About the work
One-act play by Anton Chekhov, written in the autumn of 1884 and based on his own 1883 short story "In Autumn". Censors rejected the play in 1885 as too bleak for the stage; it was not published until 1914, ten years after Chekhov's death, when his sister Maria included the text in a memorial anthology.
Plot
Travellers, pilgrims and carters take shelter for a stormy night in a roadside tavern, among them the ruined, alcoholic former landowner Bortsov and the vagrant Merik. When Bortsov's wife Maria, who once left him for another man, happens to seek shelter there too, Merik is overcome with rage at her past conduct and attacks her with an axe; moments later he collapses in tears over his own failure.
Cultural significance
As one of Chekhov's earliest surviving stage works, the play already shows traits of his later dramaturgy, such as the careful individualisation of a group of minor characters and a catastrophe that unfolds within the characters rather than on stage. Its long censorship history kept it unknown during Chekhov's lifetime, and it is still regarded today chiefly as a rarity from his early years.