Theme in "The Darling"

“The Darling”

            “The Darling” is a short story written by Anton Chekhov in the late 1890s that expresses a “negative commentary on the sort of woman who has no intellectual life of her own” (Coulehan). By writing this story, Chekhov is making the statement that women need to be more than merely “darlings” (Coulehan). He points out the fault in the main character, Olenka; this woman fell for everything. She accepted what came at her like it was the only thing to do, such as, adopting the opinions of another, accepting emotional abuse, and being a pushover when it came to business. By not being independent, Olenka showed that when one stands for nothing, they could fall for everything.

            Olenka is often seen taking the opinions of the one closest to her at that time. The first time there is any dialogue from her she is echoing the words of her current husband, Kukin. She is repeating what he had said the first time his character gets introduced. “They want a clown; what they ask for is vulgarity” (Chekhov 212). Olenka later recites, “What they want is a clown” (213). Olenka couldn’t bear to think for herself. In every situation she was in, she grabbed onto the opinions of those closest to her. “She repeated the veterinary surgeon’s words and was of the same opinion as he about everything” (218). “Her husband’s ideas were hers” (216). And those times when she had barely anyone around her, she clung: “Whatever Mavra, the cook, said she accepted” (219). It didn’t matter how irreverent the opinions were to her life personally, Olenka would take them into her life and make them pertinent. At the end of the story, the only person in the old and grey Olenka’s life was a pre-teen boy, Sasha. Since she had no true opinions of her own, she went on and on about the high school. She could speak about whatever Sasha had spoken about because “Now she had opinions of her own” (220). “Opinion transference” can be seen in mainly women, in their 20s, who aren’t sure of what they like and are willing to do and think anything for their boyfriend (Oxyious). Olenka showed that despite the nature of opinion, some women would follow anything when they don’t have anything of their own.

            Also typically seen in young women is their justification of abuse by their partner. It will be rationalized by saying, “But I love him, and I know he loves me” or “It was my fault; I’m so lucky he will still stay with someone like me.” Olenka is no different. Voloditchka “would seize her by the hand” and hiss about how she was not allowed to talk about his veterinary surgeon things and how it was annoying (Chekov 218). She wouldn’t stand up for herself because she knew that doing that might make him leave, which would signal the end of her opinions. Olenka admitted that when she had the veterinary surgeon or either of her husbands, she “could explain everything, and give her opinion about anything you like …” (219). She tolerated this emotional and verbal abuse full heartedly. She would apologize for these incidents, he would just smile and they would be happy. Olenka was happy because she still had opinions to cling onto and he was smiling and happy because abusers always are when their victim crumples beneath them. It’s easy to believe that Olenka would gleefully put up with that kind of behavior from someone close to her because she was so dependent on them. After the veterinarian surgeon had emotionally abused her, left her, and never returned, Olenka still tried to take him back into her life by offering him everything she possessed (218-220).

            That is exactly what he and his reconciled wife did to Olenka. When she offered to let the veterinarian surgeon, his wife, and their young son stay in her house and that she “wouldn’t take any rent” that’s what they did (220). When she started taking care of and living with their son Sasha, the parents did not stop them (221-222). Olenka had becoming a landlady and a child care all rolled into one. She had no thoughts of whether this was unjust to her. She was satisfied because finally, after all these years, she had someone’s opinion to adhere to: their pre-teen son, Sasha. While his mother had moved to Harkov and his father rarely saw them, Sasha was raised by Olenka. She did not see that she was being used, or that her house was being used. That was the kind of person Olenka was. She was a pushover because she did not know what to do. She let this family come in and use her.

            Olenka couldn’t make up her own mind. She had never been weaned from her parents’ opinions and henceforth she had to have someone else to rely on. This complete reliance led her to fall for and accept everything that came into her life. She accepted everything, even abuse a situation that is not uncommon. This behavior can be found in addicts who have lost the ability to control their own actions. This behavior is also present in every person in some degree. How many times has someone’s opinion been influenced by the world around them? Chekov asks the readers to ponder: To what degree are we like Olenka?

Work Cited

Chekhov, Anton. “The Darling.” Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Tenth

            Ed. Ed.            Thomas Arp and Greg Johnson. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2009.

            213. Print.

Coulehan, Jack. Litmed. New York University School of Medicine, 13 Aug. 1996. Web. 18 Sept.

            2013.

Oxyious. (2011, July 14). Inability to form my own opinions while using- does this post resonate

with anyone? [Permalink]. Message posted to http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/

substance-abuse/231747-inability-form-my-own-opinions-while-using-does-post-resonate-anyone.html