Chekhov's "The Lady with the Dog"

There are several things in this short story by Anton Chekhov that jumped out to me within the first two pages: conflict, character and structure.

The conflict in this story seems to focus more on Anna Sergeyevna than Gurov. While Gurov is already accustomed to affairs, Anna is more distraught over the idea that she is being unfaithful to her husband. She also cares about what Gurov thinks of her near the beginning of their affair and whether or not he will ever respect her again. Her entire marriage is at stake because of this affair and Gurov, but she cares if he, a stranger when they first begin their affair, will look down on her. She decides to leave him when her husband requests that she come home, however. She reveals that she’s unhappy in her life with her husband once Gurov travels to see her and begins to lie to him about trips out of town to meet with Gurov. In the end, they both have to make a sacrifice to be together, and although they disucuss how they can finally be together in the open, it’s clear that the conflict in their being together is not resolved.

As far as characterization goes in this piece, from the beginning I was under the impression that I would not care for Gurov. He thinks of women as the “lower race,” yet he finds them necessary to live and feels more comfortable around them than men. Eventually, through his struggle of being apart from Anna, I did start to feel some empathy for him. Although he isn’t in the right in this situation, he is after all having an affair and can’t bear to be at home with his wife, for once he is showing true human emotions: love and longing. Parts III and IV, especially IV, of this piece changed my feelings on this character immensely.   

The structure of this piece paces the story in such a way that the reader can naturally begin to feel for the characters, even if their first impressions are that they are just completely wrong in their thoughts and actions. Reading as Gurov, for example, goes from a man simply wanting to get away from his family because he doesn’t like being at home and is used to affairs that never lasted, to a man who falls in love and feels that fate has led him to someone. The way that the story is set up, in four different sections, leads the reader on a journey with Gurov, and Anna Sergeyevna, as they go from strangers to people who feel that they belong with one another and will do anything to stay together.

"Letter to a Young Writer" Richard Bausch

Every morning I wake up with one goal: write. Whether it be one page, one paragraph or simply notes for a piece, the only thing I set out to accomplish is to write, even if there are several other things that I should be focusing on that day. For the most part, the ‘Ten Commandments’ presented by Richard Bausch are extremely close to the rules I live by when it comes to writing. I’ve learned that everything I write is not going to be a masterpiece, and a lot of things will never been read by anyone other than myself. In the past that was frustrating - Why can’t everything I write be worth reading? - but it’s something I’ve come to accept and even understand. Most of what Bausch lays out in “Letter to a Young Writer” are things that have become a part of my writing and everyday life. On top of those “commandments,” these words are completely true to my life: “We are habit-forming creatures, and this work is very habit-forming if one has any talent at all. Of course, you don’t know when you begin if you really have any talent. You hope you do; perhaps you even suspect that you do. Sometimes you go back and forth, believing on some days, and disbelieving on others.” There are plenty of times when I’m not sure if writing is something I’m good at, but then I have difficulties getting something out on paper, those days when words just aren’t working the way I feel they should. Those are the days, I believe, when my talent in writing shows the most. I may not be creating those days, but the habit of writing and wanting to write, and feeling absolutely horrified when I’m unable to, show the important role that writing has in my life. As Bausch says, even if you fail in writing sometimes, at least you’re working on it and you don’t have to ask yourself if you missed valuable writing time.