SOURCE: Johnson, Ronald L. “The Master, 1895-1903.” In Anton Chekhov: A Study of the Short Fiction, pp. 76-103. New York: Twayne, 1993.

In the following essay, Johnson contends that a shift in Chekhov's narrative perspective during the late period of his career added greater depth and complexity to his short stories.

Raymond Carver believed an agreement might be reached among “thoughtful” readers that Chekhov was the greatest short story writer who ever lived, not only because of the “immense number” of stories he wrote, but the “awesome frequency” with which he produced masterpieces.¹ That frequency is most apparent in this last period, from 1895 through 1903, when Chekhov treated the same subjects, but with a shift in point of view technique to include a narrating author persona in many stories. In general, this persona is disembodied, commenting on the characters and action as do the narrators in Henry James and George...