Russian Literature: Some Thoughts

Ok, I just read Chekhov’s “The Butterfly”.  Here are some initial reactions:

image retrieved from Wikimedia Commons

• Was Dymov trying to get Olga’s attention by making so many careless, dangerous mistakes in his medical practice (like cutting himself while performing autopsies, during which he certainly was not wearing gloves), or was he just completely ignorant about how infections spread?  At that time, did doctors know about contagion?  If they did, then what was his problem?
• Poor Dymov!   I mean, when he shows up at the cabin after such a long journey and Olga just sends him back to the city to fetch her dress, I felt so sorry for him.  Of course, he DID it, which is either pathetic or really sweet, or perhaps both.
•  It’s interesting that Olga justifies her first kiss with Ryabovksy by thinking about Dymov that “for so simple, so ordinary a man the happiness which he has already received is quite adequate”.  Does that mean she feels that one must be extraordinary to deserve great happiness, and that ordinary people only require a modest amount of happiness in their lives?  Or does it mean that only extraordinary people can really find great happiness, and ordinary people don’t or won’t recognize it or allow themselves to experience it?  Hmmmm….
•  For what reason did Ryabovsky hide his new girlfriend from Olga when she came to his studio?  I can’t imagine he was trying to spare her feelings, since he was cruel to her so many other times.  Was he just trying to avoid conflict?
•  Come to think of it, Olga mentions that SHE had hidden in his studio more than once.  So clearly he is something of a ladies’ man, and Olga already knew it. 
• I love the use of the word “wangle”.  I think it’s a great word.  Olga ‘wangled’ theater tickets from her actor friends.
• Does anyone else think it’s strange that Olga would throw parties for big groups of men, and that her husband would prepare their dinner? 
• Who the heck is Schreck and why is so much mention made of him?