The validity of love in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment and Anton Chekhov’s The Three Sisters
Emotions that are described by fictional characters as love in a wide variety of literary works range from being defined as a form of loose tolerance and acceptance in Anton Chekhov’s play The Three Sisters to a mingling of souls destined to be together between Rodia and Sonya in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. The question however is raised as to whether emotions expressed by characters truly parallel love, or instead simply imitate it to create a desired appearance.
Most experience one form of love or another on a daily basis – that from our relatives, significant others, or friends, if not two or more of these, among other sources. Our society has shaped us into individuals for whom it is necessary to experience the conflicting emotions of both giving and receiving love. This exchange between others and ourselves seems to be necessary for what we have been taught to accept as a healthy social life, and we have grown so dependent on such positive social interaction that it has become almost as vital to our sane life as food, water, and shelter. Only with all four does mankind seem to attain happiness. Without one, such as love, man is restless and continues to seek a better life. Likewise, some fictional characters generally thought to be content with themselves as the result of their high socio-economic status are quite unhappy when they are unable to attain the love of one to whom they may be married to, or for whom they have desires for.
The Essay on What does Jack London mean by “The Love of Life”?
Many people today could easily say that they loved and appreciated life, that living in this world was a privilege that they would do anything to maintain. Through a story called “The Love of Life”, Jack London demonstrates what the true definition of loving life is like. He does not illustrate the “love of life” as something simple and pleasurable, but as something that is ...
In Anton Chekhov’s play titled The Three Sisters, there are a high number of destroyed or malfunctioning marriages. The love that the characters do show for each other appears to be quite minimal. One of the three snobbish Prozorov sisters – Masha – says in Act II to Vershinin – a man in whom she is intimately interested in that ”[she] doesn’t speak of her husband, [she’s] grown used to him”[i] and generally finds the company of her husband and his colleagues agonizing. Vershinin in turn, also a married individual – on his second wife, and with two daughters – shortly replies with “I love you, love you, love you… I love your eyes, your movements, I dream of them… Splendid, wonderful woman!”[ii] But both of these characters are still relatively miserable, and what they have for each other bears more superficial resemblance to lust than to love. They simply involve themselves in this game in hope that it will contribute to the loss of their misery – a loss which has yet to come even by the end of the play.
Two married characters in this play – Andrey and Natalia Ivanovna, on the other hand, do not at all act like a married couple. One minute they comfort each other and kiss over an embarrassing scene at a dinner table, and Andrey claims his continuing love for her, and the next, Natasha displays a great deal of hostility towards her husband and the three sisters are manipulated how she sees fit. “They’ll do as I want them”[iii] Natasha replies to her husband’s hesitant question “What about my sisters? This is their flat.”[iv] before going quickly on to distract his attention about her ‘great concern’ over the health of young Bobby. Young Bobby’s ever-important health, however, takes a proverbial back seat when Natasha is invited for a ride on a Protopopov’s troika sleigh on the night she requested the cancellation of any evening entertainment because of Bobby’s mysterious illness. Andrey is miserable. He sees that “[his] wife doesn’t understand [him] and [he] is a bit afraid of his sisters”[v] and even goes on to say, apparently judging from his own experience “One shouldn’t marry. One shouldn’t, because it’s dull”[vi], he says, with his own marriage obviously in mind. It’s quite apparent that neither partner still loves the other, and they appear to remain together for keeping some sort of happy image.
The Essay on Mike And George Tracy Love Marriage
In George Cu kor s The Philadelphia Story, a definite class struggle is carried out in the pursuit of Tracy Lord (Katherine Hepburn). George Kitteridge (John Howard), a new-money industrialist with political aspirations, is engaged to Tracy. Upon the eve of their marriage, Tracy s old husband and childhood friend C. K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) comes back in order to requite his love. A third ...
Another less than happy marriage is between Masha and Kulygin. When talking to Olga, one of the three Prozorov sisters, Kulygin cannot resist expressing his fondness for her, apparently fondness deeper than his love for Masha when he says “Olga… I often think that if it hadn’t been for Masha, I should have married you”[vii]. The next minute, talking to Baron Tuzenbakh, the same man claims to be “awfully fond of Masha”[viii]. Shortly, an interesting conversation occurs between Kulygin and Masha where he claims unfaltering love calling Masha “splendid” and “wonderful”, comparing their seven years of marriage to but one short day, and topped with a pathetic repetition of “I’m satisfied, I’m satisfied, I’m satisfied!”[ix] lies referring to their marriage only to be answered by Masha’s “I’m bored, I’m bored, I’m bored…”[x] and a change of the conversation’s topic. Their love is neither true nor valid, however they too choose not to even discuss any sort of termination of their superficial marriage.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment displays a number of examples of quite strange instances of claimed love. In the second chapter of part one, Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov encounters Marmeladov – a man whose face appears to resemble that of a retired civil servant – in a drinking den. In his intoxicated state, Marmeladov begins a conversation with Raskolnikov and begins telling him of his own life. He begins with his daughter from his first marriage, Sonya – a young woman who recently went for her yellow card – a permit for legal prostitution. He speaks with dignity as he goes on about his second wife Katerina Ivanovna, “a magnanimous lady”[xi] as well as one bitter, angry and hot-tempered whom he married after both their first marriages. She has three children from her first marriage, he notes. It is implied that his living conditions and financial state are very desperate – he sought pawning his wife’s belongings, such as her stockings. Katerina Ivanovna is the one that drove Marmeladov’s daughter to prostitution constantly emphasizing that Sonya does not pay her way at all by informing her that “You live with us, you female parasite, you eat our food and drink our drink and take advantage of our heating!”[xii] It is obvious that the marriage between Marmeladov and Katerina Ivanovna is for outward appearances, and that they have no love for each other whatsoever. She has no qualms about beating him or kicking him when he lies about drunkenly while he sees no problem with taking and pawning her belongings to attain money for his drinking habit. Neither Katerina Ivanovna nor Marmeladov love Sonya. With her newfound profession, she gives the occasional financial aid, but has moved out on her own. There is no room for her in their tiny section of apartment they can barely even afford to pay for. Sonya shows what most resembles pity for her family, and feels some obligation to occasionally help them with food and rent.
The Term Paper on Mrs Bennet Marriage Love Austen
Jane Austen uniquely depicts the functions of love and marriage as themes in Pride and Prejudice through valorization and vilification of Nuptial dynamics that existed in her English society. Marriage emphasizes the spiritual or religious bond established by the union of a man and woman. Love is deemed a powerful attachment created by tenderness, devotion and loyalty. Pride and Prejudice, an ...
In the following chapter, a letter from Raskolnikov’s mother describes another multi-dimensioned scenario. She informs him of the events of the last two months. Raskolnikov’s loving sister Dunya has been attempting to earn money to help support Raskolnikov, the poor student, but her employer, Svidrigailov, made improper advances towards her, causing the immediate loss of her job and virtually ruining her reputation – the only thing she recognized by. The situation was eventually resolved, but not before Raskolnikov’s sister’s name gets completely dragged through the so-called mud. Raskolnikov is likewise informed that Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin “a highly honourable…positive man”[xiii] who intends to marry Dunya, and has already received her consent. Dunya truly appears to love her brother and has prepared to give the rest of her life to Luzhin, a middle to late-aged respectably employed gentleman, whose real intention in this marriage lies behind the fact that she has already experienced poverty and so will regard him as a benefactor. Her brother and therefore mother should benefit greatly from this if he has such connections in the legal business. Luzhin, while having already proposed to Dunya, knows next to nothing about her – there is no way that he actually loves her. What is slightly puzzling is that while Dunya’s mother obviously loves her, she allows Dunya to move ahead with consent in marriage without first evaluating the situation that her daughter is putting herself into. Raskolnikov stands categorically against any such marriage, and considers it quite foolish of both women to take such action without his consultation even though his mother explains the delay.
The Essay on Mrs Hutchinson Paul Mother Character
The Effects of Circumstances on Characters in Fiction Many different characteristics come together in a story to make the characters who they are. It can be education, family, economic and social status, the direct environment in which they live, and even their actions throughout the story. All of these things make the main character come to life. For a moment, the character is real to the reader. ...
Both the novel and the play mentioned informed the reader and listener in one way or another of certain characters’ particular love interests. Dostoyevsky was able to inform his reader quite easily of a character’s thoughts, as in his choice of format – the narrated drama, he was able to inform the reader if and when a character thought what the author wanted them to. Anton Chekhov used powerful and well-fitting dialogue in his script to obviously dress his characters in their emotions. Both styles demonstrated well the necessity of love in everyday life for happiness.