Well, enough about school and on to the facts. In every short story read this semester, not one character loved another and was loved back equally. There was murder, deception, manipulation, but never love.

Dmitri Dmitrich Gurov is the male protagonist in “The Lady with the Dog”. He is married with children and, in his spare time, he has affairs. He does not love his wife, “he was afraid of her and disliked being at home.” (Chekhov 535) It seems clear that he relationship between Dmitri and his wife has become routine and distant. He describes her as how one would describe his/her mother – in – law. “She was a tall, black-browed woman, erect, dignified, austere, and, as she liked to describer herself, a ‘thinking person.’ (Chekhov 535)

Because of his estranged relationship with his wife, he thinks poorly of all women. After all, he was going from woman to woman. The women he slept with had their own problems; otherwise they would not have slept with him.

After reading all these stories about the vices of mankind, it can be concluded that true love does not exist, at least in Russian literature. It seems that people only live to make each other more miserable.

The similarities stop there when Gurov finds himself in love with Anna. Despite ending the relationship months ago, Gurov cannot stop thinking about Anna. He searches for her and they continue their relationship. They see each other for years. Though it was not mentioned, it can be concluded that Gurov stopped chasing women once he met Anna.

This led Dmitri to refer to the female gender, “the lower breed.” (Chekhov 535) He was trapped in a loveless marriage and had become jaded and bitter.

That being said about Pozdnyshev, conclusions can be drawn about him. He was sexist, egotistical, and naïve. His sexism was the way he thought marriage should be. Pozdnyshev was as impure as any prostitute, but his wife had to be pure. He had too high of expectations of a woman. He wanted his wife to fit his image perfectly, if she did not, then she was not good enough. His egoism fuels the fact that he never takes any responsibility for the marriage. He thinks that he is perfect! Even after he has killed his wife, he is concerned about himself only. He makes sure to put on slippers for appearances when it becomes clear that the police will arrive to question him. And finally, his naivety is what got him in trouble in the first place. He did not know that women are complex individuals who need to be treated as equals. He did not know that a marriage is a two way street. His lack of experience led to a miserable marriage.

When his dream is rejected, Piskaryov is devastated. At this point, his external world is worthless without her beauty. He most certainly cannot return to the internal world because it no longer suits this artist’s passion. Piskaryov has no center to lean on. Gogol did not even have to say it but it is quite apparent that the main character loses his sanity. “Thus perished poor Piskaryov, victim of an insane passion...” (Gogol 24) Piskaryov put women on a pedestal much to high for reality. Nothing but disappointment could come from this.

In Gogol’s “Nevsky Project”, the romantic character Piskaryov is brought into play.

Some topics in this essay:
Lady Dog”, Mary Grushnitsky, Kreutzer Sonata”, Dmitri Anna, Pozdnyshev Pechorin, Pechorin Gurov, Anna Despite, Project” Piskaryov, , Princess Mary, “the lady, lady dog”, “the lady dog”, pozdnyshev pechorin, “the kreutzer, chekhov 535, “the kreutzer sonata”, kreutzer sonata”, “princess mary”, stop thinking anna, ” gogol, short story, stop thinking, ” gogol 22,