Short Fiction · Chapter
Ladies explained
Fyodor Petrovitch, a director of elementary schools, promises a secretary post to a schoolmaster named Vremensky, but is pressured by his wife and various ladies to give the same post to Polzuhin, a young man who uses female patronage.
What happens
Fyodor Petrovitch, a director of elementary schools, promises a secretary post to a schoolmaster named Vremensky, but is pressured by his wife and various ladies to give the same post to Polzuhin, a young man who uses female patronage. After receiving a governor's testimonial, he reluctantly gives in to Polzuhin, then fails to break the news to Vremensky, instead angrily dismissing him.
Themes in this chapter
Hypocrisy and Moral Failure
Fyodor Petrovitch prides himself on fairness and refusing patronage, yet he ultimately yields to the very system he condemns, betraying his principles and Vremensky.
Social Class and Inequality
The contrast between the well-connected Polzuhin and the desperate, voiceless schoolmaster Vremensky highlights how class and connections determine opportunity.
Characters to notice
- Sigaev
Fyodor Petrovitch Sigaev, the Director of Elementary Schools, who considers himself just and generous but succumbs to social pressure.
- The Stranger
Vremensky, a schoolmaster who loses his voice and is promised a secretary post, only to be denied it.
- M. Laptev
Polzuhin, a stout young man with a jockey-like face who uses ladies' recommendations to obtain the post.
Key passages
“I cannot think what I am going to do with you! ... To abandon you to your fate, and leave you to do the best you can, is rather awkward.”
Fyodor Petrovitch feels responsible for the schoolmaster's plight and wants to help him.
Shows the director's initial sense of duty and compassion.
“Sneak! ... He has got what he wanted, one way or the other, the good-for-nothing toady! Making up to the ladies! Reptile! Creature!”
After giving in to Polzuhin, the director angrily denounces him as a manipulative sycophant.
Reveals the director's self-disgust and hypocrisy.