The Gambler (Dostoevsky)/Chapter 4

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Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Gambler. Chapter 4

A Fortune Won and Lost at Roulette

1866

Summary of a Chapter
from the Collection “The Gambler”

The original takes about 13 minutes to read

Microsummary

The narrator won thousands at roulette for Polina, then lost everything in two reckless bets. At lunch, he hid her involvement and defended Russian impulsiveness against Western thrift at the table.

Chapter Summary

Late at night, the narrator reflected on a day marked by folly and failure. That morning, Polina Alexandrovna had entrusted him with six hundred gülden and ordered him to play roulette for her.

He accepted on two conditions: he would receive no share of any winnings, and Polina would explain that evening why she urgently needed money and how much she required. She agreed, although her explanation had not yet occurred.

The narrator entered the crowded gaming rooms, secured a place beside a croupier, and began with cautious stakes. As he watched the other gamblers record results and calculate probabilities, he decided that their elaborate methods did not prevent them from losing.

He nevertheless believed that chance displayed a temporary order. Numbers seemed to move in recurring groups, while red and black sometimes alternated and sometimes produced long runs. Mr. Astley pointed out several such patterns but did not place a bet himself.

The narrator initially won repeatedly by staking two hundred gülden on even numbers. Within minutes, he accumulated about four thousand gülden, but instead of leaving, he felt challenged by Fate and wagered the maximum permitted amount.

He lost the four thousand gülden, then staked all his remaining money on the same outcome and lost again. Stunned, he wandered through the park until lunchtime, when he admitted the loss to Polina.

At lunch, Mlle. Blanche treated him with greater attention because she had witnessed his play. The Frenchman asked whether the lost money had belonged to him. To protect Polina, the narrator angrily claimed it was his own and invented a plausible account of turning one hundred gülden into several thousand before losing everything.

Polina did not correct his lie, so he concluded that she wanted her involvement concealed. The General appeared uneasy, while the Frenchman maliciously advised greater caution and declared that Russians gambled frequently but lacked skill.

The narrator replied that roulette was especially suited to Russians because they needed money but lacked the Western habit of slowly accumulating capital. He said they preferred the possibility of becoming rich in a few hours, yet usually lost because they played carelessly and impulsively.

When the General rebuked him for insulting Russia, the narrator attacked the German ideal of wealth built through generations of obedience, sacrifice, work, and calculation. He declared that he preferred immediate personal freedom, even reckless loss, to serving inherited capital. The General called him an insufferable joker, the Frenchman listened contemptuously, and Polina remained serenely indifferent throughout the argument.

Characters

Alexei Ivanovich — narrator, a young Russian man employed within the General’s household, devoted to Polina, impulsive, argumentative, observant, and dangerously attracted to roulette.

Polina Alexandrovna — young Russian woman connected to the General’s household who secretly entrusts the narrator with six hundred gülden, urgently needs money, and remains emotionally reserved.

The Frenchman — adult French man associated with the General and Mlle. Blanche, suspicious of the narrator’s dealings with Polina, contemptuous, malicious, and proud of Western financial discipline.

Mlle. Blanche — young Frenchwoman associated with the General who witnesses the narrator’s gambling and consequently treats him with increased attention at lunch.

Mr. Astley — adult English gentleman who spends the morning observing roulette without betting and points out apparent patterns in the results.

Quotes

That, of course, was the proper moment for me to have departed, but there arose in me a strange sensation as of a challenge to Fate—as of a wish to deal her a blow on the cheek...

None the less we Russians often need money; wherefore, we are glad of, and greatly devoted to, a method of acquisition like roulette—whereby, in a couple of hours, one may grow rich without doing any work.

For my own part, I would rather grow fat after the Russian manner, or squander my whole substance at roulette. I have no wish to be ‘Hoppe and Company’ at the end of five generations.

This summary is based on the translation by C. J. Hogarth, first published in Poor Folk; The Gambler (London: J. M. Dent & Sons; New York: E. P. Dutton, 1915). Illustrations were created using AI.