The irony of the sinners
Though
the impression of the two stories is quite differentiable, it is interesting
that the way story is being narrated in The Student and The Lady with The
Dog shares significant similarity.
As
it is widely known, The Lady with The Dog is a story of a man and a woman
having affair. The similarity which connects Gurov and Sergeyevna is a love that
is shared among them. Their love is very genuine but is something that is
prohibited at the same time. Continuing their love is a betrayal to their wife
or husband. Their sin becomes very clear when the relationship between the two
is illustrated as that of husband and wife. (Anna Sergeyevna and he loved each
other like people very close and akin, like husband and wife, like tender
friends;) While their true love bonds their relationship, there is a character
which separates there characters. For a number of time, the readers can notice
that Sergeyevna frequently blames herself for her sin and feels guilty about
it. On the other hand, Gurov is mostly free from the emotion of regret or
guilt. Rather, he boldly acknowledges his preference of Sergeyevna over his own
wife.
The
Student is comparably shorter than “The Lady with The Dog” which makes it
harder for the readers to detect its main theme. Instead of a closer
description of emotion or surrounding of the character, Chekhov introduces his
point to the readers through the anecdote of Peter. Telling an anecdote to the
widows causes their emotion to bursts. The dramatic expression of the widows,
however, renders the feeling of irritation to the readers. In fact, it is the narrator
who is supposed to feel guilty. As Chekhov depicts, the narrator is “returning
home from shooting” though he is a student of the clerical academy. Such irony
engenders the readers to think something unnatural. The narrator who is the
only one who committed a sin is also the only one not feeling any emotion of guilt.
Both
stories highlight their main theme via elaborating contrast between the
narrator and the other characters. Narrators in both stories, not feeling guilty,
renders the feeling of irritation which leads the readers to pay attention to
the story. The irony in the story functions as a literary device to stress the
theme.
As you missed the classes in which we dug into The Student and Chekhov, your interpretations are interesting. When you say "in fact" you are entering shaky ground, because literature is rarely factual, and definitely not when it comes to nuanced and debatable elements like how the narrator may or may not be "actually" feeling. This is why Chekhov is both interesting and elusive and highly skilled in his "Realism." The emotions and impressions in this little story are very complex. As for guilt, I don't think Ivan has any sense of guilt at all. If he should feel guilty for causing the widows some distress, it isn't registering (which is something we discuss - do we like Ivan? Does Chekhov want us to?). Not sure about "shooting" as a something a cleric isn't allowed to do. I think it means hunting, which peasants in Russia had to do if they wanted to eat. All in all, well explored given you missed classes, and good direction and tone (though some small minor "there and their" type quibbles you should catch in a re-read.
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