1、17.Enemies Anton Pavlovich Chekhov安東巴甫洛維奇契訶夫 Summary Kirilov is the district doctor. His six-year old son has just this moment died of diphtheria. He stands watching his wife caress the body as the doorbell rings. It is a wealthy stranger (Abogin) who begs the Doctor to come treat his wife who is in

2、 great pain. Kirilov says that he cannot possibly leave his wife at this time. Abogin insists, however, claiming that the doctor must know how terrible it is to witness the illness of a loved one and that his home is close-by. Kirilov relents.But when they arrive at Abogins house, his wife is not ho

3、me. She has pretended to be ill so that her husband would leave the house allowing her to run away with her lover. Abogin is crushed and begins to complain to Kirilov. Kirilov is fiercely angry that he has been dragged from his sons death-bed to hear Abogins love troubles. They scream at one another

4、, and the doctor returns home, with a firm and undying conviction that all those with money deserve his hatred.Commentary Chekhov suggests that grief and misery do not bring people together to share, but force them apart. Pain is egotistic. The story also reflects on the status of doctors. When Abog

5、in tries to lure the Doctor from his house, he speaks of the noble, self-sacrificing profession of medicine. However, he has so little respect for Kirilov as to hound him, then offer him money to absolve the insult. Kirilov, meanwhile, unjustly forms a prejudice against the rich that will never leav

6、e him.Anton Pavlovich Chekhov BornAnton Pavlovich Chekhov 29 January 1860 Taganrog, Russian Empire Died15 July 1904 (aged 44) Badenweiler, German Empire OccupationPhysician, short story writer, playwright. NationalityRussian He was a Russian physician, dramaturge and author who is considered to be a

7、mong the greatest writers of short stories in history短篇小說巨匠. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics.Chekhov practised as a doctor throughout most of his literary career: Medicine is my lawful wife, he once said, and

8、literature is my mistress. Chekhov renounced the theatre after the disastrous reception of The Seagull海鷗 in 1896, but the play was revived to acclaim in 1898 by Constantin Stanislavskis Moscow Art Theatre, which subsequently also produced Chekhovs Uncle Vanya萬尼亞舅舅and premiered his last two plays, Th

9、ree Sisters三姊妹 and The Cherry Orchard櫻桃園. These four works present a challenge to the acting ensemble as well as to audiences, because in place of conventional action Chekhov offers a theatre of mood and a submerged life in the text. Chekhov had at first written stories only for financial gain, but

10、as his artistic ambition grew, he made formal innovations which have influenced the evolution of the modern short story.His originality consists in an early use of the stream-of-consciousness technique, later adopted by James Joyce and other modernists, combined with a disavowal of the moral finalit

11、y of traditional story structure. He made no apologies for the difficulties this posed to readers, insisting that the role of an artist was to ask questions, not to answer them. Chekhovs classic look: pince-nez, hat and bow-tie Chekhov family and friends in 1890. (Top row, left to right) Ivan, Alexander, Father; (second row) unknown friend, Lika Mizinova, Masha, Mother, Seryozha Kiselev; (bottom row) Misha, Anton Works by and about Anton Chekhov The darling, and other stories