Achmatova on Čechov: A Case of Animosity?

Anna Akhmatova's dislike for the writings of Anton Chekhov is well known and documented. Several scholars studied this phenomenon and highlighted its paradoxes. The current paper revisits this topic and attempts a comprehensive treatment of it, focusing on both points of kinship and divergence between Akhmatova's and Chekhov's creative worlds. Having examined various scholarly opinions on the causes of Akhmatova's puzzling repudiation of Chekhov's works and personality despite a striking proximity in their artistic sensibilities, the discussion, developing the leads left by previous researchers, moves beyond the existing explanations in order to uncover hidden psychological roots of this mysterious animosity.