In 1903 this was the first Chekhov collection to be released to the English speaking world. According to Woolf, he was ambivalently received by Anglophones at the time. Edwardians especially liked stories with neat, clearly didactic endings. There's none of that here. Chekhov is deeply philosophical and invites frequent rereading.

What's most surprising about Chekhov as a modern reader is how directly he critiques philosophies which are now experiencing a resurgence. If, like me, you've been recommended YouTube videos which paraphrase Aurelius and Diogenes, you will find his nuanced ideas refreshing -- even life affirming. Chekhov uses the macabre to rally against self-denial; he much prefers self-actualisation.

In many of these stories he comes across as a fierce anti-Buddhist, Stoic, mystic. A theme which is returned to in many of these stories is the cowardice of attaching oneself to immorality. His rebuttals of Tolstoyan thought suggest that a strong personal legacy is a more authentic goal than spiritual immortality.

As a medical doctor, a philanthropist and a prolific writer, he advocates for inward improvement. As the only major Russian writer closely descended from serfdom, he argues for outward social change, not -- in the manner of Diogenes -- the denial of corporal and mental suffering.

Chekhov doesn't want you to find your soul, he wants you to make it. For those stuffy Edwardian readers, that sometimes requires coming up with your own ending. ( )

חמישה סיפורים קצרים וארוכים יותר. עוני, יסורי נפש, נשמה, טבע. רוסיה בהתגלמותה ( )