Letters of Anton Chekhov to his Family and Friends

Letters of Anton Chekhov
by
Anton Chekhov

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by Anton Chekhov Translated by Constance Garnett
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Title: Letters of Anton Chekhov

Author: Anton Chekhov Translated by Constance Garnett
Release Date: September, 2004 [EBook #6408] [Yes, we are more than
one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on December 8,
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Edition: 10
Language: English
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LETTERS OF ANTON CHEKHOV TO HIS FAMILY AND
FRIENDS
WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
TRANSLATED BY CONSTANCE GARNETT

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE
Of the eighteen hundred and ninety letters published by Chekhov's
family I have chosen for translation these letters and passages from
letters which best to illustrate Chekhov's life, character and opinions.
The brief memoir is abridged and adapted from the biographical sketch
by his brother Mihail. Chekhov's letters to his wife after his marriage
have not as yet been published.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
In 1841 a serf belonging to a Russian nobleman purchased his freedom
and the freedom of his family for 3,500 roubles, being at the rate of 700
roubles a soul, with one daughter, Alexandra, thrown in for nothing.
The grandson of this serf was Anton Chekhov, the author; the son of
the nobleman was Tchertkov, the Tolstoyan and friend of Tolstoy.
There is in this nothing striking to a Russian, but to the English student
it is sufficiently significant for several reasons. It illustrates how recent
a growth was the educated middle-class in pre-revolutionary Russia,
and it shows, what is perhaps more significant, the homogeneity of the
Russian people, and their capacity for completely changing their whole
way of life.
Chekhov's father started life as a slave, but the son of this slave was
even more sensitive to the Arts, more innately civilized and in love
with the things of the mind than the son of the slaveowner. Chekhov's
father, Pavel Yegorovitch, had a passion for music and singing; while
he was still a serf boy he learned to read music at sight and to play the
violin. A few years after his freedom had been purchased he settled at
Taganrog, a town on the Sea of Azov, where he afterwards opened a
"Colonial Stores."
This business did well until the construction of the railway to
Vladikavkaz, which greatly diminished the importance of Taganrog as
a port and a trading centre. But Pavel Yegorovitch was always inclined
to neglect his business. He took an active part in all the affairs of the
town, devoted himself to church singing, conducted the choir, played
on the violin, and painted ikons.
In 1854 he married Yevgenia Yakovlevna Morozov, the daughter of a
cloth merchant of fairly good education who had settled down at
Taganrog after a life spent in travelling about Russia in the course of
his business.

There were six children, five of whom were boys, Anton being the third
son. The family was an ordinary patriarchal household of the kind
common at that time. The father was severe, and in exceptional cases
even went so far as to chastise his children, but they all lived on warm
and affectionate terms. Everyone got up early, the boys went to the
high school, and when they returned learned their lessons. All of them
had their hobbies. The eldest, Alexandr, would construct an electric
battery, Nikolay used to draw, Ivan to bind books, while Anton was
always writing stories. In the evening, when their father came home
from the shop, there was choral singing or a duet.
Pavel Yegorovitch trained his children into a regular choir, taught them
to sing music at sight, and play on the violin, while at one time they
had a music teacher for the piano too. There was also a French
governess who