THE IMPERATIVE STRATEGY OF THE NARRATOR IN THE PROSE OF A. P. CHEKHOV (based on the stories "The lights" and "The head-gardener's story")

The aim of this research is to determine whether Chekhov's narrative with the participation of the secondary intradiegetic narrator conforms with the traditional regulations of the construction of the narrative of this type. In classical literature the author and the secondary intradiegetic narrator have different choices of strategies of story-telling. The author is able to take the position of mentor because he owns the absolute truth, the secondary intradiegetic narrator has no right to do this and his attempts to "get around" this restriction to give the status of universal truth to the individual opinion are unsuccessful. In the works of A.P.Chekhov "The Lights" and "The Head-Gardener's Story" secondary narrator is "exposed" : the parables of Ananiev and Michael Karlovich sound unconvincing, the writer underlines their artificiality through a variety of artistic techniques. However, in the texts of Chekhov, unlike the classic literature, the author doesn't act as a mentor. The writer's task is not to disprove the character's propositions and establish the limits of application of the imperative strategy of narration. Chekhov shows its exhaustion. Parable narration is not appropriate by the secondary intradiegetic narrator, but it is alienated in his favor and loses the "exclusive" status of the specific author's model of the communication with the reader.