The Kiss by Anton Chekhov

In 'The Kiss' by Anton Chekhov several military officers are invited to an aristocrat's house at night to partake in a party. The military officers are worried about going to the party because they recently experienced a similar situation where a rich old dude kept them up all night talking about boring stuff. But this party turns out to be a lot better than that experience. There are women, dancing and drinks at this party which creates an awkward situation for one soldier in particular named Ryabovich. For every other soldier, this is seemingly not an awkward situation. Ryabovich is decribed as shy, modest and undistinguished in comparison to his fellow soldiers.

Ryabovich enters a dark room where he is kissed by a woman who mistakes Ryabovich for another man. This accidental kiss has a profound effect on Ryabovich. In the days following the party, he thinks about the kiss constantly and it gives him something nice to think about while going through the day-to-day of a soldier's routine.

This is basically all there is to the story. There is also the detailed descriptions of scenery that for me exemplify Chekhov's unique writing style. The way that Chekhov describes the setting of his story is similar to a painter. Chekhov uses visual language which allowed me to imagine the story in rich detail. Here is an example:

'The red moon was reflected near the left bank; little ripples ran over the reflection, stretching it out, breaking it into bits, and seemed trying to carry it away...'

Writing such as this is my favorite thing about Chekhov's stories. The scenery is so richly imagined and described that it almost takes precedence over the story. I know that Chekhov was interested in landscape painting and this interest is reflected often in his stories. In a story like 'The Kiss' where the plot is short, I find myself looking more at Chekhov's descriptions to find insight regarding the story.

At the end of the 'The Kiss' we can see a distinct change in Ryabovich's mental state. At first Ryabovich daydreams about the kiss, causing him to feel pleasure while going through his daily routine. But after revealing the incident to his comrades, Ryabovich's emotions change drastically. "And the whole world, the whole of life, seemed to Ryabovich an unintelligible, aimless jest." This character arc left me with a sad feeling regarding this story. It would seem that Ryabovich would be better off without the kiss from the woman because it merely opened his eyes to what his life is lacking. It's the kind of encounter that is so far removed from daily life that it opens one's eyes to how unpleasant life is in comparison to other people. Just a tiny taste of a better life has left Ryabovich in a depressed state. It's the kind of revelation that leads people to abandon their jobs in the search of something better. Indeed the story ends with Ryabovich refusing the next invitation to a party in favor of going to sleep in his tent.

Here are some other things I noticed about the story:

• The story's unique structure. There is one climactic event (the kiss) that takes place early on and the rest of the story examines the effects of this climactic event on the story's protagonist.
• The social obligation that requires wealthy families to invite military officers to their home. It provides a great setup for this story.

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Vanka by Chekhov - Expressing Humanity through Words on a Page

Today on the blog I am excited to write about Anton Chekhov’s story Vanka. Coming in at five pages, it is incredible how much impact this story has at such a short length. The story is hyper focused on a young boy’s tragic predicament as an apprentice shoemaker under abusive and awful circumstances. The story takes place over one night when the young boy Vanka secretly writes a letter to his grandfather who Vanka remembers in tragic detail.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of Chekhov’s style is his knack for description. It pretty great when you get a sentence like this: “The entire sky is studded with gaily twinkling stars and the Milky Way is as distinctly visible as though it had been washed and rubbed with snow for the holidays.” This sentence is meant to show the clarity and ideal nature of Vanka’s memories of his grandfather. Because Vanka’s life is so awful, it is easy to envision a better life. Vanka is also quite young so he has not had a great deal of formative memories yet. What makes Vanka unable to deal with his current predicament is the fact that he has experienced a better life. The abuse he suffers at the hands of his guardians is utterly abhorrent.

Chekhov is a master of the short story form. As a doctor he mined material for his stories from the many patients he treated. Chekhov’s vocation allowed him to understand the human condition by learning about the lives of many different people. This is why characters in Chekhov’s stories seem so realistic. Every character in Chekhov’s fiction is likely based on a real-life person. This allows Chekhov’s work to serve an important function – it provides readers a mirror with which to base their own lives upon. Chekhov’s work is universal. At some level, all of his characters are dealing with a problem that has been experienced by people all over the world. Vanka’s experience represents the experiences of suffering children through history.

All of Vanka’s attributes are universal. The way looks at the door before writing, how he sighs after remembering a happy moment with his grandfather, the fact that he lacks the knowledge of how to properly address his oh so important letter. These qualities speak so much about this character and his experiences in the world. What makes this story so tragic is the humanity that is expressed through words on a page. Chekhov is arguably the best at pulling this off.

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