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3.5 

The Duel

By Anton Chekhov
The Duel by Anton Chekhov digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

The Duel is one of Chekhov’s longest works, skirting the edge between novel and novella. Like many of Chekhov’s works, it was first published as a serial.

Laevsky is a womanizing drunkard, a slave to life’s vices. His wantonness clashes with the moralistic zoologist Von Koren, who grows to despise Laevsky. Their mutual enmity culminates in a duel—though neither they, nor their friends, really want it to happen.

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33 Reviews

3.5
Thinking Face“A spyglass view on the nature of pitiable people, wringing habits and ideals around their own isolation; when those natures clash, there comes a duel. Not a Romantic act of valiant courage and truth, but an unprepared, frightful, mundane affair. Of course, I'm saying all this as a compliment.”
“A concise tale that has Laevsky, a young government worker who lives with his mistress (a married woman!), end up challenged into a Duel by Von Koren zoologist scientist (seemingly enacting darwinian survival of the fittest). I really enjoyed the way Chekhov uses point of view. We get Laevsky talking to his only friend and sharing the stresses of his life. How he's no longer in love with his mistress, he hates living in the Caucasus and believes a move back to the big cities of Russia with solve his issues. It's all pretty believable and you maybe feel bad for him and his situation. Then you get Von Koren's take on Laevsky's situation where he just think Laevsky is the lowest of all humans. Just a parasite really. He doesn't work, he drinks, plays cards, is never happy and is always looking for a quick solution to all his problems. The same parallels happen with Laevsky's mistress. She thinks she's the prettiest, most well-dress person in the Caucasus until later one of her friends says she's cheap - and everyone feels so awful about her being in this relationship.”
“Apa artinya menjadi orang baik dan bermoral? Mana yang lebih diterima, orang beragama yang tak segan memukuli saudaranya, atau orang yang tak bertuhan tapi lembut perilakunya? Saya pikir, pertanyaan-pertanyaan itu menjadi landasan dari apa yang ingin Chekhov sampaikan lewat novela The Duel. Kisah sekitar 200 halaman ini pada pokoknya menceritakan tentang titik balik kehidupan si tokoh protagonis, Laevsky. Ia adalah seorang pegawai pemerintah bergaji pas-pasan; punya banyak hutang karena gaya hidup 'besar pasak dari pada tiang' yang dijalaninya; serta hidup berkumpul kebo dengan istri orang di kota kecil yang jauh dari negeri asalnya. Posisi Laevsky yang berseberangan dengan nilai-nilai konservatif yang dimiliki masyarakat sekitar, membuat ia bersama kekasihnya kerap menjadi bulan-bulanan buah bibir. Sebagian tetangga juga terang-terangan mengucilkan pasangan ini karena jalan hidup non konformis yang mereka pilih. Ditambah lagi, sejak semua orang mengetahui, suami Nadyezhda Fyodorovna (sang kekasih) sudah meninggal dunia, Laevsky tak kunjung menunjukkan niat untuk menikahi perempuan itu. Bahkan, Laevsky diam-diam berniat menelantarkan kekasihnya itu, lalu kabur ke St. Petersburg lantaran bosan. Namun, tidak ada tetangga yang lebih membenci Laevsky ketimbang Von Koren. Ilmuwan satwa yang berwatak keras itu membenci Laevsky karena gayanya yang banyak omong kosong, suka berdusta, dan tak bermoral. Von Koren selalu menganggap, di dalam analogi rantai makanan, Laevsky sama seperti parasit--makhluk lemah yang punya daya rusak besar bagi makhluk-makhluk di sekitarnya. Mengadopsi cara berpikir khas belantara seperti itu pulalah, Von Koren pun mencari-cari kesempatan untuk 'mematikan' Laevsky. Ia mendapat kesempatan itu dari duel yang disepakati keduanya, tepat ketika rasa kebencian dan persaingan tak mampu lagi dibendung. Duel antara Laevsky dan Von Koren serupa pertentangan dua gaya hidup dan prinsip hidup yang berbanding terbalik. Melihat sosok Laevsky yang sebenarnya berhati lembut, agaknya mustahil ia mampu menarik pelatuk untuk membunuh seorang manusia. Kalau Von Koren, dilihat dari wataknya yang serba hitam putih, justru sangat mungkin untuk membunuh Laevsky tanpa basa basi. Lantas, bagaimana akhir dari duel antara keduanya? Tak disangka, pada akhirnya duel itu menjadi katalisator bagi dua orang yang saling bermusuhan tersebut, dan juga bagi banyak orang di sekitar mereka.”

About Anton Chekhov

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (Russian: Антон Павлович Чехов, 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers in the world. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Along with Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, Chekhov is often referred to as one of the three seminal figures in the birth of early modernism in the theatre. Chekhov was a doctor by profession. "Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is my mistress."

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