Author: Swati

No dumpling, not a word about punishment, this is not our boy’s fault. They are all out to get him.

I don’t mean to brag here, but I can’t thank my stars enough for having a mother who specializes in overlooking all my faults. This excerpt from Chekhov’s story Papa is such a pleasant reminder of that. Thank you, Momma!

That’s where the similarities end, though. My mother never had to go as far as persuading my dad to bribe any of my teachers to help me pass. Luckily I was able to manage to pass my exam without ‘external influence’. ‘Nuff said.

On to the Chekhovian portrayal of a doting mama, a henpecked but adulterous and arm twisting Papa, a troublemaking only child and a confused teacher in a setting of shaky moral standards at best.

The short story ‘Papa’ was first published in June 1880 in an arts and humor weekly called Strekoza (the dragonfly). It is now available in a short story collection called Prank, The best of Young Chekhov. 

Papa: Summary and Plot Analysis

The story opens in Papa’s study with a conversation between Papa and Mama about their kid. Their only child, the 15-year old son, seems to have flunked third grade again, and Mama is adamant about Papa persuading the teacher into letting him pass. 

After all, there is no way their genius son doesn’t know how to do simple third-grade math.

According to her, their son is only failing because the world is out to get him, as he is so talented and handsome. Although Papa is thoroughly convinced that it is their son’s fault, Mama does not hear any of it.

Papa finally concedes defeat when threatened of an exposE on his affair with the maid and goes to meet their son’s Math teacher. The Math teacher vehemently asserts his inability to change their son’s grade. 

Their son, after all, doesn’t deserve to pass, considering he never studies and is the classic troublemaker.

It won’t be ethical on his part to let him pass. Papa is just not hearing any of it. His son is young, and what is youth expected to do if not to make trouble? Despite the teacher’s persistent denial to accommodate his request, Papa doesn’t bend.

If anything, he doubles up his efforts of tiring him into doing his bidding.

Tired and frustrated by the repeated badgering, the teacher finally agrees to let the student pass if all other teachers that had failed him did so.

Seeing the mission accomplished, Papa takes the teacher’s leave after inviting him and his wife over to their house.

Papa: Review, Quotes, and My Thoughts

Every single character in the story was corrupt. Chekhov has beautifully wrapped that corruption in his very unique humorous style. Consider the mama, for example; She knows that her husband has an affair with the maid, but since she was an intelligent wife of a civilized husband and used to Papa’s weakness, she decides to pay no attention to it. 

However, this mercy was extended only until the point where she didn’t need him to do his bidding. Bribing a teacher to let her only son pass, seems like a good opportunity for that.

The only son, although, has very little actual part in the story, manages to shine in the little blurb that Chekhov afforded him.

The boy was called for, and an explanation demanded. Junior became angry, frowned and scowled. He said he knew math better than the teacher. And it was not his fault that in this world of ours, only girls, rich kids and suck-ups got good grades. He then burst into tears.

Wow, such a range of emotions!

For me, the show-stealer had to be Papa.

Oh, the persistence and dedication! If you need lessons in wearing someone out, Papa is your guy. Man! The guy could give the best negotiators in the world a run for their money. See for yourself some snippets of his conversation with the teacher.

Papa: You have given my son a heap of Fs. Which is alright,you know. Still it is unpleasant, you know. Do you mean to say that my son really doesn’t understand math?

Teacher: It’s not that he doesn’t understand math , as such, it’s , well, you see, he doesn’t study. So no he doesn’t understand

………….

Teacher: He gets into trouble again and again.

Papa: Well, that’s youth for you, what’s to be done?

Papa: Ones who say they don’t take(bribe)- they take(bribe). And who isn’t on the take nowadays, my friend? It’s impossible not to take my friend. Not used to it yet? Come on!

After all the badgering, you would think that the teacher would hate Papa, but the reaction is quite the opposite.

“A good man! What’s on his mind is on his tongue. Simple and kind, it’s plain to see.. I like his sort!”

Of course, after his exemplary feat, he would be in mama’s good books. Papa is not the one to keep the maid very far, though.

That very evening, Mama was once again sitting on Papa’s lap(the maid’s turn came later). Papa was assuring her that “our son” would go on to the next grade. Educated types, he said, don’t require money- just a pleasant manner and polite but relentless arm twisting.

There was something about the story that made me go searching for some more background information. I was curious about what would have led Chekhov to pen this. 

Chekhov is a brilliant writer, he can bring almost anything to life, and I couldn’t imagine him to be a bad student (bias, bias, I know!) There seems to be the heavy influence of his school teacher and his free-spending missus on the characters of Papa and Mama. Interestingly, Chekhov had to repeat Grade 3 Mathematics after failing it once!

If anything, I love him more now.

You know what single girls and young widows? Don’t you go marry an artist. “May tarnation strike them,” As the Ukrainians say.

This is Chekhov’s closing advice from Artists’ Wives. This short story, first published in late 1880 in St. Petersburg daily paper, was written under the pseudonym “Don Antonio Chekhonte,” 

The story, sometimes assumed to be a parody of Alphonse Daudet’s Les Femmes d’artistes, focuses mainly on the lives of Russian artists that he got to witness in his life.

Artists’ Wives: Summary and Plot Analysis

The story opens with Alphonso Zinzaga, a novelist, returning to his home at a hotel, which houses various other artists. He comes home and finds his wife Amaranta fast asleep. 

When his efforts to wake her up don’t work as expected, he suspects that his wife may have committed suicide because of the horrible reception of his novel. His worries are replaced by angst when he realizes that she slept while reading his latest novel, published under the patronage of Count Alimonda.

Amaranta finally wakes up and is able to direct his attention from her unacceptable sleeping to his voracious hunger, Zinzaga makes up his mind to dine with Don Butronza, their Italian artist neighbor next door. 

Dining, however, was the last thing on Butronza’s mind, who was bellowing at his German wife, huddled in the corner hiding behind a statue with a huge gash in its stomach. It turns out that Don Butronza wants his wife to undress and stand by the window to be a model for his newest assignment provided by Count Alimonda to depict Susanna and Elders. 

Carolina is an absolute wreck and tormented so much by her husband’s request that she has even agreed to a divorce. Pleased that the horror story wasn’t his, aggrieved still that he still hasn’t eaten, Zinzaga leaves.

On his way home, he is intercepted by the wife of another fellow artist, an actor. It turns out that while rehearsing one of his scenes, he injured himself. His wife, who is in dire need of money to afford treatment, asks Zinzaga for help. Zinzaga, who has used up the last of his money for the realms of paper for his novel, respectfully bows out.

Before he can make it home, he is stopped yet another time. This time it is the wife of his singer-musician friend, and her request from Zinzaga is to make his friend stop singing. He sees his friend singing in a fury, stomping his foot, accompanied by yelps and squeaks of his little one, lying in his cradle nearby. Zinzaga politely asks his friend to get some rest, but his friend is adamant not to do so. 

After all, the rehearsal is pivotal for the glory of Portugal and maybe even that of the entire world.

When finally back to his apartment, he gets to know from his wife that a neighbor’s wife committed suicide after accidentally breaking the statue that her husband was building for Count Alimonda. 

Zinzaga immediately considers that a splendid idea for a novel, which he wants his wife to listen to, right away. Amaranta tries to avoid doing that but finally succumbs to her husband’s persistent demands. 

Later, mistaking a stupid novel authored by her husband as someone else’s, he ends up offending her husband. The husband, feeling utterly insulted, storms out.

Amaranta, having witnessed such an outburst on numerous occasions before, is convinced that her husband will return before long. After all, who else will do his free copying for him, if not her? In the meantime, she consoles herself after reading random news articles in a paper stashed away for such occasions. When finished reading the story, she considers herself fortunate that at least her husband does not starve her like the American Mr. Tanner.

Sure enough, Zinzaga comes back home as expected, in a joyful mood, asking Amaranta to get ready to go to her mother where they can ask her for money. An unhappy Amaranta faints, Zinzaga kisses her forehead.

The author closes with a piece of friendly advice for young women and widows to never marry artists.

Artists’ Wives: Review and My Thoughts

I will be honest; this didn’t feel like a Chekhov story to me initially, primarily because I was only exposed to his work in the latter part of his writing career in all my reading so far. Young Chekhov seems to have had quite a playful streak about him. The humor is refreshing. 

Consider the banters of his artists when in conversations with their respective wives.

Weep you miserable overcooked German sausage! Your husband is an artist, not a lousy shopkeeper! Weep, beer bottle!

You can not be my wife if you can not sacrifice yourself for art! Diablo!

For the sake of art Donna, you must forsake not only modesty, you must forsake all your feelings.

The protagonist Zinzaga seems so full of himself, thinking himself to be a man of ‘real talent’ and ‘great promise’. He doesn’t have the money to either put the food on the table or to support his wife, but that doesn’t deter him one bit as he doesn’t feel any shame asking his mother-in-law for money. His ideas about hunger are hilarious here:

He felt the strongest urge to convince himself that hunger was really nothing other than the lack of willpower, that man was created to battle nature, that to be an artist was to go hungry, etc.

And here Zinzaga said something that even a very clever person would be unable to catch or paraphrase. Something perfectly proper but completely unintelligible.

How she sleeps! What the hell? Could she have taken poison? The disappointing reception of my last novel may have affected her deeply.

Of course, the whole world revolves around him. Every time his wife is unhappy or tired, it’s because of the stress she feels on Zinzaga not doing well with his novels. That his writing talent that can put people to sleep never even crossed his mind. Especially since poor Amaranta was his only reader.

I find Amaranta’s pastime amusing. Convinced that her husband would return to her, as there was nowhere else for him to go, she was never rude to him. 

Instead, she tried to find solace in her circumstances, comparing her life to Poor Mrs. Tanner, whose husband starved her. Amaranta’s husband was so much better than Mr.Tanner, after all. Another thing that grabbed my attention was Mr.Tanner’s prescribed portions of food for his wife. Is it even possible that he could have been an early dietitian? The statements below make no sense to me otherwise, but make me laugh all the same!

“Namely during the course of 24 hours, she will ingest the following amounts of nourishing substances:

1 g of salts, 5 g of protein, 2 g of water, 7 of water distilled…”

That Chekhov’s wife was an artist makes me wonder: could Chekhov ever have been a Zinzaga? 😛