This story is just about perfect.
The party of the title is a name-day celebration for Pyotr, a handsome, self-satisfied, possibly philandering, and definitely pompous aristocrat of less-than significant means. His wife, Olya, is pregnant and miserable, not only because of Pyotr’s bloviating and flirting, but also because she is painfully encased in a corset to minimize the visibility of her pregnancy.
The descriptions of family estate are sumptuous: the woods and fields, the orchards and apiary, the river winding past it all, with an island in the middle for picnics.
Pyotr and Olya are indelible characters – trapped in the web of their class and their money, yearning for some kind of escape but unable to resist the comforts of home and wealth and social acceptance.
Somehow Chekhov manages to twist the tale at the very end, landing in a place you would not expect, and yet it is fitting and psychologically believable.
For a modern day (2022) American reader (me, anyway!), a narrative like this has to clear some psychological hurdles.
First, there is Pyotr and Olya’s wealth. It is a challenge, in this day and age, to feel much sympathy for the relatively minor interpersonal problems of very rich people. Our society is so deeply unequal today, and the rich are so fundamentally untrammeled, I just tend not to want to read fictional representations of the idle rich. I don’t give much of a damn about them and their petty issues!
Somehow, though, the portrayal of Pyotr and Olya and their world drew me in.
A second issue is that much of the tension in this story revolves around the byzantine social hierarchy of 19th century Russia–the opaque role of government positions assumed by the rich, the subtle gradations of wealth that consumed so many people’s time and attention, the “property qualifications” that granted the right to live one place or another. Beyond that, political disagreements among the characters drive part of the narrative.
Again, though, the story flows steadily through and around these bizarre social structures. It doesn’t require too much effort while reading to understand that the characters are working within a complex (and static) system.
Finally, some readers might be put off by the utter sincerity of this story. They might find the bitter fighting between Pyotr and Olga to be overwrought (albeit not overwritten). This is an unironic portrait of life, and neither the faults nor the desires of the characters are held up for laughter.
Without giving away anything of the plot (of which there is not much, honestly speaking), I will simply say that when things get real for Pyotr and Olya, it’s a wrenching experience for the reader as well.
It’s an absolutely fantastic story.
READ THIS? READ THAT!
Much of “The Party” revolves around Olya’s perception of Pyotr as grasping for a higher social standing – one afforded by her wealth and background. Another story that explores the uncomfortable gradations of wealth is “A Trivial Incident.”
A Chekhov Circus 