Title: To Whom SHall I Tell My Sorrow?
Author: Anton Chekov
Author’s Background:
Russian writer Anton Chekhov is recognized as a master of the modern short story and a leading playwright of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Anton Chekhov was born on January 29, 1860, in Taganrog, Russia. Through stories such as "The Steppe" and "The Lady with the Dog," and plays such as The Seagull and Uncle Vanya, the prolific writer emphasized the depths of human nature, the hidden significance of everyday events and the fine line between comedy and tragedy. Chekhov died of tuberculosis on July 15, 1904, in Badenweiler, Germany.
Vocabulary:
slough – a swamp.
reins -- a long, narrow strap attached at one end to a horse's bit, typically used in pairs to guide or check a horse while riding or driving.
jocose – playful or humorous
kopeck -- a monetary unit of Russia and some other countries of the former Soviet Union, equal to one hundredth of a ruble.
altercation -- a noisy argument or disagreement, especially in public.
epithet -- an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
Characters:
Iona Popatov – Protagonist; He wants to express out his sorrow over the death of his son.
Iona’s mare – Iona’s trusty pal that was always by his side.
Officer – The first passenger of Iona.
The three youngmen – The last passenger of Iona.
House-porter – The man Iona met to ask the time.
Young cabman – The man Iona offered a drink.
Setting:
Winter in Russia
Exposition:
The story starts with Iona and his mare staying out at night on winter waiting for passengers.
Rising Action:
He meets his first passenger, the officer, and tries to talk to him about the death of his son, but he did not listen.
He meets his second and last passenger, three men, but when he tries to do the same, they too did not listen.
He asks a house-porter he met passing by what is it and decides to go back to the yard.
Climax:
He sees a cabman rise. He offers him a drink then tries to share his sorrow, but he received the same reaction, he did not listen.
Falling Action:
Iona could not take it no longer and his feelings bursted out within his mind.
Ending:
He decides to feed his mare but as he does so, he unconsciously shared his sorrow to it. And his mare seemed to listen as it munched the oats.
Symbolism:
Winter night – This symbolized the feeling of great sorrow and loneliness that Iona harbored throughout the story.
Mare – This somewhat symbolizes God. In a deeper sense that he is always there by our side to listen to us, but all we have to do is call out to him and share our problems.
Theme:
It is quite a reflection of our reality where we do not make ourselves available to others as we have our own share of problems, which is why we do not lend an ear or a helping hand to others suffering from their own problems.
Lesson:
Great emotions such as sorrow must never be kept inside. It grows deeper as you keep it within, and it has bad effects on your mental and psychological well-being when released in an untimely fashion. When, someone harbors the same, we should try to lend an ear to these people so that they can free themselves from the heaviness that lingers in their heart.
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