XVI explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Class and Economic Determinism

  Liubka's past as a prostitute defines her social standing and how Likhonin's friends perceive her, limiting her potential for genuine reintegration despite her efforts.

• Illusion of Reform and Redemption

  Likhonin's attempt to 'rescue' and educate Liubka fails due to his own impatience, resentment, and the societal stigma that neither he nor his friends can overcome.

• Female Friendship and Solidarity

  Liubka's emotional response to Manon Lescaut and her desire for loyalty in love contrast with her isolation, hinting at a longing for solidarity that is absent in her life.

Characters to notice

• Likhonin

  Struggles with resentment and shame over his relationship with Liubka, feeling degraded by his comrades' thoughts. He attempts to educate her but grows impatient and secretly hostile.

• Liubka

  Improves in looks and domestic skills, learns to make artificial flowers, and is deeply moved by the story of Manon Lescaut. She shows pride in her earnings and creates a peaceful home atmosphere.

• Soloviev

  Participates in Liubka's education and is present during the reading of Manon Lescaut, fetching water when Liubka becomes distraught.

• Prince Nijeradze

  Mentioned as one of Likhonin's friends who easily masters the knitting machine and is noted as a more successful pedagogue with his guitar and mandolin.

• Simanovsky

  Referenced in relation to his opinion about Liubka's ability to make artificial flowers.

Key passages

• “In the case of his friends, in their outwardly decent behaviour toward Liubka Likhonin super-sensitively felt their thought: “You were taken out of a house of ill-fame, for an inexpensive, economical pleasure. But you had been yielding yourself to scores, to hundreds of men, for money; despite everything, you are, even up to now, a professional; the stigma of your former service is not to be washed off by anything; to invite you for a night is no great matter: you, without reflecting, would go⁠—you are bound to go.””

  Likhonin sensed that his friends, despite their polite behavior, viewed Liubka as still a prostitute at heart, someone who could be easily had for a night because of her past.

  Reveals the persistent social stigma and Likhonin's growing resentment.

• “And a secret enmity for Liubka was already gnawing him. All the more and more frequently various crafty plans of liberation came into his head. And some of them were to such an extent dishonest, that, after a few hours, or the next day, Likhonin squirmed inwardly from shame, recalling them.”

  Likhonin began to secretly hate Liubka and devised dishonest schemes to free himself from her, later feeling ashamed of his own thoughts.

  Highlights the moral corruption and hypocrisy in Likhonin's 'rescue' project.

• “She did not contrive to make more than a rouble’s worth of flowers in a week; but this money was her pride, and for the very first half-rouble that she made she bought Likhonin a mouthpiece for smoking.”

  Liubka earned only about a ruble a week from making artificial flowers, but she was proud of it and used her first earnings to buy Likhonin a smoking mouthpiece.

  Shows Liubka's pride in her work and her affectionate gesture toward Likhonin.

• ““If you love a man, then all that comes from him must be dear to you. He goes to prison, and you go with him to prison. He’s become a thief, well, you help him. He’s a beggar, but still you go with him. What is there out of the way, that there’s only a crust of black bread, so long as there’s love?””

  Liubka argued that true love means standing by a man through any hardship, even prison or poverty, and that material lack doesn't matter if there is love.

  Reflects Liubka's romantic idealism and contrasts with her own exploitative past.