The Darling

“She wanted a love that would absorb her whole being, her whole soul and reason—that would give her ideas and an object in life.”

The Darling by Anton Chekhov tells the story of Olenka Plemyannikova, a woman whose identity and happiness depend entirely on the men she loves. The narrative unfolds in four key phases, each defined by Olenka’s devotion to a different man.

Part 1: Love for Kukin

Olenka, nicknamed “Darling” for her affectionate nature, marries Kukin, the owner of a struggling theater. She adopts his anxieties about rain keeping audiences away and repeats his complaints verbatim. When Kukin dies suddenly, she is devastated, her life losing all meaning without him.

Part 2: Love for Pustovalov

After mourning, Olenka marries Pustovalov, a timber merchant. She immerses herself in his business, speaking only of lumber prices and shipments. When Pustovalov dies of illness, she is once again left empty, her borrowed passions fading with him.

Part 3: Love for the Veterinary Surgeon

Olenka next attaches herself to Smirnin, a married veterinary surgeon. She adopts his disdain for religion and science, parroting his opinions. When he is transferred away, she withdraws into loneliness, her life devoid of purpose.

Part 4: Love for Sasha

Smirnin eventually returns, now separated from his wife, and Olenka shifts her devotion to his young son, Sasha. She fusses over his schooling, adopting his fears of failing exams. The story ends ambiguously, with Olenka finding temporary fulfillment in maternal love—yet the cycle of dependency remains unbroken.

Key Ideas

• The emptiness of identity built solely through others.
• Gender roles and societal expectations of women in 19th-century Russia.
• The paradox of love as both fulfillment and self-erasure.
• The cyclical nature of dependency and loss.
• Chekhov’s critique of passive existence.