— Phillip Rozental
The story that I am going to be discussing is called, “The Lady with the Dog”, which was written by Anton Chekhov, who was a Russian author that wrote many fascinating and interesting pieces of literature throughout his lifetime. The text and I have connected in a more personal way, which was very unexpected because I didn’t realize that I can compare my current life and the events within it with the dialogue and the quotes said in the story. It has thought me a vast amount of information about love for another and finding your soulmate, the Russian culture about women and men during the 20th century and who was more superior and many more interesting topics that are a must to read about.
I think, “The Lady with the Dog”, is a Great Work because of the details and the knowledge that had been implemented into expressing this so called “Love Story”. These details allow the reader to realize his, or her own flaws, or strengths in the relationship that they might be a part of in real life. The story of how a man named Dmitri, who got married at 18 years old, which was very common in Russia at that time, finds out during his early 40’s that the women he married wasn’t the love of his life. How a married woman named Anna, realizes that the man she had married is a flunkey and even though she comes back to him after spending time with Dmitri, it was for all, but one reason. To realize that she has this big empty void in her heart which needed to be filled and the constant thought of regret and sadness made her realize that the only way to get rid of this emptiness was to be with Dmitri.
I can relate to a lot of the stuff that had been said throughout the story, one of which would be the topic of divorce, even though it never stated that Dmitri, or Anna had gotten a divorce from their partner. My father had divorced earlier in my life and decided to not stop their and find that one true love. If this story can teach you anything, it would definitely inform you that if you exceptionally want something, then you should do everything in your power to acquire it, no matter the obstacles and stress that you would need to overcome because at the end of it all, you know that your journey was worth everything. Also, this text is relevant to the present because divorce is a very common road that many couples take in the long-term of their relationship. Studies have shown that higher income couples stay together for a longer period of time then lower income couples, which makes you think. Do people get a divorce because of the fact that they have not enough, or no money, or is it because their feelings for one another just start drifting apart and never meet again? Many possible questions followed by many more possible answers, but all can be solved by just telling the truth and being yourself in front of the person who has swept you off your feet. This text did not challenge me in any sort of way, but actually intrigued me and surprised me because of the fact that I got so into the dialogue that I was able to relate and fix my real life questions about LOVE.
