Somuchisthisthecasethatinspringeventhecatsforbeartosquallsaveincrushedandsubduedaccents。TheonlylocalpersontosingisFelitzata；andevenshedoessoonlywhensheisdrunk。ItmaybesaidthatFelitzataisasaucy，cunningprocuress，anddoeshersinginginapeculiarlythickandraspingvoicewhich，withmanycroaksandhiatuses，necessitatesmuchclosingoftheeyes，andagreatprotrudingoftheappleofthethroat。Indeed，itisonlythewomenoftheplacewho，turbulentlyquarrelsomeandhystericallynoisy，spendmostofthedayinscouringthestreetswithskirtstuckedup，andneverceasebeggingforpinchesofsaltorflourorspoonfulsofoilastheyrailandscreechatandbeattheirchildren，andthrustwitheredbreastsintotheirbabies’mouths，andrushandflingthemselvesabout，andbawlinaconstantendeavourtorighttheirwoebegonecondition。Yes，allaredishevelledanddirty，andhavewizened，bonyfaces，andtherestlesseyesofthieves。
Never，indeed，isawomanplumpoffigure，saveattheperiodwhensheisill，andhereyesaredim，andhergaitislaboured。
Yetuntiltheyareforty，themajorityofthewomenbecomepregnantwitheverywinter，andonthearrivalofspringmaybeseenwalkingabroadwithlargestomachsandbluehollowsundertheeyes。Andeventhisdoesnotpreventthemfromworkingwiththesamedesperateenergyaswhentheyarenotwithchild。Inshort，theinhabitantsoftheplaceresembleneedlesandthreadswithwhichsomerough，clumsy，andimpatienthandisforevertryingtodarnaraggedclothwhichasconstantlypartsandrends。
Thechiefpersonofreputeinthesuburbismylandlord，oneAntipaVologonov——alittleoldmanwhokeepsashopof“oddwares，“andalsolendsmoneyonpledge。
Unfortunately，Antipaisasuffererfromalong-standingtendencytorheumatism，whichhaslefthimbow-legged，andhastwistedandswollenhisfingerstotheextentthattheywillnotbend。Hence，healwayskeepshishandstuckedintohissleeves，thoughseeminglyhehasthelessusefortheminthat，evenwhenhewithdrawsthemfromtheirshelter，hedoessoascautiouslyasthoughhewereafraidoftheirbecomingdislocated。