The Lady with the Dog

About the work

Dmitry Gurov, a Muscovite on holiday in Yalta, idly strikes up an acquaintance with a young lady who walks along the seafront with a white Pomeranian. A holiday romance that both think will be brief turns out to be something more. A delicate story about how real feeling comes to people already tired of their own lives.

Contents

1. IChapter 1
2. IIChapter 2
3. IIIChapter 3
4. IVChapter 4

How it was written

The story was published in the magazine Russkaya Mysl (Russian Thought) in December 1899. Chekhov made one of his first notes for it - A Lady with a Pug - back in 1896 in Kislovodsk.

Context

At the end of the nineteenth century Yalta was a fashionable resort for holidays and medical treatment. The story has four short chapters with simple sentences and many precise details, so it is easy to read one chapter at a time.

Interesting facts

• In 1960 director Iosif Kheifits made a film of the same name based on the story.
• A Pomeranian (шпиц) is a small breed of dog with fluffy fur.