Lady With The Dog Chekhov Essay

He does not feel anything toward women and in fact, refers to them as “the lower race” (1) and that “their beauty aroused hatred in him and the lace on their linen reminded him of scales” (118). As the story ends, the readers learn about Gurov’s consciousness and that his feelings towards women have changed. The motive for his alteration begins with Gurov’s love for Anna, and later these feelings makes him “sleepless and restless” because of continuous thinking and dreaming about Anna.

This story’s general setting takes place in nineteenth century Russia. But, there are also many particular settings throughout this narrative that largely affect the characters and create many problems the narrator and Anna Sergeyevna have to face. In the beginning of the story Gurov and Anna find themselves taking vacations in the same city to get away from their other lives. But, when they have to part they realize how much they actually mean to each other. This can be seen in the following excerpt when Gurov realizes that Anna has not left his mind ever since they went home, “He would pace a long time about in his room, remembering it all and smiling; then his memories passed into dreams, and in his fancy the past was mingled with what was to come. Anna Sergeyevna did not visit him in his dreams, but followed him about everywhere like a shadow” (Chekhov 172). Therefore, the conflict that the setting creates is the distance between Gurov and

Anton Chekhov in “the Lady with the Dog,” brilliantly displays the quest of one man to find happiness. Anton Chekhov’s short story, The Lady with the Little Dog, is the simple story of a philandering married man who finally falls in love with an unhappily married woman with whom he has an affair.  Though it is a remarkably simple plot, the story is compelling to read because Chekhov’s use of two effective plot devices with diction and symbolism.

In Anton Chekhov’s short story, The Lady with the pet Dog, Dmitry Dmitrich Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna are bound together, not by love, but by their psychological needs. Both need to believe in a phenomenon deeper and more meaningful than each of their despised lives and for this reason; they think the intimacy between them, fueled by desperation, is love. . In reality, the relationship between Gurov and Anna is characterized by lies, boredom with reality, and a desire for self-satisfaction. Physiologically, neither Gurov nor Anna posses the qualities needed to genuinely love another person. In order to do so, one must love themselves, an attribute neither one

“The Lady with the Dog” is eloquently written in realism techniques to instigate the dilemma of contrast between this “sweet delirium” and “ uninteresting, uneventful days” (900, 902). Realism philosophically “relies on accurate, detailed descriptions of everyday actions… within the world and it does not focus on idealistic values“ such as passion and adventure (Adams). “Representative of middle-class lifestyle,” Gurov is guided by Chekhov’s words to “show the audience the lives of ordinary [and perhaps unsatisfied] people” (Adams). Chekhov meticulously writes in length about the grueling small-talk of Gurov and Anna while meeting the first time:

The stories of Anton Chekhov mark a focal moment in European fiction. This is the point where 19th realist caucus of the short stories started their transformation into modern form. As such, his work straddles two traditions. The first is that of the anti-romantic realism which has a sharp observation of external social detail. It has human behavior conveyed within tight plot. The second is the modern psychological realism in which the action in typically internal and expressed in associative narrative that is built on epiphanic moments. In consideration of the two sides, Chekhov developed powerful personal styles that presage modernism without losing traditional frills of the form. This essay will discuss the Chekhov's portrayal of women.

The two stories of “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver and “The Lady with the Dog” by Anton Chekhov focus equally on the grand theme of change. In “Cathedral”, the story concentrates on the main character, referred to only as the narrator. He is portrayed as a close minded and unaccepting man, but as the story goes on we see a drastic change in his thoughts and actions. The story is told in first person point of view, giving readers a first-hand account of how and why the narrator changes as the story progresses. In addition, “The Lady with the Dog” focuses on the change of the main character as well. Dmitri Gurov is described as an unfaithful husband, bored with his life and just looking for change. We see this change take place with a third person (central consciousness) point of view, giving us access to all of the main characters thoughts.

After becoming acquainted, Anna and Gurov “walked and talked of the strange light on the sea: the water was a soft, warm, lilac color and there was a golden band of moonlight upon it” (Chekov 507). Later, when he is alone in his hotel room, Gurov reflects on her “slim, delicate throat, her lovely gray eyes” (Chekov 507) and his thoughts reveal that he has determined this young, vulnerable woman to be an ideal candidate for another one of his many affairs that he just cannot help becoming involved in. And as the story unfolds, the color gray reveals itself as an integral component in the sort of comfortable, yet, unresolved feeling that the relationship between Gurov and Anna emanates.

As the story unfolds, Gurov at first changes subtly. First of all he meets Mrs. Anna Sergeyevna. His attitude at first is still the same, he finds her as another victim of his little game that he plays. He sits and watches, searching his mind for a ways to get her attention like he does for every woman. He still looks at women in the same sort of fashion. Anna and Gurov start spending time with each other more and more, he still plays his game. Each time that he meets her and tries to coax her into have an ice or syrup, yet he still looks at her as “pathetic.” After their first kiss he begins to realize that there is something different about this girl. Unlike the usual women he messes around with, she feels guilty about engaging in this affair with him. Anna does not give him the satisfaction of playing the game along with him. As he spends more time with Anna he becomes fond of her presence. He starts learning more about her, when she talks him listens intently instead of getting bored and rolling his eyes. When Anna gets a letter from her husband asking for her to come home, Gurov acts like it isn’t a big deal, he still believes he is playing his game. At first he forces himself to believe he is ok, but after they are apart for a while he realizes that Anna isn’t leaving him. She follows him everywhere, not just in his dreams. He feels something that he has never felt before, he

However, in Oates’ version, she utilizes the female character, Anna, to develop the story. In Chekhov’s story, the reader is more aware of the masculinity present in the story. Gurov is manipulative of women, and he uses them as a device to remove himself from his marriage. In the story, he speaks of women by saying, “It seemed to him that he had been sufficiently tutored by bitter experience to call them what he pleased…” (Chekhov 2014). He believes that all women are the same and are the inferior race compared to men. Anna’s actions in the Oates’ story contrast greatly compared to Gurov’s. Anna displays the feminine side of the relationship between the couple. Anna is not accustomed to being involved in several affairs, which can be seen through the emotional toll that it takes on her. Following the stereotypical female

Popular descriptions of Alexei Karenin label him as a cold and passionless government official who doesn’t care about his wife or family. Indeed, he is viewed as the awful husband who is holding Anna hostage in a loveless marriage. However, this is a highly exaggerated description, if not completely false, analysis of Karenin. Upon careful analysis of Karenin’s character and his actions, it is clear that he is not the person Anna makes him out to be. In fact, with thorough examination of the passage on pages 384 and 385 of Anna Karenina, it is clear that Alexei Karenin can be considered the hidden tragic hero of the novel.

Soon after Vanya's death, Volodya moves in and the two begin a close relationship. Yet, one must remember Vanya's warning to Olga about Volodya's womanizing habits. Their relationship does not last long as Vanya suggests, Volodya leaves with his regiment and Vanya warns Olga before he passes away, but she does not listen. Gurov in "The Lady with the Little Dog" also treats women poorly, even when he feels he is in love. As Anna cries in her hotel room to Gurov about their love and their sins, Gurov simply unhurriedly slices a watermelon sitting on a table, paying little attention to Anna's concerns, showing his true self. If Anna knows as much as the reader does about Gurov, she may have expected him to react the way he does.

Part I is really the start of it all, where we discover Dmitri Gurav’s honest opinion of women, and it is not a good one. He thinks all women are pretty dumb, and even cheats on his own wife all the time. He talks about her in a degrading way often. “She read a great deal, used phonetic spelling, called him husband, not Dmitri, but Dimitri, and he secretly considered her unintelligent, narrow, inelegant, was afraid of her, and did not like to be home” (Chekhov 291)

Gurov has found a woman he can love for the rest of his life, and he hates the fact that she is not with him. She has left him just as the way he would leave the women he has had affairs with. He feels that she is the only woman to make him happy in the world. His own past has doomed him; He knows he can never be with Anna but trys to make a effort to see her again in S--. He arrives at her home to see that she is enclosed by a long fence, slammed in with nails, a prison he imagines it to be. Desperately seeking to find her he attends a theater at night. He sees her there with her tall husband, wearing a uniform. While her husband is gone, Gurov approaches her to speak with him, as she leaves the auditorium to avoid him. Gurov catches up to her and they speak for a short while and Anna promises to him that she will come to Moscow to visit him.

In 19th century Russian literature there was often a gender inequality depicted between the male and female characters. Women were expected to get married, start a family, and obey their husbands. Women often made sacrifices and married men they weren’t fond of in order to support their families. Anton Chekhov’s writing questions these gender relationships. The female characters have a strong presence within Chekhov’s works, and they transcend typical gender roles.