Alexander Ostrovsky’s "Hard-earned Bread," a summary

This book is a classic play of Russian realism, written in 1874. The playwright juxtaposes two opposing worlds against the backdrop of Moscow’s bourgeois world. Honest poverty clashes harshly with the thirst for easy money. The writer depicts the triumph of sincere feelings over cold, materialistic calculations. The author vividly conveys the flavor of the era through the everyday habits of his characters.

Inhabitants of a cramped apartment

The action unfolds in the poor home of Ioasaf Naumych Korpelov. This aging man works as a private tutor. Korpelov scrapes by with odd jobs and often drowns his sorrows in wine. His niece, Natalya Petrovna Sizakova, and distant relative, Evgeniya Lvovna, live with the teacher. An atmosphere of constant need permeates the apartment. The cook, Malanya, loudly complains about the lack of food and money. Soon, a young man, Pavel Sergeyevich Gruntsov, appears. A university graduate, he is unsuccessfully seeking work. The young man confesses to having pawned his chronometer to the moneylender Murin for a few rubles. Gruntsov modestly takes an iron bucket and goes to fetch water, helping around the house.

The landlord, Ivan Fedulych Chepurin, comes to collect the rent. Chepurin, a shopkeeper, has amassed a fortune through hard physical labor and strict frugality. The merchant meticulously calculates the cost of every cup of tea consumed. Korpelov confides in him a family secret. Natasha’s dying sister left her a small savings for her dowry. Her mother strictly instructed her daughter to earn her living by sewing and not spend the money until she was married. Chepurin asks for Natasha’s hand in marriage. Korpelov categorically refuses the shopkeeper. The old man considers the merchant uneducated and unattractive.

Natasha returns home after a hard day at work. She confesses to having fallen passionately in love with the wealthy dandy Yegor Nikolaevich Koprov. The young man promised to marry her. He recently allegedly left for Saratov on urgent business. Natasha believes her fiancé. Chepurin shatters her illusions. The shopkeeper insists Koprov never left. The dandy is simply hiding in Moscow from persistent creditors. Suddenly, they see Koprov driving past the window in an expensive carriage. Natasha desperately tries to call out to her lover. The dandy hides his face behind his collar and hurries away. The girl is left in tears.

A stranger’s mansion and secrets of the past

The events shift to the richly furnished home of State Councilor Matvey Petrovich Potrokhov. The corpulent official dozes in an armchair, tormented by unreasonable melancholy and a hangover. Half asleep, he tenderly kisses his maid, Arisha. His wife, Polixena Grigoryevna, despises her husband for his crude manners and constant hypocrisy. Koprov secretly comes to see Potrokhov. The dandy is on the brink of complete financial ruin. Koprov begs for a loan to participate in a highly profitable scam. Potrokhov flatly refuses his friend. The State Councilor boasts of inheriting a vast fortune from his late uncle. Natasha’s mother once served as this uncle’s housekeeper. Potrokhov is certain the orphan is hiding substantial funds, concealed by her mother.

Later, Korpelov himself shows up at the mansion. The old teacher wants to visit his former schoolmate, Potrokhov. The host greets his guest with arrogance and disdain. Korpelov begins singing a folk song, which completely frightens the affected Polixena. While Potrokhov is away on business, the old housekeeper approaches Korpelov. The woman bitterly repents of her past sins. All her life, she hoarded other people’s candles and sugar. After the death of her former master, she stole a box and sealed papers intended for Natasha. The housekeeper gives the unsealed envelope to the poor teacher, hoping to clear her conscience before her imminent death.

Potrokhov refuses to waste his time on his poor friend. The rich man sends Korpelov three rubles in alms through his lackey, Sacerdon. The teacher is indescribably furious at this insult. Korpelov contemptuously throws the bills on the floor. The old man loudly accuses Potrokhov of losing his dignity. The poor man declares that his honest work makes him a noble man compared to the rich, ignorant man. After a heated argument, Korpelov proudly leaves the house.

The return of the groom and a fatal mistake

Natasha is deeply distressed by Koprov’s vile betrayal. She cries incessantly at the window of her meager room. Her faithful friend Evgenia sincerely tries to console the orphan. Suddenly, Koprov appears on the threshold. The young man cleverly justifies his disappearance with enormous debts and shame. Koprov vividly describes the unbearable suffering of poverty. The dandy’s philosophy is simple: a person must satisfy all his material desires. Koprov convinces Natasha that he only needs a modest sum to complete an ideal business transaction. After that, they will supposedly immediately live in complete luxury.

The trusting girl succumbs to her lover’s sweet talk. Natasha brings out the treasured money bequeathed by her late mother. Koprov eagerly accepts the bride’s dowry. In exchange, he casually hands over a hundred-ruble note as advance interest. The dandy promises to send an official receipt soon and stop by for a detailed discussion of the upcoming wedding. Reassured, Natasha takes Evgenia and happily goes shopping for new wedding dresses.

Korpelov and Chepurin return to the empty apartment. Evgenia is the first to arrive home and excitedly tells the men about the upcoming wedding. She explains that Natasha bravely gave her fiancé all her savings. Chepurin angrily accuses Korpelov of criminal weakness. The shopkeeper sarcastically remarks that the teacher failed to protect the orphan’s property. Insulted and terrified, Korpelov loses control of his emotions. The old man abruptly snatches the hat from his niece’s hands and runs off, intending to physically take the money from the treacherous Koprov.

The collapse of illusions and the victory of truth

Chepurin resolutely enters Natasha’s room with devastating news. The shopkeeper ruthlessly reveals Koprov’s true criminal plans. The con man has rented a luxurious oak cabinet, installed a mirror over two meters tall, and hired exotic servants to create the appearance of considerable wealth. Koprov deceives a gullible, wealthy merchant from Taganka. The con man coldly plans to marry the merchant’s unattractive niece, who possesses a vast fortune of three hundred thousand rubles. Natasha realizes with horror that she has been cynically robbed and her love trampled upon.

The abandoned bride falls into deep despair. She mentally bids farewell to Koprov and tears his portrait into pieces. Absentmindedly, she puts on a white muslin dress. Evgenia, with undisguised horror, explains to the teacher that Natasha was saving this dress exclusively for her own funeral. A sad Korpelov returns. His attempt to forcefully return the money has completely failed. The teacher mechanically unfolds the yellowed papers he received that morning from the old housekeeper. Inside is a long letter from Natasha’s mother to a wealthy old gentleman.

Korpelov reads this letter aloud. His mother categorically refused the master’s generous handouts. The proud woman returned all the money sent to the master. She strictly instructed Natasha to subsist exclusively on the fruits of her honest labor. Her mother allowed her daughter to leave only a modest one hundred rubles for small holiday pleasures. It turns out that the treasured dowry stolen by Koprov consisted of only one hundred rubles. These sacred maternal words act on Natasha like a miraculous balm. The girl instantly revives, shakes off her torpor, and asks her uncle to bless her for an honest life of work.

Chepurin brings the final, shocking news about Koprov’s fate. The dandy’s grandiose fraudulent scheme has failed miserably. Uninvited witnesses exposed the forged accounting documents right in front of the Taganka merchant. Left penniless and without any prospects for salvation, Koprov locked himself in his luxurious rented office. The con man shot himself with a revolver. He left a short suicide note with the words, "Without money, I have no reason to live."

The drama’s finale is imbued with pure, bright hope. Chepurin carefully takes the hundred rubles he found, promising to save them for a rainy day. A happy Gruntsov arrives. The young man has received a long-awaited government position at the Ufa gymnasium. He has brought champagne and candy for the celebration. Gruntsov proposes to Evgenia after they finally settle into their new, harsh surroundings. She accepts with sincere joy. Korpelov extols the simplest human joys. The old man joyfully sings the ancient hymn "Gaudeamus igitur," affirming life’s unconditional victory over the darkness of greed.