Why and how did Doctor Startsev become Ionych? (based on the story “Ionych” by A.P. Chekhov)
Take care of the person in you.
A. Chekhov
In the story “Ionych” Chekhov depicted the drama of the collapse of the human personality, clearly showed the deadly danger of reconciliation with the existing system, submission to the prevailing mores and accepted morality.
Chekhov begins his acquaintance with the life of the city of S., where the events take place, by introducing us to the “most educated and talented family” of the Turkins. The head of the family, Ivan Petrovich, loved to stage performances in which he himself acted, his wife Vera Iosifovna wrote novels, and his daughter Ekaterina Ivanovna, or Kotik, as she was called in the family, played the piano. Life in the city is generally boring and monotonous, and even the representatives of this “talented” family ultimately turn out to be quite untalented, just as boring and rather narrow-minded. And Startsev’s perception of them on the first evening of their acquaintance was a kind of mirror of himself, a young, friendly, still naive zemstvo doctor, who was fairly homesick for good company in his wilderness. Therefore, the doctor perceived the whole evening as a holiday, and everything seemed “so pleasant, so new” to him.
Extremely pleased with his new acquaintance, Doctor Startsev returns to his work. He does what he loves and is full of desire to work for the good of society. But the fact is that this society has rather petty interests, and leads an idle, frivolous, empty life. It’s good to play cards or have lunch with such people, but under no circumstances should you talk about science, art, politics (which always interested the doctor) - they simply won’t understand you or will be offended.
And we see that very gradually, but steadily, Startseva began to be sucked into this quagmire. After a long time, he again ends up with the Turkins, and love for the young Ekaterina Ivanovna awakens in his heart. But along with his dreams about the future, he is constantly tormented by the question: “Is it becoming for him, a zemstvo doctor, an intelligent, respectable person... to do something stupid? Where will this novel lead? What will your comrades say when they find out? And this cautious glance, and later unexpectedly calculating thoughts (“And they must give a lot of dowry...”) noticeably interrupt the lover’s lyrical mood.
Despite his dreams and hopes, the doctor was refused by the girl herself. Oh, how he worried and suffered - for three whole days!
Gradually, Startsev sinks more and more into the quagmire of philistine existence. When he thinks about his former love, he already feels relieved that everything ended so “safely”, and then he completely forgets.
If at first Startsev worked with inspiration, carefully, “with love,” then later, with the advent of large practice, he began to see patients hastily. In the end, the famous doctor acquired a simply huge practice, he “already has two estates and two houses in the city, and he takes a fancy to a third, more profitable one...”
The line that separates the doctor from the thoughtless philistine society is gradually dissolving. He becomes “one of their own” to these people, and they increasingly call him simply, without due respect, Ionych. Everyone in the city becomes familiar with his habits and whims, which they treat with understanding, and Ionych, in turn, willingly plays cards in the evenings, and no art or science no longer excites or interests him. The doctor has a new hobby - counting money received from patients and hiding it in the bank.
Several years have passed, he again ends up with the Turkins. “It’s good that I didn’t marry her,” Ionych thinks about Ekaterina Ivanovna. He notices significant changes in the girl, she has matured, independent life in an unfamiliar city has taught her a lot. But the doctors can no longer touch anyone’s feelings, he can only grumble and get irritated. Even that spark, the “kindled flame” that the girl managed to ignite in his soul, quickly goes out with the memory of “the pieces of paper that he took out of his pockets in the evenings with such pleasure.” Material from the site //iEssay.ru
Everything that was passionate, alive, capable of love and self-forgetfulness in him has faded away, now everything is indifferent to him. He remained lonely, “his life is boring, nothing interests him.” All he could do was play vint in the evenings, and then have dinner alone at the big table. His heart is hardened, he is rude and callous with his patients. “Plump, red” Ionych now looks little like a man, he looks more like a pagan god.
With irresistible persuasiveness, Chekhov was able to show us the process of degradation of a person who succumbed to the despiritual influence of a monstrous environment, his spiritual impoverishment. The worst thing about this is that the person himself does not notice the tragedy, the drama that is playing out inside him, since the desire for peace and satiety very slowly but inexorably kills his dreams and hopes, dries up his mind and dulls his heart. And it’s very sad that no one and nothing can wake up Doctor Startsev in Ionych...
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