Osip Dymov (Russian: Осип Дымов) is the central fictional character in the classic

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

story " The Grasshopper" (''Poprygunya''; 1892) by

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

.Loehlin, James N. (2010).
The Cambridge introduction to Chekhov
'. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. . p. 80-83 (on "The Grasshopper "); here: p. 80. For generations this character has served to inspire medical professionals as to the standards of dedication expected from them.

About the character

Dymov is an unassuming doctor married to Olga Ivanovna, a beautiful and wealthy

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...

, and amateur artist, who allows her moral values, as well as sense of beauty, to become distorted by her restless search for great men."Anton Pavlovich Chekhov." ''Encyclopedia of World Biography''. Detroit: Gale, 1998; updated 2004. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 2017-04-26. They soon grow apart, due to her preference for the "fast life", on the one hand, and his total dedication to his profession, on the other. He suspects that she is having an affair, but displays an admirable magnanimity towards her. She soon tires of her companions when she learns of their vacuous nature (and her lover's infidelity) and realises how great her husband was, which she took for granted. She tries desperately to return to him but by that time it is too late – in order to save a

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

patient, Dymov had swallowed membrane from his patient's throat and died from the infection.

References

External links

* Short stories by Anton Chekhov Fictional Russian people in literature {{lit-char-stub