Ward Number Six and Other Stories
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- Create Date：2022-11-13 05:51:44
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Anton Chekhov
- ISBN：0199553890
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Summary
Taken from The Oxford Chekhov， the stories in this collection include The Butterfly， Ariadne， A Dreary Story， Neighbours， An Anonymous Story， and Doctor Startsev， as well as the title story。
About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe。 Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship， providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features， including expert introductions by leading authorities， voluminous notes to clarify the text， up-to-date bibliographies for further study， and much more。
The Butterfly
Ward Number Six
Ariadne
A Dreary Story
Neighbours
An Anonymous Story
Doctor Startsev
About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe。 Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship， providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features， including expert introductions by leading authorities， voluminous notes to clarify the text， up-to-date bibliographies for further study， and much more。
The Butterfly
Ward Number Six
Ariadne
A Dreary Story
Neighbours
An Anonymous Story
Doctor Startsev
Reviews
Richard Klein
，
excellent
Mandy
，
The longer I spend as a Russian major reading classic， depressing， Russian novels the more I realize that I really do not， in fact， enjoy reading classic， depressing Russian novels。 Is this just the first of like ten books I'm reading for this class？ yes。 Will this class yet convince me that Russian novels can be entertaining？ we shall see。 Favorite stories: "Dr。 Startsev" and "A Dreary Story" The longer I spend as a Russian major reading classic， depressing， Russian novels the more I realize that I really do not， in fact， enjoy reading classic， depressing Russian novels。 Is this just the first of like ten books I'm reading for this class？ yes。 Will this class yet convince me that Russian novels can be entertaining？ we shall see。 Favorite stories: "Dr。 Startsev" and "A Dreary Story" 。。。more
Mariana
，
He was in my tbr for so long， all the time I was in doubt about pick him or not， and now that I read a few of his short works I have mixed feelings。It was not a love at first sight， and I'm happy that he was not the first Russian author I read （how lucky I was to first read Anna Karenina？）。I find his style very easy to read， but the essence leaves me wanting more， missing the tragedy and fatalism of others like Dostoievsky or the deep emotions from Tolstoi。 I know is not fair to make these compa He was in my tbr for so long， all the time I was in doubt about pick him or not， and now that I read a few of his short works I have mixed feelings。It was not a love at first sight， and I'm happy that he was not the first Russian author I read （how lucky I was to first read Anna Karenina？）。I find his style very easy to read， but the essence leaves me wanting more， missing the tragedy and fatalism of others like Dostoievsky or the deep emotions from Tolstoi。 I know is not fair to make these comparisons but， is how I feel。The first book I read was Ward No。 6 and I was indeed in love。 Is a bizarre， dark and depressing story， makes you question about life and privileges， is fantastic。 But then I read The Cherry Orchard， and it was a simple headache， just no for me。But to make justice， the last short tale I read and was totally wonderful was The lady with the dog， a beautiful， moving and heartbreaking story about love， deceptions and forbidden passions。It have the vibe of The age of innocence and that dramatic and sad romanticism from 19th。 But still was not like reading Russian stories， still a little less impressive。Of course I must read more of his work， in fact the book I read have many short， really short stories that I also read and enjoy half of them， but is an author that did not steal my heart， not yet 。。。more
Jesse
，
I've read Notes from a Dead House and Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky， and The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy。 Chekhov is the third Russian author I've read so far。 And I have to say， this set of short stories was pretty darn good！ I've read Notes from a Dead House and Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky， and The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy。 Chekhov is the third Russian author I've read so far。 And I have to say， this set of short stories was pretty darn good！ 。。。more
Michelle
，
Brilliant short story。 A doctor finds that his mental patient is an interesting conversationalist。 He is hilarious。 I don't know if these Russians mean to be funny but this is one of my favorite passages ever:"You're conversant with reality only in theory。 And why is it you despise suffering， why don't you ever feel surprise？ There's a very simple reason。 The vanity of vanities， externals， internals， despising life， suffering and death， the meaning of existence， true happiness。。。it's the philoso Brilliant short story。 A doctor finds that his mental patient is an interesting conversationalist。 He is hilarious。 I don't know if these Russians mean to be funny but this is one of my favorite passages ever:"You're conversant with reality only in theory。 And why is it you despise suffering， why don't you ever feel surprise？ There's a very simple reason。 The vanity of vanities， externals， internals， despising life， suffering and death， the meaning of existence， true happiness。。。it's the philosophy best suited to a typical lackadaisical Russian。 Say you see a peasant beating his wife。 Why meddle？ Let him beat away， they're both going to die anyway sooner or later。 Besides， that peasant is degrading himself with his blows， not the person he's hitting。 Getting drunk is stupid， it's not respectable， but you die if you drink and you die if you don't。 A peasant woman comes along with toothache。 So what？ Pain is just the impression of feeling pain， besides which no one one can get through life without sickness and we are all going to die。 So let that woman clear out and leave me to my meditations and vodka。" 。。。more
Dayla
，
I saw a version of this story （Ward No。 Six）， and I was so impressed that I wanted to read the book afterwards。 The actual story was first published in the November 1892 issue of Russkaya Mysl a literary Russian magazine published in St。 Petersburg。The doctor of a small town has among his patients， the mental ward of the town's hospital。 When the doctor visits the ward， he meets Ivan Gromov， who converses with the doctor about suffering。 Ivan tells the doctor that in order to understand the suff I saw a version of this story （Ward No。 Six）， and I was so impressed that I wanted to read the book afterwards。 The actual story was first published in the November 1892 issue of Russkaya Mysl a literary Russian magazine published in St。 Petersburg。The doctor of a small town has among his patients， the mental ward of the town's hospital。 When the doctor visits the ward， he meets Ivan Gromov， who converses with the doctor about suffering。 Ivan tells the doctor that in order to understand the suffering of others， the doctor would have to experience suffering himself。 And then suffering ensues。After visiting St。 Petersburg recently， and not permitted to explore the city without a mandatory "guide，" I began to wonder how much has or has not changed since the late 19th century。 Just like the mental ward in the story， the citizens seemed to be in their own mental ward。 。。。more
Gilbert
，
Not all that overwhelming。
S M Shahrukh
，
The seven stories in this collection are rather atypical of the master short story writer。 In the title story， 'Ward Number 6'， he has delved way too much in philosophy and， sort of， lost track。 The stories are rather 'longish'; he is better with his shorter stories。 Ronald Hingley writes， "Illusions about the future， regrets for the past， high hopes collapsing among jam jars， fried onions and copper saucepans， the incongruities and inconsistencies of human beings， their mannerisms， their selfis The seven stories in this collection are rather atypical of the master short story writer。 In the title story， 'Ward Number 6'， he has delved way too much in philosophy and， sort of， lost track。 The stories are rather 'longish'; he is better with his shorter stories。 Ronald Hingley writes， "Illusions about the future， regrets for the past， high hopes collapsing among jam jars， fried onions and copper saucepans， the incongruities and inconsistencies of human beings， their mannerisms， their selfishness and their unselfishness， their tendency to say far too much or far too little， their inability - whether silent or garrulous - to communicate effectively with each other。。。。。these are some of the elements which make up Chekhov's thematic arsenal。 His artistic aim - as he himself kept repeating - was simply to reflect the world as he saw it。" This， I find， somewhat missing in this collection。 。。。more
Jose Moa
，
I will review Ward Number SixThis short novel is a parabola about the alienation of the different，in this case the differen is that one that is not a mediocre ，also is a existential tale and a allegation against the stupefy rural，provincial Russia。Ivan Dimitrich is closed in a hospital ，in a small city，in the ward number six a ward used for mental ills，the hospital is old，dirt，and the ill treat is frequent，the patients almost abandoned;yet Ivan is ill，he is not a mediocre，thinks by himself and h I will review Ward Number SixThis short novel is a parabola about the alienation of the different，in this case the differen is that one that is not a mediocre ，also is a existential tale and a allegation against the stupefy rural，provincial Russia。Ivan Dimitrich is closed in a hospital ，in a small city，in the ward number six a ward used for mental ills，the hospital is old，dirt，and the ill treat is frequent，the patients almost abandoned;yet Ivan is ill，he is not a mediocre，thinks by himself and has deep thoughts and ideals。The new chief of the hospital Andrey Efimych begins to work hard but his weak nature and the routine make that he neglect his duties and purposes and the busines follow as usual，but in a visit he knows Ivan， and as Andrey neither is a mediocre， finds Ivan very interesting and visit him very frquently and has long disgressions，this awakes suspicious about the sanity of Andrey in the hospital staf and the small city and is eventually resigned。In a leisure journey with a flighty friend and a loan to this friend Andrey loss his savings an as has not pension falls in poverty，the authorities of the city think he is better closed in the hospital and with ruses closed him in the ward number six with his ancient patient Ivan， Andrey falls in desesperation and try to scape，is catched and beated and die painfully。In his burial only two persons show up 。。。more
Ikra Amesta
，
Dari 9 karya cerpen di buku ini， bisa disimpulkan bahwa kehebatan Anton Chekhov terletak pada kemahirannya menghidupkan alam psikologis manusia -- yang kemudian ia narasikan， ia beri nama dan wujud， ia mainkan dalam situasi kehidupan yang terkesan familiar padahal ganjil。 Ya， karakter-karakter dalam cerpennya seolah-olah hanyalah 'alat' atau portal pengekspresi gejolak psikologis manusia， tokoh utama yang sebenarnya bersumber dari dalam sana dengan nama-nama seperti paranoia， kecemasan， penyesal Dari 9 karya cerpen di buku ini， bisa disimpulkan bahwa kehebatan Anton Chekhov terletak pada kemahirannya menghidupkan alam psikologis manusia -- yang kemudian ia narasikan， ia beri nama dan wujud， ia mainkan dalam situasi kehidupan yang terkesan familiar padahal ganjil。 Ya， karakter-karakter dalam cerpennya seolah-olah hanyalah 'alat' atau portal pengekspresi gejolak psikologis manusia， tokoh utama yang sebenarnya bersumber dari dalam sana dengan nama-nama seperti paranoia， kecemasan， penyesalan， inferioritas， ketakutan terhadap yang tidak pasti， yang dikemas ke dalam tragedi， lalu komedi， lalu gabungan keduanya。 Seperti judulnya， Ruang Inap No。 6， setiap tokoh utama di sini merupakan individu yang terperangkap dalam berbagai ruang。 Ada yang berbentuk paviliun rumah sakit jiwa， penjara， kotak alat musik， atau malah yang jauh lebih abstrak lagi seperti masa tua， cinta buta， dan birokrasi。 Tapi pada akhirnya Chekhov menyuguhkan pengalaman claustrophobic yang berkesan。 Pada akhirnya， nama tokoh-tokohnya yang berakhiran '-ov' dan '-ich' itu tidak bakal diingat tapi kisah mereka sukses menetap di kepala。 。。。more
Dolors
，
I finally understand why Chekhov has earned the title of undisputable master of the short story。 He is a genius of brevity。 Never had I encountered such eloquent， detailed descriptions， both physical and psychological， of characters in so few lines。 The seven stories in this volume put their emphasis on the gentry or on the professional class， with a preeminent recurrence of doctors as protagonists， which might have a direct correlation to Chekhov’s real life experiences， for he graduated in med I finally understand why Chekhov has earned the title of undisputable master of the short story。 He is a genius of brevity。 Never had I encountered such eloquent， detailed descriptions， both physical and psychological， of characters in so few lines。 The seven stories in this volume put their emphasis on the gentry or on the professional class， with a preeminent recurrence of doctors as protagonists， which might have a direct correlation to Chekhov’s real life experiences， for he graduated in medicine before he became a self-supporting writer。 What most struck me about Chekhov’s narrative voice is the biting realism of the sketches he so dexterously portrays。 They are horrifying precisely because of their familiarity， which is so reminiscent of everyday life。 Empathizing character over plot， with a terse， almost laconic style， he evokes the complexities of the human psyche with a full palette of thematic patterns: lunacy， unfaithfulness， boredom， the tediousness that ails the accommodated middle class… he brings it all with an economy of language that leaves the reader rather stunned by time the plotline reaches a generally anti-dramatic conclusion， something that differs from other Russian writers like Tolstoy or Dostoevsky。 Instead， there is a deadly tension in everything that has consciously been left unsaid until it’s too late to put amends to sloth， pride， delusional idealizations or merely the unfair business that life is。Failure at communication between the flawed characters， which get transfigured from hero to villain in the span of a few pages， is at the core of the dissatisfying existence they lead。 Religion is treated with an incredulousness that borders distrust， just like art and the creative process， which are superficial means to escape a rather grey reality。The action takes place in anonymous towns or cities and food holds a place of honor in almost every story。 Women are presented as deluded victims with second-rate minds that end up tricked by their misconceptions on love， passion and desire。 There is no preaching or overly moralizing undertone in Chekhov’s fluctuating prose， and yet one can’t ignore the careful symmetry， the sharp irony and self-criticism that permeate his stories。 In looking back to past memories， usually through the rose-tinted glasses of childhood， or in looking forward to a better future that won’t ever materialize， the characters of Chekhov’s haunting tales reflect an erratic， imperfect world where inabilities timidly blossom， only to gradually expand among those who care about them until they die a natural death that showcase their latent insignificance。Cynicism dulls the pain， the narrator of "An anonymous story" warns the reader。 Chekhov wasn’t a cynic， but he didn’t allow himself the luxury of living a parallel life made of false illusions。 He was too observant， too pragmatic and too deliciously inconsistent and in love with aesthetics to indulge himself in such luxury。 。。。more
Pete daPixie
，
Seven short stories in just under two hundred and fifty pages。The Butterfly。Ward Number Six。Ariadne。A Dreary Story。Neighbours。An Anonymous Story。Doctor Startsev。Great collection。 Irony abounds。
Nouf
，
I must say that Chekhov is still striking us with his masterpiece short stories 。 His insightful stories will never fade for future generations， because he wrote about the human being （his suffering， affection， love， anxieties， or miseries）。 Throughout the stories that I read he makes me feel for the character and sometimes be the character。。 to the extent that I actually felt the depth of the character’s personality in me 。。 and start thinking of how to solve or think about the issues that the I must say that Chekhov is still striking us with his masterpiece short stories 。 His insightful stories will never fade for future generations， because he wrote about the human being （his suffering， affection， love， anxieties， or miseries）。 Throughout the stories that I read he makes me feel for the character and sometimes be the character。。 to the extent that I actually felt the depth of the character’s personality in me 。。 and start thinking of how to solve or think about the issues that the character is facing！Ward Number six is the one that I liked the most。 Ward Number Six represents an important question which still persists today : who is the lunatic？ Chekhov draws two characters to deal with such question the doctor （Ragin） and the so called “lunatic” his patient （Gromov）。 Bothdoctor and patient have some concerns， and questions need answers。 Such concerns or questions （or actually the fact that having conscience） are not deemed to be crazy according to Chekhov。 However， according to society you may be considered lunatic to think deeply in such matters！It can be said that today we have the same problem in answering such question。 We try to look at each other …way of thinking （believing in something） or questioning something。。 or even actions as whether they are right （means you are sane） or wrong （means you are a lunatic）。 For example in any society， if you talk about justice and how a government or a regime should fall 。。 society will judge you as lunatic， very few will agree with you in the beginning， and those few will be judged the same way as you’ve been judged “lunatic”。 So， does it became a mere judgment （lunatic not lunatic） according to society or is it really a psychological， mental disease that you should be thrown in a hospital “Ward Number Six”。 Chekhov was very clever in discussing this matter of the inside world （human inner world） and the outside world （society）。。 and that it is not necessarily mean that society is always “sane”！When says: “Ragin was still convinced that there was no difference at all between Mrs。 Belov ‘s house and Ward Number Six， …”。 P65He also depicts the picture that those who are in Ward Number Six might be a few sane people among the larger lunatics of the whole society！ 。。。more
Shelley
，
This was the first collection of Chekhov's short stories I've read and still one of my favorites。It contains "A Dreary Story"， definitely among my top 3 favorites of Chekhovian stories。 It is a veritable onion or Russian doll。 Even after three re-reads， it still yields new meaning and grants new perspectives on every page， layers after layers of wonder。 Like James Joyce’s “The Dead”， it is a short story to rival any great novel。 Seriously， read it， and then read it again。The other stories belong This was the first collection of Chekhov's short stories I've read and still one of my favorites。It contains "A Dreary Story"， definitely among my top 3 favorites of Chekhovian stories。 It is a veritable onion or Russian doll。 Even after three re-reads， it still yields new meaning and grants new perspectives on every page， layers after layers of wonder。 Like James Joyce’s “The Dead”， it is a short story to rival any great novel。 Seriously， read it， and then read it again。The other stories belong to what I like to call "novelist Chekhov" （except "The Neighbor"， which is also vintage Chekhov in its lack of a resolution）。 These narratively-directed short stories and novellas put him on full footing with the great novelists of Russia’s Golden Era。 Chekhov’s scope gradually becomes broader and broader， from an initial （mostly） two-man play （“Ward Number Six”） to a larger ensemble of lovers and knaves （“Anonymous Story” “Ariadne”）。 The greatest of them all， “In the Ravine”--rich and evocative as any major Russian novel--is not included in this collection， and that might be my only beef with the editor。—“Ward Number Six”: The first time I read it （almost a decade ago）， the plight of the Doctor frightened me。 The next time I read it， I saw the poetic justice in his plight， but the implication—that of remorseless， pitiless Justice—frightened me more。 One of the most chilling stories ever penned。—“An Anonymous Story”: Similar to "The Duel"， it is a variation on the same theme of a sordid love affair between a Superfluous Man and an educated but banal woman。 They seem to be Chekhov’s response to the great masters of the Russian Golden Era。 Rich in Tolstoyan themes， it also manages to introduce elements of Dostoyevsky: the clusterphobic setting of the flat， the Underground Man（servant）。 The result is not altogether successful but the ending， smack in the middle of nothing at all， is vintage Chekhov。—“Ariadne”: Chekhov is clearly at the height of his astringency and terseness here， managing to say in very few words more than most writers accomplish in pages。 “Even when she was in a good mood she thought nothing of insulting a servant or killing an insect。 She liked bullfights and reading about murders， and was angry when accused people were acquitted in court。” Never has a more convincing portrait been created with so few strokes！In fall of 2016 I reread about 65 of Chekhov's short stories as well as short novels in chronologic order over 2 weeks。 It was an immersive experience; the stories really sank in this time。 The reviews， including this one， may be accessed as follows: Selected Stories， The Steppe and Other Stories， The Princess and Other Stories， The Russian Master and Other Stories， A Woman's Kingdom and Other Stories。 。。。more
Maggie
，
Excellently depressing characters written in a twisted but endearing way that only Chekhov can。 Chekhov allows the reader to enter an entirely new world in a few short pages in these stories which can be read in chunks or all at once。 A nice， quick overview of Chekhov's stories。 Excellently depressing characters written in a twisted but endearing way that only Chekhov can。 Chekhov allows the reader to enter an entirely new world in a few short pages in these stories which can be read in chunks or all at once。 A nice， quick overview of Chekhov's stories。 。。。more
Pierce
，
Absolutely perfect and absorbing set of stories。 Sometimes you read something that feels like it couldn't possibly be anything other than what it is。 Absolutely perfect and absorbing set of stories。 Sometimes you read something that feels like it couldn't possibly be anything other than what it is。 。。。more
Matthew Berkshire
，
The book is well written， but Chekhov can be a little depressing。 I see some similarities between Turgenev， but I found this less readable。 However， while I didn't enjoy the read I recognize the merit and am glad for the experience。 The book is well written， but Chekhov can be a little depressing。 I see some similarities between Turgenev， but I found this less readable。 However， while I didn't enjoy the read I recognize the merit and am glad for the experience。 。。。more
Ssadow
，
Checkhov pulls you into each story。 The characters are very well drawn， the plots are simple and familiar。
Sara
，