In "The Lady with the Pet Dog," Anton Chekhov presents a colorful story about the secret relationship between a philanderer and an attractive woman, who are both married. These two people meet and create a relationship at a vacation spot, and eventually go their separate ways. The climax of the story is when Gurov, the infamous womanizer, realizes he is actually in love and tracks down his soul mate, Anna. All throughout this short story, Chekhov uses specific colors to portray hidden themes of purity, lust, uncertainty, and love.
             One of the recurring colors in the story is white. The color white is most often associated with purity and goodness. In the story, Anna has a little white dog, which she has with her when she first meets Gurov. When he leans down to the dog, he threatens it, provoking it to snarl and growl. The white dog represents the purity which Anna possesses. The dog's aim, in growling at Gurov, is to try to fend off the sinner that is trying to infect Anna. Despite the little Pomeranian's efforts to deter him from "putting the moves" on Anna, Gurov is ultimately successful in attracting her to him.
             When Gurov and Anna sit on the bench after they've had sexual intercourse, the author has described the motionless white clouds over the mountaintops. These white clouds also represent purity and the divergence from sin. The clouds are hovering motionlessly over the mountaintops, way out of both Anna and Gurov's reach. Applying more to Anna, neither of the two lovers can obtain the sense of purity that they once maintained because at one time or another, they committed the sin of adultery. The clouds of spiritual cleanliness hang high in the sky above them as though the lovers are being tantalized for the sin or sins they have committed. The lovers have definitely gone beyond the point of no return.
             When they are sinfully together and carryi...