s flame burning: "there was the same emptiness in her brain and in her heart ... and when people met her in the street they did not look at her as they used to" (Chekhov 51).
This synopsis gives the impression of great complexity; "The Darling" is simple and clean-cut in its narrative. The chronicle of Olenka's life is presented with a matter-of-fact countdown of details. The end effect may be deeply touching, but it is not achieved by means of romanticism or manipulation. Nor are deep layers of psychological insight to the protagonist's motives laid bare as with a literary scalpel. Olenka does what she says and says what she feels. The reader watches her, like a doctor, from the outside: carefully observed, small, details emerge - but not a catalogue of symptoms. It is a simple notebook entry on the case history of Olga Plemyanniakov.
There is one, disturbing, off-key note of complexity in "The Darling" - the final line. Olenka has awakened from a worried dream and stands over the sleeping form of Sasha, the ten year-old boy she now loves and has tentative responsibility for. Sasha is dreaming, too, and he says in his sleep words that may - or may not - be rejecting Olenka: "I'll give it you! Get away! Shut up!" (Chekhov 54). This deliberately ambiguous closing line sets a jarring edge to the story's conclusion on two counts. First, within the context of the story, it is an ominous hint that the boy rejects Olenka - something none of her previous loves have done. The second disturbing aspect to the line is a technical one: it is a "literary" device, out-of-sync with the clearly-defined narrative of the entire story preceding it. Perhaps Chekhov was borrowing a stylistic ending from Guy de Maupassant, whose influence in late 19th century European literature was most certainly felt in Russia; it is not in keeping with his own style of storytelling set up in the preceding pages. Still, even this final twist do...