Point of View in Chekhov's and Oates's "The Lady with the Pet Dog" Anton Chekhov and Joyce Oates both approached this short story from the third-person narrator. The main difference is how Chekhov entertained the male perspective of love while Oates indulged in the weakening aspect of the feminine side. Chekhov used a limited omniscient narrator who only knows Gurov's inner thoughts and feelings. He reveals the point of view by not including any feminine thoughts and emotions throughout the story only a mere poetic aspect of Anna. Chekhov tells his story from the eyes of a man looking at a beautiful woman, smart, with a soft voice. He makes her so perfect that you forget that their love was sinful, but more innocent. On the same aspect, Oates uses a limited omniscient narrator who focuses on Anna as being the center of consciousness. She reveals the point of view by alienating the thoughts to only Anna. The reader is only able to interpret the thoughts and emotions of the lover only through his own words. Oates creates Anna as a simple woman without respect for herself, a woman insane with love. Chekhov and Oates's approach towards this point of view were both convincing and realistic. Chekhov's ability to place all the emphasis on the emotional stability and instability of Gurov's thoughts and emotions give the reader a more in-depth sense of the confusion involved in his situation. Chekhov's use of the third person narrator enhanced the story. If Chekhov had approached this story from a different perspective, we would not have the full effect of the masculinity involved in the emotional bondage between a man and woman. For example, if Gurov's wife would have been the consciousness of the story we would have felt her pain and suffering, thus leaving us with more despise for Gurov. However, only given Gurov's perspective we can empathize with his innocent love for this woman Anna. Oates approach also would not have been as effective is she would have changed her focus to the husband, because she focused on the feminine character we can feel Anna's sort of demented feminine emotions involved in such a sinful act.
