About
Love
-Anton Chekhov
Summary
‘About Love’, a short story is
written by Anton Chekhov(1860-1904), Russian short story writer and dramatist.
Chekhov studied medicine at Moscow and began to write while he was a student.
His works are The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, The Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard
etc. Olga Knipper remained for many years the admired exponent of female parts
in his plays.
In ‘About Love’ Alyohin’s first person
narrative of his relationship with Anna forms the core of this famous short
story. While Alyohin and his friends were having breakfast Nikanor, the cook came to ask
something to Alyohin. Now Alyohin started telling Nikanor’s love story to his
friends. He said that this man is in love with Pelageya. According to Alyohin their love is violent love because Nikanor often beats her. After sometime
Alyohin defines love. He said that love is a great mystery. It happens.
Everything else that has been written or said about love is not a solution, but
only a statement of questions that have remained unanswered. After this he
began exposing his love with university
girl when he was a student. He named that love as materialistic
love because he used to give money to the girl. The third love story
that he described is between himself and Anna. He described this love as Platonic love. He named it platonic love because there wasn’t any kind of
expectation and physical relation in this love.
He said
that Anna was then
still a very young woman, not more than twenty. He saw a young woman,
beautiful, kind, intelligent, fascinating, such a woman as he had never met
before. Even when he returned to his farm he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Her gaze, simple dress, the way she did her hair, her voice, her gait, always
produced the same impression on him. Though Anna was married and had two
children Alyohin couldn’t forget her. Anna’s husband Luganovich was one of his best friend. Anna and
Alyohin had not confessed their love rather timidly and jealously concealed it.
Alyohin
was unhappy, at home, in the fields, in the shed, everywhere. He tried to
understand the mystery of a beautiful, intelligent young woman marrying someone
so uninteresting, almost an old man. Her husband was simple hearted, dull and
kind. He kept trying to understand why she had met just Luganovich first and not
him, and why such a terrible mistake need have happened in their lives. Alyohin
was like a squirrel in a cage, work hard and yet always be penniless. He was
unhappy, and that he only talked, laughed, and ate to conceal his sufferings.
Anna
had to go to Crimea for the treatment because she was suffering from nerves
prostration. Alyohin was also present at the railway station to say her goodby.
A great crowd had collected to see Anna off. Alyohin ran into the compartment
to place the basket that she had almost forgotten. When their eyes met in the
compartment their spiritual strength deserted them both. He took her in his
arms, she pressed her face to his breast and tears flowed from her eyes. He
kissed her face, her shoulder, her hand wet with tears. He confessed his love
to her. He kissed her for the last time, pressed her hand and parted forever
and walked home to Sofyino.
While
Alyohin was telling this story the rain stopped, his friends Burkin and Evan went out on the balcony.
I would call Alyohin a failure one because despite his qualification he is
bound to spend a life of a peasant and though he loved a married woman he
failed to get her in his life. Luganovich, a man of simplicity doesn’t change
himself.
To wrap up this story beautifully present three kinds of love along with the definition. The air of indecisive leisure is suggested twice in the story. I do not agree with Chekhov’s assumption that celebrated people lead more successful lives than the rest of us because every human being have to accept the tragedy and comedy in his/her life. That’s why Chekhov’s work has a timeless quality and reflects the universal predicament of the little man.
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