Olenka’s Sorrow Influences on Olenka’s Behavior
to sleep alone without her husband. Olenka worries because always thinks about her husband, Kukin, who goes away to finish his job.
When her husband goes to Moscow, Olenka always waits for him, because Kukin has promised to come back at Easter. But, Olenka receives a telegram
which tells that Ivan Petrovitch, who is usually called Kukin, passed away p.181. Olenka is shocked to hear that bad news. The telegram does not explain
the reason of her husband’s death, and it causes an anxiety in her. Olenka lives in her sadness. The deprivation of her husband’s love affects her. As stated by
Hurlock, the effect of deprivation of love to the human physical can be seen in listlessness, emaciation, quietness, general apathy, and psychosomatic illness
210-214. The effect of deprivation of love can be shown in Olenka’s groan as follows: “My darling” sobbed Olenka. “Vanca, my precious, my darling Why
did I ever meet you Why did I know you and love you Your poor heart-broken Olenka is alone without you” p.181. After Olenka comes back from Moscow to
attend Kukin’s funeral, she gets indoors, she throws herself on her bed and sobs so loudly that it can be heard next door, and in the street p.181.
Olenka lives in suffering, always cries and her face looks gloomy, and she also never knows the reason why her husband passed away. Her sorrow which is
explained in the previous paragraph also shows that she is in depression. Kalish says that someone who feels that everything is going wrong, that nothing matters,
that person is in depression 171. In Olenka’s sadness caused by the death of Kukin, her first husband,
Olenka is entertained by Pustovalov, who works as a manager of Babakayev’s, the
timber merchant’s. Pustovalov tries to make her resolute in facing the fact of Kukin’s death.
“Everything happens as it ordained, Olga Semyovnovna,” he said gravely, with a sympathetic note in his voice; “and if any of our dear ones die, it
must be because it is the will of God, so we ought to have fortitude and bear it submissively” p.181.
Pustovalov’s attention makes Olenka fall in love with him, and then they are married. But once again, the happiness of Olenka’s life does not last long.
Pustovalov has to go away to Mogilev district to buy wood. The trip of Pustovalov makes Olenka live in sorrow. Here, she loses love and affection in her life. She
misses him dreadfully, lays awake and cries p.182. Olenka’s pain to live alone without the existence of her husband pours out
through her crying. Olenka’s sorrow shows that she is in inadequate emotional control, as what Kalish says that someone who is crying, being frightened, and
getting angry far out proportion of actual stimuli, that person is in inadequate emotional control 171. Here, Olenka’s behavior which pours out her sense of
loneliness through crying also shows her unhappiness and tension as one symptom of non-normal behavior as stated by Kalish 171.
After Pustovalov comes back from his trip, Pustovalov and Olenka live in happy home life with loving each other. But suddenly, Pustovalov is sick and his
doctor cannot handle his illness, and then Pustovalov passed away. But behold One winter day after drinking hot tea in the office, Vassily
Andreritch went out into the yard without his cap on to see about sending off some timber, caught cold and was taken ill. He has the best doctors, but
he grew worse and died after four months’ illness. And Olenka was a widow once more p.183.
The death of Pustovalov, her second husband, makes Olenka feel lonely. She feels that her life is not complete, because she always does all things together
with her husband. The loneliness brings sorrow for her. She thinks that she will live in difficulty because there is no husband in her side. Her feeling is supported
by the statement of Harvey, that when people experience a loss, people often experience a sense of missing something very important, a sense of incompletion,
on feeling of disappointed 2. The sorrow of Olenka can be shown from her behavior which is crying while uttering her feeling of loneliness as follows: “I’ve
nobody, now you’ve left me, my darling,” she sobs, after her husband’s funeral. “How can I live without you, in wretchedness and misery Pity me, good people,
all alone in the world” p.183 Olenka’s utterance above shows her anxiety to live alone without her
husband. That condition shows that Olenka experiences symptoms of non-normal in her behavior. As stated by Kalish, Olenka’s worrying about her life after the
death of her husband shows that Olenka is in appropriate worry and fear. Her sadness of the loss of someone whom she loves shows her inadequate emotional
control, and her utterance that assumes herself as a person who suffers caused by the death of her husband shows that she is in unhappiness and tension 171.
In Olenka’s sorrow, she is entertained by Vladimir Platonitch or Smirnin who works as veterinary surgeon. Smirnin and her ex-wife entrust their boy,
Sasha, to Olenka’s care. Olenka has been recovered from her sadness. But the sorrow comes again when Sasha has to come back to his mother. Olenka is sad
and she feels the absence of love. She is in despair. She feels as the unhappiest woman in the world p.186.
The paragraph above shows her unhappiness and tension because she thinks as the unhappiest person in the world and thinks the world as difficult and
tense place without Sasha. Her behavior shows that she is not happy because Sasha leaves her. She loses a love and affection from Sasha, whom she loves as
her own son. The sorrow, which is experienced by Olenka after she is left by people
whom she loves and who love her, shows that there are needs in her life which are not fulfilled completely. The needs that are not fulfilled completely are the needs
of love and belonging. As what Kalish quoted, Maslow defines that belonging and love needs include motives such as love and affection, and if we do not satisfy
those needs, Maslow believes that psychological problems may develop 44.