Word: worthlessness
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...THAT WORTHLESS FELLOW PLATONOV- Anton Chekhov; translated by John Gournos-Button...
Anton Chekhov, prince of Russian short-story writers, prince of Russian playwrights, wrote one play that has waited until now to be translated into English. Without the lucid depths, the sparkling shallows, of his masterpiece The Cherry Orchard, That Worthless Fellow Platonov obviously wells up from the same source. No one but a Russian, no Russian but warmhearted, skeptical Anton Chekhov, could have written...
Everyone gets at least slightly drunk. Platonov's wife goes home early. That worthless fellow is in great form: he has drunk a good deal, and it all goes to his heart. He makes love to his hostess, to the newly married Sofya, goes a little too far with Grekova, whom he humiliates by kissing soundly and then throwing on a table. When he gets home in the small hours, his adoring wife is waiting up for him, but he will not go to bed; he sits outside and indulges in remorse for his disgraceful conduct. Anna Petrovna comes...
...Finally, when Platonov's talented irresolution has landed everybody in a pretty pickle, and he is willing to do anything possible to make amends, Anna Petrovna's good sense seems about to straighten out the tangle; but Sofya, still madly in love with the worthless fellow, rushes in and shoots him. In spite of this violent finale, the play may be considered a comedy...
...frequently a tendency for the teacher, deprived of the stimulus that comes from suggestion and helpful criticism, not to show the expected professional growth. . . . A blanket statement such as is usually made-'He is a good teacher' or 'He is a poor teacher'-is worthless as a chart for improvement. . . . As contrasted with the casual appraisals now made, a respectable survey of a man's effectiveness as a teacher should be: 1) systematic; 2) impartial; 3) made from various angles, . . . 4) of known reliability, . . . 5) capable of showing the virtues and weaknesses...