Abstract
The paper considers a particular case of interaction between A. P. Chekhov with a previous literary tradition, namely, with the romantic motif of the union of a hero and a woman, which has a mythical, otherworldly nature. According to the aesthetics of romanticism, the hero in this case seeks to join the ideal world through love, but such a union is always doomed, moreover, it is destructive either for one or for both. One of the options for the development of such a plot is that the the heroine misleads the hero (sometimes, being just a hostage of her essence) with her beauty, singing, etc., subsequently revealing her chthonic or infernal nature. Analysis of a number of A. P. Chekhov’s stories showed that on the external plot level, romantic stylistics and imagery are subject to reduction and parody. However, at the inner, latent level, Chekhov repeatedly uses this very romantic plot — the exposure of the ideal lover. The plot is shaped by allusions to mythology and folklore; these are primarily portrait and landscape descriptions, names, details, repetitions. The non-obviousness of this underlying plot is that all of the above may be read and from purely realistic standpoint.
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