Which phrase is the key for Belikov. The image of Belikov in Chekhov’s work “The Man in a Case”: who are the case people and how are they characterized

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is the author of many innovative works, where the reader sees not only subtle satire, but also a detailed description of the human soul. When you get acquainted with his work, it begins to seem that he is not only a prose writer, but also a very gifted psychologist.

"The Man in the Case" is one of three stories in the "Little Trilogy" series, which the author worked on for about two months in 1898. It also includes the stories “Gooseberry” and “About Love”, which Anton Pavlovich wrote in Melikhovka, where he lived with his family. He barely managed to finish working on them, because he was already suffering from tuberculosis and wrote less and less.

It is impossible to be sure that Chekhov wrote about a specific person; most likely, the central image of “The Man in a Case” is a collective one. The writer's contemporaries put forward several candidates who could serve as prototypes for Belikov, but all of them had only a slight resemblance to the hero.

Genre, conflict and composition

It is quite easy for the reader to get acquainted with the work, because it is written in simple language, which, nevertheless, is capable of causing a huge number of impressions. Style is expressed in compositions: the text is divided into small semantic fragments, focusing attention on the most important thing.

In the story we see conflict between two heroes. The author contrasts Kovalenko (life-affirming, active position, positive thinking) and Belikov (passive and lifeless vegetation, internal slavery), which helps him to further reveal the problem posed. The case becomes an artistic detail that describes the entire essence and meaning of the work and shows the inner world of the hero.

Literary genre- a story that is part of a “small trilogy” of three separate stories, but combined with one idea. “The Man in the Case” is written with an obvious satirical overtones; with this technique the writer ridicules the very essence of the “little man” who is simply afraid to live.

Meaning of the name

In his story, Chekhov warns us that absolutely any person, without wanting to, can imprison himself in a “case,” which is where the name came from. The case refers to the fixation on the unwritten set of rules and restrictions with which people constrain themselves. Dependence on conventions turns into a disease for them and prevents them from getting closer to society.

The secluded world of prohibitions and barriers seems much better to the inhabitants of the cases; they surround themselves with a kind of shell so that the influence of the outside world does not touch them in any way. However, living locked up with your own routines and attitudes is cramped; another person will not fit in there. It turns out that a resident of a stuffy, clogged corner is doomed to loneliness, so the title of the story is fundamentally given in the singular.

Main characters

1. The main character of the story is Belikov- Greek language teacher at the gymnasium. He sets certain rules in his life, and most of all he is afraid that something will not go as planned. Belikov, even in the clearest and warmest weather, is dressed in galoshes and a warm coat with a raised collar; he hides his face behind dark glasses and a hat in order to protect himself as best as possible from the influence of the environment: not only natural, but also social. He is frightened by modern reality and irritated by everything that happens around him, which is why the teacher puts on a kind of case both externally and internally.
2. Mikhail Kovalenko is a new history and geography teacher who comes to work at the gymnasium with his sister. Mikhail is a young, sociable and cheerful man of tall stature, a great lover of laughing and even laughing heartily.
3. His sister Varenka- a 30-year-old woman, very cheerful and happy, loves to have fun, sing and dance. The heroine shows interest in Belikov, who, in turn, devotes time to her and agrees to go for walks in order to discuss the fact that marriage is too serious a thing. The woman still does not lose hope of stirring up her gentleman, which reveals in her such qualities as perseverance and determination.

Themes

1. The main theme of Chekhov's story is closed and isolated human life who is shy of the surrounding world and shuns any manifestation of feeling. He hides his eyes from the people around him, constantly carries all his things in a case, be it a small knife designed for sharpening a pencil, or an ordinary umbrella, which is so convenient to hide his face. Many spiritual values ​​were strange to the main character, and emotions were incomprehensible. This expresses his limitations, which poison his existence.
2. Love theme in the story it is revealed in Varenka’s attitude towards Belikov. The girl is trying to interest the hero and return him to a full life. She believes to the last that he can still change for the better. But he also closes himself off from her, because the prospect of marriage and his colleagues’ obsessive conversations about their marriage begin to frighten him.
3. Chekhov explains to the reader that the worst thing that can happen to a person is indifference to life. Belikov became so withdrawn into himself that he stopped distinguishing the colors of the world, enjoying communication, and striving for something. He no longer cares what happens outside his case, as long as numerous decencies are observed.
4. The man in the case is a collective image of timid people who are afraid of their own feelings and emotions. They abstract themselves from the world around them and withdraw into themselves. That's why theme of loneliness is also important in the story of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.

Main problems

1. Conservative. The author realizes with horror and pity that some of his contemporaries create a shell for themselves in which they perish morally and spiritually. They exist in the world, but do not live. People go with the flow, moreover, they cannot even allow fate to intervene and change something for the better. This fear of new events and changes makes people passive, inconspicuous and unhappy. Due to the abundance of such conservatives in society, stagnation forms, through which it is difficult for young shoots capable of developing and developing the country to break through.
2. The problem of the meaninglessness of life. Why did Belikov live on earth? He never made anyone happy, not even himself. The hero trembles over his every action and constantly echoes: “No matter what happens.” Bypassing fictitious sorrows and suffering, he misses happiness itself, thus, its price of psychological comfort is too high, since it destroys the very essence of people’s existence.
3. It appears before the reader the problem of happiness, more precisely, the problem of its achievement, essence and price. The hero replaces him with peace, but, on the other hand, he himself has the right to determine what is the highest value for him.
4. The problem of fear of love. The people who surround him are just as unhappy, they find themselves on the other side of a fictional case, Belikov simply cannot open up and let someone closer. The hero was never able to develop his feelings for the girl he liked, he was simply afraid of them and was left with nothing.
5. The Problem of Sociopathy. The teacher is afraid of society, despises it, isolates himself, not allowing any of the people around him to help himself. They would be happy, but he himself does not allow this.

the main idea

Chekhov was not only a doctor by training, but also a healer of souls by vocation. He realized that spiritual illness is sometimes more dangerous than physical illness. The idea of ​​the story “The Man in a Case” is a protest against lonely, closed vegetation under a shell. The author puts into the work the idea that the case must be mercilessly burned in order to feel freedom and approach life with ease.
Otherwise, the fate of a closed person may be disastrous. So, in the finale, the main character dies alone, leaving no grateful descendants, no followers, no achievements. The writer shows us how the earthly path of a “case” person can end in vain. Colleagues and acquaintances who attend his funeral are mentally happy that they have finally said goodbye to Belikov and his importunity.

Anton Pavlovich puts socio-political implications into his work, emphasizing the importance of social activity and civic initiative. He advocates a rich and fulfilling life, endows the main character with repulsive character traits in order to prove to people how pathetic and pathetic the inhabitant of the “case” looks, wasting himself.

Thus, Chekhov describes the lot of many clerks who lived sadly in a stuffy city, sorting out pieces of paper that no one needed. He ironically plays with the type of “little man,” breaking the literary tradition of depicting him in idyllic tones. His author's position is not contemplative or sentimental, but active, not tolerating compromises. The inhabitants of the case should not savor their insignificance and wait for pity, they need to change and squeeze out a slave.

What does the author teach?

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov makes us think about our own lives and ask an interesting question: “Aren’t we building for ourselves the same case that the main character Belikov had?” The author literally teaches us to live, showing by example how a personality that grovels before conventions and stereotypes can fade and disappear. Chekhov was really able to instill in people a disgust for a gray, worthless life, to show that inaction and indifference are the worst things that can happen to us.

The fear of discoveries and accomplishments destroys a person’s personality; he becomes pitiful and helpless, unable to show even the simplest feelings. The writer believes that human nature is much richer and more capable than what fear and laziness turn it into. Happiness, according to Chekhov, lies in a fulfilling life, where there is a place for strong emotions, interesting communication and individuality.

Interesting? Save it on your wall!

I want to describe the main character, Belikov, in Anton Pavlovich Chekhov's story "The Man in a Case". Belikov occupies the main place in the story, since it is about his life, appearance, and how others treat him.
The most ordinary Greek teacher in a gymnasium, unmarried, lives in a small room. His room is as small as a bear's den, a table and a canopy crib. He also has a cook named Afanasy, about sixty years old. When going to bed, Belikov always covered his head, was afraid of extraneous noises, heard the ominous sighs of Afanasy... He constantly thought that the cook, for no apparent reason, might suddenly kill him... Every night, because of these thoughts, he could not calmly sleep. And in the morning, when I had to go to the gymnasium, I was bored and pale. This is what it means to live a “case life”! Belikov looked very gloomy and monotonous: “he wore dark glasses, a sweatshirt, stuffed his ears with cotton wool, and when he got into the cab, he ordered the top to be raised. In a word, this man had a constant and irresistible desire to surround himself with a shell, to create for himself, so to speak, a case , which would seclude him, protect him from external influences. Reality irritated him, frightened him, kept him in constant anxiety, and, perhaps, in order to justify this timidity of his, his aversion to the present, he always praised the past, and even then, which never happened; and the ancient languages ​​that he taught were for him, in essence, the same galoshes and umbrella where he hid from real life."
From these signs one can understand that Belikov is an uncommunicative, suspicious, and modest person.
- Oh, how sonorous, how beautiful the Greek language is! - he said with a sweet expression; and, as if to prove his words, squinting his eye and raising his finger, said:
- Anthropos!
But Belikov’s favorite phrase was: “No matter what happens!” And also, when entering the gymnasium, he constantly repeated to his colleagues: “They are very noisy in our classes.”
Because of his character, Belikov kept the entire gymnasium in fear, and what about the gymnasium, the whole city!!! Imagine, because of him, students were not allowed to go out after nine, and they were forbidden to write about carnal love in articles. People stopped getting to know each other, sending letters... That's how much he influenced the reality around him.
He absolutely loved the language he taught. I devoted my whole life to it! Once, when his future bride Varenka was singing Little Russian romances, he sat down next to her and said, admiringly:
- The Little Russian language, with its tenderness and pleasant sonority, resembles ancient Greek.
As mentioned earlier, he kept the entire city in fear. But not only students, but also teachers, and even the director were afraid of him! The ladies didn’t put on performances on Saturdays, they were afraid, what if he found out! They were afraid to eat or play cards in his presence. Because of people like Belikov, over the last ten to fifteen years the city became like a dead village - no one went out into the street, talked, read books, didn’t help the poor, didn’t teach literacy... Everyone knew that seeing this, Belikov will definitely say: “All this is good, but no matter what happens!” These words of his upset everyone very much. And when he died, everyone breathed a sigh of relief!
With this story, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov wanted to show that people like Belikov are not worth being. What joy is there in the fact that everyone is afraid of you, you are not friends with anyone, you don’t talk? And when you leave for the next world, no one feels sorry for you, no one misses you, but everyone just rejoices and rejoices!
So get to know each other more often, communicate, and your soul will feel better.

The main character of Chekhov's story "The Man in a Case" is the Greek teacher Belikov. Colleague Burkin talks about him throughout the entire story.

Belikov appears in the story as a complex person, full of incomprehensible prejudices. In any weather, he goes out in galoshes, a coat and an umbrella. All his items were in a case: a pencil sharpening knife, an umbrella and even a watch. This citizen walked with his collar constantly raised, and this made it seem as if he was also hiding his face in a cover. When he got into a cab, he always asked to raise the top. Belikov constantly had a desire to close himself off, to place himself in a certain case and thereby protect himself from any external influences. The present reality instilled in him fear and horror of everything new. As if justifying his lack of understanding of the present, he always talked about the past. In combination with all his behavior, the teaching of ancient languages ​​indicated a certain detachment from reality.

The main life slogan for Belikov is “no matter what happens.” Any slightest deviation from long-established rules can throw him off balance. But despite his complexes, according to Burkin, Belikov managed to keep the entire city in suspense.

Soon a new history teacher, Mikhail Kovalenko, and his sister Varya move to the city. Belikov's colleagues are trying in every possible way to bring him together with her. However, he cannot decide to take such a responsible step and is afraid of everything. And when he happened to see Kovalenko and his sister riding bicycles, Belikov generally fell into bewilderment. He couldn't imagine the teacher riding a bicycle.

What then is left for the children to do?

Just stand on their heads, he reasoned, trying to reason with Kovalenko.

That day, Belikov’s conversation with Kovalenko led to a quarrel and Belikov ended up being thrown down the stairs, where Varya saw him when she entered the entrance. The hero could not survive such a shame. He closes himself off from the world in his room and dies sick.

Concluding the story, Burkin says that Belikov looked very cheerful in the coffin. Apparently, he was glad that he was finally in a case in which no one would disturb him.

Option 2

In his stories, Chekhov sometimes draws strange images of people who are even difficult to imagine. Nevertheless, such people really exist, although Belikov is in many ways a grotesque figure. We see some strange metamorphosis of the human personality, which turns into something strange and even scary.

Belikov has been working as a Greek language teacher in a gymnasium for about 15 years and is influential in this gymnasium. Throughout a significant part of the story, no one can contradict Belikov; they obey him. Therefore, if this hero does not like something, then he can, for example, kick out a high school student, although such decisions are clearly determined by his inertia and excessive conservatism.

Belikov - imprisoned in a case. Through this image of the case, Chekhov represents his entire personality, he even describes the thoughts of the hero in the case, he has every object in the case, and besides this, he is figuratively entirely enclosed in the case. This is how his closedness from the world and ossification are manifested; perhaps, in some ways, this is how ignorance is manifested, which resists everything new and some kind of change.

This hero is clearly afraid of some kind of update, he is always afraid of any incidents, and such fears are manifested in all the details of his everyday life, from ordering cab drivers to raise their tops to wearing a thick coat even in warm weather. Belikov is a completely ridiculous character, but his beginning is also described as something negative and negative, he is not just ridiculous, but to a certain extent he is an opponent of this world, humanity, the positive and progressive. Therefore, Belikov’s death becomes possible only after he is ridiculed; ridicule seems to destroy the established world of this hero, subjecting him to a kind of censure that devalues ​​the absurdity to which this hero has always clung with complete seriousness.

Also, in fact, we see how Belikova is destroyed by love. Of course, we can consider the hero’s illness and sadness as an outcome after rudeness from Varenka’s brother, but in fact, his behavior is only part of his relationship with Varenka. Belikov, in fact, can’t even imagine how he loved this girl, can’t imagine his marriage, in fact, this case man is unsuitable for love, which is something more than his limited nature, so love, as it were, cleanses the world of Belikov himself.

Essay by Belikov (Man in a Case)

More than ten years separates the story of A.P. Chekhov, “The Man in a Case” from the initial humor, but one of the author’s most famous creations is prose; it has many contacts with the work of his youth as a writer. Firstly, it is a combination of one specific social satire, that specific historical era with a philosophical motive, with problems and solutions that are constantly known to everyone. And the title of the story and the pseudonym of its main character were simultaneously perceived as a broad abstraction.

Belikov, as the fashionable critic of those times told us, was one of the majority of people who, like Oblomov or Chichikov, expressed with all their essence the enormous social environment or direction of that time. “Case people”, “Belikovs” - these social indicators that flashed in the title, on the pages of scandalous articles, passed into the way of life, becoming formulas understandable to everyone. Six years earlier, Leskov said that, having analyzed another work of Chekhov: “Everywhere - ward No. 6. This is Russia...” The feelings left in the soul between these stories were similar in many ways: “All of Russia seemed to me in a case,” - A reader who followed his work once wrote to Chekhov.

Belikov’s image goes from the biological, characteristically psychological, to the social stratum, to a demonstration of the natural beginning of people in society. And this is not at all surprising: Chekhov is a physician by profession, who has a natural scientific view of everything that happens, convinced that a clear understanding of medicine and poetry have never conflicted against each other.

A.P. Chekhov, as an artist-musician, often uses techniques from music to express his thoughts, such as repetition, carries out motives through many voices of various instruments, telling us about the inexplicable fear of limitations, everyday vulgarity.

The problem that Chekhov touches on in this narrative will always remain pressing for most people. Without noticing to himself, any person can withdraw into himself or close himself in the “case” of his own delusions, ceasing to reflect, seek out and hesitate in his decisions. And this is the worst thing that leads to the regression of a person as a person, as an entity. A person notices absolutely nothing except his prejudices and fears; he cannot adequately think, invent, and finalize his plans. A certain painful fear for his own existence constantly raged in the soul of Belikov, an outstanding character in Chekhov’s story, “The Man in a Case,” which was published in 1898.

Belikov is the same “man in a case”, a senseless, pitiful creature who thought of one day bringing fear to the whole city. Even the teachers were wary of him. Why, the teachers, absolutely the entire city, from small to large, shied away from him.

A man in a case... It seemed like such a strange expression, but how accurately it personifies the human soul. The idea of ​​this work lies in showing society the essence of fear: “Under the influence of people like Belikov, over the last 10 - 15 years in our city people have become afraid of everything. They were afraid to speak out loudly, send letters, make new acquaintances, read books, they were afraid to help the poor, teach people to read and write.” Yes, and everything that we have set up for ourselves, come up with, what we have fenced ourselves off from the world, all of this needs to be destroyed, we need to step over all of this, discover something new, interesting for ourselves, look at everything with an adequate view and not complicate our lives with what some imaginary accidents.

This presentation combines a set of very interesting compositions, which, in spite of everything, do not prevent our writer A.P. Chekhov from sending us an inseparable assessment of the perception of human existence, an affirmation of his perfections and worldview.

In exposing the appearance of Belikov, we are helped by a compositional technique that Chekhov often uses in his works - a story within a story. In our case, these are hunters who decided to spend the night in the shed of the elder Prokofy, they told each other various incidents, stories, fables. One of the storytellers was Burkin, who decided to keep up with everyone, to tell the story of one living in his city, a teacher of foreign Greek, Belikov, and his friend, a famous veterinarian, Ivan Ivanovich. What was this teacher famous for? But the fact that, despite the wonderful sunny, warm weather, he always came out of the house in galoshes, with an umbrella in his hands and always in a warm wadded coat. But he had an umbrella in a case, a watch in a case made of gray suede fabric, and even when necessary, taking out a penknife in order to sharpen a pencil, to everyone’s surprise, he kept his knife in the same case. The expression of his appearance to anyone he met, at first glance, seemed that it, too, was dressed in a cover, a face that was constantly hidden behind the raised collar of a warm cotton coat. According to the narrator Burkin, Belikov walked around all the time in black glasses, a sweatshirt, plugged his ears with cotton wool, and when he sat down on the cab, he ordered the top to be raised, as if he was afraid of something. Whether it was a whim or some invented way of life for our hero, our narrator does not explain to us. But he notes that this hero had an endless greedy desire to “surround himself with a shell, create for himself, so to speak, a case” in order to hide himself and protect himself from words, actions and all the dirt of the world around him.

The features that Chekhov constructs become symbolic in Belikov’s appearance. The surprising thing is that for such an unattractive and narrow-minded person, with such a boring lifestyle, a person who does not sleep at night, he intimidated not only himself with all his thoughts, but he also managed to intimidate with his entire appearance all those people who surrounded him, and the entire city. At first, Chekhov found it funny and quite harmless to describe the place where Belikov lived, because it was similar to some kind of den. Compare the hero of the story with a hermit crab or a snail, which will not harm anyone and, moreover, is always afraid of everything.

Several interesting essays

• Analysis of the work Kolovert Sholokhov

  The work, created in 1825, is dedicated to the tragic period of the Civil War for the country. The author examines not only political events and the struggle of ideologies, but also the split in society that forced close relatives to become enemies.

• Analysis of Chekhov's story House with a Mezzanine essay

  The House with a Mezzanine, a short story written by Chekhov, tells a love story that intersects with important social issues. The narrator talks about his happiness

The Russian soldier is a unique personality not only in Russian history, but also in the whole world. The Russians showed their resilience and courage. Russians are feared and respected all over the world. Even at the genetic level they understand

• Analysis of the work The Wonderful Doctor Kuprina

  In 1987, A. Kuprin released an interesting, instructive, real story. Its name immediately lets us know which main character we will be talking about. This is no ordinary doctor. The time described in the work

• The history of the creation of the story Bunin's Antonov Apples and the prototypes of the heroes

  The writing of the work takes place under the influence of the feelings of the writer who stayed in the early autumn in the village house of his brother, in which every morning he wakes up from the aromas of Antonov apple trees, watching the cold and gray sunrise of the autumn sun.

Who are the case people? They surround us everywhere, but few people realize that they can be characterized by such an interesting term. Because not everyone has read the famous story by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, which was called “The Man in a Case.” It was this Russian prose writer-playwright who first in history proposed this type of personality. However, first things first.

Visual image

Anyone who is familiar with him knows how rich the world of his works is on human types. Who doesn’t appear in his stories! And conscientious individuals, not satisfied with social laws and with themselves, and narrow-minded ordinary people, and noble dreamers, and opportunistic officials. And images of “case” people also appear. In particular, in the story mentioned above.

The plot of “The Man in a Case” centers on a high school teacher named Belikov. Teaching Greek has long ceased to be needed by anyone. He's very strange. Even if it’s sunny outside, he puts on galoshes, a warm cotton coat with a high collar and takes an umbrella. A mandatory “accessory” is dark glasses. He always stuffs his ears with cotton. He drives a cab, with the top always up. Belikov also keeps everything in cases - an umbrella, a watch, and even a penknife.

But this is just an image. It would seem that the description only says that the person is neat and prudent, maybe even a little pedantic. But it is not without reason that they say that the external manifestation reflects the internal state of a person. And indeed it is.

Personal characteristics

Examples of “case” people encountered in life are reflected in Belikov. He is a mixture of sociopath, paranoid and introvert. He is afraid of all living things. His is: “No matter what happens.” He treats everything that surrounds him with caution and fear. Belikov is not able to think freely, since each of his ideas is in a “case”.

And it would be fine if he were like that in society. But even at home he behaves the same way! He dresses in a long robe and cap, closes the shutters on the windows tightly, snapping the latches. His bed has a canopy, and when Belikov lies down in it, he covers his head with a blanket.

Naturally, he observes all fasts and does not have female servants - fearing that others will suspect him of having relationships with them. Belikov is a real hermit. Who, in the literal sense of the word, is afraid to live.

Consequences

Naturally, such a lifestyle that Belikov leads cannot but affect anything. Who are the case people? These are real hermits who believe that they live quite normally, unlike others. This is also manifested in Chekhov's hero.

At one point he meets Varenka, a girl who is the sister of a new geography and history teacher. She shows an unexpected interest in Belikov. Whom society begins to persuade to marry her. He agrees, despite the fact that thoughts of marriage depress and worry him. Belikov loses weight, turns pale, becomes even more nervous and fearful. And the first thing that worries him the most is the lifestyle of the “bride”.

Who are the case people? Those who cannot understand others due to their detachment. Varenka loves to ride a bike with her brother. And Belikov is sure that this quite common hobby is not normal! Because it is not appropriate for someone who teaches history to young people to ride a bicycle. And the woman on this vehicle looks completely indecent. Belikov did not hesitate to express his thoughts to Varenka’s brother, who cannot stand him. And he threatened to report his hobby to the director of the gymnasium. In response, Varenka’s brother pulled Belikov down the stairs. What's the result? Belikov falls ill - from stress, he is haunted by the thought that someone will find out about his shame. And a month later he dies. This is the end.

Main thought

Well, who these case people are - you can understand from Belikov’s example. And, in principle, Chekhov wanted to convey a simple idea. The prose writer tried to convey to readers that a life “closed” from society only cripples the human soul. You can't be outside the rest. We are all members of a single society. Everything that a person has messed up for himself, set up, only fences him off from life. From a reality filled with colors. And indeed it is. Spiritual wretchedness only limits human existence. This is what Chekhov is thinking about in this story.

Modernity

A person of the 21st century who has read Chekhov knows what kind of people are called case people. And he is able to recognize them among the rest. Nowadays they are called introverts. These are people whose mental makeup is characterized by contemplation, isolation and concentration on their own inner world. They are not inclined to communicate with other people - it is difficult for them to establish contact with anyone.

However, to understand the essence of this term, it is enough to turn to etymology. "Introvert" is a word derived from the German introvertiert. Which literally translates as “turned inward.”

"Man in a Case." A Greek teacher, a lonely elderly man, closed from the outside world, cowardly and timid.

History of creation

Anton Chekhov wrote the story “The Man in a Case” in 1898, and in the same year the text was published in the literary and political magazine “Russian Thought”. The story became the first part of the “Little Trilogy” series, which also included Chekhov’s texts “Gooseberry” and “About Love”.

The author conceived the series in the spring and summer of 1898, when he lived in the village of Melikhovo, Moscow region. Chekhov wrote his first story in a month, and at the beginning of June it was already being prepared for publication. Chekhov did not intend to close the series with the story “About Love,” but he fell ill with tuberculosis, the writer’s creative activity fell, and the series was never continued.

It is not known whether Belikov had a prototype, but some of Chekhov’s contemporaries believed that the prototype of the hero was a certain Alexander Dyakonov, an inspector at a Taganrog gymnasium. According to another version, in the image of Belikov, Chekhov described the then famous conservative publicist Mikhail Menshikov. However, researchers note that the similarities between Belikov and Menshikov are exclusively external. Most likely, Belikov is a collective image.

In 1939, the Belarusfilm studio released the film “The Man in a Case,” directed by Isidor Annensky. The role of Belikov was played by actor Nikolai Khmelev.

The story "The Man in the Case"

Belikov is an elderly Greek teacher whose full name is unknown. The hero is well over forty, he has a pale small face, similar to the muzzle of a ferret. Belikov wears dark glasses and hides his face behind a raised collar, and plugs his ears with cotton wool. At times, a faint crooked smile appears on the hero’s face, and Belikov’s figure looks crooked and small, as if he was “pulled out with pincers” from somewhere. Even in warm and clear weather, the hero wears a coat with cotton wool, galoshes and an umbrella and strives to dress warmly even in summer.

The hero prefers loneliness and strives to isolate himself from the world around him, to create a protective shell around himself, a kind of “case”, inside which the hero will be protected from external influences. The writer also calls Belikov’s thoughts “case-like” - narrow. The hero’s “case considerations” make a depressing impression on those around him.

Things belonging to Belikov are also stored in cases. The hero keeps everything in a case - an umbrella, a watch, which is kept in a gray suede case, and the hero even takes out a penknife for sharpening pencils from its case.

Belikov has a suspicious character. What is happening around causes anxiety in the hero, frightens and irritates him. Belikov's favorite phrase; “No matter what happens,” sounds in the hero’s speech on any occasion. To take a break from the disgusting and disturbing reality, the hero studies ancient languages, loves to remember the past and praise morals and customs that never really existed.

According to Belikov, “something can come of it” from any innocent undertaking. The hero is upset when a new drama club or teahouse opens in the city, because any innovation can end badly. Belikov was disheartened by deviations from the rules, even if what was happening was not directly related to him. The hero began to worry when he heard about the mischief of schoolchildren or the love affairs of an outside class lady.

Belikov worked at the gymnasium for fifteen years, and all this time he oppressed those around him with his own presence. The hero creates an atmosphere of increased anxiety at teachers' meetings, worrying that information that, for example, students are making noise in the classrooms will not reach the authorities. Belikov treats his superiors with great respect and demands the same from those around him. Belikov is feared and listened to by his colleagues and even the director of the gymnasium. A suffocating atmosphere is formed around the hero, “like in a police box.” Some colleagues consider Belikov an informer.

Outside of work, Belikov behaves no better. The hero goes out into society and visits acquaintances, but these visits are difficult for him and Belikov makes them only for the sake of decency. In the city they are afraid of Belikov, ladies are afraid to organize home performances on Saturdays, people are afraid to even send letters or raise their voices. And the hero himself is afraid of public opinion and therefore does not keep female servants at home and even in food he is guided not by his own tastes, but by what people will think if they see him at a meal.

Belikov is constantly afraid of everything and even in his own apartment cannot sleep peacefully: he fears for his own fate, because he thinks that either the servant will stab him in his sleep, or thieves will break into the house. The hero's apartment itself looks like a box. Small bedroom, four-poster bed, latches and shutters everywhere. The hero is afraid of people to such an extent that it is difficult for him to walk next to someone, and the crowded gymnasium where Belikov works also causes fear in him.

One day Belikov happened to fall in love. This happened after meeting Varya, the sister of one of Belikov’s young colleagues. However, this relationship ends in nothing. The hero is afraid to get married because “something might not happen,” and the girl’s brother one day kicks Belikov out of the apartment and lowers him down the stairs. This humiliating scene takes place in front of Varya. The humiliated Belikov returns home, goes to bed and never gets up, and a month later he dies, thus completing his sad biography. According to modern experts, Chekhov's Belikov is a classic psychasthenic.

Quotes

“It is a great pleasure to bury people like Belikov.”

“It’s all wonderful, but no matter what happens.”

“You get married, and then what good will you end up in some kind of story.”

“The Little Russian language, with its tenderness and pleasant sonority, is reminiscent of ancient Greek.”