A Critical Analysis of the Theme of Status in Chekhovs The Confession and Ninochka - Essay Example

A Critical Analysis of the Theme of “Status” in Chekhov’s “The Confession” and “Ninochka” Introduction Whereas in the story “The Confession”, Chekhov presents social ‘status’ as a tool that the characters manipulate to get what they want, in the story, “Ninochka” it appears to be an obstacle to the narrator’s intension to be with her beloved, in other word, to marry Ninochka. But the commonality -that underlies both stories- is that both of them deal with the ironies and deceptions that are closely related to people’s status in the society. Especially in “the Confession” the author upholds the materialistic obsession of the people -in a bureaucratic society- with status. In this story, the characters are found to associate a man’s social status with things that are showy and ostentatious. For an instance, they always draw a connection between ‘social status’ and ‘pomp or grandeur’. But the associated contents of a status are found to lack the wholeheartedness that the protagonist of “the Confession” to his people of acquaintances and consequently becomes victimized of their deceptions. After becoming a man of recognizable status, Kuzmich gets so many friends but essentially all of them prove to be pretentious and showy in their friendly behavior to the protagonist. Status as a Tool to Get What One Wants: But an Obstacle to Other In the story, “Ninochka”, status plays the same, but a slightly different role. In this story, status creates rather a situational irony. Though Chekhov does not explicitly mention what the status of the narrator or of Vikhlyenev is, the overriding tone of the story is that the narrator does not have any socially acknowledged status. Therefore he has failed marry his beloved Ninochka. She has married Vikhlyenev instead of the narrator in spite of her love for him. She might have been pressured by others or the society to marry Vikhlyenev because of his higher status. But deception lies in both cases. She cannot but have a physical relation with the narrator, yet she cannot ignore her husband because of the material benefits that she receives from him. In both cases her approaches are materialistic. She is obsessed with the physical pleasure that she receives from the narrator, whereas she continues to deceive her husband because of his wealth. The narrator implicitly mentions that Vikhlyenev has been involved in a job or business but he does not mention anything about him. The readers get a glimpse of Vikhlyenev’s status or his job from his own word, when once he says about himself, “I am forever at my drafting board or my soil filters” (“Ninochka” 29). Possibly he is also an official like Kuzmich. Again if the term “status” is supposed to suggest its dictionary meaning, the narrator also has a status that Vikhlyenev does not have. It is his quality of being a lover. In comparison with Vikhlyenev, one of the implications of the story is that he is more handsome and masculine, whereas Ninochka’s husband is fragile, boring and garrulous and something like an “Ox”. In this regard, Vikhlyenev characterizes himself in the following manner: “It is not much fun to be with me….I never play, dance, or joke.” (“Ninochka” 29) Delineating the sluggish characteristics of Vikhlyenev the narrator says, “Although a young man, he was sickly, old-looking, and in general –with his round shoulders, long nose, and gaunt features- unattractive” (“Ninochka” 29) Advantages and Disadvantages of Status: Its Deceptions Both of the stories show that status has both advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages -that both of the stories show in common- is that a man of status can get what they want. In the first story, Kuzmich could marry Kazusov’s elder daughter, whereas in “Ninochka” Vikhlyenev has been able to marry Ninochka though she does not love him. Both stories show that these marriages are ultimately deceptions. Kuzmich marries the same girl who once “accused [him] of being presumptuous and laughed in [his] face” (“The Confession”, 3). But this same girl changes her opinion about Kuzmich after he receives the promotion in his office, as the readers find her to praise in the following manner: “What happened to you? You have grown so handsome….let’s dance.” (“The Confession”, 3) Kuzmich also perceives this deceptive stance –though in the beginning he cannot understand that it is all because of his raised status backed up by his promotion- as he says, “Even she changed. She did not love me.” (“The Confession”, 3) In the story, “The Confession”, deceptions and corruptions usually surround ‘status’. Status makes him both self deceptive and corrupted. After getting the status through the promotion, he, being blindfolded by the pomp, forgets that though he has been promoted, his salary has increased a little. Therefore in order to bear the cost of the wedding, he steals money from the cash for him as well as for Kazusov, as he says, “When money was needed for the wedding, I took three hundred rubles out of the cashbox…at the same time I took one hundred rubles for Kazusov.” (“The Confession”, 3) Kuzmich says that Kazusov’s status is so high that Kuzmich could not but steal one hundred rubles more to lend him. Also the concept of ‘status’ is also corrupt in term of Kazusov’s high status. His status is so high that he can “have anyone fired at a moment’s notice” (“The Confession”, 3). Status-Related Materialistic Benefits: The Characters’ Lack of Spirituality and Morality Like Vikhlyenev, Kuzmich also does not get pure love her wife as well as from his people of acquaintances. In the beginning, Vikhlyenev is in deception that Ninochka loves him truly. But soon he discovers that she does not love him; instead she loves his friend. Like Kuzmich, Vikhlyenev’s status also deceives him. Whereas being blindfolded by the joy of being promoted and achieving a status in the society, Kuzmich mistakes his wife’s greed for passion and her flattering for her expression of love, Vikhlyenev’s status creates both self-contentment and superiority complex in him. Both these superiority-complex and self-contentment divert his attention from noticing Ninochka’s deceptive love. His superiority complex is vividly visible in the way he begs for her wife’s forgiveness in the Katya episode, as he says, “Masculine logic never convinced a woman. In the end I begged her forgiveness-on my knees” (“Ninochka”, 32). This emphasis on the phrase “on my knees” implies his notion that he is something ‘big’, but he becomes ‘small’ before his wife to win her heart. Vikhlyenev’s superiority complex regarding his status is similar to the superiority complex of Kuzmich. Both of them are deceptive but the difference is that Kuzmich’s superiority complex grew after his promotion. Vikhlyenev’s self-contentment is discernible in his self-admonishing words, as he says, “I am a clumsy ox. When one word is needed, I say ten.” (“Ninochka”, 32) It infers that instead of correcting himself, he takes it for granted that since he is a man of high status, her wife will not count his characteristic flaws. Kuzmich also is so self-satisfied –because of his newly received status- that he does not carefully count the guest, as he says, “What the devil! Let them guzzle and gorge, if they want! I did not count the guests.” (“The Confession”, 3) Conclusion Indeed Chekhov indicates to the irony that status itself -in a bureaucratic society- is essentially pompous and it is based upon self-deception. Kuzmich receives a promotion as well as a slight additional salary. But being deceived by the people’s showy behavior he fails to cut his coat according to cloth. As a result he steals money from his office and gets arrested. The real nature of these pompous and showy people is exposed once again, when they leave him alone in the problem. Works Cited Chekhov, Anton. “The Confession”, Collections of Chekhov’s Stories, London: Beckham Publishers, 2002. Chekhov, Anton. “Ninochka”, Collections of Chekhov’s Stories, London: Beckham Publishers, 2002. Read More