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About Love by Anton Chekhov
MAIN SUMMARY
About Love by Anton Chekhov
This story is about love. The writer wants to show that love is different from person to person and in every situation. There are three different love stories in the text, which are summarised as follows:.
1st love story – Nikanor and Pelageya (Sensual love story):
The love story of Nikanor and Pelageya is told by Alyohin, the main character. Nikanor works in the house as a cook. He is a man of medium height with a puffy face. Pelageya is a beautiful girl in the house who loves Nikanor very much. Nikanor always scolds and beats her after drinking alcohol. But Pelageya wants to live with Nikanor just so. She doesn’t want to marry him. Nikanor, a religious person, thinks it is wrong for a man and woman to live together without marriage in society. According to him, we cannot live our whole lives in the name of love. The final destination of each love affair is family life. Without a relationship between husband and wife, it is difficult to sustain life in society for males and females.
2nd love story – Alyohin himself (Greed in love):
This love story reveals the role of money in relation to love. When Alyohin was a student, he fell in love with a girl at a university. Money played a main role in that relationship. Every time, the girl used to think about the money that Alyohin was going to give her and what she could buy.
3rd Love Story – Alyohin and Anna Luganovich (True love of feelings):
This is the love story of true feelings. Alyohin and Anna have a true love for each other.
When Alyohin is elected honorary justice of the peace, he has to go to town for work. Once he goes to the house of Luganovich to have dinner, There, he meets Anna Luganovich, the wife of Dimitry Luganovich. The beauty, youth, and intelligence of Anna attract him. All the time, Alyohin’s mind is disturbed by Anna’s memory. They pass time together for hours. They share gifts. They go to the theatre and also share their joys and sorrows. Alyohin falls in love with her, but his morals and thoughts stop him from expressing his love openly. As a result, Anna suffers from mental fatigue. But later on, Alyohin sees the illusion that Anna enjoys her life and doesn’t pay attention to him. Finally, the Luganovich family has to move. Alyohin goes to say goodbye to Anna inside the train. When their eyes meet for the last time, both cry and hug each other. Alyohin kisses Anna and expresses his deep love. Finally, both separate from each other because Anna is leaving for Creamea for her treatment. Due to his failed love affair, Alyohin thinks that love is a source of dissatisfaction and irritation. He thinks that love is a great mystery. It cannot be generalized. Love is done by heart, not by mind.
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
About Love by Anton Chekhov
How does the narrator plan to reconcile his life of toil with civilized living?
Answer:
The narrator of this story is Alyohin. He is an educated man with different skills. His lifestyle isn’t good right now. He is living his life in Sofiyino, where he works as a peasant in his fields. He prefers to live a life of standard living. To reconcile his life of toil with civilised living, he wants to pay off the debt of the bank, which his father had taken from the bank, mortgaging his land for the higher education of Alyohin. He wants to release his land from the bank by doing hard labour every day.
Sketch the character of Alyohin.
Answer:
Alyohin was an educated man. He was a bachelor and lived alone in Sofyino. He had to work hard on his farm to clear his debt, which his father had taken from the bank and spent on his education. Alyohin preferred the life of an armchair man. He desired a civilised life for the upper class, but he could not afford it. In the past, while he was a university student, he fell in love with a girl who only loved his money. Since he was elected honorary justice of the peace, he often visited the town to take part in court sessions. Once, he was invited to the home of Luganovich for dinner. There he met Anna Alexeyevna, aged 22 and married to Dmitry Luganovich. They fell in love with each other but could not express their love. They chatted for hours and went to the theatre together, but they parted coldly the next time. Later, Anna suffered from nervous prostration and was sent to Crimea for treatment. During her departure, Alyohin showed his courage to confess his love and kissed her on the train. They hugged each other and cried. Finally, both of them said goodbye and parted ways with each other forever.
How did Alyohin define love?
(Or) – Describe Alyohin’s experience about love?
Answer:
Alyohin defined love through his own experience and love affair. He thinks that when people are in love, they think about whether it is honourable or dishonourable, sensible or stupid, and what their love will lead to. For him, this reasoning is the source of dissatisfaction and irritation. He thinks that love is a great mystery. It cannot be bound by marital status. Whatever is stated or written about love is not a solution but only a statement of question that remains unanswered. The explanation of one’s love cannot be applicable to another’s love case. Love differs from situation to situation. Love should not be generalised but individualized. According to him, to what extent personal happiness counts in love is uncertain; it differs from person to person.
What kinds of love experience are suggested by Alyohin about love?
Answer:
In “About Love,” three kinds of love experiences are suggested by Alyohin. The first love story is between Nikanor, a cook, and Pelageya, a housemaid. Their love is sensual (physical), often violent. They do not have understanding; sexual passion binds them. Their love is not bound by a marital relationship. The second love affair is between Alyohin and a girl at a university. Alyohin loved her, but she thought of love as a way to earn money. This love can be seen as the ugliest, where sex is exchanged for money. The third love affair is between Alyohin and Anna. This love can be termed unexpressed love. Their hearts meet, but being trapped by middle-class morality, their love remains unexpressed. They sacrifice their love for more good. Alyohin sacrifices his love because he thinks that it would bring disaster to the lives of her children, mother, and husband. Similarly, Anna does not express her love, thinking that she isn’t young enough to live with him.
(Important) Alyohin is said to rush around like a squirrel in a cage. Explain
Or, Why is Alyohin compared with “Squirrel in a cage” in the story ‘About Love’? Elaborate.
Alyohin is said to rush around like a squirrel in a cage (P.19) and this judgement is echoed in the final paragraph of the story (P.23). What is the significance of this repetition? Does Luganoviches’ reading about Alyohin differ from Burkin and Ivan?
Answer:
Actually, if we read about the main character, Alyohin, we find that he is not a minor man. He is an educated man, but his act of engaging himself in minor work makes him like a squirrel that rushes around in a cage. He prefers a life of high standards, but the debt that his father had taken from the bank for his studies made him work hard in the village. This line, which rushes around like a squirrel in a cage, is used twice in the text. One by Luganovich’s family and the other by Alyohin’s friends. All of them are quite surprised to see the life of Alyohin. According to them, Alyohin, an educated man with knowledge of various things, instead of devoting himself to literary works, lives in the country, works hard, but is always penniless. No, their reading about Alyohin isn’t different. They are quite amazed to see him working simply as a peasant in Sofiyano. Alyohin is a man of perfect skill and speech. His artistic way of presenting love stories is outstanding. He is trapped by reason, middle-class morality, and poverty. All these acts made Alyohin rush around like a squirrel in a cage.
(Important) Were Alyohin and Anna happy or sad at the end of the story?
Answer:
Alyohin and Anna were sad at the end of the story. The end of the story reflected the departure of Alyohin and Anna. In the end, both will separate from each other forever. While Anna was on the train, Alyohin went there to bid farewell to her. They both cried and hugged each other. Alyohin kissed her and expressed his deep love. Both of them did not control their sentiments. Finally, Alyohin said goodbye to her for the last time.
(Important) After finishing university why does Alyohin work in the field?
Answer:
After finishing university, Alyohin works in the field to pay off the debt that his father had spent on his education and also to save his estate, which was heavily mortgaged. He does not want to lose his farm in the countryside.
(Important) Describe the love story of Alyohin and Anna.
Answer:
This love can be termed unexpressed love. Their hearts meet, but being trapped by middle-class morality, their love remains unexpressed. Alyohin meets Anna at her house for the first time. The beauty, youth, and intelligence of Anna attract him too much. After meeting Anna, his mind is disturbed by her memory. He mostly goes to town to meet Anna. They pass time together for hours. They share gifts. They go to the theatre and also share their joys and sorrows. Alyohin falls in love with her, but his morals and thoughts stop him from expressing his love openly. As a result, Anna suffers from mental prostration. But later on, Alyohin sees the illusion that Anna enjoys her life and doesn’t pay attention to him. Finally, the Luganovich family has to move. Alyohin goes to say goodbye to Anna inside the train. When their eyes meet for the last time, both cry and hug each other. Alyohin kisses Anna and expresses his love. Finally, both separate from each other because Anna is leaving for Creamea for her treatment. Due to his failed love affair, Alyohin thinks that love is a source of dissatisfaction and irritation. He thinks that love is a great mystery. It cannot be generalized. Love is done by heart, not by mind.
Who is Nikanor? Who was he in love with?
Answer:
Nikanor is a cook at Alyohin’s house. He is a man of average height. He has a puffy face. He is a religious but drunkard person. He gets violent every evening. He used to scold a girl named Pelageya, who is the maidservant in Alyohin’s house. Nikanor was in love with the same girl. He wanted to settle down with her, but Palageya did not accept his proposal. Due to this, he got furious and chased her, beating her severely.
(Important) Tell about the violent love affair between Nikanor and Pelageya.
Answer:
The love story of Nikanor and Pelageya is told by Alyohin, the main character. Nikanor works in the house as a cook. He is a man of medium height with a puffy face. Pelageya is a beautiful girl in the house who loves Nikanor very much. Nikanor always beats her after drinking alcohol. He wants to marry Pelageya, but Pelageya wants to live with Nikanor just so. She doesn’t want to marry him. Nikanor, a religious person, thinks it is wrong for a man and woman to live together without marriage. According to him, we are part of society. We must not live in society against societal norms and values. To be a part of society, we must have a family life.
(Important) Sketch the character of Anna.
Answer:
Anna is a thin, beautiful woman who is twenty-two years old. She is the wife of Dmitry Luganovich. She has two children. She is such a kind, intelligent, and fascinating woman. She lives happily with her family. She gets a feeling of nearness after meeting Alyohin. She spends most of her time with Alyohin. Later, this meeting turns into love. She is trapped by reason. She does not confess her love for Alyohin because she fears society’s moral standards. Later, she becomes the victim of mental prostration because of psychological depression and nervousness.
Sketch the character of Luganovich briefly.
Answer:
Dmitry Luganovich is an assistant president of the Circuit Court. His age is over forty. He has two children and a beautiful wife. He is living happily in the family with his wife, mother, and two children. He has a good relationship with Alyohin. He has invited Alyohin to his house for dinner. He is very helpful and also behaves well with others. He is a very kind-hearted person. He doesn’t have any doubt about Alyohin’s and Anna’s affair.
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