The Tsar of Beasts: The Animal Other in Teffi’s Stories

• In Event: 19th-Century Women Writers in Context II: Khvoshchinskaia and Teffi in Radical, Generational, and Animal Contexts

Abstract

Scholars and readers considered Teffi a “female Chekhov” finding Chekhov’s influence in her mastery of the short story, as well as humour, irony, and depiction of ‘poshlost’ and ordinary life. I would like to suggest another similarity between Chekhov and Teffi – the way she portrays animals. Like Chekhov, Teffi (1872-1952) questions many modern assumptions about animals, while remaining ethically attentive to the rich possibilities of animals’ inner lives.

Author

• Zora Kadyrbekova, McGill U (Canada)