The Darling is written by Anton Chekhov, and the main character in this story is Olenka Plemyannikov. In this story, Olenka is said to have always been in love with somebody, starting out when she was a young girl and in love with her father (Chekhov). As time goes on, Olenka's father dies and leaves her his house where she soon meets the next love of her life (Chekhov). Olenka falls in love with her neighbor, Mr. Kukin, and soon after that marries him and helps him run his business (Chekhov). Unfortunately for Olenka, her husband left for Moscow and somehow died on the journey, leaving her all alone and widowed (Chekhov). Olenka quickly moved on after the death of her husband, and once again fell in love. This time around, Olenka fell in love with Vasily Pustovalov, who was a merchant in a timerland (Chekhov). Throughout this marriage, Olenka befriends Smirnin so eventually when her current husband dies, she once again falls in love (Chekhov). Smirnin had to leave Olenka for a little while, and when he returns he tells her that he has decided to stay with his wife and son (Chekhov). In reaction to this, Olenka suggests that Smirnin and his family move into her house and she will move in to the cottage that is attached to it (Chekhov). Yet again, after a short while Olenka falls in love with Smirnin's young son Sasha (Chekhov). I definitely think this story is really weird because I am fairly sure that it is not normal to be in love with your father or a little boy, but I guess I could be wrong. In this story, at one point it says how Olenka is left completely alone, with no one but her cat for company (Chekhov). I think that this can be related to Thoreau because at one point he left society and lived in the woods all alone (Grant). Although the reasons for their antisocial behaviors are different, they were both alone for some time.
Chekhov, Anton. "Short Stories: The Darling by Anton Chekhov." East of the Web. Web. 07 Mar. 2012.
Grant, P. B. "Individual and Society in Walden." McClinton-Temple, Jennifer ed. Encyclopedia of
Themes in Literature. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2011. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.
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