Williams, Harold Whitmore (1876-1928) Russia of the Russians - London 1914
VI. Literature
...It is frequently asserted that Chehov is a pessimist. He is nothing so downright as that. From a theoretical point of view he is inconclusive. He records, leaves facts to speak for themselves, and leaves questions perpetually open. But his fundamental attitude is one of reverence for the bare fact of life, for the strange, vast play of forces in which man with hes feeble will and blundering reason is pitilessly involved. The keenness of his artistic interest in the sorry adventures of weak human beings on their way through life had its origin in a warm sympathy for man as man. And perhaps that wistful longing for a “brighter future” which is so often expressed by Chehov's characters is the echo of a feeling that deeply stirred his own heart.
...Who is the greater, Chehov or Gorky? This question was at one time hotly debated. It has lost interest now, for the answer in Chehov's favour is simple and clear.
...It is frequently asserted that Chehov is a pessimist. He is nothing so downright as that. From a theoretical point of view he is inconclusive. He records, leaves facts to speak for themselves, and leaves questions perpetually open. But his fundamental attitude is one of reverence for the bare fact of life, for the strange, vast play of forces in which man with hes feeble will and blundering reason is pitilessly involved. The keenness of his artistic interest in the sorry adventures of weak human beings on their way through life had its origin in a warm sympathy for man as man. And perhaps that wistful longing for a “brighter future” which is so often expressed by Chehov's characters is the echo of a feeling that deeply stirred his own heart.
...Who is the greater, Chehov or Gorky? This question was at one time hotly debated. It has lost interest now, for the answer in Chehov's favour is simple and clear.