Uncle's Dream by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Uncle's Dream centers on Maria Alexandrovna Moskaleva, the domineering social queen of the provincial town of Mordasoff, whose talent for manipulating gossip and appearances has made her its unrivaled leading lady despite widespread private dislike of her. Her husband, the ineffectual Afanassy Matveyevitch, has been banished to their country estate after losing his post, while her proud, beautiful, unmarried twenty-three-year-old daughter Zina carries the lingering scandal of a broken attachment to a poor young schoolmaster, whose love letter Maria Alexandrovna scrambled to suppress and who now lies gravely ill. Into this world arrives the decrepit, wig-and-glass-eye-wearing Prince K——, an enfeebled but wealthy nobleman who has lived as a recluse under the control of his housekeeper Stepanida Matveyevna. He is delivered to Maria Alexandrovna's house by young Pavel Mosgliakoff, Zina's rejected suitor and the prince's distant relation, after the prince's carriage overturns on the road. Recognizing an extraordinary opportunity, Maria Alexandrovna resolves to marry Zina to the prince, arguing to her reluctant, self-loathing daughter that the marriage would rescue her from Mordasoff, provide riches and rank, and even indirectly help the dying schoolmaster, since as a rich widow Zina could later do as she pleased. Zina, sunk in bitterness and disgust at the scheme's ignoble character, nonetheless consents, chiefly to test how far her mother will go. Maria Alexandrovna intercepts the prince, who has been feted and half-captured by rival society ladies (notably Mrs. Antipova and Natalia Dimitrievna), and brings him back for dinner, plying him with wine and flattering appeals to his vanity, chivalry, and memories of youth. Zina's singing and beauty overwhelm him, and, tipsy and sentimental, he falls to his knees and proposes marriage; Maria Alexandrovna and Zina accept on the spot. Meanwhile, Mosgliakoff, humiliated and enraged after Nastasia Petrovna (a scheming widowed relative living in the household) has him eavesdrop on Zina and her mother plotting the match, storms out, is talked back into complacency by Maria Alexandrovna's promises of eventual reward, then reverses course again and coaches the confused, memory-less prince into believing the whole proposal was merely a dream, hoping to sabotage the engagement out of jealousy and spite. That evening, the town's gossips descend on Maria Alexandrovna's house en masse, having already spread rumor of the intended match, eager to humiliate her. She bluntly announces the engagement to disarm them, but the prince, muddled and coached by Mosgliakoff, insists the proposal was only a dream, provoking a mounting, farcical confusion in which the guests, delighted by the spectacle, alternately congratulate and mock the family. Maria Alexandrovna's fury turns on Mosgliakoff as the saboteur and on her hapless husband for his uselessness, and, in the mounting chaos and public scorn, Zina steps forward, declaring she can no longer bear to keep up appearances or take part in the deception, and begins to speak openly against the shameful intrigue before the assembled guests.
By Fyodor Dostoevsky · First published 1859 · Genre: Satire, Comedy, Drama · 15 chapters · 63,897 words
First lines
Maria Alexandrovna Moskaleva was the principal lady of Mordasoff -- there was no doubt whatever on that point! She always bore herself as though _she_ did not care a fig for anyone, but as though no one else could do without _her_. True, there were uncommonly few who loved her -- in fact I may say that very many detested her; still, everyone was afraid of her, and that was what she liked!
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Uncle's Dream is listed on Textopian as a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, dated 1859 CE.
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- Work type: Novel
- Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Date: 1859 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Satire, Comedy, Drama, Social Commentary, Romance
- Length: 63,897 words
- Structure: 15 chapters, 1,109 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for Uncle's Dream by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Genres
- Satire — The book uses humor and irony to critique societal norms and the ambitions of the characters.
- Comedy — The narrative includes comedic elements and situations that arise from misunderstandings and character interactions.
- Drama — The story involves dramatic elements such as personal conflicts and emotional struggles among the characters.
- Social Commentary — The book provides insights into the social structures and cultural aspects of the time period it depicts.
Tags
satire · social criticism · Russian literature · 19th century · family dynamics · dreams · ambition · class struggle · irony · marriage · identity · disillusionment
Contents
- CHAPTER I
- CHAPTER II
- CHAPTER III
- CHAPTER IV
- CHAPTER V
- CHAPTER VI
- CHAPTER VII
- CHAPTER VIII
- CHAPTER IX
- CHAPTER X
- CHAPTER XI
- CHAPTER XII
- CHAPTER XIII
- CHAPTER XIV
- CHAPTER XV