Early plays by Anton Chekhov: a dialogue with Ivan Turgenev

Abstract

This article tells about the influence of the poetics of Ivan Turgenev's works on the features of early Anton Chekhov’s drama – the student play “Platonov” (1880–1881), “Ivanov” (edited in 1888–1889) and “The Wood Demon” (1888–1889). The author studies in detail the degree of Chekhov's familiarity with the body of Turgenev's dramatic texts. The author reveals the unity of the chronotope of the noble nest, distant plot similarities (self-serving motivations of actions), and the thematic motif of self-condemnation of the characters. It is shown that in Chekhov's plays there are characters typologically close to Turgenev (Superfluous Man, Hamlet, Don Quixote, “Turgenev's girl”, sponger), and there are also such elements of the poetics of Turgenev's drama as monologue, the reception of interruptions, micro-plots. The article draws attention to the fact that Chekhov was the successor of the dramatic tradition established in Turgenev's work, and developed, rather than making direct borrowings. Thus was the nature of Chekhov's creative work, focused on a dialogue with the Turgenev heritage.