About Love is part of a loosely structured "little trilogy" of stories that Chekhov wrote in 1898. The veterinary surgeon Ivan Ivanovitch and his friend, Burkin the schoolmaster, are spending a few days trekking and shooting. On the first night, they sit around telling stories, one of which is Burkin's tale of The Man in a Case (see annotation). On another afternoon, it begins to rain, and the two men seek shelter at Alehin's house. Later that evening Ivan Ivanovitch tells the story of Gooseberries (see annotation). Alehin's tale, the third part of the trilogy, is told at lunch the next day.

Perhaps the theme of "About Love" is carpe diem. Alehin, wracked as he was by mundane concerns and practical ethics, failed to seize the day, and, thus, lost his one opportunity for a fulfilling love. However, Chekhov the diagnostician refuses to give us any easy generalizations about the nature of love. Alehin ponders its essence, but sets the question aside. "What seems to fit one instance doesn't fit a dozen others," the lonely landowner concludes. "It's best to interpret each instance separately in my view, without trying to generalize. We must isolate each individual case, as doctors say." His case is particularly poignant.