Lady with the Dog by Anton Chekov and The Lady with the Pet Dog by Joyce Carol Oates are two very similar short stories about romance and infidelity. Both stories follow unhappy married individuals who happen to fall in love. The plot and resolution are similar but the perspective of the stories differ largely. Other differences include setting, characters, and the structure of the story.
In Chekhov’s short story Dimitri Gurov is a forty year old banker who is no longer faithful to his wife. He refers to her as “of limited intelligence, narrow-minded, and dowdy” He is somewhat a womanizer. Going as far to say that woman are “the inferior race”. While vacationing in Yalta he meets Anna, a young lady who is also unhappy in her marriage. …show more content…
She is married to an unnamed man. She meets a man introduced only as “the stranger” during her stay in Michigan. The tale starts off with Anna seeing a familiar face at the theater. We learn that this is the second encounter with the man, who is her lover. Since the start of the affair she is has been indecisive and confused and remains highly confused throughout the story. She is in constant battle with herself regarding her feelings towards her lover and her loyalty to her husband. The men remain nameless to symbolize the confusion of who she truly cares for and how she often blurs the two men in her mind. The confusing sequence of events is ended in a sequential order, which concludes with a clear minded Anna accepting her secret lover as “her truest lover, her …show more content…
Both authors show how affairs and cheating effect men and woman differently. Chekov’s story offers a very masculine way of looking at the situation without much regard for Anna’s thoughts and feelings. Having Gurov show no regret for any of his adulterous acts. He is even selfish with his love for Anna by going to her house and showing up at the theatre. While Oates provides much detail and insight into the mind of Anna. She is confused and tormented with guilt. “She shut her eyes and thought of that other man, as if betraying him would give her life a center”. She was tormented almost to the point of suicide. She would rush home and strike a razor across the inside of her arm, and free that pressure, that fever”. This reflects the social values and acceptance between men and women. It is suggested that cheating men are more acceptable and almost expected. While a cheating women are intolerable and inexcusable. A social double
In Chekhov’s short story Dimitri Gurov is a forty year old banker who is no longer faithful to his wife. He refers to her as “of limited intelligence, narrow-minded, and dowdy” He is somewhat a womanizer. Going as far to say that woman are “the inferior race”. While vacationing in Yalta he meets Anna, a young lady who is also unhappy in her marriage. …show more content…
She is married to an unnamed man. She meets a man introduced only as “the stranger” during her stay in Michigan. The tale starts off with Anna seeing a familiar face at the theater. We learn that this is the second encounter with the man, who is her lover. Since the start of the affair she is has been indecisive and confused and remains highly confused throughout the story. She is in constant battle with herself regarding her feelings towards her lover and her loyalty to her husband. The men remain nameless to symbolize the confusion of who she truly cares for and how she often blurs the two men in her mind. The confusing sequence of events is ended in a sequential order, which concludes with a clear minded Anna accepting her secret lover as “her truest lover, her …show more content…
Both authors show how affairs and cheating effect men and woman differently. Chekov’s story offers a very masculine way of looking at the situation without much regard for Anna’s thoughts and feelings. Having Gurov show no regret for any of his adulterous acts. He is even selfish with his love for Anna by going to her house and showing up at the theatre. While Oates provides much detail and insight into the mind of Anna. She is confused and tormented with guilt. “She shut her eyes and thought of that other man, as if betraying him would give her life a center”. She was tormented almost to the point of suicide. She would rush home and strike a razor across the inside of her arm, and free that pressure, that fever”. This reflects the social values and acceptance between men and women. It is suggested that cheating men are more acceptable and almost expected. While a cheating women are intolerable and inexcusable. A social double