The Lady With The Dog Chekov

Chekhov starts to build on Dmitri’s character when he writes, “Gurov told himself that, when you came to think of it, everything in the world is beautiful really, everything but our own thoughts and actions, when we lose sight of the higher aims of life, and our dignity as human beings” He starts to think of life differently. He still is justifying his affair but starts to look at life in a new light. Chekhov gives the impression that this is the first affair that has been carried on longer than a one night stand. At this point, Dmitri does not intend to carry out the affair, but he is enjoying what is going

meek and submissive, and would give her father her last copeck even if he comes to her brutally drunk. Raskolnikov is at once attracted to and repulsed by this personality. Svidrigailov is the cold

Although love is about sacrifice for the significant other, it can also a very selfish emotion. During the story the when Gurov and Anna are in their affair she starts to complain and he, “could not help feeling bored as he listened to her...she buried her face on his chest and clung close to him,” (Chekhov 269), showing that he is not willing to listen to her when

Factors that could have affected that decision could be the impossibility of getting a divorce, Anna has a child that she doesn’t want to leave, or possibly wanting to wait and see how the relationship goes. They would need a solution for the distance issue, so it is possible to have Gurov move to S. with his family. Then, they could create some story to tell their families that would result in them meeting at the hotel Gurov first stayed in when he came to find Anna. This way they would be able to see each other more often and still keep their families in the

We are first introduced to Anna, a thin woman with short dark hair, in her dialogue with her father where it quickly becomes apparent that they already have a difference in opinion on love, marriage and what she should wear on a yacht. “that guy will never marry you my darling daughter” to which Anna replies “so far, I’ve been the one who doesn’t want to marry him” “it’s the same difference” her father disagrees (Antonioni. 3:45 – 3:55). Although this is a short glimpse into Anna’s character we can see that she resists these social standards and almost seems annoyed by them. Anna is seemingly the most self- aware of the characters but seems to be stuck in a position where she is unsure of how everyone else will react to her true

In Joyce Carol Oates’ short story “The Lady with the Pet Dog,” Oates takes Anton Chekhov's characters and transports them to the 1970s, deciding to retell their story through the lens of the modernized female protagonist, Anna. While this story is obviously different from its original source of inspiration, in this paper I’ve chosen to focus on the similarities that have slight twists in Oates’ retelling. I will firstly look at the structure of the two tales.

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.

In the story “The Lady with the Dog” I believe that the lead character Dmitri develops into a completely different character; in the beginning Dmitri doesn’t seem to have a care in the world, sure he has a wife and children, but if he see’s someone attractive his ‘public life’ doesn’t stop him from having an affair with this new found mistress in his ‘secret life’. Dmitri’s endless amount of mistresses defines how much of a player Dmitri is, to elaborate, who knows the number of affairs he has had before Anna and it doesn’t help that he thinks of women as “the lower race” (252). Even though women are of the lower race Dmitri keeps finding himself needing a woman probably due to the fact that his wife will never be enough for him. His mindset

It is here that Chekhov first has Dmitri note that, “a new person had appeared on the sea-front”; Anna Sergeyevna. By beginning the story with this observation, Chekhov is already suggesting to the reader, through his uses of setting, that this pair will be involved in an affair. This is also deceptive though, as the reader is induced into the line of thought that their relationship will be casual when, in reality, it becomes apparent that it is the opposite which is the case.

From the feminist criticism, everything seems somehow related to everything else. Feminism is involved in any given field cannot be cordoned off. Marxism, however, ignored the position of women which is strange as its key concepts are the “struggle between social classes and the blinding effects of ideology”, it might have been employed to analyze the social situation of women. Feminism saw clearly that the widespread of negative stereotyping of women in literature and film constituted a formidable obstacle on the road of true equality causing the men to act exploitative, denigrating and repressive in their relations with women. The Feminist criticism displays that independent women are either a “seductress or dissatisfied shrew”. They either use their sexuality or they are bad tempered and aggressively assertive which doesn’t give a very positive view. Dependent women are viewed as the “cute but helpless or self-sacrificing”. They lose something in order to help someone else which received appraisal. The “Great Gatsby” is an example of negative stereotyping, what the Feminism fights against. The “Great Gatsby” is about the adventures of Nick Carraway in East/West Egg and his perceptions about the people there, especially the women (Daisy, Jordan and Myrtle). The women represent the negative stereotyping of women; Daisy the “cute but helpless” and Myrtle the “Unworldly, self-sacrificing angel” representing the typical stereotyped woman and Jordan the “Dissatisfied shrew”

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

Based on how she is asked Mr. Kapasi for advice in the short story. When she said “I was hoping you could help me feel better.” (Lahiri 461) Anna on the other hand regrets that she married before she was ready and not thinking hard on marriage base on what she said “I was twenty when I was married to him. I have tormented by curiosity; I wanted something better.”

At Karenin’s return, Anna has given birth to a baby girl and Vronsky is there accompanying her. Anna wants Karenin to forgive her and blames the baby for the affair she had been having with Vronsky. Karenin asks Vronsky to leave and forgives Anna, attempting to keep the family together. Meanwhile, Vronsky like a bird without a nest, sad and finding no meaning in life tried to commit suicide but failed. Anna knew the one she loved was Vronsky and not her husband, and informed her brother of it. Oblonsky tried to convince Karenin to divorce Anna in order for her to start a life with Vronsky, but Karenin knew that this was bad for the both of them and ended up not getting divorced. Anna ended up going to Paris with Vronsky, leaving her son with

The feminist literary criticism approach tends to focus on how male authors represent women in their pieces. For male authors tend to show over masculinity and male dominance, “The Hitchhiking Game” by Milan Kundera exhibited how the young man’s treatment to the woman throughout this piece was a prime example of male dominance and misogyny. With the woman having a very passive role, with her being described as shy and after dating a year, she still acts shy in front of the young man. In terms, “socialization is how a woman should act in society, normally shown through how the woman acts in the piece,”(Mohammed Raiyah, 2012). The woman is displaying how women should show a level of modesty. When the woman’s role conflicting with the young man’s view of her, his opinion her lessened, even though she is trying to portray herself as a woman the young man would find most attractive. Also, still portraying herself as the submissive counterpart. “The Hitchhiking Game” unnamed couple’s role-playing game revealed how close they actually are and their true expectations for their relationship.

Grey is ultimately a sexual predator that studies Anna to identify her weak spots and manipulate them to his advantage; the sort of person you would expect to see a sane women run from. James portrayal of Anna is the furthest thing away from the sort of grown woman you would expect to see in the 21st century. We are taught to be independent, strong and confident woman that can hold ourselves high above the world without needing a man to control or own us. This is the 21st century, woman can have high paying jobs and aren’t obliged to cook and clean all day anymore just so that they can please their husbands. Yet with this movie, Grey has shifted the female race back into the 1900’s again, where woman were controlled and genuinely listened to every command a man gave them without question. You would think that after so much development and success in the liberation of the human race from male control during the 1900’s that James would at least honour that we are so much stronger than people such as Christian Grey, and have the dignity and grace to stand up for