Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, born on 29 January 1860 and passed away on 15 July 1904. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are esteemed highly by writers and critics. Along with Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, Chekhov is recognized as one of the three seminal figures in the birth of early modernism in theatre.

Chekhov, a physician by profession, once remarked, "Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my mistress." Despite renouncing theatre after the initial reception of The Seagull in 1896, the play was revived to acclaim in 1898 by Konstantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre, which also produced Uncle Vanya and premiered his last two plays, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard. These works challenge both acting ensembles and audiences by offering a "theatre of mood" and a "submerged life in the text."

Initially writing stories to earn money, Chekhov's artistic ambition led to formal innovations that influenced the modern short story's evolution. He believed in posing questions rather than providing answers, a philosophy evident in his complex narratives.