The Duel
Chekhov’s late novella, set in a Black Sea town, in which the idle Laevsky and the zoologist Von Koren argue their way toward a duel neither has the character to fight properly. Von Koren wants Laevsky dead on Darwinian principle. Chekhov gives each man his best argument and then lets the morning undo both. Translated by Constance Garnett, with an introduction by Aleksandar Hemon.
Recommended by 1 Person
Kwame Anthony Appiah
It’s just so marvellous, the description of these professional-class Russians, far, far away from Moscow in the provinces, and their preoccupation with status and all that, and these two guys in a completely pointless duel. It’s not just Chekhov creating an interesting narrative moment; it really was so common with these duels that it was extremely difficult to say in a short paragraph exactly what they were about.
Interview · November 2012
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