Golden Age of Personal Letters

A personal letter can often provide great insight into the heart and soul of the writer. Today’s passage is a taken from a personal letter that Anton Chekhov, son of a Russian serf (slave), a doctor, writer, and one of Russia’s foremost 19th-century playwrights and authors, wrote to Dmitry Grigorvich a highly respected member of Russia’a literary fraternity. Throughout his short life, Chekhov wrote thousands of letters to a broad range of people.

Reading the various letters Chekhov had written, reminded me of the handwritten letters I received from my mother, aunt, siblings, children, and very special friends. I was also reminded of that particular letter, so many decades ago, that began, “I am so sorry to have to write this letter,” from a distance romantic interest. Couldn’t delete that message.

Sadly the “golden age of instant communications” has all but eliminated the anticipation of receiving and the thoughtfulness of writing personal letters. I do however, have a friend who, in spite of the instance gratification and shallow thinking, associated with email, text messages, Zoom, FaceTime, Twitter, etc.. , continues to pen personal electronic letters that are beautiful, thoughtful, and nostalgic.

“To Dmitry Grigorvich, 28 March 1886, Moscow

“Your letter, my dear, beloved bearer of good news, struck me like a bolt of lightning. I almost burst into tears I was so overcome with emotion, and now I feel that it has left a deep imprint in my soul. May God comfort your old age with the same tender blessings you showed towards my youth. I can find neither words nor deeds to thank you. You will already know of the reverence ordinary people have for the elect such as yourself, and you may therefore imagine what your letter has meant to my self-esteem. It means more than any diploma, and for a writer on the threshold of his career it is like a payment for the future and the present. I walk about as if intoxicated. It is quite beyond my powers to judge whether or not I truly merit this high accolade…I can only repeat that it has absolutely stunned me. If it truly is the case that I have a talent that demands respect, then I confess before the purity of your heart that hitherto I have not respected it. It is true that I sensed this talent, but I have got used to treating it as worthless..………….”

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