Nastenka accepts the narrator's love

On the Fourth Night, after three days of agonizing silence from the Lodger, Nastenka's hope collapses and the Dreamer finally confesses his love. In her despair, she turns to him, accepting his devotion and sketching a future together—only for the Lodger to reappear, reclaiming her in an instant. This sequence is the story's emotional pivot: the Dreamer's long-suppressed feelings are spoken, Nastenka's loyalty shifts in grief, and the fragile new bond is shattered before it can take root.

Confession and Despair

When the Dreamer arrives at the Canal Embankment at nine o'clock on the Fourth Night, Nastenka is already there, leaning on the railing as she had on their first meeting. She turns to him urgently, asking for the letter; he has none. The Lodger has not come, and Nastenka's face turns fearfully pale. She struggles to speak, then bursts into tears, leaning against the railing. She cries out against the Lodger's cruelty—three days without a line, not even a rejection—and wonders if her letter went astray. The Dreamer offers to go to the Lodger in her name, to demand an explanation, but she refuses: "Enough! Not another word, not another line from me—enough! I don't know him; I don't love him any more." Yet her tears continue, and she asks the Dreamer whether he would have abandoned a girl who came to him of her own accord. The question breaks his restraint.

The Dreamer's Declaration

Unable to contain himself any longer, the Dreamer rises from the seat and declares his love. He knows it is impossible, he says, but he cannot be silent. Nastenka, drying her tears, replies that she knew he loved her—but had thought it was only liking. The Dreamer insists his feeling is far deeper: he is in the same position she was in when she went to the Lodger with her bundle, only worse, because the Lodger cared for no one else as she does. He tells her he had meant to keep his secret forever, but her own words and her suffering forced it out. He speaks of the love in his heart, so great that it seemed bitter he could not help her with it. Nastenka, still weeping, does not drive him away; she tells him to speak, promising she will tell him everything afterward.

Nastenka's Acceptance and Plans for the Future

Nastenka, her voice weak and quivering, explains that she has loved the Lodger for a whole year and never been unfaithful to him in thought, but that he has despised and insulted her. She declares she does not love him anymore—she can only love what is magnanimous and generous, and he is not worthy of her. Perhaps her whole love was a delusion, she says, born of her strict confinement with her grandmother. Then she asks the Dreamer directly: if his love is great enough to drive out her old feeling, if he will have pity on her and not leave her alone without hope, she swears that her gratitude and love will at last be worthy of his. She offers him her hand. The Dreamer, breathless with sobs, accepts. They walk together in a delirium of joy, laughing and crying, making plans. The Dreamer says he is poor, with only twelve hundred roubles, but Nastenka says that does not matter—her grandmother has her pension, and they must take her. They discuss moving: the Dreamer will give up his room at Barannikov's Buildings and rent the top floor of Nastenka's house, which is empty. Nastenka says she will perhaps give lessons. They talk of going to the theatre again, though not to The Barber of Seville. They walk back and forth along the embankment, unable to stop talking, like children.

The Lodger's Return and Nastenka's Departure

As they stand on the embankment, Nastenka suddenly grows still and presses close to the Dreamer, her hand trembling. A young man passes, stops, looks at them intently, and takes a few steps on. The Dreamer's heart begins throbbing. Nastenka whispers, "It's he." The young man calls her name. Nastenka cries out, tears herself from the Dreamer's arms, and rushes to meet the Lodger. But in the same instant she turns back, flings both arms around the Dreamer's neck, and gives him a warm, tender kiss. Then, without a word, she takes the Lodger's hand and draws him away. The Dreamer stands alone, watching them vanish from sight.

Aftermath: The Letter and the Dreamer's Blessing

The next morning, a wet and gloomy day, the Dreamer receives a letter from Nastenka. She begs his forgiveness, calling her acceptance a dream and a mirage. She tells him she loves him still, but her heart has always belonged to the Lodger, who has returned in love and never forgotten her. She will marry him the following week. She asks the Dreamer to remain a friend and brother, to come and see them, to give her his hand. She thanks him for his love, which she will treasure as a sweet memory. The Dreamer reads the letter over and over, tears falling. He looks around his room and sees it grown old and dingy, the walls discolored, the spider's webs thicker than ever. He pictures himself fifteen years hence, older, in the same room, just as solitary. But he does not bear her a grudge. He blesses her instead: "May your sky be clear, may your sweet smile be bright and untroubled, and may you be blessed for that moment of blissful happiness which you gave to another, lonely and grateful heart!" He concludes that a whole moment of happiness is enough for the whole of a man's life.