Historical Criticism of Anton Chekhov’s “The Lady with the Dog”

Russian short story writer and playwright Anton Chekhovs The wench with the get behind (1899) is a brilliant exposition of how societys laws and institutions hinder an individuals quest for freedom and happiness (RadEssays, n. pag.). According to the poet and critic Dana Gioia, the personal manner in which the short story was written was consistent with the emerging trends in nineteenth-century short story theme (Gioia, n. pag.).On champion hand, it was based on the anti-Romantic realism of Maupassant with its sharp observation of external social detail and human beings behavior conveyed within a tightly drawn plot (Gioia, n. pag.). On the other, it also mirrored the unexampled psychological realism of primordial Joyce in which the action is mostly internal and expressed in an associative narrative built on epiphanic moments (Gioia, n. pag.). Hence, Gioia considered The Lady with the give chase, along with his later works, as a turning imply in European literature (Gioia, n. pag.).The short storys main character, Dmitri Dmitrich Gurov, was a man whose life-time was trapped early by society and the institution of man and married woman (RadEssays, n. pag.). During the 1900s, Russian society, just wish all other societies, believed that marriage is a sacred institution (BookStove, n. n. pag.). To go against this norm (by committing criminal conversation) meant facing social condemnation and ostracism (BookStove, n. pag.). However, Russias f number classes only paid lip service to this rule marriage for them was much of a convennient way to form and secure fortunes and bloodlines (BookStove, n. pag.). Therefore, while they paraded themselves in public as respectable and happily-married people, they secretly engaged in illicit personal matters to temporarily escape the harsh reality of being trapped in a loveless marriage.Gurov was no exception. Although his real interest lay in the arts (he graduated with a degree in this field), he was forced t o take up a dignified job in a potentiometert (Chekhov, n. pag.). To make matters worse, his parents had set an arranged marriage for him with a woman he described as unintelligent, contract (and) inelegant (Chekhov, n. pag.) simply put, a woman he did non love. As a result, Gurov was miserable, bored and and not himselfcold and uncommunicative (in the society of men) (Chekhov, n. pag.).But feminist critcs argued that the real reason for the scorn he felt towards his wife was that she was an outspoken woman who considers herself an intellectual (Answers, n. pag.) Gurov was intimadated with assertive women and preferred a woman whom he could control (Answers, n. pag.).Just like many other Russian upper-class men of his time, Gurov found solace in extramarital occasions (BookStove, n. pag.). For him, these liasons were more than just outlets for lust they were manifestations of his protest against the society which condemned him to a pitiable existence (BookStove, n. pag.). Al though Gurov openly denominate women as the lower race (Chekhov, n. pag.), he could not get on for 2 days in concert without them (Chekhov, n. pag.). His treatment of and philosophy towards women reflected the hypocrisy of Russian society with regard to the issues of love, marriage and infidelity (BookStove, n. pag.).Gurov came across an affiliate in his latest mistress, Anna Sergeyevna. Just like him, Sergeyevna was also a pris acer of her marriage she got married young person (20 years old), but soon regretted having done so (ECheat, n. pag.). She no longer loved her husband, regarding him as a flunkey (ECheat, n. pag.). In sharp contrast to Gurovs wife, Sergeyevna was soft and childlike, weepy and vulnerable, even a molybdenum pathetic (Answers, n. pag.) the ideal Russian woman of the 1900s (Answers, n. pag.). Eager to live a single and uncommitted life once again, she feigned illness and went to Yalta, a well-known health resort in Russia (Answers, n. pag.).Free from the unhappy shoes of their respective families, Gurov and Sergeyevna carried out an illicit affair in Yalta (Answers, n. pag.). Although Sergeyevna initially felt guilty after Gurov kissed her for the beginning time, she was already in love with him by the time she returned to S (ECheat, n. pag.). Chekhov used symbolisms to decribe the intensity of their passion for one another. The moon, a timeless symbol of fertility, symbolized the birth of Gurov and Sergeyevnas affair (Openpapers, n. pag.). Sergeyevnas pet Pomeranian, meanwhile, represented the dependency, loyalty and amusement that they were facial expression for in their respective spouses, but found in one another (Paperstarter, n. pag.).When Gurov and Sergeyevna resumed their normal lives, it was then that they realized how much they missed and loved each other (ECheat, n. pag.). After meeting again in a theater, they decided to continue their clandestine affair. They secretly met in Moscow (Gurovs hometown) once in two or thr ee months (Chekhov, n. pag.).But Gurov and Sergeyevna eventually got tired of hiding like theives just to maintain their relationship. When they had their usual get together at Sergeyevnas room at the Slaviansky Bazaar hotel, they discussed how to avoid the necessity for secrecy, for deception, for living in several(predicate) towns and not seeing each other for long at a time (Chekhov, n. pag.). But they were unavailing to come up with a clear solution (ECheat, n. pag.).Indeed, Gurov and Sergeyevnas illicit liaison was a unsuccessful situation. True, they had found real love in each other. But in a society that abhors relationships much(prenominal) as theirs, they were left with three options run away, tell their respective spouses the truth or end the affair then and in that respect (ECheat, n. pag.). Divorce was out of the question in 1900s Russia, it was a social taboo, along with adultery (Answers, n. pag.). Divorced people were met with the same social denunciation and isolation bestowed on adulterers and adultresses (Answers, n. pag.). The open-ended conclusion added more credibility to the short storys theme the choice between being true to ones self or adhering to what society believes to be correct.Chekhovs other writings also echoed the fury between an individual and society. In the short story Betrothed (1903), the protagonist, Nadya, was engaged to Andrey Andreyich, a man whom she didnt love (Chekhov, n. pag.). She had no other choice Russian women during the 1900s were not allowed to study or to work distant the home. Hence, marriage appeared to be Nadyas only ticket to economic advancement (Eshbaugh, 3).But her perspective changed when Aleksander Timofeyich (fondly called Sasha) arrived from Moscow to confabulate her family. Upon learning of Nadyas engagement to Andreyich, Sasha warned her about the lifeless existence that is the result of an arranged marriage (Eshbaugh, 3). notwithstanding enlightened and holy people are interestin g, its only they who are wanted. The more of such people there are, the sooner the Kingdom of God will come on earth Dear Nadya, darling girl, go away Show them all that you are sick of this stagnant, grey, sinful life. Prove it to yourself at least (Chekhov, n. pag.) disrespect Nadyas initial misgivings, she heeded Sashas words. With his help, she fled to St. Petersburg, where she attended university (Eshbaugh, 3). Nadya eventually realized that she made the right decision in relying on herself instead of on marriage to achieve happiness (Eshbaugh, 3). Even her family ultimately supported her choice their letters to her were resigned and kindly, (as if) everything seemed to have been forgiven and forgotten (Chekhov, n. pag.).Betrothed was the last published work of Chekhov and thus his dying words to his literary audience (Eshbaugh, 3). In a way, this explains its optimistic ending. If in The Lady with the Dog, Chekhov exposed the futility of societys norms of marriage for monetar y gains (and) living an idle life without purpose and without love (Eshbaugh, 3), in Betrothed, he imparted that if man can create society and the status quo, he can also change them.Works CitedChekhov, Anton. The Betrothed. 2008. Ibiblio.org. 11 swear out 2008 . Chekhov, Anton. The Lady with the Dog. 2008. Online-Literature. 11 frame 2008 . Eshbaugh, Ruth. Literary Analysis of The Lady with the Dog by Anton Chekhov. 21 June 2007. AssociatedContent. 11 troop 2008 . Gioia, Dana. Anton Chekhovs The Lady with the Pet Dog. 1998. Dana Gioia Online. 11 March 2008 . Anton Chekhov, The Lady with the Dog. 2008. RadEssays.com. 11 March 2008 . A Review of Lady with a Pet Dog by Anton Chekhov. 4 July 2005. ECheat. 11 March 2008 . The Lady with the Dog. 11 July 2007. BookStove. 11 March 2008 .The Lady with the Dog (Anton Chekhov). 2007. PaperStarter. 11 March 2008 . The Lady with the Dog by Chekhov. 2008. Openpapers. 11 March 2008 . The Lady with the Pet Dog (Criticism). 2008. Answers.com. 11 March 2008 .