Vladimir’s Love for His Father

This flow traces how Vladimir’s admiration for his father survives revelations that complicate his image of him.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Ideal Man

A Son’s Admiration Distance and Yearning Vladimir loves Piotr Vassilievitch and longs for his attention. The father’s restrained manner makes every rare kindness feel unusually important. A Model of Will His father’s advice about independence and will gives Vladimir a powerful ideal to remember. The advice sounds authoritative even though the son does not yet understand its costs.

Admiration in Crisis

The Father Reconsidered A Shattered Image Vladimir discovers that Piotr Vassilievitch is involved with Zinaïda. His admiration now exists beside knowledge of infidelity and the pain this brings to Maria Nikolaevna. Love Without Simplicity The son does not respond with straightforward hatred. He is stunned and disoriented, unable to discard his emotional attachment even when its object has disappointed him.

Tenderness After the Blow

A Complicated Affection A Glimpse of Pity Vladimir sees tenderness and pity in his father’s expression after learning that he has discarded the whip. The glimpse makes the father more human, not more easily understood. No Final Judgment Vladimir’s love for him persists, and he later admits that his father gained in his eyes. The contradiction preserves the emotional difficulty of loving someone whose actions cause harm.

Before the arrival of the Zasyekin family

After Vladimir learns of the affair

The ride home from the riverbank