Classics and the Western Canon discussion
Chekhov Short Stories
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The Swedish Match
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Here is a dramatis personae for the Swedish Match, in case it's helpful to anyone. There's no real spoiler here, but I'll hide it anyway, in case some of you want to meet the characters in the story first. (view spoiler)
Quite enjoyed this, though agree it was tough keeping track of all the characters, especially in the first part of the story. I guess that's one of the limitations of short story writing, the need to be careful not to introduce too many characters too quickly.As with the sitcom feel of In The Dark, this storyline also felt very modern and familiar. The detective duo; one older, more cynical and cautious, aware of the need to play by the rules and with an eye perhaps on his pension; and the younger, hotheaded one who's ambitious and unafraid to upset the apple cart. Really liked the line from Chubikov about wanting to buy Dyukovsky a cigar case at the fair. He definitely needs to slow down and smoke a cigar.
Just another note. I'm a big fan of detective novels, especially Conan Doyle, and I've also read some Poe and Wilkie Collins from that era, but really didn't know anything about Gaboriau, who's referenced in this story. Looking at Wikipedia, it looks like Gaboriau's Monsieur Lecoq was very influential in the genre.
Again, how all is not what it appears (as evidenced by initial deductions during the investigation)...and what did that boy/ peasant see in the night then...I may have to read it again as was distracted yesterday evening when reading this....due to certain election results coming in. Would have liked to have that list of names/ characters when I read it! Thank you for that!That can be a situation with Russian literature..the names are so unfamiliar and can get seemingly tangled in all their variations!
I felt impatient not so much with the names as with the string of deductions Dyukovsky goes through. I was pretty confident that all was not going to turn out as he saw it, so I was anxious to get past that and find out what was really up. A great little surprise that Klyauzov is found alive, hiding out as a "kept man." So Dyukovsky's detective work in finding the purchaser of the Swedish matches turns out to be sound, even though he was operating under the wrong premise. Early on, this story reminded me of Susan Glaspell's "Trifles," in which a murder has occurred and the women know well how to read the evidence, but the men are too short-sighted to listen to them. It seemed at first that Tchubikov was doing the same to Dyukovsky.
Kathy wrote: "I felt impatient not so much with the names as with the string of deductions Dyukovsky goes through. I was pretty confident that all was not going to turn out as he saw it, so I was anxious to get past that and find out what was really up."I had the same experience. I just finished reading it, and while I found it funny, I kind of skimmed the whole thing. :o I have never been a big reader of detective fiction, though, so I'm sure I missed a lot.
Kathy wrote: "I felt impatient not so much with the names as with the string of deductions Dyukovsky goes through. I was pretty confident that all was not going to turn out as he saw it, so I was anxious to get ..."I think this is the most overt, or least subtle of Chekhov's stories that I've read. Dyukovsky's deductions seem calculated for comic effect -- just so Chubikov can repeat his line about how Dyukovsky's time would be spent better doing... whatever. It reminded me of comedy skits that just go on too long. But this is a parody, I am told, so I'm guessing that was an aspect of the stories he was sending up.
I wondered if Chekhov was playing with the genre of writing detective stories when he did this. I wonder how satisfied he was with the results. But he probably knew publishing it meant some money for supporting his family. Excellence?
If it's a parody, I guess we can't fully appreciate it without being more familiar with the stories he's parodying, if that's a word.
This was an enjoyable story. I did keep getting frustrated at all the detective's false deductions, as did you Kathy. I expected the 'murder victim' to be alive somewhere out in the garden. There would be only innocent reasons, but no! Chekhov put a final twist on this story. I did not see that coming...
Personally, I really liked Dyukovsky's deductions; I think those are the main comedic elements and what makes this story a satire. The ending was obvious since the begging, but Dyukovsky's "creativity" and Chubikov's rebutals kept me going.
I see what you mean, Iván. The false deductions added a necessary farcical element to the story which it would have been lacking otherwise. I see that with hindsight, but not as I was actually reading it.
Detective fiction has a long history in Russian literature, and is evidently still quite popular. The Swedish Match is a parody of the genre, and of detectives in general, but there is also a hint of the Brothers Karamazov here. At least I thought so, and Dostoevsky gets a shout out, so maybe it's not so far-fetched to think that Chekhov had some elements of the Karamazov story in mind.
This story is #014 on the Eldritch Press site: http://www.eldritchpress.org/ac/jr/