Fulvio Franchi. The Experience of Sakhalin in Chekhov’s Works
The author maintains that his journey to Sakhalin provided Chekhov with a new perspective on a harsh reality that was little known to the public. This problem concerned Chekhov a lot, and after his trip he wrote a scholarly and statistical work about his experience, thinking he would awaken society’...
| Published in: | QUAESTIO ROSSICA |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | Russian |
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Ural Federal University
2016
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| Online Access: | https://journals.urfu.ru/index.php/QR/article/view/192 https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2016.4.192 |
| Summary: | The author maintains that his journey to Sakhalin provided Chekhov with a new perspective on a harsh reality that was little known to the public. This problem concerned Chekhov a lot, and after his trip he wrote a scholarly and statistical work about his experience, thinking he would awaken society’s conscience. In Sakhalin Island, he offers his testimony as a humanist of what he saw, heard and lived through on the island. Even though Chekhov’s trip to Sakhalin Island was an important event in the author’s life, he did not often write about his experiences there in his works of fiction. Except for works where Chekhov mentions Sakhalin directly (The Murder), the author analyses many works that reflect Chekhov’s Sakhalin experience in the representation of the characters, in their way of thinking (The Murder, In Exile), or in their personal understanding of confinement (Ward N° 6). The author argues that Chekhov accentuates many “sore points” of the 20th century. Finally, the author concludes that Chekhov’s writing has a general spirit known as “dead silence”, which can be found in the creative works of many 20th-century artists. Проводится мысль о том, что путешествие Чехова на остров Сахалин через Сибирь открыло ему глаза на суровую реальность, плохо известную русской публике, – жизнь ссыльных и заключенных на каторге. Эта проблема очень волновала Чехова, после путешествия он написал о своем опыте научное и статистическое сочинение, думая, что таким образом он разбудит совесть общества. В книге «Остров Сахалин» он как гуманист свидетельствует о том, что сам видел, слышал и пережил. Хотя чеховское путешествие на Сахалин было важным эпизодом в жизни автора, в художественных произведениях он не часто пишет о своих впечатлениях от пребывания на этом острове, на котором он посетил тюремные лагеря и узнал о жизненных трудностях заключенных, поселенцев, чиновников и других жителей. Рассмотрены не только те произведения Чехова, в которых обнаруживаются буквальные упоминания об острове («Убийство»), но и те, в которых ... |
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