concept
Akaky Petrovich Nakakiev (invented pseudonym)
Akaky Petrovich Nakakiev
also: Акакий Петрович Накакиев
A nonsense alias Chekhov addresses on the envelope's 'to be passed on to' line, in lieu of naming the actual intended recipient at the Korneev house. It grafts Gogol's downtrodden clerk Akaky Akakievich onto a scatological pun: the invented patronymic/surname 'Nakakiev' echoes the Russian verb 'nakakat'' (roughly, 'to have crapped [somewhere]'), turning the solemn, doubled name-and-patronymic of Gogol's pathetic hero into a crude family joke.
Reading notes
- To M. P. Chekhova, 26 April 1889. Sumy. §17 to be passed on to Akaky Petrovich Nakakiev
A nonsense alias combining Gogol's downtrodden clerk Akaky Akakievich from "The Overcoat" with a scatological pun on the invented patronymic/surname "Nakakiev," echoing the Russian verb "nakakat'" (to have soiled/crapped somewhere). See for the full note on the wordplay; the joke's actual intended recipient at the Korneev house is not otherwise identified.