The hunting concept identity in works by A.P. Chekhov of early 1880s

Studying early works by A.P. Chekhov is of special interest for research of correlation between epic and drama origins which are a part of the hunting motif semantic structure. Chekhov develops the motif throughout all his works, both in prose and drama. It is suggested that the content of the Nature and Hunting magazine, where Chekhov published some of his works, should be analyzed for better understanding of Chekhov's writing style, art vision, hunting motif identity and the process of conceptualization of the motif by increasing its ambivalence. The content of the magazine is represented by some fiction and documentary pieces, written in continuing the literary tradition of S.T. Aksakov and I.S. Turgenev. Chekhov as a writer developed in frames of the 1880s fiction: he adopted the tradition and based his works on it, meanwhile in the content and poetics of the hunting motif and concept he emphasized dramatic denotations referring to Russian everyday life and Russians' characters. Special attention is given to understanding the semantic movement of the hunting motif towards hunting construct, which is observed in early works by Chekhov: from his play "Fatherless" (1878) to short novels "Petrov's Day" (1881), "June, 29" (1882), "At Wolf Seating" (1882), "A Living Chattle", "He Understands!" (1883), "A Retired Slave" (1883). The conceptualization of the hunting motif in early works by Chekhov correlates to the process of his moral and philosophical quest, and it is expressed in paying special attention to a Russian's view of life, besides the hunting events, nature scenes and everyday life, which differs A.P. Chekhov from the other fictionists published in the Nature and Hunting magazine. From this point, the process of conceptualization in Chekhov's early works is expressed through the author's definitions and the narrator character, moving towards a more complex understanding of a human being and a drama of his or her everyday life as a reflection of the epoch. Chekhov builds on his own knowledge and experience of previous classic authors, when using the hunting motif in his early works and artfully varying the aspects of the motif to create an inclusive panorama of the Russian world. Chekhov develops a form of short story, and the form, supplied with the nationally significant hunting motif, is filled with epic content which is characterized by special dramatic tension as a result of rethinking Turgenev's tradition: that is the innovation Chekhov presented. In his early works the semantic frame of the hunting concept is determined. It is fully expressed in the novel Drama on the Hunting and in the comedy "Wood-Goblin" ["Leshy"], where the ambivalence peculiar to the conceptual hunting motif specifies the lyric and philosophic symbolism of the landscape and characters structure.

Keywords

Authors

References