If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there.
Anton ChekhovRead
To a chemist, nothing on earth is unclean. A writer must be as objective as a chemist; he must abandon the subjective line; he must know that dungheaps play a very respectable part in a landscape, and that evil passions are as inherent in life as good ones.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that a writer, like a chemist, should view life and human experiences without bias, recognizing both good and bad elements as essential to understanding the whole.
In this quote, Anton Chekhov emphasizes the importance of objectivity in writing, likening the task of a writer to that of a chemist who sees value in all aspects of life. He suggests that just as a chemist distinguishes no material as unclean or without purpose, a writer must acknowledge that both the beautiful and the vile are integral to the human experience, enriching the narrative and providing a fuller picture of reality.
Themes
ObjectivityWritingPerspectiveLifeDuality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is perfect for a writing workshop where participants are learning about the balance between light and dark themes in storytelling.
More from Anton Chekhov
All quotes →There are still many more days of failure ahead, whole seasons of failure, things will go terribly wrong, you will have huge disappointments , but you have to prepare for that, you have to expect it and be resolute and follow your own path.
Anton ChekhovRead
Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
Anton ChekhovRead
When you want to touch the reader's heart, try to be colder. It gives their grief as it were, a background, against which it stands out in greater relief.
Anton ChekhovRead
Why are we worn out? Why do we, who start out so passionate, brave, noble, believing, become totally bankrupt by the age of thirty or thirty-five? Why is it that one is extinguished by consumption, another puts a bullet in his head, a third seeks oblivion in vodka, cards, a fourth, in order to stifle fear and anguish, cynically tramples underfoot the portrait of his pure, beautiful youth? Why is it that, once fallen, we do not try to rise, and, having lost one thing, we do not seek another? Why?
Anton ChekhovRead
Money, like vodka, turns a person into an eccentric.
Anton ChekhovRead
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