43 pages • 1 hour read
The Duel
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Summary and Study Guide
Overview
The Duel is a novella by Russian writer Anton Chekhov. First published in 1891 in the newspaper New Time, The Duel exhibits Chekov’s mature prose in an important transition period in Russian literature and culture. The novella is situated between the decline of the great Russian Realist novel and the rise of the avant-gardist trends that would come to define the modernist era on the eve of the Russian Revolution. The Duel is a love letter to the Russian literature of the 19th century, at once citing and imitating the major literary stylistic achievements that had come before it and ushering in a new period, when ideological battles of the past—represented in the novella by an actual duel—have already been fought. What remains is to carry on in the specifically Realist way that Chekhov’s prose advocates—that is, attuned to the drama of ordinary life itself, with its myriad perspectives and lack of any final answer or solution.
A symbolic “duel” of the novella tracks alongside an actual duel that motivates the core of the plot, but this is a story of philosophical conversation, as well as the astute observation of characters’ behavior. The symbolic duel is between two rival social types, representing two ethical positions— Unlock all 43 pages of this Study Guide Plus, gain access to 8,900+ more expert-written Study Guides. Including features:
Related Titles
By Anton Chekhov
