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The two million rubles
The two million rubles come to represent different things for both the banker and the lawyer throughout the story. The banker is only able to make the bet in the first place because two million rubles have little meaning to him other than as a gesture to show off his wealth. The lawyer, in contrast, is willing to sacrifice years of his life for the bet because that amount of money sounds like a “paradise,” something that could make his life forever easy and joyful. However, as the fifteen years draw to a close, owing the two million rubles becomes a kind of life sentence to the banker. Giving up these rubles will leave him impoverished, and he imagines himself spending the rest of his life relying on the lawyer for charity. The two million rubles therefore come to represent his downfall and indebtedness.
Wine and tobacco
These two luxuries afforded to the lawyer during his captivity become symbols of the company he’s not allowed to have. Wine and tobacco were common elements of social gatherings in nineteenth century Russia. Although people often enjoy them for their own sake, the lawyer appears accustomed to using them socially. In the first year of the bet, the lawyer refuses to drink wine because “nothing is more boring than to drink good wine alone.” That is, the wine reminds him it would be more fun to be around people. He also mentions that wine “excites desires,” implying that in this case it will just make him want what he can’t have. One of the primary things the lawyer absolutely cannot have under this captivity is company. His refusal to smoke because it would ruin the air of the room similarly hints at loneliness. Without others there, tobacco becomes just bad air to him, as opposed to something enjoyed with friends. He therefore rejects these pleasures, at least at first, because they remind him of being around other people, making him feel the weight of his isolation.
