Gurov is characterized as a habitual philanderer who falls in love, unexpectedly, with Anna. The irony of this situation is clear; however, two different translations of the story offer a small, but significant difference in this characterization. Here is the translation of a key sentence early in the story from our text, using a translation by Robert Payne:

He had married young, when still a second-year student at college, and by now his wife looked nearly twice as old as he did.

Compare this with the version below from a translation written by Avrahm Yarmolinsky:

They had found a wife for him when he was very young, a student in his second year, and by now she seemed half as old again as he.

Clearly there is a difference between "had married young" and "They had found a wife for him when he was very young..."
The first version suggests that Gurov chose his wife, perhaps unwisely, while the second indicates that his parents chose for him.  The first makes him more responsible for his marital difficulties, the second less.