The two Volodyas symbolise one eternal riddle : listen to the voice of love or listen to the voice of reason (par dépit). There is a third path : the path to God. And there lies another riddle of the existence : is there a God ?
A minute later another thought entered her head. ‘God exists, death will certainly come. I should be thinking of my soul. If Olga could see her death this very minute she would not be afraid. She’s ready. But the most important thing is, she’s solved the riddle of existence for herself. God exists… yes. But is there another way out apart from becoming a nun? That means renouncing life, destroying it…
And yet, all we can possibly achieve is …
To be a good, honest, decent person, not to lie, to have a purpose in life.
As formidable a writer as he is, Chekhov does not come with answers to the riddle.
