“Chekhov Shorts”: A Living Chattel
October 1, 2008 by Rob
Filed under Checkin Off the Chekhov Shorts, Forethoughts
Title: A Living Chattel
Date Read: 01 October 2008
Word Count: 13,395
Briefly: Two men, Groholsky and Bugrov, ‘compete’ for the love of a single woman – Elizaveta. The plot is made more complicated because Bugrov is married to the woman.
Afterthoughts: A good strong story from Chekhov, although perhaps a little too long to be classed as a ’short’ story maybe? I did have to stop and track back a little at times because Chekhov has a habit of using multiple names for the characters. It’s not a major issue. It just needs a bit of brain-power to work things out at times.
Notable Quote: “He felt as though thousands of eyes were looking at his back. It is a feeling known to the actor who has been hissed and is making his exit from the stage, and to the young dandy who has received a blow on the back of the head and is being led away in charge of a policeman.”
Rating: 
*Story read as part of my Checking Off The Chekhov Shorts reading challenge.
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Rob, a self-confessed bibliophile, is without any hope of rehabilitation. He gets unnaturally excited over anything book-shaped, and if book sniffing were a crime then he would have been locked up years ago (which wouldn't bother him in the slightest provided his cell were lined with books)
