Fall 2017 Gender, Identity, and Literature

In the short story, “The Looking-Glass,” by Anton Chekhov, readers are taken back into the life of Nellie. Through vivid descriptions and word choice, Chekhov is able to portray a chilling side to this narrative. Throughout this piece, word choice is critical in illustrating this story. One main highlight is the color grey. In the opening paragraph Chekhov describes Nellie’s surroundings as being, “...already clouded in mist and merged into a boundless grey sea.” Chekhov continues weaving the color through the literary work, tieing it in with the weather when describing the snow and cold air. As the story moves forward, the grey hue turns to black, “...then again there followed darkness….” thus, showing a transition in Nellie’s view. The use of colors can be tied into a greater view of the sides of good and evil; the color white resembling the good and the color black resembling the bad, while the color grey resembles that in between space. This grey area is also exemplified throu...

Blog 8/31/17   The Looking Glass The short story “The Looking Glass” by Anton Chekhov is an elaborate metaphor that intertwines symbolism of a literal looking glass in every aspect of Ellie, the young female lead. The original Russian short story translated to English may not be a completely accurate, but it shares the message of the societal pressures placed on young women, like Ellie, of marriage being a requirement for a fulfilled life. Considering that Chekhov wrote this short story in the late 1800’s where the societal expectation for women were to marry young, and that marriage was the greatest accomplishment, it is interesting to see how Anton Chekhov deviates from the norm. This can be related to the text as the societal expectations are an external “grey” background versus the internal true feelings held by Ellie.   It is interesting that Ellie’s delusion, or dream, is her with her hypothetical husband, but she is still alone when battling the Typhus spre...

Nellie, the main character in this short story, is a young, beautiful woman with what seems to be surface-leveled hopes for her life.   The author writes that she dreamt day and night of being married.   Even in today’s society, women who do not wish to get married are viewed as unconventional, although there are fewer women who place the “significance of life” on their marital status.   Nonetheless, it is a prevalent desire among women.   Anton Chekhov takes this common idea among women and portrays a theme of disillusionment through Nellie’s alteration in attitude from beginning and end of the story.   He starts out by simply stating that it is “NEW YEAR’S EVE.”   This fact is never touched upon again, which leads the reader to believe it is mentioned solely to indicate that it is a time of reflection.   This is important as it supports the idea that there may be a shift in mindset later to come.   Chekhov then goes on to describe ...

Chekhov engages with the text through body parts imagery, emphasizing the physicality of the body as a form of expressing emotions and feelings. This physicality reflects Chekhov’s background as a physician. Nellie must grapple with stress and obstacles, resulting in the deterioration of her body mentally and physically. The author describes her experience as “suffering in body and soul,” which depicts the extent of Nellie’s pain and anguish. Chekhov describes the circumstances surrounding Nellie and her husband: “He could not sleep, she could not sleep, and both racked their brains till their heads ached, thinking how to avoid being visited by the clerk of the Court.” The imagery of “their heads ached” and “racked their brains” conveys a sense of urgency and desperation. Nellie and her husband must face their problems; however, they struggle with how to approach them. While set in nineteenth century Russia, this short story describes issues, such as money problems, faced by adults to...

The definition of a looking glass is the opposite of what is normal or expected. Thus, the basic premise of the short story is not what it appears on the base level. At first glance, the text just seems to be about a woman day dreaming about her fictitious future husband and her pursuit to save him from typhus. However, Nellie’s descriptions throughout the short story indicates that she herself may have been the one who is unwell. Subsequently, the descriptions of the doctor and Nellie’s husband who were ill with typhoid, bear a striking resemblance to the descriptions of Nellie’s appearance. Nellie is described as “exhausted”, “pale, tense, and motionless”, and “suffering in body and soul”. Similarly, the doctor’s described as weak “scarcely [able to] sit up”, “in a fever”, and “delirious”. Nellie’s interactions with the doctor also indicate a woman who is crazed and irrational. She admits to “forgetting logic, tact, and sympathy” in her pursuit to aid her husband...

Here is where you all will post your close reading posts and be able to comment on each other's close readings! Hopefully, this will help in seeing how many different interpretations can come from a section of a text! Please feel free to include media if your analysis/interpretation made you think of a particular image, ad, or another form of media you can include it in your post. Like so: