“To whom shall I tell my grief?”

The main character in the story “Misery” by Anton Chekhov asks this

question because even though he is around people, no one will listen

to him. Iona Potapov needs to talk to someone about the death of

his son.

Setting

It is winter in Russia. It is miserably cold with snow falling as the main

character and his little horse drawn carriage wait for people. The

time is the late nineteenth century.

Tone

The mood and atmosphere speak to the overwhelming (meliputi)

grief of the main character. The people that he tries to talk with

about his loss do not care and brush his misery aside. The harshness

of human nature strains the emotions as the reader lives through the

story with Iona.

Themes

Grief

The theme of grief encircles the protagonist Iona. He is isolated from

the rest of humanity because he has no one with whom to share his

pain. Iona looks for someone to stop and let him reflect back on the

terrible event that will forever impact his life. No one seems to care.

Man’s inhumanity to man

The incidences that Iona experiences in the story portray the worst

side of mankind. The customers are rude, unfeeling, indifferent, and

uninterested. They do not want to get involved because they might

have to do something or help the driver; consequently, they act as

though they do not hear him.

Summary/Plot

Iona and his little horse wait for people to need his services. He is

physically and mentally exhausted (lelah/capek) and debilitated from

his grief for the loss of son only a week ago. He encounters five

incidences in the story.

1st incident

Brusque (berkelakukan kasar) officer-

The officer is in a hurry. He does react to Iona’s story, but it is only

to tell him that lifegoes on. He softens somewhat and makes a

joke. There is only polite interest.

2nd Incident

Three drunken young men

They have their own problems. They are loud and abusive toward

Iona. They are numbed by alcohol. One of the men is a sick

hunchback. He is especially miserable. The hunchback reacts to

Iona’s story by saying that “We all shall die.”

3rd Incident

Iona stops and tries to engage an indifferent house-porter (kuli) who

is delivering a package. He tells Iona to go on.

At this point, the sleigh driver gives in to his misery. He stops then

and goes back to the yard. He does not have enough money to buy

food for the horse.

4th Incident

In the yard, Iona sees another cabman. Again, he tries to engage the

young man in a conversation about his terrible grief. The young man

goes to sleep while he is talking to him.

5th Incident

Iona reflects on his grief. Then, he decides to check on his horse.

'Are you munching (mengunyah)?' Iona asks his mare (kuda

betina). 'Since we have not earned enough for oats, we will eat

hay….Yes…I have grown too old to drive… My son ought to be

driving, not I…He was a real coachman. Kuzma Ionitch is gone…He

said goodbye to me...'

The old man continues to talk as the horse eats his hay (jerami). The

horse seems to listen to his master and breathes on the old man’s

hands.

Maybe the old man will feel better once he has verbalized the details

of his son’s illness to his death and funeral. Finally, Iona may find

relief in talking to his little white mare. He pours his heart out. The

story is left with an indecisive conclusion. Hopefully, the resolution

for Iona will come with the purging of his grief with his working

companion, his little horse.

What is the main theme in Anton Chekhov's "The Lament," also

called "Misery"?

What is the main theme in Anton Chekhov's "The Lament," also called

"Misery"?

The Lament (Misery)

by Anton Chekhov

"To whom shall I tell my grief?"

THE twilight of evening. Big flakes of wet snow are whirling lazily

about the street lamps, which have just been lighted, and lying in a

thin soft layer on roofs, horses' backs, shoulders, caps. Iona Potapov,

the sledge-driver, is all white like a ghost. He sits on the box without

stirring, bent as double as the living body can be bent. If a regular

snowdrift fell on him it seems as though even then he would not

think it necessary to shake it off...

"The Lament," also known as "Misery," is a short story by Anton

Chekhov about a Russian sledge driver whose son has recently died

and his reactions.

The central theme of the story, as the title would suggest, is

"Misery." Iona Potapov, the driver, takes several fares and each time

tries to share his grief with his passengers.

"Drive on! drive on! . . ." says the officer. "We shan't get there till to-

morrow going on like this. Hurry up!"

The sledge-driver cranes his neck again, rises in his seat, and with

heavy grace swings his whip. Several times he looks round at the

officer, but the latter keeps his eyes shut and is apparently disinclined

to listen.

However, his fares all have their own problems in life, or simply do

not care; Iona is unable to unburden himself by sharing his grief and

so continues on, "white like a ghost."

Iona looks round at them. Waiting till there is a brief pause, he looks

round once more and says:

"This week . . . er. . . my. . . er. . . son died!"

"We shall all die, . . ." says the hunchback with a sigh, wiping his lips

after coughing. "Come, drive on! drive on!"

Without any sympathetic human contact, Iona feels the pain of his

son's passing more powerfully than if he had said nothing. Finally, he

turns to his faithful mare, who can't comprehend his sorrow but

listens patiently.

"Are you munching?" Iona asks his mare, seeing her shining eyes.

"There, munch away, munch away...

He said good-by to me. . . . He went and died for no reason. . . .

Now, suppose you had a little colt, and you were own mother to that

little colt. . . . And all at once that same little colt went and died. . . .

You'd be sorry, wouldn't you? . . ."

The little mare munches, listens, and breathes on her master's hands.

Iona is carried away and tells her all about it.

(All Quotes: Chekhov, "The Lament (Misery)", readbookonline.net)

It is in the act of telling the story that Iona finds a measure of peace.

He has tried to connect with his fellow man, but they are all wrapped

up in their own lives, superficial or otherwise. Iona's final act is similar

to that of confession; he tells the story that has been weighing on his

mind and so is relieved of its pressure. His "misery" has eased

through his telling of a "lament."

What is the main conflict in this story "Misery"? Man Vs. Man -

Man Vs. Society - Man Vs. himself (dilemma)?

The dilemma is not man versus himself because Iona is aware of the

source of his misery. A personal dilemma would have placed Iona in a

position where he battles against an obvious cause that he tries to

deny.

Neither is the dilemma of a man versus man nature because there is

nobody else challenging nor discrediting Iona's emotions. There is, in

fact, no man at all for him to speak to. It would be hardly a man

versus man issue.

The main conflict, or dilemma, in Anton Chekhov's short

story "Misery" is that of man versus society.

Main character Iona Potapov is a cab driver (horse cab, that is, as the

story is set in the 1880's) whose son dies that same week.

Unfortunately, life must go on for Iona. Yet, we realize as the story

goes on that Iona is alone in the world, and has absolutely nobody to

speak with and let himself vent (melepaskan udara / keluh) his

sadness.

All that he can do is try to convey some of his emotions to an officer

who takes the cab to Vyborgskaya. However, as he tries to explain his

sorrow, the officer's attention goes back to the eagerness of getting

early to his destination.

As more people enter the cab and abuse the driver's inability to

concentrate, he finally finishes his rounds only to see that, he cannot

even count on his own peers as asupport system. As a result, he ends

up talking to his horse.

Man’s indifference to the pain of another—this is theme of the story

“Misery” by Anton Chekhov. The title symbolizes the feelings of the

protagonist Iona Potapov, a Russian sleigh-driver, who is suffering

from intense grief.

The setting of the story is winter in a Russian town. The time is the

late nineteenth century. It is miserable outside. The weather is cold,

bleak, and snowing. The surroundings in the story amplify the

wretchedness of the main character.

“Big flakes of wet snow are whirling lazily about the street lamps,

which have just been lighted, and lying in a thin soft layer on the

roofs, horses’ backs, shoulders, caps.”

Iona Potapov has faced one of the most difficult events a parent can

face. His only son has died from a fever after a short illness. He has

been dead about a week. Iona’s overwhelming grief needs an

outlet. He wants to talk to anyone he can about his misery.

The old man’s heartache is enhanced by the knowledge that he is

really too old to be driving particularly in this kind of weather. His

son had taken over for him; however, his horse needs to eat and his

poverty demands that Iona try to find fares.

Throughout the night, Iona encounters four situations that should

enable him to talk to someone. Yet, none of these people will

engage the old man to allow him discuss the story of his son. He

wants to tell someone that he wishes that it had been him instead of

his son who had died.

1st encounter (pertemuan)

An officer who has a harsh manner softens a little when he hears of

the old man’s son. He yells at the old man’s incompetent

driving. After a brief inquiry as to how the son died, the matter is

dropped, and the officer returns to wanting Iona to hurry.

2nd encounter

Three young men, one of whom is hunchbacked, get in the sleigh.

The crippled one is the harshest toward Iona. They curse and shove

each other for room in the small sleigh. The more that the men curse,

yell, and call him names, the lonelier that Iona feels. He finally tells

them that his son has died this week. The hunchback reacts by

saying that everyone has to die.

3rd encounter

A house porter carrying a package stands on a corner. Iona asks him

the time. After the porter answers, he tells Iona to drive on.

This is the final straw. Iona determines to give it up for the night and

return to the cab barn. He does not have the money to buy his

horse oats, so she will have to eat the hay.

4th encounter

While the old man is inside the cab drivers’ area, he sees another

younger driver. The young man gets up to get a drink. Iona tells

the younger man that his son has died but gets no response

form the other driver. Returning to his corner, the young man covers

his head and goes to sleep.

The old man is “thirsty” to talk about his feelings. In his mind, Iona

thinks a woman would be best to talk to since women “blubber at

anything.”

He goes to check on his white mare. She is eating the hay. Iona

talks to the little horse which seems to listen to him. He begins to

tell the horse about his son. This does give him some relief.

Iona tries to relate to the horse that if she had a little colt and it died,

the mare would be sad just as the old man. As he talks to her, the

little horse looks at him, munches her hay, and breathes on the old

man’s hands. Iona can share his grief with someone who will listen to

him.

A father’s grief—this is the essence of the story “Misery” by Anton

Chekhov. Anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one can

understand the feelings of Iona Potapov, whose son died about a

week ago. Chekhov provides introspection into the attitudes and lack

of human involvement. when men are confronted with the intense

pain felt by the protagonist in the story, they choose to look the

other way.

The narration of the story is third person point of view with a limited

omniscient narrator. The tone of the story circulates around the deep

sadness and lack of compassion given to Iona as he searches for an

outlet for his sorrow

The story takes place in a Russian city in the middle of winter. It is

extremely cold and snowing in the late nineteenth century.

Iona is an old man who has suffered the worst loss a parent can

have: his son has died in a hospital from a fever. The old man has to

drive a sleigh to take people around the city. During the course of

the evening, Iona will have several situations that frustrate him in his

effort to discuss and gain sympathy for his predicament.

1st fare

A military officer gets in to the sleigh. Because the old man does not

normally drive the sleigh, he makes several mistakes. The officer

yells at the driver in anger. Iona tells the soldier about his son. The

officer initially shows a little interest in the son’s death when he asks

of what did the son die. When Iona begins to tell his story, the

officer loses interest and continues to yell about Iona’s driving.

2nd fare

Three young men enter the sleigh. They find it difficult to sit

comfortably. One of the men is a hunchback who is sarcastic and

makes fun of the old man. Again, Iona tries to tell his story with the

hunchback reacting:

‘This week…er…my…er….son died!’

‘We shall all die…’ says the hunchback with a high, wiping his lips

after a cough.

The three continue to yell and berate the old man.

3rd situation

Iona sees a house porter who is carrying a package. The old man

decides to speak to the porter. “What time will it be, friend?’ he

asks.

“Going on ten…Why have you stopped here? Drive on!”

Pushing ahead a little ways, misery overtakes the driver. He gives

into his grief and decides to return to the cab barn. He gives his little

mare some hay because he cannot afford to give her oats.

Iona goes inside the drivers’ room. Here he sees a young cab

driver who gets up to get a drink of water. Again, the old man tries

to tell the story of his son’s death. The other driver acts as though

he did not hear him and returns to his seat and falls asleep.

Frustration eats at Iona. He longs for someone to talk to. His

daughter lives in the country. A woman would be good to talk to

because they cry at anything.

Returning to check on the horse, Iona finds the little mare munching

on her hay.

‘Are you munching?’ Iona asks his mare, seeing her shining eyes. My

son ought to be driving, not I. He was the real coachman…The little

mare munches, listens, and breathes on her master’s hands. Iona is

carried away and tells her about his son.

What a sad indictment of the treatment of one man to another! No

one was willing to comfort Iona. All the old man needed was

someone to listen to him for just a few minutes.