the quietness of the place, but has the uneasy feeling that life here might be unbearably dull. Things do not get better as time goes by. Aunt Dasha turns out to be somewhat vulgar provincial grand dame, insincere and occasionally obnoxious, the decrepit grandfather is rude and gluttonous, the local doctor Neshchapov who'd "fell in love with [Vera’s] photo portrait" (if the aunt is to be believed) seems vacuous and bland. Her two main distractions, entreating the guests and visiting the church, become more and more unbearable. Soon Vera starts to realize that the dreams she’d cherished, of "finding true love here" and "helping the poor" were vain fantasies. At one point, getting mad with her rather slow-witted maid Alyona, she shouts at her and is instantly taken aback, realizing that the phrase she's just used ("Twenty five lashes for her!") is taken straight from her grandfather's old book. She eventually succumbs to the idea of marrying the doctor whom she intensely dislikes, just to get out of the house, and because this seems to be the only course to pursue. Reception In her 9 December 1897 letter Maria Pavlovna informed her brother: "[At Home] is much talked about in Moscow and everybody loves it." Some of his other correspondents, though, expressed reservations. Doctor N.I. Korobov, whom Chekhov knew from their University days, enquired: "Why such pessimistic stories in Russkiye Vedomosti? Write something life-affirming, bringing to life youth memories when one wants to jump with joy of living! Pyotr I. Dyakonov, a well-known Russian surgeon, while expressing great interest in the story and the details concerning it, wrote: "I have to admit, the general impression that [At Home and The Petcheneg] leave, is rather depressing... Surely life [in Russia] provides every possible reason for such attitude. But the fine surroundings, the pictures of nature you now live amongst, the diversity of your impressions and other fine aspects of travelling might have served well to dispel this mood? " The anonymous Courier reviewer, in his 4 December 1897 article called "The Latest Stories by A.P. Chekhov", wrote of "the two marvellous stories in Russkiye Vedomosti, full of the Chekhov of old's power and talent... [they] evoke mostly heavy thoughts and bitter feelings, but is it the artist's fault that life itself confronts him only with sad images, evoking somber sounds from his lyre?.. Besides, our author's forte is depicting with great