Study Guide: The Suitor and Papa by Anton Chekhov
This study guide provides a comprehensive review of Anton Chekhov’s short story "The Suitor and Papa". It includes a short-answer quiz, an answer key, essay prompts for deeper analysis, and an extensive glossary of terms found in the text.
Comprehension Quiz
Instructions: Answer the following questions in 2–3 sentences.
1. Who is Pyotr Petrovich Milkin, and what motivates his visit to Court Councillor Kondrashkin?
Answer: Pyotr Petrovich Milkin is a young man who has spent the summer dining and walking with Nastya Kondrashkin. He visits her father to "sort it out" and put an end to rumours of an impending marriage by making excuses to leave.
2. What social pressure is Milkin facing from his friends at the start of the story?
Answer: Milkin’s friends are teasing him about his upcoming "stag party" because they have observed him spending all his time with the Kondrashkin family. They believe a wedding is inevitable as soon as he returns to town from the country.
3. How many daughters does Kondrashkin have, and how does this circumstance affect his reception of Milkin?
Answer: Kondrashkin has seven daughters to get married off. Because of this heavy responsibility, he is desperate to "trap" any eligible bachelor like Milkin and refuses to let him go easily, despite Milkin's various confessions.
4. When Milkin claims he and Nastya do not share the same "convictions and views", how does Kondrashkin counter this argument?
Answer: Kondrashkin dismisses this by saying that no one finds a wife with identical views and that youth is full of theories. He argues that "rough edges" are rubbed off over time as a couple lives together, much like a road becomes smoother with use.
5. Describe the "hereditary vice" Milkin claims to possess to avoid marriage.
Answer: Milkin claims to be a drunkard who goes on "drinking bouts", suggesting it is a vice inherited from his parents. Kondrashkin refuses to believe him, noting that he has never actually seen Milkin drunk.
6. How does Kondrashkin respond to Milkin’s confession that he is on trial for embezzlement and forgery?
Answer: Kondrashkin is initially dumbfounded by the sum of 144,000, but eventually suggests that if Nastya loves Milkin, she can simply follow him to Siberia. He argues that love should not fear sacrifice and that the penalty for forgery is the same anyway.
7. What is the "horrible secret" Milkin eventually discloses, and why does he think it will end the marriage pursuit?
Answer: Milkin claims to be a "runaway convict" living under an alias. He believes this shock will make Kondrashkin banish him, but the father eventually decides that since Milkin has "repented" and is now an honest man, the marriage should still proceed.
8. Why does Milkin seek out his friend, Dr. Fituyev?
Answer: Milkin visits Dr. Fituyev to obtain a medical certificate of insanity, referred to as "Hamlet’s device." He hopes that by being legally declared mad, he will be barred from the contract of marriage.
9. Explain the reasoning Dr. Fituyev gives for refusing to certify Milkin as insane.
Answer: Dr. Fituyev argues that anyone who does not want to get married is wise and of sound mind. He jokingly tells Milkin to come back when he actually wants to get married, as that would be proof of going "stark, staring mad."
10. What does the story suggest about Kondrashkin’s "cordial hospitality" through the summary provided?
Answer: The summary suggests a "bitter irony" where the father’s warm hospitality is actually a mask for self-centredness. He is so focused on his own burden of having seven daughters that he ignores Milkin’s potential criminal past and character flaws just to secure a son-in-law.
Essay Questions
Instructions: Select one of the following prompts and write a detailed response exploring the themes and characters of the text.
1. The Architecture of Deception:
Analyse the escalating nature of Milkin's lies. How does each lie reflect his desperation, and what does Kondrashkin’s dismissal of these lies reveal about the father’s own character?
Answer: Milkin’s lies escalate from minor social differences to self-incrimination for embezzlement, forgery, and being a runaway convict, and finally feigning insanity. This desperate progression shows he prefers social ruin and even Siberia over the "calamity" of marriage.
Kondrashkin’s dismissals, even accepting a "runaway convict" by telling Milkin that "no one will ever know", reveal his own profound desperation to marry off seven daughters. He is a "stubborn brute" whose "cordial hospitality" masks a cynical self-interest. He views his daughters as "menaces" to be "fixed up", appearing willing to sacrifice his daughters’ security just to shed his parental burden.
The interaction highlights a bitter irony: Milkin is willing to destroy his reputation to remain single, while Kondrashkin is willing to ignore a suitor's "horrible secrets" to secure a wedding
2. Social Satire in Chekhov’s Work:
Discuss how "The Suitor and Papa" satirises the social expectations surrounding marriage and the "eligible bachelor" in 19th-century Russia.
Answer: Chekhov satirises 19th-century Russian marriage as a transactional social trap rather than a romantic union. He mocks how casual interactions, such as dining or singing ballads, are viewed by society as a binding commitment to wed. The story exposes the desperation of parents who view their seven daughters as "menaces" to be "fixed up" regardless of a suitor's character.
Kondrashkin’s willingness to accept an embezzler or a runaway convict as a son-in-law highlights the hypocrisy of social standards. Furthermore, the satire targets the "eligible bachelor" through Milkin, who finds marriage so "calamitous" that he prefers feigning insanity to escape it. Ultimately, the doctor’s refusal to certify Milkin’s madness because he avoids marriage suggests that the societal obsession with weddings is the real insanity
3. The Irony of the Ending:
Examine the encounter between Milkin and Dr. Fituyev. How does the doctor's definition of "sanity" and "madness" provide a comedic yet biting commentary on the institution of marriage?
Answer: In the climax, Dr. Fituyev refuses to certify Milkin as insane because he considers the desire to avoid marriage the ultimate sign of wisdom. The doctor’s definition of sanity subverts social norms: avoiding the "calamity" of marriage is rational, while wanting to wed is proof of being "stark, staring mad".
This provides a biting commentary by framing marriage as a state so disastrous that no sane person would choose it. Chekhov uses this comedic reversal to satirise a society that views marriage as a mandatory social goal. Ultimately, Milkin's rational fear of marriage becomes his downfall; his sound mind prevents him from obtaining the medical certificate he needs to escape the wedding. His very sanity ensures his entrapment.
4. Character Study of Kondrashkin:
Is Kondrashkin a sympathetic character burdened by the responsibility of seven daughters, or is he a "stubborn brute" who is willing to sacrifice his daughters' safety for social relief? Use evidence from his reactions to Milkin's "confessions" to support your argument.
Answer: Kondrashkin is a "stubborn brute" rather than a sympathetic father. Burdened by seven daughters, his reactions to Milkin's confessions prove he prioritises social relief over his daughter's safety. When Milkin admits to embezzlement and forgery, Kondrashkin dismissively suggests Nastya should follow him to Siberia. Even more shocking is his response to Milkin being a "runaway convict"; he tells him to marry anyway because "no one will ever know". Milkin observes that Kondrashkin is willing to marry his daughter to the "devil himself" just to be rid of her. His "cordial hospitality" is a mask for self-centredness, as he views his daughters as "menaces" to be disposed of at any cost. His willingness to ignore serious criminality reveals a cynical disregard for his daughter's well-being.
5. The Role of Irony:
Explore the use of irony throughout the story, specifically focusing on the gap between Milkin’s intentions and the actual outcomes of his conversations with both Kondrashkin and the doctor.
Answer: Irony permeates the story, as Milkin’s efforts to avoid marriage only tighten the trap. He meets Kondrashkin to say goodbye, but his escalating confessions of being a drunkard, embezzler, and fugitive are met with bizarre acceptance. Instead of repelling the father, Milkin finds that Kondrashkin is willing to overlook even a horrible secret to marry off one of his seven daughters.
The irony peaks with Dr. Fituyev. Milkin intends to feign madness to gain a medical excuse, but the doctor refuses the certificate. Fituyev argues that anyone avoiding the calamity of marriage is actually very wise and of sound mind. Consequently, the more Milkin tries to prove he is insane, the more he proves his sanity to the doctor. His rational desire for freedom becomes the very reason he cannot escape his social obligations.
Glossary of Key Terms
- Alias: A false or assumed name/identity.
- Appalled: Shocked, horrified.
- Ballads: Folk compositions in short stanzas adapted for singing; in this story, it refers to romantic songs.
- Blockhead: A stupid fellow.
- Calamity: Disaster.
- Convictions and views: Opinions and ideas.
- Cordial hospitality: Warm, generous reception.
- Crazy for certain spells: Mentally unsound for a certain period of time.
- Drinking bouts: Periods of intensive drinking.
- Dumbfounded: Extremely surprised, astonished.
- Embezzlement: Theft or misappropriation of funds placed in one’s care; fraudulent practices.
- Evading: Avoiding or escaping from something.
- Feign insanity: Pretend to be mad.
- Flustered: Confused, agitated, disturbed.
- Forgery: Making fake or counterfeit documents to cheat people.
- Get hitched: To get married.
- Going purple in the face: Getting very angry.
- Green and salad days: Youthful days of inexperience and idealism.
- Gusevs: A locality in Russia; also a Russian surname.
- Hamlet’s device: Pretending to be mad to escape an undesired situation (referencing Shakespeare’s Hamlet).
- Hereditary vice: Badness or wrong qualities passed on from parents to children.
- Ignominiously: Shamefully, disgracefully.
- Jiffy: A very short time; in a second.
- Menaces: Troublemakers; nuisances.
- Not for all the tea in China: Not at any cost; never.
- Pop over: To pay a visit.
- Rough edges: Uncompromising situations or attitudes.
- Runaway convict: An escaped person who is serving a prison sentence for a crime.
- Save your breath: Stop advising someone when it has no impact.
- Smells of Siberia: To be put in a Siberian jail.
- Snatched up: To grasp something to collect it.
- Stag party: A celebration for a man before his wedding, attended by his male friends only.
- Stubborn brute: An inflexible and wilful fellow.
- Tiff: An argument; a war of words.
- Wet behind the ears: Immature, inexperienced.
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