"
For those who have been "fooled to the top of their bent" by the
stupidities and brutalities of the crowd there is a savage
satisfaction in reading of Foma's insane outbursts of misanthropy.
51. TCHEKOFF--SEAGULL. _Tchekoff's plays and short stories are
published by Scribners in admirable translations_.
Tchekoff is one of the gentlest and sweetest tempered of Russian
writers. There is in him a genuine graciousness, a politeness of soul,
an innate delicacy, which is not touched--as such qualities often are
in the work of Turgeniev--with any kind of self-conscious Olympianism.
A doctor, a consumptive, and a passionate lover of children, there is
a whimsical humanity about all that Tchekoff writes which has a
singular and quite special appeal.
The "Seagull" is a play full of delicate subtleties and dreamy
glimpses of shy humane wisdom. The manner in which outward things--the
mere background and scenery of the play--are used to deepen and
enhance the dramatic interest is a thing peculiarly characteristic of
this author. Tchekoff has that kind of imaginative sensibility which
makes every material object one encounters significant with spiritual
intimations.
Pages:
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52