"Surgery" (russian: Хирургия, translit=Khirurgiya) is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by Anton Chekhov, first published in 1884 by ''

Oskolki ''Fragments'' (russian: Осколки) was a Russian humorous, literary and artistic weekly magazine published in St Petersburg from 1881 to 1916. History From 1881 to 1906 ''Fragments'' was published by the popular writer Nikolay Leykin. From 19 ...

''.Commentaries to Хириргия
Полное собрание сочинений и писем: В 30 т. Сочинения: В 18 т. АН СССР. Ин-т мировой лит. им. А. М. Горького. — М.: Наука, 1974—1982. // Т. 3. �ассказы. Юморески. «Драма на охоте» 1884—1885. — М.: Наука, 1975. — С. 40—43

Publication

"Surgery" was written by Chekhov in August 1884. It was first published in the humorous literary and art weekly magazine ''

'' (No. 32, 11 August 1884), signed ''A. Chekhonte'' and subtitled "A Scene". In 1886, the short story was included in ''Motley Stories'' collection. Later, after some stylistic editing, it was also included into the Volume 2 of Chekhov's Collected Works, published by

Adolf Marks Adolf Fyodorovich Marx (russian: Адо́льф Фёдорович Маркс; 2 February 1838 – ), last name also spelled Marcks and recently Marks, known as A. F. Marx, was an influential 19th-century German publisher in Russia best known fo ...

in 1889. For this edition, Chekhov replaced some colloquial words in the story with more literary ones. During its author's lifetime, the story was translated into Bulgarian,

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

and

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...

languages.

Background

The story was based on Chekhov's experience as a doctor. Mikhail Chekhov, the younger brother of Anton Chekhov, linked the plot of the story with the residence of Chekhov in the summer of 1884 in

Voskresensk Voskresensk (russian: Воскресенск) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities ;Urban localities * Voskresensk, Moscow Oblast, a town in Voskresensky District of Moscow Oblast ;Rural localities * Voskresens ...

and his work as a doctor at the Chikinsky

zemstvo A ''zemstvo'' ( rus, земство, p=ˈzʲɛmstvə, plural ''zemstva'' – rus, земства) was an institution of local government set up during the great emancipation reform of 1861 carried out in Imperial Russia by Emperor Alexande ...

hospital.

Plot summary

Feldsher According to the World Health Organization, a feldsher (german: Feldscher, pl, Felczer, cs, Felčar, russian: фельдшер, sv, Fältskär, Finnish: ''Välskäri'') is a health care professional who provides various medical services limi ...

Kuryatin, substituting for a chief doctor in a clinic, meets the church sexton Vonmiglasov who suffers from toothache. After thorough examination he decides to remove the tooth. His two unsuccessful efforts, causing much stress and pain both for himself and the patient, result in a quarrel. Vonmiglasov leaves outraged and disgusted, Kuryatin feels quite offended with his client's choice of language and lack of understanding.

References

External links

"Surgery"
in Russian and English. {{Authority control Short stories by Anton Chekhov 1884 short stories Works originally published in Russian magazines