We have seen, over and over again, how little Chekhov cared for actors. In this case, he gives himself license to kill one – or at least to let him die. (I figure that’s not a spoiler, given the title of the story.)
Not only does Chekhov kill off old Shtchiptsov, the actor, but he gives him a few last hours on earth to rue a life misspent on the stage. Shtchiptsov, having had a fight with the troupe’s manager, lies in his room, having realized that he should never have left his home town. He longs to return to Vyazma. He resolves to do it, even though he will have to walk all the way, having no money.
His fellow actors try to buck him up; offering various cures for whatever is ailing him. And then he dies.
READ THIS? READ THAT!
Amazingly enough, this is not the only Chekhov story that is very explicitly and singlemindedly about an actor facing death and regretting his decision to be an actor. I have to assume that Chekhov must have met an old actor at some point who bemoaned his fate. There can’t be any other explanation, can there? (To be clear, I haven’t found any evidence of this in his biography or his letters.) But come on: This is the exact same story as “In the Graveyard,” and written the same year!
A Chekhov Circus 