In drama, tragedy and comedy are often considered polar opposites. It is often suggested that tragedy is more about a ôhuman beingö while comedy pertains mostly to the ôhuman condition.ö In other words, the tragic character is specific while the comedic character is universal. In SophoclesÆ Oedipus the King and ChekhovÆs The Bear we are provided with a tragedy and comedy respectively. However, despite these common distinctions about the tragic versus the comedic forms of drama, these plays do not exhibit such a distinction.
In ChekhovÆs The Bear we certainly are provided with a comedy that revolves around the foibles between the sexes. So too, we readily see that this comedy does, in deed, pertain to the human condition and the universal. It is difficult not to empathize with SmirnovÆs frustration over relations with women. PopovaÆs refusal to pay him monies rightly his is met with frustration and resignations. ôVodka! I need vodka!ö, ôWomen are fickle and manipulativeö, ôIÆm so mad I could blow up the worldö and ôOooh-picklesö are all expressions of this (Chekhov 1946). It is hard not to relate to this frustration in relations between the sexes or being frustrated over trying to retrieve monies owed in debt.
SmirnovÆs worries are the worries of an everyman that has been stung so much by love and women that he would rather ôsit smoking on a barrel of gunpowderö (Chekhov 1946). Pushed to the challenge of a duel with his frustrating debtor, Smirnov realizes his love for Popova and willingly succumbs, if albeit with hesitation. Thus, we can see that in ChekhovÆs one-act comedy we are, in deed, treated to the human condition and universal aspects of it. As Roberts (2001) says, of this play and The Proposal, ôBoth one-acts illustrate the all-too-human foibles of their characters in all their confusing, maddening gloryö (1).
In Oedipus the King, we are treated to the character of Oedipus who ...