The Lady with the Dog
The story starts with a lady who visits a city by the sea in Yalta, Crimea which is a vacation seaside town that is located on the black sea coast. A man by the name Gurov has been in that town for some time now when the lady visits and he are interested in the new arrivals and to be particular the lady who just arrived with a dog. The lady is a white Pomeranian who arrives in this town for a vacation from her home town. Gurov is seated at the pavilion and spots this lady walking at the beach accompanied by her pet which has been fitted with a beret (Chekhov, 62). For the time they are in this town, they bump into each other occasionally while in this town and this can be attributed to the fact that Yalta is just but a small town. They both decide that they can be friends and hang out together as they have just known each other and they can maybe be good friends.
Dmitri Gurov is just under the age of forty, has a wife, and children. The wife of Gurov is almost half his age and she is a self-proclaimed woman who Gurov does not seem to like anymore since he regards her as a lady who is uneducated. Gurov has been so very unfaithful to his wife and he thinks that all women are nothing but of a lower level compared to other people (Chekhov, 63). Gurov is a womanizer and claims he does not like or love women but still very interested in them. Every woman finds him very attractive and therefore they end up being very emotional attracted to him but this mentally and physically bothers him very much.
One night, as usual, they meet at a dinner table in town and Gurov decides to make his move in getting the lady with the dog. This move is strategic as he uses the dog to try and get to talk to the lady. The lady seems interested in the talk and since the town is well known to be a place where seducing a lady is a norm, they end up hooking up. They start exchanging words and the lady tells him that she has been around the town, Yalta, for the past five days and it is getting boring already. Gurov explains to her about his career in arts and his current interests in life and that he loves in Moscow (Chekhov, 63). They both start socializing and observe the beautiful clouds and the soothing environment which surrounds them. At this moment while the weather is very soothing, Gurov kisses Anna to her lips and they both agree to go into Anna’s room. In this sense, Gurov seems to have regained his interest in women. This is different from the norm where Gurov is seen as a character which has no love for the women and even despises them in many cases.
The lady was raised in a place called Peterburg and she currently lives with the husband in S but will be in Yalta town for a month or more and that her real name is Anna Sergeyevna. At his bed later after they part for the evening, Gurov meditates and thinks about Anna very much and how she was recently just close to twelve years which is the age of his daughter. Gurov admits that Anna must have something hidden in her to be with a man with the characters of Gurov and he must understand what exactly the lady wants from him.
Section III of the book, Gurov attends an opening performance at Sydney Jones opera known as The Geisha and hopes that Anna might be there also. Fortunately, Anna is very present to see also and the opera makes it a perfect backdrop for their short lived relationship. This is the main significance of the opera and it gives a story of a man who had despised the women and eventually falls in love with geisha (Chekhov, 64). The opera also features the popular say of having the husbands very disappointed with their wives at one point or the other. This significance is very important as it signifies the character Gurov and his behavior when it comes to dealing with women. He is one of the characters who pretend to not care about them but deep inside something keeps pulling him closer and closer to women.
At some point, after Anna leaves Yalta for his matrimonial home after being summoned by the husband, Gurov feels he cannot stay without Anna. With this ideology, it is practically very true to consider that Gurov is attracted to Anna and has already developed feelings towards Anna. Anna is also very interested and misses her moment with Gurov. The both rekindle their love while at Anna’s residence and promises to come back to meet Gurov in the near future. The promise is honored and Anna meets Gurov in Moscow (Chekhov, 73). This marks another beginning for their relationship based on the ideology of both of them being married to different people who will soon realize that their partners have outside affairs. Gurov and Anna decide to keep their relationship up-close and in private until they decide on how to deal with the issue. It the first time for Gurov to be in real love with a lady and this is very confusing on his part.
The drive to have Anna as his wife is so pressuring to the point of even daring to visit her in her husband’s home without fear of what might happen in case they are caught together. When both Anna and Gurov part ways, there is a shift in the mood and the kind of atmosphere. Yalta is a vocational town which serves the people who feel that they have a lot of burdens to lay off from their backs and Gurov doe really understand that Yalta is a city where immorality happens every time but this time seems he is lucky on his part (Chekhov, 74). There is nothing much to do in Yalta but still, Anna and Gurov have visited this town of disappointed partners in a relationship. There is too much romance in the air according to the setting. The grasshoppers, heat, the sweet smell of the sea, clean environment, good atmosphere and so much more signifies love. When one visits this small town of Yalta, they physically have no idea of what to do but something just triggers them into a different part of the world. Immediately Anna leaves for his home in S, Gurov is left alone and Yalta does not seem as entertaining as it was when Anna was around making him to also leave Yalta.
Works cited
Chekhov, A. (2015). The Lady with the Dog. Anncona Media.
