Summary of Anton Chekhov's “The Anniversary”

Anton Chekhov's “The Anniversary”

About Anton Pavlovich Chekhov:

Anton Chekhov, in full Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, (born January 29 [January 17, Old Style], 1860, Taganrog, Russia—died July 14/15 [July 1/2], 1904, Badenweiler, Germany), Russian playwright and master of the modern short story. He was a literary artist of laconic precision who probed below the surface of life, laying bare the secret motives of his characters. Chekhov’s best plays and short stories lack complex plots and neat solutions. Concentrating on apparent trivialities, they create a special kind of atmosphere, sometimes termed haunting or lyrical. Chekhov described the Russian life of his time using a deceptively simple technique devoid of obtrusive literary devices, and he is regarded as the outstanding representative of the late 19th-century Russian realist school.

Boyhood and youth

Chekhov’s father was a struggling grocer and pious martinet who had been born a serf. He compelled his son to serve in his shop, also conscripting him into a church choir, which he himself conducted. Despite the kindness of his mother, childhood remained a painful memory to Chekhov, although it later proved to be a vivid and absorbing experience that he often invoked in his works.

After briefly attending a local school for Greek boys, Chekhov entered the town gimnaziya (high school), where he remained for 10 years. There he received the best standard education then available—thorough but unimaginative and based on the Greek and Latin classics. During his last three years at school Chekhov lived alone and supported himself by coaching younger boys; his father, having gone bankrupt, had moved with the rest of his family to Moscow to make a fresh start.

In the autumn of 1879 Chekhov joined his family in Moscow, which was to be his main base until 1892. He at once enrolled in the university’s medical faculty, graduating in 1884 as a doctor. By that time he was already the economic mainstay of his family, for his father could obtain only poorly paid employment. As unofficial head of the family Anton showed great reserves of responsibility and energy, cheerfully supporting his mother and the younger children through his freelance earnings as a journalist and writer of comic sketches—work that he combined with arduous medical studies and a busy social life.

Chekhov began his writing career as the author of anecdotes for humorous journals, signing his early work pseudonymously. By 1888 he had become widely popular with a “lowbrow” public and had already produced a body of work more voluminous than all his later writings put together. And he had, in the process, turned the short comic sketch of about 1,000 words into a minor art form. He had also experimented in serious writing, providing studies of human misery and despair strangely at variance with the frenzied facetiousness of his comic work. Gradually that serious vein absorbed him and soon predominated over the comic.

Summary:

In a farce, there is exaggeration both in situation and character for the sake of humourous effect. The difference between a comedy and a farce is that there is a soul of seriousness in the comedy. A comedy, says Schlegel, calls forth the most petulant hilarity by its jocose and deprecatory view of things. In it the perception of the incongruous and the unexpected conduces to our mirth follies, absurdities, odd audients, cross purposes, sallies of nit and humour is it striking features. Chekhov's The Anniversary is, sorry to say ,miss the quality of comedy proper.
In The Anniversary Chekhov sought to convey the texture of everyday life, moving away from traditional ideas of plot and conventions of dramatic speech. Dialogue in his play is not smooth or continuous: all the four characters interrupt each other, several different conversations often take place at the same time, and lengthy pauses occur when no one speaks at all. The plays depart from the customary practice of focusing the action on one central character. Chekhov included less and less of what earlier playwrights would have called drama. Rather, ludicrous situation and oddities and angularities of the four characters in the play are exhibited for the fun. No serious purpose, no depths, no suggestion or witticism is exhibited in the play farther. It is no doubt a farcical writing.
The Anniversary is a purposeless fun and an unrestrained caprice. It employs wit and raillery without being the author least earnest. It only amuses us, but makes us not to think. There are four characters – two female and two male in the play. The scene is set is the busy Cashier busily drafting the figures to prepare for the annual report for the anniversary of the bank. He is all sort of funny. He is bored of heavy work but he is being promised reward by the chairman for his heavy duty. His chairman Shipuchin is in fact a boring staff for him and the women are the most annoying part for this cashier named Khirin.If Khirin hates women and finds them disturbing for the bank, Mr. Chairman finds them morally elevating in the work place. Never the less, the situation becomes ironic as Shipuchin’s wife returns from her mothers’ house and meeting her husband begins tales entangled one after another disturbing the procedure of the bank. All this stories whatever thrilling is absolutely farcical and melodramatic.
After Tatiana, wife of Andrey Andreyevitch Shipuchin, the other Madame Merchutkina, an old woman wearing an old-fashioned   cloak, enters in the wrong place pleading the salary of her husband who is now dismissed from his job. What actually happen to that thick headed lady is that she has come to the wrong place. But she is rigid and goes on with her request and appeal disregarding the persuasions, arguments of Shipuchin. The soft and sober Shipuchin orders Khirin to drive out the woman. And Herin drive his wife Tatiana out, only to be taken aback by all of us. Khirin then drives out Merchutkina. Socked, frightened Tatyana and Merchutkina fall on sofa bewildered. In the mean time the share holder of the bank enter reading the drafting addressed to be read by chairman. Shipuchin is bewildered and murmurs deputation, reputation and occupation. All of these three missing in confusion.

Both in situational and character the play display fun, melodrama and belly laughter on the behest of seriousness in true comedy.