A Chekhov Circus

A guide to the short stories of Anton Chekhov

Category: Story Length

  • No. 47 – A Daughter of Albion

    Now and again, Chekhov mystifies me, and I am left uncertain as to what I have just read. Is it satire? Is it melodrama?  What in the world is going on here? “A Daughter of Albion” is one of those stories. It was published in 1883, during Chekhov’s fertile “entertainments” period, when many of his…

  • No. 58 – The Head of the Family

    This is a brief, searing portrait of an ill-tempered father and his cowering family. Doubtless it was inspired by Chekhov’s own ill-tempered father, Pavel. Chekhov did not write from life, exactly, and the circumstances of the Zhilin family in this story are different from that of the Chekhovs, but the character of the father in…

  • No. 46 – In the Graveyard

    As early as 1884, Chekhov was busy hating on actors, or at least finding their profession miserable. It’s really a wonder to me that he ever wanted to be a playwright. This story, about a miserable and basically pathetic little actor at the end of his life, was published well before Chekhov was deeply involved…

  • No. 48 – A Slander

    This is a classic, and well done. It’s the story of a man who, during his daughter’s wedding, ducks into the kitchen to check on the preparation of the meal, and smacks his lips over the fish. A guest comes in, hears him smacking his lips, and jokes that he must have been kissing the…

  • No. 49 – A Transgression

    This is a minor tale, but it’s well done. In fact, it’s among the best twist endings Chekhov ever delivered. The story is extremely short and the whole point is the twist at the end, so if you don’t want a spoiler, just skip the next two paragraphs. “A Transgression” is the story of a…

  • No. 50 – On Official Duty

    Chekhov wrote quite a few stories set in waystations of one sort or another – mean little inns, railway stations, etc. – where folk of different classes and backgrounds are forced to cohabit with one another, if only for a night or two. “On the Road,” “The Post,” “Easter Eve,” “The Witch”…. really it’s a…

  • No. 51 – Gusev

    Dipping into his medical bag of tricks, and possibly drawing on his own experience of tuberculosis, Chekhov sketches a brief tale of a dying soldier shipping home on board a steamer. The soldier, Gusev, shares an uncomfortable space with several other men, all deathly ill; one, Pavel, blithely tells Gusev that he (Gusev) will die…

  • No. 53 – Sleepy

    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…

  • No. 57 – A Gentleman Friend

    Sigh. Another day, another story flawed by Chekhov’s antisemitism.  “A Gentleman Friend” concerns a woman – I suppose she would have been called a “fallen woman” back in the day – who approaches a former lover for money.  The man, Finkel, is a grotesque. I was going to type up the description of him but…

  • No. 59 – An Artist’s Story

    An indolent artist courts a rich young woman against the wishes of her older sister.