What Is to Be Done? · Chapter
I explained
The chapter introduces Viéra Pavlovna's upbringing in a middle-class household dominated by her shrewd, ruthless mother Marya Alekséyevna, who schemes to secure a wealthy husband for her daughter.
What happens
The chapter introduces Viéra Pavlovna's upbringing in a middle-class household dominated by her shrewd, ruthless mother Marya Alekséyevna, who schemes to secure a wealthy husband for her daughter. Viéra's life is marked by her mother's harsh pragmatism and her own quiet resistance, setting the stage for her eventual encounter with the medical student Lopukhóf.
Themes in this chapter
Critique of Bourgeois Society
Marya Alekséyevna's cynical advice to 'steal and cheat' exposes the moral compromises required to thrive in contemporary society.
Women's Emancipation
Viéra's quiet resistance to her mother's plans and her refusal to kiss her hand foreshadow her struggle for independence.
Love and Marriage
The chapter highlights marriage as a transactional arrangement, with Marya Alekséyevna treating it as a financial negotiation.
Characters to notice
- Viéra Pavlovna
The protagonist, a young woman navigating her mother's oppressive schemes and her own desire for autonomy.
- Marya Alekséyevna
Viéra's domineering mother, who uses manipulation and threats to secure a wealthy match for her daughter.
- Pavel Konstantinuitch Rozalsky
Viéra's father, a passive manager who defers to his wife's authority.
- Mikhaïl Ivanuitch Storeshnikof
The son of the house owner, a handsome officer whom Marya Alekséyevna hopes will marry Viéra.
- Anna Petrovna
The real proprietor of the house, a lady of distinction and mother of Mikhaïl Ivanuitch.
- Matrióna
The cook who explains household matters to Viéra, often bearing bruises from her lover.
- Feódor
Viéra's younger brother, a nine-year-old boy.
Key passages
“It’s written in your books, Viérotchka, that it’s only the wicked and ill-tempered who get along in this world; and that is gospel truth, Viérotchka!”
Marya Alekséyevna argues that the world rewards ruthless behavior, citing the very books Viéra reads as evidence.
This highlights the tension between idealism and practical survival.
“I shall not take pity on your pretty little face. If you lose this chance, I will teach you how to act.”
Marya Alekséyevna threatens Viéra with punishment if she fails to secure a marriage proposal from Storeshnikof.
Shows the mother's coercive control over her daughter's future.