A. P. Chekhov’s Short Novel “The Duel” as a Hybrid Hypertext

The article reveals the intertextual connections of A. P. Chekhov’s novel “The Duel” (published 1891) with the works of Leo Tolstoy, partly with the “Kreutzer Sonata” (1887-1889, published in 1890), but primarily with “Anna Karenina” (1873-1877, published in 1875-1877). They show that Chekhov largely “rewrote” Tolstoy’s novel in the story: Laevsky is in the same plot situation as Vronsky, and Nadezhda Fyodorovna is in the same position as Anna in the second volume of Tolstoy’s novel. Having transferred the action of his story to a different, more egalitarian social environment, Chekhov continued it in his own way, starting directly from the second volume of Anna Karenina. However, the image of Nadezhda Fyodorovna reflects the features of not only Anna, but also Emma Bovary, and Laevsky at times even resembles Flaubert’s Charles. In the finale, he is ultimately correlated with Karenin in the scene of Anna giving birth, when he unexpectedly turns out to be capable of forgiving her. Thus, Chekhov’s story is like a hybrid hypertext of two works that are, in turn, interconnected. This is also reflected in the personalities of the minor characters. For example, Alexander Davidovich Samoylenko clearly borrowed his exorbitant love of life from Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky, and Marya Konstantinovna Bityugova her amorousness and hypocrisy from Countess Lidia Ivanovna. At the same time, Chekhov does not merely draw on many of Tolstoy’s images, he also provides a playful development of the plot of “Anna Karenina.” Largely following the inner intentions of Tolstoy’s novel, he questions Tolstoy’s conclusions. According to Chekhov, everyone has a potential for “renewal,” including Laevsky, Nadezhda Fyodorovna, and even von Koren. At the same time, the cutting edge of Chekhov’s polemic is directed not only against “Anna Karenina”, but also against the “Kreutzer Sonata.” According to Chekhov, one should not judge people as severely as Tolstoy, much less judge them independently, as his hero Pozdnyshev did (and von Koren intended to do).