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SECTION 1: Language Development - UNIT 5: LIFE AND LOVE - The Looking Glass: Anton Chekhov


Summary:

The story The Looking Glass by Anton Chekhov is about a young woman who dreams day and night about getting married and settling down happily with the perfect man. One night, while sitting in front of her looking glass, she has a vision of what her future might be like. She sees the reality of living and raising a family in rural Russia in the late 1800s. The couple battle disease, financial difficulties and the challenges of raising errant (uncontrolled) children. She then sees her husband’s death and asks herself: Why is it, what is it for? Her dreams have turned into a nightmare.

In this story, Anton Chekhov explores the theme of love through the essence of a dream. Through an omniscient (all-knowing) perspective, the reader is able to grasp the importance of the dream through the mind of the main character, Nellie, who has always fantasised about marriage ever since she was a little girl and believes that only by depending on a man will she find true happiness and self-fulfilment in life. As the plot develops, the cruelty of reality darkens her dream into her worst nightmare, which entails the unpreventable death of her beloved husband. Suddenly, all comes to an end the very moment that Nellie shatters (breaks) the looking glass, leaving the readers to distinguish the true Chekhov’s true intentions.

In the story, there is a young woman named Nellie who is obsessed (concerned) with getting married. She dreams about her future husband and their life together, but her dreams are always interrupted by reality.

One night, Nellie has a dream that she is married to a handsome man and they live in a beautiful house. However, her husband becomes sick and she has to go to the doctor Stepan Lukitch for help. Although the cook informed her that the doctor was asleep, she didn’t listen and rushed to the doctor’s room. The doctor said that he could not help her as he was sick. He has been treating or taking care of people for 3 days so he felt very exhausted and he would come on the next day. He also suggested she go to the next doctor but she said her husband was seriously ill and impossible to reach another doctor. She implored him and tried hard to convince and finally, he was ready to go. The doctor’s health condition is not so good so she supported the doctor up to the road and went on a carriage. At 5 in the morning, they reached Nellie’s house where she found that the doctor was as sick as her husband. She thought of going to see another doctor and also remembered her house and her property were in the bank for a mortgage and could not pay the interest, she has six children who were sick, and could not study well. Her husband was dying and there was the preparation for the funeral at last. The looking glass fell on the floor then she woke up and realised, it was just a dream.

She is relieved, but she is also sad. She realises that she has been deluding (befool) herself about marriage and that it is not the answer to her happiness. The story ends up with Nellie facing the reality of her life. She is no longer dreaming about marriage, but she is also not sure what she wants to do with her life. She is still young and has many possibilities ahead of her. The story raises a number of interesting questions about marriage, happiness, and reality. It is a reminder that dreams can be powerful, but they can also be misleading. It is important to face reality and to live in the present moment. The story also suggests that marriage is not necessarily the key to happiness. Nellie's dream of marriage is shattered, but she is still able to find happiness. This suggests that happiness can be found in other areas of life, such as relationships with family and friends, or through personal fulfilment. Ultimately, the story is a reminder that we should not let our dreams control our lives. We should face reality and live in the present moment. We should also be aware that happiness can be found in many different ways.

Points to Remember:

1.     What might you think at the beginning of the story as you saw Nellie sitting and looking into the looking-glass?

         ✔ That she was not awake and might be dreaming.

o   That she was frightened by what she saw.

o   That she was worried about how she looked.

2.     Whose face did she first see in the mirror?

o   Her future husband’s.

o   The doctor's cook.

         ✔ Her own.

3.     In the first part of her dream, why did Nellie go to see the district doctor?

         ✔ Her husband was sick and she thought he needed the doctor.

o   She lived too far away from the Zemstvo doctor and her horses were very tired.

o   She was worried that he might have the same sickness as her husband.

4.     What finally made Stepan Lukitch decide to go to see Nellie's husband?

o   She reminded him of his duty as a doctor.

o   She said that she would take him to court.

         ✔ She got down on her knees and begged him.

5.     Why couldn't the doctor help Nellie's husband?

         ✔ Because the doctor had the same sickness as her husband.

o   Her husband could not think or speak clearly enough to say what was wrong.

o   Her husband was too sick and the doctor knew he was going to die.

6.     In the next part of the dream, why couldn't Nellie and her husband sleep at night?

         ✔ They were worried about money that they owed to the bank.

o   The doctor had said that one of their children was sure to die.

o   They used to get bad headaches that stopped them from sleeping.

7.     At the end of the dream, Nellie asks: "Why is it, what is it for?" What is the "it" that she is talking about here?

o   Death.

         ✔ Marriage.

o   Life.

8.     What made Nellie wake up at the end of the dream?

o   She had slept all night and it was early morning.

o   She saw her husband dying in every terrible detail.

         ✔ She had dropped the looking glass on the floor.

9.     How did Nellie feel when woke up and realised that she had been dreaming?

o   Happy

o   Frightened

         ✔ Relieved

10.  Some people think that dreams send us messages. If so, which of the following is NOT likely to be a message in this dream for Nellie?

o   Live for yourself. Don't put all your hope in other people or marriage in order to fulfil your dreams.

o   Sometimes life contains periods of sadness and misery. Enjoy the good times while you can.

         ✔ For some people, life will never be happy. Death always waits and is the only way out.

Ways with Words

  1. Match the words with their meanings.

    1. exhausted

    vi. tired

    2. apparent 

    vii. clear

    3. vista

    i. vision

    4. undulating

    ii. predetermined

    5. stuffy

    v. suffocating/airless

    6. restrain

    iv. prevent/hinder

  2. Write the meaning and word class of the following words. Then use them in sentences of your own.
    1. implore - beg/prey (verb)
      He implored me to finish my work on time.
    2. despair - a state in which all hope is lost or absent (noun)
      She put her face in her hands to hide the despair it would show.
    3. beseech - ask for or request earnestly/press (verb)
      I will fall at his feet and beseech him.
    4. eloquent - speaking readily, clearly, and effectively (adjective)
      He is said to have been a good talker and an eloquent preacher.
    5. whirl - move or cause to move rapidly round and round (verb)
      Clothes were whirling in the washing machine.
    6. egoism - concern for your own interests and welfare (noun)
      His egoism prevented him from really loving anyone but himself.
    7. agony - intense feelings of suffering/acute mental or physical pain (noun)
      There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.
      She screamed in agony.
    8. delirious - experiencing delirium/unable to think clearly because of high temperature (fever) or mental confusion (adjective)
      He is so delirious he doesn’t know where he is.
      I was delirious and blacked out several times.
    9. delusive - inappropriate to reality or facts/false (adjective)
      The feelings of security provided by guns may be delusive. 
    10. compensate - adjust for/correct (verb)
      Water-power and petrol largely compensate for the lack of coal.
    11. mortgage - an agreement that allows one to borrow money from a bank or similar organisation (noun)
      He will have to take out a mortgage in order to buy the house.
    12. brood - a family of birds or other young animals produced at one hatching or birth (noun)
      Fear seemed to brood over the children’s mind. 
    13. prelude - an action or event serving as an introduction to something more important (noun)
      His remark was merely a prelude to a lecture. 
  3. In the story, you saw the words like ‘exhausted’ and ‘smiling’. They are used as adjectives. Adjectives ending in -ing describe what someone or something is like, whereas adjectives ending in -ed describe how someone feels. Compare:




    My job is

    boring.




    I’m

    bored with my job.

    interesting.

    interested in my job.

    tiring.

    tired of doing my job.

    satisfying.

    satisfied with my job.

    pleasing.

    pleased with my job.

     
  4. Choose the correct word.
    1. Sarita was shocked to hear about earthquake. 
    2. I think that rainy days in winter are depressing.
    3. The football match was very exciting. I enjoyed it.
    4. The meals at Delight Café are satisfying.
    5. I’ve got nothing to do. I’m bored. 
    6. Tanka is very good at telling funny stories. He can be very amusing.
    7. The teacher’s explanation was confusing. Most of the students didn’t understand it.
    8. He is such a boring person. He never wants to go out.
    9. I will be surprised if she does well in her test.
    10. Are you interested in politics. 
  5. Write the correct form of the adjectives in the blanks as in the example.
    1. They frustrate me but they don't bore me. I never get bored when I study grammar. 
    2. If teachers want to interest the students, they must use interesting materials. 
    3. Certain stories interest almost everybody. For example, most students are interested in fairy tales. 
    4. Certain things frighten me, but I never get frightened when I speak English. 
    5. If I get a good grade, that excites me. And if I get more than ninety percent, I am really excited. 

Writing

  1. Match the expressions in column A with their functions in column B.
    1. (iii) - Deciding
    2. (iv) - Expressing a prior plan
    3. (v) - Predicting a future action
    4. (vii) - Predicting with evidence
    5. (i) - Promising
    6. (vi) - Offering
    7. (ii) - Threatening 
  2. Choose the correct answer. 
    1. A: Are you busy this evening?
      B: Yes, I am going to the movies. (will go/am going to)
    2. A: Where are you going for holiday this summer?
      B: Not sure yet. Maybe I will go to Ilam. (will go/am going to) 
    3. I think you will like this movie. (will /are going to ) 
    4. I can’t join you at the party, I am going to be away for two weeks. (will /am going to) 
    5. This exercise looks really hard. I will help you. (will/am going to) 
    6. A: Hello. Can I speak to Sima, please?
      B: Just a minute. I will get her. (will/am going to) 
    7. Perhaps she will pass the exam. (will/is going to) 
    8. ‘I haven’t got my phone.’ ‘That’s OK. I will lend you mine.’ (will/am going to) 
  3. Complete the sentences using will or be going to with the verbs. 
    1. Hari: Did you call Bina?
      Prem: Oh, I forgot. I will call her now. (call) 
    2. Sunita: Have you got a ticket for the play? Hema: Yes, I am going to watch it on Saturday. (watch) 
    3. ‘The alarm is ringing. It’s making an awful noise.’ ‘OK, I will switch it off.’ (switch) 
    4. Do you think they will like the presents we got for them? (like) 
    5. ‘Lok is starting university tomorrow.’ ‘What he is going to study?’ (he/study) 
    6. If I meet him, I will tell him the news. (tell) 
    7. The phone is ringing. I will answer it. (answer) 
    8. If you don’t stop bullying her, I will tell the teacher. (tell) 
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