The Safety Match

by Anton Chekhov

""The Safety Match"" is a short story written by Anton Chekhov, a famous Russian playwright and author. The story is set in a small town and revolves around a young girl named Sasha, who is sent out to buy matches by her stepmother. Sasha is given a single kopeck to buy the matches, but she ends up spending it on a sweet bun instead. As she walks home, she realizes that she has no matches and fears the punishment that awaits her.Along the way, Sasha meets a young man who offers her a safety match, which she can light and extinguish as many times as she wants. Sasha is fascinated by the match and decides to keep it. When she returns home, her stepmother is angry that she did not buy any matches and punishes her. However, Sasha is comforted by the safety match, which she uses to light up her dark room and keep herself warm.The story explores themes of poverty, neglect, and the power of imagination. It also highlights the importance of small acts of kindness and how they can make a big difference in someone's life. Chekhov's writing style is simple yet powerful, and he is known for his ability to capture the human condition in his stories. ""The Safety Match"" is a poignant and touching tale that will resonate with readers of all ages.""You can't do without an ax and bloodstained sheets. Those jurists! Very well, I'll prove it to you! You will stop sneering at the psychological side of the affair! To Siberia with your Maria Ivanovna! I will prove it! If philosophy is not enough for you, I have something substantial for you. It will show you how correct my philosophy is. Just give me permission.""This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Genres: Mystery, Classics, Russia, Russian Literature, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1884

About the author

Antón Chéjov (Spanish)

Dramas, such as The Seagull (1896, revised 1898), and including "A Dreary Story" (1889) of Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, also Chekov, concern the inability of humans to communicate.

Born ( Антон Павлович Чехов ) in the small southern seaport of Taganrog, the son of a grocer. His grandfather, a serf, bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught to read. A cloth merchant fathered Yevgenia Morozova, his mother.

"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." Tyranny of his father, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, open from five in the morning till midnight, shadowed his early years. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog from 1867 to 1868 and then Taganrog grammar school. Bankruptcy of his father compelled the family to move to Moscow. At the age of 16 years in 1876, independent Chekhov for some time alone in his native town supported through private tutoring.

In 1879, Chekhov left grammar school and entered the university medical school at Moscow. In the school, he began to publish hundreds of short comics to support his mother, sisters and brothers. Nicholas Leikin published him at this period and owned Oskolki (splinters), the journal of Saint Petersburg. His subjected silly social situations, marital problems, and farcical encounters among husbands, wives, mistresses, and lust; even after his marriage, Chekhov, the shy author, knew not much of whims of young women.

Nenunzhaya pobeda , first novel of Chekhov, set in 1882 in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Mór Jókai. People also mocked ideological optimism of Jókai as a politician.

Chekhov graduated in 1884 and practiced medicine. He worked from 1885 in Peterburskaia gazeta.

In 1886, Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him, a regular contributor, to work for Novoe vremya, the daily paper of Saint Petersburg. He gained a wide fame before 1886. He authored The Shooting Party , his second full-length novel, later translated into English. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in later her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd . First book of Chekhov in 1886 succeeded, and he gradually committed full time. The refusal of the author to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intelligentsia, who criticized him for dealing with serious social and moral questions but avoiding giving answers. Such leaders as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov, however, defended him. "I'm not a liberal, or a conservative, or a gradualist, or a monk, or an indifferentist. I should like to be a free artist and that's all..." Chekhov said in 1888.

The failure of The Wood Demon , play in 1889, and problems with novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890, he traveled across Siberia to Sakhalin, remote prison island. He conducted a detailed census of ten thousand convicts and settlers, condemned to live on that harsh island. Chekhov expected to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. Hard conditions on the island probably also weakened his own physical condition. From this journey came his famous travel book.

Chekhov practiced medicine until 1892. During these years, Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgmental author. He outlined his program in a letter to his brother Aleksandr: "1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality; flee the stereotype; 6. compassion." Because he objected that the paper conducted against [a:Alfred Dreyfu

Reviews

[Raha · Rating 3 out of 5]

به تصور من این کتاب چیزی فراتر از "یک داستان کوتاه با پایان بندی غافلگیر کننده" بود. چخوف قطعا مهارت ویژه ای در نوشتن چنین داستان هایی به بهترین شکل ممکن داره و در گذشته بارها و بارها این مساله رو ثابت کرده
پس این همه ضعف در داستان پردازی از چه جهت هست !؟
دلیلش نمی تونه این باشه که چخوف در این داستان27 صفحه ای مهارت و قدرت خودش رو در شخصیت پردازی کارکترهای داستاش به رخ میکشه؟! ... من باور دارم که علت همین می تونه باشه. 27 صفحه داستان و نزدیک به 10 شخصیتی که به خوبی شخصیت پردازی شده اند و هر کدام نماینده ی قشر خاصی از جامعه ی حاضر روسیه هستند، فقط و فقط می تونه قدرت نمایی چخوف رو در شخصیت پردازی کارکترهاش به رخ بکشه و بس

[ناصر سليم · Rating 3 out of 5]

یک داستان پلیسی با پایانی عالی
داستان های چخوف معمولا پایان های پیش بینی نشده ایی دارن...

[Capsguy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes when you're reading Chekhov's short stories you can't help but just think: "Chekhov, this is practically a play, come on", and then you get to certain sections and that reminds you that he was one of the masters of shorts.

Also, it's always good to checkoff on some Chekhov.

[Behrad · Rating 2 out of 5]

یادم باشه از این بعد وقت خوندن کتاب غیرفارسی اولین چیزی که برام مهم باشه مترجمش باشه نه نویسندش.

[Shaghayegh.l3 · Rating 3 out of 5]

كوتاه ، خوب به اندازه ى كافى با پايانى غافلگيرانه .

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anton Chekhov mystery with an amusing twist.

[Vivek Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this work in collected comic stories of Anton Chekhov. It is good.

[Vishualee · Rating 3 out of 5]

While reading about the murder scene, I found it similar to the description of the same, in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventures of the Empty house i.e the room locked from the inside and a window, through which the crime believed to have taken place.

The story is believable like any other crime novel, but it only seems to be. The ending comes as a surprise to both, the reader and the investigating duo.

[Niklas Zenius Jespersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

God historie der starter som en interessant krimihistorie og i sidste ende viser sig at være en satire over politiet, dets metoder og teorier og bliver dermed også en politisk kritik af samtidens (og til dels visse steder stadig nutidens) politivæsen hvor tilståelser fremtvinges fra uskyldige.

[Berna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is decent with a plot twist at the end. The plot structure and idioms felt a bit outdated which is normal for a classic.
I would advise it because it is short and the twist is good ;)

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. Interesting to read a mystery by Chekhov. It is actually less depressing than most of his non-murder stories.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

See The Swedish Match

[Vee · Rating 3 out of 5]

short but interesting

[Athena P · Rating 4 out of 5]

يك داستان كوتاه روسي بود با اسامي دشوار
داستان كوتاه پليسي كه در عين كوتاه بودن از خواندن آن لذت بردم
پايان واقعا جالبي داشت.
..............

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Rana Salah · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the craziest and weirdest short stories you can ever read.

[Niloofar · Rating 3 out of 5]

مثل همه ی داستان های چخوف، خواننده از ابتدا تا انتهای داستان را دنبال می کند و پایان بندی خوبی دارد! کم کم دارم به این نتیجه می رسم که در داستان کوتاه، سبک و قلم چخوف را واقعا دوست دارم.

[Hasan121 · Rating 1 out of 5]

احتمال میدم که مشکل از ترجمه باشه، البته ترجمه هم خوب بود بازم داستان چیز دندون گیری نداشت. اصلا خوشم نیومد

[The Docta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good bit.

[Forked Radish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost as inept as the FBI.