Desiree's baby vs. The Lady with the Pet Dog
The short stories called Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin and The Lady with the Pet Dog by Anton Chekhov both contain the theme of love but it is told in different ways for each short stories. As deep as both stories go, it is possible to see that the each author wrote about love but in opposite ways. Although the short stories show resemblances as far as how the men’s love for their lady make them dictate the tone of the relationship, it is evident that Anton Chekhov wants to show how love can suddenly appear while Kate Chopin tries to demonstrate how love may instantly disappear.
First, it is possible to see similarities between both short stories regarding the subject of love. Indeed in both stories, the man feelings make him take control of the relationship over the woman feelings. In the beginning of Desiree’s Baby, Armand Aubigny was deeply in love with Desiree and so was she. Also the only indication on how the relationship between both lovers has started was because of Armand’s feelings for Desiree. However as soon as Armand suspected his wife and baby of being of black ancestry, he wanted nothing to do with them. It went from: ‘’The passion that awoke in him that day, when he saw her at the gate, swept along like an avalanche […] or like anything that drives headlong over all obstacles’’ (p. 1) to ‘’When he spoke to her, it was with averted eyes, from which the old love-light seemed to have gone out’’ (p. 2). Even though Desiree was still in love with him and tried to make him change his mind about her, the relationship was over. In summary, Armand ended the relationship as instantly as he started it. We can a similar contrast in The Lady with the Pet Dog where Dmitri Dmitritch Gurov started the relationship and also, revived it. Indeed, at the beginning his love for Anna made him make the first move: ‘’the tempting thought of a swift, fleeting love affair, a romance with an unknown woman, whose name he did not know, suddenly took possession of him’’
First, it is possible to see similarities between both short stories regarding the subject of love. Indeed in both stories, the man feelings make him take control of the relationship over the woman feelings. In the beginning of Desiree’s Baby, Armand Aubigny was deeply in love with Desiree and so was she. Also the only indication on how the relationship between both lovers has started was because of Armand’s feelings for Desiree. However as soon as Armand suspected his wife and baby of being of black ancestry, he wanted nothing to do with them. It went from: ‘’The passion that awoke in him that day, when he saw her at the gate, swept along like an avalanche […] or like anything that drives headlong over all obstacles’’ (p. 1) to ‘’When he spoke to her, it was with averted eyes, from which the old love-light seemed to have gone out’’ (p. 2). Even though Desiree was still in love with him and tried to make him change his mind about her, the relationship was over. In summary, Armand ended the relationship as instantly as he started it. We can a similar contrast in The Lady with the Pet Dog where Dmitri Dmitritch Gurov started the relationship and also, revived it. Indeed, at the beginning his love for Anna made him make the first move: ‘’the tempting thought of a swift, fleeting love affair, a romance with an unknown woman, whose name he did not know, suddenly took possession of him’’