The Role of the Setting in Chekhov’s “the Lady with the Dog”

The Role of the Setting in Chekhov’s “The Lady with the Dog”

It is nearly a universal truth that any good piece of literature contains well developed characters and most authors achieve this by providing background and dialogue for the main character’s that helps the reader to identify with each character. In “The Lady with the Dog” however, Anton Chekhov expresses the metamorphosis of Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna, as well as their relationship, not through dialogue, but by providing symbolism throughout the setting of the story. From the first scene through the end of the story the setting plays a crucial role in expressing the emotions of the individual characters as well as the blossoming relationship between them.

The first scene in “The Lady with the Dog” occurs, not in the hometown of either Gurov or Anna, but in the seaside resort town of Yalta. The vacation atmosphere of Yalta provides people with the opportunity to escape their normal lives and act however they like. Away from home, Gurov, a middle-aged bank manager, takes up the role of the sophisticated amorist who “felt quite at home among women, and knew exactly what to say to them, and how to behave; he could even be silent in their company without feeling the slightest awkwardness” (02). However, Chekhov does not leave the setting solely to be speculated upon, rather he uses it to add subtle and symbolic foreshadowing to his story. As Gurov and Anna take their first walk along the ocean, they comment “on the strange light over the sea. The water was a warm, tender purple, the moonlight lay on its surface in a golden strip. They said how close it was, after the hot day” (04). The ocean is dictated by the moon, which regulates the changing of the tide. In this page the moon is also a sign of fertility, it is close to the ocean, suggesting the birth of something new. “The sea had roared like this long before there was any Yalta or Oreanda, it was roaring now, and it would go on roaring, just as indifferently and hollowly, when we had ped away” (09). The ocean is also symbolic of the ebb and flow of life; it is the place from which we originate, from where we have evolved.

Chekhov uses the characters next meeting to show how their relationship is about to take a change, how it is going to become a romantic relationship between the two. A week later, the two characters are at the pier waiting on the boat Anna’s husband is supposed to arrive in. As they are waiting on the ship, “dust rose in clouds out of doors, and people's hats blew off” (00). The extreme wind has caused not only in the weather, but is also one of the signals of change in Anna and Gurov’s relationship. The general attitude around Yalta has also changed, instead of the boring town which Anna complained of a week earlier the town is bustling with “a great many people strolling about the landing-place; some, bunches of flowers in their hands … elderly ladies all tried to dress very youthfully, and there seemed to be an inordinate number of generals about” (00). The zenith of this change occurs when Gurov sweeps Anna up in a gust of pion and kisses her.

After their first experience in Anna’s room, where she tries to convince herself that Gurov has no respect for her and that she is just another ordinary woman, the two venture out for a walk. This time everything has simmered down in down, though it is not the same “boring” town it was earlier. Instead, Chekhov paints a magnificent picture where the “white clouds rested motionless on the summits of the mountains” (00) and “roar of the sea came up to them, speaking of peace” (00). Here, Chekhov intends to show that “everything in the world is beautiful … [except] …when we lose sight of the higher aims of life” (00): love and happiness. The two lovers sit in silence, admiring the visual beauty that they witness. Yet, they are also admiring a deeper “majestic beauty,” (00) the perfect love they have for each other. When Anna must finally go home, she leaves calling Gurov “good, remarkable, high-minded” (00), however, Gurov thinks he has “appeared