Clash of Classes in Anton Chekhov's Selected Stories

Abstract

The focus of this research is in the area of clashes in small coterie of family or close circle such as lovers and co-workers determined by economic hegemony or class consciousness in the selected stories of Anton Chekhov. Such a study is important in order to see how have the characters in the stories of Chekhov been psychologically and socially influenced by economic hegemony. The stories selected in this project do not cover the large spectrum of class conflict, production and distribution as loudly discussed from the perspective of Marxism. The research approach adopted in this thesis includes realism intermingling economy and its impact upon behavior. The finding from this research provides an idea that characters in the stories of Chekhov are bound to ruin their sagacity and rational thinking due to economic phenomena. Even the family members cannot be together in some cases. When the poor fail to fight against the rich, they want mercy and love from the rich instead of fighting against the rich. To take a reference, in Chekhov‟s story, “On the Road” Liharev was in the movement of abolition of private property five years ago but later he expects love and kindness from them instead of fighting against them. The main conclusion drawn from this study is that an ideal view of people about good treatment to each other is not feasible in reality keeping economic matter aside. This thesis asserts that classless society as imagined by Marx is a utopian concept because characters‟ tussle in the stories of Chekhov is not only between the rich and the poor but between the poor too. Imposing ideal view about fair treatment to each other without solving fundamental economic problem seems baseless.