In 1899, Anton Chekhov published a short story about the clandestine relationship of two lovers entitled "The Lady with the Dog". Dmitri Dmitritch Gurov, the main character of the story, sees a young woman walking a dog on the Yalta seafront. It is said that everyone calls her the lady with the dog. One day, the lady sits next to Dmitri and he starts a conversation with her. He learns that her name is Anna Sergeyevna and that she is visiting Yalta on vacation. He also learns that she is married, like him. Over the course of a week, Dmitri and Anna grow closer and spend a lot of time together. Dmitri, being used to relationships with many different women, at first does not see Anna differently from the others. However, as time passes and Anna pushes him to return home, Dmitri realizes that his relationship has grown into something much bigger. For the first time, Dmitri feels in love. Dmitri's character development in this story is used to support the progression of the main theme, true love. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At the beginning of the story, Dmitri's characterization of being secretive and a womanizer supports the conclusion that he has a lack of love in his life. Chekhov's description reveals that he is not satisfied with his current situation. He despises women, especially his wife, and seems to detest everything about his home and family. The narrator says: “[…] he secretly considered her [his wife] unintelligent, mean, inelegant […] and he didn't like being at home. He had begun to cheat on her a long time ago, he had been cheating on her often and probably for this reason he almost always spoke badly of women and, when they were spoken about in his presence, he called them "the inferior race"" (252). It's clear that Dmitri really has no real feelings towards his wife other than malicious ones. He tends to view women as inferior to him and treats them as objects clearly seen by his multiple affairs. It would be fair to say that Dmitri is cold and unloving at this point in the story. This is discussed in a literary overview: "Gurov at first appears to be a superficial womanizer whose view of women shows him to lack emotional or spiritual depth." He has no respect for the women he is physically involved with. No emotional connection was formed, not even with his wife. Many of these personality traits of being cold and disconnected can be attributed to the lack of love, or any form of strong positive emotion, in Dmitri's life. As time progresses with the relationship and Dmitri begins to develop feelings for Anna, his personality changes dramatically. . He begins to consider Anna more than just a woman. It shows his feelings and his perspective on the world around him changes. Dmitri goes from being bored and disconnected to being fascinated and deeply involved: “He told Anna Sergeyevna how beautiful she was, how charming. He was impatiently passionate, did not move a step from her…” (Chekhov 256). Dmitri is in love; even if he doesn't realize it. He no longer looks at Anna the way he sees her past affairs. He's even holding her in a higher light than his wife. In addition to having stronger and more positive feelings towards Anna, Dmitri has more positive feelings towards the world: “In reality everything is beautiful in this world when it is reflected […]” (Chekhov 256). His natural and uncontrolled feelings towards Anna make him a happier person, or at least more contented. The world that was once so boring and bland now issomething beautiful. The change in Dmitri's personality and behavior represents the presence of true love, whether noticed by Dmitri or not. The change in Dmitri's personality due to true love, or lack thereof, is seen again in the story when Anna leaves to return to her husband. At first, still believing that the relationship is a bit like the others, Dmitri returns to Moscow in good spirits. As the months pass, he becomes convinced that the memory of Anna will fade and he will no longer be affected by it. However, much to his dismay, Anna never leaves his mind. The narrator says: “[…] From time to time [Anna] visited him in his dreams with a touching smile as the others did. But more than a month passed […] and everything was still clear in his memory […] Anna Sergeevna did not visit him in a dream, but followed him everywhere like a shadow and haunted him” (257). At this point, Dmitri begins to realize that there is something different about Anna. Something new is happening that obviously has never happened before. Even when Dmitri is close to his children he thinks of Anna. She's the only thing on his mind. Dmitri admits that with previous relationships he would only think about women for a month and then carry on as if nothing had happened. However, a month has already passed with Anna and her memory is still fresh. Dmitri takes it heavily and begins a downward spiral. He tries to carry on with his life, but Anna's thoughts prevail and he remains paralyzed. Literary critic Erik Huber comments on this moment: “He wants to tell others about his feelings for her, but no one will listen to him. This ultimately leads him to a great feeling of disgust [….] Gurov is so 'indignant' after this moment of personal crisis that he cannot sleep and finds himself 'fed up' with his job and his children. He doesn't want to do anything." The fact that Dmitri is not with Anna prevents him from living his life. He has become so involved with her and is emotionally connected to her. His life in Moscow seems disgusting and uneventful. He no longer wants to lead his life as he has done for so many years. This indicates that something has changed; and that change is that Dmitri is in love. In addition to the apparent change in personality and behavior, Dmitri's age and appearance and his recognition of Anna also represent true love. At the beginning of the story, Dmitri simply calls Anna “'the lady with the dog'” (251). This can be attributed to the fact that Dmitri is not emotionally connected to Anna, nor does he intend to be. He doesn't give her a name to keep her at a distance. As the relationship evolves, Dmitri calls her by name. This action makes things personal and indicates Dmitri's growing love for Anna. In this regard, when the reader is briefly introduced to Dmitri's wife, her name is never mentioned. This represents the fact that Dmitri does not have a strong emotional bond with her. The only woman's name in the story is Anna because Anna is the only woman Dmitri has ever loved. Going back to the beginning of the story, when Chekhov introduces Dmitri, he talks about his ease in attracting women; “In his appearance, in his character, in his whole nature, there was something attractive and elusive that seduced women and disposed them in his favor” (252). Dmitri has no problem attracting women. There is something about him that attracts them, and he is well aware of it. He seems to use attraction to lure women into the businesses he has. This attractiveness is how he attracts Anna. In contrast, towards the end of the story, Dmitri looks at himself in the mirror and sees how much he has changed. Chekhov writes: “At that moment he saw himself in the mirror. His hair was already starting to turn gray. And it seemed strange to him that he had become so much older, so much more outspoken in recent years... Why did he love him so much?" (262). Dmitri. 2015.