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Chekhov's short play "The Bear"

Anton Chekhov's short play "The Bear" is subtitled "A Joke in One Act," clearly identifying the work as a comic piece and one that hinges on a particular point of humor, the joke of the title. Chekhov uses various comic devices in this short play not merely to evoke laughter but to contribute to the serious themes underlying the work, and the use of farce should not cover the fact that the playwright has much to say about human nature, human relations, and the psychology of his characters.

The two main characters in the play are opposites brought together at a point of conflict, and from this conflict develops not only the angry exchange that takes place between them but also the seemingly incongruous love that also grows between them. Chekhov sees human beings as mixtures of opposing forces, and human actions also involve a duality. On the one hand, there is the sense of the social graces, of social requirements, of living up to what society wants, while on the other there are the personal desires and needs which may conflict with the strictures of society. Human life is something of a balancing act between these forces. Even on the personal level alone, people may find that they experience two emotions at the same time and must find a way to balance these, as these characters do as they first conflict and then are attracted to one another.

The structure of the play emphasizes the changeable nature of human existence. At the beginning of the play, Mrs. Popov is in mourning, so much so that her footman believes she is destroying herself in grief. In the relatively short interchange she has with Smirnov, however, her feelings are much changed, taking her from a state of mourning to a state of new hope and a new sense of the future. There is a perverse duality in her act of mourning--outwardly, it is grief for a dead husband, a husband who would be thus seen by the world at large as beloved; inwardly, though, the woman i...

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Chekhov's short play "The Bear". (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 06:52, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1703765.html