Revisiting Anton Chekhov

So, this week I've been reading Anton Chekhov, who I've read in past and felt a need to revisit. The book is a Dover Thrift Edition which is titled "Anton Chekhov- Five Great Short Stories." It was borrowed to me and quickly read.

Dover Thrift Edition books, if you're not familiar with them, have unique, often psychedelic designs around the entire book as well as a very bold and concise summary of its content on the back-cover. The first story I read from this series was Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground, translated by Constance Garnet. So naturally and nostalgically I was looking forward to a Chekhov refresher in the is particular format. This book, as well as Dostoevsky’s Notes from the Underground, were originally priced by Dover at $1.00; which makes one familiar with Russian Literature immediately realize great literature was and still is available at a negligible price… the thoughts and inspiration you can obtain for say $50 is a scary thought, when conventionally one often pays $50,000 for an education they’re not disposed to retain, value or appreciate. But then again, thinking differently can be dangerous as learned below.

Anyways, the book was more than I expected. I borrowed the book because the concept and commonly interpreted themes of one of the stories included in the collection, called the Black Monk interested me greatly, and to keep this blog under 46 pages, I’ll just partially touch on this story alone, although the other’s in this collection aren’t lacking in substance.

The Black Monk is a story about a man named Korvin, who is dubbed or possibly officially titled: “The Master of Arts” (what a title) who due to sickness moves back to the land of his childhood to get well by escaping all the possible un-pleasantries in Moscow. The story has a heartrending subplot, but I will only touch on the title character, the Black Monk, who appears to Korvin shortly after his visit to what one may call his homeland.

The Black Monk is a mythical figure who is known to be seen in visions precisely every 1000 years. Korvin is fortunate to see the Black Monk who tells him he is destined for greatness, which inspires him to work (study and write), while all the while a marriage is made between Korvin and the self-righteous gardener’s daughter. This vision of the Black Monk leaves Korvin and his acquaintances questioning the balance and importance of sanity, love and greatness. It causes Korvin to frown in the direction of what he believes is the common or the inconsequential beings as gardeners or clerks, while love and the fear of being perceived as insane diminish or devalue the want for greatness the Black Monk foresees as inevitable. The illusion gives him insight to his curse of genius and all the while ruins him physically and mentally. The story delivers a tragic ending and causes you to question what Korvin and his acquaintances are cursed to question long after the short story is finished.

I was going to include a Black Monk Inspired Knock Knock Joke to lighten the air, but after reading the joke I realized no one should be submitted to my humor... guess I'll just leave you thoughtful, sad and hopefully curious...

"What does it all mean?"