Regret

Regret is one of the core themes of “Three Years.” Both Laptev and Yulia regret their decision to marry, right from the start. As the novella progresses, their regrets take on different forms, as does their methods of dealing with this powerful emotion.

In the first place, Laptev senses something is off when Yulia awkwardly accepts his proposal. The narrator says, “[Laptev] felt that in this declaration of love, the main thing—her love—was missing, and there was much that was superfluous, and he wanted to shout, to run away, to leave at once for Moscow, but she was standing close by… he realized that it was now too late to reason, he embraced her passionately, pressed her to his breast, and, murmuring something, calling her dear, kissed her on the neck, then on the cheek, on the head…” (354). Already, Laptev can tell that his...