The figurative reflection of Nikolai Chekhov in the stories of his brothers Alexander and Anton

About the author:

Alexander V. Kubasov, Dr. Sci. (Philol.), Professor, Head of the Department of Theory and Methods of Teaching Persons with Disabilities, Ural State Pedagogical University, Yekaterinburg, Russia; kubas2002@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9074-1133

Abstract:

The appeal to the figurative reflection of Nikolai Chekhov in his brothers’ works is associated with the problem of the prototype. Identifying the “sitters” helps to understand the mechanism of Alexander and Anton Chekhovs’ transformation of empirical reality into the fabric of an artwork, as well as the associated differences in their poetics. The practice of depicting close friends and relatives was common for all three Chekhov brothers. The difference was that Nikolai embodied this in drawings and paintings, while Anton and Alexander chose fiction. The disclosure of prototypes is important for expanding the idea of the Chekhovs’ “family chronicle” created with the help of artistic discourse. One of the productive keys for identifying the prototypes in A. Chekhov’s stories can be a comparison of the content of his stories with the texts by Alexander. The article undertakes a comparative analysis of Alexander Chekhov’s short story “The Day of Creativity” with the works of his brother. The results show Alexander’s predominant attention to the biographical everyday origin, while Anton prefers the fictional and artistic origin. This difference will lead the Chekhov brothers to completely different life and literary results.

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