Comparing The Lady with the Dog, and Sleepy, by Anton Chekhov, to The Beggarwoman of Locarno, by Heinrich Von Kleist

Many stories have the standard beginning, middle, and end structure that can be become very dull and predictable, diminishing the value and quality of a story. However, Anton Chekhov’s short stories brought upon a new era for literature when he introduced short stories with “zero ending” or “non ending” conclusions. Through this concept he can pull off bottom less endings, where the reader is assumed to ponder and wonder what will happen to the characters after the story ends. This paper will discuss this concept by comparing and contrasting Chekhov’s “The Lady With the Little Dog” and “Sleepy” to “The Beggarwoman of Locarno” by Heinrich Von Kleist, a short story with a more traditional standard structure.

In the short story, The Lady With The Little Dog, we are introduced to Anna and Gurov, a couple intertwined in a romantic issue. Their love for each other brings them together, but their respected families and lives prohibits them from expressing their love freely. Even with a period of separation, both Anna and Gurov realize that their own lives bring them unhappiness. For example, when Gurov finds Anna house he sees, “a long grey fence with inverted nails hammered into the tops of palings”. He sees and understands how she is metaphorically imprisoned in a house that promotes unhappiness. To add the level of difficulty to their issue, getting a divorce was out of reach because while it was possible, only in a few and rare circumstances were divorces granted during the period of time of the story. Even with all of these obstacles, they arranged to meet up in Moscow showing their love will take them to such lengths, to hold on to the happiness they find in each other.

With all the tension and drama involved around this coup...

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...e end of story can be frustrating for reader. There is also the possibility of possible profit lost, as there were no sequels for the majority of Chekhov stories and the anticipation his stories were built on, were great foundations for sequels. Be that as it may, many will agree Chekhov’s stories were overall very entertaining and the need for sequels was not necessary. In fact, the lack of sequels is what made Chekhov’s stories unique and original. The fictional realism his zero ending technique brought were unmatched for its time, even today we are still amazed at how Chekhov manages to pull of his bottom less endings. All in all, Chekhov broke down the barriers in literature, that demand stories and plays to have a beginning, middle, and end. Instead, he brought us endings in short stories that makes us think, ponder, and wonder in a good and entertaining way.