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Two centuries of Russian classics

Philological journal
A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the
 Russian Academy of Sciences

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    Domanski, Yu. V. “A. P. Chekhov’s Plays in Guzel Yakhina’s Novel ʽEisen’: On the Importance of What’s in Parentheses.” Dva veka russkoi klassiki, vol. 8, no. 1, 2026, pp. 368–377. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-1-368-377

  • Abstract:

    This article examines two parenthetical constructions in Guzel Yakhina’s novel “Eisen.” Both constructions allude to Chekhov’s plays: the first to “The Cherry Orchard,” and the second to “Three Sisters.” It examines how classic Chekhovian titles, detached from the texts they initially reference, become short, independent texts with their own meanings in subsequent culture, often far removed from the original meanings of Chekhov’s plays. While Yakhina’s reference to “Three Sisters” is limited to the meanings of the title formula, without incorporating the meanings of the play itself, Yakhina’s use of “The Cherry Orchard” also brings to life the crucial situation of Chekhov’s comedy — the felling of the orchard. This event, presented as a final remark, is not embedded in the title formula as a standalone, separate text, so in this case, we can speak of a semantic reference not only to the formula “The Cherry Orchard” but also to the comedy itself. Meanwhile, both parenthetical constructions interact, forming a system whose meanings enrich the recipient text — Yakhina’s novel “Eisen.” The characters’ perspectives demonstrate the author’s assessment of existence, where art and life are understood through each other.

  • Keywords: drama, contemporary novel, A. P. Chekhov, “Three Sisters,” “The Cherry Orchard,” Guzel Yakhina, “Eisen,” title
  • Author: Yuri V. Domanski
  • Information about the author:

    Yuri V. Domanski, DSc in Philology, Professor, Russian State University for the Humanities, Miusskaya Sq., 6, 125993 Moscow, Russia; Samarkand State University named after Sharof Rashidov, University Sq., 15, 140104 Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

    ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7630-2270

    E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  • Received: October 28, 2025
  • Approved after reviewing: December 08, 2025
  • Published: March 25, 2026
  • Issue: 2026 Volume 8 No. 1
  • Pages: 368-377
  • DOI: Visit Website
  • EDN:

    https://elibrary.ru/VZQSWQ

  • UDK: 821.161.1.09"19/21"
  • Publication Type: Research Article

References

Domanskii, Iu. V. “K voprosu o chekhovskikh zaglaviiakh v sovremennom mire: al’bom ʽOdinokomu vezde pustynia’ rok-gruppy ʽZveri’.” [“On the Issue of Chekhov’s Titles in the Modern World: The Album ʽFor the Lonely, Everywhere is a Desert’ by the Rock Band ʽZveri’.”] Territoriia slovesnosti: sbornik v chest’ 70-letiia professor I. N. Sukhikh [Territory of Literature: A Collection in Honor of the 70th Anniversary of Professor I. N. Sukhikh]. St. Petersburg, Nestor-Istoriia Publ., 2022, pp. 229–240. (In Russ.)
Kataev, V. B. “Chekhov prodolzhaetsia” [“Chekhov Continues”]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriia 9. Filologiia, no. 6, 2024, pp. 28–36. (In Russ.)
Kataev, V. B. “Chekhov sovremennyy” [“Modern Chekhov”]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriia 9. Filologiia, no. 5, 2015, pp. 76–85. (In Russ.)