Fear of disease in A. P. Chekhov: typhus and the image of typhus
The research task of the author of the article is to comprehend the differences between the disease as such and the image of the disease in the epistolary heritage of Chekhov and in his work on the example of typhus. The writer was afraid of dying from this infectious disease for a long time, but he tried to overcome his fear, defeating it in his works. The transformation of the typhoid image is traced, starting with the early stories of Chekhov and ending with later works. The role of irony is noted as one of the means of raising the writer over the fear of death from typhus. The story «Typhus» (1887) is analyzed, which is compositionally based on the stages of this disease. The conclusion is made about the diffusion of medical and artistic discourses with the determining role of the artistic principle. The article substantiates the value of human inner freedom, which is important for Chekhov, which presupposes overcoming any fear, including the fear of a mortally dangerous disease.