abstract
siskron at SFSU.EDU
siskron at SFSU.EDU
Thu Jul 31 20:27:13 UTC 2008
Katerina Siskron, Coordinator Russian Program, SFSU
Department of Foreign Languages
San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94132
Title of Abstract:
The Fall of the House of Pesotsky: Chekhov's "Black Monk" as a Gothic Tale
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The Fall of the House of Pesotsky: Chekhov's "Black Monk" as Gothic Tale
It seems appropriate that the "Black Monk," the most Gothic of Chekhov's late tales,
traces its origin to a dream of the author. From the time of its publication in 1894 to
today, critics find the story problematic both in terms of genre and content (Sukhikh). As
a consequence, this story has inspired numerous divergent readings.
This paper is an exploration of the dynamic of two lines of discourse in "The "Black
Monk"Ñthe positivistic scientific discourse and the romantic discourse of the gothic-
horrific. The two lines intertwine and the repressed Gothic material informs the more
dominant realist plane. Chekhov's use of the Gothic in the "Black Monk" connects him
with a long line of writers (including realist writers) who turned to the Gothic to
communicate through affect that which defies rational understanding. Early Chekhov
parodies of Gothic plots (and plights), such as "A Thousand and One Terrors or a
Frightening Night" (Tysiacha odna strast' ili strashnaia noch'") published in 1880,
suggest intimate knowledge of the genre.
The most salient feature of the Gothic for this analysis is that it is written for affectÑto
produce a physiological response, a shudder in the face of the existential abyss. And,
while in Chekhov's story, the irrational (Gothic) element is contained by the realist
discourse, numerous Gothic elements described by Vijay Mishra (and others)Ñextreme
sensibility, decay and ruins, family secrets and curses, anxiety, repression, fear/danger of
violation, incest, madness, death, mysteries, mad scientists and mad creations, unearthly
music and otherworldly apparitionsÑare abundantly present in Chekhov's text,
undermining the positivistic stratum.
Works Cited
Mishra, Vijay. The Gothic Sublime. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994.
Sukhikh, I. N. "Zagadochnyi chernyi monakh Chekhova." Voprosy literatury. (6) June
1983, 109-124.
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