“If I fail I don’t lose heart; if I succeed I persevere”

“If I fail I don’t lose heart; if I succeed I persevere” is Mr. Golyadkin’s compact declaration of persistence, offered as proof that he is neither defeated by setbacks nor given to intrigue. Its two appearances place that self-image under pressure: first in a defiant address to laughing clerks, then as a phrase he invokes while forcing himself toward Klara Olsufyevna at a ball where his conduct ends in public embarrassment.

The Maxim as a Public Credo

At the government office, Mr. Golyadkin turns the maxim into part of a larger defense of his character. After the register clerks burst into laughter, he tells them to laugh for the time being and insists that they will see what happens. He then sets out his rule: he does not lose heart when he fails, perseveres when he succeeds, and is never underhand. He adds that he is proud not to intrigue and has never prided himself on diplomacy. The maxim is thus not an isolated piece of encouragement; it belongs to a self-portrait built around endurance and candor.

The speech also shows how strongly he wants others to recognize that self-portrait. He asks who is the hunter and who the bird, then falls into what the narrator calls eloquent silence, purses his lips, raises his eyebrows, and bows before leaving the clerks in amazement. His performance gives the maxim the air of a personal rule announced before witnesses. Yet the clerks’ laughter, which provokes the declaration, has not been answered with understanding or respect; the grand exit only makes the gap between his intended effect and the scene’s reception more visible.

Repetition at the Ball

The same rule returns when Mr. Golyadkin enters a ball to which he has not been invited. He has hesitated over whether to go home for tea, then suddenly dashes inside, removes his overcoat and hat, and presses through the rooms toward the drawing room. He notices Klara Olsufyevna, Andrey Filippovitch, Vladimir Semyonovitch, officers, and other young men, but appears unable to attend to the wider gathering as he advances.

On the way he jostles a councillor, steps on a venerable woman’s dress and tears it, collides with a servant carrying a tray, and runs into someone else. He nevertheless reaches Klara Olsufyevna. The maxim surfaces at the instant when retreat or persistence seems to be at stake: the narrator recalls his rule as he faces the consequences of having crossed the room. The repetition links the clerks’ laughter to the ball’s social exposure, but the second scene makes the saying less like calm counsel than a formula he uses to press forward despite mounting signs that he is out of place.

Words and Consequences

At the ball, Mr. Golyadkin congratulates Klara Olsufyevna and begins to offer good wishes. The congratulations go well, but he stammers over the wishes, blushes, and becomes confused. He has earlier given himself his word of honour that he will shoot himself that night, one way or another; after making that vow, he tells himself to go ahead and begins speaking. His resolve therefore brings him into the encounter, but it cannot secure the poise or welcome he seems to seek.

The contrast makes the maxim’s dramatic irony precise. Mr. Golyadkin presents perseverance and honesty as virtues that distinguish him from intrigue, yet his repeated self-command does not alter how other people respond. At the office, laughter meets his declaration; at the ball, a hush gathers around him, followed by laughter nearby, and Andrey Filippovitch answers his imploring look with a look that crushes him further. The phrase remains a statement of the identity Mr. Golyadkin claims, while its recurrence exposes the painful distance between that claim and the social consequences of his actions.