My Life: The Story of a Provincial
By Anton Chekhov
“My Life: The Story of a Provincial” (1896) is a novella that tells the story of Misail Poloznev, a rebellious young gentleman who decides to foregothe usual comfortable occupations of his class and instead make his living doing manual labor. His father, the architect of a small town in southern Russia much like Chekhov’s birthplace of Taganrog, is appalled and enlists the local governor to warn him of the social peril of his choice. Nevertheless, when Misail persists, his father disowns him. Through Dr. Blagovo, a friend who believes, like many of his group, that Russian culture is hopelessly mired in the Middle Ages, he meets and falls for the idealistic Masha Dolzhikov. They marry, buy a farm in the country, and try to start a school, but the peasants cheat the farmer and sabotage the schoolteacher. Masha loses heart, moves to St. Petersburg and asks for a divorce. Meanwhile Misail’s sister Cleopatra has fallen for Dr. Blagovo and gotten pregnant. The good doctor skips out and brother and sister move in together. After Cleopatra dies from tuberculosis, Misail carries on with his life as a working man and custodian of his niece. The story is often overlooked, perhaps because of the title, which Chekhov never much liked, but is considered one of Chekhov’s best. It shows him at the height of his power, with a challenging theme, vivid characters, revealing details, and acute psychological insight.
