Hardcore Literature

Let’s deep read Anton Chekhov’s short stories together, starting with my personal favourite: ‘Volodya’.

If you want the same copy that I’m working from, it’s the Constance Garnett translation from Everyman:

• The Steppe and Other Stories (Everyman Classics)

The format of this deep reading of ‘Volodya’ is this:

• We’ll read this great short story together, but take breaks for analysis, appreciation, savouring Chekhov’s art and craftsmanship, and we’ll endeavour together to make the poetic practical.

Timestamps for analysis breaks:

• 3:41 – “She was married.”
• 4:42 – Pure poetic love, guilt, self-hatred, women, mothers, and coming into one’s sexuality
• 6:57 – The truth of image selection (the smell of the bathhouse)
• 8:11 – Why Chekhov feels so truthful, and the power of lists
• 11:18 – Trauma, love, flirtation, cringe
• 13:45 – Shame is the essence of this story
• 16:34 – Betrayal and being talked about behind your back
• 18:15 – On not trusting people’s nature
• 21:32 – When you’re in a hole, stop digging – don’t throw your life away
• 25:35 – How Chekhov gets to the heart of human nature (story, illusion, idealisation)
• 27:12 – Purity and growing pains
• 29:48 – Freud’s Oedipal Complex discussion
• 31:39 – The rule of three
• 32:40 – Chekhov’s life – biographical reading
• 34:09 – Shame, poor familial relations, embarrassment, and the pain of memory
• 36:00 – Lying even when telling the truth
• 39:10 – That ending

https://benjaminmcevoy.com/lets-deep-read-chekhovs-short-stories-together-volodya-analysis-appreciation/

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This is a new direction for Hardcore Literature. I wasn't kidding around when I said I wanted to make the poetic practical. And this is as practical as it gets. We're talking everything from start-up costs to search engine optimisation to execution and monetisation strategies.

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Thank you so much. Happy listening and reading!

Benjamin

Today's Hardcore Literature episode is about Aristotle's ethicsand the virtues of ambition and good temper.

We're talking about honour, how to cultivate the right ambition, snowflake syndrome, the four common types of anger, how to challenge your unconscious underlying beliefs about the world, and much more. And I'm giving away three copies of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Information on how to get hold of a copy at the beginning of the episode and further below.