ABSTRACT
By the year 1885 it was becoming obvious that Chekhov’s literary reputation would be decided in Petersburg rather than Moscow. Though Petersburg was actually the seat of government, Russians tended to give Moscow an equivalent status by speaking of their ‘two capitals’. Chekhov had hardly time to recover his equilibrium after his intoxicating experiences in Petersburg, when a new and even headier draught of encouragement arrived in the shape of a letter from Grigorovich. Despite the successes of 1886, which were enough to turn the head of any less balanced young man, Chekhov had sufficient reason for being unable to face the future with complete optimism. Writings of 1886 and 1887 present a complicated picture. There was comedy in the style associated with Antosha Chekhonte, which continued to appear in Fragments and elsewhere, but which was gradually petering out during these two years. The Kiss stands right in the middle of Chekhov’s line of development as a short story writer.
