This books title is Ward No. 6 and Other Stories, 1892-1895. Anton Chekhov was the author of all of the short stories in this book. The story I am going to discuss from this book is Ward No. 6. Ward No. 6 was first published in Russian Thought in 1892. Originally the story was offered to a different journal but there was a delay in payment of fees so Chekhov decided to take it elsewhere. This story specifically was dealt with an insane asylum that was not in the best condition. There were 5 different people that were mentioned to be kept here, and all of them had different personalities. This story was eventually made into a film that I would like to take the time to watch. The main point of this story was a conflict between Ivan Dmitrich Gromov (one of the patients) and Andrei Yefemich (a doctor for the asylum).
In Part I of the story we learned a short background of everyone that was in the ward. For example, “a man who grieves all the time, staring and crying”, that is about all we will ever know about this character. In Part II the main focus is on the character Gromov. He is the sanest of them all. We learn that he had a hard childhood, which then lead into a hard life. He was very well educated and loved to read. So far an outside storyteller who was giving us some basic information that we need to understand the story told these two parts. In part III of the story, that unknown storyteller is gone and Chekhov himself is now the narrator. Chekhov was a doctor in real life and you could see some of his expertise come into the storyline. We learn more about Gromov and how he feels terror and torment all of the time. He feels that the world is against him and that there is no way to stop it. Ivan was taken care of by a doctor even though the doctor does not believe that he needs any help at all. At the end of this part Ivan is forgotten by the people he had known for his whole life. In part IV we get a very descriptive explanation of what the inside of Ward No 6 looks and smells like. Just from the readers point of view it sounds like a horrific place to be. In part V we learn more about the doctor himself. He comes to the asylum and notices how filthy and depressing the environment is. He went along with being the best doctor that he could be, but eventually got tired of doing his daily routine when nothing else at the insane asylum was changing. In part VI Doctor does a lot of thinking about life and the different aspects that are beyond his control. He reads a lot of different philosophy books and talked to a friend about different philosophies.
In Part VII the doctors thoughts become a little more in depth and become almost unclear. It is more of a detailed thought rather then an actual part of the story. Part VIII there is a new younger doctor that is introduced that would love to take the job of Andrei. Part IX is when Andrei starts to actually talk to Gromov and they have a very intellectual conversation about freedom. Part X Gromov and Andrei continue on to have another conversation. XI there is more conversations, they are almost becoming regular. XII: the outside community starts to see the doctor as becoming insane himself from all of the time that he is spending with Gromov. XIII Dr. Andrei and his friend that was mentioned earlier get back together and talk again. XIV: Mikhail borrows money from Dr. Andrei for a debt that he needed to pay off. XV: Andrei decided that he was angry with himself about giving away money that he could have used for something else. He keeps himself relaxed by doing everyday chores. XVI: Dr. Andrei becomes a very angry person and that makes the young doctor (Dr. Khobotov) and Mikhail believe that he truly is becoming crazy. Dr. Andrei defended himself saying that he is not ill. XVII: Dr. Andrei becomes the 6th member of the ward. He doesn’t understand how people could be put in there to stay for the rest of their lives. Finally, Part XVIII, I will not reveal what happens here but the ending is pretty unfortunate from my point of view
I would definitely recommend this short story to other readers. It is not Anton Chekhovs longest story by any means but it keeps your attention throughout. I think that it gives you a great inside view on how all people that are deemed crazy may not actually be crazy. Some people may have their own views and philosophies on life but that does not mean that they should be locked away for that. Dr. Andrei got put away because of the views and knowledge that he had gained from conversing with a “crazy man”. I think that the meaning of their relationship was portrayed very well throughout the story.
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![Ward No. 6 and Other Stories, 1892-1895 (Penguin Classics) by [Anton Chekhov, Ronald Wilks]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51x4J80sUdL._SY346_.jpg)
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