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- Title
Какая роскошь! Darwin as Artist in Chekhov's Fiction.
- Authors
MILLER, M. E. L. I. S. S. A.
- Abstract
In his creative practice Chekhov embraced and encouraged fertile crossover between art and science. This essay examines his relationship to Charles Darwin and his work as a fascinating case in point, for Chekhov ranked Darwin not only as a preeminent scientist, but as one of the world's leading creative geniuses, alongside figures such as Tolstoy and Shakespeare. And not unlike a fellow artist, Chekhov was also committed to investigating the potential that Darwin's work had for writing imaginative prose. Many of Chekhov's stories of the 1880s and 1890s served as a laboratory in which to test evolutionary ideas. I examine how one of these works, Chekhov's enigmatic novella “The Duel,” is in creative dialogue with Darwinian evolution, with a particular focus on the novella's gender relations. Out of all of Chekhov's stories, “The Duel” is one of the most commented on, and with respect to the scientist Von Koren, its unapologetic Darwinist hero, is arguably the easiest to discuss in an evolutionary framework. But while Von Koren's individual Darwinism has often been remarked upon, Darwin's artistic influence on Chekhov's novella as a whole has yet to be satisfactorily explored. The purpose of this essay is to elucidate “The Duel”'s Darwinian poetics, thus allowing us a new way to understand the traditionally Chekhovian “unmotivated” ending.
- Subjects
CHEKHOV, Anton Pavlovich, 1860-1904; DARWIN, Charles, 1809-1882; SHAKESPEARE, William, 1564-1616; DUEL, The (Book); BIOLOGICAL evolution
- Publication
Russian Review, 2018, Vol 77, Issue 3, p378
- ISSN
0036-0341
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/russ.12185