A psychoanalytical analysis of Anton Chekhov’s The Darling and Anyuta in the light of Karen Horney’s theory of moving toward people [In English]

Abstract

Chekhov is known as a leading writer of short stories who depicted the reality of his society through details of certain behaviors. Blind compliance and obedience are among one of the characteristics he has portrayed in his stories. This article adopts Karen Horney’s theory to analyze the characters of two obedient women in The Darling and Anyuta. Compliance is a type of neurosis about which psychoanalysts, such as Freud, Horney, and Fromm have proposed theories. This research used Horney’s theory because it is well-suited for the stories analyzed and the method of characterization. Horney believed that many aspects of personality and neuroses may be determined by environmental and social contexts rather than a person's biological drives. She classified neurotics into three personality types, namely moving toward people, moving against people, and moving away from people. The present research mainly focuses on moving toward people with its components of affection, submissiveness, and the need for a dominant partner. The method of qualitative content analysis was used throughout the research. The analysis shows that the components of compliance are more prominent among women living in a patriarchal society, the consequences of which influenced the two female characters in The Darling and Anyuta.

Keywords

• anton chekhov
• the darling
• anyuta
• karen horney
• moving toward people
• compliance
• discourse analysis