"Try to reason about love, and you will lose your reason." -- Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), possibly the greatest writer of short stories, examines the human condition of love in eleven tales of romance. Included in the collection is one of his best-known works-- "The Lady with the Dog," said to be a reflection of the author's romance with an actress, Olga Knipper, whom he would eventually marry.
Chekhov demonstrates one of his primary artistic principles by focusing on character rather than plot to reveal the subtle profundities of love. Exposing his audience to a variety of viewpoints, the Russian author refrains from the moral precepts of love and dares his audience to commit emotional honesty. From the observing narrator of "Agafya" and the nonstop dialogue at a fabric store between a spurned shop clerk and a dressmaker ("Polinka") to the awakened memory of boyhood confusion over the power of physical attraction ("The Beauties"), Chekhov explores the psychology of human affection and its obstacles.