A Defenceless Creature (Translated)

By Anton Chekhov and Constance Garnett

"A Defenceless Creature" portrays Kistunov, a bank manager, facing a persistent petitioner, Madame Shtchukin. Despite his gout and exhaustion, Kistunov tries to explain the difference between her husband's military service and the bank's responsibilities. Madame Shtchukin's relentless pleas frustrate Kistunov and his staff. Eventually, Kistunov gives her money just to make her leave. The story highlights bureaucratic absurdities, power dynamics, and the lengths people go to be heard.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Interactive Media
• Release date: Oct 29, 2018
• ISBN: 9781787249479

Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was a Russian doctor, short-story writer, and playwright. Born in the port city of Taganrog, Chekhov was the third child of Pavel, a grocer and devout Christian, and Yevgeniya, a natural storyteller. His father, a violent and arrogant man, abused his wife and children and would serve as the inspiration for many of the writer’s most tyrannical and hypocritical characters. Chekhov studied at the Greek School in Taganrog, where he learned Ancient Greek. In 1876, his father’s debts forced the family to relocate to Moscow, where they lived in poverty while Anton remained in Taganrog to settle their finances and finish his studies. During this time, he worked odd jobs while reading extensively and composing his first written works. He joined his family in Moscow in 1879, pursuing a medical degree while writing short stories for entertainment and to support his parents and siblings. In 1876, after finishing his degree and contracting tuberculosis, he began writing for St. Petersburg’s Novoye Vremya, a popular paper which helped him to launch his literary career and gain financial independence. A friend and colleague of Leo Tolstoy, Maxim Gorky, and Ivan Bunin, Chekhov is remembered today for his skillful observations of everyday Russian life, his deeply psychological character studies, and his mastery of language and the rhythms of conversation.