The Goal: Read. Reflect. Respond. Over two hundred Chekhov stories. Constance Garnett translations.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
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.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Chekhov is playing a trick on us. It's not Iona that is the point of the story. It's his long-suffering horse.
ReplyDeleteShe gets whipped. She's taken away from her home in the countryside. She doesn't get enough to eat. She's been separated from her own children.
Iona is too wrapped up in his own suffering that it doesn't occur to him that she must be suffering.
I first read this in high school and I completely missed this.
I guess the point Chekhov makes which I missed is when you are so wrapped up in your own misery you neglect taking care of others. And there is no easy solution. Iona depends on his mare and even if he were to realize her suffering he still needs her to survive. So is he just as culpable as his heartless customers?
DeleteYou're right, there's no easy solution. But, part of the problem is awareness, I think. Chekhov is trying to understand people and why they do what they do, and, maybe, it'll have an effect on readers for the better.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to reread, but it's possible that some of his heartless customers have their own life struggles and are concealing it.
I love this story, and the insight from the first comment here. When I read it, I didnt realize about the horse's suffering. This story reminds me to give an ear to someone who is in misery. But I am rushed to calm them with my solution. Even in this story, I would have figured out a way to advice him on how we can move on, but I dont think everyone needs a solution, they need solace that comes from silent hearing.
ReplyDelete