“All These Things Spake He Unto the Multitude in Parables”: Uncovering Biblical Symbolism in the Short Stories of Anton Chekhov

Literary critics have generally viewed the works of Anton Chekhov within the genre of realism. A relatively recent mythopoetic trend has been challenging the dominant mimetic tradition, seeking rather to uncover deep symbolic layers beneath the surface of the texts. This thesis engages in a close reading of Chekhov’s short story “The Letter” (1887) using an innovative analytical framework that avoids the excesses of both the mimetic and mythopoetic approaches. The analysis demonstrates that Chekhov based the structure of “The Letter” on the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18:9–14).