# XVI explained — What Is to Be Done?

> Chapter companion for What Is to Be Done? by Nikolay Chernyshevsky.

## What happens

Viérotchka sits alone in her room, tormented by the prospect of an arranged marriage and her mother's scrutiny. She contemplates suicide by jumping out the window or suffocating with coal gas, imagining the aftermath. Despite her despair, she is drawn to Lopukhóf's cheerful voice and wonders if he truly has a plan to save her.

## Themes in this chapter

### Freedom and Individuality

Viérotchka's contemplation of suicide as a means of escape underscores her desperate yearning for personal freedom from familial and societal constraints.

### Women's Emancipation

The chapter highlights Viérotchka's limited options as a young woman, her internal rebellion, and her reference to 'poor girls in Paris' who take drastic measures, pointing to the broader struggle for women's autonomy.

## Character check-ins

### Viéra Pavlovna

Viérotchka is in deep despair, contemplating suicide as a way out of her oppressive situation, yet she is intrigued by Lopukhóf's apparent cheerfulness.

### Marya Alekséyevna

Mámenka is mentioned as a source of pressure and scrutiny, driving Viérotchka's distress.

### Dmitri Sergéitch Lopukhóf

Lopukhóf is heard speaking cheerfully in the other room, giving Viérotchka a glimmer of hope that he might have a plan.

## Key lines

> He says there's one way. No, my love, there's no way at all. Yes, there is one way, the window; when it becomes absolutely unendurable, I will throw myself out.

Lopukhóf claims there is a solution, but Viérotchka dismisses it, thinking the only escape is suicide by jumping from the window when life becomes unbearable.

_Viérotchka's internal conflict between hope and despair, and her fixation on suicide as a last resort._

> And in Paris young girls stifle themselves with coal gas; that's a good idea, a very good idea: but it is not good to jump out of the window.

Viérotchka considers the Parisian method of suicide by coal gas as a cleaner alternative to jumping, reflecting her awareness of contemporary practices.

_Shows Viérotchka's detailed and morbid planning, influenced by stories of other women's desperate acts._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xvi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters