the woman with the pet dog

Comparison and Contrast: "The Lady with the Pet Dog"
Have you ever read a story and wondered if it would be different with a different point of view. Well with the story “The Lady with the Pet Dog” by Anton Chekhov and Joyce Carol Oates, we get a different point of view from both authors. Though there are similarities and differences in both stories the purpose of them only becomes clear when the two stories are read and compared. There are tons of differences that we could focus on but, we are only going to focus on three. The stories have different settings, same plot, and the same characters with different view of points.
There is a dual setting in Chekhov’s version of “The Lady with the Pet Dog.” This is very important to the story. When the characters leave Yalta, it signals a shift in the atmosphere and the mood. Yalta is a vacation spot. Gurov wells know of, “The stories told of the immorality in Yalta.”(Chekhov 1.7) When they go back home to Moscow, “Everything was in its winter routine; the stoves were heated, and in the morning it was still dark when the children were having breakfast and getting ready for school, and the nurse would light the lamp for a short time. The frosts had begun already.”(Chekhov 3.1)In Oates’s version of "The Lady with the Pet Dog" the story sets in the twentieth century in Nantucket. In the first section consist of the central scene at the public concert. “Her husband had gone out to the foyer to make a telephone call; it was intermission at the concert.”(Oates 1.5) In the second section goes back six months, starting with the car ride to Anna’s sister’s house in Albany, New York, leading up to the central scene, and ending with the resumption of the affair. “They had said good-by six months before. He drove her from Nantucket, where they had met, to Albany, New York, where she visited her sister.”(Oates 2.1)
Both stories have similar plots but, there is some difference. Both authors tell the story from a third-person narrator. In Chekhov’s version he tells the story from a perspective of a man. It involves a man and Anna, a woman, who he meets on vacation. They begin to have an affair. The man’s name is Dmitry. He is used to having affairs so he thinks it is just one of his flings. But this one was different. “He thought about her-and was certain that he would meet her the next day.”(Chekhov 1.18) In Oates version tells the story for a perspective of a woman. It is told from Anna’s point of view. Unlike Chekhov who writes the story in four parts, Oates writes hers in three parts. We learn that Anna is not only unhappy but also suicidal. “She drew a razor blade lightly across the inside of her arm, near the elbow, to see what would happen.”(Oates 2.15)
While the name of the story and the characters are the same, there is a big difference between the characters. With the stories being told from a third person point of view, this is one of the most important aspects of the characterization because if other characters were allowed to appear more within either story, the reader would have more than likely had a different view of their affair. In Chekhov’s version, Dmitri is the main character. It is told from his point of view, while Anna is the secondary character. “He did not dream of Anna Sergeyevna, but she followed him about everywhere and watched him.”(Chekhov 3.3) In Oates’s, Anna is the main character.it is told from her point of view, by how she sees it, while Gurov is the secondary character. “She spent the rest of that day reading, nearer her cottage.”(Oates 3.36)
Although it is a lot to take in, you get a different perspective from both stories. We see the story through the eyes of a man and a woman. Through the setting, the plot and the characters, we can see the difference in the stories. By comparing and contrasting them, we can see the big difference. I hope by reading this essay, you will get a better understanding of the differences. I like Chekov’s version more because it is told from a man’s point of view. Which version will you like more.

Works Cited
Chekhov, Anton. “The Lady with the Pet Dog.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2012. 192-203. Print
Oates, Joyce Carol. “ The Lady with the Pet Dog.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2012. 206-218. Print

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Cited: Chekhov, Anton. “The Lady with the Pet Dog.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2012. 192-203. Print Oates, Joyce Carol. “ The Lady with the Pet Dog.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2012. 206-218. Print