Darling and Other Stories

Chekhov, unlike Dostoevsky, rarely identifies himself with his sinners and sufferers, but he stands close to all his characters, watching them quietly and registering their circumstances and feelings with such finality that to pass judgment on them appears supererogatory. In The Two Volodyas, when the neurotic Sofya Lvovna abandons herself to the dissipated Vladimir Mihalovitch we realize that she is preparing for herself fresh wretchedness, and whatever she may do, she is bound to go on paying the price for her folly in marrying Colonel Yagitch, the elderly handsome lady-killer. It is equally useless to pass judgment on the two Volodyas, who, between them, having helped to ruin Sofya Lvovna's life, will go on shrugging their shoulders at her, and following their life of bored, worldly pleasure. This is life, and it is the woman who pays.Chekhov, Anton is the author of 'Darling and Other Stories' with ISBN 9781589632882 and ISBN 1589632885.