Polzunkov. a Story by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Name: Polzunkov. a Story
Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky

Osip Mihailitch Polzunkov, a middle-aged clerk who has made himself a buffoon and hanger-on among a company of gentlemen, jumps onto a chair at a gathering and, over the guests' interruptions and laughter, insists on telling the story of why he never married. He explains that six years earlier, on the eve of the first of April, he went in secret to the house of his department head, Fedosey Nikolaitch, having in his possession compromising papers that could ruin the man. In the dark study the two exchanged a roll of paper — Polzunkov's silence for a bribe of banknotes — and Polzunkov immediately felt sick with shame and self-reproach even as he pocketed the money. Fedosey Nikolaitch reproached him for ingratitude, calling him almost a son of the family, and Polzunkov, overcome with guilty emotion, let himself be led into the family's sitting room. He recalls that he had once been treated as a near-son in the household, in the time of a retired junker, Mihailo Maximitch Dvigailov, who was rumored to regard Polzunkov as his own son but died without settling anything in his favor. After that he was coldly treated by Fedosey Nikolaitch's family until a cavalry officer arrived in the town, ostensibly to buy horses, and ingratiated himself with the family while courting the daughter, Marya Fedosyevna. Jealous and rebuffed in his own clumsy courtship of her, Polzunkov gathered material against Fedosey Nikolaitch and used it to extract the bribe already described. Brought before the family, he was met with theatrical forgiveness by Fedosey Nikolaitch, reproaches from the wife, Marya Fominishna, and the sight of Marya Fedosyevna, pale and secretly grieving because the cavalry officer had by then abandoned her, leaving the family privately dealing with the consequences. Swept up in emotion, Polzunkov wept, embraced Fedosey Nikolaitch as a benefactor, and was welcomed back into the family circle amid tears, singing, and games, effectively becoming engaged to Marya Fedosyevna, with a wedding planned once an official Inspector's visit had passed. Elated that night, Polzunkov told his old, infirm grandmother and his servant Sofron of his coming marriage, then, in high spirits, decided to play an April Fools' joke: he stayed up all night composing a mock petition asking to be discharged from his post, intending to present it as a jest referencing his earlier show of resentment. The next morning he delivered the letter to Fedosey Nikolaitch as a joke, revealing on the spot that it was only an April Fools' prank, and the family responded with apparent affectionate amusement, teasing him back and continuing to treat him warmly. In the days after, Polzunkov was fully occupied by Fedosey Nikolaitch with straightening out disordered accounts and reports before the Inspector's arrival, working himself thin. Fedosey Nikolaitch then summoned him, feigning illness, and confided that he was personally short funds because a subordinate, Matveyev, was seven thousand roubles short in the accounts for which Fedosey Nikolaitch would be blamed; he refused to touch his daughter's dowry money or implicate Matveyev, and hinted at his need. Moved and remorseful, Polzunkov gave back the bribe money he had extorted, keeping only fifty roubles, and at Fedosey Nikolaitch's instruction wrote an antedated report claiming he had drawn that fifty roubles in advance. The next morning an official letter arrived dismissing Polzunkov from his post, instructing him to hand over his accounts and go. Confronting Fedosey Nikolaitch, Polzunkov learned that his own joking April Fools' resignation letter had been accepted as genuine and never returned to him; Fedosey Nikolaitch coolly informed him he would provide a good character reference, mentioned he had bought a new house from Matveyev and would be moving, and dismissed him with a curt "Bon voyage." Polzunkov ran home to his grandmother crying that they were ruined, and shortly after a servant arrived from the household bringing back the starling Polzunkov had given Marya Fedosyevna as a gift, in a cage, with a note reading only "April 1st." Polzunkov tells the company that he once met Fedosey Nikolaitch afterward and meant to call him a scoundrel to his face, but could not bring himself to do it. The narrative ends there, with the guests' laughter as the frame for Polzunkov's account.

By Fyodor Dostoevsky · First published 1876 · Genre: Satire, Comedy, Psychological Fiction · 7,563 words

First lines

I began to scrutinize the man closely. Even in his exterior there was something so peculiar that it compelled one, however far away one's thoughts might be, to fix one's eyes upon him and go off into the most irrepressible roar of laughter. That is what happened to me. I must observe that the little man's eyes were so mobile, or perhaps he was so sensitive to the magnetism of every eye fixed upon him, that he almost by instinct guessed that he was being observed, turned at once to the observer and anxiously analysed his expression. His continual mobility, his turning and twisting, made him look strikingly like a dancing doll. It was strange! He seemed afraid of jeers, in spite of the fact that he was almost getting his living by being a buffoon for all the world, and exposed himself to every buffet in a moral sense and even in a physical one, judging from the company he was in. Voluntary buffoons are not even to be pitied.

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Polzunkov. a Story is listed on Textopian as a short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky, dated 1876 CE.

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Work type: Short story
Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Date: 1876 CE
Language: English
Genres: Satire, Comedy, Psychological Fiction, Social Commentary, Drama
Length: 7,563 words
Structure: 1 section, 147 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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Genres

Satire — The story uses humor and irony to critique social norms and human behavior, particularly through the protagonist's absurd situations and interactions.
Comedy — The narrative is filled with humorous incidents and character portrayals, especially the protagonist's antics and the reactions of those around him.
Psychological Fiction — The story delves into the protagonist's internal struggles, emotions, and motivations, providing insight into his complex character.
Social Commentary — The narrative reflects on societal structures and human relationships, highlighting issues of class, power, and morality.