“If They Don’t Understand My ʽIvanov’ Now, I’ll Throw It in the Oven and Write the Story ʽEnough’”: Turgenev’s Contexts of Anton Chekhov’s Early Drama

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Belyaeva, I. A. “ʽIf They Don’t Understand My ‘Ivanov’ Now, I’ll Throw It in the Oven and Write the Story ‘Enough’’: Turgenev’s Contexts of Anton Chekhov’s Early Drama.” Dva veka russkoi klassiki, vol. 8, no. 1, 2026, pp. 96–109. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-1-96-109
Abstract:
This article examines the references to Turgenev’s work in Chekhov’s early play “Ivanov.” These references can be seen both as a polemic against the recognizable plot and character models of Turgenev’s prose and as a continuation of his predecessor’s dramatic discoveries, which were not fully appreciated by his contemporaries. Chekhov refuted the early critics’ tendency to see in “Ivanov” the author’s inability to handle the central character, who they perceived as pessimistic, by noting, not without irony, that if he was not understood even after his revisions, he would throw his play into the fire and write the story “Enough,” thereby recalling Turgenev and offering the reader a key to reading his work. Chekhov did not consider “Ivanov” as an expression of personal disappointments, as Turgenev did in “Enough.” In “Ivanov,” Chekhov offered a contemporary reflection on the typical Turgenevian love situation (a weak hero and a strong heroine), questioning the viability of the familiar literary model. He took into account, but reinterpreted, Turgenev’s achievements in the presentation of dramatic action and the dramatic character, which is not reducible to a specific type or role.
Keywords: A. P. Chekhov, I. S. Turgenev, “Ivanov,” “A Month in the Country,” drama, dramatic character
Author: Irina A. Belyaeva
Information about the author:
Irina A. Belyaeva, DSc in Philology, Professor, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, 119991 Moscow, Russia; Leading Research Fellow, 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/0000-0003-2840-4034

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Received: November 05, 2025
Approved after reviewing: January 19, 2026
Published: March 25, 2026
Issue: 2026 Volume 8 No. 1
Pages: 96-109
DOI: Visit Website
EDN:
https://elibrary.ru/UOVTTW
UDK: 821.161.1.09"19"
Publication Type: Research Article

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