thtr121 - chekhov intro

1836 Code of Russian Laws on Women

"The woman must obey her husband, reside with him in love, respect, and unlimited obedience, and offer him every pleasantness and affection as the ruler of the household."

Four problems in Russian society that contributed to the revolution:

(1) Newly emancipated peasants earned too little and were not allowed to sell or mortgage their allotted land (2) Ethnic minorities resented the government because of its "Russification", discrimination and repression, both social and formal, such as banning them from voting and serving in the Russian Guard or Navy and limited attendance in schools (3) A nascent industrial working class resented the government for doing too little to protect them, banning strikes and labor unions (4) The educated class fomented (stirred up) and spread radical ideas after a relaxing of discipline in universities allowed a nee consciousness to grow among students

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)

a doctor and playwright; a dramatist and humanist; one of the greatest playwrights of the modern period; his work explored the radical changes occurring in Russian society

peasants + serfs

81.5% of the population!

The BEST Chekhov quote *inspirational and devastating

All I wanted was to say honestly to people: "Have a look at yourselves and see how bad and dreary your lives are!" The important thing is that people should realize that, for when they do, they will most certainly create another and better life for themselves. I will not live to see it, but I know that it will be quite different, quite unlike our present life. And so long as this different life does not exist, I shall go on saying to people again and again: "Please, understand that your life is bad and dreary!"

Egor Chekhov

Chekhov's grandfather who was a serf who was eventually freed; he worked hard for 30 years for landowner Count Cherthov so that he could earn enough money to buy his wife, kids, and him out of serfdom

what followed the death of Alexander I?

Decembrist revolts followed as people argued over his successor

Chekhov's class

Merchant class

19th Century wars

Napoleonic Wars and the Crimean War

Nicholas II

Nicholas the Bloody; he was the last czar of the Russian Empire; his reign saw extreme economic and military collapse; he and his family were assassinated in 1917 by the Bolshevik party

Chekhov's quote about parents

Our talents we got from our father, but our soul from our mother *** pay attention to the female characters!

Women's roles was not only a product of social values but solidified in law

Russian law gave husbands almost unlimited power over all family decisions: - married women needed their husband's permission to take a job, - women could not initiate divorce proceedings, - when a man died his sons would inherit most of the property leaving only a little for his wife and daughters

Decembrists

a group of young noblemen who called for a new, enlightened czar who would bring about a period of modernization and political reform

Chekhov's father

a laborer who worked his way up to running a grocery store; he was the director of the parish choir and a devout Orthodox Christian; he was abusive and Chekhov's model of hypocrisy

Narodnaya Volya (People's Will)

a populist group formed by the Intelligentsia who opposed Alex II's insufficient domesitc reforms; Alex II was killed when a member of this group threw a bomb at him

Russian Revolt of 1905

a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire some of which was directed at the government; it included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies

Chekhov's mother

an excellent story teller who entertained the kids with tales of her travels with her cloth-merchant father all over Russia

serf

an unfree peasant

Czar Nicholas I (1825)

came to power after the death of his brother Alexander I; he is remembered for his much harsher treatment of people and constant strife for more power - he put the leaders of the Decembrists revolt to death

Alexander III (1881)

conservative son of Alex II; he initiated a campaign of brutal repression and executed the 5 leaders of the assassination of Alexander II; his biggest accomplishment was starting construction of the Trans-Siberian railway in 1891 - he died shortly after

Alexander I

first czar of the 19th century; he came to power during the Napoleonic Wars - he is most remembered for his involvement in this war and also his sudden change from an active liberal ruler to a more moderate czar

actions of Nicholas I

he was a strong conservative about his beliefs about serfdom and did not tolerate peasant revolts; he tried to conserve his power by restricting education so that revolutionary ideas would not spread; in his struggle for power, he led to the beginning of the Crimean War

Russian Women cont.

her father and husband controlled most aspects of her life; women could not vote, hold their own passports, or attend highschool or uni

Alexander II - modernizations

his first reform was to free the serfs - issued the Emancipation Manifesto in 1861 abolishing serfdom; this liberal reform helped reestablish Russia as a great power

Intelligentsia

intellectuals or highly educated people as a group, especially when regarded as possessing culture and political influence; they rose around the time of Nick I to fight for democracy

result of the 1905 Russian Revolution

it led to Constitutional Reform including the establishment of the State Dumas (legislative bodies), the multi-party system, and the Russian Constitution

Russian Women - marriage

marriage was the goal for most Russian woman tho she would ultimately find it restrictive and confining; once married, a wife had to take care of her husband, look after the household, and bear children

19th Century Russia Class Structure (and percentages!!)

nobility (less than 1%); landed gentry w/o title (less than 1%); clergy (1%); military (6.5%); town dwellers and merchants (9%); peasants (44.5%); serfs (37%)

Alexander I - switch in ideals

originally he relaxed political repression but later in his reign he joined in a movement to subdue national and liberal movements

19th Century Russia

period of great change; Russia began to feel pressure to modernize as its western European neighbors had already done so - western influence began to spread new ideals throughout; autocrats or czars held the power

variability of the merchant class

professional doctors, lawyers, teachers, architects, and successful artists were from the merchant class and above

Women in 19th Century Russia

society was extremely patriarchal with men being dominant in the workplace, community, and government

Russian Women at the end of the 19th Century - literature

some of the most popular Russian writers began to focus on feminist themes in their works; Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina argued against the traditional institution of marriage and incredible control husbands had over their wives; Chekhov portrayed a variety of working female protagonists in his plays and short stories who gave up their social esteem in the pursuit of financial and personal independence

Alexander II (1855)

son of Nicholas I who succeeded him as a much more liberal czar; under his rule, Russia lost the Crimean War (1856) which made Alexander II realize that they needed to modernize

19th century: arts

while autocrats altered politics and engaged in various wars, Russia enjoyed a golden age in literature and art and a long awaited rise in industry

radical changes occurring in Russian society

would ultimately lead to the Revolutions of 1905 and the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917

Russian Women - at the whim of husbands

• Husbands determined when their wives traveled, conducted business, studied with tutors, or gained employment (though employment was extremely rare.) • Man dictated daily activities, such as deciding when wives could leave the house. • Children were the property of a woman's husband, even if she had a child with another man via an adulterous affair.