A Doctor's Visit Flashcards
by Anton Chekhov — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: A Doctor's Visit
Why does Dr. Korolyov come to the Lyalikov factory instead of the Professor?
The Professor received a telegram requesting a doctor but sent his assistant Korolyov in his place.
What medical complaint does Liza report to Dr. Korolyov?
She reports violent palpitations of the heart that kept the entire household awake the previous night.
What does Korolyov conclude about Liza's physical health after examining her?
He finds nothing wrong with her heart and tells her it is all in good order, attributing the symptoms to her nerves.
Why does Korolyov agree to stay overnight at the Lyalikov house?
Madame Lyalikov tearfully begs him to stay because Liza is her only daughter and the previous night's attack frightened her badly.
What does Korolyov do during his restless night at the factory estate?
He walks outside, observes the factory buildings at night, reflects on the nature of industrial exploitation, and sits on planks in a nearby field thinking.
What does Liza confess to Korolyov during their late-night conversation?
She tells him she believes she has no real illness but is weary and frightened because of her situation, and that she feels wretched almost every night.
What advice does Korolyov give Liza in a roundabout way before leaving?
He tells her that her dissatisfaction and sleeplessness do her credit as signs of moral awareness, and suggests that future generations will resolve the dilemma, perhaps by giving it all up and going away.
How does Korolyov's mood change during his carriage ride away from the factory?
He stops thinking about the workers and the devil and instead feels hopeful, thinking of a time when life will be as bright and joyous as the sunny Sunday morning.
How is Liza described physically when Korolyov first sees her?
She is fully grown, big and tall but plain like her mother, with small eyes and a broad lower face, giving the impression of a destitute creature rather than a wealthy heiress.
How does Korolyov's perception of Liza change when she begins to cry?
Her appearance of a destitute, ugly creature vanishes, and he sees instead a soft, suffering, intelligent expression that makes her seem graceful, feminine, and simple.
What role does Christina Dmitryevna play in the Lyalikov household?
She is the governess who has lived with the family for eleven years, acts as the most educated person in the house, and takes charge of receiving the doctor and managing conversation.
Why does Korolyov describe Madame Lyalikov as having a guilty, despairing expression?
Despite devoting her whole life to giving Liza every advantage -- French, dancing, music, the best doctors -- she cannot understand or fix her daughter's suffering and feels she has left something important undone.
What does Liza mean when she compares herself to Lermontov's Tamara?
She is saying that lonely people become mystics who see the devil where he is not, connecting her own isolation and nocturnal fears to the literary figure of Tamara who was visited by a demon.
What paradox about wealth and happiness does the story illustrate through the Lyalikov family?
Despite owning five enormous factory buildings and enjoying great wealth, neither Madame Lyalikov nor Liza find happiness; their prosperity brings guilt, anxiety, and sleeplessness rather than contentment.
What does Korolyov conclude about the relationship between the strong and the weak in industrial society?
He concludes that both the factory owners and the workers are equally victims of their mutual relations, unwillingly submitting to an unknown directing force outside themselves.
How does the story portray medicine's ability to address Liza's suffering?
Medicine is shown as inadequate because Liza's problem is existential, not physical; she needs understanding and moral validation rather than kalibromati or heart drops.
What future does Korolyov envision for the children and grandchildren of his generation?
He believes they will have greater moral clarity, will see things more clearly, and will likely abandon the unjust system -- throwing it all up and going away to live differently.
What literary device is Chekhov using when Korolyov imagines the factory's crimson windows as the eyes of the devil?
This is an extended metaphor in which the devil represents the impersonal, exploitative force of industrial capitalism that controls both owners and workers.
What is the function of the watchman's metallic sounds -- 'Dair... dair... dair' -- as a literary device?
They serve as a motif and auditory symbol of the oppressive factory system, recurring throughout the story to create an atmosphere of mechanical, inhuman control.
How does Chekhov use the contrast between the natural setting and the factory to develop meaning?
Nightingales, frogs, spring air, and birch trees represent natural freedom and beauty, while the grey factory buildings, dust, and metallic clanging represent industrial oppression -- a juxtaposition that underscores the story's social critique.
What narrative technique does Chekhov use to reveal Korolyov's private thoughts throughout the story?
Chekhov uses free indirect discourse, blending Korolyov's interior reflections with the third-person narration so the reader experiences his evolving social and philosophical observations.
What does the word 'scrofulous' mean as used by Christina Dmitryevna to describe Liza's childhood illness?
Scrofulous refers to a form of tuberculosis affecting the lymph nodes, commonly associated with poor health in the 19th century.
What does 'plebeian' mean in the description of Liza's father Lyalikov?
Plebeian means common or lacking refinement, suggesting that despite his wealth and medals, Lyalikov had an unrefined, ordinary appearance.
What is 'kalibromati' as mentioned in the story?
Kalibromati (potassium bromide) was a sedative commonly prescribed in 19th-century medicine to treat nervous conditions and insomnia.
Liza says: 'I want to tell you of my opinion... I have no illness, but I am weary and frightened, because it is bound to be so and cannot be otherwise.' What does this reveal?
It reveals that Liza understands her suffering is not medical but existential -- she recognizes that her anxiety is an inevitable consequence of her position as an unwilling beneficiary of an unjust system.
Korolyov thinks: 'The strong must hinder the weak from living -- such was the law of Nature; but only in a newspaper article or in a school book was that intelligible.' What point is Chekhov making?
Chekhov is arguing that social Darwinism sounds logical in theory but becomes a moral absurdity when confronted with the messy reality of actual human relationships and suffering.
When Korolyov tries to leave at night, someone calls 'Who goes there?' and he thinks: 'It's just like being in prison.' What does this comparison suggest?
It suggests that the factory estate traps everyone within it -- owners and workers alike are confined by the industrial system, with the wealthy imprisoned by their wealth just as workers are by their labor.