H no
CTopOHaM ee TeMHHe 03HMHe rrO~R. qacTo
na~aJIH 3Be3~Ho llieHH lliJIa co MHO~ PH~OM
no ~opore H CTapaJIaCh He rJIH~eTh Ha
He60, QT06H He BH~eTh na~aIDmHX 3Ee3~,
KOTopHe nOqeMy-To nyraJIH ee. (IX, 100)

The artist suddenly feels the desire to paint again, but only
for Zhenya since, because of her, he no longer feels
ly alone and useless in the midst of nature.

hopeless~

But when he

returns to the estate the following day, he learns that Zhenya

and her mother have left to visit an aunt in another province.

92
As the artist leaves the estate for the last time, he retraces
the path which first brought him to the house, but in reverse.
The final nature description echoes the first one, but there
are some differences:

Ha TOM

rro~e,

r~e

RpH~a~H neperre~a,

TOr~a

uBe~a

PO~b

6PO~H~H
~Ollia~HG HOe~r~eHa

Tenepb

ROpOBU H crryTaHHue
RpRO 3e~eHe~a 03HMb

XO~MaX

(IX,

1~2)

As he gazes at this scene, the artist's mood becomes sober

and prosaic, and he is once more as bored with life as he
was before meeting Zhenya.
In "Dom s mezoninom" there is an interplay of two
contrasting moods.
__ ...

___ . __ ._

. _om

Whil~
_

the story describes the growing love

._. __

of the artist for Zhenya, Chekhov's nature passages hint at

an unhappy outcome of the romance.

The underlying melancholy

atmosphere of the natural description merges with the theme

of the artist's love at the end of the story, when he learns
that his relationship with Zhenya has ended.
The delicate, subdued nature descriptions in this
story help to create a low-key, romantic mood.

But Chekhov's

emphasis on the melancholy aspects of nature suggests early in

the narrative that the happiness of Zhenya and the artist is
evanescent.

93

In April, 1897,

Ru~ska~_~ysl~published

Chekhov 9s

"Ml1Zhiki tt , a trl1thful, compassionate account of the life of

the Russian peasant at that time.

The story centres on the

impoverished Chiki1 9deyev family who live in the village of

Zhl1kovo.

It begins with the arrival in Zhukovo of Nikolay,

one of the Chikil'deyevs' sons, from Moscow, with his wife

Ol'ga and his daughter Sasha.
he is i l l

~nd

Nikolay returns home because

no longer able to work in the

c~ty.

The life of the peasants as described in this story

is bleak.
~mong

There is illness, poverty, drunkenness, dishonesty

officials, and stealing.

Religion is apprehended as a

ritual to be performed rather than as an adherence to Christian

precepts of morality.

Among these grim pictures of peasant

life the author introduces occasional nature descriptions,

- ---- -.--- often- r:;'-onl -6ft ga 's

point of view.

After she surveys the lovely

meadows and the winding river with its beautiful, wooded

banks, Ol'ga marvels at the expanse stretching away before her.
Together

Olt~a

and Nikolay sit on the edge of a ravine and

watch a dazzling sunset.

The beauty of nature is a striking

contrast to the village and to the overcrowded hovel which

they are now forced to call home.
Ol9ga likes the open country and enjoys walking to
church with her

sister~in~law

Martya in the early morning.

During one such excursion, the two women come upon Fyokla,

94

another

sister-in~law,

bathing in the rivero

At this point

Chekhov employs a narrative technique which he used freely

in "Step'u. He creates the impression that the scene is being
viewed by Ol'ga and Mar'ya, but at the same time he introduces
some philosophical thought which is his own and which echoes
the principal theme of the story.

After a brief description

of the glorious morning, Chekhov comments:

HaHoe npeHpaCHoe yTpO! H, BepOHTHO, HaHaH

6~Ha O~ npeHpaCHaH ~H3Hb Ha ~TOM CBeTe,
eCHH ObI He Hy~,n;a, y~acHaH, 6e3bICxo,n;HaH
Hy~,n;a, OT HbTOPO~ HHr~e He cnpH~ellibCH!
CTOHHO Tenepb TOHbHO orHHHyTbCH Ha
,n;epeBHro, HaH ~HBO BcnOMHHHOCb Bce B~epalliHee
-- H o~apoBaHHe c~aCTbH, HaHoe ~y,n;HHOCh
HpyroM, HC'Ie3HO B O,n;HO MrHOBeHHe. (IX, 197)

--~--Even~-f-or--the-children

in the Chiki1 9 deyev household,

nature provides only a temporary escape.

While Sasha and

Mot'ka, Mar'ya's daughter, are watching their grandmother's

kitchen garden to make sure that a neighbour's geese do not
get in they are attracted by a lush, grassy slope:

OT HaMHH ,n;o caMoro HH3a llieH POBH~~,

OTHorH~ CHaT, nOHp~T~~ MHrHoro 3eHeHoro
TpaBO~, HOTOpyro XOTeHOCb PYHO~ nOTporaTb
HHH nOHe~aTb Ha He~. (IX, 202)

95
Having become bored with standing in the garden doing nothing,
the children find amusement in rolling down the slope.
Suddenly they hear their grandmotherts familiar, shrill voice
screaming because the geese have gotten into the cabbages.
The realities of a difficult life spoil even the childrents
-brief enjoyment of nature.
After a severe winter during which Nikolay dies, spring
finally arrives.

Once again nature is inexpressibly beautiful

but indifferent to the hardships and sorrows of the peasants t

lives.

The joyful sights and sounds of the land in spring

make 01 tga passionately yearn to go m'my.

When the ground has

dried and the "leather has become warm, 01 tga and Sasha set off
on foot for Moscow.

Nature, which is bright and cheerful,

heartens the two as they begin their journey. When nature

rejoices in "Muzhiki" , it points up the cruelty and difficulty
of life in the village.

Its beauty can offer only a temporary

solace to an existence characterized by hardship and sorrow.

As in "Student" nature in "Muzhiki tl is shown to be
indifferent to man and his life.

While thrilling man with its

beauty, it also cruelly reminds him of how wonderful life

could be were it not for the devastating realities of poverty,
illness, and ignorance.

Nature exists and functions according

to its own laws and remains unconcerned with man.

Whereas

Ivan in tlStudent ti finds comfort and inspiration in a concept of

96
immortality which offsets his sense of despair before nature,
no one among the impoverished villagers in f1Muzhiki tl is so
fortunate.

At best, nature reminds these people that there is

beauty in life, however fugitive or unattainable it may seem.

On November 16, 1897, the story "V rodnom uglu"

ViaS

first published in Russkiye="yedornoE.ati. In this story Chekhov

returns to a description of the steppe.

Vera Ivanovna Kardina,

the heroj.ne of the tale, comes from Moscow to live permanently

on her steppe estate.

After a short time she becomes bored

and frustrated and hastily enters into

marri~ge

with a doctor

from the ne ighbouring iron works, i.n the hope that thi.s move
will give her life a definite direction.

ttv
_~

__ ~

J'~.:ge

rodnom uglu" begins with a description of a car-

ricl.e_ oyer the steppe.

The portrayal of the countryside

in the opening paragraph is reminiscent of the nature descrip-

tions in "Step'''; there are references to the steppe's

immensity, boundlessness, monotony, and to its tranquilizing
effect, which makes one reluctant to think of the past.
These sentiments, which are the author's, lead to a discussion
of how Vera regards the steppe:

H Bepa To~e rro~~a~aCb 06aHHHID CTerrH,

0 rrpOill~OM H ~YMa~a TO~bRO 0 TOM, RaR
3~eCb rrpOCTopHO, RaR cBo6o~HO; eM, 3AOPOBOM,
yMHOH, RpacHBoH, MO~O~OM -- eM 6H~O TO~bRO
23 ro~a -- He~OCTaBa~o ~o CHX rrop B ~H3HH
HMeHHO TO~~RO 3Toro rrpocTopa H cBo6o~H.

3a6H~a

(IX, 233)

97
As Vera looks at the steppe with its blossoming flowers and
strange birds, and smells the fragrance emanating from the
warmed earth, she feels serene.
On the day after she arrives, Vera spends a long time
walking around the house, the garden, and the fields.

IJooking

into the distance, she thinks of the new life which began
with her arrival on the estate, and tries -to grasp what is in
store for her:

3TOT rrpOCTOp, STO HpaCHBoe CTIOHoMCTBHe

CTeTIH rOBopH~H eM, ~TO c~aCTne 0~H3HO H
y}[e TIO]{aJlyH eCTn; (IX, 235)

While the steppe seems to assure Vera of happiness, it also

~h

__ h

---Irrgliterls--hei';-by~-maKing-ller-TeeI-lnsig-n1ficant:

H B TO }[e -BpeMH HeCHOH~aeMaH paBHHHa, O~HO

oopaSHaH, oes o~HoM }KHBOM ~YlliH, rryra~a ee,
H MHHyTaMH 6~~o HCHO, ~TO 3TO CTIOHOHHOe
se~eHoe ~y~oBHme TIOr~OTHT ee }[HSHn, oopaTHT
B HH~T o. (IX, 235)

Vera is troubled because she cannot understand how all that

she has done

-~

her travels, her extensive reading, her

mastery of three languages

-~

can end in her settling down

on a remote steppe farm with no real purpose in life.

As the

days pass, Vera becomes convinced that she will not be happy

living here, and yet she is

u~able

to formulate any plan

which will improve her situation:

f,:....poMa,I(HbI8 rrpOCTpaHCTEa, ,I(JIHHHbI8 3HMbI,

. o,I(Hoo6pa3He H CKYKa IH3HH BC8JIHIDT
C03HaHHe 6ecrrOMomHOCTH, rrOJIOIeHHe
KaIeTCH 6e3Ha,I(eIH~M, H HH~ero He xo~eTCR
,I(eJIaTb, -- Bce 6eCnOJIe3HO. (IX, 242)

Vera's discontent and exasperation finally result in an

emotional outburst directed at a maid who works in the house.
-Frightened and shocked at her behaviour toward the girl, Vera
runs out of the house and hides in a nearby ravine. While she
is there reflecting on what has just happened, dull, uninteresting Dr. Neshchapov from the iron works rides by, and
----Vera-decides to marry him in order to begin a new life.
Later that day Vera again goes out into the fields alone.

She

thinks about what the future will be like, decides that she
will live as other women of her circle do, accept all that has
happened as her destiny, and want nothing better:

_ Be,I(h JIyqllie~ H He 6~BaeT! ITpeKpacHaH

rrpHpO,I(a, rpe3~, MY3~Ka rOBopHT O,I(HO, a
,I(e~CTBHTeJIbHaH IH3Hb ,I(pyroe. OqeBH,I(HO,
CqaCTbe H rrpaB,I(a cymecTByIDT r,I(e-TO BHe
IH3HH Ha,I(o He IHTb, Ha,I(O CJIHTbCH B
O,I(HO C GTO~ POCKOlliHO~ CTen)ID, 6e3rpaHHqHO~
H paBHO,I(YlliHO~, KaK Be~HOCTb, C ee ~EeTaMH,
Ky~praHaMH H ,I(aJIbID, H Tor,I(a 6y,I(eT XOpOlliO
(IX, 243)

99
Vera feels helpless and

overw~elmed

before the expanse,

monotony, and dreariness of the land, and eventually she

succumbs to the intimidation she feels before nature by
marrying Neshchapov6

In moving to the iron works, however, she

accepts a way of life which epitomizes the dreariness that she

feels in the steppe6

The "quiet green monster" does, in the

end, swallow up Vera's life6

Like Ragin in "Palata N0 6 6", Vera feels helpless and
insignificant before nature.

Because its vastness

disorien~

tates her, she grasps at any solution that will give her life
a new perspective.

She feels driven to devote herself to somB

interest which will totally engross her and, so, giVB her life
some sort of significance 6

Nature in "V rodnom uglu" is por-

_______y;rcWed _?::::;__i-nq~ff_~r.~rrL and overwhelming. The happiness vlhich

it seems to promise Vera does not materialize 6 Chekhov's
depiction of nature in this story echoes a remark which the
author had made in a letter written to Grigorovich and dated
February 5, 1888:

B :{ arra,.n:Hott ]EBporre JIIMI1 rrOrI10aIOT OTToro,

TeCHO 11 ,.n:YlliHO, Y Hac ~e OTToro,
rrpOCTopHO ITpocTopa TaH MHoro,
~TO MaJIeHhHOMY ~eJIOBe~HY HeT
C11JI
0pI1eHTI1pOBaThcFI6.6 (XIV, 34)
~TO

~11Th

~TO ~I1Th

100

On December 21, 1897,

Rus~kiye v~Q.mostl.

the story entitled uNa podvode n

published

The story recounts a day

in the life of Mar'ya Vasil'yevna, a country school-teacher,

\'V'ho is making her usual trip to the town for her salary.
On a lovely April morning, Mar'ya sets out in her cart with
old Semyon driving.

Spring is just beginning and the weather

is very beautiful, but Mar'ya does not appear to be impressed

by nature:

3I1Ma 3JIa.Fl, TeMHa.Fl, .n;JII1HHa.Fl 6hIJIa e~e TaH He.n;aBHO,

BeCHa rrpI1lliJIa B.n;pyr,. HO .n;JIH MaphI1 BaCI1JIheBHW,
HOTopaH CM.n;eJIa Terreph B TeJIere,He rrpe.n;CTaBJIHJII1
HM~ero
HOBoro H I1HTepeCHoro HH TerrJIO, HI1
1'OMHHe, cor~THe .n;wxaHHeM BeCHwrrpospa~Hwe
JIeca, HM ~epHHe CTaI1, JIeTaBillI1e B rrOJIe Ha.n;
rpOMa.n;HHMM JIyxaMM, rrOXOXI1MM Ha osepa, HI1 31'0
He60, ~y.n;Hoe, 6es.n;OHHoe, Hy.n;a, HaXeTC.Fl, Yllien
6H C 1'aHOID pa.n;OC1'hID. (IX, 244)

It is all the same to her whether it is spring or autumn or

winter.

She is interested only in reaching her destination

as quickly as possible.

Mar'ya's indifference to nature is

a result of the difficult conditions of a country schoolteacher's existence, which have reduced her life to a series
of hardships and struggles to which beauty and happiness are
alien.

Mar'ya's situation is inimical to a contemplation of

nature's beauty,.

She is constantly preoccupied with eking

out a living on the meagre salary she receives, with fruitless

101

attempts to improve conditions at the school, with frustration

at the dishonesty and ignorance of school officials, and with
the general hopelessness of the situation.

Mar'ya has

g~adu

ally grown indifferent to beauty because it simply does not

exist in her life.
water~filled

As she rides along she notices only the

ruts in the road and the mud.

There are several

references in the story to the mud which makes driving

dif'ficult.
Just before Mar'ya reaches the town of Vyazov'ye, her
cart must wait at a train crossing.

At one of the windows

of the passing train, she glimpses a "'lOman who reminds her

of her dead mother.

This episode causes Mar'ya to remember

-her childhood in Moscow, her family and their home there.

The memory fills her with joy and, for a moment, her surroundings acquire new meaning for her:

Ha3a~OCh eM, ~TO H Ha He6e, H

B OHHaXj H Ha ~epeBhHx CBeTHTCH
ee c~acThe, ee TOp:llCeCTBO. (IX, 251)

BCro~y

Then her dream is abruptly dispelled by the driver's comment

--"BacHHheBHa,

ca~Hchl"(IX,

252) -- and everything is as it

was before.
Becaus~

Mar'ya is constantly preoccupied and burdened

by an endless list of wearisome problems, she does not readily

102

respond to the beauty of

natu~e.

Chekhov's concentration on

the detail of the muddy roa.d serves to reveal something about

Mar'ya's frame of mind.

Although she is a teacher, Mar'ya's

duties seem to have little relation to those of an educator.

In fact, she has no time for idealistic thoughts of bringing
enlightenment to the people, for her chief concern is one of
survival.

Her trip to town is made for the practical purpose

of collecting her salary.

For this reason she notices only

the muddy road which, because of its poor condition, might

present an obstacle.

The radiance of a spring-morning has no

place in her life; indeed, it would seem strange if this

harried woman did notice the natural beauty around her.

As

in "IJIuzhiki tl nature represents the beauty which Mar'ya

gl~mpses

only infrequently because the conditions of her life

have made her generally oblivious to i'ts existence.

In December, lS99, the first story to be completed
during Chekhov's Yalta period was published in
!ysl' and entitled tlDama s sobachkoytf.

~~

The story tells of

how Dmitry Gurov, a married man and the father of tl,'10, meets
and has a love affair with a young woman named Anna Sergeyevna,
who is married to an official whom she considers a flunkey.
Gurov and Anna meet in Yalta and, at the end of summer, they
part and return' home. Gurov later realizes that, for the first
time in his life, he is profoundly, if hopelessly, in love.

103
The couple begin to meet agcin and the story ends with the
suggestion that the most difficult and most complicated part
of their 1"ela tions hi p is yet to come.
The setting in which the liaison begins is a romantic
one.

Chekhov describes the sea which is lilac in colour and

which has a golden band of moonlight shining on it.

One night

Gurov and Anna sit in silence, looking down at the sea which
is mysterious and beautiful.

As they listen, the sea seems to

speak of the peace, the eternal sleep which awaits everyone,

and it leaves an impression of indifference to

man~

Terreph myMHT H 6y~eT myMeTh Tau

xe paBHo~ymHo H r~yxo, Ror~a Hac He
6y~eT. (IX, 363)

But Chekhov suggests that in nature's constancy and complete

indifference to man '.s life there lies

3allor Hamero Be~Horo crraceHHR,

HerrpepHBHoro ~BHxeHHR XH3HH Ha 3eM~e
Herrpep~IBHoro
COBepmeHCTBa. (IX, 363)
'-"

While the natural cycle remains unconcerned with man, life on

earth ceaselessly progresses toward perfection.

This hopeful

view is similar to the one expressed in "Student".

Enchanted by nature, Gurov reflects that everything

104
in the world is beautiful

exc~pt

what man thinks or does

when he allows himself to forget the higher aims of life and

his own human dignity.

In the midst of these surroundings,

which inspire both fear and hope, and which reveal to him
_something about life, Gurov develops a deep love for Anna.
At the story's beginning Gurov views himself as an
experienced man who lives the same way everyone else in his
circle lives.

Unhappy with his wife and bored and uncomfor-

table in the company of other men, Gurov seeks diversion in

casual affairs with any woman who interests him.

This affair

with Anna at Yalta begins like any other affair, but in the
presence of enchanting, beautiful nature, something changes.
Nature teaches Gurov something and, so, profoundly affects
~

th~_Qourse

of his life.
\

After his trip to Yalta, Gurov senses more and more

acutely the discrepancy between what he has learned and the
kind of life he and his acquaintances lead in Moscow.
nature in

tlP~luytl

Whereas

destroys something in Ryabovich by

divesting him of his illusions, it has the opposite effect

upon Gurov.

When nature teaches Gurov that he must neither

forget man's higher aims nor sully human dignity, it gives

him a new perspective on his life and a new understanding
of how he must 'live in the future.

Although the new life

envisioned by Gurov will be difficult to attain, he will be

sustained by the lesson which he has learned from nature.

105

The optimistic view of man's life in relation to

nature is reiterated in the story entitled !tV ovrage". This
tale first appeared in a new magazine called

~~

in

January, 1900, and centres on the activities of a provincial

merchant family named Tsybukin.
The natural setting for the village in which the
events of the story occur emphasizes the evil character of
the family.

Ukleyevo is situated in a ravine where the

atmosphere is unhealthy because of frequent fogs and the mud

is thick even during the summer.

The river is rank and the

meadows are contaminated by refuse from the cotton plants

located nearby.

The village is never free from fever.

Ukleyevo has only two decent brick houses; the

--- ------Tsybuki11"famlly-o-ccu:p"ies--

one- of

-- - --- -

- ----

them.

--

The head of the family,

Grigory, owns a grocery store, but this is only for appearances'

sake.

He actually deals in anything that comes to hand,

in anything that will make money, honestly or dishonestly.

His elder son Anisim works away from horne, while the younger
Stepan has little to do with the family business because he
is unwell.

Stepan's wife Aksin'ya, a shrewd, dishonest woman,

bustles about the shop from early in the morning until late
at night.

Grigory's second wife, Varvara, tends the house and

takes great joy in performing acts of charity among the same

peasants whom her husband is cheating.
Into this ugly environment comes Lipa, an attractive

106

peasant girl who is chosen to become Anisim's wife.

If the

Tsybukins represent the evil elements of their society, then

Lipa symbolizes all that is pure and good.

After she has

lived with the Tsybukins for a while, Lipa asks her mother,
Praskov'ya, why she married her into this family. Both mother
and daughter are aware of the evil in the Tsybukin household,
yet something consoles them:

Ho, Ha3a~oeb HM, HTO-TO CMOTpHT C B~COT~

Hs6a, H3 eHHeB~, oTTy~a, r~e 3Be3~~,
BH~HT Bee, ~TO npOHCXO~HT B YH~eeBe,
CTOpO~HT.
M HaH HH Be~HRO 3~o,Bce ~e
HOl-ib THxa H npeHpaCHa,H Bce ~e B 60KbeM
MHpe npaB~a eeTh H 6y~eT, TaHaH ~e THxaH
H npeHpaCHaH, H Bee Ha 3eM~e TO~hHO ~~eT,
~To6~ e~HTheH c npaB~OH, HaH ~YHH~H eBeT
C~HBaeTCH C HOqhID. (IX, 400)

Chekhov here uses a nature description to convey the idea

that good will triumph in the end.

He suggests that in

time good will become one with everything on the earth just
as naturally as moonlight blends with the night.

Lipa and

Praskov'ya sense this as they observe nature, which is calm

and beautiful, and their thoughts comfort them.

As in

"Student" and "Dama s sobachkoy", Chekhov suggests that life

on earth is

co~tinual1y

evolving toward perfection.

Lipa is never comfortable living among the Tsybukins,

and the family member whom she fears the most is Aksin'ya.

107

She refers to the strange, greenish gleam in her eyes, which

remind her of the eyes of a sheep.

Chekhov uses animal

imagery in his portrayal of Aksin'ya several times in the

story.

She is twice compared to a snake, and the dress which

she wears on Lipa's wedding day is green and yellow.

~ombines

Chekhov

these two details in a striking image that emphasizes

the sinister element which dominates Aksin'ya's character:

H B 3THX HeMHraIDmHX rxa3ax, H B

ManeHbRO~

ronOBe Ha .n;nHHHoH m.ee, H B ee CTpOHHOCTH

o~no ~TO-TO 3MeHHoe; 3eneHaH, C ~eXTOH
rpy.n;bID, C ynHoRoH, OHa rnH.n;ena, RaR BeCHOH
H3 Mono.n;on pxm rnH.n;HT Ha rrpoxo~ero ra.n;IDRa,
B~THHYBmHCb H rro.n;HHB ronoBy. (IX, 390)

-----When--Lipa has a son , -Grigory decides to 't1ill Butyokino,

the place where Aksin'ya has set up a brickyard, to the child.
In a fit of anger and jealousy, Aksin'ya scalds the child with
boiling water. Lipa takes her son to the district hospital,
where he dies.

Before returning to Ukleyevo that night,

\

Lipa sits down by a pond, cradling her dead baby in her arms.
All around her the night is vibrant with sound; all of nature
seems to be rejoicing:

HaRon OHX myM! Ha3anocb, ~TO Bce 3TH TBapH

HpHqaXH H rreXH HapO~HO, ~To6H HHRTO He crran
B 3TOT BeceHHHn Beqep, ~To6H Bce, .n;a~e cep.n;HTHe
JIHryllII<H, .n;OPO~HJIH H HaCnay.{.n;aXHCb Ra~.n;oH
MHHyTOH: Be.n;b ~H3Hb .n;aeTCH TonbRO O.n;HH pa31
(IX, 4.07)

108

In the midst of all this joy, of this assertion of the life

force, which is completely indifferent to her sorrow, Lipa
feels a desolate loneliness.

Nature offers Lipa no consolation.

In her grief she yearns for human companionship and is

comforted only when she meets some travellers on the road.
At the end of the tale, Aksi.n 'ya is in complete charge
of her father-in-law's business, and it is rumoured in the
village that Grigory has been turned out of his own house .
In a poignant scene which concludes the story, Lipa and her
mother, with whom she is now living, meet Grigory on the
street and, realizing that he is hungry, give the old man
some of their own food to eat.

This scene reinforces the point

made by the author in his earlier nature passage.

The final

paragraph of the story depicts a peaceful day's end and Lipa

and Praskov'ya walking home together, crossing themselves.
In these two women, and especially in Lipa, the force of good
is dominant and triumphant.

It is through such people,

Chekhov says, that good will merge with everything on the

earth, ".

RaI<

JIyHHbIH

CBeT

CJB-lEaeT C.FI

C HO'ihIO.

II

(IX, 400)

Again Chekhov portrays nature as self-sufficient and

unconcerned with human life.
nature

emphasi~es

At a time of great sorrow,

to Lipa all that she has lost.

And yet

Lipa finds the strength to bear her torment because she senses
in the natural world around her the promise of a better future.

109

The final story to be examined in the present chapter

is entitled f1Arkhiyerey".

This tale was first published in

April, 1902, in Zhurnal dlya vsekh.

The story recounts the

last few days in the life of a bishop who dies during the
joyous Easter season.

'The narrative is interspersed with

brief nature descriptions which are important to thematic

development.
At the beginning of the story Bishop Pyotr, although
unwell, is officiating at an evening church service.

After

the service, during the drive back to the monastery vlhere he

lives, the bishop looks at and thinks about his natural
surroundings:
_ .. __

.__

u~__~~

.-~~-

~---

_..

-.-

~._

BenHe CTeHM, 6enHe RpeCTH Ha MorMnax,

6enHe6epe3H M ~epHHe 7eHH, M ~aneRaH
JIyHa Ha He6e, CTOHBlUaH HaH pa3 Ha~
MOHaCTMpeM, Ra3anOCh Terreph, ~HnH cBoe~
oc060~ ~M3HhID, HerroHHTHo~, HO onM3RO~
~enOBeRY

eo

Bce 6Hno RpyroM rrpHBeTnHBO,

Mono~o, TaR onH3RO, Bce -- H ~epeBhH, H
He60, H ~a~e nyHa, H xOTenOCh ~YMaTh,
~TO TaR 6y~eT Bcer~a.
(IX, 417)

The Bishop feels that although nature lives its own inscrutable life, there is a closeness betvmen it and man.

But

later, as his condition worsens, the Bishop is disturbed by

the moonlight, perhaps because he is becoming more conscious

110

of its immortality and, at the same time, more aware of his

own mortality.

As his illness develops, the Bishop reminisces

about his life and feels troubled:

H6 Bce Ie He Bce 6Hno RCHO, qerO-TO

eme He~OCTaBano, He XOTenOCb yMMpaTb; M
Bce e~e uasanOCb, qTO Hei y Hero qerO-TO
caMoro Ba}l{HOrO, (IX, 425)

His anguish is similar to that suffered by the Professor in

nSkuchnaya istoriya" who, when he learns that his life is
nearly over, has similar thoughts:

M CHonbHO

6H R HM ~YMan M
pas6pacHBanMcb MOH MHcnH,

__, ._.

~_32_l:!9L_qIP_1?

~~.<?_~!

Hy~a
~nR

6H HM
MeHR

_~~.::'I_9-~_~~XhH~_Tq_~~ 0 -T 0
(VII, 279)

rJIaBHOrO, qerO-TO O'-1eH1:> BaJKHOro.

But, unlike the Professor, the Bishop, when he is near death,

feels comforted by the fact that he will now be free from the
responsibilities which had always burdened him.
In the remaining few paragraphs of the story, Chekhov
describes how life continues after the Bishop's death and
how the Bishop is eventually forgotten.

The implication in

the last scenes is that, although the individual man is mortal,

human life continually reiterates itself, thus assuring man
of a kind of immortality.
~

For this reason man should not

111

feel intimidated before the immortality of nature.

The conclusion drawn at the end of the previous
. chapter was obviously valid; nature does remain an important
element in the works of Chekhov's maturity.

There are no

startling changes in the author's methods of presenting

nature, although the later stories do show a more discriminating use of the technique of animation.

His use of animal

imagery as an element of characterization is not a new

development, for other examples may be found in earlier
stories such as "Tina" and "Step'".

As in earlier stories

Chekhov concentrates on a few details to create a mood.

In

"Chornyy monakh", for example, the moonlit nocturnal scenes

establish the perfect backdrop for the story's supernatural
theme. In "Dama s sobachkoy" Chekhov concentrates on details
of the sea and the sky to create an atmosphere of enchantment
in which Gurov experiences a revelation which will deeply
affect his life.
The nature passages in the stories discussed in the
present chapter provide settings in which the plots unfold,
but they also continue to underscore theme, to contribute to
characterization, and to be involved in the author's
s~phical

commentary.

philo~

In none of the stories which I have

examined in the present chapter does nature description appear

l12

only as an artist's impression

o~

the world around him.

The concept of nature in this group of stories under,goes further evolution.

In these works Chekhov' s characters

grapple with the problems which arise when man is confronted

by immortal nature.

While nature continues to puzzle, awe,

and even frighten. man, a new dimensio.n of man's attit.ude to

nature is revealed.

In stories such as UStudent", "Dama s

sobachkoy", and tiArkhiyerey", man finds a way of coping with

nature v.,rhen he views himself as a. part of the advancement
toward perfection of life on earth.

This is not a religious

concept of immortality; rather it is a concept which centres

on man, his endeavours, and his progress.
Having completed a detailed analysis of nature in
a selection of Chekhov's short stories, I should nm"! like to
summarize the conclusions which I have drawn as a result of
my study.

CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION

In my examination of a selection of Chekhov's short

stories, I have made many specific observations on the element of nature, and on how the author dealt with this gspect
of his art in each of these stories.

have used quotations

to illustrate the form in which nature appears, and what its

relationship is to the work as a whole.

The three previous

chapters contain much detailed ihformation, all of which was

chosen in order to provide as varied an analysis as possible.
At this point I should like to synthesize this mass of spe=
cific information, and to offer a more general statement 1'e=
garding the principles of literary composition to which
Chekhov adhered in his treatment of nature, and the philosophy of na ture as it is revealed in th.e stories.
Chekhov had at his disposal the usu.al Ii terary devices
used to create vivid sketches of nature.

His frequent use

" ear I"leI' wor k s was, as N"l

" t s ou t , 10
" t"lon ln
o f anlma
1 sson pOln

in keeping with the style of landscape painting favoured at

the time.

The evoca ti ve use of sounds and smells, the sug-

gestive use of colour words, and the partial comparison of

different things through imagery were techniques which had
all been used by fiction writers to describe nature before

10Nilsson, pp. 46-47.

113

114
Chekhov used them.

But the usual devices, coupled with

Chekhov's. own guiding principles of li terary composition,

produced unusual natu.re passages which enhanced the

expres~

sion of the author's view of reality.

Chekhov has been spoken of as a revolutionary in
prose.

During Chekhov's lifetime Gor'ky, after reading

"Dama s sobachkoy", commented:

,l(a.lIbI1le Bac -- mUCTo He MOJKeT l1.n;TM no

ce~ CTe3e, Hl1RTO He MOJKeT nMcaTb TaR
npoCTo 0 TaRl1X npoCTNX Bemax, RaR
BN GTO yMeeTe. ITocRe caMoro He3Ha~11~
TeRbHoro BaI1lero paccRa3a -- Bce RaJKeTCR rpy6HM, Harrl1CaHHNM He nepoM, a TO~
HO nOReHOM. 11

Chekhov himself was aware early in his career that he was

creating new paths in Russian li terature.

In a letter to

Lazarev-Gruzinsky dated October 20, 1888, Chekhov wrote:

Bee MHOID Hanl1CaHHoe 3a6y.n;eTcR ~epe3

5--10 ~eT; HO nyTl1, MHOID npOROJKeHHNe,
6y.n;YT ~eRH 11 HeBpe.n;l1MN -- B GTOM MOH
e.n;l1HCTBeHHaH 3aCRyra. (XIV, 201)

---11M Gor'ky, Sobraniy~. pochlnenix, Moskva: Gosudarstvennoye izdatel'stvo khudozhestvennoy literatury, 1949~1956,
XXVIII, 113.

115
Perhaps the most striking characteristic of the authorO s principles of nature description is his emphasis on
simplici ty.

Chekhovo s art is one of understatement.

How

much more pathos his restraint in nature portrayal injects

into the situation described in "Yeger''', than is the case
in TurgenevO s "Svidaniye".

Chekhov's economy of language

and his impatience with the prevailing style of scenic description resulted in stories of taut construction.

There

is no excessive piling up of details which the reader must

trouble to assimilate.

Bates, when making an Observation

regarding Chelchov's treatment of nature, says that there is

no fuss, no grandiose staying of the

scene, no elaborate signalling that the
reader is about to be the victim of a description of nature. 12

In a letter to LeontOyev-Shcheglov dated January 22, 1888,

Chekhov warned the writer about including too much detail:

OORblliHX, TORCTNX rrpoH3Be~eHHM CBOH ~eRH,

TpeoyromHe HcrrORHeHHR caMoro TmaTeRbHoro,

12H E. Bates, The Modern Short StoU. A Critical Surve.iY. London and New Yorlc: '1.1 Nelson and Sons, Ltd., 1942,
p. 81.

116

HesaBHCHMO OT oamero BTIe~aT~eHMR. B

Ma~eHhHHX ~e paCCHasax ~Y~llie He AOCHasaTb, ~eM TIepeCHasaTb, (XIV,

22)

Although Chekhov's nature descriptions are characterized

by simplicity, they are never superficial. l ) This is the
point which often evaded the author' s critics and contempora1"ies, who mistook Chekhovs literary compactness for oversimplification and superficiality.

Details which they

insisted were trivial and irrelevant. had been chosen by

Chekhov to express, as briefly and concisely as possible,
the essence of a scene.

In nature description, Chekhov pre-

ferred to evoke a vivid picture of a landscape through his

choice of a few details rather than by minutely describing
everything in that landscape.

This brings to mind

Grigoro~

vich's remark regarding nature description in"Agaf1ya".

Grigorovich1s comment is similar to some advice on nature
description which Chekhov gave his brother Aleksandr in
1886:

ff OTIMCaHHRX TIPMPOAN HaAo XBaTaTbCR sa

Me~HHe ~aCTHOCTH, rpyTITIHpyR HX TaHHM
o6pasoM, ~To6N TIO TIpO~TeHHH, HorAa
saHpoeIllb r~asa, AaBa~aCb HapTHHa. (XIII,

215)

------------,--1)-1 bJ.'d 0, p. 82

117

There is no ela bora te description in Chekhov's short stories D

no- purple passagesc

Splendid natural phenomena are often

depicted through homely images: in "Agaf' ya ", as hEls

n embers

suggest clouds covering a sunset; the striking of a match

evokes lightning in "Step'''; also in "Step'" the hollow
sound of thunder is compared to someone walking barefoot on
an iron roof8
Judging from the stories which I examined in Chapter
ITand the advice and comments offered by Chekhov during the
mid and late 1880's, the authorOs principles of nature descrip=
tion which would guide him throughout his career were already
establishedc

In regard to specific

descri~tive

techniques

-such as impressionism, imagery, use of sound, etco, the only

technique which the author eventually grew to avoid was
animationo

When advising his brother Aleksandr on

th(~

sub-

ject of describing na ture, Chekhov. in a letter written in

1886, recommended the comparison of nature with human actions:

ITpHpo~a HB~HeTCH o~YllieBxeHHO~t

eCXH TH
He 6pe3ryellib yrroTpeoXHTh cpaBHeHHH
HBxeHH~ ee C ~e~OBe~ [eCRHM~~e~cTBHHMH

T.

~.

(XIII, 21.5)

T'his technique of animating nature was used frequently by

118

Chekhov during the earlier part of his literary activitYe

However, years later, in 1899, he chided Gorky for using
this method to excess:

BH HacToH~MH rreH3a~MCT. TO~bHO

qaCTOe yrro~o6~eHMe qe~OBeHY (aHTporroMopM3M) , Hor~a Mope ~HlliMT, He60 r~H~MT,
CTerrh He~MTCH, rrpMpo~a rnerrqeT, rOBopMT,
rpycTMT M T. rr. -- TaHMe yrro~o6~eHMff
~e~aroT
orrMcaHMH HeCHO~bHO O~HOTOHHHMM,
HHor~a
c~a~aBHMH,
MHor~a HeHcHHMM;
HpaCoqHOCTb H BHpa3HTe~bHoCTb B onHcaHHHX
rrpMpO~H ~ocTHraIDTCH
TO~bHO npoCToTOH,
taHMMM rrpocTHMH pa3aMH, HaH 3aill~o
CO~HI~e), .(i.cTa./IO TeMrW::-7 , {_~nOllIeJI ~OJ.{~b >7
H T. ~. (XVIII, 11-12)

While ChekhoV' never completely stopped using animation,

there is, in the stories of the mature period, a more discriminating use of this technique.

In "Strakh n

for example,

the animation used in the description of the fog is sui ted

to a discussion in the story of the supernatural and the
incomprehensibility of life.

In "Gusev", "Y rodnom uglu"

and "Y ovrage", Chelchov uses animation in portraying nature

as a great, living organism. The author's eventual disapproval.
of the excessive use of animation is perhaps the most distinct
change in descriptive technique.

The emphasis on simplicity

and veracity in description never diminished.

119

The extent to which L3ture is present varies according

to the requirements of each story.
"Na1im

lO

Because the theme of

is a light, humorous one, nature content is reduced

to a minimum.

In stories which deal with more serious

sUbjects, there is more nature content.

"Step'" is, of

course, in a category of its own; nature is the central

feature around which the plot, characters and i.deological
commentary are arranged.
In di.scussing Chekhov's natural imagery, Chukovsk;y
emphasizes that the strength of a great writer does not lie
in any separate images, no matter how good they are, but rather
in their interaction, in their internal link with the theme
of the work in which these images are found.

T~l1is

sta tement

is'equally valid when applied to Chekhov's nature description in general.

While Chekhov's nature passages are an

artistic expression of the author's pe,r-ception of natv,re,

they also have a thematic role.

This is true not only of

extended nature descriptions, but also of single natural

details p such as the smell of jasmine in "Tina
repeated several times in the work.
I have

examined~ with

1/ t

which are

The nature passages which

the exception of those in "Palata No.

provide a background, a physical setting, an accompaniment

to the' action, although nature is not always present to the

6"~

120
same degree.

In each of these tales there is a link between

the story's theme and the nature elemente For example, many
of Chekhov's characters regard nature as something mysterious
and unfathomable.

Therefore this quality of mystery is

stressed in the authorts landscapes, in stories such as

"Verochlea", "Strakh", and "Dama s sobachkoy".

SoLl.nd is some.;..'

times used to imbue a scene with an uncanny, strange atmosphere.

In "Schast'ye". for example, a strange sound echoes over the
quiet steppe:

B THXOM

B03~yxe,
paOCyrraHCh no CTenH,
npOHeCCH 3ByR. 4TO-TO B~a~H rp03HO
aXHyJIO, y~apH~oCh 0 HaMeHh E rr06eJKa~0
no CTenE, H3,n;aBaH:<.(Tax! TaxI Tax! TaxI

(VI, 166)
Reference to bird sounct 14 achieves the same effect in "V
ovrage", in the scene near the story's conclusion, in which
Lipa is cradling her "dead baby while nature, oblivious to
her sorrow, rejoices.
Chekhov's landscapes, in contrast to most of his
characters, are sketched in vibrant, often brilliant colours.
This again conveys" nature's strangeness and the difference
between himself and nature which man senses.
.-.

..

Chekhov boldly

....

l4Chelehov must have been fascinated by this elusive

bird, for he refers to it in letters written in May, 1888,
at Sumy to Leont'yev-Shcheglov (XIV, 10)-104) and to
Suvorin (XIV, 115-120).

121

paints nature in a full range of colours which, as he remarks

in the concluding sentence of "Gusev"," Ha \1eJIOBeQeCHOM
.FI3

blHe

Has BaTh TPY,I(HO."

In keeping wi th Chekhov's

(VII, 312)

concept of arti.stic economy, the element of nature as it

appears in the stories has a greater function than that of
only providing a suitable physical settinge

While nature

does serve as a physical reality, it does not do so exclusively; nature plays a

many~faceted

role in the construction

of the stories.
Nature in Chekhov's stories can create and sustain
a mood and, in so doing, it emphasizes a certain themeo

Even

in as early a story as "0sen'yu", pUblished in 1883, the

natural background is evocative of atmosphere, in this case an
atmosphere of pathos

Admittedly, the use of autumnal

setting and the reference to spring do tend toward sentirnentality, for such parallels are commonplace.

However, the

point I want to stress is that, as far back as 1883, Chekhov

recognized the valLl.e of using a description of nature for the
creation of atmosphere and as a psychological image.

And

he continued to use nature for these purposes throughout

his career, as I have indicated wi thin the context of each
story discussed in previous chapters.
Because nature in Chekhov's works is closely linked
to theme, it can contribute to the development of a

s~ory

122

almost as if it were another human character taking

part~

It sometimes elicits from a character philosophical comments

about the human situation and man's relationship to nature.
As early as 1887 Chel\:hov, in "Verochka", has one of his
characters, Ognev, explain how nature makes him feel that his
life suffers from some insufficiency.

In "Potseluy", also

published in 1887, Ryabovich contemplates nature and finds

it and life incomprehensible.

In later stories such as

"Stepl", "Gusev", ItStrakh", and ltV ovrage lt , nature continues

to play this role of catalyst-or teacher, revealing to man
basic truths about his existence in relation to nature.
In Chapter III of the present work I touched on the
problem of narration in ItStep' ", and I pointed out that
occasionally Yegorus hka' s view of nature and Chekhov's
comments regarding nature merged almost imperceptibly.

The

use of this narrati V8 technique is not limited only to "Step'''.

In the scene in ItMuzhiki" which finds Ol'ga by the river
with her sister"in-law Mar'ya, the author remarks that life
would be glorious were it not for poverty.

Chelchov begins

the paragraph with a reference to the scene by the river

being enjoyed by the two

women~

Then he interjects his own

remark, after which he ends the paragraph with a reminder that

the scene is being viewed by Ol'ga and. Mar 8 ya.

In "Dama s

sobachkoy" Chekhov employs the technique again in much the

123
same way in the scene at Oreanda.

The author first establishes

that Gurov is viewing the sea with Anna.

Then Chekhov inserts

a comment regarding the constancy and indifference of nature

and the ceaseless progress of human life toward perfection.
Chekhov uses this method of narration so skilfully and unobtrusively that the reader must take care to distinguish what
is expressed directly by the author from what he expresses
through his characters.
In an article discussing the relationship between
nature and Chekhov's characters, and the Chekhovian character's
concept of nature, Rossbacher concludes:

The Chekhovian character is thirsting for full

life against the background of his inabili ty to
attain it. Nature's fullness symbolizes to
him his own incompleteness and makes him once
more aware of the hopelessness of a reality
which r~ is free to reject, but cannot overcome. ).

Rossbacher paints a pessimistic picture of how Chekhov's

characters apprehend the reality of nature.

While his con-

clusion is valid for some of the stories, my own observations

indicate that it is an over-generalization.

Some of Chekhov's

15 pt Rossbacher, "Nature and the Quest for Meaning in

Chekhov's Stories", ]'he Russian RELyiew, XXIV (October r 1965),

392.

124

stories do portray nature as aloof, indifferent and incomprehensible.

In "Potseluy" Ryabovich returns to a scene of

former bliss to realize that his happiness was only a dream,

an illusion.
or life.

As he gazes at nature, he sees no sense in it

Kovrin in "Chornyy monakh" undergoes a similar

experience.

In the case of Kovrin, Ryabovich and Vera (in

"V rodnom uglu"), nature at first seems to promise a happy

future which does not come aboute

When Chekhov's characters

finally distinguish reality from illusion B they also see

nature in a different light; it then seems aloof and senseless. This philosophy is expressed in "Step'" as well, when
the a uthor speaks of how ma n' s life

seem~ insignificant

in

the context of eternal nature, and of how, when he tries to

--- -----understaTtd--nature ,--its silence ,--cons tancy and indifference
frustrate his attempt.

The story I1Gusev" points out the

absurdity of man's life and nature's indifferenc@. The title

of a story pUblished in 1892, "Strakh

l1
,

fear of the incomprehensibility of life.

represents man's
The narrator of

this story begins to experience this fear when he sees rooks

flying in the sky and finds that he cannot understand Why
they are flying,

As the incomprehensibility 'of nature over-

whelms him, life seems frightening and unintelligible.

"Palata No. 6

11

In

Dr. Ragin struggles with the problem of man's

125

relationship to na ture and arrives at a pessimistic philosophy

of lifeo
It would be inaccurate, however, to conclude that
the concept of nature as revealed by such stories is the
definitive concept.

In several stories published

~uring

the

1890's, other more heartening aspects of nature are revealed.

In "Student" Ivan at first does not see al"lY meani.ng in life,
as he thinks about the indifference of nature and the unchanging conditions of man's life.'

At the end of the story,

however, he recognizes that everything is part of an

unin~

terrupted chain which never ends and which thus gives

ficance to life.

signi~

In "lVIuzhiki", published in 1897, Ol'ga and

Mar'ya, for a brief but joyful moment, sense in the happiness

----------of ,-the -natura 1- world-a round-them -the--idea-tha t -man's--life,

too, could be glori.ous, if it were not for wants

In "Dama

s sobachkoy" Chekhov. clearly states that nature's indifference

and constancy need not be feared by man.

In the story

en~

titled "V ovrage", natu.re reveals, as it did to Gurov, an

ideal, for Lipa and Praskov'ya sense, when looking at the sky
one night after a discussion about the evil Tsybukins, that
one day goodness will triumph on the earth.

Finally, in

"Arkhiyerey", human life is shown to be immortal just as

nature is immortal.

In these stories there is a decidedly

optimistic view of nature.

126

Perhaps the best way to illustrate the relationship of

nature to the other elements of ChekhoY' s short story is to
compare the story to a piece of polyphonie music.

Just as

each melody or voice in the piece of polyphonic music is

individual and yet in harmony with all the other melodies or
voices, so it is with the element of nature in Ohe1<:hov's
stories.

Nature plays an individual role, in the sense that

passages devoted to describing it represent artistic impressions of Chekhov' s perception of nature

8.

nd ca n be a pprecia ted

as such, irrespective of whatever else they contribu.te to the

work.

However, at the same time, nature harmonizes with

and contributes to the expression of other elements in the

story such as theme, mood and character.
---It--is--obvioLlsly-with-goodreason -that-BtrekhoV' expressed disappointment that only Grigorovich noticed his
description of the :first snow in "pripadok".

Besides

failing to comprehend the thematic significance of his nature

imagery, his readers were passing unimpressed over the descriptive passages which, by their beauty alone, should
have elicited an appreciative response.

How much more

rewarding their reading of the story would have been had they
responded to the beauty of the natural details and realized
that the nature content contributed significantly to the
story's theme.

For it will be plain from the present study

127
that Chelchovis short stories cannot be adequately understood
or appreciated without an understanding of the role played

in them by the element of naturee

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Chekhov fA. p. E01~!1Q..y'""'''obranj.~_.2.Q.9j1irlJDJl..Y_.i......p:l~em. v

dvadtsati tomakh. Moskva: Gosudarstvennoye iZdate1'stvo
khudozhestvennoy 1iteratury, 1944-19.51.
Gor' ky, M. So bran~Q.Q.hi neJ11.Y. v trid tsa ti tomakho Moskva:
GosUdarstvennoye izdate1'stvo khudozhestvennoy 1iteratury,
19}-J-9-1956.
Turgenev, I.S. Po1noye sobr.~pi..y..._so...9hin~Dl.Y._~_lll.sen\. v
dvadtsati vos'mi tomakh. Moskva-Leningrad: Izdate1'stvo
akademii nauk SSSR, 1960-1968.

Chr~n~~~cpl T~ble

1883 : Osen'yu
1885: Nalim
Yeger'
Gore
1886: Toska
Panikhida
Agaf'ya
Tina
1887 : Verochka
Schast rye
Potse1uy
1888 : Step'
Pripadok
1890: Gusev
1892 : Palata No. 6
Strakh

128

of Works

Discusse~

129

1894: Chornyy monakh

Student
Uehitel ' slovesnosti
1896: Dom s mezoninom
1897: Muz,hiki
V rodnom uglu
Na podvode
1899: Dama s sobaehkoy
1900: V ovrage
1902: Arkhiyerey

Seeondar,;y

So~

Bel r ehikov, N.Fo ChekhovskJxp.~ornik. Chekhovi Xego sreda.

Leningrad: Akademiya, 1930.
Berdnikov, GoP., ed. A.P. Chekhov:.. JdeXnYxe i 1Yor~.KJ. .y e
iskanj.ya. Moskva~,Leningrad: Gos uq.arstvennoye izdatel' stvo
khudozhestvennoy 1iteratury, 1961.
Brewster, De, and A. Burrell. Modern Fictione Freeport: Booles
for Libraries Press, 1934e
Bruford, WoH. Anton Chekhov. London: Bowes and Bowes, 1957.
Canaday, John. Mainstreams of Modern Art .. New York: Simon
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