Introduction
Many people try to understand why The Lady with the Pet Dog is that unique, and the answer lies in the peculiarities of Chekhov’s writing style. Admittedly, he was one of the first artists to understand the strength of realism, as compared to the romantic, depiction of life. Chekhov is a wonderful writer who managed to articulate real-life problems and tragedies.
This work of his is a splendid opportunity to understand the protagonists in a reader’s own way due to the story’s ambiguous ending and because of the author’s unbiased writing style. So, this essay will unveil my vision of the short story as conveyed by Chekhov in his objective manner. The story contradicts established values of loyalty in marriage but gradually the narration makes a reader reconsider some opinions although taking into consideration the times the protagonists belonged to.
Uncompleted Plot
The Lady with the Pet Dog has a very intriguing plot that makes you long for more and more details until the end of the short story. However, this is when a reader encounters an unexpected ending – the author left it to the reader to add the culmination as if saying that the story is going to be neither tragic nor a happy ending. So, this is a story about adultery that is quite romantic and passionate in some way. The protagonists are Dmitri Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna. They meet in Moscow while vacationing without their mates. Although the story has a very indefinite ending, it seems that Chekhov’s story is pierced with untold opinions of the author about the situation – it reads as if he was just laying out facts.
Neither is Dmitri’s attitude towards women nor is it Anna’s relation with her husband that we hear about from the author’s own assessment. However, there definitely are controversial feelings over their affair, at first. The reason you do not understand your attitude towards their encounter is that it seems like this adultery does not have a really strong emotional attachment to it. In a word, Chekhov presents the short story at first like an encounter of two adults who regard an opportunity of this love affair as some kind of fun adventure and that is it? Thus, you ask yourself if it is worth it – is it fine to cheat on your second half just for the sake of avoiding boring evenings? Such an opinion is supported by the fact that Gurov was a man who regarded women as “the lower race” (Meyer 202). Therefore, what kind of affair is it to be expected from a man who has to be quite loyal in his marriage and did not respect women? However, the opinion that I came up with eventually was a true and passionate love of two hearts who could not and did not want to live without each other.
My Vision of Chekhov’s Writing
The end of the story makes it absolutely clear that the reader has to add the actual events that will unveil after Ann and Dmitri’s talk in the theatre. For that, please, let me introduce the times during which the story took place in order to make it clear how Chekhov’s objectivity influenced my reading. This short story, as has been already mentioned, is a complete and precise reflection of women’s lives in contemporary society. Thus, Anna confesses: “I wanted something better. There must be a different sort of life. I wanted to live! To live, to live! …” (Meyer 206). Anna represents a new type of woman who is not confined to household duties and their family lives but seeks something better. She does not yet know what is that she wants, but she already understands that she is inside of a shell. It is important to state that such shells were also created by men.
Nevertheless, new time gave new opportunities and Chekhov portrayed Anna who had new independence to be on vacation without her husband. Anna disposed of her independence of trying something new in her life, which turned out to be adultery. However, the negative notion rejected by society becomes a first mere opportunity to break her shell for Ann. In spite of their inclinations, Gurov and Anna found themselves deeply attached to each other. Chekhov believed that love influences greatly people’s lives and can lead to dramatic changes, whether these changes are negative or positive is of less importance. Thus, Chekhov does not suggest the way out for these accidental beloveds, he does not reveal the opportunity for Ann to become totally independent, but the author rather provides the reader with a shot of that transitional moment in history, when women were quite free but still under numerous burdens.
Admittedly, such ideas produce indelible impressions but the way these ideas are articulated is essential since many people were talking about the transition of the role of women but only Chekhov succeeded to draw people’s attention to such a profound issue within a few pages of his short story. Anna and Gurov were depicted as only a part of society which at that period was transforming into a world where women would not be in shells and men would not try to put them inside those shells. Chekhov managed to reveal that moment and the very last passage of the story summarizes that transition. The reader cannot but admit that the story of two lovers is a reflection of the transitional character of the period when the old epoch is substituted by the new one.
Conclusion
So, what I would add is a wonderful continuation of their romance having lots of kids and happily living ever after. However, it is not a fairy tale and Chekhov is known for his harsh and true-to-life stories. So, possibly the continuation would be some kind of a compromise of seeing each other rarely in Moscow or abandoning the thoughts of being together. Anna and Dmitri were standing on the edge of a new era though they did not enter one. Therefore, Chekhov gives a reader a wonderful opportunity to deliberate on any possible endings rather than presenting an outcome dramatically.
People are likely to envision unexpected results that are wrong in their nature just because it is always important to coordinate the story with the times they we written within. To me, Chekhov was the one who depicted a transition in society, and, at the same time, his work contributed to the transition in literature which also came closer to its new epoch, when people are not heroes struggling the opposing society, but real personalities living within their surroundings. This comprehensiveness of his works makes Chekhov a genius of a short story that is still followed by many writers.
Works Cited
Meyer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. New York: Martin’s, 2011. Print.