WOMEN IN CHEKHOV.   Term Paper ID:20790 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Strengths & weaknesses, sociohistorical roles & significance, author's appreciation of females in four stories & one play.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Strengths & weaknesses, sociohistorical roles & significance, author's appreciation of females in four stories & one play. Paper Introduction: This study will discuss the portrayal of women in five works by Anton Chekhov (four stories and one play), including their strengths and weaknesses, and will consider the historical perspective which such portrayals reflect. Specifically, the study will argue that Chekhov, in these five works, expresses a deep affection for women and an appreciation for the special suffering of women in a Russia rife with male-dominated superficiality and falseness. In the story "The Name-Day Party," Chekhov focuses on Olga Mihailovna and her relationship with her husband Pyotr. In Olga we see immediately what editor Yarmolinsky means when he writes of Chekhov's portrayal of females: "What splendid women!" We see also a universal, timeless quality to Chekhov's appreciation of women. His works maintain a continuity of appreciation for the Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Olga endures her husband's flirtations with other females, butChekhov also shows her to be capable of pity toward him for his wearinessand weaknesses. She seeks nothing but tolove, moving from man to man as each is taken from her, and then selflesslygiving her love to a little boy. Gurov, on the other hand, whatever he maythink, is incapable of the profound emotions and awareness of Anna. The Portable Chekhov. [2]Ibid., 8-9. She is disgusted with her new husband, as miserable in herlife as was Olga, having married Alexeich to save herself and her fatherand brothers from poverty: "She did everything her husband told her to do,and was very angry with herself that she had let herself be deceived likethe silliest little fool."[6] Her husband at the governor's ball uses herto get himself a promotion. New York: Penguin, 1977.----------------------- [1]Anton Chekhov, The Portable Chekhov (New York: Penguin, 1977), 21. The eventual auctioning off of the estatesymbolizes this historical evolution. Onceagain, love is practiced more faithfully by a woman than by a man, and onceagain Chekhov places his characters in a socio-historical setting marked bybureaucratic lifelessness, represented in this case by Anna's husband whois either "a member of a Government Board or served on a ZemstvoCouncil."[7] More than any of the other four works, The Cherry Orchard showsChekhov directly focusing on the social and economic declineof the upper class and their suffering in the midst of that decline and therise of the middle class. Her husband is shownto be a patriarchal Conservative with anti-woman prejudices. Again, this is reflected in the firststory of Olga, who is portrayed as a woman who is hemmed in from everydirection by forces which hindered her from living as a free individual: The duty of smiling and talking incessantly, the clatter of the crockery, the stupidity of the servants, the long intervals between courses, and the stays she had put on to conceal her pregnancy from the visitors, wearied her to exhaustion. [5]Ibid., 181. It is clearly a man's world whichChekhov portrays, and the author just as clearly has a profound sympathyfor Olga's frustration and bitterness at this condition. [4]Ibid., 18 . . She is torn by her sin and by the fear that Gurov no longer respectsher after sleeping with him. At the same time, Chekhov was neither aconservative nor a liberal politically, but rejected all "theories" meantto generalize about life, choosing instead to put his faith in the people: His mind was not doctrinal, much less dogmatic. . In fact, however,she is a human being who lives according to love, selflessly looking forthe nearest receptacle in which to pour her saint-like affection. Another sort of heroine is Olenka in "The Darling." If Anya and Olgaare women miserable in the pompous world of men in late 19th centuryRussia, Olenka is a woman destined to love, love, and love again, whateverthe historical era and whatever the circumstances. [9]Ibid., 556.----------------------- 1 . Eschewing ideologies, all of which grew more shrill as social,economic and political conditions deteriorated in a declining nation at theturn of the century, he referred to his era as "`a flabby, sour, dulltime,' and he had, like the rest of his generation, no goals toward whichto lead his readers, no enthusiasm with which to infect them." In the samepassage, we read, however, of his belief that "Man will become better whenyou show him what he is like."[3] Again, these works show Chekhov's viewthat man will improve when you show him how he mistreats women. . [4] Chekhov shows great sympathy and insight for the woman's perspectivein his description of the reflection of Olga on her pregnancy and her baby.On the other hand, Chekhov portrays the men with whom Olga must deal---herhusband and her uncle---as petty egoistic bickerers. And here I am, like achild again!"[8] Lubov shows great love for her family, showing again that Chekhovsees women as capable of more love and truer love than men. This study will discuss the portrayal of women in five works by AntonChekhov (four stories and one play), including their strengths andweaknesses, and will consider the historical perspective which suchportrayals reflect. Lubov symbolizes the tragicwoman honored by Chekhov in these five works. Olga rises tothe defense of the higher education of women not only because she believesin it but also in order "to annoy her husband,"[5] showing Chekhov'sdetermination to portray his heroines not as ideals but as real women,warts and all. She hastouched him deeply with her sincerity and genuine being, but it is actuallyher inaccessibility to him that he loves. [He wrote in a letter:] "My holy of holies is the human body, health, intelligence, talent, inspiration, love and absolute freedom---freedom from violence and falsehood. A reader might see her as an idiot oflove, a woman with no identity of her own and having to lose herself in mento find some sort of being in the world. His works maintain a continuityof appreciation for the humaneness and endurance of women in the face ofsuffering and patriarchal prejudice that would not be out of place in ourown feminist-oriented era. [7]Ibid., 415. Just as clearly, he sympathizes deeplywith the plight of Olga, the only one to see through this superficiality. My poor Varya tries to economize by feeding us just milk soup; in the kitchen the old people get nothing but dried peas to eat, while I squander money thoughtlessly.[9] As much as she feels her own agony at losing the estate and theorchard and her way of life, she suffers even more for the anguish ofothers, expressing profound sorrow especially for Firsthe servant and for her adopted daughter Varya. Once again, in this historicalsetting, Chekhov shows a woman as the cornerstone of reality, even of areality which is coming apart at the seams. Herimagination is alive, she is vulnerable emotionally from moment to moment,and she is incurably honest about everything in her life, including her ownshortcomings: Yesterday I had a lot of money and now my purse is almost empty. [3]Ibid., 26-27. Anya is the young bride of a pompous olderman, Alexeich. She bemoans the changes rushingat her and her estate like a runaway train: "The nursery! Mt darling,lovely room! BibliographyChekhov, Anton. . " He put no stock in classes or institutions, he had no faith in the intelligentsia or the proletariat, or for that matter in the peasantry, although he shared the populists' belief in the essential moral soundness, indeed, superiority, of the masses. In the story "The Name-Day Party," Chekhov focuses on Olga Mihailovnaand her relationship with her husband Pyotr. She calls him "blockhead," useshis money as she wishes, and turns her back on her drunken, abusive fatherand idiotic brothers in their poverty. Specifically, the study will argue that Chekhov, inthese five works, expresses a deep affection for women and an appreciationfor the special suffering of women in a Russia rife with male-dominatedsuperficiality and falseness. . [8]Ibid., 535. She is a womanwhose love of life is still vibrant, despite her circumstances. She is atragic character torn between her passion for a man probably incapable ofsustained love (except for himself) and her commitment to her husband. In "Anna on the Neck," Chekhov draws a more liberated woman, andinstills his tale with more humor, but the historical setting is the samesuperficial and corrupt society. [6]Ibid., 275. Olga tries toremain the good hostess, but she hates the others and herself for all herand their falseness. I slept here when I was a child. This sense of the falseness of her own life and of allaround her apparently leads to a miscarriage and the loss of her child.Chekhov is clearly making a statement about the blind superficiality oflife in all eras, not just his own. It was in the individual that he put his trust.[2] In these stories, we might say Chekhov puts his faith in individualwomen. Anna in "The Lady with the Pet Dog" is the story of an adulteress whointroduces her lover to what he sees as true love for the first time in hislife. She rubs his face in her success and in hisingratiating behavior before His Excellency, the man on whom she had usedher charms to get Alexeich the promotion. Lubov, the owner of the estate, isthe major female character who more than any other recognizes and agonizesover the passing of the old way of life. Were she to have left her husbandfor him, it is very likely that he would have demonstrated the same generalmale superficiality and self-centeredness of most other of Chekhov 's men.The promise to come see him at the end seems more a way for her to avoidscandal than a sign she has turned her back on her conscience. Chekhov in this story clearly enjoyshaving Anya triumph so completely over the petty men in her life. She is far more acutely aware than her husband of the lyingof others, but at the same time she admires the patriarchal authority withwhich he has learned to carry himself. Chekhov's attitude in these works is more sympathetic toward womenthan toward men, perhaps because they suffered more in the largelypatriarchal society than did men. In Olga we see immediatelywhat editor Yarmolinsky means when he writes of Chekhov's portrayal offemales: "What splendid women!"[1] We see also a universal, timelessquality to Chekhov's appreciation of women. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.