Short Fiction · Chapter
XVII explained
The winter has passed, and the narrator finishes his painting, receiving congratulations from Helfreich.
What happens
The winter has passed, and the narrator finishes his painting, receiving congratulations from Helfreich. Nadejda Nicolaievna appears calmer and occasionally joyful. The narrator refrains from discussing his feelings, hoping to marry her in time. Bezsonow visits, hiding his inner turmoil behind talkativeness. The narrator receives a letter from Sonia revealing a plot by Bezsonow and his mother, and an anonymous letter (likely from the Captain) accusing Nadejda of vice and murder. The narrator burns the letter and, upon opening the door, finds Nadejda pale and terrified.
Themes in this chapter
Moral Ambiguity and Guilt
The narrator grapples with the anonymous accusations against Nadejda, and Bezsonow's hidden motives create a morally complex situation.
Love and Sacrifice
The narrator suppresses his feelings and hopes to marry Nadejda, sacrificing immediate gratification for her recovery and future together.
Social Marginalization and Compassion
Nadejda is marginalized due to her past and social position; the narrator and his friends show compassion by supporting her.
Characters to notice
- Nadejda Nicolaievna
Appears calm and satisfied, occasionally gay; lives in a small, gloomy room; is found pale and terrified at the chapter's end.
- Helfreich
Congratulates the narrator on his picture's success and helps Nadejda obtain a copying manuscript.
- Senichka
Engrossed in reading for his picture; his cats are mostly gone except the ginger cat; paints only one cat picture.
- Bezsonow
Visits occasionally, appears calm but hides inner turmoil; later revealed to be plotting with his mother against the narrator.
- Sonia
Writes a letter to the narrator describing Bezsonow's plot and his mother's visit; plans to come to St. Petersburg after exams.
- Captain Zaikin
Implied author of the anonymous letter; accused of being a 'hero of Miekoff and Opatoff' but Bezsonow says he is inventing.
Key passages
“I have finished my picture. A few more sittings, and it will be possible to take it to the Academy before the Court of Exhibition experts.”
The narrator completes his painting and plans to submit it to the Academy for exhibition.
Highlights the narrator's artistic achievement and progress.
“I never once spoke to her of what was passing in my mind. I was calm and happy in the present. I understood that any incautious reference to her, perhaps still open, spiritual wounds would reflect painfully on her.”
The narrator avoids discussing his feelings to protect Nadejda's emotional state.
Demonstrates the narrator's restraint and care for Nadejda.
“She was accused of the murder of a man, 'also very correct, not distinguished by talents such as you possess, but a first-rate man, receiving fifty roubles a month salary, and having a prospective increase of salary which would have been sufficient for both to live on'”
The anonymous letter accuses Nadejda of murdering a respectable man with a steady income.
Reveals the malicious accusations against Nadejda.