Chekhovs' Ivanov : a portrait of the Russian Hamlet of the eighteen eighties

Abstract EN

This research work points out the importance of Chekhov's Ivanov, among his other literary and dramatic works, for it comprises the seeds of his later dramatic development.

His achievement in this play lies in the creation of a genuine dramatic type that combines two different literary traditions: the Russian character of the superfluous man, and the Hamletic protagonist manifested in the long series of nineteenth century literary productions.

More specifically, Ivanov is in the tradition of Turgenev's conception of Hamlet, as reflected in his famous essay "Hamlet and Don Quixote" (1858).

The work endeavours to trace the main features of Chekhov's first type that represents the Russian intellectual of the 1880s and his version of the Russian Hamlet.

Consideration of the relationship between Chekhov's and Shakespeare's protagonists is carried out through allusions, themes, echoes, images and other attributes reminiscent of Hamlet in the Russian play.

In this context, Ivanov is taken, as a typical character of his time, a time of political repression and stagnation in the Russian intellectual life, when not only heroism but also little deeds seemed impossible.

The topic is investigated through a comparative and analytical outlook resorting to history and other critical works of literature and drama whenever they appear pertinent to discussion.