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Чехов і Україна
Український Вільний Університет Серія: Монографії ч. 20
Походження А. П. Чехова, його звязки з Україною й українські елементи в житті і творчості письменника.
SUMMARY
CHEKHOV AND UKRAINE
A. P. Chekhov's ancestry, his relationship to Ukraine and the Ukrainian elements in his life and works A. P. Chekhov was born in the Ukraine and was of Ukrainian descent. However all of his writing was done in Russian. Therefore the task of the author of this research work was to analyze as to whether Chekhov's writings were influenced by Ukraine, his national descent, and by his Ukrainian contemporaries, and, if so, to what degree they influenced his life and works.
Monographs, biographies, and historical literary works so far published about Chekhov are limited only to mentioning his birth in Ukraine and only to some of his feelings toward the people and to places where he lived as a youth. But, concerning all of his creative work, his writings allegedly are the work of, as L. Tolstoy said, a "very Russian" writer. This is how almost all Russian critics and literary scholars, and, following them, literary historians of Western Europe, America, and of other countries describe Chekhov.
Is it so in reality?
In order to find the answer to this question, the author describes first in this work the times in which Chekhov lived and worked. Analyzing the political, cultural, and educational conditions in Russia and in Ukraine at that time, under the Tsarist regime, the author reaches the conclusion that A. P. Chekhov — a great Ukrainian talent — was forced to write in Russian if he wanted his works published.
Also, in the process of analyzing Chekhov's family lineage,
it came to light that he not only was born in Ukraine, but was of Ukrainian descent on both his father's and mother's side. Chekhov considered himself an Ukrainian, and so did his famous contemporaries.
Besides the writer's works themselves, the researcher made
full use of Chekhov's prolific correspondence, as well as of the as yet unpublished correspondence of Chekhov's sister, Maria, with Ukrainians living outside the U.S.S.R. who are in contact with the author of this work. (Maria Chekhova died in 1957).
The conclusion: Ukraine, the Ukrainians, Ukrainian literature, art, and customs were very close, dear, and akin to Chekhov, and that all this had a great imprint on the writer's creative work.
Being an original writer, Chekhov was not under the influence of any writer of Russian descent and very quickly freed himself from the temporary influence of L. N. Tolstoy. Instead, Chekhov was longest under the influence of another great Ukrainian who also wrote in Russian, N. Gogol.
The author paid special attention also to Chekhov's lan-
guage in many of his works and letters. Chekhov made such
mistakes while writing in Russian that testify to the fact that Chekhov thought in Ukrainian while writing (especially letters) in Russian. This fact is taken lightly by the Russian literary critics and by those all over the world who follow their writings.
Ukrainian elements in Chekhov's letters and works, com-
parison of his artistic ways of describing Ukrainian nature and landscapes with the ways of Ukrainian writers of his period who did write in Ukrainian, a thorough analysis of the family archives and correspondence, and of the relationships between Chekhov and other Ukrainian intellectuals of that time — all this gives us undeniable proof that Russian literature became richer, thanks to
Chekhov's innate Ukrainian talent.
Even more than that. While analyzing some of Chekhov's
masterpieces as to their subject matter and topics, as to the ways Chekhov depicted his positive heroes in his works, the author has revealed that Chekhov often contrasted positive types (characters) of Ukrainians with negative types of Russians, while he depicted the gloomy reality of Russian society of that time. The same thing also often occurs in the description of places of action and
of the nature, ways of thinking, and acceptance of the world of the actors — Russians and Ukrainians.
Above all, the Russian literary critics and the literary critics and historians of the world are completely silent about Chekhov's sympathies with Ukrainian national aspirations and about undeniable originality (selfhood) and separateness of the Ukrainian language and culture, which Chekhov highly esteemed in his private life and in his writings. By the analysis of the descent, life and creative works of Chekhov, it has been proven that, although Chekhov lacked his own clearly defined concept of Ukrainian national liberation from Russian domination, he wasn't at all a "very Russian" writer, despite the fact that he wrote in Russian.
Chekhov's famous humor is a typical innate Ukrainian
humor which was never known before or after Chekhov in the
works of truly "very Russian" writers of Russian literature. In the person of A. P. Chekhov, Russian literature enriched itself with the grea...
Походження А. П. Чехова, його звязки з Україною й українські елементи в житті і творчості письменника.
SUMMARY
CHEKHOV AND UKRAINE
A. P. Chekhov's ancestry, his relationship to Ukraine and the Ukrainian elements in his life and works A. P. Chekhov was born in the Ukraine and was of Ukrainian descent. However all of his writing was done in Russian. Therefore the task of the author of this research work was to analyze as to whether Chekhov's writings were influenced by Ukraine, his national descent, and by his Ukrainian contemporaries, and, if so, to what degree they influenced his life and works.
Monographs, biographies, and historical literary works so far published about Chekhov are limited only to mentioning his birth in Ukraine and only to some of his feelings toward the people and to places where he lived as a youth. But, concerning all of his creative work, his writings allegedly are the work of, as L. Tolstoy said, a "very Russian" writer. This is how almost all Russian critics and literary scholars, and, following them, literary historians of Western Europe, America, and of other countries describe Chekhov.
Is it so in reality?
In order to find the answer to this question, the author describes first in this work the times in which Chekhov lived and worked. Analyzing the political, cultural, and educational conditions in Russia and in Ukraine at that time, under the Tsarist regime, the author reaches the conclusion that A. P. Chekhov — a great Ukrainian talent — was forced to write in Russian if he wanted his works published.
Also, in the process of analyzing Chekhov's family lineage,
it came to light that he not only was born in Ukraine, but was of Ukrainian descent on both his father's and mother's side. Chekhov considered himself an Ukrainian, and so did his famous contemporaries.
Besides the writer's works themselves, the researcher made
full use of Chekhov's prolific correspondence, as well as of the as yet unpublished correspondence of Chekhov's sister, Maria, with Ukrainians living outside the U.S.S.R. who are in contact with the author of this work. (Maria Chekhova died in 1957).
The conclusion: Ukraine, the Ukrainians, Ukrainian literature, art, and customs were very close, dear, and akin to Chekhov, and that all this had a great imprint on the writer's creative work.
Being an original writer, Chekhov was not under the influence of any writer of Russian descent and very quickly freed himself from the temporary influence of L. N. Tolstoy. Instead, Chekhov was longest under the influence of another great Ukrainian who also wrote in Russian, N. Gogol.
The author paid special attention also to Chekhov's lan-
guage in many of his works and letters. Chekhov made such
mistakes while writing in Russian that testify to the fact that Chekhov thought in Ukrainian while writing (especially letters) in Russian. This fact is taken lightly by the Russian literary critics and by those all over the world who follow their writings.
Ukrainian elements in Chekhov's letters and works, com-
parison of his artistic ways of describing Ukrainian nature and landscapes with the ways of Ukrainian writers of his period who did write in Ukrainian, a thorough analysis of the family archives and correspondence, and of the relationships between Chekhov and other Ukrainian intellectuals of that time — all this gives us undeniable proof that Russian literature became richer, thanks to
Chekhov's innate Ukrainian talent.
Even more than that. While analyzing some of Chekhov's
masterpieces as to their subject matter and topics, as to the ways Chekhov depicted his positive heroes in his works, the author has revealed that Chekhov often contrasted positive types (characters) of Ukrainians with negative types of Russians, while he depicted the gloomy reality of Russian society of that time. The same thing also often occurs in the description of places of action and
of the nature, ways of thinking, and acceptance of the world of the actors — Russians and Ukrainians.
Above all, the Russian literary critics and the literary critics and historians of the world are completely silent about Chekhov's sympathies with Ukrainian national aspirations and about undeniable originality (selfhood) and separateness of the Ukrainian language and culture, which Chekhov highly esteemed in his private life and in his writings. By the analysis of the descent, life and creative works of Chekhov, it has been proven that, although Chekhov lacked his own clearly defined concept of Ukrainian national liberation from Russian domination, he wasn't at all a "very Russian" writer, despite the fact that he wrote in Russian.
Chekhov's famous humor is a typical innate Ukrainian
humor which was never known before or after Chekhov in the
works of truly "very Russian" writers of Russian literature. In the person of A. P. Chekhov, Russian literature enriched itself with the grea...
150 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1973
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February 6, 2023
Маст хев для зчитування українськості Чех(ов)а. Есей допоміг повернути викрадену росією частину історії української аристократії початку 20 століття, саме яку і змальовує автор у своїх драмах.
Displaying 1 of 1 review