A World without Nature

Some of Chekhov's short stories contain environmental criticism – there is not much of it, but it is recognizable enough to write about. I would like to tell you about one of those short stories.

The short story is called “A Doctor's Visit” and it was written in 1898. The plot is simple: a doctor by the name of Korolyov is asked to visit a factory near Moscow by one female industrialist, the owner of the factory. Her daughter had a heartbeat problem the night before, and the family was afraid for her. Korolyov arrives at the factory by the evening; the time of the year is spring.

The factory from the short story was enormous and had 5 different parts. Unfortunately, there are no venerable films shot on the basis of the short story.

The Lyalikov family lives in the factory in a grey house. The family does not have any male members, but only has three women: Liza – the daughter, Lyalikova – her mother and the owner of the factory, and Christina Dmitryevna – the governess. Although there is nothing wrong with Liza's health, the shaking and trembling mother begs Korolyov to spend a night in their house, and Korolyov agrees.

           

The doctor is stunned by the night atmosphere at the factory. He sensed the signs of vice when he was entering the factory territory in the look of the workers, in a grey dust-like substance that covered everything. This sense of artificiality was strengthened further by an ever-present, almost toxic smell of a new paint everywhere. Then, the real Satan makes himself heard. Out of nowhere, in the middle of the night, doctor hears continuous “dungs.” “Dungs” are followed up by “bungs” and then by “chucks” and then by … It takes four minutes for the workers to hammer 11 o'clock. Korolyov can't sleep, he wanders about, thinks and finally comes to Liza's room. She does not sleep as well. They talk, and it seems that Korolyov manages to indirectly tell Liza to move somewhere, somewhere away from this place. So, the story ends happily, with Korolyov riding to the train station in the morning amidst the sunrays of a new spring day.

           

You may ask me, what the story is about and how is Nature involved? I can reply simply that the world presented in the short story is precisely the type of world without Nature in mind, the world where the artificiality of everything leads to chronic diseases and a constant feeling of unrest. Liza, having a lot of money and no responsibilities, can leave the factory, that is true; but where will she go? To Crimea, to Caucasian hot springs, to the village with its abundance of forests, rivers and lakes. Thus, Liza will go to Nature. But if Nature is just a retreat, the very last measure, the final destination, doesn't it make Nature look inferior and feeble? This way, Nature is either something ideal or our distant slave. I wonder if it is even possible to change a place like the factory from the story, since some things are not meant – nor can't – be corrected. However, I can claim that Nature would not create something as disdainful to human dignity as the factory. Nature would create an increasingly robust network of organisms that interact with one another and are able to recover after any significant blow. The human relations in the story are not presented as something interconnected or strong spiritually, but as a pleiad of silly, unnecessary links that maim the souls of both the factory owners and the workers – the factory is irregular and indifferent, Nature is vigorous and balanced.

If you think about it, our lives do somewhat resemble the factory. The white-grey substance from the story is like an unseen, glossy layer on apples at the grocery store. The “dungs” and “chucks” are the disturbing shrieks of planes and trains in a seemingly quiet moment. You got it, there are many more similarities to be found. My question is whether we will learn from Nature (or someone) to not create more factories?

The story of course can be read socially, as the horrible living and working conditions of the workers are accurately described. For a similar story with the environmental criticism by Chekhov, see the story “In the Ravine.”

                                                                                                                                      Maksim Kamrõš