Curtis W Moore
Eng. 102
Dr. McCoy
30 Oct. 96
Theme 2-1
In the story "Misery" by Antov
Chekhov, I identified despair and misery as a theme. The surroundings amplify
the sentiment of the main character, Iona Potapov. Cold and gray surrounds'
Iona Potapov and he is extremely miserable. Iona Potapov wants to speak to
another human about his son's death but no one will listen. Failing to speak
with any humans, Iona is resigned to speak with his horse.
At the beginning of the story Anton
Chekhov sets the environment for the story. "The twilight of
evening." (30) While reading this
story, I envision the scenery by what Anton Chekhov wrote. "Big flakes of
wet snow are whirling lazily about the street lamps, which have just been
lighted, and lying in a thin soft layer on the roofs, horses' backs, shoulders,
caps." (30) The picture portrayed is that of dull, gloomy, sludge and gray
ash covering all of the surrounding areas. " The familiar gray
landscape." (30)
The dis-pair and loneliness that Iona
feels are sorrow. "May it do you good
. . . But my son is dead,
mate . . . Do you hear?" (33). Iona desperately
wants to tell about his sons' death, and how it is affecting him. "He
wants to tell how his son was taken ill, how he suffered, what he said before
he died, how he died"(34). Ionas' son has died, and he feels as though it
should have been he to the grave instead
of his youthful son. "My son ought to be driving not I"(34).
The gray dismal surroundings entrap Iona
and make the desolation worse for him. "Iona Potapov, the sledge-driver,
is all white like a ghost" (30). "He sits on the box without
stirring, bent as double as the living body can be bent" (30). "He cannot
think about his son when he is alone" (34). The surroundings make him feel
separated from his inner feelings. "But now the shades of evening are
falling on the town. The pale light of the street lamps changes to a vivid
color, and the bustle of the street grows noisier."(31)
When Iona tries to tell of his sons death,
he is unable to say what he really feels. "Iona looks at his fare and moves his lips . . . Apparently he means to say something, but
nothing comes out but a sniff."(31) He tries again, and is able to say, in
a detached tone, "My son . . . , er . . . my son died this week,
sir."(31) The fare is an "officer in a military overcoat." (31)
After this brief conversation Iona sits in solitude, alone with his thoughts. "Again
the wet snow paints him and his horse white. One hour passes, and then another
. . . "(31) Iona wants to forget about his sons death, "but to think
of him and picture him is insufferable anguish . . . "(34)
In the end of this story Iona is
left speaking with his horse. "Now, suppose you had a little colt, and you
were own mother to that little colt . . .
And all at once that same little colt went and died . . . You'd be
sorry, wouldn't you? . .."(34) His horse listens as all good horses do.
"The little mare munches, listens, and breaths on her master's
hands."(34) Iona is now content on telling his story to the horse.
"Iona is carried away and tells her all about it."(34)
Feelings and emotions overwhelm us when we manage with the death of a
loved-one. Guilt, blame, and denial are all part of the experiences we go
through in mourning the passing death. A large amount of what we experience is
directly related to the environment that we are in when the death occurs. Iona
had an especially tough time with this experience in the setting that he was
placed in. A perfect situation for Iona would have been a week off from work,
and surrounded by close friends and family.
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