Tone

What is the author's attitude towards actions or events?

The author's attitude towards actions or events are the sorrowness of Popova's life and the death of her husband. The author is describing the scene slowly mood full and emotionally. I could imagine the story's scene one by one by the author's writing.

Is the story humorous or tragic or frightening? Does the author want you to laugh or cry, to feel happy or sad, to experience anger or fear?

No, the story is not tragic, humorous, and frightening. The author's writing wants reader to feel fear. It is full of fear because of the characters. The guy named Smirnov is fearless towards Popova. Smirnov has a scary character. The story has the creepy ending because it is not expected. I didn't expected it would end like both of them are falling in love together.

What is the author's attitude toward characters or the narrator? Does the author like or dislike, trust or mistrust the characters or the narrator?

The author's attitude towards the characters are neutral but on the other hand the attitude towards the characters are quite scary. The author like and trust the characters. The narrator is not in the story because it tells in the third person. The characters are talking with themself.

Symbolism

What are the symbols in the story?

The symbol in the story is the husband who is already dead brought the problem to his own wife which is Popova. So his wife will face with Smirnov which her husband create the problem for her.

Are there at of the objects which seem to have a symbolic meaning? What are their meanings?

The mourning of her husband is the symbolic in the story because she won't be having the new love. She loved her husband so much that she go no where but just locked herself in the room.

Do any people act as symbols in the story? What do they represent?

This person is Popova. She is mourning in her dead husband. She go no where because she loved her husband so much and don't want to make the new love. It represents that she love only one guy that is her husband.

Do the aspects of the story's setting seem symbolic? In what way?

Yes it is symbolic. The house that Popova live is the house in the middle of the forest that no one will know that there's the house there. The house seems so sorrow after the deadth of Popova's husband. The house is not livable after all.

Is one symbol used throughout the story or do the symbols change

It is used throughout the story. The story is all sorrow because of Popova's husband is dead. And her life ended without her husband living with her.