Evaluate the character of Olga to discuss the theme of co-dependency, love and identity in Anton Chekhov's "The Darling".

Identity:

Olenka, the titular "darling," has no identity outside of the men she loves. Her opinions, personality, and actions are entirely dictated by the interests of her current husband. In her first marriage, Olenka spends all her time at the theatre that her husband owns, investing everything in helping him with his work. When her first husband dies, she falls in love with someone else and loses all interest in her past passion in order to adopt her current husband's interest. When Olenka is without a husband, she sits aimlessly and is unable to form any thoughts of her own. Olenka is characterized as a kind of leech who can only exist through the being of another person. Chekhov warns against this type of woman, who is purely defined by her male relationships.

Love:

At the beginning of the short story, Chekhov explains that Olenka was "always fond of someone, and could not exist without loving." Olenka is defined by her love, first for her father, then for her husbands, and finally for a child that she becomes obsessed with. While this love is strong in the moment, it quickly transfers. She seems to love her husbands deeply, and embraces every aspect of them, but as each dies she quickly moves on to the next, immersing herself just as deeply as before. This pattern suggests a kind of shallowness to Olenka's love and illustrates that perhaps Olenka is more in love with being in love than with any of the men to whom she attaches herself.