In “'Misery: “To whom shall I tell my sorrow?”', Anton Chekhov tells the story of Iona Potapov, a sleigh in nineteenth-century Russia. The character has lost his son; to an untimely death and is having difficulty dealing with his loss. He is an elderly nineteenth-century taxi driver and his desire is to find someone with whom he can share his terrible pain, sharing only the lives of his children. Chekhov portrays the main character as lonely, dazed, confused, and as a man who needs someone to confide in; that all human beings want and need during such difficulties. In the midst of those times in Russia, Iona can't find anyone willing to listen to him talk about his son; until he confides in the one thing that's been with him the whole time. The author portrays Iona as alienated and desperate for attention, so much so that it becomes obvious that he is stating that every person needs someone to help them ease their pain when they suffer a loss. The story is set in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1860, after the Great Reform Period; where they freed serf peasants from virtual slavery (Heller 2 ). Iona is a peasant woman who emigrated with her son Kuzma to St. Petersburg to find work. Once he was among the richest farmers; who they could turn to for support and share their stress and anguish; but due to the Great Reforms he fell from the social ladder, surrounding himself with no help or social support. He has already lost his wife to death and his daughter has returned to her old country; his son was the only thing that gave him closure. The story is not about their relationship, but the author makes it clear that his son meant a lot to him. As the story begins, it's obvious that Iona is in some sort of distressed state as she sits outside on the street. .....middle of paper ......are, starts chatting with her, while she eats. He confides his anguish and tragedies to his mare. She is the only thing that is close to him. It's also the only thing that connects him to his son; his son followed him to St. Petersburg to become a sleigh driver. He was young and ready to become what he had seen his father do growing up. So, as she recounts her grief over the death of her son and other tragedies, the mare simply nods and eats from the palm of Iona's hand. He seems to have formed a bond with his horse because he continues to talk to the mare; without being able to respond and comment on his tragedies. This goes to show that sometimes people might need something as simple as a sleigh driver wanting a passenger to listen, just to get through the day; or to overcome the difficulties they are going through at that moment.