"Lev Tolstoy sincerely loved Chekhov, but did not like his plays. He told Chekhov once, 'A playwright should take the theater-goer by the hand, and lead him in the direction he wants him to go. And where can I follow your character? To the couch in the living-room and back—because your character has no other place to go.'"
-excerpt from a new collection of firsthand Chekhov reminiscences, Memories of Chekhov
(The storyteller adds: "They both—Tolstoy and Chekhov—laughed at these words.")
I prefer the quote later in the article, when Tolstoy, on his deathbed, said to Chekhov: "You know, I hate your plays. Shakespeare was a bad writer, and I consider your plays even worse than his."
ReplyDeleteChekhov then spat up some blood from his lungs and said "It's a good thing you're dying, Leo, or I'd fucking kill you for that."
ReplyDeleteinteresting...
ReplyDeleteI love these bitchy-playwright comments :p Keep them coming!
ReplyDelete