Part I, Chapter 5, There's No One So Silly as a Clever Man Summary and Analysis

In Part I, Chapter 5, Ginzburg recounts with sadness September 1, 1935, when the new school year begins and she is no longer allowed to teach. Her mother-in-law, Avdotya Aksyonova, is a simple, traditional woman whom Ginzburg calls "Grandmother". Grandmother warns Ginzburg that a trap is being set for her, and that she should go as far away as she possibly can. But Ginzburg wants to prove her innocence, and her husband dismisses the idea of leaving.

Ginzburg recounts that some intelligent people did indeed escape Communist oppression by slipping away to distant places. But Ginzburg admits she was not one of them.

Ginzburg is still a devout Communist and wants to prove her innocence, against the wishes of her mother-in-law. Even...