Summary
Summary of Poor Folk
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Two lives meet through letters
Makar Devushkin and Varvara Dobroselova live a short walk apart in St. Petersburg, yet their connection unfolds entirely through letters. He is a middle aged copy clerk, shy, proud and kind. She is a young woman worn down by troubles and uncertain about her future. He calls her Varenka.
Across one spring and summer, their exchanges bring together money worries, small pleasures and painful memories. Their voices let us see poverty from within, through the thoughts and feelings of people who are rarely heard.
Key idea 2
Letters protect a fragile friendship
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Key idea 3
Small gifts deepen Makar's debts
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Key idea 4
Varenka shares her painful past
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Key idea 5
Makar insists on his own worth
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Key idea 6
Makar wants recognition without mockery
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Key idea 7
The letters reveal concealed worries
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Key idea 8
Poverty threatens more than comfort
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers who love intimate, voice-driven stories and care about how money and shame shape ordinary lives, or who want to see where Dostoyevsky began.
What this book is
Poor Folk is the first novel of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, published in 1846 when he was in his mid twenties. He had been working as a military engineer and gave it up to write. The book is told entirely in letters between two people in St. Petersburg who live a short walk apart and are almost too poor to live at all. Its success made his name almost overnight in the Russian literary world.
The letters pass between Makar Devushkin, a middle aged copy clerk, and Varvara Dobroselova, a young woman he calls Varenka. He is shy, proud and kind. She is clever, worn out by troubles and anxious about her future. Over one spring and summer, they share money worries, small joys and old wounds. You get the voices of ordinary people who are rarely heard in fiction, and a close look at what poverty does to the mind. Let us begin with the two writers and the odd way they stay in touch.
In this summary
- 1Two neighbors who write instead of talkFree
- 2Small gifts that cost too much
- 3Varenka's notebook of a painful past
- 4Pride, shame and the worn out coat
- 5Books, mockery and being seen
- 6How the letters build a world
Key point 1 of 6
Two neighbors who write instead of talk
The story opens with a letter from Makar Devushkin to Varenka. They live in the same part of St. Petersburg, in buildings that face each other across a courtyard. Yet they hardly ever meet in person. Makar fears that gossip will harm Varenka's name if the two are seen together too often. So they send letters, carried back and forth by servants and neighbors.
Makar is a copy clerk in a government office. His work is to write out documents by hand, line after line, day after day. He is no longer young, and he has little hope of rising. Varenka is a distant relative, a young orphan who has no family left to rely on. He has taken on the role of her protector, though he has almost nothing to protect her with.
From the first pages, the tone is warm and a little comic. Makar writes in an eager, rambling style. He apologizes for himself, jumps from one subject to another, and cannot stop adding small details. He describes his walk to work, the weather, a flower he has noticed, and what he had for tea. Through this chatter you start to feel how lonely he is.
Varenka writes more clearly and with more care. She scolds him gently for spending money on her, and she thanks him in the same breath. Each letter is a small act of friendship, and each also shows how much each one needs the other. The reader learns early that these letters are more than news. They are the main thing holding two fragile lives together.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
Why does Makar avoid meeting Varenka too often?
Right. “Makar fears that gossip will harm Varenka's name if the two are seen together too often.”Not quite. “Makar fears that gossip will harm Varenka's name if the two are seen together too often.”
Why does Makar object to The Overcoat?
Right. “He takes it as an insult, a joke at the expense of men like him.”Not quite. “He takes it as an insult, a joke at the expense of men like him.”
How does the letter form shape what we learn?
Right. “We see events only as Makar or Varenka chooses to describe them.”Not quite. “We see events only as Makar or Varenka chooses to describe them.”
Who’s who
- Makar Devushkin
- A shy, proud copy clerk, Makar gives his distant relative Varenka more help than he can afford.
- Varvara Dobroselova
- Called Varenka, this young orphan exchanges letters with Makar, her distant relative, while worrying about her future.
- Pokrovsky
- A poor, proud student from Varenka's past, Pokrovsky shapes her early years in St. Petersburg.
- Anna Fyodorovna
- A relative who houses Varenka and her mother, Anna Fyodorovna treats the young woman as a source of profit.
- Bykov
- A wealthy landowner connected with Varenka's troubled past, Bykov remains an unsettling presence in her life.
- Gorshkov
- A fellow lodger in Makar's house, Gorshkov struggles under the weight of a lawsuit and his family's needs.
- Rataziaev
- Makar's neighbor Rataziaev writes for a living and inspires a mixture of mockery and admiration in him.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 55,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 3 h 40 min
- Listening time6 h 10 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 14 other languages
Questions about Poor Folk
What is Poor Folk about?
It follows Makar Devushkin, a poor copy clerk, and Varenka, a young woman in need, as they write to each other in St. Petersburg. Their letters show their friendship, money troubles and fear of shame.
Why is Poor Folk written as letters?
The letter form lets each character speak in a personal voice. Readers learn what they hide as well as what they say, and see poverty from the inside rather than through a narrator.
When was Poor Folk written and published?
Dostoyevsky published it in 1846. It was his first novel and was praised by critics such as Belinsky. It is fiction, though based on the real social conditions of Petersburg.
How does Poor Folk relate to Gogol's The Overcoat?
Makar reads The Overcoat in the story and is hurt by it, feeling mocked. Dostoyevsky answers Gogol by giving a poor clerk his own voice and feelings.
Is Poor Folk hard to read?
It is mostly easy to follow. The letters are direct and human, and many readers find it moving.
