The Gambler

Events and relationships in The Gambler are dominated by questions of wealth and social status. Strict norms surrounding social hierarchy frame many interactions and conflicts in the narrative, including the way the aristocratic general speaks to Alexey (a tutor), decisions about whom Polina and Blanche will marry, and the importance of Grandmother’s illness and the money she will leave behind.

When Alexey insults a baroness at Polina’s behest, the scandal that ensues is directly related to the asymmetry in their social positions. It is not only that what he says to a stranger, “I have the honor to be your slave” (159), is a violation of social etiquette. Rather, it is also that an impoverished tutor speaks these words to a wealthy and important aristocrat. Indeed, it would have been a scandal for Alexey to approach and say anything to the baroness. This is why the baron will not deign to talk directly to Alexey afterward and why the general is afraid of Alexey approaching the baron himself. Who is allowed to talk or apologize to whom, let alone who can marry or befriend another, is strictly regulated by ideas of status and hierarchy.