Chapter 7 The First and Rightful Lover

Dmitri bursts into Grushenka’s gathering at Mokroe agitated, then turns tearful and submissive. Welcomed to stay, he orders champagne and tries to make peace with the two Polish guests while basking in Grushenka’s tentative kindness. Banter with Kalganov and Maximov fills the lull, but tensions simmer.

Toasts to Poland and Russia spark offense when the Poles qualify their loyalty. Seeking distraction, Dmitri proposes faro and produces cash. The Poles insist on cards from the landlord, then proceed to win heavily as Dmitri doubles recklessly. Kalganov suddenly intervenes, warning Dmitri to stop, and Grushenka also urges caution, unsettling Dmitri.

Noticing Grushenka’s strained look, Dmitri privately offers the little Pole three thousand roubles to leave forever, promising a partial payment now and the rest tomorrow. The Poles demand more on the spot, scorn his honor, and refuse, sensing better gains from Grushenka. The affronted little Pole returns and grandly claims he came to forgive her, revealing Dmitri’s bribe.

Grushenka explodes, orders Russian spoken, and declares she kept her purity not from fear or virtue but to confront her betrayer; seeing the little Pole now, she derides him as a “gander,” not the falcon she remembered. The landlord exposes the Poles’ marked cards, and Kalganov corroborates their cheating. Vrublevsky hurls an insult at Grushenka.

Dmitri immediately seizes Vrublevsky and carries him into the next room. Refusing refunds, Dmitri and Kalganov let the Poles keep the winnings in contempt. The little Pole imperiously invites Grushenka to come with him; she refuses, and the Poles lock themselves in the other room. The revel resumes under a new, decisive alignment: Grushenka turns from her past and toward Dmitri.