THE LADY WITH THE DOG and Other Stories

First published in 1899 The Lady with the Dog is a short story by Anton Chekhov that describes an adulterous affair between a young woman Anna Sergeyevna Von Diderits and an unhappily married Moscow banker Dmitri Dmitritch Gurov an affair which begins while both are vacationing alone in the Crimean sea resort of Yalta. Dmitri dislikes his shrewish and intelligent wife and as a result has numerous love affairs. Although the protagonist disparages women and calls them the lower race he secretly acknowledges that he is more at ease in their company than in men''s. One day the lady with the dog sits down next to Dmitri to eat in the public gardens. The man pets her dog in order to strike up a conversation. He learns that she is called Anna Sergeyevna that she is married and that she has come to Yalta on vacation. Over the next week Anna and Dmitri see a lot of each other and grow close. The older man is intrigued by the exuberant naïveté of his young partner yet he also recognizes a trace of sadness in her character. The story comprises four parts: Part I describes the initial meeting in Yalta. part II describes the consummation of the affair and the remaining time in Yalta. Part III describes Gurov''s return to Moscow and his visit to Anna''s town. Part IV describes Anna''s visits to Moscow. This is one of Chekhov''s most famous pieces of short fiction. Vladimir Nabokov for instance considers it as one of the greatest short stories ever written.