The Lady with the Pet Dog

1. By: Nicole Hohenstein & Morgan Cortez The Lady with the Pet Dog About the Author: Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates was born on June 16th, 1938, in Lockport, New York. She became interested with reading at an early age, devouring the writings of William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and Henry David Thoreau. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her accomplishments include winning the National Book Award for her Novel Them and receiving a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize for her novels Black Water, What I Live For, and Blonde. As of 2008, Oates is working as a Humanities professor teaching a creative writing course at Princeton University where she has been teaching since 1978. “It is not her body that he wants but it is only through her body that he can take possession of another human being, so he must labor upon her body, he must enter her body, to make his claim.”- Joyce Carol Oates “Nothing is accidental in the universe -- this is one of my Laws of Physics -- except the entire universe itself, which is Pure Accident, pure divinity.”- Joyce Carol Oates

2. Terms Point of view: who tells the story and how it is told; shapes readers’ understanding of characters and events by speaking through the narrator’s perspective Narrator: teller of the story; affects readers’ understanding by utilizing his or her perspective or voice Omniscient narrator: all-knowing narrator who possesses the ability to address the thoughts and emotions of the characters as well as their words and actions throughout the story; does not participate in the action (is not a character in the story) Editorial omniscience: narrator takes steps to analyze and evaluate characters on behalf of readers Neutral omniscience: narrator does not evaluate the characters or their actions, allowing readers to form their own opinions Limited omniscience: narrator explores either the single perspective of one character or the multiple perspectives of a select few Stream-of-consciousness technique: allows readers to enter the mind of a character at a conscious or unconscious level, taking into account the flow of the character’s thoughts and their content Objective point of view: a detached perspective through which the use of a third-person narrator who is not omniscient provides no analysis for readers First-person narrator: narrator plays a major or minor role in the story; through the use of “I”, the reader is restricted to the singular perspective of this one individual Unreliable narrator: narrator’s perceptions differ from the author’s own interpretation Naïve narrator: characterized by youth and the purity and innocent perspective it most often possesses

3. The Hippie Movement During the 1970’s social progressive values that began in the 1960’s, such as increasing political awareness and political and economic liberty of women, continued to grow. The hippie culture, which started in the latter half of the 1960’s, promoted the opposition of the Vietnam War, opposition to nuclear weapons, the advocacy of world peace, and hostility to the authority of government and big business. During this time, women, minorities, gays increasingly demanded full legal equality and privileges in society. Women expanded their involvement in politics.  The proportion of women in state legislatures tripled.  Women surpassed men in college enrollment in 1979.  However, the rising divorce rate left an increasing number of women as sole breadwinners and forced more and more of them into poverty. 

4. Synopsis The story begins at a concert – one that Anna is attending with her husband. He has left her momentarily to place a phone call, and during his time away from her, Anna unexpectedly sees her lover as the crowds part. Immediately readers are made aware of a disconnect in her life between reality and fantasy by the very fact that her lover and husband are not the same individual. Anna meets her lover while she is vacationing away from her husband. She is stuck in an unhappy marriage filled with loneliness and shame. She is looking for a relationship with her lover that she can depend on to bring her happiness while managing her constant need for control. Unfortunately, loneliness and shame prevail once again even in this seemingly passionate romance. When Anna is with her husband, she imagines she is with her lover. When she is with her lover, she realizes he is not her savior. She is constantly tormented by wanting what she cannot have and her fear of having no control in her life. However, she addresses this fear by avoiding reality completely, creating for herself an alternate fantasy world in which she maintains a sense of control. Her affair is meant to be a manifestation of this controlled fantasy. Themes -The ‘Modern’ Woman -Women’s Search for Control and Identity -Fate -The Aging Process

5. Notable Quotes -“…like all men, walking away, free to walk away, free to have his own thoughts, free to envision her body, all the secrets of her body (200)” -“…she was flooded with a strange certainty, a sense of gratitude, of pure selfless energy. It was obvious to her that she has, all along, been behaving correctly; out of instinct. (203)” -“A sense of shame overpowered her: it was smeared everywhere on her body, the smell of it, the richness of it. (200)” -“She thought of men and how they love freely and eagerly so long as their bodies are capable of love, love for a woman; and then, as love fades in their bodies, it fades from their souls and they become immune and immortal and ready to die. (201)” Discussion Questions Please answer 2 out of the 5 questions: • When comparing Chekhov’s version of The Lady with the Pet Dog to Oates’, what is significant about Oates’ decision to shift the point of view of the story? • Anna feels the need to be in control. What actions does she take to gain control in her life? • Using evidence from the text, does marriage and/or a committed relationship limit Anna’s freedom? If so, is it worth it? • Anna repeatedly mentions time and the ageing process. Does Anna’s acknowledgment that life is fleeting influence how she approaches love and relationships? • What role does fate play in the actions and decisions that Anna makes?