A House of Gentlefolk · Chapter
XV explained
Lavretsky and Varvara Pavlovna marry and travel to Lavriky, where Varvara Pavlovna skillfully manages the household, drives away Glafira Petrovna, and brings in her father to manage the estate.
What happens
Lavretsky and Varvara Pavlovna marry and travel to Lavriky, where Varvara Pavlovna skillfully manages the household, drives away Glafira Petrovna, and brings in her father to manage the estate. They move to Petersburg, then to Paris, where Varvara Pavlovna thrives in society, while Lavretsky feels the emptiness of his life. An unexpected incident disrupts their plans.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Marriage
Lavretsky's marriage to Varvara Pavlovna is initially blissful but becomes hollow as she prioritizes social life and comfort.
Social Class and Identity
Varvara Pavlovna's rise in Parisian society and Lavretsky's discomfort with a frivolous life highlight class and identity tensions.
Duty and Morality
Lavretsky feels a vague duty to work and return to Russia, but his wife's influence and his own passivity prevent action.
Characters to notice
- Fedor Ivanitch Lavretsky
Marries Varvara Pavlovna, travels with her, feels his life is empty despite his studies and translation work.
- Varvara Pavlovna Lavretsky
Arranges the marriage, manages the household, drives out Glafira, and becomes a social success in Petersburg and Paris.
- Glafira Petrovna
Forced to leave Lavriky after Varvara Pavlovna's maneuvering; prophesies that Lavretsky will be a wanderer.
- Pavel Petrovitch Korobyin
Varvara's father, takes over management of Lavretsky's estate.
- Marfa Timofyevna Pestov
Visits the newlyweds at Lavriky; does not like Varvara Pavlovna.
- M. Jules
A journalist with a scandalous reputation who writes about Varvara Pavlovna in Paris.
Key passages
“He soon discovered, however, that no one hindered him from being alone; that it was not for nothing that he had the quietest and most comfortable study in all Petersburg; that his tender wife was even ready to aid him to be alone; and from that time forth all went well.”
Lavretsky realized that Varvara Pavlovna encouraged his solitude, giving him a quiet study and leaving him undisturbed, which made their life together run smoothly.
Highlights the emotional distance in their marriage.
“Varvara Pavlovna bloomed like a rose, and was able to make herself a little nest as quickly and cleverly as in Petersburg.”
In Paris, Varvara Pavlovna thrived and quickly established a comfortable home, just as she had in Petersburg.
Shows her adaptability and social ambition.
“Fedor Ivanitch, for his part, was not bored, though his life, at times, weighed rather heavily on him—because it was empty.”
Lavretsky was not bored, but he felt the weight of an empty life.
Reveals his growing dissatisfaction and sense of purposelessness.