The Lady With The Pet Dog Summary

“‘The bonds of wedlock are so heavy that it takes two to carry them, sometimes three'” (Sehgal). Due to the prejudices of society, Americans often look down upon those who have divorced their spouse and see them as imperfect or at the bottom of the social ladder. The gender roles of society have left women subordinate to their husbands, and marriage often requires them to relinquish their economic independence to their dominant spouse. Also, by witnessing the disloyal actions of her husband, a wife has become accustomed to this practice and no longer see it as improper or inappropriate. Social shaming of divorces often cause women to stay in adulterous relationships, in order to remain socially and economically stable and to gain a new sense

Published in 2003, the author attempts to explain the economic repercussions of cheating and divorce among women: “Though talk of love affairs was increasingly commonplace, it was disastrous for a woman to be caught in an act of infidelity...If her husband divorced her, he could leave her penniless” (The Lady with the Pet Dog”). This article, The Lady with the Pet Dog, explains the predetermined gender roles of economic dominance in American society, which is also seen in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. After Daisy and Gatsby began an affair, Daisy decided to return to her financially affluent husband, Tom: “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back to their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together” (Fitzgerald 188). Daisy decided to marry very wealthy, however by doing so, she gave up complete economic control to Tom. Nick’s tone in this paragraph reveals his distaste for Daisy’s decision to choose Tom over Gatsby due to economic reasons. This supported with his use of words associated with a negative connotation, such as careless and creatures. After realizing she would have had to leave the luxuries of East Egg and the surplus amount of money Tom has behind, she decided to stay. By placing her love for Gatsby in the back of her mind, she was able to choose the security of money and stay with her cheating and racist husband. Nick’s tone and opinion represents the pressure for morality in society that women often mistake for scrutiny of divorce and lack of economic extravagance. Women in modern society, such as Vanessa Bryant who had stayed with disloyal Kobe Bryant after receiving a four million dollar ring, are able to look past the horrendous actions of their partners, due to desiring monetary affluence. By doing so, they have infidelity