Lady with a pet dog

I also do like Chekhov's version better, he develops the characters so beautifully. He talks about the passion and how seductive Anna is, there is use of such small things in the story like perfume and flowers, but the way he places the word in the story it somehow makes you imagine you are Anna. This truly is what I imagine an affair to be like. Passion, regret, deception,

Anna herself talks about "It's not my husband but myself I have deceived. " Well Anna,that is always what seems to happen in good stories:)

We were also assigned to read Chekhov's version again and play attention to, watermelon, scales and the sturgeon.

scales:

"From the past he preserved the memory of a carefree, good-natured women whom love made gay and who were grateful to him for the happiness he gave them, however brief it might be; and of women like his wife who loved without sincerity , with too many words, affectedly , hysterically, with an expression that it was not love or passion that engaged them but something more significant; and of two or three others, very beautiful, frigid women, across whose faces would suddenly flit a rapacious expression-an obstinate desire to take from life more than it could give, and these were women no longer young, capricious,unreflecting, domineering,unintelligent, and when Gerov grew cold to them their beauty aroused his hatred, and the lace on their lingerie seemed to resemble scales."

To me this could mean a lot of different things. When I think of scales, dragons, snakes, fish and mermaids come to mind. I also think of the praying mantis that we talked about in class. I googled praying mantis and this is what I found. "they secrete a protective wax covering that resembles the scales of reptiles or fish."

Watermelon: There was a watermelon on the table. Gerov cut himself a slice and began eating it without haste.

This part made the affair seem so ordinary, like it was something he did every day.

Sturgeon: "You were right this evening: the sturgeon was a bit high"

This seems to be the epiphany in the story when Gerov seems to realize how dull and commonplace his life is.

Oats version: first of all you don't need to fix what isn't broken.

Her use of flashbacks are distracting to the development of the story, and her use of language did not make my imagination awaken. I felt like I was reading a short story, but for some reason I felt like I was living during Chekhov's. I liked this version but compared to the original it did not even compare!