The Lady With The Pet Dog Essay

Marriages are a great thing for people to display their love for one another. Unfortunately marriages do not always go as planned. Affairs sometimes happen during marriages, and it happens during the short story “The Lady with The Pet Dog”. Anton Chekhov the author of “The Lady with The Pet Dog” was born in Russia in 1860. Anton gave up a medical career to be a writer, “His earliest plays were short farces; however, he soon developed his signature style, which was a unique mix of comedy and tragedy” (Biography). Third person omniscient can be found throughout the story “The Lady with The Pet Dog”, as the narrator focuses on Dmitri’s thoughts, and his feelings.
Dmitri Gurov is a married man, who dislikes his wife, and has affairs with other women. Gurov is intrigued by a woman that he spots while she is walking her dog. One day the lady sits next to Gurov, and he begins to pet the dog to spark a conversation. Anna Sergeyevna is
“The Lady with The Pet Dog” Gurov learns she is married, and she is on vacation at Yalta. The two begin to see each other more, and more each day. Anna’s husband urges her to return, and Gurov faces a little irony when Anna ultimately leaves him for her husband. Later on in the story, Gurov reminisces about the memories he had with Anna. He attempts to visit with Anna, and goes to a theatre that she is also attending. Gurov approaches Anna, and tells her about the love that he has for her. Anna confesses that she misses him, and agrees to visit him in Moscow.
The first example of Gurov’s point of view, is his point of view towards women. “He had begun being unfaithful to her long ago –had been unfaithful to her often, and probably for that reason, almost spoke ill of women, and when they were talked of in his presence used to call them the inferior race” (224-225). Gurov has a strange point of view towards women especially coming from a grown man, he sees them as being protagonist. His ability to have multiple love affairs, and speak ill of women at the same time are examples that show, his perception of women as the lower race.
Another point of view that Gurov displayed, is his view towards his new mistress Anna Sergeyevna, “If she is here alone without husband or friends, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to make her acquaintance” (224) Gurov’s first thought of Anna is the same about all women, that they are the lower race. Throughout the story Dmitry tends to change his mind of Anna, every day they met at noon, and they would walk on the beach together. During this time with Anna he realizes that they are much alike.
The last point of view in this short story was when, Gurov sees Anna’s husband for the first time, “His side-whiskers, his small bald patch, something of a flunkeys retiring manner; his smile was mawkish, and in his buttonhole there was an academic badge like a waiter’s number” (232) Gurov’s point of view of the husband, in describing the husbands poor qualities that he displayed, this ultimately boosts Gurovs confidence, before he surprises Anna.
This is very ironic because at the beginning of the story he describes the bad qualities of women.
As exemplified in the previous paragraphs, in the story “The Lady with the Pet Dog” Dmitri’s point of view can be felt throughout the story. Dmitri’s feelings toward women change as the story goes along, he learns that women can be viewed as equals. Dmitri’s thoughts about Anna changed throughout the story. At first he saw her as another mistress, but Dmitri in the end found love for the first time. He was not in love with his wife, and it shows why he had many love affairs throughout his
marriage.