What do you think?
Rate this book
Ariadne
26 pages, Kindle Edition
1 person is currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Anton Chekhov
5,890 books9,758 followersDramas, such as
The Seagull
(1896, revised 1898), and including "A Dreary Story" (1889) of Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, also Chekov, concern the inability of humans to communicate.
Born ( Антон Павлович Чехов ) in the small southern seaport of Taganrog, the son of a grocer. His grandfather, a serf, bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught to read. A cloth merchant fathered Yevgenia Morozova, his mother.
"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." Tyranny of his father, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, open from five in the morning till midnight, shadowed his early years. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog from 1867 to 1868 and then Taganrog grammar school. Bankruptcy of his father compelled the family to move to Moscow. At the age of 16 years in 1876, independent Chekhov for some time alone in his native town supported through private tutoring.
In 1879, Chekhov left grammar school and entered the university medical school at Moscow. In the school, he began to publish hundreds of short comics to support his mother, sisters and brothers. Nicholas Leikin published him at this period and owned Oskolki (splinters), the journal of Saint Petersburg. His subjected silly social situations, marital problems, and farcical encounters among husbands, wives, mistresses, and lust; even after his marriage, Chekhov, the shy author, knew not much of whims of young women.
Nenunzhaya pobeda , first novel of Chekhov, set in 1882 in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Mór Jókai. People also mocked ideological optimism of Jókai as a politician.
Chekhov graduated in 1884 and practiced medicine. He worked from 1885 in Peterburskaia gazeta.
In 1886, Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him, a regular contributor, to work for Novoe vremya, the daily paper of Saint Petersburg. He gained a wide fame before 1886. He authored The Shooting Party , his second full-length novel, later translated into English. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in later her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd . First book of Chekhov in 1886 succeeded, and he gradually committed full time. The refusal of the author to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intelligentsia, who criticized him for dealing with serious social and moral questions but avoiding giving answers. Such leaders as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov, however, defended him. "I'm not a liberal, or a conservative, or a gradualist, or a monk, or an indifferentist. I should like to be a free artist and that's all..." Chekhov said in 1888.
The failure of The Wood Demon , play in 1889, and problems with novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890, he traveled across Siberia to Sakhalin, remote prison island. He conducted a detailed census of ten thousand convicts and settlers, condemned to live on that harsh island. Chekhov expected to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. Hard conditions on the island probably also weakened his own physical condition. From this journey came his famous travel book.
Chekhov practiced medicine until 1892. During these years, Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgmental author. He outlined his program in a letter to his brother Aleksandr: "1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality; flee the stereotype; 6. compassion." Because he objected that the paper conducted against Alfred Dreyfus, his friendship with Suvorin ended
Born ( Антон Павлович Чехов ) in the small southern seaport of Taganrog, the son of a grocer. His grandfather, a serf, bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught to read. A cloth merchant fathered Yevgenia Morozova, his mother.
"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." Tyranny of his father, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, open from five in the morning till midnight, shadowed his early years. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog from 1867 to 1868 and then Taganrog grammar school. Bankruptcy of his father compelled the family to move to Moscow. At the age of 16 years in 1876, independent Chekhov for some time alone in his native town supported through private tutoring.
In 1879, Chekhov left grammar school and entered the university medical school at Moscow. In the school, he began to publish hundreds of short comics to support his mother, sisters and brothers. Nicholas Leikin published him at this period and owned Oskolki (splinters), the journal of Saint Petersburg. His subjected silly social situations, marital problems, and farcical encounters among husbands, wives, mistresses, and lust; even after his marriage, Chekhov, the shy author, knew not much of whims of young women.
Nenunzhaya pobeda , first novel of Chekhov, set in 1882 in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Mór Jókai. People also mocked ideological optimism of Jókai as a politician.
Chekhov graduated in 1884 and practiced medicine. He worked from 1885 in Peterburskaia gazeta.
In 1886, Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him, a regular contributor, to work for Novoe vremya, the daily paper of Saint Petersburg. He gained a wide fame before 1886. He authored The Shooting Party , his second full-length novel, later translated into English. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in later her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd . First book of Chekhov in 1886 succeeded, and he gradually committed full time. The refusal of the author to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intelligentsia, who criticized him for dealing with serious social and moral questions but avoiding giving answers. Such leaders as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov, however, defended him. "I'm not a liberal, or a conservative, or a gradualist, or a monk, or an indifferentist. I should like to be a free artist and that's all..." Chekhov said in 1888.
The failure of The Wood Demon , play in 1889, and problems with novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890, he traveled across Siberia to Sakhalin, remote prison island. He conducted a detailed census of ten thousand convicts and settlers, condemned to live on that harsh island. Chekhov expected to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. Hard conditions on the island probably also weakened his own physical condition. From this journey came his famous travel book.
Chekhov practiced medicine until 1892. During these years, Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgmental author. He outlined his program in a letter to his brother Aleksandr: "1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality; flee the stereotype; 6. compassion." Because he objected that the paper conducted against Alfred Dreyfus, his friendship with Suvorin ended
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 25, 2019
I have just finished reading this one and I can say that I liked it a lot. However, I can't say that I liked it as much as I expected t. Ariadne didn't impress me as much as other Chekhov's short stories, I have to say. I'm trying to pin point why I didn't fall head over heals with this one, as I usually do with stories by this author. Perhaps because it lacked a certain tragic beauty? Perhaps because it reminds me a lot of Turgenev First Love and Torrents of Spring? I did have that deja vu feeling while I was reading it. Not that I think that Chekhov drew from Turgenev when he wrote this story. Their writing styles are different yet the plot itself and the theme both seemed very familiar. Reading about the femme fatale that bewitches a young and idealistic Russian man was interesting, but not terribly so.
Should I write a few words about the story itself? The story opens with a framed narrative, another literary device that makes me think of Turgenev. Ivan tells his sad love story. He has fallen for a woman who has charm and intelligence, but is nevertheless deeply shallow. Ariadne is driven by the desire to be loved and liked but she is exactly not the type to love in return. The plot itself was well constructed and the writing was simple but elegant. The ending felt a bit sudden, but I didn't mind that. It was a strong ending that made sense in the context of the story. You know those kind of endings where one sentence sums it all up. The vivacity of that last sentence reminded me of Henry James, James Conrad and Oscar Wild. They were the writers who knew how to finish a story in style!
I googled it a bit and I discovered that Ariadne was based on a real person- or better to say several real women Chekhov knew. Moreover, Chekhov drew from his own experiences in creating this story. He literary copied parts from his ex lover letters and put them into the pen of Ariadne (ouch!). What does this story really talks about? The issue of emancipation? The danger of idolizing women? The protagonist's view of women doesn't seem a flattering one in this story or perhaps it is merely a reflection of his bad experience. There are some comments made about the tendency of Russian man to idealize women. As our writer comments at the start of this story, if you happen upon a German or a British man, they will probably talk business, but Russians only talk about women or philosophical matters- and perhaps the two seems to merge together for them? Chekhov does raises some interesting points in this one, but he doesn't really offers much in terms of answers- at least I didn't manage to find anything conclusive. Ariadne isn't one of his best works, I'd say, but it is still a very good short story.
Should I write a few words about the story itself? The story opens with a framed narrative, another literary device that makes me think of Turgenev. Ivan tells his sad love story. He has fallen for a woman who has charm and intelligence, but is nevertheless deeply shallow. Ariadne is driven by the desire to be loved and liked but she is exactly not the type to love in return. The plot itself was well constructed and the writing was simple but elegant. The ending felt a bit sudden, but I didn't mind that. It was a strong ending that made sense in the context of the story. You know those kind of endings where one sentence sums it all up. The vivacity of that last sentence reminded me of Henry James, James Conrad and Oscar Wild. They were the writers who knew how to finish a story in style!
I googled it a bit and I discovered that Ariadne was based on a real person- or better to say several real women Chekhov knew. Moreover, Chekhov drew from his own experiences in creating this story. He literary copied parts from his ex lover letters and put them into the pen of Ariadne (ouch!). What does this story really talks about? The issue of emancipation? The danger of idolizing women? The protagonist's view of women doesn't seem a flattering one in this story or perhaps it is merely a reflection of his bad experience. There are some comments made about the tendency of Russian man to idealize women. As our writer comments at the start of this story, if you happen upon a German or a British man, they will probably talk business, but Russians only talk about women or philosophical matters- and perhaps the two seems to merge together for them? Chekhov does raises some interesting points in this one, but he doesn't really offers much in terms of answers- at least I didn't manage to find anything conclusive. Ariadne isn't one of his best works, I'd say, but it is still a very good short story.
April 9, 2019
It's impossible to me not to love Chekov's writing and his sad yet touching perspective of the world. But I have some issues with this short story. The main character seems to have some pretty advanced views on gender equality, ranting about how women and men should study together and how women shouldn't be taught to please men no matter what. And this is all great and pretty advanced, except for the fact that he clearly despises a woman for her frivolity and desire of a nice, beautiful life when the only reason he claims to love her is because she's pretty. Well who's frivolous now? He clearly thinks she's dumb, shallow, impolite, superstitiuous etc and still he craves her for her looks and only tires of her after he's bored of sleeping with her. I'm sorry, but he and her are very similar in their nature. She asks her lovers money, and he asks his father money so he can give it to her. Why is he a better person? He's exploiting his father loke she's exploiting him. Anyway, the writing is still good.
May 6, 2014
Ariadne.. I heard the name for the first time in the movie 'Inception'.. And it's the name that made me read the story..
This is a story of a girl named Ariadne,a girl whose only aim in life is to please men and to make sure that every person she meets falls for her. And this is also about her lover,a naive guy who keeps repeating mistakes out of his blind love for her. It's the story of how his pure love gets turned into hatred and repulsion. The girl whom he saw as the symbol of everything that is likable in life is turned into an object of hatred towards the end.
Ariadne reminded me of the girl in 'emotional bankruptcy' by Fitzgerald. The same frivolous nature.. The same attraction to colours of life..
I loved the plot.. It is original.. And the writing style was superlative.. Somewhere it reminded me of Oscar Wilde.. The only thing that I didn't like was the ending.. It was abrupt.. But there was a certain beauty in it..
Altogether the story is a good one,a perfect treat for those who hate hypocrites..
This is a story of a girl named Ariadne,a girl whose only aim in life is to please men and to make sure that every person she meets falls for her. And this is also about her lover,a naive guy who keeps repeating mistakes out of his blind love for her. It's the story of how his pure love gets turned into hatred and repulsion. The girl whom he saw as the symbol of everything that is likable in life is turned into an object of hatred towards the end.
Ariadne reminded me of the girl in 'emotional bankruptcy' by Fitzgerald. The same frivolous nature.. The same attraction to colours of life..
I loved the plot.. It is original.. And the writing style was superlative.. Somewhere it reminded me of Oscar Wilde.. The only thing that I didn't like was the ending.. It was abrupt.. But there was a certain beauty in it..
Altogether the story is a good one,a perfect treat for those who hate hypocrites..
April 18, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
October 31, 2021
Chekhov hits the nerve of different types of attractions and needs. There are so many truths in this story that I haven’t seen expressed like this before.
No one is wrong and no one is using the other. Only she appears to be wrong. But if she was a man, she could have the same approach. He appears to be pure. But he does not love her for what she really is.
130 years ago - same vulgar scene as today:
“…when I inevitably met Russians as disappointed as I was, I began to feel vexed and ashamed. There is a calm bay there full of steamers and boats with coloured sails. From there I could see Fiume and the distant islands covered with lilac mist, and it would have been picturesque if the view over the bay had not been hemmed in by the hotels and their dependances -- buildings in an absurd, trivial style of architecture, with which the whole of that green shore has been covered by greedy money grubbers, so that for the most part you see nothing in this little paradise but windows, terraces, and little squares with tables and waiters black coats. There is a park such as you find now in every watering-place abroad. And the dark, motionless, silent foliage of the palms, and the bright yellow sand in the avenue, and the bright green seats, and the glitter of the braying military horns -- all this sickened me in ten minutes! And yet one is obliged for some reason to spend ten days, ten weeks, there!”
Ariadne learns about her other lover: "At first he struck me as original and aroused my pity, that was all. He is insolent and takes a woman by storm. And that's attractive.”
No one is wrong and no one is using the other. Only she appears to be wrong. But if she was a man, she could have the same approach. He appears to be pure. But he does not love her for what she really is.
130 years ago - same vulgar scene as today:
“…when I inevitably met Russians as disappointed as I was, I began to feel vexed and ashamed. There is a calm bay there full of steamers and boats with coloured sails. From there I could see Fiume and the distant islands covered with lilac mist, and it would have been picturesque if the view over the bay had not been hemmed in by the hotels and their dependances -- buildings in an absurd, trivial style of architecture, with which the whole of that green shore has been covered by greedy money grubbers, so that for the most part you see nothing in this little paradise but windows, terraces, and little squares with tables and waiters black coats. There is a park such as you find now in every watering-place abroad. And the dark, motionless, silent foliage of the palms, and the bright yellow sand in the avenue, and the bright green seats, and the glitter of the braying military horns -- all this sickened me in ten minutes! And yet one is obliged for some reason to spend ten days, ten weeks, there!”
Ariadne learns about her other lover: "At first he struck me as original and aroused my pity, that was all. He is insolent and takes a woman by storm. And that's attractive.”
January 5, 2016
Another classic from Chekhov, whose social commentary grapples with gender equality in this story. The seemingly misogynist narrator turns out to be a man who is tired of the disparate treatment meted out to men and women and wants absolute gender equality. His one true love turns out to be the shallowest of women who has no qualms in affecting a personality and deceiving people and who is in eternal search for titles and money. He realizes how all this is a manifestation of the "special" status accorded to women by Russian men.
July 3, 2025
O que me atraiu nessa obra foi essa inversão simbólica: aqui, Ariadne é quem conduz e depois abandona, como se invertesse os papéis tradicionais da mitologia. Gostei da escrita do autor e planejo me aventurar em suas obras.
October 21, 2024
Some pretty advanced views on women for the time it was written in. The main character tells us this whole story of how he has come to despise all "educated" women but in the end turns the whole message of the story around by blaming the nurture of women rather than their nature.
4/5
4/5
April 14, 2024
You can see Chekhovs more liberal approach to women and their rights and positions in society compared to most Russian writers at that time.
^ appreciated
^ appreciated
April 7, 2021
Russian lit is not for me, apparently.
The main male character spends the entire story complaining of women's greed, right to an opinion, laziness, while openly coveting the titular Ariadne without examining his own emotional responses. Ariadne might as well not exist as she's only ever really talked about, not thoroughly shown to be a real character. I wasn't expecting such a depressing read.
The main male character spends the entire story complaining of women's greed, right to an opinion, laziness, while openly coveting the titular Ariadne without examining his own emotional responses. Ariadne might as well not exist as she's only ever really talked about, not thoroughly shown to be a real character. I wasn't expecting such a depressing read.
October 4, 2021
A silly spiritual man falls in love with a gold digger. They traipse across 19th century Europe. The folly ends predictably...
A jewel-box of a story. Chekhov's deft sense of proportion is on display.
This tale is eternal, it happens all the time. Except now a days it is documented on instagram.
A jewel-box of a story. Chekhov's deft sense of proportion is on display.
This tale is eternal, it happens all the time. Except now a days it is documented on instagram.
June 19, 2021
The Russian Maupassant clone drones on, but not without effect. Max Nordau sounds like someone worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews