Romeo And Juliet And The Bear By Anton Chekhov

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Analysing Love
Love is viewed as a sacred bond between humans; an intangible object that is both pure and divine, something that has existed for all generations. It has entangled itself with the basis of storytelling, presenting the serious, and supposedly correct, interpretation of love. This does not mean all authors propagate this notion. Even in the famous Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare comments on how ludicrous love-at-first-sight can be. Anton Chekhov shares similar ideas. He writes “The Bear” to critique the popular connotation of love, exaggerating scenarios in order to expose and display its fundamental flaws, which are foolish to follow.
Staying permanently loyal to someone cruel after their death is a waste of a life. In “The Bear”, Mrs. Popov locks herself in her house and refuses to leave, claiming to be true to her late husband. “It’s no mystery to you that he was often mean to me, cruel . . . and even unfaithful, but I Shall remain true to the grave and show him I know how to love.” (Chekhov 2). This is no way to live life. She locks herself up because of some preconceived behaviors that are supposed to demonstrate love. This statement showing that she possesses true “love” is absurd and unnecessary. Mrs. Popov is ruining the rest of her life by following her foolish notions. …show more content…

As Smirnov barges in demanding payment from Mrs. Popov, readers learn he despises women because of past experiences. “There was a time when I played the fool . . . I ran through half my fortune as a result of my tender feelings” (Chekhov 5). Chasing his feeling of love, Smirnov falls short many times, never finding deep affection. The idea of love has led him to believe that gifts and experiences will lead to happiness. Instead it produces nothing but resentment for love and, eventually, women. The hunt for love is not defined by materialistic items, thus it is unwise to exhaust money on the

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