The Darling Short story by Anton Chekhov Summary and Analysis | The Darling Short story by Anton Chekhov Easy Explanation

 The Darling Short story by Anton Chekhov by BSELN

"The Darling" is a short story by Russian author Anton Chekhov. Here's some information about it:

Publication and Writing Date: The story was first published in the No.1, 1899, issue of Semya (Family) magazine.

Structure: The story follows the life of a woman, Olenka, through her relationships with several men. It's structured around Olenka's relationships, each of which significantly influences her identity.

Tone: The tone of the story is often interpreted as a critique of the limited role of women in 19th-century Russian society. Chekhov is known for his economy of words and sparing use of detail.

Voice: The story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator.

 Themes: The main themes of the story include dependency, independence, identity, devotion, fear, paralysis, and insecurity. It also explores the role of women in society and the nature of love.

History: The story reflects the societal norms and expectations of the 19th century, particularly regarding the roles of women.

Background: Anton Chekhov started writing short comic stories while attending medical school to help pay for school and his family. The main character of Olenka may be based in part on Chekhov's mother.

Writer's Opinion: Chekhov may have intended to critique women who he viewed as having no intellectual lives, and whose happiness he believed was dependent on that of their husbands. He also seems to poke fun at people who rely on others to form opinions instead of forming their own.

Literary Devices: Chekhov is known for his economy of words and a sparing use of detail. Almost every word is important and is used to convey a single impression of a person or situation. He often uses exaggeration to point out a human foible.

 

Character List 

Olga Semyonovna Plemyanniakova (Olenka): She is the protagonist, often referred to as “The Darling”. Her life revolves around the men she attaches herself to. She tends to adopt the opinions and interests of her husbands and lovers, losing her own identity in the process.
 

Smirnin’s Son: The child of Smirnin and his wife. After Smirnin and his wife reconcile and leave, Olenka is left alone. She develops a deep affection for Smirnin’s son when he stays with her during his school holidays. She begins to adopt his opinions and concerns, much like she did with the men in her life.

Ivan Petrovich Kukin: He is Olenka’s neighbor and the manager of the open-air theater. He becomes Olenka’s first husband. His main concern is his theater, which Olenka helps him run.

Vassily Andreitch Pustovalov: He is Olenka’s neighbor and a merchant from a local timber yard. He becomes Olenka’s second husband. After marrying him, Olenka begins to parrot his concerns about the timber business.

Plemyanniakov: He is Olenka’s father, a retired collegiate assessor, who falls ill and dies at the beginning of the story.

Smirnin: An army veterinarian who becomes a friend of Olenka. He stays in Olenka’s house when he is separated from his wife

Smirnin’s Wife: Smirnin’s estranged wife who later reconciles with him.

 

Summary:

Olga Plemyannikov, known as Olenka, spends much of her time lost in thought on the steps of her house. She lives adjacent to Mr. Kukin, who runs a theater and resides in a wing of Olenka's house. Kukin frets over losing customers due to the rain and becomes increasingly pessimistic about his failing business. Despite his concerns, Olenka develops genuine affection for Kukin and eventually falls in love with him, continuing her pattern of attaching herself deeply to the men in her life.

After Olenka's father dies, leaving her their sizable townhouse, she marries Kukin. While their marriage is happy, Kukin remains preoccupied with the success of their theater. Olenka assists in managing the theater's box office, keeps accounts, and shares Kukin's worries about audience attendance. However, Kukin's despair seems unending, and even their comfortable life cannot dispel his constant anxiety.

Tragically, Kukin dies suddenly, leaving Olenka devastated. Despite her grief, she spends only three months in mourning before befriending Vasily Pustovalov, the merchant of a local timber yard. Olenka quickly grows fond of Vasily, and they marry after a brief courtship. She fully immerses herself in Vasily's world, managing his office and adopting his beliefs, even becoming somber and religious-minded.

However, Vasily's health declines, and he eventually dies after a prolonged illness. Left alone once more, Olenka retreats into virtual isolation, with only her cat and occasional visits from Smirnin, an army veterinarian, to keep her company. She adopts all of Smirnin's ideas and even embarrasses him by echoing his opinions regarding animal diseases. Olenka and Smirnin become romantically involved, but their relationship is short-lived as Smirnin is posted to a camp near Siberia, leaving Olenka feeling abandoned and lonely.

Years later, Smirnin returns, having reconciled with his wife and son. Olenka suggests that they move in with her, and she grows particularly attached to Smirnin's nine-year-old son, Sasha, who becomes her constant companion. Olenka takes great joy in caring for Sasha, but her happiness is tinged with fear of losing him when his mother decides to take him back.

The story concludes with Olenka's life characterized by uncertainty and longing, as Sasha cries out in his sleep, echoing the unresolved tensions and complexities of Olenka's relationships and desires.

Analysis:

In this story, we encounter a protagonist, Olga, who evokes both pity and amusement from readers. While she is sweet and genuine, her inability to form her own opinions can be frustrating. We observe how her interests and attitudes change depending on the man she is with, whether it's loving the theater with Kukin or detesting it with Pustovalov. Olga lacks independence of mind and spirit, floating along in a sea of male opinions and beliefs. Chekhov seems to use Olga to illustrate the disempowerment of women, which is ironic considering even the anti-feminist Tolstoy admired her for embodying female selflessness.

The term "darling" used by characters around Olga seems patronizing and belittling, as if society applauds her for submitting to male intellect. However, Chekhov's treatment of Olga is nuanced. He initially garners sympathy for her, portraying her as a woman who experiences deep feelings and suffers through losses. Despite her flaws, Olga emerges as a gentle soul whose life has been marked by disappointment. Even her apparent fulfillment in caring for Sasha, Smirnin's son, is tarnished by his lack of reciprocation. Though Olga is willing to sacrifice for Sasha, he feels ashamed of her, leading readers to feel a mix of sympathy and frustration towards her.

Despite featuring a female protagonist, familiar motifs appear in Chekhov's story, such as the recurring motif of "hammering" representing life's chaos and unpredictability. Noise serves to highlight humanity's lack of control over destiny and fortune, a theme common in Chekhov's works.

In essence, Chekhov's portrayal of Olga and the themes in the story reflect broader societal issues, illustrating the complexities of human relationships and the struggle for autonomy and fulfillment in a world dictated by societal norms and male dominance.

  REFERENCES:

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(3) Chekhov Stories "The Darling" Summary & Analysis | SparkNotes. https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/chekhov/section7/.

(4) The Darling by Anton Chekhov - The Sitting Bee. http://sittingbee.com/the-darling-anton-chekhov/.

(5) The Darling Themes - eNotes.com. https://www.enotes.com/topics/darling/themes.

(6) The Darling Analysis - eNotes.com. https://www.enotes.com/topics/darling/in-depth.

(7) The Darling by Anton Chekhov - Audiobook - Audible.com. https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Darling-Audiobook/B00IOTGBKM.

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(9) The Darling by Anton Chekhov | Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21111826-the-darling.

(10) The Darling Essays and Criticism - eNotes.com. https://www.enotes.com/topics/darling/critical-essays/essays-criticism.

(11) The Darling | Introduction & Overview - BookRags.com. https://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-thedarling/.

(12) The Darling Characters - eNotes.com. https://www.enotes.com/topics/darling/characters.

(13) The Darling, by Anton Chekhov, 1899 - The Public's Library and Digital .... https://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/ac/darling.html.

(14) Summary & Analysis of The Darling by Anton Chekhov. https://litmarked.com/summary-analysis-of-the-darling-by-anton-chekhov/.

(15) Anton Chekhov - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Chekhov.

(16) The Darling - Anton Chekov - Google Books. https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Darling.html?id=qHlNtgEACAAJ.

(17) The Darling Summary and Study Guide | SuperSummary. https://www.supersummary.com/the-darling-chekhov/summary/.

(18) The Darling - Anton Chekhov - Book Review - A Geography of Reading. https://islamcketta.com/characterizing-chekovs-the-darling/.

(19) The Darling Literary Devices | SuperSummary. https://www.supersummary.com/the-darling-chekhov/literary-devices/.

(20) goodreads.com. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21111826-the-darling.