Chekhov spent three months on Sakhalin, conducting a medical census of prisoners. He wrote of his book based on these experiences, “It gives me joy that this harsh convict’s robe shall have a place in my literary wardrobe.”
I visit New York State prisons through my volunteer work with the Correctional Association of New York. This passage, from Chekhov’s short story, “The Murder,” about a Sakhalin convict, would evoke a sad, strong sense of recognition from prisoners I meet:
Chekhov lists “compassion” as one of his aesthetic tenets. In his short story, “An Attack of Nerves,” he writes of someone, “There are all sorts of talents – talent for writing, talent for the stage, talent for art; but he had – peculiar talent a talent for humanity.” As did Chekhov.
This passage from the short story, “Gooseberries,” conveys Chekhov’s humane concerns, “themes old but not yet out of date”:
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