The Gambler "Fyodor Dostoevsky" (digital)
🇬🇧"The Gambler" by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a novella about Alexei Ivanovich, a young tutor in the service of a wealthy Russian general, who becomes consumed by a compulsive gambling addiction in a German spa town. The story explores themes of obsession, love, and the destructive nature of gambling, reflecting Dostoevsky's own experiences with roulette. Alexei's passion for gambling is intertwined with his infatuation with Polina, the general's stepdaughter, and his desire to break free from the constraints of Russian society.
🇪🇸"El Jugador" de Fiódor Dostoievski es una novela corta sobre Alexéi Ivánovich, un joven tutor al servicio de un acaudalado general ruso, que se ve consumido por una adicción al juego compulsiva en un balneario alemán. La historia explora temas como la obsesión, el amor y la naturaleza destructiva del juego, reflejando las propias experiencias de Dostoievski con la ruleta. La pasión de Alexéi por el juego se entrelaza con su fascinación por Polina, la hijastra del general, y su deseo de liberarse de las limitaciones de la sociedad rusa.
Chapter 1
At length I returned from two weeks leave of absence to find that my patrons had
arrived three days ago in Roulettenberg. I received from them a welcome quite different
to that which I had expected. The General eyed me coldly, greeted me in rather haughty
fashion, and dismissed me to pay my respects to his sister. It was clear that from
SOMEWHERE money had been acquired. I thought I could even detect a certain
shamefacedness in the General’s glance. Maria Philipovna, too, seemed distraught, and
conversed with me with an air of detachment. Nevertheless, she took the money which I
handed to her, counted it, and listened to what I had to tell. To luncheon there were
expected that day a Monsieur Mezentsov, a French lady, and an Englishman; for,
whenever money was in hand, a banquet in Muscovite style was always given. Polina
Alexandrovna, on seeing me, inquired why I had been so long away. Then, without
waiting for an answer, she departed. Evidently this was not mere accident, and I felt that
I must throw some light upon matters. It was high time that I did so.
I was assigned a small room on the fourth floor of the hotel (for you must know that I
belonged to the General’s suite). So far as I could see, the party had already gained some
notoriety in the place, which had come to look upon the General as a Russian nobleman
of great wealth. Indeed, even before luncheon he charged me, among other things, to get
two thousand-franc notes changed for him at the hotel counter, which put us in a
position to be thought millionaires at all events for a week! Later, I was about to take
Mischa and Nadia for a walk when a summons reached me from the staircase that I
must attend the General. He began by deigning to inquire of me where I was going to
take the children; and as he did so, I could see that he failed to look me in the eyes. He
WANTED to do so, but each time was met by me with such a fixed, disrespectful stare
that he desisted in confusion. In pompous language, however, which jumbled one
sentence into another, and at length grew disconnected, he gave me to understand that I
was to lead the children altogether away from the Casino, and out into the park. Finally
his anger exploded, and he added sharply:
“I suppose you would like to take them to the Casino to play roulette? Well, excuse my
speaking so plainly, but I know how addicted you are to gambling. Though I am not your
mentor, nor wish to be, at least I have a right to require that you shall not actually
compromise me.”
“I have no money for gambling,” I quietly replied.
“But you will soon be in receipt of some,” retorted the General, reddening a little as he
dived into his writing desk and applied himself to a memorandum book. From it he saw
that he had 120 roubles of mine in his keeping.
“Let us calculate,” he went on. “We must translate these roubles into thalers. Here —
take 100 thalers, as a round sum. The rest will be safe in my hands.”
In silence I took the money.
“You must not be offended at what I say,” he continued. “You are too touchy about these
things. What I have said I have said merely as a warning. To do so is no more than my
right.”
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