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Why do the banker and lawyer make a bet?
The banker and lawyer make a bet on a whim to settle the matter of whether capital punishment or life imprisonment is a worse punishment. The banker firmly believes that imprisonment is harsher, and the lawyer is convinced that having any life at all is better than death. The banker stakes two million rubles on his position, and the lawyer cannot refuse the financial prospect. This dispute takes place at a party full of people, suggesting that the jovial atmosphere, drink, and peer pressure likely egg the two men into making this fifteen-year bet.
Why is the banker not concerned about paying two million rubles when he makes the bet?
The banker thinks little of staking two million rubles on this bet primarily because he’s convinced that he will win. He initially bets that the lawyer will be unable to stay imprisoned for five years, believing even four years would be too many. When the lawyer ups the time to fifteen years, the banker is convinced he will not need to pay out two million. Additionally, at the time of making the bet, the banker is extremely wealthy and believes that his wealth will never dwindle. He thinks little of two million rubles at this point in his life.
What are the terms of the lawyer’s imprisonment?
The lawyer agrees to imprisonment in a garden wing on the banker’s property for fifteen years. His imprisonment is akin to solitary confinement because he’s also not allowed to interact with anyone in the outside world. His only point of contact with anyone is through a small window where he can pass notes, but not receive any letters or newspapers. He is allowed to have books, musical instruments, and writing implements, along with food, tobacco, and wine. If he stays there the entire time, he will receive the two million rubles.
Why does the banker nearly kill the lawyer?
The banker has lost his fortune through poor investments and overspending in the fifteen years since the bet was made. Giving up the two million rubles would ruin him. However, he’s not only afraid of poverty. The banker imagines that the lawyer will likely insist on helping the banker with his debts out of gratitude for the two million rubles. The banker finds the idea of being the lawyer’s charity case humiliating. These combined pressures make the banker believe the only way to avoid a mortifying future is to never pay the lawyer the two million rubles, and he believes the only way to do that without backing out of the bet is to kill the lawyer.
Who wins the bet?
According to the strict terms of the bet, the banker wins the bet. The lawyer forfeits right before the time is up, and the banker gets to keep his two million rubles. However, the tone of the story’s ending is not so straightforward. There is a note of triumph in the lawyer’s abdication of the bet, as if the entire arrangement were a trivial game he is no longer playing. Furthermore, any triumph the banker may feel is clearly tempered by the shame he has over the realization that he has nearly been driven to murder over money.
