A Chekhov Circus

A guide to the short stories of Anton Chekhov

Tag: The Steppe

  • No. 36 – In Exile

    This is a perfectly horrible, extremely well-wrought story. A young Tatar has been banished to the steppe. There he meets old Semyon, who has been eking out a living in exile for years, and whose philosophy of life is that it is better to be miserable, because you’ll get used to it. If you grow…

  • No. 35 – The Cossack

    Driving home from Easter services with his wife, a young farmer chances upon a man in a field–a Cossack–who has fallen ill. The farmer’s minor attempt to help the man is blocked by his wife, and they return home, leaving the Cossack alone in the field. This small failure of charity is an omen of…

  • No. 41 – At Home

    You could easily fill a book of Chekhov stories set on the steppe, the dreary, endless grasslands that stretch across much of Russia. “At Home” is the tale of a young woman, Vera, who after receiving an education in a distant city, returns to her family’s decaying property on the steppe. There’s nothing for her…