51 pages • 1 hour read
George SaundersA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
“The Darling” is a story by Anton Chekhov, written in 1899. Its main character—the “darling” of the story’s title—is a woman named Olenka. Olenka is an affectionate and dependent woman, who always needs to be devoted to someone.
Olenka’s first love was her father, who died when she was young. As a young woman, she has a romance with Kukin, a boarder at her house. Kukin, the director of a small theatre, is a “sallow” and melancholy man (148). He and Olenka marry, and Olenka becomes obsessed with theater life, talking about it at length to her friends, and doing office work for Kukin. While on a theatre tour, Kukin dies unexpectedly. Olenka learns of his death through a misspelled telegram, brought to her in the middle of the night.
She mourns Kukin for a few months, and then meets Pustavalov, a prosperous businessman. Pustavalov is the owner of lumberyard, and is a conventional, comforting figure. Olenka and Pustavalov marry, and enjoy several happy years together; Olenka takes on his interests, just as she did with Kukin, this time becoming deeply interested in the lumberyard business. While Pustavalov is away on business, Olenka staves off her loneliness by talking to Smirnin, a “young army veterinary” (155) who rents a wing of the married couple’s house.
By George Saunders
Art
View Collection
Beauty
View Collection
Books About Art
View Collection
Books & Literature
View Collection
Education
View Collection
Essays & Speeches
View Collection
New York Times Best Sellers
View Collection
Realistic Fiction (High School)
View Collection
SuperSummary Staff Picks
View Collection
The Best of "Best Book" Lists
View Collection