The Comparison of the Point of View in 'The Lady with the Dog' by Anton Chekhov and 'The Lady with the Pet Dog' by Joyce Carol Oates

Essay from the year 2008 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: A, , course: American Literature, language: English, abstract: 'The Lady with the Pet Dog ', written by Joyce Carol Oates, presents the theme of a passionate love affair between two adulterers. The action of the story is set in Nantucket in the 1970s. The short story bears a striking resemblance to Anton Chekhov's 'The Lady with the Dog', created in Russia at the end of the nineteenth century. Despite undoubted dissimilarities in the settings of the two stories, they both present a colourful account of the secret relationship between a womanizer and an attractive woman who are trapped in loveless marriages. Although each couple deals with infidelity and forbidden love, the same theme is shown from a different perspective - Anton Chekhov portrays the love affair from the male point of view while Joyce Carol Oates' story is seen with the eyes of a female protagonist. The third person limited narrator in 'The Lady with the Dog' acquaints the reader with major events of the story through the male protagonist's inner thoughts and emotions. Chekhov's main character, Dmitri Dmitrich Gurov, an affluent, middle-aged banker, is initially described as nonchalant and arrogant. His attitude towards women had been shaped by his reluctance to his wife whom he 'secretly considered as unintelligent, narrow and inelegant'. Moreover, his unsatisfactory previous love affairs made him perceive women as 'the lower race'.