Club Chekhov - All Subtext, No Action

Love Story - The Lady with the Dog

In this episode, Lev Lesokhin and Professor Alexander Burry dive into Anton Chekhov’s most famous love story —The Lady with the Dog. This is a heartwarming story of hidden romance that sprouts unexpectedly for both protagonists. It was written just as Chekhov himself was finding himself finally headed towards marriage and, uniquely for his time, one based on love. Our hosts discuss everything from the autobiographical overtones found in this magnificent work, to the practical foundations which set the historical context, the way Chekhov describes his scenes in so much detail with so little effort, some notes on its translations into English, and how this story actually shows action and movement on the part of its characters. The conclusions are many, but in the process of discussion we notice several themes and details that one might not pick up when reading this work on their own. This conversation is time well spent for the true Chekhov fan.

The Lady with the Dog

Possibly Chekhov's most famous short story. Probably his best love story. It starts as a casual encounter in a seaside resort. It flourishes a couple weeks and seems to be extinguished. But the relationship blossoms quietly as the two people are apart, living their separate lives. It's a story about the nature of love, emotional attachment, the rigid structures of everyday life that get in the way of true love. Despite some autobiographical overtones, it is one of the few Chekhov stories where something DOES happen and people DO change. It has no climax, no judgment, and no tidy ending. But it is as close to a happy ending as one can get in this situation.

The Trilogy (Man in a Case, Gooseberries, About Love) - Part 2

In this episode, Lev Lesokhin and Alexander Burry conclude the discussion of Anton Chekhov’s “Little Trilogy”—The Man in a Case, Gooseberries, and About Love—and what makes them feel so relevant to our times. They talk about the trilogy’s shared setup. Same characters, same setting -- just people telling each other stories. They zero in on that unmistakable "cringe" factor: Belikov’s suffocating rigidity, and Ivan’s quiet disgust at his brother’s cozy, self-satisfied life. A big theme is what we’d now call “situationships”: awkward, stalled romances where nothing quite happens, from Belikov and Varenka to Alyohin and Anna. That ties into the core idea of “living in a case”. Physically, emotionally and morally. Where politeness, fear, and habit keep people stuck. Along the way, they touch on marriages, Chekhov’s moody settings (rain, darkness), and the idea of “domestic paradise” as its own kind of trap. Overall, it’s a conversation about how Chekhov captures something timeless: people knowing exactly what they want and going about it in their own, awkward ways.

The Trilogy (Man in a Case, Gooseberries, About Love) - Part 1

In this episode, Lev Lesokhin and Alexander Burry dive into Anton Chekhov’s “Little Trilogy”—The Man in a Case, Gooseberries, and About Love—and what makes them feel so relevant to our times. They talk about the trilogy’s shared setup. Same characters, same setting -- just people telling each other stories. They zero in on that unmistakable "cringe" factor: Belikov’s suffocating rigidity, and Ivan’s quiet disgust at his brother’s cozy, self-satisfied life. A big theme is what we’d now call “situationships”: awkward, stalled romances where nothing quite happens, from Belikov and Varenka to Alyohin and Anna. That ties into the core idea of “living in a case”. Physically, emotionally and morally. Where politeness, fear, and habit keep people stuck. Along the way, they touch on marriages, Chekhov’s moody settings (rain, darkness), and the idea of “domestic paradise” as its own kind of trap. Overall, it’s a conversation about how Chekhov captures something timeless: people knowing exactly what they want and going about it in their own, awkward ways.

About Love

Why is it so hard to say the words that matter before it’s too late? In the final installment of our Chekhov trilogy, host Lev Lesokhin explores "About Love" (1898). This is the story of Alehin and Anna Alexeyevna, two people who spend years in a state of quiet, agonizing mutual attraction, only to confess their love at the moment of permanent separation. This story puts on full display the "Chekhovian" nature of missed connections and how the social restrictions we build for ourselves, such as morality, obligation, and fear, often prevent us from living authentically. We look at why this 19th-century masterpiece is the ultimate precursor to the modern situationship and the YOLO notion of today.