A short reflection on The Lady With the Per Dog by Anton Chekhov - Essay Example

English Literature ic and Modern), Essay A Short Reflection on "The Lady with the Pet Dog"by Anton Chekhov In their first encounter, one will be able to detect that Gurov is not in genuine love with Anna Sergeyevna. His intention is to take advantage of the situation in which she is placed. His basic nature is to wait for opportunities to mix freely with women. Anton writes, “In his appearance, in his character, in his whole nature, there was something attractive and elusive which allured women and disposed them in his favor; he knew that, and some force seemed to draw him, too, to them” (Chekhov).

Anna is a typical upper-class married woman, who enjoys secular comforts but lacks peace of mind and inner joy that she expects through marriage. The process of wooing begins with his question to Anna, “Have you been long in Yalta…And I have already dragged out a fortnight here.” She is an idealist wishing to lead an honest and pure life, but also likes to own the thrills of life. The dullness of married life suffocates her and the chance introduction with Guvov kindles the spark of love within her.

Gurov is the one who takes the lead in the game of love abruptly. Chekhov writes, “Then he looked at her intently, and all at once put his arm round her and kissed her on the lips, and breathed in the moisture and the fragrance of the flowers; and he immediately looked round him, anxiously wondering whether anyone had seen them.” Her response is instant and she agrees to his suggestion, “Let us go to your hotel” (Chekhov). After that intimate encounter Anna is filled with remorse.

Chekhov writes about her reaction "Its wrong," she said. "You will be the first to despise me now." And her further utterances, "Forgiven? No. I am a bad, low woman; I despise myself and dont attempt to justify myself. I have been deceiving myself for a long time. …I wanted to live! To live, to live! . . . I was fired by curiosity . . . and now I have become a vulgar, contemptible woman whom any one may despise" (Chekhov), indicate that she is a totally confused lady, but she is to be pitied for plight rather than condemned.

Her reaction sets Gurov thinking. Chekhov writes about his mental state, “Gurov thought how in reality everything is beautiful in this world when one reflects: everything except what we think or do ourselves when we forget our human dignity and the higher aims of our existence” (Chekhov). He has no concern for the sincere feelings of Anna in the initial phase of their interaction. Anna has a moral framework, and after her “fall,” she regrets deeply what she does in the first flush of enthusiasm.

When Anna leaves Yalta, her affair with Gurov has concluded and she believes that her association with Gurov is a bad dream of her life. But their emotional storehouse has something else to present for them. Gurov is bored with his family, and so is Anna with hers. Soon both realize that remaining separated is impossible for them. Gurov takes the lead and meets her discreetly at the theater at Moscow one night. Though they remain trapped in their solemnized marriages, they create another trap of love that initiates transformation in their basic natures.

The seducer Gurov is in search of true love, tries to find deeper meaning, and realizes that sexual conquest is not the supreme purpose of life. He does not repent his adultery nor is he willing to renounce Anna, and she does the same. Their meeting is just the fact of their lives and they create the secret island of happiness, hidden from the busy secular life outside. Love baffles definition; each one sees a new horizon. To live in deception becomes part of life of Gurov and Anna and that is their “intolerable bondage,” as Chekhov puts it.

Works CitedChekhov, Anton. “The Lady with the Pet Dog.” Trans. Constance Garnett. Web. 9 October 2012. < http://www.turksheadreview.com/library/texts/chekhov-ladypetdog.html>.