Chekhov as a writer and as a doctor

Abstract

In his short autobiography, Anton Pavlovich wrote that after a great number of years, although he could not remember what exactly had prompted him at one time to choose the profession of a doctor and enter the medical faculty of the university, he knew for sure that subsequently he never regretted his choice. In his letters, he even wrote that he considered literature to be his wife, while medicine was his mistress, and when he got tired of one, he turned his gaze to the other. «Perhaps this is immoral to some extent,» he wrote, «but I never get bored. Why not chase two hares if there were hounds!» Chekhov began his medical practice in the Zvenigorod district of the Moscow province. He was lucky to have as his mentor an outstanding physician P. A. Arkhangelsky, whose fame as a practicing therapist was so great that young doctors from almost all over the country came to him to gain experience. The eminent doctor was very pleased with the success of the talented young man, and even left him solely for the entire hospital as a practicing doctor. Such activity helped Chekhov not only gain invaluable medical experience, but also formed the basis of many of his works, such as «The Runaway», «Village Doctors», «On Official Duty». Anton Chekhov devoted the first half of the day to receiving patients, and in the afternoon, he took part in autopsies, acted as a medical expert, and consulted especially difficult and controversial cases of diseases.