31 Days 2 Get You Started! January 17: Even Chekhov Wasn’t Born ‘Chekhov.’
“…and then…tell the story of how this young man, drop by drop, wrings the slave out of himself until, one fine morning, he awakes to feel that flowing in his veins is no longer the blood of a slave, but that of a complete human being…”-Letters of Anton Chekhov, 1889
I’ve loved Chekhov since I first started reading him as a teenager. I’ve visited his grave in Moscow–and humiliated my then-boyfriend, by weeping profusely–read him in both Russian and English, and yes, did indeed almost have a drunken fist fight with another boy who talked smack about Anton. (In my defense, that boy’s favorite “author” is Ayn Rand, and you know I can’t have someone who seriously thinks “Atlas Shrugged”should be used for something other than kindling, never mind, is worthy of being read, talk trash about my boy. Does hell go with no.) And the older I get, the more I appreciate him.
The older I get, the more I’m astonished by his humanity, his humor, his profound empathy. Especially given Chekhov’s miserable childhood of beatings and cruelty. I appreciate the fact that Chekhov, who originally wrote under the nom de plume of “Dragonfly,” had to be cajoled, by friends, to take his work seriously, and invest in it. So next time you’re starting a new project, and thinking, after your first mistake, after realizing that you won’t be perfect the first time, that heck with it, you should just give up…even Chekhov wasn’t CHEKHOV at first. He had to find his way to his potential via writing. He had to grow into the man he would become. He had to be patient, hint hint.
If some of you are thinking, “….right, but he’s Chekhov.” Hello missing the point much! He wasn’t always CHEKHOV. For a while he was Anton, the neighborhood kid, and then Anton the med student, and meanwhile, he kept writing and writing. And slowly, he lived his way to his answer. So. Thinking of making changes in your life, big or small? Ask yourself what you could be/do, if you committed to your talents, instead of your doubts. No one is predestined, your life is (always) your choice.