In the story "The Darling", by Anton Chekhov, Chekhov has a sympathetic attitude towards Olenka. According to him Olenka was a person who needed love and company in order to survive and to have a purpose in life by deriving an identity for herself. Olenka needed the kind of love that would encompass her fully and give meaning to her life. She wanted humans for company and this is evident from the fact that she …showed first 75 words of 316 total…

…showed last 75 words of 316 total…her own opinions and was dependent on those whom she loved. Her submissiveness was clear from how Chekhov described her state during the mourning of her second husband's death. She was alone and vulnerable. Chekhov also felt that Olenka was selfish in nature as she lived in fear that Sashenka's parents might take him away from her cocoon of love. In conclusion, Chekhov's attitude towards Olenka was ambivalent. His feelings were both empathetic and satirical.