Back again, Quark, sorry to keep you waiting so long. I went back to this post, since I had not fully answered it and I will add on your next one to the bottom. I like to be thorough.;)
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I hadn't thought about those parallels with other stories, but I do think they fit. The Ethan Frome reference is probably the closest; the snow is just as oppressive in that story. Both are related to death, too. It's been a while since I've "The Dead", but I think that one may be a bit more of a reach. The snow, in that one, has a slightly different connotation, right? It has more to do with memory and grief, or something like that.
Yes, I agree - the Ethan Frome similarity is closer, especially the way this story opens with the snow piling up on the horse and Iona. I recall in Ethan Frome one of the first times we are presented with his character is in a similiar situation where the snow is emphasised and where he seems oblivious to it covering himself as he sits on his sledge or wagon. I will see if I can look up a passage. This image so struck me and so it came back to me when reading these first lines of "Misery". I wonder if Wharton got the idea for that scene from the Chekhov story. All authors steal ideas, that is nothing uncommon. I think the snow at the end of "The Dead" is like a blanket over the graves of the dead and the frozen waste of death. Yes, therefore I do feel it has a little different connotaion and meaning but perhaps this snow also in "Misery" represents a kind of covering over death in a shell of a person. I believe there was a line in the story to indicate this about Iona. He is technically living but is he really living? He is as the dead, quite cut off from the world of the living; he tries to connect but no one will connect with him or listen to his story but his mare. I will try and look up the exact line or phrase.
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Yeah, in "The Trousseau" it's the house that takes up extra meaning. The narrator feels an overwhelming sadness every time he even passes it. "The Trousseau" is an alright story, but I think it takes a little too long to get to the end. You can kind of see where it's going from the beginning, and the action just too slow for me.
I printed out "The Trousseau" last night and I read it again and I found it just seems to hit me in the core of my being. I don't quite know why but the ending is so significant and I feel Chekhov masterfully writes just enough - not too much and not too little. The last lines are perfect. It may be predictable but then again I felt "Misery' was predictable and I notice that Chekhov in both split up the story in segments. I think there were 3 in "Misery" and 3 in "The Trousseau". I liked the imagery in the story of TT...the photos on the wall, one part of the glass cracked, the patterns strewn on the floor, the smell of camphor, the yellowed family portraits....Chekhov shows his adeptness at this type of limited and yet effective detailing. I really think we should discuss this story one of these months. I don't know what you are talking about when you say "it takes a little too long to get to the end" Quark do you have the time span of a 2 yr old? :lol: I found the story flew right by, and I am a super slow reader - when I printed it it only took up only 3 1/2 pages. Come on Quark, bend a little for me.....:nod: I am becoming a real Chekhov devotee. ;), thanks to you. I will keep with this thread - promise. We have tons of stories and tons of time to discuss them. I am enthusiated now.
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The visual aids help. It particularly helps with Chekhov as I've mentioned. He's notoriously sparing with the details. Talking about these details, he once wrote, "If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go of." This strategy does keep the story on track, I guess. Yet, it does so at the expense of our imagination of the scene. A picture or two can help a bit.
Yes, I like them very much. I think I will hunt for some more online. They make this site a bit more interesting and lively. I am a very visual person being an artist. I like to see the way the time period looked.
Onto your next post:
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His horse is definitely more receptive to his story than his passengers. Partly this comes from the horse's subservient position, but it also comes from something deeper. The horse suffers from it's own sadness as well. In that first section is a reflection on the mare's past:
I like the way Chekhov makes the horse part of the characters; in the end he is the only one I really care for asside from poor Iona. I think the way in which Chekhov describes the mare if so tender and also witty and whimsical. Now don't laugh, but the last scene in the stable when Iona is confiding in the horse reminds me of the TV show Mr. Ed. I really love horses and I actually liked that corny show. I recall that the main character, can't recall his name was never listened to by humans and Mr. Ed would listen intensely. I wonder if the producers of that show got their ideas from this Chekhov story. ;) :lol: Boy, I have a wild imagination, don't I???
Well, at anyrate what you say about the horse is so true and Chekhov speaks of him as though he were human or another significant character. I love this aspect of this story. Chekhov believes the horse things and muses. I think the story's ending is very endearing although it is sad. Some people would say that it is easier to talk to animals than to humans. Definitely the horse and Iona both suffer isolation and sadness and so find solace in each other's company. I love horses so I love this story.
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She is probably lost in thought. Anyone who has been torn away from the plough, from the familiar gray landscapes, and cast into this slough, full of monstrous lights, of unceasing uproar and hurrying people, is bound to think.
In this passage he shows in a few lines the confusion of a busy city and the isolation one feels among such a throng and crowd of impersonal humans.
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The separation plunges the horse into the same depressed and contemplative mood the driver is in. Together, they share the same experience of loss, and the snow cover both of them. We see many instances of their like-mindedness in the story:
Yes, definitely so. Good observation.
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It is a long time since Iona and his nag have budged.
The sledge-driver clicks to the horse, cranes his neck like a swan, rises in his seat, and more from habit than necessity brandishes his whip. The mare cranes her neck, too, crooks her stick-like legs, and hesitatingly sets of. . . .
And his little mare, as though she knew his thoughts, falls to trotting.
Good examples - thanks for posting those passages. I like the line that says "cranes his neck like a swan" - the white seems to mimic the snow imagery, as well. Beautiful and poetic writing.
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I suppose sympathy is natural from this arrangement, and Iona takes advantage of it at the end. I don't know if the horse gets something out of the deal. I guess some kindness at times. There is one point where a passenger grabs the whip out of Iona's hand because he's not striking the animal hard enough. Of course, this may say more about the passenger than Iona.
I think that does say more about the passenger and also contrasts to the fact that Iona is gentle with the horse. He need not hit him hard with the whip to communicate effectively with the mare - they are of like minds and feelings. I think the animal would enjoy the attention of his master at the end of the story. In this rudimentary way the horse gets satisfaction from Iona - even the soft sound of his voice telling him the tale of his son's death would sooth the horse.
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Oh, and in case you were wondering. Yes, Chekhov was an animal lover. I think he wrote one story entirely from the perspective of a dog.
That is marvelous to know. Hey, I like the guy already.:D I didn't know this about Chekhov and like learning more about the author personally. I would love to read that story, from the perspective of the dog. Do you know the name of the story or can you find out?
