The Lady with the Dog by Anton Chekhov

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A New Affair Which Never Ends “Chekhov, with his artist’s wisdom, teaches us implicitly that literature is a form of desire and wonder and not a form of the good.” HAROLD BLOOM Anton Chekhov was one of the most important short story writers and dramatists of all time. Ranked among the giants of Russian literature, Chekhov’s legacy includes The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, The seagull, “The Darling,” and “The Lady with the Dog” (Bloom 2). Anton Chekhov was born on January 29, 1860 in Taganrog, Russian Empire and died on July 15, 1904 at age 44 in Badenweiler, German Empire. In his early writings Chekhov assumed responsibility for the whole family. To support them and to pay his tuition fees, he wrote daily short, humorous sketches and vignettes of contemporary Russian life, many under pseudonyms such as "Antosha Chekhonte" and "Man without a Spleen" (Palmer). Chekhov wrote the "The Lady with the Dog" in 1899, five years before his death, while he was an invalid suffering from tuberculosis. He was laid up in the seaside town of Yalta, on the coast of the Black Sea, a setting that serves as the backdrop for the lovers' initial meeting in the story (Shmoop Editorial Team). Setting isn't the only tidbit to find its way from Chekhov's life to the page; many scholars argue that the relationship at the center of this story is a reflection of the author's own romance with the actress he would eventually marry in 1901 (Matlaw 353). Theme / Thesis "The Lady with the Dog" is in many ways a typical Chekhov tale. It reflects the style and literary preferences of the author who, having written over 200 stories in his career. In accordance with his typical manner, the story breaks many of the rules of storytelling, particularly when it comes to plot and conclusion (Shmoop Editorial Team). In Anton Chekhov’s short story “The Lady with the Dog”, we are given a
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