“The Lady with the Dog” (‘Dama s Sobachkoi’) was written in 1899 when Chekhov was at the height of his career. It is an account of the extramarital affair between Dmitri Dmitrievich Gurov and Anna Sergeevna. Their casual affair gradually develops into a deep love, which transforms Gurov from cynical adulterer into a compassionate lover. Transformation did not occur momentarily, it was not the love at first sight. Gurov, a man in his late thirties began cheating on his wife long time ago. When he met Anna Sergeevna, she was just a lady with the dog for him, one of many he had charmed in the past. He had bad experiences with such affairs but couldn’t resist this interesting young woman, so innocent, so inexperienced and pure. He was a predator and she was his prey; he could already predict the scenario of their future affair. He knew “it would be sure to happen” as he knew that he would certainly meet her the next day in a restaurant or a board walk. Gurov had no feelings for Anna Sergeevna and didn’t care if she had feelings for him; he thought of her “slender, delicate neck, her lovely grey eyes” and at the same time he thought that “there is something pathetic in her.”
It seemed “peculiar” to him that Anna Sergeevna took their affair so seriously. She was going through a profound emotional distress after their first night together, “as though it were her fall,” and he thought of her reaction as “strange and inappropriate.” It was inappropriate for a woman, he thought, to feel guilty for deceiving her husband as if a swift, fleeting love affair was part of the entertainment program in resort towns like Yalta. He was annoyed and bored. He cut himself a slice of watermelon, and began eating it without haste. This gesture suggest that he is not being sincere. What was he thinking about in that moment? Could he share her experience? Could he reflect? Was he even capable of reflecting? Gurov was often unfaithful to his wife, spoke ill of all the women had been with and, because of his bitter experience, called them “the lowest race.”
Everything has changed after they parted ways. At first he was happy to be back in Moscow. He loved the city and he loved his fancy and comfortable life, restaurants, clubs, dinner parties, card games. But he could not enjoy himself anymore. He was torn between the dream and the reality. He realized that all that surrounded him was fake; he was disgusted with “rage for card-playing, gluttony, the drunkenness, the continual talk always about the same thing.” Things that were previously appealing and joyful to him now became unworthy. And the worst was the fact that he could not open up to anyone. A man, who was born and raised in this city, did not have a soul to share his innermost secrets with. His life was crushing like house of cards. The one thing he desired the most was the lady with the dog.
Anna Sergeevna and Gurov were victims of the time. He was wed when he was very young and didn’t love his wife. She rushed into her marriage for the sake of change and wasn’t happy either, “it was as though they were a pair of birds of passage, caught and forced to live in different cages.” Two lonely souls, they “loved each other like husband and wife, like tender friends; it seemed to them that fate itself had meant them for one another.” Here they are, in the hotel room again; she is crying, he is sitting in a chair and thinking that it would come to an end one day. How long will they be able to live double life? Will Gurov find courage to abandon his wife and his kids? Will Anna Sergeevna handle the humiliation of divorce? Will they find strength to support each other when everyone else turned their backs on them? “…it was clear to both of them that they had still a long, long road before them, and that the most complicated and difficult part of it was only just beginning.” Chekhov doesn’t tell us how the story ends, maybe because ambiguity gives birth to hope, hope that they will walk their road together till the very end, hand in hand.
I think Chekhov really touched into the topic of young marriage and the consequences of making certain decisions. The act of marry in young and rushing into a marriage is portrayed as premature and will lead to an unhappy life in this story. Both main characters in this writing are unfaithful to their legally married spouse and although they both try to escape from each other, they know deep inside that they can not be happy without each other. After spending time alone doing things that he is usually satisfied with, Gurov ultimately decides that those things can no longer satisfy his appetite for love anymore. Even when he sees Anna Sergeevna, she breaks apart and is shocked to see him. Their feelings for each other are mutual, but there are barriers to their love-the consequences of young marriage.
I agree that the fact that Chekhov doesn’t tell how the story ends gives birth to hope. He leaves the reader to contemplate on the future of the situation.
i also think its interesting that Gurov refers to women as the “lower race,” and yet he is so captivate and hung over this one woman. He can’t find happiness without her. Gurov has never loved before until he met Anna and their love has changed them both. The end states “And it seemed to them that they were within an inch of arriving at decision…their beautiful life would begin. And they both realized that the end was still far, far away, and the hardest, the most complicated part was only just the beginning.”
The idea of leading a double life also symbolizes certain issues. “He led a double-life-one in public, in the sight of all whom it concerned, full of conventional truth and conventional deception, exactly like the lives of his friends and acquaintances, and another which flowed in secret.” Questions begin to come up. Will his double life last forever? If he had not married his wife, would he still have to lead a double life? Could this have been prevented?
Good job on the analysis, I believe Gurov found it peculiar that Anna took the affair so seriously and reacted the way she did because of his memories of previous affairs, in which the women were exhilarated and grateful to him for the happiness he gave them. What I find fascinating is that Gurov can share Anna’s experience as he has experienced this situation before, but is incapable of reflecting on it. I believe this is so because of the current situation and his fallacious view of the female race. While I believe Gurov may have been able to reflect on Anna’s experience at one point in his life, it is made clear that he is unable to, as he blatantly states that he doesn’t understand and asks her what she wants.
The passage in which Gurov returned home to Moscow and expected Anna to be a vague memory within a months time is what stood out most to me. I believe it is not only something everyone can relate to but also symbolizes the meaning of true happiness. Despite Gurov returning to his normal life in Moscow, he is unable to erase the memory of Anna from his mind and knows he won’t be happy without her.
Anna and Gurov are definitely victims of the time, and due to the storyline, I believe the ambiguity at the end definitely gives birth to hope. It is clear that Gurov must find the courage to abandon his wife and kids because if he continues on the current path that he is on, he will only live a life of misery. This coincides exactly with Anna as her feelings parallel Gurov’s, which means that she will also have no choice but to handle the humiliation of divorce if she wishes to avoid a life of misery. It is due to these circumstances that I believe this story can end only as a happy ever after or a tragedy.
Anastasia, I like what you’ve commented about this reading. I really enjoyed reading “The Lady with the Dog”, Ann and Gurov are sharing great moments and to feel affection for each other is inevitable. Both of these individuals seem to be in the worst time of their lives and are now victims of infidelity. Anna as well as Gurov was dissatisfied with their marriage life, family, work, etc., and unexpectedly they are suffering feelings for each other they have never experience before. It must be a very difficult situation to love someone without freedom to express it openly. I believe Anna knows from the beginning what she wants and so does Gurov. They start flirting with each other to the point of intimacy despite their marital status. But this adventure doesn’t seem to end, they continue their affair, even though Anna believes Gurov will never have respect for her anymore, but he assures her, that she is wrong. I strongly believe Gurov is a different man; perhaps he wasn’t aware of this man’s existence until he met Anna Sergeyevna, and he opened himself to different experiences and feeling without fear but resentment because he can’t control his feelings towards Anna. Both of them are aware of the risk they are taken and are somehow concern of their encounters, but Gurov makes sure no one is looking at them when they are caressing each other in public areas; and they try to drive away from Yalta as often as possible; their reputation will be in jeopardy if anyone finds out. However, Gurov’s sudden feelings drove him to stop being the Casanova he was to be in love with Anna. It seems like they are willing to leave everything else behind to chase each other. Their feelings of happiness comfort and desire when they are together is enough for them, there is no room for other thoughts. In my opinion, Anna and Gurov’s love is similar to Hedda Gabler and Lovborg. Like them, their love is secret, painful, inconvenient, difficult, etc. They can’t change their surroundings and facing social judgment would probably be against their societal status. I feel for these characters, and I believe that Anna and Gurov will end their lives for the sake of their love like Hedda Gabler did.
Lina, I too feel for Gurov and Anna Sergeevna and, of course, I want them to be together. The unfinished story, as I mentioned, leaves space for different scenarios. So I was thinking of possible endings of this story. 1. Gurov leaves his family, Anna Sergeevna divorces her husband. They move together, pick up his kids for the weekend. Everyone is happy 2. Gurov comes to his wife to tell her the truth; she says she will never give him divorce. Gurov and Anna Sergeevna continue to see each other secretly. Anna Sergeevna is always sad; she is getting into a deeper depression. She can’t take it anymore and eventually breaks up with Gurov. 3. Anna Sergeevna comes to Moscow, sends a messenger to Gurov. The messenger comes back and says the family has moved. She commits a suicide. 4. Anna Sergeevna gets pregnant from her husband; she can not travel to Moscow anymore. Then the baby is born and connection is lost. 5. Gurov decides to leave the family. His kids tell him they will never talk to him again and he stays. 6. One day, taking his daughter to school he realized that family is more important and breaks up with Anna. I can keep going with the scenarios and, somehow, there are not so many happy endings in this story for me.
The Lady with the Dog. Veronika Zhuravlyova’s comment on Anastasia’s post.
I certainly agree with Anastasia’s statement, that “Anna Sergeevna and Gurov were victims of their time.” As we have seen in a numerous readings in 19th century life was strictly defined by society’s rules and moral principles. Especially it was undoubtedly in regards to women. The choices were made for them by their fathers and later on by their husbands. The marriages were strategically arranged and therefore, very often unhappy. Thus, the questions of true love and cheating become obvious. The affair between Anna Sergeevna and Gurov portrays a typical example in the 19th century society. Both of them are unhappily married. Neither of them loves their spouses. Both are lonely and miserable. Both their spouses are aware of Anna Sergeevna and Gurov cheating on them. However, the paradox is that society much rather accept affairs and marital cheating rather than honest divorce or separation.
The most intriguing part of the story is the end. The open end does leave a window for hope for a happy ending. The question is whether the happy end is possible at all. Nowadays, it would be quite a typical scenario that would be finalized with the divorce and our characters would have a perfect chance to see if what they have is a real love. However, taking in circumstances that it occurs in 19th century, we could most likely predict that “the happy end” is not an option. Even if Gurov gets a divorce, Anna Sergeevna’s divorce would be socially unacceptable. Probably, one of the perfect examples that instantly cross the mind is a tragic love story of Anna Karenina, who rebels against society and chooses to follow her love. However, being rejected by society she is driven to a suicide.
Also, even if we won’t take in consideration which century the affair takes place, I still agree with the comment made by Professor Shipley in class: this affair, as cute and romantic as it looks, most likely cannot be taken as “real love.” Two people being bored experience strong romantic emotions toward each other while being in resort, surrounded by beautiful trees, flowers, sea, hot sun and overall leisure atmosphere. However, the question is whether their emotions would survive the sever reality of daily life and casual problems. As a popular saying states: vacation romances do not last.
I don’t completely agree with Marissa Wong’s assumption that young marriage is at the root of the problems in this story. Both of the main characters of this story are not satisfied with their marriages and express their dissatisfaction through an affair with one another. Chekhov writes: “They were like two migrating birds, the male and the female, who had been caught and put into separate cages. They forgave one another all that they were ashamed of in the past and in the present, and felt that this love of theirs had changed them both.” There is no denying that Anna and Gurov are both in love or at the very least in lust in this story, however knowing Gurov as the character that he is, I believe it is safe to question the purity of this love. I believe the problems inherent in in young marriages are not always impossible to overcome and the character of Gurov is more of a negative force in this story than young marriage itself.
My interpretation of the ambiguous ending is that this is not a story with a happy ending. Gurov is a known cheater, is not respectful of women and is only in touch with his emotions for short periods of time, when they are somehow interconnected with lustful intentions. Anna Sergeevna has also cheated in the past, but at least she is not a repeat offender, and my interpretation of her from the text is not is not an inherently bad person, but rather just another woman that has fallen for Gurov’s charms. My vision of the ambiguous ending is that Gurov leaves his family and Anna leaves her husband, but it does not end happily ever after from there. Anna will make the mistake of marrying young for the second time in her short life thus far and Gurov will likely once again become bored with his wife. Perhaps he will find another lady with a dog to fall in love with. Of course this is all speculation, but I cannot envision any scenario in which Gurov is happily married for the rest of his life.
I certainly agree with all above comment and would like to add that Anton Chekhov’s “Lady with the Dog” was published in 1899. This story brings us to ever existing problem during all the times – affairs during married life. Chekhov shows us that Gurov’s spouse really treasures him, “his wife who loved without any genuine feeling, with superfluous phrases, affectedly, hysterically, with an expression that suggested that it was not love nor passion, but something more significant.” She sees marriage as something very special. At the same time, Gurov does not have the similar feelings to his other half.
“He secretly considered her unintelligent, narrow, inelegant, was afraid of her, and did not like to be at home. He had begun being unfaithful to her long ago—had been unfaithful to her often, and, probably on that account, almost always spoke ill of women, and when they were talked about in his presence, used to call them “the lower race.””
Chekhov shows Gurov’s and his wife’s feelings two polar views of the same aspect if their life – marriage. Unlike Gurov’s wife, Anna Sergeyevna is not happy with her marriage. She does not pay much attention to her husband who she calls a “flunkey.” Over time, Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna realize that both of them are in love and they occasionally start to see each other. Because this story was written over a century ago, it embraces the values and customs of that time. For instance, it was not a big issue for man to cheat, while woman had to be faithful, which represents double standards in a relationship. Anna Sergeyevna says, “God forgive me. It’s awful.” She feels guilty and blames herself for her actions. It is interesting, because none of the main characters even mentions divorce as an option. They both remain struggling, but they do not take any actions to change their lives. I assume that the time and customs did not allow divorce at that moment.
What makes this story classical? Despite the fact that it was written more than a century years ago, it remains to be actual nowadays. The problem unfaithfulness remains during the present times. I may assume than back then it was inappropriate to show off family issues, but these problems did not disappear but become even worse, so, Chekhov made a brave decision to highlight them.
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