Anton Chekhov (Creator) - TV Tropes

Creator /
Anton Chekhov
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"If in the first act you have hung a rifle on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there."
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (Russian: Анто́н Па́влович Че́хов; 29 January 1860  15 July 1904) was a Russian short-story writer, playwright and physician in the turn of The 20th Century. He's best known for his dramatic works, and especially his four major plays: The Seagull, Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya and The Cherry Orchard. His plays seem to be nearly-plotless character studies. Although they're often about how depressed people are with the lives they lead, Chekhov referred to his plays as Comedies (aside from Three Sisters). His main objective with his work was to get people to see the pain in their lives and make a change. He worked as a doctor most of his life, and there are many doctors as characters in his work. His plays were not well-received initially, and he almost gave up writing after the first production of The Seagull was a bomb... and then it was revived four years later by the Moscow Art Theater and was a huge smash hit.
He had some of the greatest last words ever: "It has been a long time since I tasted champagne," right after his last sip.
He is strongly associated with Stanislavski (the grandfather of Method acting), who considered himself the expert on Chekhov's plays. Chekhov disagreed, as Stanislavski insisted on playing Chekhov's comedies completely straight.
At the age of 20, he wrote a short story called "What's Most Commonly Found In Novels, Novellas etc.". That's right, the guy created a short prototype for TV Tropes!
Other works by Anton Chekov contain examples of:
In the short story "The Bet", after a discussion at a party about whether execution or imprisonment is more humane, a young lawyer makes a bet with a Morally Bankrupt Banker that he can remain in solitary confinement for 15 years. If he wins, he gets 2 million rubles, but if he loses, the banker believes that he will have wasted 15 years of his life.
Subverted when the banker finds himself substantially poorer, and even contemplates going into the cell and killing the lawyer, only to enter the cell and read the letter the lawyer has written, stating that through the books he has read and the music he enjoyed in confinement, his imagination has allowed him to vicariously enjoy greater pleasures and achieve marvelous feats (in his imagination). The lawyer, fifteen years older and wiser, leaves the cell five minutes before the contract is set to expire, willfully renouncing the banker's wager of two million rubles and rejecting the foolish vanities of wealth, which brings relief to the banker who would have gone broke if the lawyer decided to stay the whole time and take the money.
Delusions of Eloquence: Informed example — the narrator of the short story "Peasants" characterizes the "hetman" of the village, saying that he is unable to read but had acquired "bookish expressions." The reader never hears much of his speech but is left to imagine that it would be much like this.
Go Mad from the Isolation: In "The Bet", the banker wagers 2 million rubles that the lawyer wouldn't last 5 years in an isolated cell; the lawyer raises the term of confinement to 15 years. During the first year, the lawyer endures loneliness and boredom, according to his notes. Later, in the fifth year, he doesn't eat or drink, lies on his bed, and is seen yawning and muttering angrily to himself and crying, according to people who see and hear him from the window. Near the end of the final year of confinement, the lawyer has become little more than skin and bones, has long gray hair, a shaggy beard, and pale, yellowed skin. The banker considers smothering him to death to put him out of misery, until he finds a letter the lawyer has written in which he despises freedom, life, health, and what the books call the blessings of the world. In his imagination, the lawyer has seen incredible sights of nature, worked miracles, murdered, burned cities, preached new religions, and conquered kingdoms and empires. He ultimately despises the blessings of this world and its wisdom, and he plans to leave before the appointed time, forfeiting his wealth.
Gone Horribly Right: In the short story "Put too Much Salt", a traveler riding a mailcoach is scared of the large and rough driver and tries to scare him. The traveller sort-of-casually mentions how badass he is, how many weapons he carries, how he loves to fight and that several armed friends will be joining him midway to the next station. The driver thinks he's a bandit and runs away. Leaving the coach in the winter forest in the middle of nowhere with sunset approaching. Fortunately, the driver only hid within earshot and the traveler managed to persuade him it all was a joke.
Good Adultery, Bad Adultery: A common trope in some of Chekov's stories is that people in unhappy marriages end up finding love in affairs, although notable exceptions exist
In The Butterfly, while Olga seemed to genuinely love her husband, she entered into an affair with another man. Said affair was miserable for both parties, yet neither Olga nor her partner would cut it off. Olgas husband Dymov would find out about it, yet he believed it was his own fault, and as you might expect their marriage severely suffered. Dymov was a doctor and was working with a patient one day when he contracted his illness. Olga upon learning of this, realizes she wasted their marriage with someone who made her miserable while neglecting someone she actually did love. She's determined to turn things around, but alas it is too late and the illness takes Dymovs life.
Happiness in Slavery: "Peasants" follows a trend of late nineteenth century Russian literature to depict the serfs as having been better off before emancipation.
Nothing but Skin and Bones: Near the end of "The Bet", the banker goes in to check on the lawyer, and discovers that the lawyer's haggard appearance: his beard and hair are grey, a yellowish face, sunken cheeks, a long and narrow back, and bony hands. In addition, the lawyer is now about 40 years old.
Self-Restraint: In "The Bet", a young lawyer bets that he could survive fifteen years in a prison, and an older banker offers him a large sum of money if he can spend the whole time in his garden house — a prison with no locks or bars, with only a guard to report that the lawyer has escaped and thus forfeited the bet.
Was It Really Worth It?: In "The Bet", the young lawyer makes the wager that he can endure 15 years of imprisonment to prove whether imprisonment is more humane than execution. Near the end of the wager, the lawyer has accumulated wisdom from reading the books throughout the years, but when the banker goes to check on him, he has become an old, haggard skeleton-like human with his overgrown grey hair and beard, yellowish skin, sunken cheeks, a long and narrow back, and bony hands. During this time of imprisonment, the lawyer has spent 15 years of his life in voluntary confinement, is about 40 years old, and in addition to his accumulated knowledge, his body has turned into Nothing but Skin and Bones, and might possibly acquire dementia.
Why Won't You Die?: In "The Bet", as the banker's wager is about to reach its conclusion, the banker finds his fortunes have greatly declined from risky investments on the Exchange and bad investments. Lampshaded by the banker, who is at risk of nearly going bankrupt and losing two million rubles to the lawyer:
"That cursed bet... Why didn't the man die? He's only forty years old. He will take away my last farthing, marry, enjoy life, gamble on the Exchange, and I will look on like an envious beggar and hear the same words from him every day: 'I'm obliged to you for the happiness of my life. Let me help you.' No, it's too much! The only escape from bankruptcy and disgraceis that the man should die."