The Gambler:
Title: The Gambler
Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Literary level: Intermediate
Rating: 3/5
The gambler is a convoluted journey
of a man that lacks any remorse for his own being. This story is told in a
diary-esc styled writing, where the main character, Alexei Ivanovich, is a tutor
for a wealthy general yet in debt, awaiting the death of a much wealthier aunt
with several other spectators in a hotel. Alexei, much to his apathetic
feelings towards himself, lowers himself for a woman, the General’s niece,
Polina Alexandrovna, getting him fired after going through with one of her
requests—to threaten a baron and baroness, or a simple insult would suffice. To
everyone’s misfortune, except Alexei, the wealthy aunt of the general was aware
that they all wanted her to kick the bucket for the inheritance, so she went to
the hotel to surprise them. The wealthy aunt, or Grandmother, goes on a
gambling spree after denying the general any compensation; her first winning
game on a roulette table is what drove her to waste as much money as she had.
Alexei was tasked to stop the Grandmother from further gambling away her
money—she was starting to go on a losing streak—but he could not stop her. This
sets a chain event of catastrophic proportions where everyone was in a losing
position. Alexei, with newfound confidence, decides to gamble making him attain
a grand sum of money, wanting to share it with Polina (rudely denied of it),
went to spend every piece in Paris. Months go by where he does not communicate
with his notes and comes back with stories of why he, essentially, becomes a
slave for the rich Russians. The novel ends with a nigh satisfying final, that
makes you question his decisions and his mental health.
Review: Written by Fyodor Dostoevsky
in 1866 after being confronted by his editor. Russian authors tend to have a
dry sense of writing, making characters suffer for no apparent reason.
Dostoevsky is one of those authors, but in contrast, this novel is very
personal for him, because he, too, was a gambler at some point. In relation to
the title, gambling is the main focus, demonstrating how one could get into
high status in mere minutes or plummet into the abyss with the poor. It was
never a matter of fortune or luck, but how desperate one is to gain such high
from winning, that euphoric state of hanging your life on one misstep.
Ludomania is the uncontrollable feeling to gamble, that is what this novel
conveys to the reader, how everyone wants control over their greed yet succumb
to the need for more. It is no short of a masterpiece, but with its dry sense of
morality it may come off as boring or dull to some. From the outsider’s
perspective, this novel is frustrating seeing how one man devolves into a hollow
shell of himself, knowing he could have done differently. This also shows how
love is a dangerous weapon if desperation is close by.
ISBN: 978-84-15089-52-0