“The Lady With The Little Dog” by Anton Chekhov is the simple story of a man who stays in a loveless marriage but finally finds true love in an unhappy married woman, with whom he has an affair. Even though the man looks down on women classifying them as “an inferior race ” (31), he successfully falls in love. This love could be hazardous to his marriage with his wife, yet the nature of love triggers his unstoppable desire toward the woman. What his attitude is when he truly falls in love with the lover? Given images and diction, the story could be clarified by the Helen Fisher’s speech “The Brain in Love.” Her study of the brain’s mechanism for love appears particularly interesting in this sense. In order to explain why human beings long for and indulge in love, she has conducted the experiment of how humans’ brains work when they are in love and when they are disappointed in love, using a functional MRI brain scanner. She insists that the romantic love is an addiction which has the characteristics of tolerance, withdrawals and relapse, and this affects our lives drastically. Through her study, we can explore Chekhov’s story, deeply understanding how love changes Dmitri’s attitude over time.
Dmitri Dmitrich Gurov, the protagonist in the story “The Lady With The Little Dog, is a man in his late thirties who has wife and three children. He has a different life outside home. He has experienced affairs with many women to feel freedom and power which he does not have at home. While he is spending a vacation alone in Yalta, he meets and seduces a young married woman, Anna Sergeyevna, who fatefully changes his life. After their first encounter they became friends and then lovers. After the short-term affair ends due to her moving back to S, he realizes that he is in love with her. His love toward her tortures him so hard, and he eventually visits her. After his visit she begins to go to Moscow regularly to spend time with him in a hotel. Their love grows strongly day by day. They discuss how to be together under this difficult circumstance. They conclude that “it seemed that, just a little more – and the solution would be found, and then a new, beautiful life would begin; and it was clear to both of them that the end was still far, far off, and that the most complicated and difficult part was just beginning”(47).
Fisher claims that “Romantic love is a drive, a basic mating drive. Not the sex drive -- the sex drive gets you out there, looking for a whole range of partners. Romantic love enables you to focus your mating energy on just one at a time, conserve your mating energy, and start the mating process with this single individual” (Fisher). In other words, true love is not the one which is sex oriented but it is far beyond it. For Fisher true love means to remain connected with one partner over our entire lifetime. It does not mean changing partner as per the sex preferences. Sex is merely an activity to reinforce pleasure. It is very less connected with true love or romanticism. True love on the other hand is very different from this. Lovers who are truly connected to each other do not view each other sexually. They love each other deeply and are connected to each other through strings of love, emotions, care, sentiments, commitment and dedication towards each other. Fisher’s assertion implies that romantically inclined to one another is about connecting to that person and remaining dedicated to that person forever and is like saving us just for mating with the true love of your life.
Dmitri has had love affairs with women and had fun with thrilling short-term flings. But why all of sudden he becomes sentimental and cares about her feeling when they are separated? Fisher’s idea of difference between romantic love and sexual love answers this question. When Anna leave Domitri, he was “touched, saddened, and felt some slight remorse; this young woman whom he was never to see again had not been happy with him” (38). Fisher would recognize that he is truly in romantic love with her. According to Fisher, individuals focus on their energy, mind and heart on one partner and begin the mating process with him or her, forgetting about others. In this scene, he becomes conscious of Anna’s unhappiness and regrets his lack of understanding toward her, which he has never done for other lovers. Fisher also states that romantic love is not like the usual sex drive which individuals have with mates who they sexually connect with. Domitri used to explore range of sexual partners and looked them down as a disgusting figure rather than showing consideration for their feelings. However, with Anna the affair is more like a romantic liaison. He unconsciously shows his emotions toward unfulfillment of true relationship. This application explains romantic love and sex drive differ widely depending on individuals’ acts toward partners.
True Love often possesses individuals with struggle. Fisher argues that “When you’ve been rejected in love, not only are you engulfed with feelings of romantic love, but you’re feeling deep attachment to this individual. Moreover, this brain circuit for reward is working, and you’re feeling intense energy, intense focus, intense motivation and the willingness to risk it all to win life’s greatest prize” (Fisher). In other word, the brain system which encourages individuals’ process of falling love induces the euphoria that is much more than cocaine high when they are dumped. As a result, increasingly activated brain system intensifies romantic love. For example, if a man suddenly ends the relationship with his girlfriend who still loves him, she would experience desperation due to unexpected termination, and the more she tries to forget him the more she would remember and romanticize their memory. This inevitably motivates her to take back “the great reward” again. Thus romantic love is literally addiction. Fisher suggests that individuals’ subconscious minds do not simply accept the fact that they are rejected and consequently pursue those ultimate mating partners.
Fisher’s concept of romantic love can be applied to explain why Anna’s departure for S heightens Dmitri’s feeling toward her rather than causing his fading memory. As soon as she leaves Yalta having a guilty conscience for her affair with Dmitri, he gradually becomes persuaded that their relationship is the same as what he used to have with other lovers after all, and then the experience of love affair is simply added to his life. However, even though it was just a fling on his part, he greatly misses Anna:
Everything was as clear in his memory as if he had parted with Anna Sergeyevna only the day before. And the memories burned brighter and brighter. Whether from the voices of his children doing their homework, which reached him in his study in the evening quiet, or from hearing a romance, or an organ in a restaurant, or the blizzaerd howling in the chimney, everything would suddenly rise up in his memory: What had happened on the jetty, and the early morning with mist on the mountains, and the streamer from Feodosia, and the kisses. He would pace the room for a long time , and remember, and smile, and then his memories would turn to reveries, and in his imagination the past would mingle with what was still to be. Anna Sergreevna was not a dream, she followed him everywhere (39-40)
Fisher would view this as engulfment with feeling of romantic love due to rejection. In her statement, people are obsessed with thinking about the partners in this situation. For example, the scene above shows that Dmitri persistently chases Anna in his mind, remembering their romanticized memories. He daydreams all about her so that he does not think about how the situation he is standing at present. Thus he fails to return to his routine of work, family life and entertainment. Fisher claims that hopeless situation entirely strengthens the ones’ attachment for their partners. As Anna leaves him justifying their unfortunate circumstance, he is tormented with their memories and gets involved in true love. Through this application we see how hopeless love motivates people to love and want the partners harder instead of simply forgetting them.
This concept also works to analyze why he decided to visit her in S even though there are enormous risks that he would have to have. He thinks “why he goes to S. He did not know very well himself. He wanted to see Anna Sergeevna and talk with her, to arrange a meeting, if he could” (41). Although the purpose of his visit is unclear, Fisher would view this as the pursuit of the life’s greatest prize, an appropriate mating partner. According to Fisher, the brain system which creates individuals’ motivation, craving and focus becomes more active when they face the difficulty. Domitri, for example, does not have any confidence whether she allows him to have time with her for a meeting, his action comes first before contacting her. Moreover, Fisher states that individuals are willing to putting themselves at risk. In this case, Domitri does not care about the consequences of family relationship, social status and reputation. His desire for attachment with Anna defeats these concerns drastically. This application demonstrates why people make risky choices when they are addictively absorbed in romantic love with no hope.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is clear that from the foregoing, romantic love is an addictive feeling that leaves memories lingering on, even days after the separation of a couple in love. According to Fisher, the addiction can get a person daydreaming and dwelling in fantasies that leave them reflecting on the good time they spent together. Through a well calculated fusion of The Brain in Love and The Lady with the Little Dog, the nature of romantic love can be understood perfectly. The affair existing between Dmitri Dmitrich Gurov and Anna Sergeyeyna is a perfect illustration of Fisher’s explications. The effectiveness of the illustration is enhanced by the fact that the affair is so much different from the series of affairs that Dmitri has engaged. Apparently, the difference between the affair with Anna and other affairs is the difference between erotic attraction and romantic attraction.
Essentially, the affair is a reflection of what Fisher explains, especially considering that Dmitri’s intentions when he sets out to visit Anna in S do not revolve around the desire for sex. All he wants is to meet her and talk to her. According to Fisher, this is a primary characteristic of romantic love. Worth mentioning also is the reality that Fisher’s The Brain in Love, is a reflection of the psychological makeup of the lovers – something that is particularly brought out in the tale of Dmitri and Anna. Summarily, the speech and the story are so connected that one could think that Fisher was laying foundation for the writing of The Lady with the Little Dog. Summarily, the risks that Dmitri and Anna take are the most pronounced of all the features that Fisher lays emphasis on in her speech.
Writer’s response
In point of fact, the essay has more strengths than weaknesses. Foremost, the essay has a clear, specific and relevant thesis. This gives the reader a clear direction and vivid idea of what the writer is planning to focus on. Secondly, the writer of the essay has sufficiently employed the use of direct quotes. Such features make the reader see exactly what the writer wants to say without much mental hassle. This is particularly important as it caters for the special needs of the reader that may be slow in understanding that which the author wants to put across. Another notable strength is the reality that the writer perfectly blends the scenes from The Lady with the Little Dog with the factual information from The Brain in Love. The writer takes time to explain after every illustration. This enhances relevance and eliminates potential confusion. If I had more time, I would seek to understand any inconsistencies between the romantic love existing between Dmitri and Anna, and the facts explained by Fisher.
Based on the grading criteria, this essay deserves Grade A. this is essentially because the essay has a thesis that meets the specifications given in the checklist. The thesis is specific, arguable, complex and relevant. Secondly, the opening sentences also referred to as the topic sentences serve their purpose perfectly. They give the root ideas of their respective paragraphs. Along with such topic sentences comes the aspect of contextualization. Putting matters in context is one of the endeavors that the essay does faultlessly. Such contextualization brings a clear picture of what the authors are explaining. Perhaps the two most striking features of the essay are: effective use of transitions and the use of original ideas. Being an application essay, the quality of the content should be assessed by the fact that writer has gone beyond mere summaries and given authentic arguments.
