Most of the short stories have profound meaning in their analysis. Indeed, Anton Chekhov, the author of âThe lady with the little dogâ, admitted that conciseness is a literary sister of talent. This fact might explain the short size of most of his works and the deep symbolization that he provides in the story. While some critics admit that âthe lady with the little dogâ illustrates typical marriage issues such as betrayal, the author could have tried to represent the life dilemmas of unrealized possibilities and their impact on personal well-being.
On the one hand, some individuals consider that Chekhovâs main idea was to describe the typical man who is cheating on his wife. Dmitri Gurov, the main character of the story, meets the woman with a little white spitz who also spends her vacation in one of the Crimean cities, Yalta. Furthermore, he discovers that Anna Sergeyevna has the same issue: an unhappy marriage partner (Americanliterature.com). As a result, their joint problem incites them to start a secret love affair until the woman does not return home. Throughout the whole story, the author describes intimate details of their passion, which is usually accompanied by meaningless meditations on the subject of marriage. Malcolmâs magazine article named âThe Kernel of Truthâ supports the opinion that the explicit and intimate charactersâ life description is the most interesting and significant part of the story (Malcolm). Since the main subject is focused on Gurovâs love affair, the main idea is represented by illustrating unhappy marriage problems and their possible solutions.
On the other hand, marriage issues do not represent the moral of the story. Chekhov involved the realization of possibility in Gurovâs character. More specifically, with the help of a mirror, he understood that his whole life had already passed without any sense, and he could not recall any valuable moment throughout his existence. The author states, âand it seemed to them that they were within an inch of arriving at a decision and that then a new, beautiful life would begin. And they both realized that the end was still far, far away and that the hardest, the most complicated part was only beginningâ (Chekhov 15). The main character is completely lost, but he finds the power to go further, already with a profound understanding of his priorities. As a result, the main idea of the story was not only to represent the intimate details of joint betrayal but also the realization of the absence of life goals, which force individuals to ponder their life values and objectives.
In conclusion, Chekhov succeeded in demonstrating the possible explanation of human-life sense through the main characterâs marriage issues despite the criticsâ opinion of the inverse interpretation of the storyâs moral. While the author effectively and in detail illustrated the main characterâs marriage struggles, he represented a person with no sense of lifespan. However, luckily, Dmitri Gurov realizes his reason for existence at the end of the story, and the unofficial couple understands that it is only the start of their new but more reasonable life.
Most feminism-focused books describe the females’ struggle with life challenges. At the same time, âThe yellow wallpaperâ represents an illustrative example of how a dissocialized person might experience consistent degradation supported by other factors just due to social biases and prejudices. While the author illustrated the consequence of constant confinement as the most dangerous issue for human beings, the process of becoming paranoid due to personal freedom restrictions has a more significant influence on an individual’s well-being.
From the feminist’s perspective, the story represents the male’s tyranny in addition to the mental health problems that the main hero experiences. While Narrator has different self-consideration problems due to forced confinement, husband John demonstrates absolute indifference to his wife’s life problems. The author of the newspaper article concerning feminist trend analysis “House of Horror: The Poisonous Power of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s âThe Yellow Wallpaper” agrees with the statement that women’s sentiments were ignored. And she experienced significant life struggles (Hughes). Moreover, the author states that the story directly links # MeToo’s contemporary trend for female rights (Hughes). However, the most significant problem was the process of the female’s personality degradation.
The detailed description of the Narrator’s sentiments considerably influences the story’s perception. The author states, “I think that woman gets out in the daytime! And I’ll tell you why â privately â I’ve seen her! I can see her out of every one of my windows! It is the same woman, I know, for she is always creeping, and most women do not creep by daylight” (Gilman 17). As a result, the consequences of the story do not fully reflect on the main Narrator’s issue, but the process of her inner personality deterioration fully represents the importance of emphasizing feminism’s essential problems.
Finally, even though the critics effectively argue that âThe yellow wallpaperâ is a consequentialism-based representation of struggling women, the author included a more profound meaning by describing and emphasizing the process of personal internal degradation. From the feminist’s standpoint, the narrative shows the male’s oppression in addition to the mental health difficulties that the main hero suffers. However, the precise portrayal of the Narrator’s thoughts exerts a great effect on the story’s perception.
Works Cited
Americanliterature.com. âThe Lady with the Little Dog.â Americanliterature.Com, 2021, Web.
Chekhov, Anton. The Lady with the Dog. International Alliance Pro-Publishing, LLC, 2012.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. Van Duuren Media, 2017.
Hughes, Kathryn. âHouse of Horror: The Poisonous Power of Charlotte Perkins Gilmanâs âThe Yellow Wallpaper.ââ The Guardian, Web.
Malcolm, Janet. âThe Kernel of Truth.â The Guardian, Web.