“THE CHERRY ORCHARD” BY ANTON CHEKHOV AND “THE ATONEMENT” BY IGNATY POTAPENKO: THE ARTISTIC INTERDEPENDENCE AND THE PLOT CORRESPONDENCE

Abstract

It is generally recognized that the dramaturgy of Anton Chekhov had a significant impact on the theatre of the 20th century. At the same time, the question of the writer’s role in the playwright’s work of the turn of the 19th–20th centuries has been little studied in literature. Ignaty Potapenko is one of the most popular writers of the 1890s and a friend of Anton Chekhov. The article presents a comparative analysis of the plays – “The Cherry Orchard” by Anton Chekhov and “The Atonement” by Ignaty Potapenko – in which the same topic is revealed: the old nobiliary manors destruction. The plot and the conflict as the elements of writer’s dramatic method are considered. The main motifs of the plays are analysed. It is noted that the conflict of Ignaty Potapenkoʼs play is psychological and traditional for classical drama. There is no conflict between characters in “The Cherry Orchard”. The conflict is philosophical. The role of the double-characters in both plays is considered. It is proved that both plays are united by the motif of foreboding disaster, catastrophe. It is proved that both plays are united by the motif of disaster and catastrophe premonition, existence of the internal and external plot. The ideological and thematic unity of the plays, the interconnection of some motifs, plot and compositional elements were discovered. It is shown that in the play by Ignaty Potapenko there are elements of both classical drama and the “new drama”.