Talk:Anton Chekhov

There's an oft-cited quote by Chekhov which goes something along the lines of "I am utterly astounded whenever I encounter a cultivated man who holds to religon" - or something like that. Does anyone know the one I'm talking about or have a source? 61.9.153.63 05:35, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Checkov's Gun
I'm not an editor here, I don't know the rules, so I won't take on the liberty of editing it (I know, anyone can edit, but I don't have time to read guidelines on a new wiki), but the wikipedia article for Checkhov's Gun has a source for the statement, which is currently listed as unsourced:

"If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there." From Gurlyand's Reminiscences of A. P. Chekhov, in Teatr i iskusstvo 1904, No 28, July 11, p. 521.’ footnote: In 1889, twenty-four-year old Ilia Gurliand noted these words down from Chekhov's conversation: "If in Act I you have a pistol hanging on the wall, then it must fire in the last act". Donald Rayfield, Anton Chekhov: A Life, New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1997, ISBN 0-8050-5747-1, 203. Ernest.J.Simmons says that Chekhov repeated the point later (which may account for the variations). Ernest J. Simmons, Chekhov: A Biography, Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1962, ISBN 0-226-75805-2, 190.

Anyway, hope that helps. If you need to contact me I'm on wikipedia as user Kuronue. 152.13.250.178 15:30, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

Unsourced
Wikiquote no longer allows unsourced quotations, and they are in process of being removed from our pages (see Wikiquote:Limits on quotations); but if you can provide a reliable and precise source for any quote on this list please move it to Anton Chekhov. --Antiquary 19:31, 2 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Literature is my legal wife and medicine my mistress. When I get tired of one, I spend the night with the other. (mangled quote, correct version found in letter section)


 * Any idiot can face a crisis; it is this day-to-day living that wears you out. (This one has been shown to be a misattribution)


 * It’s immoral to steal, but you can take things.
 * Out Beggary (existence of this story unconfirmed)