The plays and short stories of Anton Chekhov abound with humor, wit, pathos, and insight into the drama and intricacies of ordinary life. At the same time, they explore the fragility and resilience of life in the final decades of the Russian Empire, as faith gave way to atheism, feudalism to capitalism, and tradition to modernity. By rejecting overt moral and political judgments in his art, Chekhov developed a subtle, observational style that juxtaposed intimate psychological portraits with the economic, social, and political upheavals of his day. His use of understatement, ambiguity, and unresolved conflict to reveal personal and social truths reshaped modern storytelling, posing to readers questions of perennial interest: Where does the border between love and lust lie? What do we owe others and ourselves? And what makes art and humanity universal?
In this course, we will read Chekhov’s plays The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard, his novellas The Diary of an Unknown Man and Three Years, and several of his short stories and anecdotes, including “The Black Monk,” “The Lady with a Dog,” “Rothschild’s Fiddle,” “Sleepy One,” and “Ward No. 6.” Along the way, we will consider the cultural and historical currents coursing through Russia at the dawn of the twentieth century, from the abolition of serfdom to the rise of capitalism. We will also critically examine how he takes up themes of love, sex, gender, family life, religion, tradition, and modernity across a variety of literary forms. Can we ever truly understand our fellow man? Can one lead a meaningful life amid political decay? And how do we find meaning when everything that previously defined our personal and social lives disappears?
“Anton Chekhov: Modernity and Ambiguity” will also run in-person.
