Poor Folk · Chapter
II explained
Barbara recounts the story of the elder Pokrovski buying books for his son's birthday, their joint gift of Pushkin's works, and the subsequent illness and death of the younger Pokrovski.
What happens
Barbara recounts the story of the elder Pokrovski buying books for his son's birthday, their joint gift of Pushkin's works, and the subsequent illness and death of the younger Pokrovski. She describes the old man's grief and her own sorrow during this period.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Sacrifice
The elder Pokrovski's selfless efforts to buy books for his son, and Barbara's devoted nursing of Pokrovski during his illness.
Poverty and Deprivation
The old man's limited funds and inability to afford better books; the struggle for livelihood and the impact of poverty on health.
Memory and Nostalgia
Barbara's bittersweet recollection of happier days before the onset of sorrow and loss.
Characters to notice
- Barbara Alexievna Dobroselova
Narrator of the chapter; recalls her past with Pokrovski and his father, and her grief during Pokrovski's illness and death.
- Pokrovski
The younger Pokrovski; dies of consumption in mid-autumn; Barbara nurses him during his final illness.
- Anna Thedorovna
Looks askance at Barbara's care for Pokrovski; prays for his death during his final night.
- Sasha
Mentioned as being full of life during the birthday celebration.
- Petinka
Mentioned as the son of the elder Pokrovski, for whom the books were originally intended.
Key passages
“wind was rising and the sleet kept stinging and lashing his face. It seemed as though he were impervious to the cruel elements as he ran from one side of the hearse to the other—the skirts of his old greatcoat flapping about him like a pair of wings.”
The old man ran alongside the hearse in the storm, his coat flapping like wings, seemingly unaffected by the harsh weather.
Describes the elder Pokrovski's frantic pursuit of his son's hearse.
“I went home, and threw myself, in a transport of grief, upon my mother’s breast—clasping her in my arms, kissing her amid a storm of sobs and tears, and clinging to her form as though in my embraces I were holding my last friend on earth, that I might preserve her from death.”
Barbara returned home and embraced her mother desperately, sobbing and clinging to her as if to keep her from dying.
Barbara's emotional reaction after witnessing the funeral procession.
“The old man was overjoyed, and pulled out his money en masse; whereupon the huckster loaded him with our common library.”
The old man happily contributed his money, and together they bought the books as a joint gift.
The elder Pokrovski and Barbara purchase Pushkin's works together.
“During his last night he was especially lightheaded, for then he was in terrible agony, and kept rambling in his speech until my soul was torn with pity.”
On his final night, Pokrovski was delirious and in great pain, causing Barbara deep sorrow.
Pokrovski's suffering before his death.