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The Symbolism of the Dog in Anton Chekhov’s The Lady with the Dog
The Lady with the Dog (Chekhov)is a short story by the Russian author Anton Chekhov about two characters: a man and a woman who met during a Yalta vacation. Anna Sergeyevna, who, with her dog, makes up the story’s titular characters, meets one Dmitri Dmitritch Gurov while vacationing in Yalta. Gurov is a 40-year-old married man with children, while Anna is a devoted young wife to her husband, but he is not with her in Yalta. Gurov is evidently a misogynist with little regard for women and is also unfaithful to his wife. On the other hand, Anna is presented as pure faithful and with proper regard to the moral ramifications of her action. During the vacation, the two become acquainted and quickly consummate their relationship and become lovers. While Gurov is passive about the relationship, Anna is crestfallen and riddled with regret about this occurrence. After their return to the city, Gurov to Moscow and Anna to St. Petersburg, Gurov realizes that he might have fallen in love with Anna and decides to visit her. Their encounter culminates in an awkward meeting in a public place where they resort to making plans to continue their relationship.
Chekhov’s writing style features a complex mix of allegory, symbolism, and vivid descriptions with the various characters and the objects they interact with, representing different facets of his thematic concerns. The titular dog is described as a white Pomeranian that is usually present wherever Anna goes, it plays an integral part in their meeting, but its presence becomes scarcer as the story and their relationship develops. Chekhov uses the dog as a symbolic tool that attempts to explain the moral and ethical ramifications of Gurov and Anna’s extramarital relationship. Its color, absences, and appearances though few and far between, representing Chekhov’s concern on the loss and presence of a characteristic central to his theme. This paper analyses the titular canine’s symbolic meaning by critically analyzing the role that the dog plays in bringing out Chekhov’s symbolic representations.
At the beginning of the story, Anna, the titular character, and her dog are described as constant companions to the extent that “everyone simply calls her the lady with the dog” Chekhov attempts to portray this relationship as tight difficult to break. The dog is further described as a white Pomeranian, which Chekhov portrays it as possessing mild but menacing manners, as evidenced by Anna’s assertion that “he doesn’t bite” after it growls Gurov. Chekhov writes that “It was said that a new person had appeared on the sea-front: a lady with a little dog, a white Pomeranian dog was running behind her.” (Chekhov) In this first part of the story, the dog represents the purity and innocence that Anna carries about her. Chekhov uses the white Pomeranian’s symbolism to represent the blemishless purity of Anna’s moral standpoint at the beginning of the story and before she meets with Gurov (Bill, and Smith). He further equates the dog with the blameless innocence that Anna possesses and that she is known for, i.e., the lady with the dog.
In its second crucial appearance in the story, the dog plays a part in Anna’s meeting with Gurov. He (Gurov) attracts Anna’s attention by teasing the dog, which reacts to Gurov with a growl. However, Anna assures Gurov that the dog does not bite, and they begin to speak to each other.
“He beckoned coaxingly to the Pomeranian, and when the dog came up to him, he shook his finger at it. The Pomeranian growled: Gurov shook his finger at it again.
The lady looked at him and at once dropped her eyes.
“He doesn’t bite,” she said and blushed. (Chekhov)
After this first meeting, the two make acquaintances and spend a lot of time with each other. It is also after this encounter that the dog’s absence becomes noticeable. In this regard, Chekhov attempts to symbolize the enticement of Anna’s innocent and morally unblemished ideals by Gurov. Although she is at first reluctant to his offers of friendship as represented by the dog’s growls, she finally gives in and makes acquaintance. The absence of the dog from this point of the story is symbolic of the eventual loss of innocence that occurs upon the extramarital consummation that occurs between Anna and Gurov. The dog becomes scarce from this point and represents the collapse of her purity and moral standpoint (Bill and Smith).
The dog makes its last appearance in the story when Gurov visits St. Petersburg intending to meet Anna, and while he is reluctant to approach her house, he scours the fence of the premises and, at one point, sees the dog. Chekhov describes this encounter “The front door suddenly opened, and an old woman came out, followed by the familiar white Pomeranian. Gurov was on the point of calling to the dog, but his heart began beating violently, and in his excitement, he could not remember the dog’s name.” (Chekhov) This final encounter represents the total inexistence of Anna’s moral shade that she had before they met. His inability to remember its name represents his acceptance of Anna’s current condition and his disregard for the moral conditions that Anna was in when they met in Yalta. The dog’s complete absence represents Anna’s transformation to an unfaithful wife and the immorality it is associated with (Llewellyn Smith).
In conclusion, it is clear from the above elucidations that Chekhov intended to place massive significance on the existence, presence, and absence of the dog in his story. He uses the dog as a symbolic representation of Anna’s purity, innocence, and moral inclinations before and after Gurov’s appearance. It also marks the transformation. His use of the dog represents efficient symbolism and Chekhov’s mastery of the stylistic device.
Works Cited
Bill, Valentine Tschebotarioff, and Virginia Llewellyn Smith. “Anton Chekhov And “The Lady With The Dog””. Russian Review, vol 33, no. 3, 1974, p. 339. JSTOR.
Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich. The Lady With The Dog, And Other Stories. Otbebookpublishing, 2019.
Greenblatt, Stephen, ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Package 1 (Volume A, B, C). Vol. 1. WW Norton & Company, 2018.
Llewellyn Smith, Virginia. Anton Chekhov And The Lady With The Dog. Oxford University Press, 1973.