He then describes going to Fidèle’s home and stealing a “bundle” of “little papers.” Poprishchin believes the letters will help him “finally learn” about the “affairs” of his neighborhood, as dogs know “all the political relations.” Poprishchin does not seem shocked at his own behavior, and is fully convinced that the dogs are capable of writing each other letters about political intrigue. He admits to seeing Medji in town, and writes about how he asked her to reveal details about Sophie’s life. Poprishchin’s diary eventually returns to the subject of the dogs’ letters. Instead of taking the criticism seriously, Poprishchin believes the section chief is envious of him for his innate social status. He has an interaction with the section chief, one of his managers, about his unimpressive career trajectory. The next few entries in Poprishchin’s diary describe mundane scenes from his life. A lackey comes in and tells Poprishchin to go home for the day. In reality, however, Sophie drops her handkerchief and Poprishchin nearly trips over his feet to retrieve it for her she then leaves, with the two of them having exchanged barely any words. In his head, he fantasizes about impressing her with well-worded phrases. When Sophie walks into the office, Poprishchin is struck dumb by her appearance. He recounts how his boss’s study is filled with books with foreign titles, indicating that the director is an educated man. In the next day’s diary entry, Poprishchin recalls scenes from his office. He ends that day’s diary entry by making a “note” of where Fidèle lives, and claims he will visit soon. Poprishchin is at first “very surprised” to hear the dogs speak in “human language,” but then claims that there have been “many examples” of this type of animal behavior “in the world.” Poprishchin eavesdrops further on the dogs’ conversation, and hears that Medji has written Fidèle a letter. Poprishchin suddenly hears a “voice” and realizes that Medji, the lapdog, is talking to Fidèle, another neighborhood dog. Sophie is out doing errands at a local shop her lapdog, Medji, waits for her owner outside. While walking, he runs into Sophie, the daughter of his boss, the director. One day, he arrives late at his office, and decides to go for a walk through town. He pores over the details of his life in diary entries, which often illustrate his frustration and anger. Aksenty Ivanovich Poprishchin is a middle-aged, low-level clerk who is fixated on social rank and status.
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