Summary

Misail describes how he sees Masha twice a day in Chapter 9. She enjoys coming to the cemetery to watch him paint. She tells him she is bored of the town and has nowhere else to go. One day while at her house, Masha confesses to Misail that she dreams of moving to Dubechnya and running her own farm there. Misail secretly envies her. At Lent, Dolzhikov returns home from St. Petersburg. He welcomes Misail with open arms. Misail continues to visit them frequently and always dines well there. One evening, however, he is disturbed by something Dolzhikov said to him. Dolzhikov addressed him twice as “my most gentle,” making Misail feel like a pet dog (489). He does not go to the Dolzhikovs’ the next day. Instead, he spends the night pacing along his old street, Bolshaya Dvoryanskaya, watching the windows of his neighbors...