Don Juan was Byron's effort to come to terms with the reality of his own environment, and he demanded the liberty to try to understand life and to present his conclusions without editorial or social oppression. It is an examination of the problem of appearance and reality; as a satire, the poem attacks appearances maintained by hypocrisy by placing them against the background of reality which is apparent to Byron.

This paper will examine Chekhov's attitudes toward love and marriage as revealed in his short stories. An attempt will be made to find certain themes which recur frequently and to discover the reasons for their recurrence.