Chekhov's version of the story is written from the man's
standpoint, involving himself and Anna, a woman (with a pet dog), who he meets on
vacation. They begin an adulterous affair.
The man
(Dmitri) is used to having affairs, and they generally end with his disgust over how
something so beautiful becomes so ordinary--every time. He has nothing but a
superficial relationship with his wife.
When he meets Anna,
and then they ultimately part, he believes it to be just another one of his flings. He
waits for the memory of their time together to fade with time, but he cannot forget her.
Dmitri goes to find her in her home town. She has also been missing him terribly, and
though horrified that he has sought her out where she lives, she agrees to travel to
Moscow, where he lives, to see him. Hence, the affair
resumes.
There is a child in the story: Dmitri's daughter.
At one point he walks with her, drops her off at school, and continues on to meet
Anna.
When they are together, Anna and Dmitri cannot seem
to find any hope of happiness, as both are married, but still they continue to see each
other. Seeing himself in the mirror one day at her hotel, he sees himself as an older
man with a young woman, and he wonders what she sees in him. At the end of the story,
there is a sense that though they know it will be difficult, Dmitri and Anna will
continue with the affair, looking for a solution, however
difficult.
In Oates' version, the story is told from Anna's
viewpoint. Whereas Chekhov relays in a chronological order, in four parts, Oates writes
her version in three parts; the parts do not follow a chronological order, and it is not
until the third part that the entire story, in the order in which the events actually
take place, is made clear.
The story is set in the United
States, whereas Chekhov's version was set in Moscow and its surrounding
areas.
The story refers to Anna's lover, but in this
version, the lover has no name, he has a son who is blind, and the lover
has the dog.
There are many similarities, except
that this version shows us the inner turmoil of Anna more than that of her lover. And
whereas she suffers in Chekhov's version, the description in Oates' version is much more
poignant for Anna, and we learn that she is not only terribly unhappy, but suicidal. We
also get a glimpse of Anna's husband in Oates' version as they clumsily make love the
evening that the lover comes to town. In this we get more information regarding the
husband as a real person, whereas Chekhov's version paints him more as a
shadow.
Chekhov's version leaves the reader hanging, not
simply because there is no clear plan between the two, but also because Dmitri's
reactions are often so bland. However, Oates' style is very different, perhaps
reflecting the differences in these two characters. In Oates' version, Anna, still
downhearted and suicidal (perhaps a more passionate main character?), is able to believe
that somehow the relationship (though seemingly hopeless) will work out; at the end, she
surprises her lover with excitement and enthusiasm at the prospect of a future
together.
In both stories, Anna sees herself as a low and
vulgar woman because of her infidelity; she is unable to face her unhappy life with her
husband and so continues on in the affair. Both versions fail to provide clear closure,
and the reader is left to wonder, as do the main characters, exactly how the lovers will
ever solve their dilemma.
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