The Gambler — Chapter III

Polina deliberately avoids the narrator while maintaining a cool, contemptuous cordiality. She makes clear he is necessary to her purposes, allowing him to confess his love without response and sharing only the minimal details she needs him to execute. The narrator knows she intends to use roulette through him and senses aims beyond mere money.

Meanwhile, the party frets over a telegram long overdue from St. Petersburg about the General’s mother. The General grows moody, and the Frenchman behaves with presumptuous authority, even brusque toward Polina. The narrator recalls the Frenchman’s past rescue of the General with 30,000 roubles, noting how this debt and Mlle. Blanche’s influence bind the General.

The narrator turns his attention to Mlle. Blanche for two days, describing her formidable beauty and hinting at doubtful origins and designs. He observes that the Frenchman and Blanche have grown less ceremonious with their party as their prospects appear meager, and he suspects Mr. Astley knows the pair from before. The General’s hopes seem to hinge on an inheritance; without it, Blanche would likely vanish.

Mr. Astley’s behavior reveals a restrained passion for Polina: always nearby, never intrusive, he avoids their company yet orbits their outings. In a brief exchange, Mr. Astley remarks he has seen many women like Blanche, then asks whether Polina likes flowers. Receiving no answer, he departs, pleased, implying a plan to send them.