A Study Guide for Anton Chekhov's "Darling"

By Gale and Cengage

A Study Guide for Anton Chekhov's "Darling," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Short Stories for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Short Stories for Students for all of your research needs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cengage Learning - Gale
• Release date: Jul 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781535821506

Book preview

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The Darling

Anton Chekhov

1899

Introduction

Anton Chekhov’s short story The Darling, considered one of his finest, was first published in 1899. Leo Tolstoy, his contemporary and one of the greatest Russian writers of the nineteenth century, was quick to celebrate Chekhov’s achievement in The Darling, comparing it to a piece of lace, like those woven by old maids, who put their whole life, all their dreams of happiness, into their lace. The Darling is a character sketch of Olga Semyonovna, the darling, a young woman whose life takes on meaning only in relation to the men to whom she attaches herself.

Olga first marries a theater owner. When married to him, she thinks and speaks only of the theater. After he dies suddenly, she soon marries a timber merchant. During this marriage she thinks, speaks, and even dreams only of timber. After he, too, dies, Olga takes up with a veterinary surgeon, who is estranged from his wife and son, and she speaks only of veterinary concerns. When he, too, leaves her, Olga’s life becomes empty, as do her thoughts. Without a man around to form her identity, Olga grows old and loses the charm that had earned her the nickname darling, until the veterinary surgeon reenters her life, only to abandon his young son, Sasha, to her care. Olga’s life once again takes on meaning, as she absorbs herself with the care of Sasha, who ultimately feels smothered by her demonstrations of maternal love.

Chekhov’s story has been discussed in terms of its narrative perspective about the character of Olga. Critics have long debated whether Chekhov meant to ridicule Olga’s character, as representative of a woman whose life has no meaning outside of her relationship to men; to celebrate her character as an ideal of selfless maternal love; or to evoke pity for the plight of women, whose lack of education and social standing leads to a life of emotional and intellectual dependence on men.

Author Biography

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born on January 29, 1860, in Taganrog, a Russian town on the Sea of Azov. His father owned a small grocery store, where Chekhov worked as a child, and imposed a strict religious discipline on the family. When Chekhov was sixteen, his father’s business failed, and the family moved to Moscow to avoid debtor’s prison while Chekhov stayed on to finish his secondary school studies. After joining them in