Lady With The Dog

In the story “The Lady with the Dog” there is a comparison and contrast with both Anna and Dmitri. At the beginning of the story it is apparent how both characters personalities are different yet they have a similar love life, which is that they do not actually have real love for their loved ones. The difference is Dmitri actually acts out and cheats on his wife, the character of Dmitri in the story is portrayed as a player who uses women and sees them as the lower race. Anna on the other does not act out and chooses not to cheat on her husband because of the strict enforcement of the 20th century gender stereotypes. By the end of the story both characters actually become in love with another and become invested in each other. Throughout the …show more content…
Anna has a husband who she knows does not do right by her but because of how society was during the 20th century she remains a loyal housewife. Anna as well believes in the 20th century belief that women should not commit adultery and this is a driving force for how she thinks throughout the story. Anna meets Dmitri in the gardens in Yalta and at first sight Dmitri is attracted to her. Dmitri’s character in the beginning of the story is portrayed as a player who views women as food, which is apparent because the author goes on to say “Her expression, her gait, her dress and the way she did her hair told him that she was a lady, the she was married, that she was in Yalta for the first time and alone, and that she was dull there.” This is a perfect situation for Dmitri because he can now take advantage of a girl who is in Yalta for the first time and appears to be completely innocent. Anna and Dmitri’s character are total opposites at this point because Anna has come to Yalta to figure things out about life yet Dmitri hates women but comes to Yalta because he needs that attention from women due to his …show more content…
At this point in the story Anna and Dmitri are more alike than they ever were, both are living in secret and lying to their love ones. Author Anton Chekhov goes on to write “They forgave each other for what they were ashamed of in their past, they forgave everything in the present, and felt that this love of theirs had changed them both.” This is a strong indication of how Anna and Dmitri have grown together as characters and no longer have the same issues of what they were going through in the beginning of the story. Anna has forgave herself and no longer allows the 20th century stereotypes about gender control her life. On the other hand Dmitri has finally come to understanding of what love really is about and no longer treats women as the lower race. Both Anna and Dmitri seem to have fixed their internal issues through each