In the story "The Lady with the Dog", written by Anton Chekhov, there are not so many characters, but those that are are very clearly presented and their analysis helps to better understand the problems of the work. Of course, a story about love. But from what side can one look at the characters of the story and what moral assessment can be given to their actions? Let's take a brief look at Gurov's characterization from the story "The Lady with the Dog".
Yalta resort and early morning
After the main character Gurov became disillusioned with his wife, he began to cheat on her often. Now he is in Yalta at a resort, where he meets with the main character, who is also bored with her relationship with her husband. Having met, they realize that they have found each other and are cheating on their spouses. After betrayal, everyone has their own feelings and experiences - she feels morally fallen, and he is used to this kind of "entertainment".
Chekhov then describes their further stay in Yalta. In short, these are days of bliss and bliss. The lady with the dog and Gurov spend a lot of time together, talking and silently, looking at the sea waves and sitting on a bench. Here it is interesting to analyze the pictures of the landscape that Chekhov masterfully paints, supplementing them with various Gurov's arguments. Gurov's characteristic lies in the fact that he is trying to understand the meaning of human existence and understand what the dignity of a person is.
If before Gurov was weighed down by the thoughts of his mistress about the decline in morals, now he is in almost the same mood and understands her. Such transformations took place in Gurov's soul.
Farewell to the main characters
One chapter in the story "The Lady with the Dog", whose characters we are now doing, is called "It's time to go north." It turns out that the lady's surname was Diederitz, and she herself went somewhere far away to the Volga. Gurov returns to Moscow, where the difference is more and more felt - there was a warm Yalta, and here the cold capital. At the resort, Gurov rested carelessly, and at home he had to do a languid service, from which there was only boredom, and communicate with the same acquaintances who were interested in maps, wine and food.
Meetings in Moscow and conclusions
Over time, it all comes down to the fact that the lovers begin to see each other again, and this happens in a Moscow hotel. A man with a red headdress delivers notes to Gurov about her arrival. Seeing his daughter off to study, Gurov instructs her, talks about nature, but his thoughts are absorbed in his secret life, and it was she who became real for him. As a result, when the environment learns the truth, people approve of such behavior.
Chekhov interrupts his story... This is typical of the author's small prose works. But Gurov's characterization is largely obvious. Although the heroes talk a lot about their situation, recognizing the need to open up, their path is only at the very beginning.
They said that a new face appeared on the embankment: a lady with a dog. Dmitri Dmitritch Gurov, who had already lived in Yalta for two weeks and was used to it, also began to take an interest in new faces. Sitting in Vernet's pavilion, he saw a young lady walking along the embankment, a short blonde woman in a beret: a white Spitz was running behind her. And then he met her in the city garden and in the square several times a day. She walked alone, still in the same beret, with a white spitz; no one knew who she was, and they called her just like that: a lady with a dog. “If she is here without a husband and without acquaintances,” Gurov reflected, “then it would not be superfluous to get to know her.” He was not yet forty, but he already had a daughter of twelve years old and two sons who were high school students. He was married early, when he was still a second-year student, and now his wife seemed one and a half times his age. She was a tall woman with dark eyebrows, direct, important, solid and, as she called herself, thinking. She read a lot, did not write in letters b, she called her husband not Dmitry, but Dimitri, and he secretly considered her narrow-minded, narrow, inelegant, was afraid of her and did not like to be at home. He began to cheat on her a long time ago, he cheated often and, probably, therefore, he almost always spoke badly of women, and when they were spoken about in his presence, he called them like this:- Inferior race! It seemed to him that he had learned enough from bitter experience to call them anything, but still, without the "inferior race", he could not live even two days. In the company of men he was bored, uncomfortable, with them he was taciturn, cold, but when he was among women, he felt free and knew what to talk about with them and how to behave; and even keeping silent with them was easy for him. In his appearance, in his character, in his whole nature there was something attractive, elusive, which disposed women to him, attracted them; he knew about it, and he too was drawn to them by some force. Repeated experience, really bitter experience, taught him long ago that any rapprochement, which at first so pleasantly diversifies life and seems like a sweet and easy adventure, among decent people, especially Muscovites, heavy on their feet, indecisive, inevitably grows into a whole task, extremely difficult, and the situation eventually becomes onerous. But at every new meeting with an interesting woman, this experience somehow slipped from memory, and one wanted to live, and everything seemed so simple and amusing. And then one evening he was having dinner in the garden, and the lady in the beret came up slowly to take the next table. Her expression, gait, dress, hairstyle told him that she was from a decent society, married, in Yalta for the first time and alone, that she was bored here ... There is a lot of untruth in the stories about the impurity of local customs, he despised them and knew that such stories are mostly composed by people who themselves would willingly sin if they could, but when the lady sat down at the next table three steps away from him, he remembered these stories about easy victories, about trips to the mountains, and the seductive thought of an ambulance, fleeting relationship, about an affair with an unknown woman whom you do not know by name and surname, suddenly took possession of him. He affectionately beckoned the Spitz to him and, when he approached, shook his finger at him. Spitz growled. Gurov threatened again. The lady looked at him and immediately lowered her eyes. "He doesn't bite," she said, and blushed. — Can I give him a bone? - And when she nodded her head in the affirmative, he asked affably: - Have you been deigning to come to Yalta for a long time?- Five days. - And I'm already here for the second week. They were silent for a bit. “Time goes fast, and yet it’s so boring here!” she said without looking at him. - It's just customary to say that it's boring here. The inhabitant lives somewhere in Belev or Zhizdra - and he is not bored, but will come here: “Ah, bored! Ah, the dust! You will think that he came from Grenada. She laughed. Then both continued to eat in silence, like strangers; but after dinner they went side by side - and a playful, light conversation began among free, contented people who don't care where they go or what they talk about. They walked and talked about how strangely the sea was lit; the water was lilac in color, so soft and warm, and there was a golden streak across it from the moon. We talked about how stuffy it was after a hot day. Gurov said that he was a Muscovite, a philologist by training, but worked in a bank; once prepared to sing in a private opera, but quit, has two houses in Moscow ... And from her he learned that she grew up in St. Petersburg, but got married in St., where she has been living for two years, that she will stay in Yalta for another month, and perhaps her husband will come for her, who also wants to rest. She could not explain in any way where her husband served - in the provincial government or in the provincial zemstvo council, and this was ridiculous to her. And Gurov also found out that her name was Anna Sergeevna. Then, in his room, he thought about her, that tomorrow she would probably meet him. It should be. Going to bed, he remembered that she had been a college student so recently, she was studying, just like now his daughter, he remembered how much more timidity, angularity was in her laughter, in a conversation with a stranger - this must be the first time in her life she she was alone, in such an environment when they go after her, and look at her, and talk to her with only one secret purpose, about which she cannot but guess. He remembered her thin, weak neck, her beautiful, gray eyes. "There is something pitiful about her after all," he thought, and began to fall asleep.Dmitry Dmitrievich Gurov, under forty years old, a Muscovite, a philologist by education, but working in a bank, is resting in Yalta. An unloved wife remained in Moscow, whom he often cheats on, a twelve-year-old daughter, and two high school student sons. In his appearance and character there is "something attractive, elusive, which attracted women to him, attracted them ...". He himself despises women, considers them an "inferior race" and at the same time cannot do without them and is constantly looking for love adventures, having great experience in this. On the embankment he meets a young lady. This is “a short blonde, in a beret; a white spitz ran after her. Vacationers call her "the lady with the dog." Gurov decides that it would be a good idea to start an affair with her, and gets to know her during lunch in the city garden. Their conversation begins in the usual way: “Time passes quickly, but meanwhile it’s so boring here! she said without looking at him. “It's just customary to say that it's boring here. The inhabitant lives somewhere in Belev or Zhizdra - and he is not bored, but will come here: “Oh, how boring! oh, dust! “You would think that he came from Grenada!” She laughed...
Anna Sergeevna was born in St. Petersburg, but came from the city of S., where she has been living for two years already, being married to an official named von Diederitz (his grandfather was a German, and he himself is Orthodox). She is not interested in her husband's work, she cannot even remember the name of his place of service. Apparently, she does not love her husband and is unhappy in her life. “There is something pathetic about her, after all,” Gurov notes. Their romance begins a week after they met. She experiences her fall painfully, believing that Gurov will not be the first to respect her. He doesn't know what to say. She ardently swears that she always wanted a clean and honest life, that sin is disgusting to her. Gurov tries to calm her down, cheer her up, portrays a passion, which, most likely, he does not experience. Their romance flows smoothly and does not seem to threaten either of them. Waiting for the husband to come. But instead, he asks in a letter to return his wife. Gurov escorts her on horseback to the station; when they part, she does not cry, but looks sad and sick. He is also "touched, sad", experiencing "slight remorse". After Anna Sergeevna's departure, he decides to return home.
At the end, their meeting is described - not the first and, apparently, not the last. She is crying. He orders tea and thinks: "Well, let him cry..." Then he comes up to her and takes her by the shoulders. In the mirror he sees that his head is beginning to turn grey, that he has aged and grown ugly for last years. He understands that he and she made some kind of fatal mistake in life, he and she were not happy, and only now, when old age is close, did they truly know love. They are close to each other like husband and wife; their meeting is the most important thing in their life.
“And it seemed that a little more - and the solution would be found, and then a new, wonderful life would begin; and it was clear to both that the end was still far, far away, and that the most difficult and difficult was just beginning.”
retold
Behind daily affairs It's hard to see how fast time flies. Before you have time to look back, half your life is already behind you. What was she, this half? It is difficult to say, and there is no time to think, because everyday chores will not solve themselves. At such moments, you want to do something that goes beyond the established framework. As in the story "The Lady with the Dog", I want, like the main characters, to have their own secret life and fragile happiness, which must be protected from social rules.
Story writing time
The years of Chekhov's life fell on a turning point for the country. Russia of the late 18th - early 19th century was a state of pre-revolutionary sentiments. People, tired of age-old ideas about “how to live right,” began to understand how insignificant a place a person occupies. He himself, his feelings and thoughts do not excite anyone, the main thing is that he act as prescribed by the rules. Chekhov's stories say a lot about this time. There is a simple description of everyday life, and frank criticism, and heroes who wanted to become people, and not just cogs in a well-coordinated, but already rusty system.
Especially worth noting is the work "Lady with a Dog" (author A.P. Chekhov.). It was written in 1898, just at the time when the established system was living out its last days, and the person wanted to start living for real.
Subject
But until revolutionary views turned into open confrontation, people lived as before. All the same, they got rid of clairvoyance by countless daily chores. As before, the rich rested in France, and those who were less fortunate - in Yalta. Husbands cheated on their wives, and hoteliers made money from it.
In Chekhov's story, the main theme, familiar to most, is a holiday romance. But the writer did not want to create a story about a simple passing fad. Chekhov, using the characters as an example, wants to show the reader how a hopeless situation, fear of criticism and the inability to move towards one's happiness give rise to an immoral, insensitive, passive and indifferent society, which sees the theme of another gossip in the resort novel.
Public order is arranged in such a way that it is easier to give up love, because in order to be with your loved one, you will have to go against the people, against established views and fight for your real, and not happiness imposed by someone.
Indifference
When analyzing “Lady with a Dog”, you can see that the author draws attention to the indifferent attitude of a person to others. For example, when Gurov could not keep his acquaintance with Anna Sergeevna a secret, he tells his partner about it. He does not react to this in any way, only sitting in the sleigh, he says that Dmitry Dmitrievich Gurov was right about the sturgeon with a smell.
This shows how blind and deaf the partner of the protagonist of The Lady with the Dog is. In addition, he completely lacks a sense of tact. After all, no man with a good upbringing will ever allow himself to respond in this way to a phrase about a beautiful lady.
Part 1: Holiday Romance
An analysis of The Lady with the Dog shows that the story itself consists of two parts that are connected to each other. Initially, the reader gets acquainted with the manners of people at the resort, away from bored families and responsibilities. Does not stand out from the crowd and Gurov, who is impressed by the idea of a fleeting relationship with a charming stranger. And only a deep analysis of "Lady with a Dog" makes it possible to understand that Gurov did not just want to get to know someone, his desires have prerequisites. Like the behavior of Anna Sergeevna.
An unloved wife, an unloved husband - these are the reasons that became the motive for acquaintance and intimacy. Lack of love and an acute sense of loneliness pushed the man and woman to each other.
How are hearts connected?
Perhaps our generation does not fully understand the content of The Lady with the Dog. After all, how could you live with someone you do not love? But in the 19th century, the destinies of people connected, regardless of whether they loved each other or not. The reason for the marriage could be business, social obligations, or an agreement between the parents of the future newlyweds. With a divorce, too, everything was not so simple - the marriage could be terminated only if there were strictly stipulated conditions.
Therefore, it is not stupid to assume that A.P. Chekhov in The Lady with the Dog tried to show how wrong such a position is in relation to a person. A family should not be built without mutual love and respect, otherwise it can lead to tragic consequences.
Part 2: Positive changes
After meeting with Anna Sergeevna, Dmitry Dmitrievich realized that only now, when gray hair had already touched his hair, he fell in love for the first time for real, like a boy. And along with a new, hitherto unknown feeling came a clear understanding of how aimlessly he was burning his life. Senseless card games, talking about the same thing, drunkenness, useless things. All this took so much time, and with it - the best years of life. Gurov begins to realize that in the end nothing remains, and life turns into ridiculous nonsense, from which, however, there is no escape.
Falling in love, Gurov begins to change. The author of the story seems to want to say that love can do anything, and this, perhaps, is another theme of the work “Lady with a Dog”. Gurov stops wasting his life aimlessly, and becomes a man capable of compassion, tenderness, sincerity.
Story line
Chekhov's story "The Lady with the Dog" begins with a description of the exposition (the embankment), and only then does the plot start (the lady with the dog appears). After some time, Dmitry Dmitrievich Gurov meets this special person, and together they begin to walk along the embankment, visit the botanical garden, and simply spend all their free time together. They become attached to each other, although Gurov had his own motive for this - a holiday romance.
A week after they met, in Anna Sergeevna's room, "her fall" occurred, as she deigned to put it. In fact, everything should end there, because this is how every holiday romance ends. But after that, they continued to meet daily on the embankment and spend their leisure time together.
The heroes had to leave only after a telegram arrived from Anna Sergeevna's husband, in which he asked her to return. A little later Gurov also went back to Moscow.
Breaking stereotypes
This is how holiday romances end: after several bright moments spent together, the heroes go home, and life continues its unchanging run, and people never see each other again. So did Gurov.
But after returning home, he still cannot forget his friend. Vivid memories of the time spent together, like a shadow, haunt him. Gurov changes internally and becomes ready for a new meeting with his beloved. For the winter holidays, he goes to the city of S., where Anna Sergeevna is supposed to live. Gurov goes to the theater with the hope of meeting her.
The final
Chekhov describes the city of S. as a gray and dull haven in which pure and bright feelings do not survive. A fatal set of circumstances puts the heroes before a choice. But it is impossible to overcome sincere and bright feelings, so Dmitry and Anna decide to continue their meetings in a Moscow hotel.
The narrative ends with stories about how the main characters continue to meet in Moscow. In fact, it can hardly be called a "happy ending" or a closed ending. In the last paragraph of the story, Chekhov suggests that in the future, the meetings between Anna and Dmitry may develop.
Technical side
An analysis of The Lady with a Dog showed that this is an ordinary story - small in volume and in the number of phenomena described. Heroes are already fully formed individuals who have a well-established view of the world. The story of the characters has its beginning and end, and most capaciously reveals the character actors. All characters are described "blurred", except for the main characters.
Throughout the work, the author uses literary language, showing by this the intelligence of the main characters and belonging to the "high society". To accurately express the experiences of the characters and their state of mind, Chekhov uses the description of landscapes.
About heroes
When analyzing The Lady with the Dog, one may get the impression that none of the characters, except for the main characters, exist in the story. There is a deal of truth in it. The author specifically singled out only two heroes who are able to change under the beneficial influence of love.
Chekhov thus tries to focus on the fact that people in society do not understand each other, moreover, they have lost their unique personalities. Even in a huge crowd it is difficult to detect the presence of a person. The story describes only two secondary characters - the spouses Dmitry and Anna. They do not have an attractive appearance or good character, besides, they play negative characters in this story. "The Lady with the Dog" is a story about the relationship of two lovers.
Anna is a short blonde with a harsh laugh, she has gray eyes, a graceful and thin neck. But there is in her image, according to Gurov, something "compassionate." It is worth looking at her, as immediately there is a desire to regret and protect. Dmitry also has a pleasant appearance that attracts women to him. In addition, this is the only hero of the story who is subject to change. Only he radically changed his outlook on life. Anna only gained a little more strength and courage to fight for her happiness.
Migratory birds
The events that take place in the story last about a year. During this time period, the heroes, as if migratory birds, have time to visit Yalta, Moscow, the city of S. and return to Moscow again. But even being hundreds of kilometers away, they continued to think about each other.
The sanctimonious mood of the public did not force Chekhov to reconsider his work. He sympathizes with his characters, which is hard not to notice when describing them. The author ignores the accepted conventions, and the plot of his work moves along its own path, which has not yet been explored by anyone. The heroes of holiday romances cannot be so unhappy, moreover, they should not be together after they return from vacation.
And Gurov is forced to lead a double life: one of them is open and accepted by society, the other is secret, saturated with self-deserved happiness.
The author does not wonder what the future will be for these heroes. Maybe their meetings will end soon, without bringing anything more. Perhaps society will condemn them, or maybe they will leave for another city and begin to live together, not hiding from anyone. Chekhov is not interested. He just writes about how love changes a person.
The story of the writer A. P. Chekhov "The Lady with the Dog" was written in 1898. It is one of the brightest works of the writer, showing the relationship between two people who are filled with the fear of public condemnation. Such books contributed well to the emancipation of society: they helped humanity to realize how destructive hypocrisy fetters it.
Chekhov planned the first edition of the story in August in the city of Kislovodsk with a different name. Starting in 1897, he collected notes for the story, and already in 1899 the work was published in the Russian Thought magazine. It is also known that the writer wrote the book “Lady with a Dog” after a long silence, a creative lull, so the public accepted the return of the idol very favorably.
The story was created in Yalta in 1898. After a trip to this city and meeting with his love, the writer decided to write a story about two adults, between whom there is an attachment to each other, but it is not destined to develop for a number of psychological reasons.
Genre and direction
Genre - short story, but some critics argue that "The Lady with the Dog" is a story. Nevertheless, the main characteristics of this work indicate that it is made in the genre of a story. The plot is based on one line, there are few heroes, and even fewer dynamic characters. In addition, the volume for the story is small.
The direction is realism. The book describes everyday situations without shades of fiction. Participate in action ordinary people with typical characters, their life is just as naturalistic, and the problems they face are common hard-to-solve questions from our lives.
essence
Heroes from different cities and yet they meet one day. He is married, but not faithful to his wife, she is married, but does not feel the fullness of happiness in marriage. After several days of communication, the lady's worldview changes, there is a desire to change her life and become happier, but she has her BUT. But the hero understands that this meeting is another holiday romance that bores him to death, but he is forced to pretend and play the role of a passionate lover due to the fact that this is accepted. With the help of this work, one can understand the psychology of mature people: what are people guided by in such situations? Dmitry is afraid of destroying his family, but at the same time he is unfaithful to his wife and is looking for love adventures on the side. And these same adventures bore him, weigh him down. The hero is worried about his reputation in society, because it is unlikely that his act will be well received. A woman, on the other hand, is afraid to leave her husband into the unknown, where shame and the stigma of an “unfaithful wife” await her. However, she decides to take a desperate step - treason, in which she is also disappointed, because her ideal turned out to be an ordinary reveler in search of cheap pleasure.
The essence of the work is a description of the relationship between two lovers, their thoughts and calculations, feelings and behavior in public. In fetters family life they are fettered by the fear of public condemnation, and they also do not find joy in a moment of self-deception. In the end, disappointment wins over their passion: Dmitry and Anna are separated forever.
Main characters and their characteristics
- Dmitry Gurov, no longer young, from Moscow. He is a philologist working in a bank, vacationing in Yalta. In Moscow, he left his wife, to whom he is unfaithful, and three children. There is something attractive in his type: intelligence, humor, courtesy, out-of-the-box thinking. But Gurov does not take ladies for full-fledged people. Fleeting love meetings with them are a man's addiction. Despite good luck in amorous affairs, the author shows him as an unfortunate person: he does not work according to his calling, lives with an unloved woman, yearns in the arms of casual acquaintances. The attitude shows that he makes his family unhappy, leaving them alone in another city. Cheating is a normal situation for a hero. There is a feeling that he has never experienced true mutual love.
- Anna Dideritz from St. Petersburg, but lives with her husband in the city of St.. She is not interested in the life of her husband, she does not feel happiness in her life, not knowing love and spiritual harmony. At the same time, Anna stands up for morality and does not recognize treason, considering it a sin. Relations with Gurov are a burden to her, but there are still feelings for him, so the meetings continue. She takes them seriously, apparently, the woman fell in love with her seducer, so separation is very difficult for her. She can be called a conscientious, honest, sensitive and deeply unhappy heroine. Neither marriage nor passion brought her the desired soul kinship with another person.
- true and false love;
- fidelity and betrayal;
- family relationships;
- truth and lie;
- sincerity and hypocrisy;
- devotion to oneself and one's ideals;
- faith and unbelief.
- The Problem of Happiness. Both people were unhappy and put up with it. In Yalta, the main characters felt freedom, believed in the possibility happy life but in vain: prosperity cannot be built on deceit and hypocrisy. The vulgarity of their relationship dooms feelings to extinction.
- The problem of hypocrisy. Both heroes daily deceive spouses, others and themselves too. As a result, they were forced to lie to each other, obeying the conditions of the game started. Lies take people captive and force them to build up their whole life with illusory castles in the air.
- The problem of bigotry. Anna and Dmitry could have ended their boring marriages if society had not been so hostile to the open manifestation of the will of the individual. It is calm about hypocrisy, but true love is outlawed.
- The problem of sexism and immorality. Gurov treats ladies with contempt, so he does not see a problem in his behavior. He brazenly harms his wife, leads other women astray, seducing them into a vulgar and unnecessary connection. It is because of disrespect for the weaker sex that he allows himself immoral acts.
Subject
The theme of the story revolves around love relationships. The author raises the theme of loyalty and betrayal, describing the adventures of Gurov on the side. It is so typical that you can imagine how many such adventurers are on the prowl in search of easy prey. The hero is a hunter who sees game in women. He denies them equality with himself, but in fact, behind a dismissive attitude towards them, he hides revenge on fate and people. That is why he is cheating on his wife. He takes revenge on her for the need to support her and the children, neglecting what she loves. Based on this, we can conclude that the author also touches on the topic of vocation, its role on our life path.
Another thing is Anna's betrayal. In her act, the author highlighted the theme of love, desirable and criminal passion. The woman was seriously carried away by Gurov, took their romance seriously. For her, this affair is a fatal step, a betrayal of herself and her principles. But she fell in love and was ready to sacrifice everything, and for her promiscuity she paid with disappointment. Using her example, Chekhov shows that a person must, above all, remain true to himself, otherwise he risks being deceived, and very cruelly.
Interestingly, the author also thought about faith in God. His heroine appeals with religious concepts, explaining her attitude towards infidelity. She believes in the sanctity of marriage, but Gurov no longer believes in anything, so even goal achieved in the form of intimacy with Anna does not bring him pleasure.
Thus, A.P. Chekhov raised very important topics in his work:
Problem
Meaning
Chekhov helps to reveal the cause of the misfortune of many people - this is the inability and fear to make their dreams come true. If the hero had initially gone to work according to his vocation, if he had chosen a more suitable spouse, even if he had remained single, without deceiving anyone and not encouraging in vain, he would have lived honestly, openly, happily. And so he only daydreams, achieving what he himself does not need and even disgusts. The heroine is also unable to explain herself to her husband and start life from scratch. It is easier for them to entangle themselves from head to toe with lies and enjoy short and illusory moments, reminiscent of happiness from a distance. This is the reason for their disappointment. This is the main idea of the story.
The conclusion is simple: you need to live honestly, first of all, be honest with yourself. You need to be able to admit to yourself that the easy way is not always the right way, and it can lead to a dead end. Better bitter truth than sweet but senseless self-deception. This the main idea- a simple but practical truth that people need.
Criticism
The writer Maxim Gorky turned to Chekhov with the question: “What are you doing?”.
You seem to be killing realism. You, like no one else, know how to write about such things, so simply, with such ease. Your stories overshadow everything else. The other seems crude, "artificial." Your little works are inspired by life. The reader will always catch this part of life. (A. M. Gorky, January 1900)
Albov Veniamin Pavlovich (b. 1871), teacher (author of articles), commented on Chekhov's work:
Such a “hackneyed theme of love” in your work sounds in a new original way, including deceit, lies, betrayal. Its meaning is clear. (V. Albov, 1903)
R. I. Sementkovsky believed that it was impossible to name the main character a good man with his life principles. He makes the most unhappy important people his life - children. Entertainment, short-term connections, make his pathetic nature higher in his eyes. Chekhov portrayed his existence as petty, vulgar and senseless fuss.
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