[World Lit.] Short comment on "The lady with the dog"

Everyone has desire to feel beloved and cared by others. For that, Dimitri seemed to be a very phony, yet normal male character that can be seen fairly often in any community. He condescends women but also wants to be with them at the same time. No offense at all, but I wonder if this quality is something common among males. I find males in the controversial online community, which I wouldn't mention the name, show very similar behavioral pattern: they want to belittle women as to be lower than men, but they brag about how many girls they have met, slept with, etc. Well, this seems to be quite understandable. I can somewhat get the feeling they would have, but am still confused to explain why. Is this something that was earned through lack of care and attention, or just a natural quality among people? What's the cause that leads people to behave this way?

I was also not determined enough to "interpret" the love between Dimitri and Anna. (It's more like I dared not to, though.) What’s the difference between this story and the so-called dirty affair? Isn’t it just a difference between perspectives? I don't think we can really judge either way. I once read this book, actually a long set of essays, called “Shiver” written by 10 most famous and respected poets in Korea. (Their poems were usually very romantic, seemed to describe sacred love.) In that book, most of the essays beautified the so-called affair-ish meetings. While reading the essays, the real experiences, I was so into it that I almost felt as if I were in the story. I was literally overwhelmed and touched by the sincere and sweet nature of love between them. But to look at them with critical eyes, all the characters were already married, sometimes it included “affairs” between people who were in a family relationship, teacher-student relationship, with big age difference, etc. The social norms present in the society would never accept them as to be sincere. I mean, although I could sympathize with the characters and all that, I wouldn't still want my future husbands, parents, or whoever to be involved in that kind of relationship, whatsoever the hidden stories would be. I don’t think the couple described in this novella is necessarily more “sincere” than other couples in that sort of relationship. Dimitri’s attraction towards the innocence of that woman: is that the source of beauty in this story? Don’t’ you think many of those who have an affair with younger people would also feel this way, that they are going through the true romance in their lives? So why do we criticize them, but not necessarily Dimitri and Anna? Do we even have rights to judge what’s more moral and what not?

I want to share some opinions on these issues with other people.