The Looking-Glass by Anton Chekhov || Hindi/Urdu Audiobook

In "The Looking-Glass" by Anton Chekhov we have the theme of devotion, loneliness, escape, fear, love, dedication, hope, defeat and independence. Taken from his The Complete Short Stories collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that Chekhov may be exploring the theme of love. Though Nellie’s account of what is happening in the story is fictional (it never happens and is a dream) it is obvious that she is very much in love with the man that she chooses to be her husband. As to why Nellie might feel the need to escape into a dream may also be important as it could suggest that at present she is discontent with her life, if not lonely. The looking-glass provides Nellie with an outlet to escape from the life that she is living. A life in whereby she is a single, unattached woman who longs to find a man who will love her and who she too can love. In essence Nellie is seeking happiness through marriage. Though some critics may suggest that Nellie is dependent on a man to achieve happiness it is important to remember that the story was written in the 1880s and for many women the only avenue they had to improve their outlook in life was marriage. Nellie would be no different to many of the women at the time the story was written.