Authors

Discussion

In his extensive body of short stories, the well-known Russian playwright and writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860-1904) explored an articulated variety of themes, characters and places, providing deep insights into human psychology and ways of relating with the world and its inhabitants. Although so far different critical works have been published concerning the role of women, animals and nature in Chekhov’s texts, little attention has been dedicated to their interconnection as subjects of the same oppressors: men. Therefore, this paper focuses on some of the most relevant examples of the author’s short prose (e.g., The Pipe, The Steppe, Ariadna, The House With the Mezzanine) and explores the different kinds of oppression that involve a sense of androcentric superiority over others, be they human (as in the case of women) or non-human (as in the case of animals and the natural environment).

By analysing how these three subjects are seen through the lens of the male gaze, the study reveals how Chekhov interconnects women, animals and nature, offering an ecological understanding of the world. The analytical approach, in particular, concentrates on the literary language and aims to show how lexical choices, figures of speech and narrative parallelisms build figurative connections between women, animals and nature, whose freedom of choice or merely of existence is constantly questioned and subordinated to men’s will. However, alongside realistic examples of contempt, abuse and exploitation performed by men over other beings or elements, in several passages it is possible to pinpoint ways to overcome this gaze imbued with sexism, speciesism and anthropocentrism: in order to live in peace and harmony, it is important to understand that everything on the planet is interrelated and, as a consequence, deserves consideration and respect.

To conclude, by emphasizing the parallelism between female and non-human characters, and by availing of key-concepts of Cultural Studies (e.g. the notions of ‘agency’ and ‘subaltern’), this study contributes to ecocriticism, ecofeminism and Animal Studies, and confirms once again what is becoming more and more evident: environmental concerns cannot overlook social or ethical concerns, and the struggle for environmental justice is deeply linked to fights against all kinds of oppression. Indeed, the findings may show that even works dating back to 19^th-century Russia can be relevant to today’s debates about gender, anti-speciesism and ecology, so that modern readers can rely on the universal and everlasting power of Chekhov’s words to reflect on the challenges of the contemporary world.