INSULA SAHALIN DE CEHOV: O DESCINDERE ÎN INFERNUL UNEI COLONII PENITENCIARE

Abstract

CHEKHOV'S SAKHALIN ISLAND: A DESCENT INTO THE HELL OF A PRISON COLONY

The purpose of this article is to analyze Anton Pavlovich Chekhov’s attitude towards the penal colony established on Sakhalin Island and how it fails to respect the human dignity of women and children within the island’s population. In this analysis I have referred to Chekhov’s text, Sakhalin Island, and to the reality captured by the writer following his visit to the island. This work differs considerably from Chekhov’s literary oeuvre, as it serves not only as a monograph on the island of Sakhalin, but also captures important autobiographical elements that subsequently altered Chekhov’s attitude to
society. In the present paper I will also refer to the idea of colonialism within the Russian Empire, especially as it applies to the penal colony established on the island.