person
Milochka
also: Милочка
FICTIONAL CHARACTER in Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky's play "Symphony". Chekhov's most consistent point of reservation in his otherwise favorable letter: introduced as only "lightly sketched" and, by \S6, singled out as the weak point of Act III, given "not a single juicy, long speech, only a lot of sniveling." Not a real person.
Reading notes
- To M. I. Chaykovsky, 16 February 1890. Moscow. §3 figures like Milochka are only sketched in lightly
Milochka is a character in "Symphony," not a real person -- Chekhov's first mention of her here is already a mild reservation (lightly sketched), which sharpens at \S6 into his sharpest specific criticism of the play (given no substantial dialogue in Act III, "only a lot of sniveling").
- To M. I. Chaykovsky, 16 February 1890. Moscow. §6 least of all III, where Milochka doesn't have a single juicy, long speech, only a lot of sniveling...
Chekhov's frankest criticism in the letter: having praised the play's craft and milieu throughout, he singles out Act III by name as the weakest, faulting it specifically for leaving Milochka without any substantial speech -- the same reservation flagged more gently at \S3 ("figures like Milochka are only sketched in lightly") now made concrete and located.