Chekhov's Short Stories Literary Elements

Short Story (“A Work of Art”); A Short Story (“Rothschild’s Fiddle”)

The location and time are not given.-(“A Work of Art”);A Small Town, unknown time- (“Rothschild’s Fiddle”)

Third Person Omniscient who sees all the reactions and understands the meditations of the characters with regard to the work of art- (“A Work of Art”)

Third Person Limited (understands Yakov’s thoughts only) -(“Rothschild’s Fiddle”)

Ambivalent tone and Suspenseful mood.-(“A Work of Art”)

Remorseful Tone, Sympathetic mood, Melancholic mood- (“Rothschild’s Fiddle”).

Sasha is the protagonist, in (“A Work of Art”), who strives to show his gratitude to the doctor through a work of art. The doctor is the antagonist who accepts the work of art but later gifts it to a lawyer because he does not want to keep it.;: Rothschild is the protagonist who inherits a fiddle from Yakov. Yakov is the antagonist who hates and mistreats Rothschild for being Jew. (“Rothschild’s Fiddle”).

The doctor (in “A Work of Art”) fails to recognize the artistic value of the work of art; instead he is repulsed by the nude images that could trigger negative reactions from his children and ladies who visit him.

Yakov’s unjustifiable hatred for the Jews which he displaces on Rothchild. (“Rothschild’s Fiddle”).

The doctor accepts to keep the work of art-(“A Work of Art”)

Yakov states his in will to leave his fiddle with Rothschild after his death- (“Rothschild’s Fiddle”)

Yakov foreshadows his death when Maxim Nikolaitch advises him “to put a cold compress on his head, and gave him some powders.” The foreshadow is based on the experience with his wife who died shortly after visiting the hospital and receiving the same powders and cold compression advice from Maxim Nikolaitch. (“Rothschild’s Fiddle”).

Overstatement: An example of overstatement in “A Work of Art” is: “The serpent-tempter himself could not have invented anything worse. . . . Why, to put such a phantasmagoria on the table would be defiling the whole flat." The doctor makes this statement about the work of art with the intention of showing that it is unacceptable. The main terms that make it an overstatement include ‘the serpent tempter’ and ‘phantasmagoria’. The term’ ‘serpent-tempter’ has connotations of evil, whereas the term phantasmagoria implies that the work of art is based on illusions, thus it is not real which is an overstatement considering that nudity is a natural aspect that is covered by clothes.

Understatement: Yakov applies an understatement when he tells Maxim Nikolaitch, “ we are always troubling you with trumpery affairs.” Here he is referring to his wife’s sickness, which is the reason why they have visited the hospital. The use of the phrase “ trumpery affairs” is an understatement because his wife is suffering from ailments (‘fever and typhoid’ which are not trivial) that end her life. (“Rothschild’s Fiddle”).

Anton Chekhov utilises Biblical allusion, (“A Work of Art”), when he writes, "If one could plaster it over or stick on fig-leaves . . . `.Here, the lawyer makes it evident that the figures in the work of art are nude; the nudity makes it impracticable for him to carry it or put it in his office. The ‘fig leaves’ are a Biblical allusion to the story of Eve; the fig tree leaves are mentioned in Genesis as they were used as the first clothing for Adam and Eve to cover their naked bodies.

Anthon Chekov utilizes religious allusion throughout "Rothschild's Fiddle" by mentioning the Jews and Herods who are mentioned in the Bible. Arguably, the inclusion of Jews in the story is an allusion to antisemitism which encourages prejudice towards members of the Jewish religion.
Biblically, King Herod was a bad leader due to his attempts to kill Jesus. The role that he played in making Jesus’ life difficult is analogous to the role that the healthcare workers, at the hospital where Yekov takes his wife, play in making the patient’s life unbearable. Instead of Cupping Yekov’s wife, Maxim Nikolaitch (the worker at the hospital) sends them away without caring whether she will live or not.

The artwork in "A Work of art"

The Fiddle in in "Rothschild's Fiddle"

The lawyer in , “A Work of Art” applies paradox when he says: “What a specimen!...Ah, deuce take it, to think of them imagining such a thing, the devils! Exquisite! Ravishing!” The consecutive use of the words ‘devils! Exquisite! Ravishing!’ is contradictory. The description of the work of art using the word devils ( which means) is evil is ambivalent to the words: ‘ Exquisite’ and ‘Ravishing’ which mean the work of art is captivating.

Yakov’s sentiment about the hospital workers, in “Rothschild’s Fiddle”, after an altercation with the doctor’s assistant, "A nice set of artists they have settled here! No fear, but he would have cupped a rich man, but even a leech he grudges to the poor. The Herods!", is paradoxical. On one hand he likens them to artists to emphasize their effectiveness, and then contradicts himself when he uses words ( leech and Herods) with a negative connotation.

Sasha employs parallelism when he tells the doctor, "I am the only son of my mother . . . we are poor people and cannot of course repay you, and we are quite ashamed, doctor, although, however, mamma and I . . . the only son of my mother...".The repetition of the phrase "I am the only son of my mother”in the paragraph above, is parallelism which Sasha employs to convince the doctor about the need to accept the gift of gratitude from Sasha and his mother. (“A Work of Art”)

Yakov refers to Rothschild as ‘garlic’ ( which is a synecdoche). Notably, the smell of garlic is intense in the Jews’ Orchestra, so, Yakov calls him garlic because he associates the garlic with the Jews. (“Rothschild’s Fiddle”)

Yakov personifies insects when he says “ allow me to say every insect wants to live." The desire to live is a characteristic of human beings. Nevertheless, the personification is meant to underscore the fact that every person, no matter how old, yearns to be alive. (“Rothschild’s Fiddle”)