Chekhov is a master of breaking symmetry. In his short stories, the Russian author sets up dichotomies, pairs of opposites that seem self-evident at first, only to then break the balance between the two poles just enough to breathe warmth into the pages.
“A Fragment” is a good example. (This story is barely two pages long—you can read it in less than five minutes, and you might want to since I’m about to spoil it for you).
In “A Fragment”, State Councilor Kozegorov purchases a countryside manor for his retirement. Once there, Kozegorov “partly in imitation of Cincinnatus […] toiled in the sweat of his brow and wrote down his observations on natural phenomena”. A very serious man.
After his death, Kozegorov left his belongings, including the estate, to his housekeeper, Marfa Yevlampyevna. She then “tore down his manor house and in its place erected a superb tavern licensed to sell strong liquor”. The tavern featured “a ‘special room’ fitted out for passing landowners and civil servants”. A less-than-serious woman.
Chekhov establishes a dichotomy—virtue, hard work, and masculinity on one hand, drinking, sexuality, and feminity on the other. Had the author left it at that, “The Fragment” would have been a trifling morality play. But Chekhov breaks symmetry, and lets us know through Kozegorov’s notes that:
[…] Yesterday at tea [Marfa Yevlampyevna], to whom I am indebted for many happy moments in my life. Yesterday at tea she grumbled bitterly about her constitution, remarking that her expanding girth prevented her from passing through the door leading to the storehouse. My observation to her was: “On the contrary, my dear, the fullness of your form srves as an embellishment and disposes me all the more favorably towards you.” She blushed at this. I rose and embraced her with both arms, for it impossible to embrace her with only one.
And, finally:
An old man, seeing me near the women’s bathing place, asked me why I was sitting there. I answered him with the observation: “The reason I am sitting here is because I want to see that young men do not come and sit here.” “Then let us watch together,” the old man said, and then he sat down beside me, and we began to talk about virtue.
Humans embody dichotomies only insofar as they break them.