In 1883, Chekhov published 35 stories. In 1884, the number slipped to 19, a decline presumably related to the fact that he graduated from medical school this year and began practicing as a doctor. In 1885 the pace picked up, with 37 stories published. And in 1886 the floodgates opened, with 63 stories hitting the press. And 1887 was almost as impressive, with 53 published stories.
But in 1888, Chekhov published less than 10 titles. By now, his name was fairly widely known and he was being asked to write for larger, more serious publications. And his jokey entertainments were being set aside for more serious fare.
“Serious,” however, does not begin to describe the deadly, dreadful nature of this story, the tale of poor Varka, an ill-used, overworked servant girl trying to calm a colicky baby. She’s only 13 herself, and she is exhausted. Her awful, clueless employers treat her roughly. It’s painful to read; it’s a true indictment of Russia’s social inequity. The ending is shocking and horrible, and I won’t give it away, though it would be a kindness, to spare you from reading it.
I suppose as a piece of social criticism this is a great work; it’s wretched to read, though. Its sheer grimness keeps it from being truly readable. “Oliver Twist,” which shocked English society to reform its orphanages, had a wealth of interesting and entertaining characters, and even some amusing moments, even if the life of the orphans and the runaways was bitter and cruel. “Sleepy,” however, is just a brief blast of despair. I suppose that many readers, rather than taking up a call for reform, simply looked away.
A side note: “Sleepy” is an atrocious title for this story. Definitely in the running as the worst of all his terrible titles. The word “sleepy” has a host of connotations, and not one of them is in any way relevant to the events in this story.
READ THIS? READ THAT!
Chekhov could be utterly cold in his writing. In this story and many others, his portrayal of human misery is straightforward and almost unbearable. For my money, the two most devastating of all of his tales are “Sleepy” and “The Dependents.” They’re both powerful and painfully sad. I’m not sure they are more than suffering porn, but they are moving nevertheless.
A Chekhov Circus 