Chekhov Short Story Thread

[Quark]

No, Quark, I don't think you are too slow.

I meant Chekhov, not me. It's good to know that I'm moving the conversation well, but I was actually asking what you thought about Chekhov's pacing. Some people might get impatient with this story. I was saying that it works somehow. I'm not completely sure how or why it works, and that's why I wanted to open it up to the floor.

Quark!
Did you get my PM's? I guess you are pretty busy now getting ready for grad school, is it?

I am busy, and it often gets in the way of my posts--as I explained in the L thread. Mostly it just takes away from quality, though, and not quantity. Usually, I can still post in all the discussion I want to. I just have write quickly--and often poorly. When I look over my posts I cringe. I use the word "though" six times in every post, though it never takes away from my point.

I will get to your PM after I post something (with plenty of "thoughs," of course) for the Aeneid thread .

[Dark Muse]

I did not find the story too slow

Right now I find the weather disagreeable with me, so my ablitly to think is lacking, maybe later tonight I shall be able to say something more intelligent.

[Quark]

I did not find the story too slow

I like the build up in this story. It's extremely interesting.

Yeah, even though we haven't reached the main conflict of the story I think the story is still quite engaging at this point. There is so much besides that going on. We have Kovrin's health to think about, his work, the burgeoning relationship with Tania, plus his conversations with Yegor. All of this busies the story, and there really isn't a dull moment. And, while there may not be outright conflict there still is tension. I almost hate to use the words since it's been such a contentious one in the Lawrence thread, but it is the best one for what I'm explaining. It's not sexual tension I'm referring to, but the tension between life and death, isolation and inclusion, intimacy and distance. The life that Kovrin is building in the country which is warm and pleasant we know is threatened by his decreasing health and obsessive qualities. The conflict that breaks out openly can be thought of as the natural extension of this tension. So, while this part of the story may not be as dramatic as Kovrin's death at the end, it still is entertaining.

Right now I find the weather disagreeable with me, so my ablitly to think is lacking, maybe later tonight I shall be able to say something more intelligent.

I sympathize. It's been extraordinarily hot every since June took over. I actually had a CD melt in my car when I left my car windows up. It wasn't tragic since it was only a blank CD, but, still, I thought it was impressive that it actually changed physical states.

I don't think the black monk is a product of his mental illness, but a coping mechanism, if I've made the difference clear, which I don't think I have.

I know you don't entirely agree with the Kovrin-Yegor parallel, but don't you think Kovrin's Black Monk serves the same function as Yegor's love? Yegor says that he must love the work in order for him to succeed. In the passage I just quoted, don't you see the same need in Kovrin.

He sat down on the sofa and clasped his hands round his head. Restraining the unaccountable joy which filled his whole being, he then paced up and down again, and sat down to his work. But the thought that he read in the book did not satisfy him. He wanted something gigantic, unfathomable, stupendous. Towards morning he undressed and reluctantly went to bed: he ought to sleep.

The Black Monk is what gives him the joy he feels he needs. Remember that when he comes back from seeing the ghost he's pretty ecstatic. He then becomes dependent on that joy in this passage. He needs to feel that what he is doing is grand and important in order to feel happy, and the Black Monk's argument gives him that importance. The Black Monk can be seen as a necessary fiction generated by Kovrin to give himself meaning and happiness. You're right that it also helps him forget his illness, but that seems to be an added perk.

Before I quote part four of "The Black Monk" I wanted to post a painting that I had completely forgotten about. It's a rather famous painting and I can't believe I didn't remember about it until now. This is an iconic piece of Romanticist art called Monk by the Sea by Caspar David Friedrich.

In my pursuit of Russian art for the story introductions, I must have overlooked this painting because it was German. It works well with this story, though, and I probably should have used it earlier. It portrays three elements of Kovrin's Black Monk in beautiful color. The foreground with monk shows the barren isolation of the monk and corresponds to Kovrin's own condition toward the end--after he's alienated everyone. The horizon of the painting is all turmoil. The sea and sky dissolve into each other in this mess of blue, like Kovrin's confused, ambiguous state. The sky is peaceful, though. Kovrin has hope for a celestial peace in the Black Monk, too. The painting lumps these three moods of the story together, so I thought I should bring it up.

[Janine]

I meant Chekhov, not me. It's good to know that I'm moving the conversation well, but I was actually asking what you thought about Chekhov's pacing. Some people might get impatient with this story. I was saying that it works somehow. I'm not completely sure how or why it works, and that's why I wanted to open it up to the floor.

Quark, sorry it took me this long to respond to this. I did think you meant your pacing, but I try and be patient in here and wait for you to post more text and comments, if we exhausted the bit you did post; your pacing seems fine to me. I haven't been able to always keep up with everything anyway, but I will try better to do so. You have been so good to me sending me the Chekhov book.That is one way to make me a Chekhov fan for life! Seriously that was very generous; I'm anxious to read all the stories now. I am so far behind on all my reading. I haven't read a novel in ages, well only a few novellas, which I have enjoyed emensely, non-the-less.

I do think Chekhov's own pacing is wonderful and very well done, he has a feeling for it; the way the story builds is great. I think it works well. This is a very well-written, finely crafted story.

I am busy, and it often gets in the way of my posts--as I explained in the L thread. Mostly it just takes away from quality, though, and not quantity. Usually, I can still post in all the discussion I want to. I just have write quickly--and often poorly. When I look over my posts I cringe. I use the word "though" six times in every post, though it never takes away from my point.

Yes, I know the feeling well. We all do have real lives besides computer ones. I do stuff like that all the time - using though too much or some other thing that is not really good writing form. Oh well, we are not writers correct. I think most people on Lit Net do not even bother to edit or proof-read their posts so I would not worry about that 'though'. I get your last statement (joke) using the word 'though' again! You are too funny, Quark!

I will get to your PM after I post something (with plenty of "thoughs," of course) for the Aeneid thread .

If you PM me, feel free to use the word 'though' freely - I can forgive that much.

I love the painting, Quark! Thanks so much for finding it and posting it. You know how I like having illustrations within the text - it livens things up. That painting is very moody and imparts the feelings in this story of his final isolation with the Black Monk.

[Quark]

That painting is beautiful. It fits the story perfectly.

That painting is very moody and imparts the feelings in this story of his final isolation with the Black Monk.

Yes, I thought it was a good visual. The mood of the painting was just right. I'll try to bring more images when I find some. With islandclimber's love of combining reading with musical accompaniment I'm sure we can make this a very multi-media thread.

Where is islandclimber, anyway? We're discussing one of his favorite stories, and he's no where to be found on LitNet. I hope everything is going well with him.

Perhaps it functions as a life coping mechanism for Yegor.

I thought about this, too. Yegor is reaching old age, and his mortality must be a constant worry to him. The garden may be a way of, not so much avoiding death, but overcoming it. If the plant can continue to produce, then Yegor may feel like he still lives through them. This would explain why he needs Tania to cultivate the garden after he dies.

I'm anxious to read all the stories now. I am so far behind on all my reading. I haven't read a novel in ages, well only a few novellas, which I have enjoyed emensely, non-the-less.

Enjoy the book, Janine. The first few stories are a little boring, but after those the book is a great read.

I bought a collection of Chekhov play recently that I want to read. I've been meaning to read his shorter one-act plays for some time.

Oh well, we are not writers correct. I think most people on Lit Net do not even bother to edit or proof-read their posts so I would not worry about that 'though'. I get your last statement (joke) using the word 'though' again! You are too funny, Quark!

Yeah, word selection and sentence construction suffer in my posts when I have to rush them. To others, it comes more naturally, but I have to contemplate a post for a while to find exactly how to phrase it. We all have our verbal shortcomings, I guess. It seems like most writer here have problems with tone. I think that's why the smiles are in such frequent use. Someone will write "I think that's a completely boneheaded argument," then realize how harsh and overstated that is. Quickly, they'll just edit it to look like this: "I think that's a completely boneheaded argument ." See? Now my harsh overstatement is instantly softened by the big grin smily--problem solved. I turn my nose up at this pictoral substitute for proper tone, but I often realize that my "thoughs" are much the same thing.

Anyway, here's more Chekhov:

Yegor Semyonitch and Tanya often quarrelled and said nasty things to each other.

They quarrelled about something that morning. Tanya burst out crying and went to her room. She would not come down to dinner nor to tea. At first Yegor Semyonitch went about looking sulky and dignified, as though to give every one to understand that for him the claims of justice and good order were more important than anything else in the world; but he could not keep it up for long, and soon sank into depression. He walked about the park dejectedly, continually sighing: "Oh, my God! My God!" and at dinner did not eat a morsel. At last, guilty and conscience-stricken, he knocked at the locked door and called timidly:

"Tanya! Tanya!"

And from behind the door came a faint voice, weak with crying but still determined:

"Leave me alone, if you please."

The depression of the master and mistress was reflected in the whole household, even in the labourers working in the garden. Kovrin was absorbed in his interesting work, but at last he, too, felt dreary and uncomfortable. To dissipate the general ill-humour in some way, he made up his mind to intervene, and towards evening he knocked at Tanya's door. He was admitted.

"Fie, fie, for shame!" he began playfully, looking with surprise at Tanya's tear-stained, woebegone face, flushed in patches with crying. "Is it really so serious? Fie, fie!"

"But if you knew how he tortures me!" she said, and floods of scalding tears streamed from her big eyes. "He torments me to death," she went on, wringing her hands. "I said nothing to him . . . nothing . . . I only said that there was no need to keep . . . too many labourers . . . if we could hire them by the day when we wanted them. You know . . . you know the labourers have been doing nothing for a whole week. . . . I . . . I . . . only said that, and he shouted and . . . said . . . a lot of horrible insulting things to me. What for?"

"There, there," said Kovrin, smoothing her hair. "You've quarrelled with each other, you've cried, and that's enough. You must not be angry for long -- that's wrong . . . all the more as he loves you beyond everything."

"He has . . . has spoiled my whole life," Tanya went on, sobbing. "I hear nothing but abuse and . . . insults. He thinks I am of no use in the house. Well! He is right. I shall go away to-morrow; I shall become a telegraph clerk. . . . I don't care. . . ."

"Come, come, come. . . . You mustn't cry, Tanya. You mustn't, dear. . . . You are both hot-tempered and irritable, and you are both to blame. Come along; I will reconcile you."

Kovrin talked affectionately and persuasively, while she went on crying, twitching her shoulders and wringing her hands, as though some terrible misfortune had really befallen her. He felt all the sorrier for her because her grief was not a serious one, yet she suffered extremely. What trivialities were enough to make this little creature miserable for a whole day, perhaps for her whole life! Comforting Tanya, Kovrin thought that, apart from this girl and her father, he might hunt the world over and would not find people who would love him as one of themselves, as one of their kindred. If it had not been for those two he might very likely, having lost his father and mother in early childhood, never to the day of his death have known what was meant by genuine affection and that naïve, uncritical love which is only lavished on very close blood relations; and he felt that the nerves of this weeping, shaking girl responded to his half-sick, overstrained nerves like iron to a magnet. He never could have loved a healthy, strong, rosy-cheeked woman, but pale, weak, unhappy Tanya attracted him.

And he liked stroking her hair and her shoulders, pressing her hand and wiping away her tears. . . . At last she left off crying. She went on for a long time complaining of her father and her hard, insufferable life in that house, entreating Kovrin to put himself in her place; then she began, little by little, smiling, and sighing that God had given her such a bad temper. At last, laughing aloud, she called herself a fool, and ran out of the room.

When a little later Kovrin went into the garden, Yegor Semyonitch and Tanya were walking side by side along an avenue as though nothing had happened, and both were eating rye bread with salt on it, as both were hungry.

[Quark]

The painting is a great visual and Janine used a great word for it - moody. It looks Impressionistic to me, but I'm not an artist. I don't know.

The small picture of the painting looks Impressionistic, but the original isn't so much. The image is of poor quality so it makes it look like it has those splotchy brush strokes you see in Renoir and Monet. The original, however, is quite clear. Techincally, the painting is classified as Romantic.

That's the reason he wants Tania to marry Kovrin, correct? Because he believes Tania and Kovrin will settle on the farm and tend the garden when he's gone.

Exactly, he comes right out and says it. Yegor's picture of their marriage is very self-satisfying. Kovrin goes for it, though, because he's already in love with the girl. The section I just posted shows Kovrin's affection at its highest.

So, Kovrin could not love a healthy girl, but he could love a weak one, with a very nervous constitution like Tania's. That is interesting. I'll have to think about that.

When I first read that I was suspicious, too, but I don't think it's as weird as it sounds. Kovrin loves her because she's similar to him. Listen to this:

Comforting Tanya, Kovrin thought that, apart from this girl and her father, he might hunt the world over and would not find people who would love him as one of themselves, as one of their kindred. If it had not been for those two he might very likely, having lost his father and mother in early childhood, never to the day of his death have known what was meant by genuine affection and that naïve, uncritical love which is only lavished on very close blood relations; and he felt that the nerves of this weeping, shaking girl responded to his half-sick, overstrained nerves like iron to a magnet. He never could have loved a healthy, strong, rosy-cheeked woman, but pale, weak, unhappy Tanya attracted him.

The words kindred, family, and relations all impart an air similarity. That's what attracts Kovrin. If he loved her simply for her strained nerves, then, yes, I would wonder what's going in Kovrin's mind that make nervousness alluring. He isn't attracted by that, though. On the contrary, his feeling seem quite genuine and touching here. In fact, this point seems like the zenith for Kovrin's mental state in this story. Here he's reached a tranquil and selfless attitude. All the story has been moving him toward this happy state. Unfortunately, everything unravels after this point.

Kovrin is happiest when he's indulging his ability to conjure the black monk, and I think he needs and wants that happiness. I don't think he wants to give it up, even if it means increased emotional health.

Yeah, we know he chooses the Black Monk over his health.

Arrg! There's a thunderstorm coming. I have to shut down. Janine, I'll answer your PM tomorrow morning. I'll also finish this post. I have two more things I want to add.

[Janine]

I am partly trying to learn how to use the quote thing properly, but though I believe Kovrin genuinely loves Tania, it seems he feels Yegor and Tania are his family. It's not "normal" to marry one's family, though at that time in Russia, cousins married, so I guess Kovrin's feelings aren't too strange here.

I'll wait until you can finish what you wanted to say.

Edit - Good, the quote worked. I've been wondering how people got multiple ones in there. I didn't know we had to copy and paste.

Antiquarian, I always get confused with multiple quotes: quote within a quote. I know Virgil knows the right way to do them. With me it is hit and miss and I often have to revise my post, after since it does not work right the first time. If you quote within a quote, I think you add two of these to the beginning [quote][quote] and only one with the slash in front of the quote at the end. I am not sure of that but I will check it out for you. Maybe the mod will come in an give you specific pointers. I find that difficult to do, also. It is really hard to explain but I am sure one of the moderators can explain it way better than I can. Glad to see your last quote worked fine.

[sofia82]

Antiquarian, I always get confused with multiple quotes: quote within a quote. I know Virgil knows the right way to do them. With me it is hit and miss and I often have to revise my post, after since it does not work right the first time. If you quote within a quote, I think you add two of these to the beginning .... and only one with the slash in front of the quote at the end. I am not sure of that but I will check it out for you. Maybe the mod will come in an give you specific pointers. I find that difficult to do, also. It is really hard to explain but I am sure one of the moderators can explain it way better than I can. Glad to see your last quote worked fine.

Thank you, Janine. The multiple quote thing is the one I can't do right. I always seem to mess that one up.

I'll just keep trying to make it work. Virgil did say in a post it's so easy.

I'm sure when my brother has time he'll look at it. He probably knows how to do it. In that meantime, I'll try what you said. Thanks.

Now let's see if I can do it correctly or not.
First of all choose the multiplie quote which should beecome red in the posts you choose then click on Quote.
If you want to divide a single quote to different quotes and answer differently select the sentence or paragraph you want to quote and click on the button on the top next to insert image which is wrap tags around the selected text. And if you want to do it manually, just type [Quote] in the beginning of the text and in the end type [/ Quote] (without any space between / and Quote, I have to write it so it wont quote the text) then it works, sometimes it need edition, though

[Quark]

Here's a brief tutorial of how to quote and reply to multiple posts.

To quote multiple post, you have to click the multi-quote button which is next to the "quote" button. It looks like this. Once you click it, it will turn orange--as shown below.

Then click on "quote" underneath Antiquarian's post. That will take you to the post screen. It should look like this with the sofia's post on top and Antiquarian's second since I clicked on sofia's first and Anti's second.

Now, say I want to split sofia's post into two separate parts. This happens a lot when a user makes different points, and you want to reply to them separately. To split a quoted post you have to cut the close quote command (which looks like this [/QUOTE]) and move it to where you want the quote to stop.

There in the highlighted blue section is close quote command ([/QUOTE) copy that with the copy or cut that (ctrl+c copies and ctrl+x cuts).

Now you can move it to where you want to stop the quote. I'll put it underneath sofia's first paragraph. That completes the first quote. I have a open quote command at the start and a close quote command at the end. I'm not done yet, though. I still have to open the second quote.

To open the second quote you have to highlight and copy (ctrl+c) the open quote command. I circled it in red. Then, you have to move it to the top of the second part of sofia's post which you want to quote.

There, now both quotes have an open quote command and a close quote command. They should now appear as separate quotes in your response. And, each should say "Quote from Sofia."

If I write in between the two quotes, the writing will appear in that place in your post.

Scroll down to write by the other post you quoted

There's the second post I quote from Antiquarian.

If I write above or below the quotes, it will appear there in the post.

That's how to quote multiple posts and reply to them. My next post is the final result.

[Quark]

Now let's see if I can do it correctly or not.
First of all choose the multiplie quote which should beecome red in the posts you choose then click on Quote.

This is the text I want to type underneath the first quote from sofia. It will show up between the two quotes I just created.

If you want to divide a single quote to different quotes and answer differently select the sentence or paragraph you want to quote and click on the button on the top next to insert image which is wrap tags around the selected text. And if you want to do it manually, just type in the beginning of the text and in the end type (without any space between / and Quote, I have to write it so it wont quote the text) then it works, sometimes it need edition, though

This text will appear between sophia's post and Antiquarian's.

I'm sure when my brother has time he'll look at it. He probably knows how to do it. In that meantime, I'll try what you said. Thanks.

This writing will show at the bottom.

[Janine]

Quark, those are excellent instructions - how did you do that - in an offline program? It must have taken you considerable time. I did not even know all of that. Thanks! I often just insert the commands manually such as the [quote] and then at the end the closed command. I have to then write above each quote the name of the person who's quote it was. I also have to copy and paste so much. This will be a real timesaver.

One last question. How do you 'quote inside another quote'? I still do that 'hit or miss' and have to go into 'advanced' and play around with it to get the 'quote inside of another quote' to work, correctly.

[sofia82]

Oh, Visual tutorial. This is great idea

[Quark]

Quark, those are excellent instructions - how did you do that - in an offline program? It must have taken you considerable time. I did not even know all of that.

You can do wonders with mspaint and a photobucket account, Janine. It didn't take me that long--although I didn't know that I was going to have to make ten images when I started. Hopefully, that cleared up everything about multiple posts.

One last question. How do you 'quote inside another quote'? I still do that 'hit or miss' and have to go into 'advanced' and play around with it to get the 'quote inside of another quote' to work, correctly.

What exactly do you mean by quote inside another quote? Are you asking about responding to posts that include quotes? Or, are you talking about quoting an outside source which happens to quote someone or something else?

I've been wondering if Kovrin truly loves Tania like a husband should love a wife. We know he loves Yegor and Tania like his family because he says so, but I wonder about the degree and quality of love between the Kovrin and Tania as a married couple.

I think Kovrin does love Tania sincerely. That's what this scene conveys.

It's not "normal" to marry one's family, though at that time in Russia, cousins married, so I guess Kovrin's feelings aren't too strange here.

Well I don't believe Chekhov means to indicate anything incestuous when he tells us that Kovrin thought of Tania as family. It seems more like he's trying to imply that Kovrin and Tania were very similar, and that their relationship was one of the closest Kovrin's every experienced. Like I said before, Chekhov is trying to show a loving couple. Kovrin will of course lose all of this later, and that's why I call this the highest point in the story for Kovrin. Here, he's gained everything he wants. He has Tania, his work, the Black Monk, and Yegor all in perfect balance.

Chekhov must have had "The Cherry Orchard" in mind when he wrote this? I don't know, but it seems like he would have.

I'm glad you brought that up. I've been meaning to quote a scene from that play because the themes are very similar as you noticed. "The Cherry Orchard" was written later than this story, if I'm not mistaken. "The Black Monk" was published in 1894, and most of Chekhov plays were closer to the turn of the century. I don't remember exactly when Chekhov wrote "The Cherry Orchard," though. He could have been writing it around this time. You're right that he had the same ideas on his mind, though.

I do love it and it is poetic.

The prose is very poetic. It has this way of being both clear and mysterious. It's also strangely beautiful and gloomy at the same time.

[Quark]

I believe "The Cherry Orchard" was written sometime around 1900 or a few years before (I think before), though Chekhov had been making notes that referred to the idea for years. I know it premiered on January 17, 1904 at the Moscow Art Theatre, which I'm sure you know, too, and which was Chekhov's birthday.

No, actually I didn't know that. I was aware that he wrote his plays later in his career, but the dates had always remained rather fuzzy. I'm not as familiar with his plays as I am with the short stories. In fact, I'm just getting to some of his one-act plays now. They are entertaining, but I still prefer the short stories. You just don't get the same pathos in the plays.

I dearly love his plays.

I know I've said this before, but I have been kicking around the idea of discussing one of his plays for the thread. What do you say?

It's beautifully poetic and melancholy. One of Chekhov's best stories, I think. You're aware that late in his life, Chekhov had a cherry orchard of his own and was heartbroken when he discovered it had been cut down.

There's a lot that autobiographical in his late work. I've already pointed out some of the Chekhov life story details are in "The Black Monk." I guess as he got toward old age he started evaluating his life more critically.

I love the story, "Steppe," because of the boy crossing the fields of fallen cherry blossoms. Well, there are many other reasons, of course, but that's one of them. It's just a beautiful image, like the black monk floating across the rye in this story.

Yeah, if you like the poetic descriptions of nature in this story, then it's obvious that you would like "The Steppe." The setting descriptions go on for pages. Chekhov tells the story almost exclusively through his locales. Some readers react negatively to this and call the story as boring as the steppe it describes, but I thought it was very engaging.

A rare photo of Chekhov with Tolstoy, two of my very favorite authors:

Someone on LitNet used that photo as their avatar for a while--must have been a huge Chekhov fan. Luckily enough, we have many illustrations and photographs of Chekhov still available. Many of them seem like repeats, though, because Chekhov had pretty much four different looks.

There's the young Chekhov:


The middle-aged nerdy Chekhov with the much worn hat:


Older, cynical-looking Chekhov


And my favorite: the caricature-style statue the Russians built for him which gives him this odd Ronald McDonald appearance.

[Janine]

You can do wonders with mspaint and a photobucket account, Janine. It didn't take me that long--although I didn't know that I was going to have to make ten images when I started. Hopefully, that cleared up everything about multiple posts.

Humm....I have the Photobucket account; and would imagine, that I have MS Paint, as well. I will have to hunt around for it. Anyway, Quark, it must have taken you considerable time to do all that. Pictures along with instructions are always so much clearer than attempting to explain things blindly.

What exactly do you mean by quote inside another quote? Are you asking about responding to posts that include quotes? Or, are you talking about quoting an outside source which happens to quote someone or something else?

I do mean the first. For instance if I wanted to keep in the quoted part of this post - when you click on the reply it eliminates that part. I have seen Virgil post double many times. Yes, posts that include the original quote within a quote. I knew how to accomplish it but now I forget. I will have to play around with it until it comes back to me; then I will let you know how is done.

I think Kovrin does love Tania sincerely. That's what this scene conveys.

I felt when I first read the book that Kovrin did love Tania. Yes, that scene seems to convey that.

Well I don't believe Chekhov means to indicate anything incestuous when he tells us that Kovrin thought of Tania as family. It seems more like he's trying to imply that Kovrin and Tania were very similar, and that their relationship was one of the closest Kovrin's every experienced. Like I said before, Chekhov is trying to show a loving couple. Kovrin will of course lose all of this later, and that's why I call this the highest point in the story for Kovrin. Here, he's gained everything he wants. He has Tania, his work, the Black Monk, and Yegor all in perfect balance.

Sort of reminds me of Heathcliff and Katy in Wuthering Heights. They grew up together and loved each other deeply and were very much 'alike' having been raised in the same environment. I would like to read "The Cherry Orchard," and other plays. I really like plays and love seeing them performed.

I'm glad you brought that up. I've been meaning to quote a scene from that play because the themes are very similar as you noticed. "The Cherry Orchard" was written later than this story, if I'm not mistaken. "The Black Monk" was published in 1894, and most of Chekhov plays were closer to the turn of the century. I don't remember exactly when Chekhov wrote "The Cherry Orchard," though. He could have been writing it around this time. You're right that he had the same ideas on his mind, though.

That is interesting, Quark. I like things that relate like two of his works. In Lawrence's work this is so often the case. I just read "The Virgin and the Gipsy" and found the end had similarities to one of the short stories we discussed awhile back. The play I bought of L's also was so like "Odour of Chrysanthemums". I wonder if these authors do that on purpose - expand their ideas from the short stories into the plays. Here the play you say came second after the story. That is interesting.

The prose is very poetic. It has this way of being both clear and mysterious. It's also strangely beautiful and gloomy at the same time.

It is lovely. I like the mist, the flowers, the atmosphere of the night, etc. It is beautiful and gloomy and strangely awesome to me. I have always loved mist and fog, shadows and sillouettes.

Nice photo, Antiquarian. Thanks for posting it here. I have seen that somewhere before; even before you posted it today in Literary Pictures - I love that new thread! I also love Tolstoy - always have.