In Anton Chekhov’s, “’Misery: “To Whom Shall I Tell My Grief?”’, he tells the story of Iona Potapov, a sledge-driver in nineteenth century Russia. The character has lost his son; to an untimely death and he is having a difficult time coping with his lost. He is an elderly, nineteenth century cab driver and his wish is to find someone he can share his terrible grief with, by only sharing his sons’ life. Chekhov portrays the main character as lonely, dazed, confused, and as a man who needs someone to confide in; which all humans want and need during such hardships. In the midst of those times in Russia, Iona cannot find anyone willing to listen to him speak of his son; until he confides in the only thing that has been with him the entire time. The author portrays Iona as alienated and desperate for attention that it becomes obvious that he is stating that every person needs someone to help ease their pain when they suffer a loss.
The story is set in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1860, after the Great Reforms period; where they freed the serf farmers from virtual enslavement (Heller 2 ). Iona is a peasant, who migrated himself and his son,Kuzma, to St. Petersburg to find work. He was once among richer peasants; who he could go to for support and share his stress and anguish; but because of the Great reforms he fell down the social ladder, surrounding him with no social help or support. He has lost his wife already through death and his daughter is back in his old country; his son was the only thing he had closed to him. The story doesn’t talk about their relation but the author makes it clear that his son meant a lot to him.
As the story opens, it is obvious that Iona is in some type of anguish state as he sits outside, on the street...
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...are, he starts to chat with her, while she was eating. He confides his anguish and tragedies within his mare. She is the only thing he has that is close to him. It is also the only thing that connects him to his son; his son followed him to St.Petersburg to become a sledge-driver. He was young and ready to become what he saw his father do growing up.
So, as he tells his grief about his son’s death and other tragedies, the mare just simply nods her head and eat out of the palm of Iona’s hand. Its seems as though he has bonded with his horse because he continues to talk to the mare; without it being able to speak back and comment on his tragedies. It goes to show that sometimes people just may need something simple as a sledge-driver wanting a passenger to listen, just to get through the day; or to get through any hardships they are going through at the time.
He soon realizes that the boarding of a wild stallion upon the Drake causes the excitement in the air. With much struggle, the stallion is placed in a makeshift stall within the ship and it causes quite a ruckus as its hooves crack against the wood and its whistle pierces the air. Alec has an immense love for horses and one night he gets a chance to visit the stallion up close. He witnesses the horse with its head out the window of the stall staring at the expanse of the ocean, but once it sees him it whistles once more and retreats into the darkness. The boy leaves a sugar cube on the windowsill for the stallion and then returns to his cabin for the night. Each night after, Alec continues to leave a sugar cube for the horse to eat once he has retreated to his cabin for the night.
No Horse to be a safe haven for him as he questions his identity. As Agnes states near the end of
The major themes of the poem reflect the poet's own inner life and his struggle with the loss of his father. Through this complicated and intricate poem the inner feelings of the poet are made manifest through the speaker's tone towards the father. The exchange between father and son represents a magical moment in the speaker's childhood: dancing the waltz with his father. In the second stanza, the poet comments “My mother's countenance / could not unfrown itself (Roethke 7-8).” Here the poet seems to regret the fact that he hoarded his father's time after a long day at work, when his father could have been s...
Throughout the book, Robert develops a bond with the animals as he lacks connections with the everyday people in his life. Robert’s natural instinct to save but failure to do so is portrayed with horses: “I’m going to break ranks and save ...
...ding on life and relationships, and can realize the complexity of his passions in life both with horses and Alejandra.
Continuing with the thread of human development, we see the creature's acquisition of language. The creature most craves this sort of knowledge:...
During the process of growing up, we are taught to believe that life is relatively colorful and rich; however, if this view is right, how can we explain why literature illustrates the negative and painful feeling of life? Thus, sorrow is inescapable; as it increase one cannot hide it. From the moment we are born into the world, people suffer from different kinds of sorrow. Even though we believe there are so many happy things around us, these things are heartbreaking. The poems “Tips from My Father” by Carol Ann Davis, “Not Waving but Drowning” by Stevie Smith, and “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop convey the sorrow about growing up, about sorrowful pretending, and even about life itself.
He sees how much an animal means to an individual, whether it be a cow to a farmer or a little poodle to an old lady. Each and every case is a brand new one. He feels for each and every animal, whether it is a bird or a horse.
All the while, when she was feeding Blue the apples she was befriending the horse. Not only did the horse like the apples, but also he liked the attention, which is sometimes hard to comprehend when you think of
At first, the boss seems to be a tough man, however, when remembering his late son, he “[arranges] to weep” (Mansfield 25). This passage suggests that the boss has too much control over his emotions. In order to show any emotion, the boss must isolate himself and when he does he is still unable to weep. This control may be influenced by society, because in that time period men did not cry. As a result of this belief, the boss prevents himself from expressing any emotion, which in turn, inhibits him from dealing with his grief, let alone understanding it. Furthermore, in order to understand grief, it is crucial to first let go of control. Considering that the boss has not been able to do this, reveals that his mental state might be repressed. Also, Mansfield suggests that the death “might have happened yesterday” (29). Here, it is clear that the boss has not been able to recover. The death of his son is still fresh in his mind and he has not been able to clear the thoughts. In an attempt to live up to the views of society the boss tires to put aside his grief, however, the grief always comes back. He does not realize that he must submit to his grief instead of battling it. The fact that six years have elapsed without progress, indicates a lack of understanding for his
Woolsen, Constance Fenimore. “Miss Grief.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Shorter Sixth Edition. Ed. Nina Baym.
"The Bear," which is a classic one-act play written 1900, is one of the great works of Anton Chekhov, which is very much about a widowed woman. The Bear can be regarded as a comedy since it is to give the audience entertainment and amusement. This comedy reveals the fine line between anger and passion. The theme is about a strange beginning of love between Mrs. Popov and Smirnov. It demonstrated that love changes all things it touches. Dialogue of the characters, the action of the characters, and the characters themselves shape the theme. Unbelievable actions and change in mood on the part of the characters show that love can sometimes come from an odd turn of events.
The story “The Darling” by Anton Chekhov, illustrates a woman that is lonely, insecure, and lacking wholeness of oneself without a man in her life. This woman, Olenka, nicknamed “Darling” is compassionate, gentle and sentimental. Olenka is portrayed for being conventional, a woman who is reliant, diligent, and idea less. Although, this story portrays that this woman, known as the Darling needs some sort of male to be emotionally dependant upon, it is as if she is a black widow, she is able to win affection, but without respect. Only able to find happiness through the refection of the beliefs of her lovers, she never evolves within the story.
“ But somebody must go’ Tess replied. ‘It is late for the hives already. Swarming will soon be over for the year….” (Hardy 31). Tess decides to take charge for the family and she goes with her brother Abraham. “ I think I could go if Abraham could with me to kip company. “ (Hardy 31). On their journey the horse dies “ The pointed shaft of the cart had entered the breast of the unhappy Prince like a sword, and from the wound in his life’s blood was spouting in a stream, and falling with a hiss into the road.”(Hardy 35). The reason for the horse dying was from misleading the carriage and Tess and her brother falling asleep.” Tess awakes from the sleep into which she, too, had fallen.” (Hardy 35). The death of their white horse symbolizes and foreshadows further negative events that Tess will go through with white horses being
“Now suppose you had a little colt, and you were your own mother to that little colt… And all of the sudden that same little colt went and died… You’d be sorry, wouldn’t you?” When dealing with death, an individual is encompassed with all kinds of feelings and emotions. Depression, denial, and guilt are all the components of mourning through death. This quote, relates to the thought that everything one experiences is associated with their environment. Iona and the mare experience two different environments. For Iona, it’s adjusting to a life without his son. The little mare lives a life away from the farms in a gloomy city. Iona places the little mare in a similar scenario he’s in, as if she can respond. Although she can’t, the horse’s compassion is visible once again. “The little mare munches, listens, and breathers on her master’s hands.” The healing power of the mare was the key to easing Iona’s suffering. When Iona couldn’t find a sense of closure through the communication with human beings he finally opens his eyes to realize the one listener he had, was his little white mare. He pours his sorrows out to her and not only did she show compassion by hearing his every word, she physically comforts him. The little breath on his hand represents the transfer of warmth from the mare to Iona on a cold winter day. Even though she’s restricted to what she can do, at the end