Chekhov’s 'Little Woman': Exploration of Gender Roles and Family Values in 19th Century Literary Traditions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37985/jer.v6i2.2272Keywords:
Literary Sociology, Short Story, Feminism, Little WomanAbstract
This study examines the representation of the "little woman" in Anton Chekhov’s short stories, focusing on the interplay of gender roles and family values in 19th century Russian society. Through a literary sociology approach, the analysis explores how Chekhov’s female characters navigate societal expectations, internal conflicts, and familial responsibilities, offering a nuanced portrayal of women that diverges from traditional literary archetypes of his time. Unlike previous studies, which often generalize Chekhov’s female characters as passive or one-dimensional, this research highlights the complexity and agency of women in stories such as "The Lady with the Dog," "The Darling," and "The Schoolmistress." By analyzing narrative structure, character development, and social context, the study reveals how Chekhov critiques patriarchal norms while simultaneously depicting the emotional and psychological depth of his female protagonists. The findings demonstrate that Chekhov’s "little women" are not solely symbols of sacrifice or victimhood but are multifaceted individuals grappling with identity, autonomy, and societal constraints. The study’s novelty lies in its comparative framework, which situates Chekhov’s work alongside other literary traditions of the period, underscoring his unique contribution to the portrayal of women. By emphasizing the psychological and social dimensions of his female characters, this research contributes to literary gender studies and offers insights into the enduring relevance of Chekhov’s work in contemporary discussions on women’s roles in society. The findings invite further exploration of how classic literature can inform modern debates on gender equality and personal identity.
Downloads
References
Abramova, V.S. (2009). Existential and Phenomenological Analysis of A.P. Chekhov's Prose. Bulletin of Nizhny Novgorod University named after. N. I. Lobachevsky, 6(2), 11-17. http://www.vestnik.unn.ru/ru/nomera?anum=2804
Ahmadi, A. (2023). A spiritual journey of an Indonesian woman: The evidence through literature from a psychospiritual perspective. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 10(3). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311983.2023.2270789
Aleksina, E. A., & Stepin, S. N. (2022). Forms of psychological analysis in stories by A.P. Chekhov. Bulletin of Science, 12 (57). https://www.вестник-науки.рф/article/6792
Ali, R., & Sasani, S. (2024). An ecofeminist study of Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Dreams and Prodigal Summer. Research Journal in Advanced Humanities, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.58256/gb9j2575
Anisimov, K. V., & Shavlinsky, M. S. (2022). Historical and literary context of Bunin’s travelogue The Temple of the Sun: Whose background let Bunin “come out as a genius”? Bulletin of Tomsk State University, Filologiya, 80, 183–210. https://doi.org/10.17223/19986645/80/9
Amirov, V. M., & Kudlenko, D. S. (2022). The image of the "little man" and features of its construction in battle journalistic texts. Political Linguistics, 5(95). https://doi.org/10.26170/1999-2629_2022_05_08
Balashova, N. N. (2022). The theme of the beauty of the world in the phenomenon of women (based on the works of N. V. Gogol). Art Logos, 1(18). https://doi.org/10.35231/25419803_2022_1_33
Bakhtin, M. M. (1975). Questions of literature and aesthetics. Moscow: Khudozhestvennaya Literatura.
Bashin, K. & Khan, N.S. dalam Siti Muslikhati. (2004). Feminisme dan Pemberdayaan Perempuan dalam timbangan Islam. Jakarta: Gema Insani Press.
Berkowski, N. Ya. (1962). Chekhov, narrator and playwright: Articles on literature. Moscow, Leningrad: Goslitizdat.
Demenyuk, V.M., & Menshikova, M.K. (2022). The concept of "Delusion" in the works of A. Beers (on the example of the analysis of female images in the collection "The Fiend's Delight"). Philology: scientific research, No. 2. https://nbpublish.com/fmag/contents_2022_2.html#37385
Fakih, M. (2008). Analisis Gender dan Transformasi Sosial. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar.
Flegantova, N. S. (2013). Category of time in the late prose of A. P. Chekhov (short story "The Schoolmistress"). Bulletin of Cherepovets State University, 4(53). https://www.semanticscholar.org/author/Флегантова-Наталья-Сергеевна/121473101
Golovina, E. V. (2017). Typology of Female Images In Russian Literature of the End of the 19th - Beginning of the 20th Century. Philological Sciences. Questions of theory and practice, 3-1(69), 12-15. https://philology-journal.ru/article/phil20170401/fulltext
Hoogenboom, H. (2024). Rethinking the meaning of life: Nineteenth-century Russian literary history and women writers. New Literary Observer, 189(5), 61–71. https://doi.org/10.53953/08696365_2024_189_5_61
Ilunina, A. (2021). Intertextual connections of Jeanette Winterson's "Frankissstein" and Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein: or the modern prometheus." Buletin Universitas Pedagogis Negeri Chuvash, 1(110), 34. http://vestnik.chgpu.edu.ru/upload/docs/2021/1(110)_2021.pdf
Kadyrova, N. A. (2022). Story A.P. Chekhov's "Dushechka": Experience of modern interpretation. Bulletin of the Bashkir State Pedagogical University named after M. Akmulla, 1-2(62). https://bspu.ru/files/116593
Kamyanov, V. I. (1989). Time versus timelessness [Monograph]. Moscow: Soviet Writer.
Kataev, V.B. (2008). The true sage. In Philosophy of Chekhov: International Scientific Conference. Irkutsk State University, 68-75. https://istina.msu.ru/collections/4603188/
Kibalnik, S. A. (2024). Chekhov's Three Sisters and its Dostoevsky's pretext. Vestnik Tomskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta, Filologiya, 87, 221–232. https://doi.org/10.17223/19986645/87/12
Kim, Y. V. (2021). Teffy: The Role of the Pseudonym in the Perception of Female Creativity in Russian Modernism. Philological Sciences. Theory and Practice Issues, 5. https://philology-journal.ru/article/phil20210202/fulltext
Kotelnikov, M.P. (2023). The sociology of literature: From “modus suspicion” to “cultural sociology.” Logos, 33(3), 237–267. https://doi.org/10.17323/0869-5377-2023-3-237-267
Kuznetsova, E. V. (2024). Gender and literary inversions in the story of V. Bryusov “The last pages from a woman’s diary”. New Literary Observer, 185(1), 110–126. https://doi.org/10.53953/08696365_2024_185_1_110
Lakshin, V. (1975). Tolstoy's favorite story ("The Darling" by A.P. Chekhov). In V. Lakshin, Tolstoy and Chekhov. Moscow: Soviet Writer.
Li, P. V. (2022). Female images in the lyrics of V. Ya. Bryusov and S. Mallarmé. Territory of New Possibilities, 4. https://doi.org/10.24866/VVSU/2949-1258/2022-4/202-209
Lyan X. (2021). Gender Studies on the Works of A. P. Chekhov in China. Bulletin of MSPU. Series: Philology. Theory of Language. Language Education, 3(43). https://doi.org/10.25688/2076-913X.2021.43.3.12
Mitsyuk, N. A., & Pushkareva, N. L. (2024). The awakening of the feminine as a pattern of gender identity (The phenomenon of girl-teenagers adoration in the history of Russian sexual culture of the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries). New Literary Observer, 185(1), 69–87. https://doi.org/10.53953/08696365_2024_185_1_69
Mirkushina, L. R. (2022). Transformation of the feminine image in the cultural and artistic space of the beginning of the 20th century. Bulletin of Moscow State Pedagogical University. Series: Philosophical Sciences, 1(41). https://doi.org/10.25688/2078-9238.2022.41.1.07
Nochevka, E. I. (2018). The problem of the "little man" in Russian literature of the 19th century: Evolution and typology of image. Belgorod: Belgorod State National Research University.
Nuri, J. (2021). Female Characters in Doctor Zhivago and Their Role in the Fate of the Protagonist. Humanitarian Vector, 4. https://zabvektor.com/wp-content/uploads/050422070402-Nuri%20Dzhanat.pdf
Oakley, A. (1972). Sex, gender, and society. Harper & Row.
Oleynik, A. N. (2010). “We have been traveling for a long time, we have been suffering for a long time” (about one motif of Chekhov’s works). Bulletin of Udmurt University. Series “History and Philology”, (4). https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=16215721
Poleshchuk, E. V., & Sysoeva, O. A. (2024). On the question of studying female images in A. P. Chekhov's short prose. Language as Structure and Discursive Practice, 2(5). https://scinetwork.ru/articles/18348
Polotskaya, E. A. (1983). Paths of Chekhov's characters. Moscow: Prosveshcheniye.
Popova, E. V. (2011). On the issue of the author's position in A. P. Chekhov's story "The Darling". Bulletin of the Taganrog Institute named after A. P. Chekhov, No. 1. https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?edn=oxvnzd
Rogova, E. N. (2012). The motive of uncertainty and its function in the formation of the artistic integrity of A. P. Chekhov's story "The Lady with the Dog". SibScript, No. 1.
Sarycheva, K. V. (2023). Evolution of female images in the I. A. Grinevskaya's works of the 1890s–1900s. Studia Litterarum, 8(2), 140–161. https://doi.org/10.22455/2500-4247-2023-8-2-140-161
Sharonova, E. A., & Savonina, N. A. (2023). The Idea of Eternal Femininity in the Poetry of A. M. Sharonov (Based on the Poem "Valentina"). Litera, 5. https://nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=40677
Susi, Y. (2018). Perempuan atau Wanita? Perbandingan Berbasis Korpus Tentang Leksikon Berbasis Gender. Paradigma Jurnal Kajian Budaya, 8(1), 53-70. https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/paradigma/vol8/iss1/5/
Tyupa, V. I. (1989). The artistry of Chekhov's story [Monograph]. Moscow: Vysshaya Shkola.
Uspenskij, P., & Fedotov, A. (2024). How to write poetry about a “public woman”? ‘When out of the darkness of delusion…’ by N. Nekrasov on the discursive map of the epoch. Slavic Literatures, 149, 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.slalit.2024.05.001
Downloads
Published
Check index
How to Cite
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Elena Dimitruk, Anna Buchelnikova, Titik Indarti, Udjang Pairin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the works authorship and initial publication in this journal.Â
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journals published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
