Short Fiction · Chapter
The Beggar explained
A Petersburg lawyer, Skvortsov, confronts a beggar who lies about being a former village schoolmaster or expelled student.
What happens
A Petersburg lawyer, Skvortsov, confronts a beggar who lies about being a former village schoolmaster or expelled student. After scolding him, Skvortsov forces him to chop wood as a test. The beggar, Lushkov, continues to do odd jobs, and Skvortsov later helps him find clerical work. Two years later, Lushkov reveals that it was actually Skvortsov's cook, Olga, whose compassion and self-sacrifice truly reformed him.
Themes in this chapter
Hypocrisy and Moral Failure
Skvortsov believes he is reforming the beggar through stern lectures and forced labor, but the real change comes from the cook's genuine compassion, exposing the limits of his self-righteous approach.
Suffering and Compassion
Olga's empathetic tears and self-sacrifice (chopping wood herself) ultimately save Lushkov, highlighting the power of compassion over harsh judgment.
Social Class and Inequality
The beggar's inability to find manual work due to his genteel background and the class distinctions that trap him in poverty are central to the story.
Characters to notice
- Skvortsov
A Petersburg lawyer who initially scolds the beggar for lying, then offers him work and later helps him find a clerical position.
- Lushkov
The beggar who lies about his past, chops wood for Skvortsov, and eventually reforms thanks to the cook's influence.
- Olga
Skvortsov's cook who secretly chops the wood for Lushkov and, through her tears and lamentations, inspires his genuine change.
Key passages
“Kind sir, be so good as to notice a poor, hungry man. I have not tasted food for three days. I have not a five-kopeck piece for a night's lodging. I swear by God! For five years I was a village schoolmaster and lost my post through the intrigues of the Zemstvo.”
The beggar pleads for help, claiming he hasn't eaten in three days and has no money for shelter, asserting he was a village schoolmaster who lost his job due to Zemstvo conspiracies.
This opening lie sets up the central conflict of the story.
“What you said that day was excellent; I am indebted to you as long as I live, of course, but it was your cook, Olga, who really saved me.”
Lushkov acknowledges Skvortsov's good advice but credits the cook Olga with his true reformation.
The twist reveals that genuine compassion, not stern lectures, was the catalyst for change.