Sleepy

by Anton Chekhov

Overview

In Chekhov’s “Sleepy”, a 13-year-old “little nurse” named Varka strangles to death the infant in her charge. The brutal and rather unexpected ending exemplifies Chekhov’s approach to story writing—that is, as he once admitted in a letter, he “conduct[s] the entire action peacefully and quietly,” then “bash[es] the [reader] in the snout.” But what is most remarkable about this story is the suspension of conventional morality Chekhov demands and receives from his reader. In the space of five short pages, the reader is lulled along, much like the main character, by recurrent dream imagery. What results is a reader who finds himself defending the act of murder.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940149609055
Publisher:	Shamrock Eden Publishing
Publication date:	05/05/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	12 KB

About the Author

Anton Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramaturg and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Chekhov practiced as a medical doctor throughout most of his literary career: "Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is my mistress."