Diary of a Madman

Class describes the manner in which people are understood and categorized by others in the story. In Poprishchin’s society, class is divided at birth, separating nobility from the rest of society, including serfs, who are not depicted in the story’s big city setting. High status is taken for granted by some, including by those near the top, like the director, and low status is taken for granted by others, including the various servants who are briefly encountered in the story. For those with a murkier social position, like Poprishchin, who is a low and poor nobleman, it is a source of great anxiety. Poprishchin resents any perceived slight, such as when he does not get the respect he thinks he deserves from servants, and he harbors an extreme hatred for his direct superior, the section head, who insults him. He is very sensitive to markers of class. He recognizes noblemen on the street and identifies with them to inflate his sense of his own importance, but becomes ashamed when he realizes that his coat is dirty and out of style.

Class distinctions even seem to be more important in the story’s world than distinctions between species, since the dog