Dads, Papas, and Fathers in A. P. Chekhov’s Prose

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Dubinina T. G. “Dads, Papas and Fathers in A. P. Chekhov’s Prose.” Dva veka russkoi klassiki, vol. 8, no. 1, 2026, pp. 78–95. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-1-78-95
Abstract:
The article examines different representations of the father’s image in Anton Chekhov’s prose works from the 1880s to the early 1890s. The author of the article proves that the typical situation of “fathers and children” has a large number of variants in the writer’s work, which can be explained by the peculiarities of his artistic anthropology, which presupposes the uniqueness of human nature. The article identifies three main types of “fathers” — the ironically depicted “daddy,” the tyrant, and the loving parent. Despite the variability of Chekhov’s theme of fatherhood, in 1886, it marked a clear turn from the comic depiction of the father’s image to its complication. The biographical context becomes an important tool for understanding the nature of such changes. The dynamics of Chekhov’s assessments of his father, P. E. Chekhov, are important. Also at this time, the writer becomes the de facto head of the family, assuming the responsibilities of providing material support to relatives. Intertextual connections play a special role in the poetics of prose works related to the theme of fatherhood. The most important for Chekhov is the legacy of I. S. Turgenev, from “Notes of a Hunter” to the novels “The Day Before” and “Fathers and Children.”
Keywords: A. P. Chekhov, the image of the father, fathers and sons, artistic anthropology, artistic transformation, biographical context
Author: Tatiana G. Dubinina
Information about the author:
Tatiana G. Dubinina, PhD in Philology, Senior Researcher, A. M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Povarskaya St., 25A, bld. 1, 121069 Moscow, Russia.

ORCID ID: https:// orcid.org/0000-0002-2546-0164

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Received: August 14, 2025
Approved after reviewing: October 16, 2025
Published: March 25, 2026
Issue: 2026 Volume 8 No. 1
Pages: 78-95
DOI: Visit Website
EDN:
https://elibrary.ru/UUXSJA
UDK: 821.161.1.09"19"
Publication Type: Research Article

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