services and endure frequent beatings. Although he later forgave his father, the 'lies and despotism' of his childhood left an indelible mark. The death of his two-year-old sister Evgenia when he was eleven must also have been traumatic for the family. But there were also opportunities for Anton and his brothers to get up to various pranks, some of which have been recorded for posterity in the various memoirs that have been published. There were the hot air balloons made from large sheets of cigarette paper, for example, which would be filled with coal gas. This was a somewhat risky enterprise, since the source of the gas was the lamp that stood on the corner in front of the family's house. Until their activities were discovered and reported to the police, Chekhov and his brothers would gather at first light and fill their balloons with a rubber hose attached to the gas jet. Chekhov had a particular reputation for practical jokes. His cousin Alexei recalled him persuading the school janitor to let him borrow a human skull and some bones on one occasion. The plan was for Anton to give his sister Masha (Maria) a fright by putting them in her bed and covering them tip with a blanket. When Masha came home, she was duly informed t hat a friend had come from Moscow and was in her bed resting; on discovering the bones she promptly fainted. Chekhov's devout Aunt
Fenichka was so horrified by this sacrilegious behaviour that she apparently went and buried the bones in the yard.14 The Chekhov family was close-knit, and remained so, but they had a wide circle of acquaintances in Taganrog, including a well-to-do Polish family. 'To this day, the cakes and preserves I consumed in this family's house when I was a schoolboy arouse the most nostalgic memories,' Chekhov later recalled towards the end of his life; 'there was music and young ladies and liqueurs, and catching goldfinch in the big, wild garden .. .'15 The best days of his childhood in Taganrog were undoubtedly spent outdoors. While the rest of his family was in Moscow during his teens, he was able to spend long summer days down on the shore, swimming and fishing. Many happy hours were also spent catching finches, which he then sold in the market.16
Chekhov retained a steadfast loyalty to his home town in his adult years, sending regular shipments of books to the Taganrog municipal library, and assisting with plans to found a town museum. Among the many people who made a positive impact on him during his childhood was Father Vasily Bandakov, the priest at St Michael's Church, where his Uncle Mitrofan was warden. Chekhov only ever wrote three obituaries in his life, so the fact that he chose to write a eulogy to Father Vasily is of some significance. His obituary appeared in New Times on 26 January 1890, eleven days after Bandakov's death in Taganrog.17 Like the famous Russian explorer Nikolai Przhevalsky, and Dr Zinaida Lintvaryova, a family friend, Father Vasily was someone Chekhov particularly admired. The tall priest with the kind face and the flowing white beard was a frequent visitor to the Chekhov household, and on one occasion led an all-night vigil for the family in their home. Father Bandakov's great popularity stemmed from his sermons, which were always very short and simple, but extremely effective.18 Delivered in his distinctive hoarse but dramatic voice, they drew enormous congregations. As Chekhov noted in his obituary, the number of sermons Father Vasily delivered during his lifetime ran into the thousands. The best of them were published in twelve volumes under the title Simple and Short Sermons. For Chekhov these volumes constituted a veritable encyclopaedia, with something to offer people from all walks of life: rich businessmen, officials, ladies, soldiers and convicts. Their enduring popularity can be judged from the fact that they were into their fifth edition by 1900. One sermon was given during the 'week of the prodigal son':
What is to be done when ruin faces us, when we do not want to give up our favourite sins and stick to the Lord who loves us? Cry? That is all right for those who have tears, but what about those who have no tears?.. . Fasting, prayer and humility help us cry. We should pray and fast and be humble until we receive tears to cleanse our sins.
Another sermon was read on the occasion of his return to Taganrog, on (lie topic of unhappiness:
What use is there in unhappiness? Unhappiness helps you learn humility, gives you understanding, cleans you of sins. What other wisdom does unhappiness give us? You should treasure friendship in sorrow and poverty, not be ashamed to chop firewood and dress in clothes you would have been ashamed to wear before.19
It was not just that Father Vasily preached at any available opportunity, no matter what time of day it was or wherever he happened to find himself, which impressed Chekhov. It was also that he possessed rare powers of observation, and an extraordinary knowledge of life and of human beings. As Chekhov pointed out in his obituary, Father Vasily did not like to get bogged down in abstract topics, but preferred to concentrate on the topical problems of the region in which he lived and worked. Chekhov's generous appreciation of Vasily Bandakov reveals a great deal about the values he cherished himself, both in his writing and in his personal life:
As a preacher, he was passionate, bold and often quite harsh, but always just and impartial. He was not afraid to speak the truth and he spoke it openly, without accusation; people do not like to be told the truth, and i lie deceased therefore suffered a great deal in his life. He died at the age of eighty-four, leaving behind memories of a kind, loving, selfless person.20
The fact that Chekhov admired the 'simplicity, strength and beautiful language' of Father Vasily's sermons points even more strongly to the I act that they had a great impact on his own writing, of which these very same qualities are hallmarks.
II
The Merchant Background
A doctor advised a merchant (one with education) to eat chicken and bouillon. The merchant took this ironically. First he dined on fish soup and pork, then he asked for bouillon and chicken, as if remembering the doctor's orders, and ate that up too, thinking it was very funny.
Chekhov, Notebook No. 1
Chekhov's father was thirty-two when he finally opened his first grocery business in 1857, as a merchant on the bottom tier of the Russian Guild system. He may have been one of the numerous impecunious Russian subjects who declared more capital than they possessed in order to avoid conscription, or perhaps he managed to scrape together sufficient funds. Initially his prospects were good. In December 1863, he put an advertisement in the local paper informing readers of the range of China tea he sold (black, red and fragrant), as well as 'colonial goods at a most reasonable price'.21 Chekhov's aunt Marfa remembered boiled sweets on threads like coloured garlands, dried fish with an acrid smell, all kinds of sweet things imported from abroad such as halva, persimmons, turkish delight and currants, and tapers with different-coloured tips arranged in the shape of a star in circular red wooden boxes.22 Pavel Egorovich was twice elected to join the Taganrog trade delegation by colleagues in the Society of Merchants who saw him as a pillar of the community, and in 1871 he was awarded the silver medal of St Stanislav for conscientious service. Life was all about medals for Pavel Egorovich, and he was proud to wear his St Stanislav on a ribbon round his neck. Later his son would write a story satirizing a career-minded official whose life revolves around winning medals and advancement, its punning title, 'Anna on the Neck', referring also to the protagonist's scheming wife. As far as Chekhov's brother Alexander was concerned, their father's obsession with medals had ruined their childhood. Pavel Chekhov was certainly ambitious, at one point embarrassing his sons by actually asking for a medal from the priest after they had sung at one set of Easter services. The priest was equally embarrassed, Alexander later recalled.23 But Pavel Egorovich's ambition was not matched by his ability to make money, and in 1876
he went bankrupt. After almost two decades of precarious survival as a merchant, he suffered the indignity of being relegated to the ranks of the lower classes again and decided to flee with his family to Moscow, leaving sixteen-year-old Anton behind to finish his education.
