place
Tula Province
Tula province
also: Тульской г, Tula
A province south of Moscow, the setting of the spiritualist seance Chekhov jokingly demands a full report on; spiritualism was a fashionable craze among educated Russians of the period.
Reading notes
- To Al. P. Chekhov, 8 November 1882. Moscow. §8 Tula province
A province south of Moscow; the setting of the spiritualist seance Chekhov jokingly demands a full report on, spiritualism (table-turning, séances) being a fashionable craze in educated Russian circles of the period.
- To the Chekhovs, 7 April 1887. Taganrog. §6 Reached Tula, refuge of all cities
A pun on the old proverbial rhyme pairing "Tula" (Тула) with "zatula" (затула, "shelter/refuge"), used here purely for comic sound rather than literal sense.