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'What Did Your Uncle Die Of?': The Humor of Anton Chekhov
| Article
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11734 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
2 / 1994 |
5,537 Words |
| Author
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Zinovy Paperny
Zinovy Paperny is professor of Russian literature at the
Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of
Sciences in Moscow. |
Some humor is sweeping, hyperbolic, Rabelaisian. Every joke is a powerful blow, a reckless and hilarious verbal sally. It is otherwise with the humor of Anton Chekhov. Here is a short paragraph, a microdialogue, that Chekhov entered in his Notebook:
"What did your uncle die of?"
"He took sixteen drops of the Botkin medicine instead of fifteen, as the doctor had prescribed."
What we are facing here is humor of a totally different kind, low-percussive, so to speak. Although uttered in a quiet voice, it carries far. Even its slightest, barely perceptible touch is palpable enough to make the reader's soul susceptible to it.
There is a saying, the mountain brought forth a mouse. Here, conversely and surprisingly, a mere drop of medicine proves to be more significant than the person's whole life: One drop seals his fate. One cannot help conjuring up the image of a tiny medicine dropper letting out the liquid, drop by drop--one, two, three. . . . And, finally, here comes the last, fatal one. Poor uncle!
Similar equations of "life equals one drop" are typical of the structure of Chekhov's humor.
Here is another destiny, delineated in a rough sketch by his flying pen: "They used to tease the young lady, calling her `Castor Oil'; therefore she never got married."
The most distinctive element here is not that nobody wants to take castor oil but the ironic "therefore," for all its superficial seriousness. What is it all about? Well, the young lady had a funny if facetious nickname, although essentially there was nothing hurtful or abusive in it. The fact is, however, that the poor thing just never married.
Another young lady is totally unable to make up her mind whether she should marry a person whose last name is "Cool." On the whole, she feels like accepting him, and yet it is rather scary: The uncommon name repels her. "No way," she reflects sadly. "I would rather be without a husband than bear such an outlandish surname. `Cool' is what beverages are appropriately called, but I'm a woman, say what you will, not some lemonade."
Another example. " `Oh, you're my little
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