Turgenev’s tradition in the early prose of A. P. Chekhov (a case study of the story “Late-Blooming Flowers,” 1882)

Abstract

The paper examines how Turgenev’s tradition is reinterpreted in the story “Late-Blooming Flowers,” belonging to the early period of Chekhov’s creative work. Attention is paid to the system of images and techniques of their depiction, the manor world, and reverence for the word. The analysis of Chekhov’s and Turgenev’s landscapes revealed that the ways of depict- ing familiar images were transformed into clichés. Psychological parallelism in Turgenev’s work contributes to the understanding of the characters’ inner states. Chekhov describes na- ture in cursory strokes by combining heterogeneous concepts in one row, leading to a comic effect. He ironically refers to the technique of creating the main characters with external facial features not indicative of the hero’s inner state. The change of literary eras also affects the type of hero, demanding a different artistic challenge. The change of values allows Chekhov to express his attitude to the modern era: the moral values of the past are consigned to oblivi- on. In Chekhov’s story, the manor world is destroyed, with the honor and dignity of the noble word replaced by drunkenness and riotous life. To summarize, Chekhov reinterpreted Turge- nev’s tradition not by criticizing the writing style but by expressing his attitude toward the writing process. For it was no longer possible to write as one did before, the literature of Che- khov’s time required new ways of imagery. It is through rethinking the Turgenev tradition that Chekhov assesses the moral foundation of the modern era, revealing the impossibility of the former way of life to exist.