Crime and Punishment & Other Great Novels of Dostoevsky
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Contents
The Gambler — Chapter V
Overview
Polina reveals that the General is mortgaged to de Griers and that her own debts drive her urge to gamble. The narrator confesses a violent, slavish love, which Polina tests by demanding he provoke Baroness Burmergelm for a laugh. He submits, risking scandal and worsening the household’s standing.
Summary
After lunch, Polina orders the narrator to walk with her and the children to the park fountain. Irritated, the narrator asks why Marquis de Griers has avoided her. Polina, unusually sharp, calls de Griers a brute and confirms tension with the General, then discloses that the General is mortgaged to the Marquis—who will seize everything if the grandmother does not die.
The narrator scoffs at the mercenary courtship of Mlle. Blanche and the grotesque hope for the grandmother’s death. Polina, shuddering, shifts to money: she is in debt and clings to a senseless assurance she will win at roulette. The narrator, stung by his losses, insists he will win if he plays for himself and even offers her future winnings, while prying whether her debt ties to the Frenchman.
His confession turns into a torrent of obsessive love, self-abasement, and violent impulses. Polina challenges his bravado, asking if he would kill at her command. He agrees in a daze, alarmed by her stark assertion of power—either obey or be renounced—yet unable to detach himself.
Breaking the tension, Polina points out Baroness Burmergelm and her Prussian husband near the Casino and demands the narrator approach and address the Baroness in French, fully expecting the Baron to thrash him. Despite warning that this could harm the General and thus her, Polina insists she only wants a laugh.
Compelled by her will and his own frenzy, the narrator obeys. He turns away and moves toward the Baroness to carry out the provocation, accepting the likely scandal and punishment as the price of proving his submission.
Who Appears
- The narrator (the tutor)Obsessively declares love for Polina; agrees to any command; goes to provoke the Baroness despite likely scandal.
- Polina AlexandrovnaReveals the General’s mortgage to de Griers; admits debts; tests the narrator’s devotion by ordering a reckless provocation.
- Marquis de GriersCalled a brute by Polina; holds the General’s mortgage and stands to seize his assets if the grandmother lives.
- The GeneralRuined and infatuated with Blanche; mortgaged to de Griers, risking total loss if his mother does not die.
- Mlle. BlancheThe General’s prospective bride; her marriage hinges on the General’s money and status.
- Baroness BurmergelmTarget of Polina’s prank; the narrator is sent to address her in French to provoke a scene.
- Baron BurmergelmPrussian husband expected to retaliate if the narrator approaches his wife, heightening the impending scandal.