Ivanov: The perils of typicality

Reid, John

Abstract

The essay seeks to offer a fresh perspective upon Chekhov’s Ivanov as a political play that deploys a highly subtle rhetorical tool – a rhetoric of objectivity. While Chekhov deplored the use of fixed types and typologies, his attempt to undermine a key Russian stereotype of the period (‘the superfluous man’) is shown to depend upon a psychological typology of questionable validity, making use the concept of ‘excitability’.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2008
• Journal: Bulletin of the North American Chekhov Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: XVI
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 19-44
• Keywords: Chekhov, Ivanov, typicality, Russian drama
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1021439