The Murder
This wasn't an easy story to read. I kept going back to it -- and after a few pages I'd fall asleep. Maybe I've read too many Chekhov stories. Or maybe this story lends itself to making you sleepy.
What's it about?
Good and evil.
Finding true spirituality.
Sin.
Religion.
All of the above and more.
What's missing? For me -- the characters just didn't quite come to life -- it picks up after the murder -- but it drags quite a bit before that. In any case, lets break down the story a bit, shall we?
It starts of with Matvey who likes to sing. Matvey's family runs a bar. Used to run a tile factory. Matvey is now down and out. He's given away all of his money to some working woman who had his child.
But the story switches focus to Yakov Ivanitch, his cousin who rejects all the established religious ways because he feels they are too corrupted. Matvey thinks Yakov is gone off the deep end and Yakov can't wait to get rid of Matvey. They are at each other's throat. Both inside are miserable. They are searching for some meaning but are having no luck.
So Matvey is pure -- because he doesn't care for material possessions and Yakov Ivanitch is corrupted because he makes his money selling Vodka but Matvey doesn't seem so pure and Yakov Ivanitch wants to find salvation. There is a lot of talk about repenting and I began repenting falling asleep while reading the story.
And then finally ( thankfully) Matvey overplays his hand and Yakov Ivanitch whacks him. Which is bad. Sort of. Something finally happens. And in the end -- Yakov Ivanitch finds his way back to a true spiritual awakening in the bowels of a Siberian prison camp.
Too little. Too late.
Maybe like this story -- by the time I started to like it -- it was over.
To get back to the point of why this story didn't work for me. Look at the characters of Aglaia and Dashutka. Who are they? What are they about? They are just shadows. In a way -- Sergey Nikanoritch -- the waiter -- is the most developed character. At least you understand him. Except he's not central to the story.
As a whole the story seems more concerned about morality and sin -- and all the other religious topics it deals with -- but what usually drives a good Chekhov piece are the people -- and these people frankly didn't inspire me -- didn't jump off the page. I didn't want to live in their world -- know them -- what was there to lure me in? They are struggling with something. But that just wasn't enough for me to care about them.
The last scene when Yakov Ivanitch is in a Siberian prison was good -- really good -- the world of the prison -- the hopelessness -- the cruelty -- the suffering -- is captured quickly and Yakov Ivanitch in this scene grabs your attention -- I almost wished the story began there.
Maybe this story like this blog entry is too long. I got used to reading other Chekhov stories where everything is more condensed and things happen more quickly.
I'll shut up now before you get an urge to . . .
This was a great review! You make me laugh Meny! Not oft does one laugh at review on Chekhov
ReplyDeleteWhat i interpreted from it was that Matvey was shown the right path by a spiritual leader who had much more insight about life then just about that incident related to matvey, but when matvey wanted to convey the same teaching to his cousin, he was consumed by the pride of knowing already that his cousin was on the wrong path and instead of having his cousin himself realize its valueless contribution, matvey nagged him constantly and hence constricted the natural path and so the murder. It may simply been seen as if somone is in a maze, let them find out the way themselves, they ll be more enlightened rather than telling them the path. Also it can been seen that it was all in their destinies to have the murder and experience all the events that may eventually lead to the revelation of his cousin as well as the division of the family entirely. Intriguing piece of work by chekhov.
ReplyDeleteBut, Yakov doesn't whack Matvey. You, as the reader, were a witness to this murder and described it incorrectly. I've read another person's review about this story and he claimed Aglaia killed Matvey with the iron, also incorrect. I wonder if Chekhov is experimenting with the reader's perceptions, implicating him or her.
ReplyDeleteYakov didn't murder Matvey. True, he was angry enough to kill him, but did he really want it? And, for this event, he's sentenced to 20 years in a labor camp? And, when he gets there, he gets a life sentence for escaping to go home. And gets flogged twice for losing his prison uniform twice, which he had stolen from him both times.
True, it was actually Aglaia who killed Matvey. But, she thought Matvey was trying to beat Yakov when he accidentally tore his own shirt. An error of perception. Would she have killed Matvey otherwise? And, for this, she's sentenced to prison for 13-1/2 years.
Dashutka was present at the time of killing. She's sentenced to 6 years in prison just for being there. She's not very bright and doesn't understand the questions at the trial. During her time in prison, she was almost certainly raped or was forced into prostitution. All this, just for being at the scene of the murder.
Sergey, the waiter, witnessed the murder. But, he didn't witness it, just the aftermath. He doesn't know why Aglaia did it, or the circumstances leading up to it. He thinks it was an argument over Lenten oil, which it wasn't really about, it's just what set off Yakov's temper. But, he gives into temptation and wants hush money and, for that, he's sentenced to 10 years.
The policeman testifies that the murder was about money. As a result, they're all found guilty of murder for mercenary reasons, and probably everyone in the town believes it. But, we've all read the story and know that isn't true.
This was just one story where Chekhov delved into the circumstances surrounding a murder. How many people in Siberia's prison are like the ones we just read about?