# VI explained — Memoirs of a Revolutionist > Chapter companion for Memoirs of a Revolutionist by Peter Kropotkin. ## What happens Kropotkin describes the wealth and lifestyle of his father, a landed proprietor who owned nearly twelve hundred serfs ('souls'). He details the extravagant household with numerous servants, a private band, and the practice of having everything made at home by serfs. The chapter contrasts lavish entertaining and gambling losses with miserly daily economies, and concludes with a description of the Easter festival and the extravagant spending of a relative, Prince Mírski. ## Themes in this chapter ### Serfdom and Social Inequality The chapter vividly illustrates the exploitation of serfs, who were counted as 'souls' and trained as servants, artisans, and musicians, while the nobility lived in opulence. ### Autocracy and Oppression The arbitrary power of the father over his serfs, including sending them as apprentices or to the army, reflects the autocratic structure of Russian society. ## Character check-ins ### Father Kropotkin's father, a rich landed proprietor who owned nearly twelve hundred serfs, maintained a large household with many servants and a private band, and was known for his leniency and patronage despite fits of rage. ### Hélène Kropotkin's sister, whose presence attracted visitors to the house and who played the piano in the reception room. ### Makár The piano-tuner and under-butler, also a flutist in the band. ### Andréi The tailor who played the French horn in the band. ## Key lines > Wealth was measured in those times by the number of 'souls' that a landed proprietor owned. So many 'souls' meant so many male serfs: women did not count. In that era, a landowner's wealth was determined by how many male serfs he owned, as women were not considered in this count. _Kropotkin explains the dehumanizing metric of wealth under serfdom._ > Nothing, indeed, gave him more pleasure than to be asked for help, either in the way mentioned or in any other: for instance, to obtain free education for a boy, or to save somebody from a punishment inflicted upon him by a law court. He took great satisfaction in being asked for assistance, such as securing a boy's free education or rescuing someone from a legal punishment. _Kropotkin highlights his father's contradictory nature: capable of rage but also generous in patronage._ > The same sort of miserly economy ruled in our house with regard to everything; so much so that when we, the children of the house, grew up, we detested all saving and counting. Such stinginess pervaded our household that as adults, we came to despise all forms of penny-pinching. _Kropotkin contrasts the lavish public spending with the tight-fisted private economy._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/vi - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters