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The action of Bulgakov's story "Heart of a Dog" takes place in Moscow. Winter 1924/25.
Professor Filipp Philippovich Preobrazhensky lives and receives patients in a large house on Prechistenka. He lives and works in an apartment with seven rooms, which cannot but be noticed by the “housing association”, which is carrying out compaction in the house. The chairman of the housing association Shvonder comes to the professor and demands to vacate two rooms. But the professor calls one of his high-ranking patients (and the professor has many such patients, since he is engaged in human rejuvenation by transplanting animal glands), and he gives the command to leave the professor alone.
During a lunch with an assistant, Ivan Arnoldovich Bormental, the professor expresses his dissatisfaction with the devastation, which, in his opinion, is based "in the heads" of the new government.
The professor conceived an experiment, for the sake of which he finds a mongrel dog with a burned side on the street. He entrusts the dog to his housekeeper Zina. Two weeks later, the professor, together with Bormental, who is assisting him, performs an operation during which he transplants the endocrine glands of a man named Klim Chugunkin into a dog. Klim died from a stab in a tavern, he was 25 years old, and he played the balalaika. Immediately after the operation, the professor thinks that the dog died, but it is not so - not only did Sharik not die, he began to gradually turn into a man. Three weeks later, instead of a dog, the professor turns out to be a small man who speaks well, smokes and swears. And from the former Sharik, only the habit of chasing cats remained, which Sharikov (this man chose this surname for himself) is doing. In addition to his surname, he chose a name for himself - Polygraph Poligrafovich, having found this combination in the calendar, and also demanded that the professor straighten out his documents and register him in the apartment. Bormental is trying to teach Sharikov good manners, but it is useless - the genes of his donor, Klim Chugunkin, "wake up" in Sharikov, and at a meeting dedicated to the professor's experiments, he begins to play the balalaika, sing and dance.
Everyone congratulates the professor on his success, but he himself is not satisfied with the results of his experience. He tells Bormenthal that he has achieved that the cute dog has become a man, and the most vile of existing people.
One day, Sharikov brings the professor a document issued by Shvonder, which states that Sharikov has the right to one room in the professor's apartment. Then he shows a certificate that says that he works as the head of a subdepartment for cleaning up the city of Moscow from stray animals. And to top it all, he brings a girl into the house, claiming that he will live with her in this apartment. When the professor tells the girl about who Sharikov is, she cries and says that Sharikov told her that the scar on his head was the result of a wound in battle.
The day comes when one of his patients comes to the professor and brings a denunciation written by Sharikov, which says that the professor is making counter-revolutionary speeches at home. The professor calls Sharikov and tells him to get out of his apartment. In response, Sharikov takes out a revolver. A few minutes later, Bormental locks the doors to the apartment, cuts the bell wire and closes with the professor in the examination room.
10 days pass. An investigator comes to the professor's apartment with a search warrant and with the accusation of Professor Preobrazhensky and Dr. Bormental of the murder of citizen Sharikov P.P. In response to this, the professor at first cannot understand who Sharikov is, and then he “remembers” that this may be the dog that participated in his experiment. He assures the investigator that the dog is alive, and shows him a very strange dog, which first walks on two hind legs, then stands on four, then again rises on two and sits in a chair. The investigator loses consciousness. Two months later. Sharikov again became a peaceful dog Sharik, but now he does not live on the street, but in the professor's apartment.
A short retelling of "The Heart of a Dog" in abbreviation was prepared by Oleg Nikov for the reader's diary.
(1925)
The story takes place in the winter of 1924/25 in Moscow. Professor of Medicine Filipp Filippovich Preobrazhensky invented a unique method of rejuvenating the body by transplanting endocrine glands from an animal to a human. The professor lives on Prechistenka in a seven-room apartment in a large building, where he receives his patients. The chairman of the house committee, by the name of Shvonder, one day tries to push the professor out and demands him to vacate a couple of rooms in the apartment. But the professor has enough high-ranking patients and a phone call to one of them solves this problem: Preobrazhensky receives armor for his apartment, and Shvonder is left with nothing.
The professor is having lunch in his dining room with his assistant, Dr. Ivan Arnoldovich Bormental. Loud choral singing is heard from above - this is how the meeting of "zhiltcomrades" takes place.
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The professor is indignant at the mess that is happening in the house and notices that if instead of operating on patients, he was engaged in choral singing, then his apartment would be the same.
One day, the professor picked up a homeless dog on the street, with ragged hair and a patient. He brought the dog home and instructed the housekeeper Zina to take care of him and feed the mongrel. Within a week of such a life, Sharik turned into a beautiful and affectionate dog.
The professor conducts an experimental operation - he transplants the endocrine glands of a man named Klim Chugunkin to the dog Sharik, who died from a stab. Chugunkin was 25 years old, he was tried three times for theft, he played the balalaika in taverns. The experience went well. The ball survived and began to gradually turn into a man. He put on weight, grew up, the dog's hair began to fall out, and he spoke. Three weeks later, he was already quite similar in appearance to a person (not very attractive, however), played the balalaika, smoked and used foul language. Soon he demanded that the professor register him in the apartment and even came up with a name for himself: Sharikov Polygraph Polygraphovich.
Hatred of cats remained in Sharikov's blood. Once he chased a cat, accidentally turned off the water tap and caused a flood in the apartment. The professor canceled the appointment of patients. And the janitor Fyodor, who came to repair the crane, spoke about Sharikov's other "exploits". It turns out that he molested the cook from the seventh apartment, threw stones at her owner, who was trying to drive the impudent away, and broke the window, for which, of course, the professor had to pay.
Preobrazhensky, Bormental and Sharikov are having lunch together. They try to teach Sharikov good manners, but nothing works. However, he is already reading Engels and discussing the redistribution of property. The professor is indignant and orders to burn the harmful book.
A week later, Preobrazhensky was presented with a document, according to which Sharikov had the right to a separate room in the professor's apartment, since he was a member of a housing association. Sharikov brazenly takes money from the professor, appears drunk at night, brings some unknown people with him, after which valuable things disappear in the apartment.
At night, in his office, the desperate professor talks with Bormenthal. He is horrified by what scum he created with his own hands.
Soon Sharikov already became the head of the sub-department for cleaning Moscow from street, stray animals. Then he brought some young lady to the professor's house and said that they would sign and live here together. Preobrazhensky is forced to tell the girl about her boyfriend's past. She sobs in frustration.
The next day, Professor Preobrazhensky is informed (one of the high-ranking patients) that Sharikov wrote a denunciation against him. Preobrazhensky tries to drive the insolent man out of the apartment, but Sharikov threatens with a revolver... After a couple of minutes, Bormental locks the front door, and he and the professor hide in the examination room.
Ten days later, an investigator comes to the professor with a search warrant and the arrest of Preobrazhensky and Bormental for the murder of P. P. Sharikov, head of the cleaning subdepartment. The professor calmly introduces his patient to him - a dog named Sharik. True, the dog behaves very strangely: he walks on his hind legs, then gets up on four, and then sits down in a chair. The investigator is confused.
"The Heart of a Dog" is a unique story by Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov, on which he worked in 1925. This is a fantastic work, where the author emphasizes the inadmissibility of interference in nature: no matter how noble the attempts to make a higher being out of an animal, the opposite, negative result will be obtained. The story also aims to show the wrong side of the post-revolutionary time with its devastation, unbridledness and fake ideas. According to Bulgakov, a revolution is nothing but bloody terror, violence against a person, and nothing good can come of this, rather the opposite. Its consequences are a global tragedy of mankind.
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Chapter One: Dog Ordeals
The story "The Heart of a Dog" by Mikhail Bulgakov begins in a very unusual way - with the arguments of a poor dog whose side was scalded by the cook. The dog seems to be thinking about his hard life, where he was beaten with a boot and “he got a brick in the ribs” - and dreams of only one thing: to eat.
The animal does not dare to hope for luck, when suddenly ... a respectable gentleman calls the dog to him. This is luck - Sharik, as his unexpected benefactor called him, got a piece of Krakow sausage. And the dog, having satisfied his hunger, went where he called, without looking back, ready to follow the benefactor to the ends of the world.
Chapter Two: Professor Preobrazhensky's New Life
Professor Philipp Philippovich - that was the name of Sharik's new owner - brought the dog into a spacious apartment. Seeing the wounded side, he decided to examine the dog, but no such luck. The dog resisted for a long time and stubbornly, but still managed to treat the dog by anesthesia. When Sharik woke up, he realized that he was in the same room. Bok no longer bothered. He began to watch with interest how the doctor sees patients. The perceptive dog guessed that the professor's activity was connected with rejuvenation. However, in the evening, the professor received a visit from special visitors, Bolshevik activists, who began to make complaints, saying that his apartment of seven rooms was too large, and people needed to be put in it, taking away the observation room and the dining room. Shvonder was especially zealous in this. The problem was resolved when Philip Philipovich called some influential official, and he settled the conflict.
Chapter Three: Dog Days in Preobrazhensky's House
“You need to be able to eat,” Preobrazhensky used to say over dinner. For him, eating was a special ritual. The dog was also fed. They condescended to what Sharik sometimes did. endured. But not for nothing. The dog was needed for an incredible experiment. But they haven’t talked about it yet: they were waiting for the right moment.
At the meal, the household members discussed the new Soviet order, which Philip Philipovich did not like at all. After all, before galoshes were not stolen at all, but now they disappear without a trace. And after the revolution, they began to walk in dirty boots on marble stairs, which, in the opinion of an intelligent person, is completely unacceptable.
Sharik listened to these conversations and mentally sympathized with the hosts. He was quite satisfied with life, especially since he managed to get into the kitchen and get tidbits there from Darya Petrovna. I felt that Sharik had the right to this hitherto forbidden territory when the collar was put on him. Now he is truly the owner's dog. However, a happy life in a dog body was coming to an end. But Sharik did not know what he would soon have to go through.
On that day, an unusual, even disturbing turmoil reigned around Sharik. Everyone was running around, fussing, Dr. Bormental brought with him a foul-smelling suitcase and rushed with it to the examination room. Sharik decided to eat, but suddenly, for no apparent reason, he was locked in the bathroom. And then they took me to the operation.
Chapter Four: An Unusual Operation
An experiment to transplant human seminal glands into dogs has begun. The instruments flashed in the hands of surgeons, they worked very energetically, acted with unusual dexterity: they cut, sewed up, but deep down they did not hope for a successful outcome of the operation, being almost sure that the dog would die.
Chapter Five: From Dog to Human
Contrary to the doubts of doctors, the experiment, which has never been seen before, was successful: the dog survived. Gradually, in front of the astonished eyes of Bormental and Preobrazhensky, Sharik began to turn into a man. But the doctor and the professor did not rejoice for long, because along with the miracle that they observed, bad things happened: turning from Sharik into Sharikov, the former dog behaved impudently, was rude to the professor, used profanity, played bad songs on the balalaika.
The strange habits of the former dog haunted Preobrazhensky and Bormental. And they began to look for the reason for this. It soon became clear that the pituitary gland of twenty-five-year-old former drunkard and rowdy Klim Chugunkin, who was convicted three times for theft and died in a knife fight, was transplanted to Sharik.
Chapter Six: Man is Worse than a Dog
After conducting the experiment, the professor and the doctor got themselves into big trouble. They constantly struggled with the human being who attacked the cats, tore off the pipes, causing a flood in the bathroom, breaking the glass in the cupboards and cupboard. In addition, a man with a dog's heart had the audacity to pester the cooks and the maid Zina. But it still wasn't the worst. The recent dog became friends with the "residential comrades" who hated Professor Preobrazhensky, who taught him to defend his rights. In the end, he demanded that the professor make human documents. He took a hereditary surname - Sharikov, but he came up with a name, according to the ideas of the revolution - Polygraph Poligrafovich. In Preobrazhensky and Bormental, the former dog saw oppressors.
Chapter Seven: Sharikov's behavior upsets the professor and the doctor
Bormenthal and Preobrazhensky try to teach Sharikov good manners, but he is difficult to educate. But he loves vodka very much, and from entertainment - go to the circus. Having become friends with Shvonder, he very quickly adopted his style of behavior. When Philipp Philippovich and his colleague found out that Polygraph could read, they were very surprised. But the real astonishment and shock was caused by the fact that Sharikov was reading nothing but the correspondence between Engels and Kautsky given to him by Shvonder. Enraged, Preobrazhensky orders Zina to find this book and burn it in the stove. Sharikov's mind is primitive, however, Polygraph does not hesitate to give advice, for example, about the seven rooms of Preobrazhensky: just take everything and share it - he offers his own version.
From day to day, Sharikov behaves more and more defiantly: in a fit of animal fury, he kills a cat belonging to a neighbor; pestering women on the stairs; he bit one of them when she hit him in the face in response to the fact that he brazenly pinched her, and does many other indecent things that cause inconvenience to the residents of the apartment. Professor Preobrazhensky thinks about a new operation - now to turn a man into a dog. But he has not yet made a final decision, although he admits with great regret that the greatest discovery made as a result of a unique operation can turn out to be harmful to others.
Chapter Eight: Sharikov gets more and more rowdy
The former dog, and now a man, demands that documents be made for him, and, having received them, he tries to abuse his position: he claims rights to living space in Preobrazhensky’s apartment, to which the angry Philip Philipovich says that he will stop giving him food.
Soon Sharikov does even worse: he steals twenty rubles from the professor's office and returns in the evening completely drunk, and not alone, but with friends who would also like to spend the night in good conditions. They were threatened that they would call the police, and the drunkards retreated, but valuable things disappeared with them: the professor's cane, a malachite ashtray and a beaver hat. The polygraph shifts the blame for the chervonets to Zina.
While the scientists are discussing the situation and deciding what to do now, Daria Petrovna appears at the door, holding the half-naked Sharikov by the collar and reporting that he dared to pester them. Enraged, Bormenthal promises to take action.
Chapter Nine: And Another Operation
The polygraph reports that he has entered the position of a sub-department of cleaning the city of Moscow from stray animals and presents the relevant paper on this occasion.
After some time, a modest-looking girl, a typist, appears in the apartment, and Sharikov says that this is his fiancee, who will live with him. Philip Philipovich calls the young lady into the office and explains the true origin of Sharikov. A typist named Vasnetsova is crying and says that she has very little food. Preobrazhensky borrows three chervonets from her.
After the "result of an unsuccessful experiment" begins to write slander on the professor, Preobrazhensky resolutely tries to kick him out of the apartment. But no such luck: Polygraph picks up a revolver and threatens them. Bormental quickly orients himself and knocks Sharikov down on the couch. Scientists, in order to protect themselves and others, again decide to do the operation.
Chapter Ten: Epilogue
The threshold of Preobrazhensky's apartment is crossed by policemen who are investigating the case of the disappearance of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. In response to the accusation of murder, Filipp Filippovich ask that Sharik be presented to the investigator. A very strange-looking dog runs out of the door, bald in spots, and hair grows in spots on it. The dog is still talking, but less and less. Surprised law enforcement officers leave the home of Philip Philipovich.
Sharik is glad that now he will live with Preobrazhensky all the time. He is no longer a rebel man, but an ordinary dog, and dozing on the carpet by the leather sofa, he reflects on his dog life. Which he thinks is pretty good.
"Dog's heart" summary you can read the chapters of Bulgakov's story in 17 minutes.
"Heart of a Dog" summary by chapter
Chapter 1
The action takes place in Moscow in the winter of 1924/25. In a snow-covered gateway, a homeless dog Sharik, who was offended by a canteen cook, suffers from pain and hunger. He scalded the poor fellow's side, and now the dog was afraid to ask anyone for food, although he knew that people came across different. He lay against the cold wall and dutifully waited in the wings. Suddenly, from around the corner, there was a whiff of Krakow sausage. With the last of his strength, he got up and crawled out onto the sidewalk. The smell seemed to lift his spirits and make him bolder. Sharik approached the mysterious gentleman, who treated him to a piece of sausage. The dog was ready to thank his savior endlessly. He followed him and showed his devotion in every possible way. For this, the master gave him a second piece of sausage. Soon they came to a respectable house and entered there. To Sharik's surprise, the porter named Fyodor let him through too. Turning to Sharik's benefactor, Filipp Filippovich, he said that new tenants, representatives of the house committee, had moved into one of the apartments, who would draw up a new plan for settling in.
Chapter 2
The ball was extraordinary smart dog. He knew how to read and thought that every dog could do it. He read mainly by color. So, for example, he knew for sure that under the green and blue sign with the inscription MSPO they were selling meat. But after, guided by the colors, he got into an electrical appliance store, Sharik decided to learn the letters. I quickly remembered "a" and "b" in the word "fish", or rather "Glavryba" on Mokhovaya. So he learned to navigate the streets of the city.
The benefactor brought him to his apartment, where a young and very pretty girl in a white apron opened the door for them. Sharik was struck by the decoration of the apartment, especially the electric lamp under the ceiling and the long mirror in the hallway. After examining the wound on his side, the mysterious gentleman decided to take him to the examination room. The dog immediately did not like this dazzling room. He tried to run and even poked at a man in a dressing gown, but all in vain. Something nauseating was brought to his nose, causing him to immediately fall on his side.
When he woke up, the wound did not hurt at all and was bandaged. He listened to the conversation between the professor and the man he had bitten. Philip Philipovich said something about animals and that nothing can be achieved by terror, at what stage of development they would not be. Then he sent Zina for another portion of sausage for Sharik. When the dog recovered, he followed with unsteady steps to the room of his benefactor, to whom various patients soon began to come one after another. The dog realized that this was not a simple room, but a place where people came with various diseases.
This continued until late in the evening. The last to arrive were 4 guests, different from the previous ones. These were young representatives of the house management: Shvonder, Pestrukhin, Sharovkin and Vyazemskaya. They wanted to take two rooms away from Philip Philipovich. Then the professor called some influential person and demanded assistance. After this conversation, the new chairman of the house committee, Shvonder, retreated from his claims and left with his group. Sharik liked this and he began to respect the professor for his ability to upset the insolent.
Chapter 3
Immediately after the departure of the guests, Sharik was waiting for a sumptuous dinner. Having eaten his fill of a large piece of sturgeon and roast beef, he could no longer look at food, which had never happened to him before. Philip Philipovich talked about old times and new orders. The dog, meanwhile, was dozing blissfully, but the thought did not leave him that it was all a dream. He was afraid to wake up one day and find himself again in the cold and without food. But nothing terrible happened. Every day he grew prettier and better, in the mirror he saw a happy, well-fed dog. He ate as much as he wanted, did what he wanted, but they didn’t scold him for anything, they even bought a beautiful collar for the neighbor’s dogs to envy.
But one terrible day, Sharik immediately felt something was wrong. After the doctor's call, everyone fussed, Bormental arrived with a briefcase full of something, Philipp Philippovich was worried, Sharik was forbidden to eat and drink, they locked him in the bathroom. In a word, a terrible mess. Soon Zina dragged him to the examination room, where, from the false eyes of Bormental, which he had bitten earlier, he realized that something terrible was about to happen. A rag with a nasty smell was again brought to Sharik's nose, after which he lost consciousness.
Chapter 4
The ball lay spread out on a narrow operating table. They cut off a tuft of hair on his head and on his stomach. First, Professor Preobrazhensky removed his testicles and inserted some other, sagging ones. Then he opened Sharik's skull and transplanted the brain appendage. When Bormenthal felt that the dog's pulse was dropping rapidly, becoming threadlike, he made some kind of injection into the region of the heart. After the operation, neither the doctor nor the professor hoped to see Sharik alive.
Chapter 5
Despite the complexity of the operation, the dog came to his senses. From the professor's diary, it was clear that an experimental pituitary transplant operation was carried out in order to find out the effect of such a procedure on the rejuvenation of the human body. Yes, the dog was on the mend, but behaved rather strangely. Hair fell out in tufts from his body, his pulse and temperature changed, and he began to look like a man. Soon Bormental noticed that instead of the usual barking, Sharik was trying to pronounce some word from the letters “a-b-s-r”. They concluded that it was a fish.
On January 1, the professor made an entry in his diary that the dog could already laugh and bark happily, and sometimes said “abyr-valg”, which apparently meant “Glavryba”. Gradually he stood on two paws and walked like a man. While he managed to hold out in this position for half an hour. Also, he began to swear at his mother.
On January 5, his tail fell off, and he uttered the word "beer". From that moment on, he began to often turn to obscene speech. Meanwhile, rumors about a strange creature were circulating around the city. In one newspaper they printed a myth about a miracle. The professor realized his mistake. He now knew that a pituitary transplant would lead not to rejuvenation, but to humanization. Bormenthal recommended that Sharik be brought up and his personality developed. But Preobrazhensky already knew that the dog was behaving like a man whose pituitary gland had been transplanted into him. It was the organ of the late Klim Chugunkin, a conditionally convicted thief-recidivist, alcoholic, brawler and hooligan.
Chapter 6
As a result, Sharik turned into an ordinary man of short stature, began to wear lacquered boots, a poisonous blue tie, made acquaintance with Comrade Shvonder, and day by day shocked Preobrazhensky and Bormental. The behavior of the newly appeared creature was impudent and boorish. He could spit on the floor, scare Zina in the dark, come drunk, fall asleep on the floor in the kitchen, etc.
When the professor tried to talk to him, the situation only worsened. The creature demanded a passport in the name of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. Shvonder demanded to register a new tenant in the apartment. Preobrazhensky objected at first. After all, Sharikov could not be a full-fledged person from the point of view of science. But they still had to register, since formally the law was on their side.
The habits of the dog made themselves felt when a cat quietly made its way into the apartment. Sharikov rushed after him into the bathroom like crazy. The fuse clicked. So he was trapped. The cat managed to escape through the window, and the professor canceled all the patients in order to save him together with Bormental and Zina. It turned out that while chasing the cat, he turned off all the taps, causing water to flood the entire floor. When the door was opened, everyone together began to remove the water, but Sharikov at the same time let out obscene words, for which he was expelled by the professor. The neighbors complained that he broke their windows and rushed after the cooks.
Chapter 7
During dinner, the professor tried to teach Sharikov proper manners, but all in vain. He, like Klim Chugunkin, had a craving for alcohol, bad manners. He did not like to read books, go to the theater, but only to the circus. After another skirmish, Bormental went with him to the circus, so that temporary peace reigned in the house. At this time, the professor was thinking of a plan. He went into the office and looked at glass jar with the pituitary gland of the dog.
Chapter 8
Soon they brought Sharikov's documents. Since then, he began to behave even more cheekily, demanded a room in the apartment. When the professor threatened that he would no longer feed him, he calmed down for a while. One evening Sharikov, with two strangers, robbed the professor, stealing from him a pair of chervonets, a commemorative cane, a malachite ashtray, and a hat. Until recently, he did not admit to what he had done. By evening, he became ill and everyone was busy with him as if he were a child. The professor and Bormental were deciding what to do next with him. Bormental was even ready to strangle the insolent man, but the professor promised to fix everything himself.
The next day, Sharikov disappeared with the documents. The house committee said that they had not seen him. Then they decided to contact the police, but this was not required. Polygraph Poligrafovich himself showed up, announced that he had been hired for the position of head of the subdepartment for cleaning the city from stray animals. Bormental forced him to apologize to Zina and Darya Petrovna, as well as not to make noise in the apartment and show respect for the professor.
A couple of days later a lady in cream stockings came. It turned out that this is Sharikov's bride, he intends to marry her, and demands his share in the apartment. The professor told her about the origin of Sharikov, which greatly upset her. After all, he had been lying to her all this time. The wedding of the insolent man was upset.
Chapter 9
One of his patients in a police uniform came to the doctor. He brought a denunciation drawn up by Sharikov, Shvonder and Pestrukhin. The case was not given a move, but the professor realized that it was no longer possible to delay. When Sharikov returned, the professor told him to pack his things and get out, to which Sharikov replied in his usual boorish manner and even took out a revolver. By this, he convinced Preobrazhensky even more that it was time to act. Not without the help of Bormental, the head of the cleaning department soon lay on the couch. The professor canceled all his appointments, turned off the bell and asked him not to be disturbed. The doctor and professor performed the operation.
Epilogue
A few days later, policemen showed up at the professor's apartment, followed by representatives of the house committee, headed by Shvonder. Everyone unanimously accused Philip Philipovich of killing Sharikov, to which the professor and Bormental showed them their dog. The dog, although it looked strange, walked on two legs, was bald in places, covered in patches of fur, but it was quite obvious that it was a dog. The professor called it an atavism and added that it is impossible to make a man out of an animal. After all this nightmare, Sharik again happily sat at the feet of his master, did not remember anything and only occasionally suffered from a headache.
The story "Heart of a Dog" was written by Bulgakov in 1925, but due to censorship it was not published during the life of the writer. Although, it was known in the literary circles of that time. For the first time, Bulgakov reads "Heart of a Dog" at Nikitsky Subbotniks in the same 1925. The reading took 2 evenings, and immediately the work received admiring reviews from those present.
They noted the courage of the author, the artistry and humor of the story. An agreement has already been concluded with the Moscow Art Theater on staging "Heart of a Dog" on stage. However, after an assessment of the story by an OGPU agent who secretly attended the meetings, it was banned from publication. The general public was able to read Heart of a Dog only in 1968. The story was first published in London and only in 1987 became available to residents of the USSR.
Historical background for writing the story
Why was Heart of a Dog so severely criticized by the censors? The story describes the time immediately after the 1917 revolution. This is a sharply satirical work, ridiculing the class of "new people" that appeared after the overthrow of tsarism. Bad manners, rudeness, narrow-mindedness of the ruling class, the proletariat, became the object of denunciation and ridicule of the writer.
Bulgakov, like many enlightened people of that time, believed that creating a person by force was a road to nowhere.
It will help to better understand the "Heart of a Dog" summary by chapter. Conventionally, the story can be divided into two parts: the first tells about the dog Sharik, and the second about Sharikov, a man created from a dog.
Chapter 1
The Moscow life of the stray dog Sharik is described. Let's give a brief summary. “Heart of a Dog” begins with the dog talking about how near the dining room they scalded his side with boiling water: the cook poured hot water and hit a dog (the name of the reader has not yet been reported).
The animal reflects on its fate and says that although it experiences unbearable pain, its spirit is not broken.
Desperate, the dog decided to stay to die in the gateway, he cries. And then he sees the "master", the dog paid special attention to the stranger's eyes. And then, only in appearance, he gives a very accurate portrait of this person: confident, “he will not kick with his foot, but he himself is not afraid of anyone,” a man of mental labor. In addition, the stranger smells like a hospital and a cigar.
The dog smelled the sausage in the man's pocket and "creeped" after him. Oddly enough, the dog gets a treat and takes on a name: Sharik. That is how the stranger began to address him. The dog follows his new comrade, who beckons him. Finally, they reach Philip Philipovich's house (we learn the stranger's name from the mouth of the porter). Sharik's new acquaintance is very courteous to the gatekeeper. The dog and Philipp Philippovich enter the mezzanine.
Chapter 2
In the second and third chapters, the action of the first part of the story “Heart of a Dog” develops.
The second chapter begins with Sharik's memories of his childhood, how he learned to read and distinguish colors from the names of shops. I recall his first unsuccessful experience, when instead of meat, having confused, the then young dog tasted insulated wire.
The dog and his new acquaintance enter the apartment: Sharik immediately notices the wealth of Philip Philipovich's house. They are met by a young lady who helps the master take off his outer clothing. Then Philip Philipovich notices Sharik's wound and urgently asks the girl Zina to prepare the operating room. The ball is against treatment, he dodges, tries to escape, commits a pogrom in the apartment. Zina and Philip Philipovich cannot cope, then another “male personality” comes to their aid. With the help of a "nauseous liquid" the dog is pacified - he thinks he has died.
After some time Sharik comes to his senses. His sore side was processed and bandaged. The dog hears a conversation between two doctors, where Philipp Philippovich knows that it is only possible to change a living creature with caress, but in no case with terror, he focuses on the fact that this applies to animals and people ("red" and "white") .
Philip Filippovich orders Zina to feed the dog Krakow sausage, and he goes to receive visitors, from whose conversations it becomes clear that Philip Philipovich is a professor of medicine. He treats the delicate problems of wealthy people who are afraid of publicity.
Sharik dozed off. He woke up only when four young people entered the apartment, all modestly dressed. It can be seen that the professor is not happy with them. It turns out that young people are the new house management: Shvonder (chairman), Vyazemskaya, Pestrukhin and Sharovkin. They came to notify Philipp Philippovich of a possible "consolidation" of his seven-room apartment. The professor makes a phone call to Peter Alexandrovich. From the conversation it follows that this is his very influential patient. Preobrazhensky says that in view of the possible reduction in rooms, he will have nowhere to operate. Pyotr Alexandrovich talks with Shvonder, after which the company of young people, disgraced, leaves.
Chapter 3
Let's continue with the summary. "Heart of a Dog" - Chapter 3. Everything begins with a rich dinner served to Philip Philipovich and Dr. Bormental, his assistant. Something from the table also falls to Sharik.
During the afternoon rest, “mournful singing” is heard - a meeting of Bolshevik tenants has begun. Preobrazhensky says that, most likely, the new government will lead this beautiful house to desolation: theft is already evident. The missing galoshes of Preobrazhensky are worn by Shvonder. During a conversation with Bormental, the professor utters one of the key phrases that reveal to the reader, the story "Heart of a Dog", about which the work is: "Devastation is not in the closets, but in the heads." Further, Philipp Philippovich reflects on how the uneducated proletariat can accomplish the great things for which it positions itself. He says that nothing will change for the better as long as there is such a dominant class in society, engaged only in choral singing.
Sharik has been living in Preobrazhensky's apartment for a week already: he eats plenty, the owner pampers him, feeding him during dinners, he is forgiven for pranks (a torn owl in the professor's office).
Sharik's favorite place in the house is the kitchen, Darya Petrovna's realm, the cooks. The dog considers Preobrazhensky a deity. The only thing that is unpleasant for him to watch is how Philipp Philippovich delves into human brains in the evenings.
On that ill-fated day, Sharik was not himself. It happened on a Tuesday, when the professor usually doesn't have an appointment. Philip Philipovich receives a strange phone call, and the house begins to fuss. The professor behaves unnaturally, he is clearly nervous. Gives instructions to close the door, not to let anyone in. Ball is locked in the bathroom - there he is tormented by bad premonitions.
A few hours later, the dog is brought into a very bright room, where he recognizes in the face of the "priest" Philip Philipovich. The dog draws attention to the eyes of Bormental and Zina: false, filled with something bad. Anesthesia is applied to Sharik and placed on the operating table.
Chapter 4 Operation
In the fourth chapter, M. Bulgakov puts the culmination of the first part. "Heart of a Dog" here passes the first of its two semantic peaks - Sharik's operation.
The dog lies on the operating table, Dr. Bormental cuts off his belly hair, and the professor at this time gives recommendations that all manipulations with internal organs should pass instantly. Preobrazhensky sincerely feels sorry for the animal, but, according to the professor, he has no chance of surviving.
After the head and belly of the "unfortunate dog" are shaved, the operation begins: having cut open the belly, they change Sharik's seminal glands to "some other ones." After the dog almost dies, but the weak life in it still flickers. Philip Philipovich, having penetrated into the depths of the brain, changed the "white ball". Surprisingly, the dog showed a thready pulse. Tired Preobrazhensky does not believe that Sharik will survive.
Chapter 5
The summary of the story "Heart of a Dog", the fifth chapter, is a prologue to the second part of the story. From the diary of Dr. Bormenthal we learn that the operation took place on December 23 (Christmas Eve). Its essence is that the ovaries and pituitary gland of a 28-year-old man were transplanted to Sharik. The purpose of the operation: to trace the influence of the pituitary gland on the human body. Until December 28, periods of improvement alternate with critical moments.
The state stabilizes on December 29, “suddenly”. Hair loss is noted, then changes occur every day:
- 30.12 barking changes, limbs are extended, weight is gained.
- 31.12 syllables (“abyr”) are pronounced.
- 01.01 says "Abyrvalg".
- 02.01 stands on its hind legs, swears.
- 06.01 the tail falls off, says "beer".
- 07.01 takes on a strange look, becomes like a man. Rumors begin to spread throughout the city.
- On January 8, it was stated that the replacement of the pituitary gland did not lead to rejuvenation, but to humanization. Sharik is a short man, rude, cursing, calling everyone "bourgeois". Preobrazhensky is out of his mind.
- 12.01 Bormental assumes that the replacement of the pituitary gland led to the revival of the brain, so Sharik whistles, speaks, swears and reads. The reader will also learn that the person whose pituitary gland was taken is Klim Chugunkin, an asocial element, convicted three times.
- On 17.01 Sharik's complete humanization was noted.
Chapter 6
In the 6th chapter, the reader first gets acquainted in absentia with the person who turned out after Preobrazhensky's experiment - this is how Bulgakov introduces us into the story. "Heart of a Dog", a summary of which is presented in our article, in the sixth chapter experiences the development of the second part of the story.
It all starts with the rules that are written by doctors on paper. They say about the observance of good manners while in the house.
Finally, the created person appears before Philip Philipovich: he is “small in stature and unsympathetic in appearance”, dressed untidy, even comically. Their conversation turns into a fight. A person behaves arrogantly, speaks unflatteringly about the servants, refuses to observe the rules of decency, notes of Bolshevism slip through his conversation.
A man asks Philip Philipovich to register him in an apartment, chooses a name and patronymic for himself (takes from the calendar). From now on, he is Polygraph Polygraphovich Sharikov. It is obvious to Preobrazhensky that the new manager of the house has a great influence on this person.
Shvonder in the professor's office. Sharikov is registered in the apartment (the certificate is written by the professor under the dictation of the house committee). Shvonder considers himself a winner, he urges Sharikov to register with the military. The polygraph refuses.
Left alone with Bormental, Preobrazhensky admits that he was very tired of this situation. They are interrupted by a noise in the apartment. It turned out that a cat ran in, and Sharikov is still hunting for them. Closing himself with a hated creature in the bathroom, he causes a flood in the apartment by breaking the faucet. Because of this, the professor has to cancel the appointment of patients.
After the liquidation of the flood, Preobrazhensky learns that he still needs to pay for the broken glass by Sharikov. The impudence of the Polygraph reaches the limit: not only does he not apologize to the professor for the mess he has made, he also behaves impudently when he learns that Preobrazhensky paid money for the glass.
Chapter 7
Let's continue with the summary. "Heart of a Dog" in the 7th chapter tells about the attempts of Dr. Bormental and the professor to instill decent manners in Sharikov.
The chapter starts with lunch. Sharikov is taught to behave properly at the table, they refuse to drink. However, he still drinks a glass of vodka. Philip Filippovich comes to the conclusion that Klim Chugunkin is more and more clearly visible.
Sharikov is invited to attend an evening performance in the theater. He refuses under the pretext that this is "one counter-revolution". Sharikov chooses to go to the circus.
It's about reading. The polygraph confesses that he reads the correspondence between Engels and Kautsky given to him by Shvonder. Sharikov even tries to reflect on what he has read. He says that everything should be divided, including Preobrazhensky's apartment. To this, the professor asks to pay his penalty for the flood caused the day before. After all, 39 patients were denied.
Philipp Philippovich calls on Sharikov, instead of "giving advice on a cosmic scale and cosmic stupidity," to listen and heed what people with university education teach him.
After dinner, Ivan Arnoldovich and Sharikov leave for the circus, after making sure that there are no cats in the program.
Left alone, Preobrazhensky reflects on his experiment. He almost made up his mind to restore Sharikov's dog form by putting back the dog's pituitary gland.
Chapter 8
Six days after the flood incident, life went on as usual. However, after handing the documents to Sharikov, he demands that Preobrazhensky give him a room. The professor notes that this is "Shvonder's work." In contrast to the words of Sharikov, Philip Philipovich says that he will leave him without food. This pacified the Polygraph.
Late in the evening, after a skirmish with Sharikov, Preobrazhensky and Bormenthal talk for a long time in the office. We are talking about the last antics of the man they created: how he showed up at the house with two drunken friends, accused Zina of theft.
Ivan Arnoldovich proposes to do something terrible: to eliminate Sharikov. Preobrazhensky is strongly opposed. He may come out of such a story because of his fame, but Bormental will definitely be arrested.
Further, Preobrazhensky admits that in his view the experiment failed, and not because they succeeded " new person» - Sharikov. Yes, he agrees that in terms of theory, experiment has no equal, but there is no practical value. And they got a creature with a human heart "the lousiest of all."
The conversation is interrupted by Daria Petrovna, she brought Sharikov to the doctors. He molested Zina. Bormental tries to kill him, Philip Philipovich stops the attempt.
Chapter 9
Chapter 9 is the climax and denouement of the story. Let's continue with the summary. "Heart of a Dog" comes to an end - this is the final chapter.
Everyone is concerned about the loss of Sharikov. He left the house, taking the documents. On the third day, the Polygraph appears.
It turns out that, under the patronage of Shvonder, Sharikov received the position of head of the "food department for cleaning the city from stray animals." Bormental forces Polygraph to apologize to Zina and Darya Petrovna.
Two days later, Sharikov brings a woman home, declaring that she will live with him, and soon the wedding. After talking with Preobrazhensky, she leaves, saying that Polygraph is a scoundrel. He threatens to fire the woman (she works as a typist in his department), but Bormental threatens, and Sharikov refuses his plans.
A few days later, Preobrazhensky learns from his patient that Sharikov had filed a denunciation against him.
Upon returning home, the Polygraph is invited to the professor's treatment room. Preobrazhensky tells Sharikov to take his personal belongings and move out, Polygraph does not agree, he takes out a revolver. Bormental disarms Sharikov, strangles him and puts him on the couch. After locking the doors and cutting the lock, he returns to the operating room.
Chapter 10
Ten days have passed since the incident. The criminal police, accompanied by Shvonder, appear in Preobrazhensky's apartment. They intend to search and arrest the professor. The police believe that Sharikov was killed. Preobrazhensky says that there is no Sharikov, there is an operated dog named Sharik. Yes, he did, but that doesn't mean the dog was human.
A dog with a scar on his forehead appears before the eyes of visitors. He turns to the representative of the authorities, he loses consciousness. Visitors leave the apartment.
In the last scene, we see Sharik, who lies in the professor's office and reflects on how lucky he was to meet such a person as Philipp Philippovich.