KABARAK UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

EDUCATION ARTS DEPARTMENT

LITE 411 EUROPEAN PROSE

DR ROSEMARY MURUNDU

GROUP 11 ASSIGMENT

GROUP MEMBERS.

1. MURUMBA FELIX EDA/MG/1745/09/17

2 .ROTICH ZEDDY EDA/M/0563/05/23

3. FRIDAH CHEPTOO EDA/MG/1954/09/22

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COMPARISON OF CHARACTERS AND CHARACTERISATION IN EMILY BRONTES WUTHERING HEIGHTS
AND ANTON CHEVKOVS A LADY WITH A DOG.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is set in the 18th century in England whereas A Lady With a Dog by
Antony Chekov’s A Lady with a Dog is set in 19th century in Russia representing different societies at
different times especially in matters human relations , societal expectations gender roles and how they
drive or affect human actions . Wuthering Heights presents a Rigid societal context while A Lady With A
Dog presents a society that is experiencing changes in terms of societal expectations as well human
feelings and relations

COMPRISON OF MAIN CHARACTERS

HEATHCLIFF VS DMITRI GUROV.

Heathclif is an orphan , adopted he is vengeful, emotionally hurt. His love for Catherine Earnshaw is
what causes the main conflicts in the novel. His love and obsession for Catherine drives him to cruelty
and destruction despite being a persistent and hardworking man. His pursuit of love leads him to
destruction.

Dmitri Gurov is a disillusioned with life and relationships with women especially, he has had painful past
relationships with women too and this drives him to being a womanizer and a Casanova . His love and
passion for Anna Sergeveyna is also the basis of conflict in the novel

SIMILATIES AND DIFFERNCES BETWEEN GUROV AND HEATHCLIFF

They are both affected by their relationships with women and are hurt emotionally. The pursuit of their
love does not end in clear happiness for both of them . Gurov for Anna and Heathcliff for Catherine
Earnshaw.

Dmitri’s love and pursuit for Anna leads him to rediscover himself and changes him to a better human
being . Even though his affair with Anna does not end sweetly he is able to heal and values human
relationships .

Heathcliff love for Catherine does not end well as she chooses to marry Edgar. He is so disappointed that
he works hard not to improve himself but in order to avenge and get back at those who wronged him.
Instead of rediscovering himself after being successful he becomes cruel as he marries Isabella Linton
and mistreats her in leading to her escape from wuthering heights.

ANNA SEGEYEVNA AND CATHERINE REARNSHAW

Catherine is passionate, willful, and strong-willed. She is raised at Wuthering Heights alongside
Heathcliff and forms a deep bond with him, but her desire for social status leads her to marry Edgar
Linton instead of Heathcliff, breaking Heathcliff’s heart. Her indecisiveness and emotional conflicts are
crucial to the tragedy of the story
Anna Sergeyevna is a woman trapped in an unfulfilling marriage, and her affair with Dmitri becomes a
powerful and transformative experience for her, despite her guilt and internal conflict. She is used by
Chekov to highlight the changes the society is undergoing especially in matters personal desires and
needs

SIMILATIES AND DIFFERNCES BETWEEN ANNA AND CATHERINE EARNSHAW

Both women are caught up in unhappy and unfulfilling relationships and marriages and they decide to
act on their feelings and desires . both are used to highlight the societal patriarchal nature in assignment
of gender roles and treatment of women.

Catherine Earnshaw is a fierce independent woman who is caught up between love and societal class
conflict . she is impulsive and does not care about the consequences of her actions .she marries Edgar
Linton even though her love for Heathcliff does not fade. This betrayal is what changes him to become
cruel and brutal. She ends up suffering in a marriage she Is not satisfied with.

Anna Sergeyena . she is caring and considerate woman and considers the impact of her actions , even
though she is unhappy in her marriage and has an affair with Gurov she still cares and considers the
effects of her actions Anna represents the complexity of infidelity and emotional turmoil. Her
transformation from a seemingly passive, reserved woman into someone who is deeply in love with
Dmitri is a central theme in the story, illustrating how love can unexpectedly and powerfully change a
person's life.

ISABELA LINTON AND ANNA SERGEYEVNA

They both represent women who are ready to break the societal norms and pursue freedom . Anna
seeks fulfillment by having an affair with Gurov whereas Isabella Linton runs away from an abusive and
hateful marriage. This shows the changing nature of the patriarchal way of life.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT BY AUTHORS

In wuthering heights, characters actions and description are as a result of societal expectations and their
social status. Heathclif for instance is an orphan , adopted and from a low social class is unable to be
marry Catherine from a higher social class and this makes him bitter and vengeful . Edgar for instance is
from a high class circle and the way he handles his marriage is more civilized unlike the uncultured and
untamed Catherine and Heathcliff.

In A Lady Wit A Dog characters are driven by their personal thoughts and not societal constrains. Due to
the changing society in the 19th century in Europe individual actions were mainly psychologically driven .
Dmitri Gurov and Anna’s affair is against societal expectations as women who are involved in extra
marital afairs are seen as low this is seen with the reaction of Anna after sleeping with Dmitri. Dmitri’s
change as a person is as a result of personal reflections and experiences and not societal expectations
and norms.
LOVE AND PASSION.

In both novel the actions of the characters are driven by human emotions mainly love , obsession ,
hatred and vengeance. In wuthering heights the pursuit of personal feelings and desires is depicted as
precedent of bad things and evil . Emily Bronte shows this through actions of characters such as
Heathcliff , Isabella , Catherine Earnshaw and Catherine Linton

Anton Chekhov on the other hand depicts pursuit of personal emotions and love as a good thing that
leads to change even though it does not necessarily end in happiness and satisfaction it leads to
exploration and change from societal constrains.