The Lady with the Dog - a Review by Kalai Selvi Arivalagan (red queen free ebook .txt) 📖

Anton Chekhov

 

"Reading Chekhov was just like the angels singing to me." Eudora Welty, 1977

 

Background: The life and times of Anton Chekhov

 

Anton Chekhov was a major Russian playwright. He was also considered as the master of the modern short story.   He is regarded as the outstanding representative of the late 19th century Russian realist school.

 

His stories explored life and exposed the secret intentions of his characters. In his stories we could not find complex plots or direct solutions.  Most of his short stories created an atmosphere that was haunting and they focused on the common traits of man that had little significance.   In his stories, Anton Chekhov used simple techniques without any complex literary elements.

 

The short stories written by Anton Chekhov were different from the stories written by other authors who lived during his period. The mid-nineteenth century authors wrote stories that stressed on the moral values.  But Anton Chekhov's characters wanted to live their lives according to the wish of their hearts. 

 

Structure of the short story (modern)

 

Anton Chekhov never said more than he needed and he showed even the smallest details in the lives of the people. He weaved humour with pathos.  His stories followed a specific technique called zero ending or anti-climactic conclusion.

 

In most of his short stories, the readers were left to guess what would happen next.  His stories also had surprise endings. 

 

Anton Chekhov exposed the major and minor weakness of his characters. As David Margarshack writes, “when reading his stories one gets the impression of holding life itself, like a fluttering bird, in one's cupped hands.”

 

Little action happens in Chekhov's stories but he focuses on developing the internal drama. In his short stories whatever that happens within a character is conveyed indirectly, by suggestion or by a significant detail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review of The Lady with the Dog

 

General overview of the short story – The Lady with the Dog

 

Analysis:

 

“The Lady with the Dog” is one of the best known stories written by Anton Chekhov. Once again in this story also, he never says more than he needs.  He conveys the emotional turmoil that happens within his characters and he was also able to convey the intensity of emotions.  

 

Themes:

 

Love, dissatisfaction, and isolation, are the prominent themes in the story “The Lady with the Dog”.

 

Love

 

Love is the main theme.  Love enters the lives of Gurov and Anna when they least expected it.  In a way it tried to change both of them, bringing about a transformation in their characters. Anna started to regret if she has stooped low in the eyes of Gurov.  Gurov always called women as “lower race” but he could not get on for two days together without women. Anna always felt a vacuum in her life and blamed herself for whatever happened.  Gurov married with three children was in love for the first time in his life when his hair had turned grey and looked older in the mirror.

 

Dissatisfaction

 

Dissatisfaction is the other theme in this short story.  The main characters Gurov and Anna constantly yearned for something better than the lives they led.

 

Her expression, her gait, her dress, and the way she did her hair told him that she was a lady, that she was married, that she was in Yalta for the first time and alone, and that she was dull there....(Section 1, para 7)

 

From these lines, the reader would understand how Anna led a dissatisfied life and felt her life to be meaningless.

 

Initially Anna's dissatisfaction seems to disappear with her secret relationship with Gurov.  Yet, she could not overcome the guilty feeling and did not want to justify her relationship with Gurov and be a sinner. 

 

On the other hand, though Gurov realized his responsibilities toward his family and children, he could not refuse the love he had for Anna. The moment when Gurov identified Anna at the theatre made him realize that she filled his life, she was his joy and his sorrow, and she was precious and important to him.

 

“He was under forty, but he had a daughter already twelve years old, and two sons at school.  He had been married young, when he was a student in his second year, and by now his wife seemed half as old again as he. (Section 1, para 4)

 

The unhappiness that filled their lives looked for a cure. This short story explores the possibilities if their love could help them come out of the dissatisfaction they had been facing in their family lives.   

 

Isolation

 

The story explores different kinds of isolation as it happens in the lives of Gurov and Anna.  First, the isolation that Gurov and Anna feel when they were together and away from the eyes of the world.  They love each other. Yet, they don't understand the individual perception of the other person and this makes them stand separate from one another.

 

“She was walking alone, always wearing the same beret, and always with the same white dog; no one knew who she was, and every one called her simply “the lady with the dog.” (Section 1, para 2)

 

The readers get introduced to Anna as a lonely walker who is very much separated from the Yalta crowd and no one there knows who she is or anything about her.

 

“He already felt a longing to go to restaurants, clubs, dinner-parties, anniversary celebrations, and he felt flattered at entertaining distinguished lawyers and artists, at playing cards with a professor at the doctors' club.” (Section 3, para 2)

 

These lines indirectly show how Gurov felt lonely and needed company after Anna left him after their short stay at Yalta.

 

“One would run away from a fence like that,” thought Gurov, looking from the fence to the windows of the house and back again.” (Section 3, para 16, 17)

 

Gurov could relate to the lonely life that Anna led and he could look at things from her perception.

 

Setting

 

The story happens at two locations – at Yalta and at Moscow. Yalta is a vacation spot and Moscow is a place where life is more organized.   There were numerous stories about immorality around the sea shore and Gurov wanted to have a romantic relationship with an unknown woman whose name he did not know. 

 

The author makes use of the romantic setting at Yalta to indirectly tell the readers about the mindset of Gurov and Anna who wanted to move away from their boring lives and enjoy lives as they wished to be.  Yalta is shown as a romantic place that vibrates with the constant screeching sound of the grasshoppers, the smell of the sea, the strange light that   moves on the sea water, the warm lilac color on the sea water, and the golden rays from the moon on the seashore. The romantic setting of Yalta also plays an important role in the development of intimate relationship between Gurov and Anna. Their evening walk, their drive to Oreanda, their watching sea through the morning mist helped them to enjoy whatever they missed in their lives.   When Anna leaves Yalta to meet her husband, Gurov starts to feel the place cold and isolated.  He wants to leave Yalta immediately and  assumes his life at Moscow with a heavy heart.

 

Anton Chekhov introduces a different setting at Moscow.  The life at Moscow was a boring routine and Gurov was haunted by the memories of his stay at Yalta. He wanted to share his memories but failed to get anyone.   

 

Point of View

 

The author has used third-person (omniscient) to narrate the story.  It is limited, for the reader can know about the thoughts of Anna through Gurov.  It gives the story the tone of detachment which suits Gurov's personality.  This story is told both by an omniscient narrator and the thoughts as shared by Gurov, the protagonist in this story.

 

Characters

 

Dmitri Gurov is the protagonist in this story.  Though he refers to women as the “lower race” he admits that he feels more comfortable with women than with the men. Gurov comes to Yalta in search of happiness outside his dull married life and also the boring life at Moscow. Anna also comes to Yalta seeking relief from her dull married life. They both get introduced to each other and a deep relationship develops between them. After Anna leaves him at the railway station, Gurov realizes his need for emotional support. As usual Gurov's life at Moscow turns out to be empty and unrewarding and he was constantly thinking about Anna and meeting her again.  

 

Anna is the romantic interest of Gurov, the protagonist. Though Anna has the driving force to break away from monotony and lead an active life, still she wants to follow the moral values as expected by the society.  She is constantly worried about the status she is pushed into after her relationship with Gurov. Though Gurov finds it boring to listen to her constant wail about degrading herself, he helps her to come out of it successfully.  He also helps her to realize that there is nothing wrong in leading a life that gives happiness and satisfaction.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Imprint

Publication Date: 04-22-2020

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
Anton Chekhov