Natalia Alexandrovna Golden

Reading notes

• To Al. P. Chekhov, 23 November 1888. Moscow. §14 Natalia Alexandrovna

  Alexander's common-law wife; a routine closing greeting, not new information.

• To Al. P. Chekhov, 2 January 1889. Moscow. §5 N. A. and the cook

  'N. A.' is almost certainly Natalia Alexandrovna Golden, Alexander Chekhov's common-law partner (later his second wife) at this period; the identification rests on the wider biographical record, since this letter itself -- matching its own discretion -- gives only initials. Should NOT be conflated with any other 'N. A.' elsewhere in the correspondence without corroborating context from that letter.

• To Al. P. Chekhov, 2 January 1889. Moscow. §6 Get the hell away from me! I am not keeping you!

  A direct quoted example of the abusive speech Chekhov is condemning, addressed by Alexander to N. A. in a fit of temper; quoted, not endorsed, by the letter's author.

• To Al. P. Chekhov, 2 January 1889. Moscow. §10 N. A., the cook, and the children

  Summarizes the letter's central complaint: the household's dependents -- N. A., the cook, and Alexander's unnamed children -- are wholly without power to check his conduct toward them.

• To Al. P. Chekhov, 21 February 1889. Moscow. §3 the dearest N. A.

  Natalia Alexandrovna Golden, Alexander Chekhov's common-law (later common-law, then second) wife and the mother of his younger children; abbreviated to her initials here, as she is directly named in other letters of this corpus (see, first attested). Her identification in this letter rests on the surrounding correspondence rather than being spelled out in the letter itself.

• To Al. P. Chekhov, 25 February 1889. Moscow. §9 N. A.

  Natalya Alexandrovna Golden, Alexander Chekhov's common-law wife at this period, referred to here only by initials per the letter's own usage. Cross-referenced independently in the companion letter of 21 February 1889 (\S3, 'the dearest N. A.') to the same addressee, where she is likewise unwell/greeted only by initials -- the identification is corroborated across both letters.

• To Al. P. Chekhov, 11 April 1889. Moscow. §7 Natalya Alexandrovna

  Natalya Alexandrovna Golden, Alexander's common-law partner (later his second wife), here named in full; previously identified only by initials ("N. A.") elsewhere in the corpus.

• To Al. P. Chekhov, 2 May 1889. Sumy. §8 Natalya Alexandrovna

  Natalia Alexandrovna Golden, Alexander's common-law wife (later his second wife) at this time; already established in this corpus's apparatus for.