Anton Chekhov’s “The Lady with the Little Dog” challenges conventional notions of morality, juxtaposing them with the human experience, and the mystery of life. At first, Dmitri Gurov, one of the protagonists, may seem to embody the archetype of the “bad guy seducer,” a man driven by primal impulses to cheat on his wife while neglecting family duties. His counterpart, Anna Sergeyevna, cheats on her husband by allowing herself to be seduced by Gurov. However, a closer look reveals a narrative that defies simplistic labels of morality, transcending notions of right and wrong, good and bad. The heroes of the story are complexly human, reaching the apex of literary realism.
Dmitry Gurov: The Seducer
Gurov, introduced as a seasoned womanizer, appears to be the archetypical seducer. Yet, as the story unfolds, Chekhov peels back the layers, revealing a man grappling with the emptiness of his own existence. Chekhov masterfully explores the human psyche, depicting Gurov’s extramarital affairs not as stemming from malicious intent, but as desperate attempts to escape the monotony of a loveless marriage and societal obligations. In his pursuit of excitement, Gurov finds himself entangled in a web of frequent disillusionment in senseless love affairs. Despite his apparent prowess, Gurov admits to being sick of these meaningless relationships.
“He also remembered two or three beautiful but cold women, whose faces would turn predatory, with an obstinate desire to seize, to take more from life than they could give; these were not youthful women, they were capricious, lacking all reason, domineering and dull, and when Gurov would turn cold towards them, their beauty would turn to spite, and the lace of their lingerie became fish scales.”
Anna Sergeyevna: The Seduced
Anna, the lady with the little dog, emerges as a character seeking a meaningful connection to escape her constraining loveless marriage. At first, she seems an innocent victim seduced by the womanizer Gurov. Yet, a closer inspection reveals that she is just as involved in this love game as he is. They play their parts together. A mysterious force unites them, pushing them into each other, as the narrator reveals. For Anna, the affair with Gurov becomes a beacon of hope in an otherwise desolate emotional landscape. Consequently, their affair is not a reckless abandonment of morality, but an escape from loneliness in a society that dictates contrary to their desires. Imposed systems of morals only harm the protagonists, running contrary to the currents of nature.
The Mysterious Force of Life
This brings us to the philosophical point of the narrative. The narrator reveals the background motion of the story in a wonderful passage where Anna and Gurov are sitting on a bench looking over the sea.
“They sat on a bench in Oreanda, near a church. They looked down at the sea without saying a word. Yalta was barely visible through the morning fog. White clouds stood motionless above the mountaintops. Tree leaves did not stir, cicadas buzzed, and the monotone, muffled noise of the sea, emanating from the depths, spoke of repose, of the eternal sleep awaiting us all. The noise from below was there, the same now as when there was no Yalta, or Oreanda, and it will continue, monotone and muffled, when we are no longer here. And in this permanence, in this complete indifference towards life and death, in all of us, perhaps, lies concealed the covenant of our eternal salvation, the continual movement of life on earth, the continual striving towards perfection. Sitting next to a young woman, flowering in the prime of her life, who was so beautiful, and within the tranquil and charming atmosphere of this fairy tale setting with the sea, mountain, clouds, and wide sky, Gurov thought of how actually, when one thinks about it, everything in this world is marvelous, all of it, and only when we ourselves think and act do we end up forgetting the higher aims of existence and our human dignity.”
The above passage is revealing. The lovers are just a part of this indifferent movement of life. They feel and suffer, yet life remains indifferent. It keeps rolling on like the sea. Where is the salvation then, for a being that suffers emotionally? For Gurov and Anna, it is in each other. This paragraph is the key to understanding the philosophy running through the story: the monotone sea and society, the indifferent societal life, and the characters yearning for respite in each other.
Societal Life for Gurov
While only the end of the story reveals Anna is unhappy in her marriage, that realization comes only through the consequences of her actions. We do, however, get a peek at Gurov’s societal life. Besides his loveless marriage to a wife that scares him, Gurov feels trapped in society. When returning to Moscow, society mirrors the monotone noise of the sea.
“The official sat on the sledge riding off but turned and remarked:
-Dmitry, Dmitrich!
-What?
-You were right: the sturgeon smelled foul!
“These trivial words, for some unknown reason, troubled Gurov. They appeared degrading, soiled. What primitive customs, what primitive people! What senseless nights, what dull insignificant days! The frantic card games, gluttony, drinking, the interminable conversations about the same subjects. The trifling affairs and the talk about the same thing tears away one’s best time, depletes the better part of one’s strength, and all that’s left is some kind of limping, wingless life, something nonsensical and unescapable, like being in a madhouse or penal colony.”
Sea and society: blind forces of nature
The sea and society in “The Lady with the Little Dog” converge as formidable forces of nature, indifferent to the needs and struggles of individuals. Anton Chekhov employs the sea as a symbolic representation of societal norms, both perpetuating a monotonous and relentless rhythm. These forces, like the sea’s ceaseless rolling waves, remain blind to the emotional intricacies and personal problems of individuals such as Gurov and Anna. Society, akin to the indifferent rolling of the sea, imposes its expectations and constraints, mirroring an unyielding force of nature. The characters, yearning for respite and connection, find themselves entangled in a struggle against these impersonal yet pervasive elements, highlighting the perpetual clash between the human experience and the blind forces that govern both the natural world and societal structures.
Conclusion: The Apex of Literary Realism
The characters in this story defy simple categorization as either good or bad, and any moral judgments we make about them are inevitably influenced by personal biases. What sets this story apart is its portrayal as a slice of life, where the monotony of the sea, synonymous with society, propels the protagonists, rendering them powerless. Despite their vulnerability, they exhibit a profound humanity, experiencing suffering and seeking solace.
These characters transcend conventional archetypes like seducer and seduced, revealing a depth and mystery similar to the complexities of life. They share universal experiences of suffering and yearning, constrained by the societal norms that shape their existence. This narrative exemplifies the peak of literary realism, mirroring both the internal and external parts of life. It touches the intricacies of psychology, showcasing the perpetual clash between individual psychology and the external human world.
The main characters grapple with suffering and the quest for comfort, confronting the relentless extrinsic forces. The sea, serving as a symbolic representation of society, mirrors its monotonous, indifferent progression—unceasingly rolling on, unmoved by our personal tribulations.