MISERY

Misery

Iona Potapov speak.

Tell us your story.

Tell us about your son.

Forget those who are too busy to care.

Too busy to listen.

Your mare might be an animal -- but what are those that ride in your sled and don't even pretend to feel any sympathy?

And unfortunately -- this is our world.

Iona the sledge-driver who has just seen his son die does not matter.

Nobody will listen to him.

We are too busy Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Or Lamar Odom.

And our government policies follow suit. They are designed to help the well-to-do.

Not Iona the sledge-driver who has just seen his son die.

Not the unemployed mother who can't afford to feed her kids.

And the countless others out there in towns  and cities all over this country -- those who don't have a glamorous job -- who struggle every day just to get by.

No one listens -- not only don't they listen -- they don't care.

They keep taking away whatever little they have and that's supposed to help us balance our budget -- help us solve our fiscal problems.

I'm sorry -- you probably don't care what I'm saying right now either -- so -- I guess I should just tell it to my dog.

Wait a minute . . . my dog is sleeping.

And all she cares about are Greenies.

Chekhov is right. This is our world.

We didn't become the dominant creature on the planet by caring about what ails Iona the Cabman.

Just ask the Neanderthals -- who were minding their own business until we got in their face and wiped them out.

Human survival depends on us being clever -- cunning -- aggressive and ultimately -- heartless.

That said -- Iona Potapov please tell us your story.

Shout it out to the world.

A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN

A Nervous Breakdown

Law student wants to do right.

Wants to help women who are being exploited.

Women who live in brothels.

But how?

But why?

Is he too sensitive?

Do these women really want his help?

Can one man cure what ails society?

Is that always a good thing?

History is fraught with individuals who thought they could save the world and ending up causing great harm.

But what do you do when you see something that is wrong?

Do you just accept it and move on?

What if your temperament is so sensitive that you can't let it go?

Do you inflict pain on yourself?

Are there answers to these questions?

You decide.

THE SCHOOLMISTRESS

The Schoolmistress

Alone.

Corruption all around.

Day after day.

Year after year.

Older and older.

No hope for anything better.

You wonder how you got into this fix.

Teaching might seem noble from the outside.
 
From the outside.

From the inside you understand the toll the daily grind takes --

Idealists drop like flies.

Realists fight to endure.

All around you there is incompetence and greed . . .

No one really values what you do.

No one gives you support.

Finally you're left with the examinations.

And so it goes.

For a brief moment you see a reflection of what might've been.

For that brief moment you taste happiness.

Until reality sets in.

And you're back to being a schoolmistress.

Back to getting older and older.

Back to being alone.

A TRIVIAL INCIDENT

A Trivial Incident

Prince Sergey Ivanitch could've been very wealthy instead of barely getting by.

But he had to lie.

Pretend to say he loved the ugly princess.

But he was too honest.

So he blew it.

Now he's got the truth and no dinner.

He has his good name but he might lose his estate.

He told the truth and most took advantage of him.

The fool on the hill.

And why exactly did he reject the princess?

Was it solely on looks?

Did he think himself superior?

Now you have a  princess with lots of money and very little happiness.

And an honest prince who needs to work on his résumé.

True that!

A GENTLEMAN FRIEND

A Gentleman Friend

Where there's a will there's a way.

Vanda needs clothes -- needs style -- needs to live well.

Just out of the hospital with nothing but a ring which she pawns for a ruble -- she has to employ her charms to get back in the game.

But like Batman sans cape -- she just doesn't have the same bravado without the fancy apparel -- she goes to a dentist  she's familiar with -- one who has enjoyed her attention -- a converted Jew -- who Chekhov still refers to as a Jew. (Does Chekhov subscribe to the idea that once a Jew always a Jew -- it's in the blood -- something the Nazis believed? Let's hope not.)

Vanda loses a tooth to Finkel the dentist and her ruble -- he pulls out her tooth in an unsanitary procedure -- was this the customary ways that dentists worked back then? -- or is this an indictment against Jews for being unclean?(In Spain -- the converted Jews of the Inquisition were referred to as Marranos which translated to pigs).

Vanda doesn't let this discourage her -- within a matter of hours -- she has figured out how to live la Vida Loca again.

Men are easy prey to the charms of a willing lady or are women victims of a society that forces them to rely on their sex for advantage?

Who knows?

Vanda isn't a sociologist -- she just wants to party and party she will.

BAD WEATHER

Bad Weather

A cheating lawyer.

Some things never change.

Last night I saw the movie -- The Lincoln Lawyer.

Kvashin would've liked his style.

Not so his mother-in law.

Eventually she'll realize that there's

20, 000 rubles down the drain.

ZINOTCHKA

Zinotchka

A tender hate story.

Love always gets the credit.

Makes the world go round.

But this story delightfully deals with hate.

Hate can be just as powerful as love.

Just as intoxicating.

And once you fall in hate -- it might take a long time to come out of it.

Maybe you stay in hate forever.

So beware by your actions that you don't provoke someone to hate you.

They may become fond of the feeling and may never want to give it up.

Coincidentally after reading Zinotchka  I read an article about the artist Lucius Freud who died Wednesday night. He hadn't spoken to his brother Clement for over fifty years and supposedly the hatred begun with a childhood racing contest.

Chekhov is always timely.

IVAN MATVEYITCH

Ivan Matveyitch

The man of learning waits for Ivan Matveyitch. He is angry because Ivan Matyevitch is late. He won't put up with it anymore. What kind of secretary comes late every day? He is useless. Useless!

Ivan Matveyitch finally arrives. The man of learning shows his displeasure but doesn't fire Ivan Matveyitch.

The man of learning depends on Ivan Matveyitch. Not so much for his secretarial work but for companionship.

And that's why he gets so angry when Ivan Matveyitch is late.

ROTHSCHILD'S FIDDLE

Rothschild's Fiddle

A man, Yakov Ivanov, who makes a living as an undertaker doesn't get much out of life. He worries about money -- what he earns and might've earned -- but hardly pays attention to his faithful wife of fifty-three years.

His life doesn't know much joy. He makes good coffins and he's proud of that. But he also hates. He hates Rothschild, the Jewish musician who plays flute in the band. He ill treats Rothschild for no apparent reason.

Here we have a man who is miserable and doesn't care for anyone much -- unless they're dying and he thinks he will make a good profit when they croak.

His loyal wife gets sick -- he takes her to the doctor who doesn't treat her well -- and when he realizes his wife is dying -- he starts to look back and begins to sense how poorly he treated her.

She dies. He buries her for next to nothing in a coffin he made and he is immensely satisfied that he was able to make such an elegant coffin at such a cheap price.

Then comes Rothschild to ask him to play with the band and Yakov lashes out at him -- and Rothschild gets bitten by a dog while running away.

Finally, Yakov becomes ill and when he is facing death he has a satori -- going to the river he remembers his infant daughter who died and he understands what a wretched life he created for himself -- how many lost opportunities there were.

Possibly he never got over the death of his daughter -- he shut himself up -- punished himself -- dwelt in death and not life.

He finds redemption in the end by changing his ways. His final act is to give away his beloved fiddle to Rothschild.

I think one can decipher Chekhov's philosophy in this story -- his grand message:

"Why did people in general hinder each other from living? What losses were due to it! what terrible losses! If it were not for hatred and malice people would get immense benefit from one another."

Amen, brother!

Having read Mire a while back and feeling disappointed in the story's portrayal of a Jewish woman and wondering where Chekhov stood on Antisemitism which appears to be quite rampant at the time -- I feel in this story Chekhov delivers a strong message against hatred and malice and I want to believe that Chekhov learned that the best way for all of us to make the most out of life is not to go against each other-- to look beyond nationality -- religion -- class -- gender -- race --  and to stand up for each other.

I also see parallels with Shakespeare's King Lear -- men in their old age who come to see the truth.

Maybe too little but never too late.

ON THE ROAD

On The Road

A man has a a passion for women. He sees them as goddesses. They give him meaning. And they seem to follow him around. They are loyal. Devoted.Willing to do anything for him.

The man in question is Grigory Petrovitch Liharev -- a  former landowner who has delved wholeheartedly into various forms of salvation and in the process has now been reduced to a beggar. Still he's got fire.

The fire is now focused on the female. He's also got a willing listener. Actually she's got no other option. A snowstorm has left a young noble woman Mlle. Ilovaisky stranded in the travelers' room of an inn and she is held hostage by the exhortations of Grigory Petrovitch Liharev.

Seems like Liharev might have taken the Forum -- a new age seminar which teaches people to be completely open  -- to the point that you meet someone for the first time and quickly share your intimate thoughts like you've known them for years. And Liharev would have been an ace Forum student. He's so good at what he does that you feel that this high class woman might just be willing to follow him,  a down and out forty year old, to the end of the world if he had more of a chance to work his spell on her.

The thing here is passion. Most of us just go about doing our thing and we don't burn -- we mostly simmer -- well -- since this story is called On The Road -- let me share some Jack Kerouac from his great novel On The Road that seems apropos:

"[...] the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!' "

Liharev is definitely mad and people who are living normal lives are taken aback by such force -- such vitality -- such passion -- maybe they also desire it for themselves -- want to be in that ring of fire -- want to fully live in the moment. . .

But then the day comes and one wakes up and moves on.

Miie. Ilovaisky will continue being who she is -- wondering what's missing -- why she lacks that kind of passion? -- what is it that attracted her to Liharev? -- and Liharev will continue burning until he finally fades into the dark.

A FATHER

A Father

He can't help himself. He drinks. He gambles. He lies. But he's the father so he has to be respected.

Ok. I'm tired of being nice.

He is a demon. A monster. A scoundrel. Despicable.

Ok. I'm tired of being hateful.

His children seem to have become good people. They are doing right by him.

What do you do with a father like this? Do you turn your back on him and never see him again? Do you try to reform him? Or do you do what he says his children do -- which is to accept him for what he is and try to give him help when he needs it?

What's great about this story is how Chekhov doesn't try to gloss over the father's imperfections. He shows him to be a monster and once you've gone there -- well -- why hold back? There's nothing more fun than depicting a monster in all his glory.

He exposes him for everything he is. There is no pity. No sympathy.

And yet -- what about the children -- especially Boris. He is the son and if he still loves his father -- then should we admire that kind of devotion?

Sure one feels like yelling at the father and Boris and those women in the hole -- what's wrong with you people? Get this man some help. Boris, get out of there. Don't enable him!

Modern psychiatric pop talk inevitably creeps in. Twelve step programs. Co-dependency. Narcissistic personality disorder. You name it.

But in the end you have a father and his son. And if the father has failings -- then the son if he has a heart will try to offer him a hand -- because -- he's a son.

AT A COUNTRY HOUSE

At A Country House

Lived a toad. An old upper class know-it-all, Rashevitch, who loves to talk and talk and talk.

Listening to himself is music to his ears and everyone else's speech is static.

He hasn't read a new book in twenty years -- hasn't travelled -- but he's full of ideas.

Standing in front of him is a nice young man Meier -- a potential suitor to one of his daughters -- who actually tolerates him -- but the toad finally alienates him like he's done to everyone else in town.

A mean spirit -- full of contempt for all except those of Blue Blood -- in the end becomes corrosive. Drowns in his own venom.

The Golden Rule: One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself. The egoist toad Rashevitch never learned this and all his talk about superiority only masks his complete insignificance.

What is most pathetic of all is that all his words are a mask covering up his fears and insecurities. And mostly the feeling of not being loved. When you feel you are not loved then you begin to attack others -- compensating for the emptiness. If his daughters had not been so bored -- or frivolous and actually respected and loved their father -- then the toad may in deed have become a prince.

How were the daughters raised? Was the toad always a toad? Did his wife also not love him? Where did his feeling of not being loved begin?

The world is full of sad, unhappy people who feel unloved and we all suffer as a result.

The Beatles had it right: All You Need is Love.

That said, I have one big problem with this story. It's false.

After Rashevitch messes up and offends Meier and Meier tells him that he comes from the Artisan class -- Chekhov proceeds to make Rashevitch feel ashamed.

Rashevitch regrets what he did. He knows he screwed up and he wants his daughters to forgive him.

However, I've known a few people like Rashevitch and they never feel ashamed. They are not contrite. In fact, they retrench. He would be blaming Meier and not himself. Egoists never think they're wrong. That's why they're egoists. They only see their side of things.

And Rashevitch is presented as a major egoist and he's probably been like that for a long time and in reality he will continue in his ways and it's up to others to get with the program. If he was that self-aware and so readily ashamed for his crude behavior he would've changed his ways a long time ago. Egoists are blind to their surroundings and their actions.

That's why this world is so hard to make better because people are not going to change their ways no matter how wrong they seem to everyone else.

They will stick to their guns come hell or high water.

MY LIFE

My Life

Another really long story. But I enjoyed this tale.

You learn a lot about Russian society. Born a noble you have to act like a noble. You don't go around painting roofs. Unless of course you are Poloznev the son of the architect.

He decides to do things his way. He finds most of society corrupted. Wants no cushy boring noble work that does no one any good. He is a rebel. And society looks down on him when he decides to become a workman.

His father disowns him -- which is fine by him. Poloznev the architect represents everything the son despises. He is a lousy architect who builds homes which suffocate people.

Ah, yes freedom. And that's what this story is all about.

The freedom to decide what life you are going to live. And essentially most of Chekhov stories deal with this theme. Society expects you to act a certain way and that certain way may not be what you want. And you have a choice of conforming to what society dictates and enduring your misery or rebel and live the life you want and the hell with what society thinks. Chekhov seems to advocate for the latter.

But it's not that simple. You may decide to live a life of freedom and still not be happy. Take a look at Masha. Portrayed as a woman who does what she pleases. But if you do what you please and not think about the consequences of your actions -- well that kind of narcissistic life may bring you some kind of satisfaction but at the expense of others.

Masha plays like she champions the peasants and marries Poloznev but it's all a game to her. She is just doing it to broaden her horizon -- sort of like some in today's society go and do different things to find themselves. They may try yoga or spirituality or volunteering in a soup kitchen -- all for the goal of self-improvement.

When push comes to shove -- Masha despises the peasants and the life of the worker and flees back to her pampered life. Masha, Chekhov implies,  will never be truly satisfied because she only cares for herself. She has freedom and nothing else.

Poloznev has freedom and commitment. He doesn't make quick judgements. He sees the peasants for what they are but he also admires that they "believed the chief thing on earth was truth and justice."

Poloznev sees the hypocrisy of society -- all these intellectuals doing intellectual activities and what does it get them. He instead admires a fine carpenter or a good painter -- they do things that are real -- and don't pretend to be anything they are not. ( Just a side note -- look at Richard Feynman's book "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character" -- a scientist who looks at the issue of actually doing and knowing things.)

This is also a story of family. More precisely how a father's dominance can affect his children. The son beaten constantly by the father becomes a loner and an outsider. Poloznev's sister Kleopatra who also lives under the thumb of the father and is totally miserable. She finally finds love with a married man who has kids and she is rejected by society and dies giving birth. Using harsh methods to keep order in the end doesn't work. You can't completely control the human heart and people will find a way to escape tyranny -- good or bad.

Going back to truth and justice -- that is a rare quality in any society and mostly we put up with lies and deceit -- so that when truth and justice actually show up nobody knows what to do with it. And if you choose to live a life of truth and justice you must be prepared for rejection and criticism. Nobody wants to be showed up. The liar hates the truth teller.

Once I worked in a store where the manager was a cheat and I pointed out to him that what he was doing was not right -- and sure enough I became the bad guy -- the one who wanted to ruin the system -- the one who posed danger and eventually I was forced to resign. So it goes. Society has rules and those rules favor those who have the power and they don't like rebels or people who want change.

Poloznev doesn't want to change society but he refuses to go along with what he considers are corrupt ways so he changes his life and does things his way -- and achieves a modicum of contentment. Which is better than most.

This story revisits the peasant theme which I suppose was popular at the time -- as it is today -- the peasant might today be the homeless or the poor -- and people make judgements about what is best to help them -- some argue for government help and others argue that they have to help themselves and right now -- 2011 in America -- we are having this precise argument.

The government, most in the political right believe,  should not be in the business of helping those less fortunate because this only spoils them and enables them to be lazy and unproductive -- let them help themselves if they want or if they are too ignorant to do that -- well -- let them suffer seems to be their stance.

And on the left -- they want a government that takes care of the poor and is a strong presence for insuring equal opportunity and creating a society where the rich don't dominate everything. Even if we have to pay high taxes and burden ourselves with government regulations.

I suppose that in one fashion or another that same argument was being played out in Russia at the end of the nineteenth century. You have the whole scene with the the school that Masha builds and whether or not the peasants can actually gain something from being educated. The scene when the school finally gets built and peasants give Masha respect and thanks is quite touching and speaks quite favorably for the character of the peasant and unfortunately also illustrates the selfishness of Masha. If she was really interested in aiding the peasants this was a good beginning instead she saw this as a farewell. Her life wasn't going to be burdened with charity -- she has places to go -- people to see. 

Another fine scene is when Kleopatra tries to do some acting and instead has a nervous breakdown. Art and self-expression as the cure for all that ails. Not in this case. (The relationship between Misail and Kleopatra reminds me a bit of Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie and the relationship between Tom and Laura -- controlled not by their father but by their mother.)

My Life reveals that a life has many dimensions and Chekhov here does justice to its complexity.

VEROTCHKA

Verotchka

It Ain't Me, Babe Bob Dylan's song comes to mind after reading this story.

Verotchka has all the elements I love in a Chekhov story.

The intellectual young man -- who is trying to make something of his life -- a bit naive when it comes to women -- and suddenly confronted by his dreams -- his hopes and finding nothing inside -- and wondering why?

And this is really a story of memory -- how do we preserve the past -- the present -- life keeps moving on and what we have this moment fades and where does it go -- like the cranes Chekhov describes -- they disappear into the wind and what's left?

It's also a story of knowing yourself -- wanting to find out why you are who you are -- and this story also gets you so involved you want to jump inside -- you want to say hold up -- let me talk to Ivan Alexeyitch for one moment.

"My man, Ivan -- what's going on over here? You got a beautiful girl declaring her love for you. Don't blow this! I know you think too much -- you might not be able to handle this right now -- but look at her she's beautiful -- you feel good with her -- you'll never find someone like her -- your whole life you'll be searching for her and she's right here -- grab her -- grab the moment -- I don't care what's happened before -- kiss her -- stroke her hair -- wipe her tears -- do something -- do something now!"

But of course -- I can't jump in -- the moment has passed and Ivan Alexeyitch lives without his Verotchka.

I also like the way the story is presented from Ivan Alexeyitch's perspective -- so we see Verotchka -- but we don't really see her -- and we assume she's beautiful -- but we also are aware how after she confesses her love to him -- she changes and seems shorter -- less beautiful.

Love stories are timeless.

And so is the idea of premature old age -- how some of us for whatever reason resort to inhabiting a life where we are shut off from passion -- from happiness -- from living -- and we do it to ourselves -- and mostly we never recover -- we wander through life observing -- like watching others dining and carousing through a pane of glass -- separated from the noise and the chaos and the joy -- too afraid to crash through and be a part of the experience.

To all of us: Carpe diem.

THE CHORUS GIRL

The Chorus Girl

Is it a setup?

This is an intriguing tale. At first you feel sorry for the wife -- then you feel sorry for the chorus girl.

My guess is that the chorus girl was framed by Nikolay Petrovitch Kolpakov and his wife. They may be of noble stock and still be broke while the chorus girl might be common and quite well-off and they used their advantages to rob her of hers.

It takes a classic scenario and adds a whole new twist.

Sweet!

THE STEPPE

The Steppe

This story took me a while to read. At first, I was having difficulty following the story. What is this all about? Is there a narrative? Is it going anywhere? Such pedantic thoughts -- and then -- well -- Chekhov works his magic and as usual he is way ahead of me.

I kept reading and finally started to catch up. This story  grows on you. I would compare it to a film -- one of those slow films that might make you sleepy but you go with it -- you may not know what is happening at first -- but you like the scenery -- and then you get to know the characters and then all comes together and you begin to gel with it.

For me the story started to come to life with the appearance of the waggoners. You are amused by their antics and at other times you feel for their plight. The characters are so rich -- funny -- real. Full of life.

And what is the story about? It is the journey that Yegorushka takes -- leaving his village for an education. A chance for him to grow up -- and you feel this boy will turn out to be a real gem. Yegorushka is curious and sentimental -- but he is also ready to stand his ground if need be. He will fight for what he believes in.

But this is everyone's story -- we all leave our home one way or another and begin the journey -- the journey of growing up and seeing things and experiencing things that will forever be etched in our brain.

When I was eight I left Gibraltar and headed to America and that journey done on a ship crossing the Atlantic was more than a trip -- it marked the boundary between a certain innocence and a certain awareness of the world.

So while the story did take a while before I warmed up to it -- once I was in sync with it -- I began to appreciate it for what it is -- Chekhov has a chance to wax poetically about the physical aspects of the steppe and the people who reside there.

Along the way Chekhov tells us a lot about the Russian character -- and about life in general.

It is a meditative piece -- one not to rush through -- given a chance it offers rich rewards.