It’s a broad generalisation, and you also have to remember Chekhov was a playwright. It makes a lot more sense if you think about the framework of a stage play. If there is a gun prop on the set, Chekhov’s Gun states that it should be used in the play in some manner.
In general, it is a different way of stating the adage “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” ^(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)^ It’s a narrative principle of succinctness: every element of the narrative should be essential to the whole.
Also, the whole thing came from letters Chekhov wrote giving advice to young playwrights. It was never meant to be an unbreakable rule governing all of narrative fiction.
It’s a broad generalisation, and you also have to remember Chekhov was a playwright. It makes a lot more sense if you think about the framework of a stage play. If there is a gun prop on the set, Chekhov’s Gun states that it should be used in the play in some manner.
In general, it is a different way of stating the adage “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” ^(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)^ It’s a narrative principle of succinctness: every element of the narrative should be essential to the whole.
Also, the whole thing came from letters Chekhov wrote giving advice to young playwrights. It was never meant to be an unbreakable rule governing all of narrative fiction.