The Lady With The Pet Dog

The Lady With
The Pet Dog
Anton Chekhov (1899)
Sarah Piombo and Kelsey Rondini
Synopsis
Dmitri Gurov, a banker from Moscow, is
introduced as a womanizer that, although he is
married with three children, frequently partakes
in affairs with other women. Previous bitter
experiences persuade Gurov that all women are
an “inferior race.” When travelling to Yalta, he discovers a new woman in town, later introduced as Anna Sergeyevna, a
married woman vacationing in order to escape her husband for a short period of time. Although Gurov has disappointed
hopes with his female counterparts, he takes a liking to Anna and they begin a passion filled relationship. Anna proves to be
different from all other women with whom Gurov had previous relations, and discovers that one must trust in order to love,
something he had not understood before Anna. After some time, Anna announces that she must return home, and after
watching her train depart, Gurov returns to his native Moscow. While in Moscow, Anna remains in his mind. Gurov searches
for Anna and they pursue their relationship again. The secret relationship does not prove sufficient for Gurov anymore, and
the story ends with Anna and Gurov discussing how to avoid their necessity for secrecy within their affair and how they can
escape the confines of their marriages and partners in order to publicly continue their relationship.
Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov was born in Taganrog, Russia in 1860. His father was
a struggling grocer and religious fanatic who had been born a serf and
purchased his freedom. Chekhov’s childhood was not easy, but had
great influence on his writing later in life. After attending a Greek
school for boys, Chekhov went to medical school and became a
physician in Moscow. He began his writing career with anecdotes for
humorous journals and other “low-brow” publications. He later
became focused on the more serious elements of human existence,
such as the struggles people face in ordinary life. His stories usually
contain a moral element that the readers must evaluate and challenge
themselves with.
In 1901 he married actress Olga Knipper but the couple never had
any children. He died in 1904 from Tuberculosis. Today his short
stories have continual influence. His elusive style can be difficult to
analyze, as it is often the case that what is left unsaid is much more
important than what is said in his stories.
Terms
Point of view: Who tells us the story and how it is told
Narrator: The teller of a story. This affects our understanding of
characters’ actions by filtering what is told through his or her
perspective. (this should not be confused with the author)
Third person narrator: A nonparticipant in the story
Omniscient narrator: This type of narrator is all knowing. He or
she can move between places, time and characters’ minds.
Limited omniscient: The narrator takes us inside one or two
characters.
Objective: The narrator is outside the characters and does not see
into their minds. (detached and impersonal perspective)
Editorial omniscience: A narrator that describes thoughts and
emotions, thereby evaluates the character for the reader.
Neutral omniscience: Allowing the characters’ actions or thoughts
to speak for themselves so that readers can reach their own
conclusions (A typical technique of Chekhov’s texts)
Stream of consciousness technique: Takes a reader inside a
character’s mind to reveal perceptions, thoughts, and feelings on a
conscious or unconscious level.
A practicing doctor, Chekhov once said,
"Medicine is my lawful wife and literature is
my mistress.”
Morality in Fiction
From the Bedford
“Let the jury judge them, it’s my
job simply to show what sort of
people they are.”
Chekhov’s objectivity is sometimes confused
with indifference to morals. He aims to
understand a character, whether their morals
be good natured or evil hearted, and he rejects
sermonizing in his fiction. He allows the readers
to put the pieces together for themselves. The
narrator of “The Lady With The Pet Dog” does
not comment on the morality of Gurov and
Anna’s actions, instead judgment is open to
interpretation by the reader.
Notable Quotes
“Bitter experience had taught him long ago that with decent people…every
affair which at first seems a light and charming adventure inevitably grows into
a whole problem of extreme complexity” (179).
“You don’t respect me now, you first of all” (182).
“Everything is really beautiful in this world when one reflects: everything
except what we think or do ourselves when we forget the higher aims of life
and our own human dignity” (183).
“There had now been another episode or adventure in his life, and it, too, was
at an end” (184).
“Judging others by himself, he did not believe what he saw, and always
fancied that every man led his real, most interesting life under cover of
secrecy as under cover of night” (188).
“And only now, when his head was grey, he had fallen in love, really, truly –
for the first time in his life” (189).
“It was as though they were a pair of migratory birds, male and female,
caught and forced to live in different cages” (189).
“Was it not a broken life?” (189).
Themes
Morality
Forbidden Love
Focus on the Past
View of Women
Confinement
Dreams (esp. with future goals)
Lack of Closure
Discussion Questions
Please choose two out of the five questions to answer.
1.) Since there is no ending or closure, how do you think they will resolve the issue of their forbidden love? Will it end in
tragedy or success? Will it be resolved at all?
2.) How do colors play a role symbolically in characters’ feelings and personalities?
3.) What is the narrator’s view on the morality of Gurov and Anna’s actions? How does the third person omniscient
narrator shape your view of the characters and their relationship?
4.) Gurov is a womanizer in the beginning of the story, viewing women as an “inferior race.” How does Anna change his
view of women? Why is she special compared to other types of women he has been with?
5.) How do the characters’ pasts and previous experiences shape who they are? How does it shape their view of love?