Response: The Country Doctor

After reading "The Country Doctor" I found myself feeling depressed, angry and at odds with societal values. Not only did the story prove to be a challenge to read, due to the grammatical structure but it was depressing to see the way that the doctor was unmoved by the "love"that he experienced. Rather than searching for true love before marrying his wife, he seemed to have settled for a large dowry and mediocre life. Due to these and other contributing factors, I disliked this story.

The content of this story was saddening to me. The relationship between the doctor and the patient (Alexandra) was just awkward in my opinion. I couldn't tell whether or not they truly loved each other, and his actions after her death point to the fact that he did not truly love her. It seemed that his attraction to the girl was purely physical, especially since The doctor tells the story with such fervor and detail readers clearly see the importance of this interaction to the doctor; yet his actions do not reflect this supposed worth placed on his relationship with the girl.

One thing that was disturbing was the way in which the doctor spoke of his current wife and living situation. He is clearly not in love with his wife and has no respect for her. This is sad in itself, but it becomes pathetic when you realize that the doctor chose this life for himself. He is also wallowing in his choices and despising his life, rather than doing something about it. I have no sympathy for the doctor but I feel deeply for his wife! I would be miserable living with a man like the doctor. However, I think this is part of what the author is trying to get at in this story.

I think that part of what the author is trying to say is that love is rare and people should, for lack of better words, take what they can get when it comes along. He seems to think that love is more of a luxury than a necessity for living, but it is valuable enough to be grieved when it is lost. I see this through the way that he gives great attention to the relationship between the doctor and the girl and very little attention to the doctor's life after her death. It is important to note that the author doesn't tell the readers that what the doctor experienced was, in fact, love. Through this we can see that the author thinks that even imitations of love can be somewhat satisfying. I don't agree with this statement, and I think that is part of why I don't like this story. I am of the opinion that true love will transform someone in one way or another. I don't think that it is possible to walk away from true love unchanged and I don't think that imitations of love prove satisfying at all. Love provokes love, and the doctor never returned the love that Alexandra showed to him. This makes me think that the love between them was not real at all. The doctor in this story seems to have true love for only two things, money and drinking.