SOURCE: Cicerin, A. V. “The Role of Adversative Intonation in Čexov's Prose.¹” In Anton Čexov as a Master of Story-Writing, edited by Leo Hulanicki and David Savignac, pp. 187–91. The Hague, the Netherlands: Mouton & Co. B. V., 1976.

In the following essay, originally published in 1968, Cicerin refutes the common claim that Chekhov's stories are clear and simple, using as examples the indecisive and conjectural speech found in the stories themselves.

“The style of Čexov's stories is clear, transparent, and simple; it is characterized by accuracy in every expression he uses.” There is no need to give the source of this quotation. It can be found in special articles, in courses in the history of literature, and in textbooks.

It is a commonplace.

But is it true? Is it completely true?

Čexov defended the idea that originality in a writer is a necessary characteristic of art. He said: “A writer's originality...