In The Darling, Anton Chekhov tells the story of Olga Semyonovna, a woman who is empty without love in her life. Olga is widowed twice, takes a lover who leaves her, and eventually focuses on her old lover's child as the object of her obsession. In all these relationships, she takes on the ideas and emotions of her companion. She smothers the boy, Sasha, with so much attention that he cries out in his sleep. Olga's capacity to love is infinite, but that love is a parasitical and debilitating one. Chekhov uses the symbolism of emptiness and fullness throughout his story to emphasize Olga's state in various stages of her life. After marrying her first husband, Kukin, a theater manager, Olga "grew stouter." Chekhov doesn't refer to a sense of fullness or emptiness again until after her lover, a veterinarian surgeon named Smirnin, leaves her. Then, "She got thinner and plainer" and had an "empty yard." After the boy, Sasha, moves in with her, Chekhov describes her as a "tall, stout woman." All these references are meant to describe Olga's emotional and mental states during these times. Without someone to love in her life, Olga is an empty shell, but when she has someone she is full. Olga has no trouble in adapting herself so that she can love each of the various men in her life. Her capacity to love and to give of herself is all encompassing. In her first marriage, she loves a man who is constantly complaining and in misery. Chekhov writes that in Kukin's world it "Rain[s] every day." In her second marriage, all her husband seems to have time for is his business, but still she loves him completely. This husband "sat in the office till dinnertime, then he went out on business." In her third relationship, the veterinarian tells her that she is "really annoying," yet she had "found new happiness" with him. The most telling evidence of Olga's ability to love comes from her relationship with Sasha. Sasha feels smothered by Olga's love and tells her to "leave me alone" and cries out in his sleep, "I'll give it you! Get away! Shut up!" Even though her love is not returned in kind, Olga is completely devoted to the child, and he is her world. A parasite is a creature that has a dependence on something else for existence or support without making a useful or adequate return.
Both the princess and Natalya know that they lost their loves and know that they cannot change that outcome. However, the authors both have different manners of showing the pain of each women, with Stockton’s being more effective in feeling the pain, fury, and passion of the princess. Although Chekhov’s version does not contain that similar intensity in his story, the reader can still acknowledge the despondence Natalya has when she realizes her mistake. As stated before, these two stories revolve around the theme of lost love, even if the lessons that are expressed through these themes are distinct. The manner in which these authors wrote their stories affected how compelling they were, showing two different perspectives with different tones, all while sharing a theme that can easily be related to, no matter the time period or
the definition of parasite, is something that hurts. for ever. this parasite, was a landmine. I had good medical attention. But once i returned home, I finally left. I wanted to leave. there were rockets, raining down in every place i looked. those rockets stole my family. we couldn't stay. so we fled. the last time i had a true education, was when i entered high school. between 2nd grade and 9th the education i had in my birth place, that wasn't any kind of education. i wanted more. and there was nothing there for me to want
Merriam-Webster defines ‘parasite’ as ‘an organism that lives in or on another organism and benefits by deriving nutrients at the host 's expense’.
Parasites can be found within almost all living things. Parasite is defined as a creature that benefits from another entity while harming its host. They can cause a variety of symptoms and are notoriously hard to rid from the body. These creatures can also live within a variety of conditions. Although medical progress has helped the infections and diseases that parasites bring, parasites still are prevalent and prove to be a deadly force of nature.
Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons takes place in midnineteenth century Russia. Throughout the text Turgenev explores the pros and cons of the nihilist philosophy and how nihilism, coupled with the presence of generational and class based animosities, affects the greater Russian identity. Properties of nihilism are examined and tested as the characters encounter aristocratic lifestyles and the redeeming power of love. The female characters in Fathers and Sons represent a wide range of socioeconomic positions and temperaments, these women test the thinking of the nihilists by their propensities towards emotion, order, feminism, shyness, and propriety. This exploration of gender roles and the balance of power between women and the men that they control is subject to their ascribed classes and the relationships they hold. These women fall into two major categories: the autocratic and the dependent. The aristocratic “mothers” and dependent “daughters” of Fathers and Sons bring about the reevaluation of Bazarov and Arkady’s nihilistic beliefs and furthermore utilize their feminine qualities to manipulate the men in their lives.
Conception of Love in The Kreutzer Sonata Perhaps Tolstoy's short story, “The Kreutzer Sonata”, truly captures one definite conception of love, albeit a very negative one. To understand more about what is brought to light in this story, we need to take a look at it, more importantly at the character of Pozdnychev. Pozdnychev has just spent several years in prison for the murder of his unfaithful wife, as we find out early in the story. His tale is a sordid one, as he relates his past life, before his wedding, the meeting of his wife, their marriage, their dreadful relationship up to the murder itself and the tribunal. What is interesting in his story remains the unique perception he has on love, on marriage, and on society in general.
“The Lady with the Pet Dog” exhibits Anton Chekhov’s to convey such a powerful message in a minimal amount of words. He uses the element of color to show the emotions as well as changing feelings of the main characters, Dmitri Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna, and the contrast of them being apart to them being together. For example, when Anna leaves and they are apart, Dmitri seems to live in a world of grey. As he begins to age, his hair begins to turn grey, and he is usually sporting a grey suit. Yalta is where they met, and it is described as a romantic spot filled with color and vibrancy and freedom, like when Chekhov writes “the water was of a soft warm lilac hue, and there was a golden streak from the moon upon it.”
It seems as though Pyotr and Alexeich both represent different aspects of Chekhov’s father, and Chekhov himself is Anna. Chekov’s father was aloof from his family and came from a lower class background; like Modest Alexeich, Chekhov’s father also fawned at the feet of his social superiors. Chekhov, in contrast, was an unconventional boy. He eventually broke from his family’s lower class position and became a doctor; however, throughout his school and career he performed additional odd jobs to earn money he could send to his father. Also like Anna, Chekhov loved to be with people (Payne xiii, xvii-xxi). Comparing the two, then, it would seem as if Chekhov identifies with Anna as she struggles to find her social identity and wrestles with her desires and the needs of those she loves. This tone gives the story a melancholy mood and leads to a bittersweet conclusion. The ending seems happy for Anna, yet the reader is left to wonder what the ending represents. Did her father and husband receive the dues for their behavior? Are Anna’s actions a normal product of the transformation from youth to adulthood, or did she come to completely discard respect and
Fulford, Robert.“Surprised by love: Chekhov and ‘The Lady with the Dog’.” Queen’s Quarterly. n.d. Web. 17 November 2013.
one in which the host animal can live for a long enough time for the parasite to
Ivan's wife is also self-centered and exhibits great disdain for her husband, who she considers more of a nuisance and hassle than anything else. Ivan's last days are spent in terrible physical agony, as he uncontrollably screams and moans in pain. When Ivan's friends come to pay their respects to his widow, we see in her comments to them that she never reall...
The motif of infidelity is predominantly evident in the love affair between Vronsky and Anna. From their very first encounter at the train station, it was clear that this relationship was destined for destruction. Their relationship takes on a very deceptive and superficial quality. Vronsky knew from the very beginning about Anna’s marital status, yet this did not dissuade his attraction to her, or his adulterous relationship with her later on. It is important to note that it is Vronsky’s frivolous nature that is responsible for his inability to fully love Anna with the passion that she so desperately needs from him. Vronsky initially believes that he loves Anna, but Tolstoy shows the reader that Vronsky’s love for her is not absolute. His love is not based upon firm emotional commitment, and it is easily questioned and redefined. Eventually, Anna’s love becomes burdensome to him because he remains steeped in the pursuit of his own freedom and pleasures, without placing importance on Anna’s tormented existence. Vronsky is dishonest with himself. He begins a relationship that he is not ready for. He believes that he can love Anna in “the right way,” yet he cannot. Their relationship will be destroyed not by an outside party but by their own hands.
The people she loves most take her life of commitment and sacrifice for granted. The reader is thus also inclined to give little emphasis to her role in their lives and in the novel as a whole. As someone who has essentially nothing, Sonya is willing to give everything she has to those she loves. She gives of herself willingly and thanklessly. This life of sacrifice truly embodies Sonya's generous character. This genuine nature of her character allows her to reveal so much about those with whom she interacts throughout the novel. With Sonya's seeming "simplicity" in the background, Tolstoy fully develops the characters of Natasha and Nicholas. He uses Sonya as a contrast for his heroine, Natasha, and also as a chart of growth for Natasha's brother, Nicholas. Tolstoy even uses Sonya as a contrast to Princess Mary. Here, if one looks deeper, one will find that there is very little contrast at all between the two women. Most importantly, Sonya is an illustration of society's effects on a poor selfless young girl who puts her needs below those of all others. Tolstoy employs Sonya's character in a variety of situations. Without Sonya, a great deal of his novel's depth and richness would be lost.
"The Bear," which is a classic one-act play written 1900, is one of the great works of Anton Chekhov, which is very much about a widowed woman. The Bear can be regarded as a comedy since it is to give the audience entertainment and amusement. This comedy reveals the fine line between anger and passion. The theme is about a strange beginning of love between Mrs. Popov and Smirnov. It demonstrated that love changes all things it touches. Dialogue of the characters, the action of the characters, and the characters themselves shape the theme. Unbelievable actions and change in mood on the part of the characters show that love can sometimes come from an odd turn of events.
The story “The Darling” by Anton Chekhov, illustrates a woman that is lonely, insecure, and lacking wholeness of oneself without a man in her life. This woman, Olenka, nicknamed “Darling” is compassionate, gentle and sentimental. Olenka is portrayed for being conventional, a woman who is reliant, diligent, and idea less. Although, this story portrays that this woman, known as the Darling needs some sort of male to be emotionally dependant upon, it is as if she is a black widow, she is able to win affection, but without respect. Only able to find happiness through the refection of the beliefs of her lovers, she never evolves within the story.