He was “bored” listening to her and “annoyed by her naïve tone” (Chekhov, 2016, p.6), which suggests that Dimitri’s past lovers were not as innocent as Anna appears to be. At their first meeting, Dimitri thinks, “there is something pathetic…” about Anna. However, he doesn’t love Anna he loves the thrill, the idea that he can cheat on his wife, and the seduction of a younger woman provides him a sense of superiority. Ultimately, Dimitri manages to seduce Anna and believes he has fallen in love with her and she with him. It is also possible that the women that have had affairs with Dmitri were unhappy in their relationships, and Dmitri was the avenue to the brief escape they seek. “He always seemed to women different from what he was, and they loved in him not himself, but the man created by their imagination” (Chekhov, 2016, p.2). He shows women the side of himself he wants them to see. “In his appearance, in his character, in his whole nature, there was something attractive and elusive which allured women and disposed of them in his favor he knew that, and some force seemed to draw him, too, to them” (Chekhov, 2016, p.1).ĭmitri is experienced in betraying the trust of those around him. Dmitri is a skilled seducer who sees himself as entitled because there is something about him that women find charming. The author’s portrayal of Dmitri as a man who cheats because he is unhappy, and Anna, because she is inexperienced, is misleading. “If she’s here with no husband or friends,” Gurov reflected, “it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make her acquaintance” (Chekhov, 2016, p.1). On his vacation in Yalta, he sits and watches, searching for ways to get Anna’s attention, as he does for all the women he pursues. He “felt free” (Chekhov, 2016, p.2) in the company of women, especially when he is with Anna, who Dmitri believes he has come to love. Yet, the need to be in their presence consumes him. The numerous affairs that Dimitri has pursued were all unsatisfying and have caused him to consider women objects of an “inferior race” (Chekhov, 2016, p.1), merely for his use. 6).īoth Dimitri and Anna are confused by conflicting impulses. Young, persuasive, and attractive, Anna finds excitement in the arms of this forbidden man as she sees in him what she does not recognize in her husband, who she describes as “a good man, but a lackey!” (Chekhov, 2016, p. He feels trapped in an arranged marriage to a woman he doesn’t love. He believes his wife is of limited intelligence, “narrow-minded,” and intimidating (1). Dimitri “had begun to be unfaithful to his wife long ago and was unfaithful often” (Chekhov, 2016, p.1). The two main characters in the story, Dmitri and Anna, are trapped in loveless marriages, desperate for something more, and are willing to risk their union to experience passion. A more in-depth reading of the story will emphasize Dimitri’s charm, Anna’s persuasion, and the abilities of two skilled seducers. But was this love, was it lust, or was it Dmitri’s need to possess Anna and Anna’s hunger for affection that propelled them together? Anton Chekhov’s, “The Lady with the Little Dog” seems to be a tale of two married people who cheat because they are dissatisfied. Dmitri pursues her, and although their unexpected encounter happens because of their unhappy unions, they are soon overwhelmed by a profound attraction. Dmitri Gurov, Chekhov’s main protagonist, overcome with his need for sex and unhappy in his marriage, meets Anna, also dissatisfied with her life. “The Lady with the Little Dog” is a short story in which Anton Chekhov constructs an intricate tale of the complexities of love. Analysis of (Anton Chekhov’s) the Lady with the Little Dog
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