My Reaction to Misery

My Reaction to Misery

Misery by Anton Checkov, is story of a man who is in mourning, and has no one with whom to share his grief or offer condolences. It is a story filled with loneliness and despair. Iona Potapov has recently lost his son and has not taken time to mourn the loss. Only a week after his son's death, Iona returns to work, as a sledge driver. A sledge is " a vehicle of various forms, mounted on runners and often drawn by draft animals, used for traveling or carrying loads over snow, ice, and rough ground" (dictionary.com, 2012). The setting is painted in dismal grays with heavily falling snow. Picture soot covered faces, bundled up in heavy winter clothing, hurrying to unknown destinations from all directions, as Iona sits idle and awaiting a fare. The snow shrouds his body, his vehicle and the horse that draws it. He is so filled with grief that he seems unaware of the cold, the snow blanketing him and the brisk elements of winter he is encountering. After some time has passed, he picks up a fare, a military officer, one could only assume would be hospitable and understanding of grief and despair. The only care the officer has is his destination, and how fast Iona can get him there. Iona attempts to speak with the man in regard to the recent loss of his son and the officer blows him off. This situation arises three times throughout the story as Iona attempts to ease his pain, and others are only concerned with themselves.

The story paints a picture of a bustling small town with busy people traveling on foot. It seems as if everyone has somewhere to go and something to look forward to, and Iona only has his thoughts, a heavy heart, and a story to tell. An inference one can make from this story is what we are so desperately searching for, may be right before our eyes all along. A prominent theologian one Mr. Harvey Gallagher Cox Jr, once stated "what we are seeking so frantically elsewhere may turn out to be the horse we have been riding all along. Throughout the story, Iona attempts to tell anyone who seems to care or has a moment to spare his story. In the end he ends up telling the story to his mare. He has starved this animal and beaten this animal, as well as forced it to carry heavy loads, yet this animal is there to listen in his time of despair. It is as if, Iona is unaware that he treats others in the same manner he is being treated by those he seeks