At Home

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1897

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Story Analysis

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Background

Authorial Context: Anton Chekhov and the Human Condition

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) is a Russian writer known for his masterful short stories and plays. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his work has had a lasting influence on literature and drama. His short stories are known for their use of the literary device of free indirect discourse, which is third-person narration that captures the voice and mannerisms of a character as mediated through an authorial voice.

Chekhov lived during a time of great social and political change in Russia. He was born into a family of modest means and grew up in a country that was struggling to modernize and industrialize. After his parents passed away, Chekhov paid for his university education by selling short stories to newspapers. In 1884, he became a physician and practiced medicine while he continued writing. His writing reflects the societal upheavals he experienced growing up, and many of his stories deal with themes such as social class, poverty, and the tension between tradition and modernity.

One of the most prominent themes in Chekhov's work is the human condition and the struggle to find meaning and purpose in life. He is known for his nuanced and realistic portrayals of human relationships, and his stories often explore the complexities of love, family, and friendship. His characters are flawed and conflicted, and their struggles to find happiness often fail. Vera in “At Home” is a quintessential Chekhovian character because she can’t figure out what changes would improve her own life and the lives of the peasants on her estate. While Vera aspires to change the system of exploitation that characterizes the landowning class—drawing from the revolutionary ideas in the books she reads at night—she is unable to figure out how to begin the necessary reforms. Any question of how or where to begin sends Vera spiraling into a depression, with the attending sense that everything is hopeless.

A related major theme in Chekhov's work is the struggle for social justice. Though Chekhov avoided making outright political statements in his work, his stories and plays often show the hypocrisy of Russian aristocracy and its treatment of the working class, and many of his stories deal with issues such as poverty, inequality, and political corruption. His writing reflects his belief in the power of literature to expose social injustices and inspire change.

Historical Context: Serfdom and Landownership in 19th-Century Russia

Russian serfdom was a system of institutionalized slavery that existed in Russia from the 16th century until the late 19th century. Under this system, serfs were legally tied to the land they worked and were considered the property of their landlords, who were of the aristocracy. If a landowner sold his land, the serfs were sold with it; this system differs from chattel slavery in the Americas, as serfs could not be sold independently of the land they worked. Serf status passed to one’s children, though it was possible, albeit rare, for a serf to buy his or her freedom.

In 1881, during the time Chekhov was writing, the institution of serfdom was abolished, but its legacy continued to shape Russian society. This is an important topic for Chekhov, as his paternal grandfather was a serf. Many former serfs had been granted freedom but were still mired in poverty and economic hardship. Land ownership remained concentrated in the hands of a few wealthy landowners, who often treated their former serfs as little more than slaves. This cruel treatment is captured in the figure of Vera’s grandfather, who used to beat the serfs on his estate with a birch stick, but also in Auntie Dasha, who is so contemptible an employer that many of her servants quit before they are fired, and people from the village do not want to be employed on the estate. The ruling class, composed of wealthy landowners, government officials, and members of the aristocracy, wielded immense power, while the vast majority of the population lived in poverty.

Vera is caught in the middle of the question of whether to reform the economic system or to keep it firmly in place. Though she knows that it would be morally right to treat the peasants with greater equality, she is also trapped in her class identity as a landowner. This is further complicated by the interest she owes on the failing estate. Like others of her generation, Vera inherited a faltering system that needed to be fixed for Russia to move forward into the 20th century. Creating meaningful reform on her estate would require a kind of radical thinking and skill set that, despite her best intentions, Vera doesn’t have.