Chekhov's Love TalentThe love relationships that strain traditional relationships in both "Angel [The Darling]" and "The Lady with the Little Dog" by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov are similar in how they depict foreshadowing, yet the stories develop differently, skipping an introduction, jumping into developing the characters and then Chekhov begins describing the setting of the story. The foreshadowing of Chekhov has a major part in keeping the reader engrossed in the love stories.The foreshadowing similarities between "Angel [The Darling]" and "The Lady with the Little Dog," are incredibly noticeable. Foreshadowing is the ability of the writer to give hints about future events that will occur ...view middle of the document...
Before she opens the letter, the reader knows it is not a good because the deliver declares it is urgent and Olga is about to faint. When she eventually opens the letter, it reads, "MR KUKIN PASSED AWAY SUDDENLY TODAY, NUBSCUTCH AWAIT INSTRUCTIONS FUNERAL TUESDAY" (291). Following the death of Mr. Kukin, Olga begins attending church and after church every Sunday, Vanya Pustovalov, manager of the Babakayev timber and Olga's neighbor, walks Olga to and from church. The foreshadowing here is that Vanya cares for Olga and sure enough, Olga begins to think about him all day after their goodbyes at the front gate. The reader can see right through Olga and Vanya like glass. The reader can tell they enjoy being with one another and that they will eventually connect. In the same way, in "The Lady with the Little Dog" once Dmitri tells a fellow doctor about the charming woman he meets in Yalta, the foreshadowing is that Gurov will see Anna again if he continues to think about her. The doctor calls out on his sleigh while leaving from dinner, "You were right earlier; the sturgeon was a bit off!" (306). He cannot believe that Gurov, with an attractive wife is talking about another woman who he meets in Yalta.In addition, in "Angel [The Darling]," while married to Vanya, Olga meets with Volodya Smirnin, when Vanya fetches timber in the Mogilyov district. Both stories incorporate relationships with people who are married and characters who find someone outside the relationship that they love spending time together. One can see there will be a future relationship because Olga talks highly of Smirnin, which is the foreshadowing of Chekhov. However, Vanya talks down about his bad habits with women because Vanya feels threatened by Volodya's appearance while he is absent. There is tension about Smirnin's motives with visiting Olga while Vanya is away. Six quiet and peaceful years pass, "But then, one winter's day, Vanya drank some hot tea in the office, went out to dispatch some timber without his cap on, caught a cold and fell ill" (293). After Vanya falls ill, the reader can see Vanya may not become healthy and may die.After four months of suffering while working with the best doctors, Olga becomes a widow again. Soon after Vanya's death, Volodya moves in and the two begin a close relationship. Yet, one must remember Vanya's warning to Olga about Volodya's womanizing habits. Their relationship does not last long as Vanya suggests, Volodya leaves with his regiment and Vanya warns Olga before he passes away, but she does not listen. Gurov in "The Lady with the Little Dog" also treats women poorly, even when he feels he is in love. As Anna cries in her hotel room to Gurov about their love and their sins, Gurov simply unhurriedly slices a watermelon sitting on a table, paying little attention to Anna's concerns, showing his true self. If Anna knows as much as the reader does about Gurov, she may have expected him to react the way he does.Later in the story, dur...
