The Lady with the Pet Dog Questions and Answers
by Anton Chekhov

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What do you think the main idea is in "The Lady with the Pet Dog"?
  This question has been asked and answered previously. Please see links below: we hope these will answer your question. Thank you for using eNotes!!...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Explain the expression: "Language is both the wrapper on the package and one of the gifts inside it," chekhov the lady with the pet dog
  "Language is both the wrapper on the package and one of the gifts inside it" refers to the common distinction between form and content—and destroys it. By that I mean, we usually split things like...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Compare and contrast Gurov's and Anna's attitudes about having an affair.
  Initially, Gurov views his summertime affair with Anna as nothing more than one affair in a string of them. While the affair is in full swing, he is a little bored with the business of seduction...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What is the affect of Dmitri's affairs?
  In the Anton Chekhov short story "The Lady with the Dog," the main character Dmitri is highly motivated to seek out affairs with women to justify his misogynist perceptions that women are "the...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What the narrator want to say in the story "The Lady with the Dog"?
  "The Lady with the Pet Dog" is a limited third-person narrative, told in Chekov's typical laconic and somewhat ambiguous style. It is a story about love coming late to a man who is already married...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Describe the poor treatment of women in Chekhov’s story "The Lady with the Pet Dog." The abuse can be physical or social.
  The eponymous lady with the pet dog, Anna Sergeyevna, is trapped in an unfulfilling marriage with a much older man. At that time, the prevailing standards held that women should stay with their...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Explain the difference between traditional third-person narrative point of view and Chekhov’s use of “free indirect discourse" in "The Lady with the Pet Dog."  
  Third-person narration uses a narrator that is psychologically separate from the characters in the story. In most cases, this narrator has access to the internal psychological states of all the...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What is a feminist criticism of the story "The Lady with the Dog" by Anton Chekhov? Explain how and why the feminist mode of criticism could help talk and write about this story. What issues in the story are women's (feminist) issues?
  In Anton Chekhov’s short story “The Lady with the Dog,” the main character, Dmitri Dmitritch Gurov, has an ambivalent relationship with women. Even though he thinks that women are inferior to men,...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Where and how is irony used in Chekhov's "The Lady With The Pet Dog"?
  The irony is in the fact that Gurov initiates the affair with Anna for purely physical purposes. He has no respect for women, they exist to satisfy his pleasure. When he meets Anna, he wants to...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  How does Gurov change after leaving Anna?
  The classic short story "The Lady With the Pet Dog" by Anton Chekhov tells of a man and a woman who meet while vacationing in Yalta. Dmitri Gurov is a banker in the midst of an unhappy marriage. He...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  How do Gurov and Anna change over the course of the story?
  Chekhov is not the kind of writer who would depict a truly revolutionary character change in a middle-aged character like Gurov. Chekhov knew that people in real life rarely if ever change so...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Discuss plot by identifying the conflict and the resolution according to Freytag's pyramid for Chekhov's "The Lady with the Pet Dog."
  Part 1 is the exposition of the plot. This is where we meet our two main characters and where they meet each other. The rising action occurs in Part 2 when the couple begins their affair. At the...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What is the narrative structure of "The Lady with the Pet Dog"?
  The point of view used in this brilliant story is limited third-person, as the detached narrator is only given access to the thoughts and feelings of Gurov and we only perceive Ann Sergeyevna...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What is a character analysis of Dmitri Gurov in Chekhov's "The Lady with the Pet Dog"? Also called "The Lady with the Dog."
  Being a skillful short story writer, Chekhov establishes Gurov's character traits in the opening paragraphs of Part I. Gurov's observations are first described. This (1) introduces the...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  How is weather/season related to the action? If Gurov/Anna's affair heats up in Yalta's hot sun, why doesn't it cool down, in Moscow winter's snow?
  Author's often use weather or seasons to symbolize the dominant themes of their work. It is often the case that a passionate relationship will fade over time, and what seemed exciting and new at...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Why would Chekhov omit such an important detail in "The Lady with the Pet Dog"? It is not so we can imagine what their lives will be.
  Although you do not mention the specific detail missing in the story, I'm assuming you are asking about the open-ended conclusion of the story. The story ends with Anna and Dmitri recognizing the...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What is the symbolism in "The Lady with the Pet Dog"?
  A very important symbol that comes towards the end of the story is actually the mirror that Gurov sees himself reflected in just as he is about to "make a joke" to Anna, having decided that their...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What are three ironies that are found in "The Lady with the Pet Dog" by Anton Chekhov?
  If you want to find examples of multiple ironies in this excellent story, you need look no further than the relationship between the two central characters, Gurov and Anna, his mistress. Gurov...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  In Chekhov's "The Lady with the Pet Dog," what about Anna made Gurov fall in love when he usually viewed women as the lower class?
  Part of Gurov's problem with women comes from the fact that he is married to a woman he does not love. His parents chose his wife, and he tells us that she is cold, and harsh and unintellligent....

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What is a major turning point in this story that affects both the plot and characterization, chekhov the lady with the pet dog?
  A turning point might be in part 3 when Gurov leaves his home and goes to find Anna in her provincial village. This is when Gurov's obsession finally leads to action on his part, and where we learn...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Who is the central character in "The Lady with the Pet Dog"?
  The protagonist of this brilliant short story is known as Gurov, who, in the opening pages of this tale, initiates an adulterous relationship that will transform his life forever. However, at the...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  In "The Lady with the Pet Dog" does Chekov trace Gurov's gradual transformation from a cynic to a romantic willing to risk disgrace and divorce for his grand passion--his love for Anna Sergeyevna?  
  Chekhov is not the kind of writer who would depict such a character change in a middle-aged man like Gurov. He knew that in real life people rarely if ever change that radically. What happens is...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  How does Dmitri change Anna and how does Anna change Dmitri?
  One way in which Anna has been changed by her affair with Dimitri is that she has come to a point where she understands the pain in consciousness. Prior to her affair, she had been living a...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  How can I explain Dmitri Gurov in regards to the two lives he lives, and what did him see in himself that he felt himself in love with Anna in Chekhov's "The Lady with the Pet Dog"?
  Dimitri Gurov's "two lives" relating to Anna don't start until after they have both left Yalta, so you are asking about the portion of the story where Chekhov describes Gurov's psychological...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What is the conflict of the story "The Lady with a Dog" by Anton Chekhov?
  The conflict of defining what is moral/morality is at the center of the story. Should the lovers stay with their spouses even if they do not love them, and are in love with one another?The...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Identify the "flat" and the "round" characters in Chekhov's the lady with the pet dog.
  The difference between flat and round characters lies in the view the reader gets of the character. Did you only see one side of the character, one personality? Then that character would be a flat...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Explain the settings in Chekhov's "The Lady with the Pet Dog”?
  The first setting is the seaside spa in Yalta. The second setting is Moscow, when Gurov goes back home. Then he tells his wife that he must go to St. Petersburg on business, but he goes, instead,...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Compare and contrast “The Lady with the Dog” by Anton Chekhov and “The Lady with the Pet Dog” by Joyce Carol Oates.
  Chekhov's version of the story is written from the man's standpoint, involving himself and Anna, a woman (with a pet dog), who he meets on vacation. They begin an adulterous affair. The man...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What two incidents in Chekhov's "The Lady with the Pet Dog" foreshadow Dmitri's feelings for Anna will be stronger than for other women?
  The two incidents that foreshadow Dmitri's genuine love for Anna both occur in relation to the beauty of the natural world. After first meeting at the restaurant, Dmitri and Anna leave together and...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What is the tone of "The Lady with the Pet Dog"? By what means and how effectively is it communicated?
  The tone is one of longing and of angst until the end of the story, when both of the main characters realize that they must find a way to be together (Gurov and Anna) and that they are completely...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  How is weather or the season related to the action in Chekhov's "The Lady with the Pet Dog," and if Gurov and Anna's affair heats up in Yalta's hot sun, why doesn't it cool down in Moscow's winter snow?
  The answer to the second part of your question is actually that the Yalta heat does not act as a motivator to action, thus the Moscow cold does not act as a contrasting motivator. So Moscow does...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What is the point of view in "The Lady with the Pet Dog"?
  There are only two important characters in Chekhov's "The Lady with the Pet Dog." The story is told entirely from the point of view of the man, Dmitri Dmitritch Gurov, although the woman's part is...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  How does the paragraph quoted below relate to Anna and Gurnov in Chekhov's "The Lady with the Pet Dog"? "When they got out of the carriage at Oreanda they sat down on a bench not far from the church, and looked down at the sea, without talking. ...
  The passage quoted is a very symbolic and metaphysical one: ... it was roaring now, and it would go on roaring, just as indifferently and hollowly, when we had passed away. And it may be that in...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  How is the character Gurov presented to us?
  In Chekhov’s “The Lady With The Pet Dog,” Dmitri Dmitritch Gurov is presented to the reader as a bored vacationer in Yalta on the lookout for a new arrival he has heard spoken of—a woman with a...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  How can I analyze the character of Gurov in "The Lady with the Pet Dog"? What should I include?
  The author Anton Chekhov gives you most of what you need to write a character analysis of Gurov in the second and third paragraphs of the story. If I were you I would focus on what Chekhov tells...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Describe the structure of the short story, "The Lady with the Pet Dog." How might it be divided into parts?
  There seems to be four parts (though this is somewhat arbitrary): Yalta; Moscow; Anna's Town; Moscow Redux. Each section sees a slightly altered Gurov: in Yalta, he is the sexist (misogynist?) that...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What is the conflict and plot of the story "The Lady with the Pet Dog" by Chekhov?
  In both Chevhov's version and Oates' version, the plot is the same though each is told from a different viewpoint, with a different setting for each. The story deals with Dmitri and Anna (the lady...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What is the significance of the setting in "The Lady with the Pet Dog"? In particular what is the significance/point of Gurov and his daughter's conversation about the weather: "It's three degrees above zero, yet it's snowing... But it's only...
  Yes, the description of the weather at the beginning of the fourth section of this great short story is rather curious. Yet, if we read it in the context of the rest of this section, we can draw...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What is Chekhov’s understanding of an adulterous relationship in the "Lady with the Pet Dog" stories, and how is Oates’ similar or dissimilar?
  Regarding "The Lady with the Pet Dog," two short stories, one by Chekhov and one by Oates, one way to develop a theory of the stories to determine the authors' understandings of adulterous...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  In "The Lady with the Dog," why does Chekhov wait until Gurov and Anna take their first walk to describe Yalta?
  The story starts out with a degree of indifference to details, this approach compliments Gurov's personality and his gives the reader the anonymous nature that the author wants us to feel from his...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What elements make "The Lady with the Pet Dog" a universal story?
  Chekov's short story addresses the human characteristics of loneliness, desire to be loved, a propensity for longing, and a seeming inability to be satisfied. As the two characters exchange small...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  In The Lady with the Pet Dog, at what point does Dmitry know that he is in love with Anna. What does Anna do to cause Dmitry to fall in love with her?
  Dimitri realizes that he is in love with Anna upon his return to Moscow. It is in Moscow as he resumes his "regular" life that he realizes that something is not right in what he is doing in terms...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Joyce Carol Oates's “The Lady with the Pet Dog” is a modern American retelling of a classic Russian story, “The Lady with the Little Dog,” by Anton Chekhov. Which of the two stories is the better story?
  While readers of modern literature may enjoy Oates's short story because of its stylistic approach (which is more in vogue with its use of common, ordinary characters and the vernacular and the...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Discuss the mood of Chekhov's story "The Lady with the Pet Dog."
  In my opinion, the mood of Chekov's story is one of boredom with life caused by excess of wealth, too much leisure, and lack of purpose in existence. The setting is a fashionable seaside resort in...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Did Anton Chekhov base his story "The Lady with the Pet Dog" on his own life events occurring during the time the story was published?
  Without autobiographical confessions, letters or diaries, critics can only make attempt to make connections between known events when speculating on the influence of an author's life upon their...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What are some settings in Chekhov's "The Lady with the Pet Dog"?
  There are a number of setting locations in the story. The major ones are the sea at Yalta, Anna's hotel room, the seat by the church with the sea view in Oreanda, and the hotel rendezvous where...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  In Chekhov's "The Lady with the Pet Dog," how does Dmitri Gurov develop as a character?
  Gurov's transformation takes place after he leaves Anna, when he leaves the vacation resort where he met her. When, at first, he meets Anna, he wants to just have a casual fling with Anna, he does...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  What is the effect of having Gurov as the central consciousness? How would the story be different if it were told from Anna's perspective?
  By placing Gurov at the center of the story, Chekhov is providing a middle-aged man's view of love and life. Gurov has become rather cynical, as life has not turned out quite the way he...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  Describe the structure of Chekhov's "The Lady with the Pet Dog". How might it be divided into parts?
  In Parts I and II, Gurov goes on a vacation without his wife to a seaside resort in Yalta. He does not much care for his wife, he finds her harsh and unintelligent. His parents forced him to...

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• The Lady with the Pet Dog
  How is symbolism used in "The Lady with the Pet Dog" to portray the theme of isolation?
  The theme of isolation in “The Lady with the Pet Dog” is portrayed through darkness and silence that often obscures the characters from each other and through lonely images associated with travel....

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