Description

Comparing the affinities between the writers Capek and Chekhov, the author provides us with a thorough study that is long overdue. The parallels between the two great writers were first observed almost half a century ago, and commented on in passing by no less than seven scholars. The critics' allusions would suggest that similarity exists in the stories' quality, in the writers' artistic method, stylistic structure, and language, as well as in the atmosphere, or mood, of the narratives. The affinity found in the similar treatment of analogous subjects has remained until now an entirely unexplored field. While Capek is relatively well known outside of Central Europe, Chekhov remains, as Cornel West reminds us, the greatest explorer of states of despair and hope in our century. Professor Schubert has compared two giants of Eastern and Central European literature and brought them into an intelligent dialogue over the meaning of philosophy and literature and the ultimate purposes of art.