Love is an eternal theme in literature. While working on the story “Lady with the Dog,” Chekhov did not seek to be original. But the work of the classic, created in the last year of the nineteenth century, acquired an extremely deep meaning. To reveal it will allow artistic analysis. “Lady with a Dog” is a story about an ordinary resort romance told by an outstanding author.
Far from Moscow
Chekhov begins the story without unnecessary intro. Already in the first paragraph a young woman appears, walking along the Yalta embankment with a white spitz. Following her is the main character, whom the lady is very concerned about. His image emerges throughout the story and only at the end takes on a clear outline. And it all starts with the image of Gurov’s wife (this is the name of the character, that is, the person who was interested in the lady with the dog).
An analysis of the characters in the story is best started with a description of the unloved spouse. The way she appears in the eyes of her husband is the key to revealing the main images in the work. And he sees her narrow, near and severe. Gurov’s wife herself, of course, has a different opinion about her own person. Suffering from feminist ideas that have become fashionable among bored but active women at the turn of the century, she calls herself “thinking.” This annoys Gurov, as well as her manner of calling him Dimitri. And therefore, he cheats on her quite often. And that’s why he is so well away from her, from home, from Moscow.
Main character: analysis
The lady with the dog had that appearance and manner of behavior that immediately made it clear to an experienced person that she was married, was alone for the first time, and she was incredibly bored. Gurov was a knowledgeable person. Although he spoke about women, it was often unflattering in secular men's conversations, but he still could not live without them. Therefore, one glance was enough for him to give the young woman the right characterization with which to start the analysis.
The lady with the dog is extremely young, has a thin, weak neck and beautiful gray eyes, and angularity is present in her behavior. The further course of events in the story suggests that the young woman is married to a man who is uninteresting and unpleasant to her. She expects a momentous event in her life. And she believes that this will happen. Gurov does not yet know about the thoughts of the young woman, but he feels with his gut that their acquaintance should take place. And therefore, as soon as the lady approaches, affectionately calls for a white Spitz. Thereby he gets acquainted with the owner of the dog.
Around - a beautiful resort landscape. Chekhov’s skill lies in his ability to depict the situation in the smallest and, at first glance, insignificant details. This is worthy of devoting a few words to the character of the writer and even making a brief analysis.
Lady with a dog in Yalta evening
On the day the heroes met, the sea water had a lilac hue, was soft and warm, and a moonlit golden road ran along it. A similar picture is typical for a summer evening in Yalta. Perhaps, the author recreated it under the impression of a visit to the resort town, which took place shortly before writing the story.
Small details are present in the description of the image of the main character. Her movements are uncertain, angular, and in the crowd she loses her lorgnet. All this seems to confirm the thoughts of Gurov, which came to mind on the day he met: "And yet there is something miserable in her."
Moral fall
They become lovers. For him, this event is not unexpected. For her, happiness. But then she sits with her hair loose in the position of a sinner and tells him about her moral decline, which has no justification. Gurov, meanwhile, thinks about how all these words are ridiculous, and slowly eats a watermelon. This realistic detail should undoubtedly be complemented by analysis.
“Lady with a Dog” is a story that begins with the usual love affair. He is burdened by her naivety and embarrassment. She, not understanding all this, continues to reveal her soul. This is the main problem of the collision of two worlds - female and male. Representatives of the fairer sex see in their lover only what they want to see. The problems of the story “Lady with a Dog,” the analysis of which is the topic of this article, is much more complicated and deeper.
Yalta and the early morning fog
The following days pass in bliss and bliss. They are sitting on a bench, looking at the sea and are silent. Chekhov depicts the landscape with his inherent manner of complementing the description of nature with the philosophical thoughts of the hero. Gurov increasingly begins to think about the lofty goals of being and human dignity. He no longer eats watermelon and is not burdened by the outpouring of a young woman. Now they are tuned to a single wave.
It's time to the north
With these words, Anton Chekhov finished one of the chapters. The lady with the dog, the analysis of the image of which was presented above, and whose last name (Gurov managed to find out) was Diderits, went to the distant Volga city. And upon returning to Moscow, Gurov gradually begins to feel the contrast between sunny Yalta and the cold capital, between carefree pastime and boring work at the bank. And, finally, between the pure, exalted feeling and the life of ordinary people who are not interested in anything except cards, wine and food.
A sturgeon with a darling!
The feelings of a man who, after being in a state of euphoria, is forced to return to gray reality, was depicted by Chekhov masterfully. The “Lady with the Dog,” an analysis of which has already given an idea of some realistic touches that complement the picture of the clash of romance and harsh reality, has another fragment that is quite interesting in this regard.
Gurov begins to yearn more and more. And more clearly, he understands that the reason for his sadness is not in the pleasant Yalta walks under the moon, which are a thing of the past. It's all about a companion, whose image is obsessively present in the present. But he cannot talk about it at home. Out of the house - with no one. Once, after the next dinner party, he leaves the restaurant on the street, accompanied by one of his friends, officials, and the desire to share his romantic mood wins. Gurov hesitantly begins his story about a sweet woman with whom he happened to make acquaintance in Yalta. But the official is not listening. He sits down in a sled and, traveling a few meters, shouts to the romantic hero about the sturgeon, which had been served just now during a meal, and whose freshness is in doubt.
The image of the clash of romance and philistine in this place is masterfully completed. The story “Lady with a Dog,” a brief analysis of which suggests that the mention of “sturgeon with a ducky” is the culmination, further reveals the full image of Gurov.
High fence
Under the guise of a business trip to St. Petersburg, Gurov goes in search of the Yalta lady. In this part, Chekhov manifests himself as a true artist. “Lady with a Dog,” the analysis of which primarily concerns the artistic means used by the writer, does not have a direct description of the state of oppression. There is no image of Gurov's mental torment in the story. And nothing is said about his longing. The inner world of the hero is conveyed by the author by mentioning all sorts of details. Gurov arrives in an unfamiliar city and rents a hotel room. There he sees a gray woolen carpet, a dusty inkwell, a figurine of a one-armed rider. And when the house of Diderits was found, a high fence, studded with nails, opens up to the gaze. All these elements paint a picture of grayness, monotony, despondency.
A meeting
A special place is occupied by the image of a provincial theater in the work “Lady with a Dog”. The analysis of the story is not intended to reveal the negative attitude of the writer to the shortcomings of social society. In the old days, critics were indignant at the inattention of the author of the story to the problems of bourgeois marriage. One Chekhov was primarily an artist. And therefore he was interested in the human soul. And an invariable means for him was a hidden, barely perceptible subtext.
An analysis of The Lady with a Dog is a study of such small details as the similarity of Diderits to a lackey, the image of a local governor, and the mention of a vulgar lorgnette that was in the hands of a young lady.
Date in Moscow
An analysis of Chekhov’s short story “A Lady with a Dog” should also touch on the true and false sides of life.
Gurov begins to meet his lover in a Moscow hotel. She regularly comes and immediately sends to him with a message from a man in a red hat. It is shown in sufficient detail how Gurov escorts his daughter to the gymnasium, talks with her, talking about natural phenomena, and meanwhile thinks about his secret life, which is true. And the paradox is that the lie is open to others and approved by them.
The work is interrupted at a glance. This is a characteristic feature of Chekhov's little prose. Heroes for long evenings discuss how to get rid of the need to lie and hide. But both of them understand that everything is just beginning ...
This is the analysis of the story “Lady with a Dog”. In this work, Chekhov was able, using many inconspicuous details, to depict a clash of the world of romance and the average man, poetry and prose, high and earthly. This is the unique gift of a writer who perceived and loved the world in any capacity - both in the beautiful and the sublime, and in the gray and wretched.