"The Lady with the Dog," a tale of two lovers who carry on an affair while both married to other people, is one of his most famous short stories. Gurov stood for a little while, listened, then, when all sound had died away, he found his coat and left the theatre. and now I have become a vulgar, contemptible woman whom any one may despise.". "He doesn't bite," she said, and blushed. The best thing was to trust to chance. Anna, a married woman, meets her lover for the first time at a beach. Discussion of themes and motifs in Anton Chekhov's The Lady with the Pet Dog. Gurov went to see her, and no one in Moscow knew of it. These words, so ordinary, for some reason moved Gurov to indignation, and struck him as degrading and unclean. One would think he came from Grenada.". "It's the finger of destiny!". That's right.". She was sitting, he was standing, frightened by her confusion and not venturing to sit down beside her. I swear I'll come to Moscow. The rage for card-playing, the gluttony, the drunkenness, the continual talk always about the same thing. At this point, the dog has been referred to as a pet dog, a little dog, and now, simply, the dog. . 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.". . "I am so unhappy," she went on, not heeding him. The Lady with the Little Dog was featured as The Short Story of the Day on Fri, Jan 29, 2021 You may enjoy another story about forbidden love and secrets, The Fortune-Teller by Machado de Assis . The Lady with the Pet Dog Written by: Anton Chekhov Translated By: Avrahm Yarmolinsky The story is often translated “The Lady with the Little Dog.” The Lady with the Pet Dog Characters: Dmitry Dmitrich Gurov Anna Segeyevna (Lady) Gurov is almost forty (40) years old and from Moscow. ���_�=`��`�p�A�����M���?0�s�zX�#F�q���"�|$����|"*�w8��$V���30NZ� � G"\�6�jC� b0 m�:` I did the graphic novella for my World Literature & the Human Experience class. The story opens during Dmitri Dmitrich Gurov's vacation in Yalta, a seaside resort in Imperial Russia. The Lady With A Dog Short Story 873 Words | 4 Pages. All personal life rested on secrecy, and possibly it was partly on that account that civilised man was so nervously anxious that personal privacy should be respected. The Pomeranian is the titular dog in “The Lady with the Dog,” which Anna brings with her on vacation to Yalta. Chekhov never reveals its actual name, and the only detail given about it is that it is a small, white dog. %%EOF . During the first interval the husband went away to smoke; she remained alone in her stall. Gurov was on the point of calling to the dog, but his heart began beating violently, and in his excitement he could not remember the dog's name. As in all provincial theatres, there was a fog above the chandelier, the gallery was noisy and restless; in the front row the local dandies were standing up before the beginning of the performance, with their hands behind them; in the Governor's box the Governor's daughter, wearing a boa, was sitting in the front seat, while the Governor himself lurked modestly behind the curtain with only his hands visible; the orchestra was a long time tuning up; the stage curtain swayed. The solitary candle burning on the table threw a faint light on her face, yet it was clear that she was very unhappy. "It's three degrees above freezing-point, and yet it is snowing," said Gurov to his daughter. The original Russian uses the word собачка (sobachka), which is a diminutive form of the standard word for dog.The dog's role is the story is limited and primarily serves as a way for Gurov to use it to his own advantage in order to introduce himself to the lady. In moments of depression in the past he had comforted himself with any arguments that came into his mind, but now he no longer cared for arguments; he felt profound compassion, he wanted to be sincere and tender. ", "And why are there no thunderstorms in the winter, father?". . On the landing above them two schoolboys were smoking and looking down, but that was nothing to Gurov; he drew Anna Sergeyevna to him, and began kissing her face, her cheeks, and her hands. I wanted to live! "Where shall we go now? And I wanted to forget, to forget you; but why, oh, why, have you come?". Gurov went without haste to Old Gontcharny Street and found the house. This quintessentially Chekhovian moment is so private and internal that it is easy to miss the first time one reads the story. How?" IT was said that a new person had appeared on the sea-front: a lady with a little dog. According to the short story “The Lady with the Pet Dog”, love is both beautiful and a trap for our main characters. And often in the square or gardens, when there was no one near them, he suddenly drew her to him and kissed her passionately. In the evenings she peeped out at him from the bookcase, from the fireplace, from the corner -- he heard her breathing, the caressing rustle of her dress. He recalled her slender, delicate neck, her lovely grey eyes. Get started by clicking the "Add" button. The frosts had begun already. "The Lady with the Dog" is famous for breaking the rules of what a short story should be. Anna Sergeyevna did not visit him in dreams, but followed him about everywhere like a shadow and haunted him. "You've had your cry; that's enough. The Lady with the Dog Summary. She read a great deal, used phonetic spelling, called her husband, not Dmitri, but Dimitri, and he secretly considered her unintelligent, narrow, inelegant, was afraid of her, and did not like to be at home. We are parting forever -- it must be so, for we ought never to have met. "There's something pathetic about her, anyway," he thought, and fell asleep. Let us talk now, let us think of some plan.". Dmitri Dmitrich Gurov had been a fort-night in Yalta, and was accustomed to its ways, and he, too, had begun to take an interest in fresh arrivals. If he were to send her a note it might fall into her husband's hands, and then it might ruin everything. Now midway in “The Lady with the Pet Dog” comes the quiet climax of the story. He talked, thinking all the while that he was going to see her, and no living soul knew of it, and probably never would know. She was crying from emotion, from the miserable consciousness that their life was so hard for them; they could only meet in secret, hiding themselves from people, like thieves! . . There followed at least half an hour of silence. He considered: to-day was a holiday, and the husband would probably be at home. . he asked. It was a thirsty day, and Gurov often went into the pavilion, and pressed Anna Sergeyevna to have syrup and water or an ice. eNotes critical analyses help you gain a deeper understanding of The Lady with the Pet Dog … He did not very well know himself. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett, Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe. Nearly forty years old, Gurov is married with three children: a daughter and two sons. . “The Lady with the Dog,” sometimes translated as “The Lady with the Lapdog” or “The Lady with the Toy Dog,” is one of the more famous stories he wrote while in Yalta. A week had passed since they had made acquaintance. . In the street he watched the women, looking for some one like her. In particular, this young woman piques the interest of Dmitri Dmitrich Gurov, a well-educated married man who has regularly been unfaithful to … And in this constancy, in this complete indifference to the life and death of each of us, there lies hid, perhaps, a pledge of our eternal salvation, of the unceasing movement of life upon earth, of unceasing progress towards perfection. I have never been happy; I am miserable now, and I never, never shall be happy, never! %PDF-1.5 %���� She hid her face on his breast and pressed close to him. She looked at him with dread, with entreaty, with love; she looked at him intently, to keep his features more distinctly in her memory. Then they spent a long while taking counsel together, talked of how to avoid the necessity for secrecy, for deception, for living in different towns and not seeing each other for long at a time. The front door suddenly opened, and an old woman came out, followed by the familiar white Pomeranian. "How?". He saw a beggar go in at the gate and dogs fly at him; then an hour later he heard a piano, and the sounds were faint and indistinct. Disease features prominently in Chekhov's stories, and his protagonists often suffer tragic and untimely deaths. so much for the adventure. The dog is also one of the indicators of change over time in the story, hinting at the larger transformation that occurs for both Gurov and Anna as they fall in love. "The Lady with the Pet Dog" - Anton Chekhov. Gurov cut himself a slice and began eating it without haste. I was twenty when I was married to him. He could already eat a whole plateful of salt fish and cabbage. My husband may be a good, honest man, but he is a flunkey! Anton Chekhov’s short story "The Lady with the Pet Dog" begins in the resort town of Yalta, where a new visitor — a "fair-haired young woman of medium height" who owns a white Pomeranian — has caught the attention of the vacationers. . The lady looked at him and at once dropped her eyes. "Let us go to your hotel," he said softly. He felt compassion for this life, still so warm and lovely, but probably already not far from beginning to fade and wither like his own. So it must have sounded when there was no Yalta, no Oreanda here; so it sounds now, and it will sound as indifferently and monotonously when we are all no more. He explained that, too. And two peculiarities of a well-dressed Yalta crowd were very conspicuous: the elderly ladies were dressed like young ones, and there were great numbers of generals. "If she is here alone without a husband or friends, it wouldn't be amiss to make her acquaintance," Gurov reflected. 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