Ward No. 6 Summarize Dr. Rabin's Philosophy About Suffering

This passage from Chekov’s Ward NO. 6 summarizes Doctor Rabin’s philosophy about suffering in the world. Doctor Rabin sees no use in trying to help or cure people, as death and suffering are inevitable parts of life. Suffering is just another part of life, which cannot be avoided and should not be interfered with according to his philosophy of “scorning suffering.” According to Doctor Rabin, people should more concerned about cultivating themselves intellectually instead of focusing on their suffering and unsuccessfully trying to end it. This passage is important for the whole story because it presents how Doctor Rabin’s passiveness about suffering effects his duties as the head physician and leads the reader and Gromov to question the lack of adversity in Doctor Rabin’s life, which may have influenced his doctrine. This passage plays an even more important role for understanding the transformation of
Doctor Rabin’s character at the end of the story, when his inaction in the hospital leads him to suffer, just like his patients. Doctor Rabin never tries to end the corruption in his hospital, because he sees no use in providing better medical services for his suffering patients, whose eventual death is inevitable. As head physician of his hospital, Doctor Rabin notices many signs of corruption and mistreatment of patients, which may have been avoided if he had taken the necessary preventative actions.
Doctor Rabin never seems to confront this corruption and turns a blind eye to those who commit these acts. Perhaps, it is his own philosophy that keeps him from trying to transform his hospital into a better place, as he sees existence of the hospital as unnecessary. Ensuring better medical service for his patients is only the means of ending suffering in his doctrine. This is not the concern of Doctor Rabin, because people will eventually die and they should focus on cultivating themselves, rather then temporarily ending their suffering. He tells Gromov that, even behind the bars of the mental institution, one can cultivate themselves intellectually. According to Rabin: “there’s no difference between this ward and warm, cozy study.” Gromov’s response mocks Doctor Rabin’s reasoning as being influenced by the lack of suffering in his life, which may have made him
insensitive. It seems rather easy for Doctor Robin to judge suffering of others as natural and exaggerated, while he has not yet suffered. According to the story, comes from a well to do family, his father also a doctor, and he lives a pleasant life as a head physician. He has a maid, works at his leisure, and has a lot of spare time to “cultivate” himself. His life cannot be compared to Gromov’s life of hardships, which makes this passage rather important, as it is a complete contrast of Gromov’s idea suffering. Not until Doctor Rabin is retired and sent into Ward NO. 6 that he understands what suffering really means for the individual. During this passage, he has not faced adversity that will later change his philosophy, so it is important to understand his ideas before they are corrupted by physical and emotional suffering. This passage shows that it is easy for Doctor Rabin to judge suffering and turn a blind eye to the actions that cause suffering in his hospital, until he himself gets tortured by the system he was not fixing.