# The Dependents explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Anton Chekhov.

## What happens

Mihail Petrovitch Zotov, a decrepit old artisan, wakes to cold and poverty. He grumbles at his horse and dog, whom he sees as burdens, drives them out, then lets them back. After visiting his friend Mark Ivanitch for tea, he resolves to go to his great-niece Glasha's farm to seek support, but the horse and dog follow him. He considers taking them to the slaughterer Ignat, but the outcome is unclear.

## Themes in this chapter

### Suffering and Compassion

Zotov's own suffering and his lack of compassion toward his dependent animals highlight the cycle of neglect and hardship.

### Isolation and Loneliness

Zotov lives alone with only his animals for company, and his interactions are marked by bitterness and solitude.

### Mortality and Legacy

Zotov's thoughts of death, his dream of a stove as an omen of sorrow, and his plan to leave his house to his great-niece reflect concerns about legacy and the end of life.

## Character check-ins

### Mihail Petrovitch Zotov

A decrepit, solitary old artisan of seventy, impoverished and irritable, who resents his dependent horse and dog.

### Bugrov

Zotov's friend and neighbor, a shopkeeper who reluctantly gives him oats and advises him to get rid of the animals.

## Key lines

> Zotov cleared his throat, coughed, and shrinking from the cold, got out of bed. In accordance with years of habit, he stood for a long time before the icon, saying his prayers.

Zotov coughed and shivered as he rose, then followed his lifelong routine of praying before the icon.

_Establishes his age, poverty, and mechanical piety._

> I am not obliged to feed you, you loafers! I am not some millionaire for you to eat me out of house and home!

He angrily declares he cannot afford to keep feeding the animals, blaming them for his financial strain.

_Shows his resentment toward his dependents and his own desperate circumstances._

> If you were dead that would settle it... You go on living, and you don't know what for.

His friend suggests that Zotov's death would end his troubles, implying his life has no purpose.

_Highlights the theme of mortality and the perceived futility of his existence._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/the-dependents
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_5_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters