Comparison Of Anton Chekhov's 'The Lady With The Pet Dog'

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Anton Chekhov wrote the short story “The Lady with the Pet Dog” in 1899; in 1972 Joyce Oates retold Chekhov’s story by the same name. Oates’s retelling of Chekhov’s story is from the woman’s perspective rather than the man 's; some critics claim that Chekhov’s version is superior, and I am inclined to agree. Chekhov’s version of the story is more interesting than Oates’s version due the use the setting, structure, and perspective. Both Chekhov’s and Oates’s versions use setting as a medium, through which, they tell their stories. Chekhov’s version of, “The Lady with the Pet Dog”, takes place in Yalta, Russia; a country that stirs feelings of hardships and the town where affairs are had. Dmitry says ,“...stories told of the immorality in Yalta…”, showing that these setting go well with the theme of adultery (214). Oates places his version in Nantucket, Ohio; a town that stirs almost no feeling,
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Anna Sergeyevna is the female protagonist from chekhov’s version and Dmitry says that, “There’s something pathetic about her…”, and that she has a weak personality(215). Anna is shown to have a weak personality when Dmitry convinces her to have an affair with him when she is not yet sure how she feels. It is also shown through the fact that she refuses to divorce her husband, and instead continues her affair. Oates’s female protagonist has a weak personality in her own way. The nameless female protagonist in Oates’s version refuses to divorce her husband similar to Anna, however, she also has a tenuous grip on reality throughout most of the story. When she wants to be rid of her secret lover, she irrationally thinks, “I will follow you back and kill you. You and her and the little boy. What is there to stop me?”, showing that she is not completely sane (232). The female protagonist in Chekhov’s version of the story is sane, relatable, and more interesting than

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