"The Darling" was about a woman who was married to many different men, some of which died. She has always had a love for people and many of them were fond of her, hence why she was called "darling" (Anton, Chekhov). When he dad died when she was a child, she inherited their townhouse where she lived with her husband Kukin, who was a theater owner. He was always in a sullen mood because it always rained and he left to go to Moscow to hire some actors. Olga was informed of his death one night when she was woken at her house. She was very sad, but quickly moved on to Vasily Pustovalov, a timber merchant who she developed feelings for and they eventually have a son (Glencoe Literature). Vasily soon dies when he develops a cold that triggered a long term illness. So Olga is by herself again and mourning.
The story was very sad to me because everyone kept dying and for someone that was loved by so many people, I think she had a hard time loving others. Even though she mourned and felt alone when these people were gone, she got over them really fast. I think that she had trouble loving other people because what she really needed was a sense of belonging and having someone there (Glencoe Literature). She seemed like she always needed the love and passion of a man to keep her happy, which is unlike the views of Emerson and Thoreau, who said being an individual was the most powerful things. She was not an individual in this story, she relied on the people around her for her happiness, and when she was happy, she was liked by many. I tend to feel bad for the main character because she had such a rough time in her marriages. They always started off happy, but they would eventually die and she was left to pick up the pieces, but she quickly moved on. She did lot it keep her down and she would search for new guys.
Chekhov, Anton. "Chekhov Stories." SparkNotes. SparkNotes. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/chekhov/section7.rhtml>.
Chekhov, Anton. "The Darling." Glencoe Literature: The Reader's Choice. New York, NY: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2000. 557-66. Print.
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