SOURCE: "The Bizarre Element in Čechov's Art," in Anton Cechov, 1860-1960: Some Essays, edited by T. Eekman, E. J. Brill, 1960, pp. 277-92.

In this essay, Timmer traces Chekhov's use of the "bizarre, " defined as "a statement, or a situation, which has no logical place in the context or in the sequence of events, the resulting effect being one of sudden bewilderment. "

A study in literature, whether on Gogol', Dostoevskij or Cechov is bound to involve a study in anti-reason: it cannot limit itself to a study of aesthetic laws only, unless we are prepared to assume that the grotesque, the bizarre, the absurd elements in the works of these authors are unexplainable phenomena.

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A study in literature, whether on Gogol', Dostoevskij or Cechov is bound to involve a study in anti-reason: it cannot limit itself to a study of aesthetic laws only, unless we are prepared to...