The Lady with the Pet Dog Comparison Essays

The Lady with the Pet Dog Comparison Essays The Lady with the Pet Dog Comparison Essay The Lady with the Pet Dog Comparison Essay The two stories of The Lady with the Pet Dog, by Anton Chekhov and Joyce Carol Oates are extremely similar in plot. They are both about a love affair between two married people and each couple discovering true love. However, these stories are completely different for one reason, their perspective. Chekhovs and Oatess versions of the story are told from the opposite point of view of each couple. Each situation, because told for a different point of view, allows for an alternative interpretation in the story. Chekhovs protagonist, Gurov, at the beginning of the story is a rough, arrogant, and immature person, a fact he is well aware of. His attitude toward women in general is indifferent. He refers to women as the inferior race. And his attitude toward Anna Sergeyevna in particular is just as insensitive. After he meets with her for the first time, he considers her as something pathetic. Since the story is told largely through his point of view, Gurov leads the direction of the plot. He is the one who pursues the relationship with Anna, and, after their first encounter, follows her to Moscow to  continue  their affair. The fact that he is pursuing her contradicts his feelings in past of his affairs. He would generally grow bored of these women rather quickly. This change became very clear after Gurov returned to his family, but he could think of nothing but Anna. At the end of the story, Gurov realizes he is truly in love for the first time, with Anna, which opens him up to greater, more tender emotions in himself. While we do get a small glimpse of Anna’s internal emotions through her dialogue, she is seen mostly through Gurovs examinations of her. Towards the very end of the story, she basically stops speaking altogether, which pretty much means that in Gurovs imagination, they have completely joined together. Joyce Carol Oatess version reimagines the story through Annas eyes. The setting is also set in New York. Unlike Chekhovs Gurov, Oatess protagonist is passive. She does more of the following as the story progresses and does not direct the action in the plot. Oates directs most of the action in her version through the characters interior emotions. Oatess Anna is a hysterical character. She has suicidal thoughts, has  a melodramatic self-image, and is full of self-loathing. Even though Oatess version has been updated, she maintains many of the same characteristics that Chekhov displayed in his character of the late 1800s. This is an interesting aspect of the Oates’s story because considering that a woman during the 1970s might have a different attitude toward adultery than a woman in the 1800s. Another way that Oatess version of the story differs for Chekhovs version is the subtext from â€Å"Anna’s† perspective is completely different. While Chekhovs character discovers real love for another human being for the first time in his life, and experiences the ultimate sacrifice that involves it, Oatess protagonist begins to love herself for the first time. Gurovs love is about his partner, but Oatess Anna takes her back to self. These two stories offer a very interesting look into two people’s perspective of the same situation. Chekhov gives you the chance to see a man who was generally ambiguous when it came to love, but grew to understand it. He also learned how to love and how to look outside his own selfishness. Oates’s story takes a modern twist on Chekhov’s story. She gives you the opportunity to see how the story looks from the woman’s perspective. Oates’s story was more about self-discovery and learning how to love one’s self. The woman at the beginning of the story hated herself and through the affair learned how to change that, while Gurov was in love with himself, and learned how to truly love someone else.