Amygdalia Merda
Professor Dimitriadis
Lit5-127
23 May 2017 The theme of alienation in Anton Chekhov’s “Heartache”.
Anton Chekhov’s “Heartache” is about Iona Potapov, a sledge-driver or a cabby as he is referred in the text, who is losing himself into his sadness because of his son’s recent death. Iona wants nothing more than to share his pain with someone who will just listen to him, but he is rebuffed by each customer he encounters. In this case, he is left alone and alienated as everyone denies to all his attempts at a human connection. As in most of the big cities like Petersburg, people become alienated and indifferent to one another. A vivid example of such cases is the experience of the persona in this text.
Firstly, the story