L. N. Tolstoy, A. P. Chekhov

A. P. Chekhov was born in Taganrog; in his youth he wrote funny stories under the pen name “Antosha Chekhonte”, and later his works became more serious. The hero of «Человек в футляре» (1898) is Belikov, a teacher of Greek at a gymnasium. He always wears galoshes, carries an umbrella, puts everything in cases and fears “«Как бы чего не вышло»”; with that fear he holds the whole town under his influence. When the new teacher Kovalenko and his sister Varenka arrive, Belikov thinks of marrying Varenka. He is outraged to see them cycling, quarrels with Kovalenko, who pushes him down the stairs; Varenka sees this and her laughter humiliates him. Within a month Belikov dies. The “case” is a symbol of fear, a monotonous life and escape from anything new; Chekhov condemns such a life through satire.