The Bet
THE BET: ANTON CHEKHOV
“The Bet” (1889) is a short story written by Anton Chekhov, who writes based on realistic characters
and situations. "The Bet" is about a banker and a young lawyer who make a bet with each other about
whether the death penalty is better or worse than life in prison. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a
Russian playwright and short-story writer, who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short
fiction in history and one of the fathers of modernist literature.
Summary
“The Bet” is about the journey of a young lawyer through fifteen years of voluntary solitary
confinement, and his attainment of self-realization at the end of the term. At a dinner party, an
argument ensued on capital punishment versus life imprisonment, between a prosperous,
middle-aged, successful millionaire, gambler banker and a young, upcoming lawyer. The vastly rich,
confident and impulsive banker, who was in favour of the death sentence, challenged the lawyer to
stay for five years in solitary confinement and thus win two million roubles. The lawyer, in his
eagerness to prove his point, channeled in part by greed for the money, agreed to stay, not five but
fifteen years in solitary confinement. His voluntary extension of his sentence shows the determination
in his character, as also a streak of arrogance and a considerable confidence in his own opinions.
In accordance with the terms of the bet, the lawyer was placed in a lodge in the banker’s garden. The
lodge had one window. He could have a musical instrument and books and was allowed to write
letters, to drink wine and to smoke. According to the agreement the lawyer would forfeit his prize
money even if he left his confinement two minutes before end of term. The temptation to leave would
forever be in front of him, making his stay doubly difficult.
As years of his confinement passed, the initial self-assured and somewhat greedy attitude of the
lawyer underwent a change. In the first five years of his confinement, the lawyer suffered from severe
loneliness and depression. He missed human company a lot and tried to compensate for it through
books and music. He was seen angrily talking to himself and crying. He refused wine, saying it fuelled
more desires. He tried to control his longing for worldly pleasures logically.
After five years, a transformation started to occur. It was as if he had succumbed to his desires and
was looking for a way to fulfill them in the confines of his cell. He asked for wine and ate and slept a
lot. Then in the sixth year, he discovered the key to experience the whole world within his prison walls.
He decided to gather immense knowledge. He threw himself zealously into studying languages,
philosophy and history. He mastered six hundred volumes in four years. Through books, lawyer
experienced all the sensations of the real world, drank fragrant wine, sang songs, hunted stags and
wild boars, loved women, climbed peaks of high mountains and watched the glories of nature. We
learn through his last letter that he saw lakes, forests, rivers, heard the singing of sirens and strains of
shepherds’ songs, touched the wings of comely devils and spoke with them of God, all through books.
He mastered six languages and read works of wise men across the world which gave him an insight
that clever people all over the world think alike. This was a high point in his quest of knowledge as it
made him feel powerful.
At the end of ten years, he read the Gospel, theology and the history of religion. He was riveted to the
thin book for a year. This had a profound influence on him. His last letter also tells us of how he
experienced the history of religion himself, performed miracles, killed men, burned towns, preached
new religions and conquered whole kingdoms. Having experienced all the worldly pleasures and
powers, as a free man would, he saw their futility and the two million roubles that he had dreamt of
spending, stopped charming him. All the sensory pleasures he had virtually experienced, and all the
knowledge he had acquired too, he understood to be fleeting and illusory. He understood that death
leveled it all. As if to test his enlightenment, he requisitioned and read, in his last two years of
confinement, an indiscriminate variety of books, ranging from those on natural sciences, chemistry
and medicine to Byron and Shakespeare, to see whether it held any charm for him as it had done
before.
Meanwhile, on the last night of the lawyer’s confinement, the banker panicked, as he was to pay him a
large sum of money. His financial condition had deteriorated in the years gone by, he was hugely in
debt, and he plotted to kill the lawyer. On reaching the lodge to carry out his plan, he chanced upon
the letter written by the lawyer, in which the lawyer had written in detail about everything that the
books allowed him to experience, concluding however, that he considered it all worthless. He went on
to say that he despised the world, its temporary gratifications and its edification of knowledge,
because according to him all the world was a falsehood, an ensnarement. People were taking all
those lies to be true, and the hideousness of the material world to be beauty, blinding themselves to
the real blissful heaven within.
The lawyer in his letter stated that he would leave his confinement five hours before the end of term,
thus forfeiting his money. He renounced the world in a manner akin to kings renouncing their
kingdoms to become saints; except that in his case, all his indulgence was virtual, through books.
Characteristic of his stories and plays, Chekhov ends the short story on an ambiguous note as the
lawyer emerges from his confinement with a new understanding of the world and a complete rejection
of materiality.
“Money is worthless but knowledge and science are priceless” is the message that Anton Chekhov,
wanted to convey through his story “The Bet”. The Bet" is a short story that explores a moral theme
regarding the value of human life.
The lawyer
The lawyer is seen to be persistent, intelligent and self-motivating. He does not break down in the 15
years of imprisonment as the banker foretold. He is intelligent by the virtue of reading so many books,
which reflects in his eagerness to associate with other men, rather than claiming the final prize. He
starts as a young, impatient person, ready to spend 15 best years of his life for 2 million. His character
of being a person with no interest in materialistic luxury is reflected when he renounces the 2 million
and settles with just having proved his point. He is an idealistic young man, full of hopes and dreams
at the tender age of 25. During his imprisonment he undergoes a massive transformation: he
ultimately renounces his reward for winning the bet, satisfied instead with just proving his point. He
has become a bitter, skeletal man, looking much older than his 40 years.
The banker
The banker likes to be in a position of authority and likes to wield power over others, especially those
who happen to disagree with him. The character changes drastically from the beginning of the story
when he seems to be very free handed as he easily bets to pay two million and later, his lack of
wealth drives him to dishonesty and plan for murder. This also signifies the weak character of the
banker. He is very attached to the materialistic luxuries of life and values human life less than his
luxuries as he plans on killing the lawyer. He plans on killing the lawyer for money and nothing but
money changes his mind.
Theme and Style
The value of money is a theme in this story. Both the banker and the lawyer value years of life in
terms of money. The lawyer dreams of money as a paradise and gives up 15 years for it. In an
unexpected twist, it is the very task he undertook in the hopes of money (i.e. living in solitude) that
leads him to ultimately renounce material possessions. Through this story, Chekov demonstrates the
pitfalls of idealism and the foolishness of youth. The story also shows the toll that separation from
human society can take on a person. The story is written in the third person point-of-view, with limited
omniscience into the mind of the banker. It is through the limited engagement inside the banker's
head that we are given subjective entry into the mental state of the lawyer.
Major Conflict
The primary conflict driving the narrative is good, old-fashioned man-versus-man in the form of the
competition of banker-versus-lawyer. The foundation supporting that heavy conflict is the more subtly
drawn conflict between the different ways in which the banker and lawyer value human life. Ultimately,
the result of these conflicts is yet another: the lawyer in conflict against himself over what he really
believes the value of a life is. The banker is also conflicted as to whether he should kill the prisoner or
not after he realizes that in setting the lawyer free, he will place himself in poverty. The story
communicates the message that when a man attains wisdom, he understands the insignificance of
material growth.
https://www.indianfolk.com/130-years-bet-anton-chekhov/
https://www.gradesaver.com/the-bet
“The Bet” (1889) is a short story written by Anton Chekhov, who writes based on realistic characters
and situations. "The Bet" is about a banker and a young lawyer who make a bet with each other about
whether the death penalty is better or worse than life in prison. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a
Russian playwright and short-story writer, who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short
fiction in history and one of the fathers of modernist literature.
Summary
“The Bet” is about the journey of a young lawyer through fifteen years of voluntary solitary
confinement, and his attainment of self-realization at the end of the term. At a dinner party, an
argument ensued on capital punishment versus life imprisonment, between a prosperous,
middle-aged, successful millionaire, gambler banker and a young, upcoming lawyer. The vastly rich,
confident and impulsive banker, who was in favour of the death sentence, challenged the lawyer to
stay for five years in solitary confinement and thus win two million roubles. The lawyer, in his
eagerness to prove his point, channeled in part by greed for the money, agreed to stay, not five but
fifteen years in solitary confinement. His voluntary extension of his sentence shows the determination
in his character, as also a streak of arrogance and a considerable confidence in his own opinions.
In accordance with the terms of the bet, the lawyer was placed in a lodge in the banker’s garden. The
lodge had one window. He could have a musical instrument and books and was allowed to write
letters, to drink wine and to smoke. According to the agreement the lawyer would forfeit his prize
money even if he left his confinement two minutes before end of term. The temptation to leave would
forever be in front of him, making his stay doubly difficult.
As years of his confinement passed, the initial self-assured and somewhat greedy attitude of the
lawyer underwent a change. In the first five years of his confinement, the lawyer suffered from severe
loneliness and depression. He missed human company a lot and tried to compensate for it through
books and music. He was seen angrily talking to himself and crying. He refused wine, saying it fuelled
more desires. He tried to control his longing for worldly pleasures logically.
After five years, a transformation started to occur. It was as if he had succumbed to his desires and
was looking for a way to fulfill them in the confines of his cell. He asked for wine and ate and slept a
lot. Then in the sixth year, he discovered the key to experience the whole world within his prison walls.
He decided to gather immense knowledge. He threw himself zealously into studying languages,
philosophy and history. He mastered six hundred volumes in four years. Through books, lawyer
experienced all the sensations of the real world, drank fragrant wine, sang songs, hunted stags and
wild boars, loved women, climbed peaks of high mountains and watched the glories of nature. We
learn through his last letter that he saw lakes, forests, rivers, heard the singing of sirens and strains of
shepherds’ songs, touched the wings of comely devils and spoke with them of God, all through books.
He mastered six languages and read works of wise men across the world which gave him an insight
that clever people all over the world think alike. This was a high point in his quest of knowledge as it
made him feel powerful.
At the end of ten years, he read the Gospel, theology and the history of religion. He was riveted to the
thin book for a year. This had a profound influence on him. His last letter also tells us of how he
experienced the history of religion himself, performed miracles, killed men, burned towns, preached
new religions and conquered whole kingdoms. Having experienced all the worldly pleasures and
powers, as a free man would, he saw their futility and the two million roubles that he had dreamt of
spending, stopped charming him. All the sensory pleasures he had virtually experienced, and all the
knowledge he had acquired too, he understood to be fleeting and illusory. He understood that death
leveled it all. As if to test his enlightenment, he requisitioned and read, in his last two years of
confinement, an indiscriminate variety of books, ranging from those on natural sciences, chemistry
and medicine to Byron and Shakespeare, to see whether it held any charm for him as it had done
before.
Meanwhile, on the last night of the lawyer’s confinement, the banker panicked, as he was to pay him a
large sum of money. His financial condition had deteriorated in the years gone by, he was hugely in
debt, and he plotted to kill the lawyer. On reaching the lodge to carry out his plan, he chanced upon
the letter written by the lawyer, in which the lawyer had written in detail about everything that the
books allowed him to experience, concluding however, that he considered it all worthless. He went on
to say that he despised the world, its temporary gratifications and its edification of knowledge,
because according to him all the world was a falsehood, an ensnarement. People were taking all
those lies to be true, and the hideousness of the material world to be beauty, blinding themselves to
the real blissful heaven within.
The lawyer in his letter stated that he would leave his confinement five hours before the end of term,
thus forfeiting his money. He renounced the world in a manner akin to kings renouncing their
kingdoms to become saints; except that in his case, all his indulgence was virtual, through books.
Characteristic of his stories and plays, Chekhov ends the short story on an ambiguous note as the
lawyer emerges from his confinement with a new understanding of the world and a complete rejection
of materiality.
“Money is worthless but knowledge and science are priceless” is the message that Anton Chekhov,
wanted to convey through his story “The Bet”. The Bet" is a short story that explores a moral theme
regarding the value of human life.
The lawyer
The lawyer is seen to be persistent, intelligent and self-motivating. He does not break down in the 15
years of imprisonment as the banker foretold. He is intelligent by the virtue of reading so many books,
which reflects in his eagerness to associate with other men, rather than claiming the final prize. He
starts as a young, impatient person, ready to spend 15 best years of his life for 2 million. His character
of being a person with no interest in materialistic luxury is reflected when he renounces the 2 million
and settles with just having proved his point. He is an idealistic young man, full of hopes and dreams
at the tender age of 25. During his imprisonment he undergoes a massive transformation: he
ultimately renounces his reward for winning the bet, satisfied instead with just proving his point. He
has become a bitter, skeletal man, looking much older than his 40 years.
The banker
The banker likes to be in a position of authority and likes to wield power over others, especially those
who happen to disagree with him. The character changes drastically from the beginning of the story
when he seems to be very free handed as he easily bets to pay two million and later, his lack of
wealth drives him to dishonesty and plan for murder. This also signifies the weak character of the
banker. He is very attached to the materialistic luxuries of life and values human life less than his
luxuries as he plans on killing the lawyer. He plans on killing the lawyer for money and nothing but
money changes his mind.
Theme and Style
The value of money is a theme in this story. Both the banker and the lawyer value years of life in
terms of money. The lawyer dreams of money as a paradise and gives up 15 years for it. In an
unexpected twist, it is the very task he undertook in the hopes of money (i.e. living in solitude) that
leads him to ultimately renounce material possessions. Through this story, Chekov demonstrates the
pitfalls of idealism and the foolishness of youth. The story also shows the toll that separation from
human society can take on a person. The story is written in the third person point-of-view, with limited
omniscience into the mind of the banker. It is through the limited engagement inside the banker's
head that we are given subjective entry into the mental state of the lawyer.
Major Conflict
The primary conflict driving the narrative is good, old-fashioned man-versus-man in the form of the
competition of banker-versus-lawyer. The foundation supporting that heavy conflict is the more subtly
drawn conflict between the different ways in which the banker and lawyer value human life. Ultimately,
the result of these conflicts is yet another: the lawyer in conflict against himself over what he really
believes the value of a life is. The banker is also conflicted as to whether he should kill the prisoner or
not after he realizes that in setting the lawyer free, he will place himself in poverty. The story
communicates the message that when a man attains wisdom, he understands the insignificance of
material growth.
https://www.indianfolk.com/130-years-bet-anton-chekhov/
https://www.gradesaver.com/the-bet
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