Poor Folk · Chapter
September 5th: My Beloved Barbara explained
Makar describes a gloomy walk along the Fontanka Canal and Gorokhovaia Street, contrasting the misery of the poor with the luxury of the rich.
What happens
Makar describes a gloomy walk along the Fontanka Canal and Gorokhovaia Street, contrasting the misery of the poor with the luxury of the rich. He reflects on Barbara's misfortune and his own feelings of humiliation. Later, he is visited by the impoverished Gorshkov, who begs for help, and he encounters a starving boy asking for alms. Makar uses these experiences to meditate on poverty, social injustice, and the dehumanizing effects of urban life.
Themes in this chapter
Poverty and Deprivation
Makar's encounters with Gorshkov and the beggar boy highlight the extreme material deprivation and hunger faced by the urban poor, and the moral anguish it causes.
Social Class and Hierarchy
Makar contrasts the miserable lives of artisans, beggars, and himself with the opulent carriages and shops of the wealthy, reflecting on the injustice of social stratification.
Human Dignity and Self-Worth
Makar's feelings of humiliation and his allegory about feeling 'smaller' in the city illustrate the erosion of self-worth caused by poverty and social comparison.
Characters to notice
- Makar Alexievitch Dievushkin
Narrates his walk, his thoughts on poverty and fate, his encounter with Gorshkov and the beggar boy, and his feelings of humiliation and compassion.
- Barbara Alexievna Dobroselova
Makar addresses her throughout the letter, reflecting on her misfortune and wishing she could enjoy a life of luxury.
- Gorshkov
The poor lodger who visits Makar to beg for help for his starving family, humbly accepting tea and a small lump of sugar.
- Theresa
Mentioned as the landlady's cook who might have given the beggar boy something to eat.
Key passages
“To what depths of humility can poverty reduce a man!”
Poverty can make a person incredibly humble and self-abasing.
Makar reflects on Gorshkov's extreme reluctance to accept even a lump of sugar.
“Rich folk dislike hearing poor people complain of their poverty. 'They disturb us,' they say, 'and are impertinent as well. Why should poverty be so impertinent? Why should its hungry moans prevent us from sleeping?'”
The wealthy are annoyed by the complaints of the poor, seeing them as disruptive and insolent.
Makar criticizes the indifference of the rich toward the suffering of the poor.