Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Heart of a Dog, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Revolution and Regression
Social Class and Hierarchy
Science, Nature, and Morality
Dignity, Loyalty, and Respect
Summary
Analysis
At dinner, there is an extravagant spread of fish, cheese, and caviar; several different kinds of liquor; and a sizzling lobster plate for Philip Philippovich and Dr. Bormenthal (the doctor Sharik bit). Philip and Bormenthal drink vodka but complain about its quality. Then, they toss Sharik a bit of food. Before they start on their lobster, Philip lectures Dr. Bormenthal about the importance of eating well, which means not talking about Bolshevism or reading government newspapers over dinner. (This depresses his patients and ruins their appetite.) Zina brings Sharik a fish filet and piece of roast beef. He stuffs himself and falls asleep.
Philip and Bormenthal clearly enjoy the finer things in life: their lavish feast represents their aristocratic background and the supposedly refined, superior sensibilities it’s given them. But Bulgakov exaggerates their indulgence and anti-communism to the point of parody, suggesting that attitudes like theirs are why the working classes revolted against the aristocracy’s excesses. Meanwhile, Sharik seems to have advanced from one class to another. After rummaging for food in the trash, Sharik now gets to dine like an aristocrat, too.
Themes
Sharik awakens to hear Zina tell Philip that the building committee is calling another meeting. Philip Philippovich complains that they’ll ruin the plumbing and heating, but Dr. Bormenthal is more optimistic. Philip Philippovich laments that when the newcomers came, someone stole everyone’s galoshes, so now everybody uses galoshes inside and gets the marble stairs muddy. So the building had to remove the fancy carpet and shut one of the entrances. He asks why the proletarians can’t just leave their boots downstairs—Dr. Bormenthal comments that they don’t have any, but Philip Philippovich energetically insists that they do, since they stole his!
The changes in Philip’s building under new management are a metaphor for the changes in Russia under the Bolsheviks. It's not only that everyone got equal goods and services; it’s also that many people—at least, people like Philip—got worse ones. Philip isn’t ashamed of his elitism: he frankly believes that the masses simply don’t understand or respect the basic rules of civilized life, and he doesn’t think they will learn. So he’d prefer not to mix with them whatsoever.
Themes
Dr. Bormenthal says that things are falling into a “general rack and ruin,” but Philip says the problem isn’t general: it’s “in the heads” of specific people, who have risen into social positions they’re not ready to occupy. Sharik dozes off and dreams about Philip’s owl and moustache. Meanwhile, Philip continues ranting. He complains about the police and the music outside. Bormenthal jokes that he’s being “counterrevolutionary,” and Philip replies that this word could mean anything. He promises that he's just offering sound advice, based in experience.
Philip believes that the Russian Revolution has turned society upside down. The masses have gained power over the old ruling classes, but Philip thinks that they’re incapable of leading, because leadership requires an education and refinement that only the aristocracy possesses. Sharik’s dream exemplifies the difference between the ruling classes’ and masses’ attitudes and concerns: Sharik is thinking about banal objects from his everyday experience, while Philip and Bormenthal are thinking about how society should be run. When Bormenthal jokes that Philip is being “counterrevolutionary,” Philip points out that “counterrevolutionary” is really just code for anything that goes against the government. He suggests that the Bolsheviks disguise their self-interest through their philosophy—they argue that their beliefs are the truth, when they really just want to hold onto power and avoid dissent.
Themes
Philip Philippovich puts down his napkin, then pays Dr. Bormenthal 40 rubles and sends him home for the evening. Philip is going to the ballet—he tells Bormenthal that his secret to living well is never attending political meetings, sticking to his own work, and never meddling in anyone else’s. He reminds Bormenthal to keep looking for “a suitable death” to bring in for their experiments. Meanwhile, the men will focus on helping the dog heal.
Philip’s evening plans again reflect his aristocratic cultural values. First, the ballet is emblematic of Russian imperial high culture, which the Bolsheviks reject but he still appreciates. Second, he clearly values his privacy and personal boundaries, while the Bolshevik government tries to regulate people’s private spaces and lives through public policy. When he talks about everyone sticking to their own work, he’s defending the capitalist principle that the most efficient division of labor is the one people choose for themselves—not one determined by the state. Finally, he believes that people work better when they have control over their work and accountability for it.
Themes
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Sharik is surprised that Philip cares about him—he wonders if he might be dreaming, but quickly realizes that he isn’t. When the apartment’s heater turns on, Sharik feels deeply grateful to his new owner. He starts admiring himself in the mirror and decides that he must be a beautiful “canine prince,” because Philip is too refined a man to adopt just any old street dog.
In the freezing Moscow winter, good heating is a luxury for everyone, especially for a street dog. Sharik’s gratitude to Philip suggests how Bulgakov thinks society should be structured: the superior, wealthy, and powerful should protect the inferior, poor, and powerless—who should be grateful for their benefactors’ charity. At the same time, Bulgakov also mocks this conception by showing that Sharik sees himself as superior to other dogs. He points out how the aristocracy justifies its inherited privileges, but also how the lower classes (once they get a taste of privilege) quickly come up with similar excuses. In other words, he suggests that humans are naturally self-interested and will hold onto their privileges, even if they claim to believe in equality.
Themes
Over the next week, Sharik eats voraciously and chews up some expensive decorations, most notably the stuffed owl. Zina suggests whipping him, but Philip refuses and sticks Sharik’s nose in the torn-up owl instead. He sends Zina to re-taxidermy the owl and buy Sharik a leash and collar. Sharik initially hates the collar and wants to break free, but when Zina starts taking him on walks, he realizes that all the other dogs are jealous of him.
Philip continues to train Sharik using positive reinforcement instead of violence. As he said in the previous chapter, he believes in kindness, not terror—he thinks lesser beings like Sharik are more likely to improve when they trust their superiors than when they fear them. Of course, this is a metaphor for his belief in gradually improving society by incentivizing progress and success, rather than changing it all at once through coercion and control. Meanwhile, Sharik’s struggle against the collar represents the working classes’ desire for freedom. But when Sharik recognizes that other dogs envy him, this shows that he chooses status over freedom—he would rather be a great man’s pet than a free but forsaken stray. This also plays into Philip’s worldview: Sharik is learning to accept that he will only grow by accepting his inferiority and submitting to his superiors.
Themes
Next, Sharik starts visiting the kitchen. The cook, Darya Petrovna, initially kicks him out. But she soon takes a liking to him and starts letting him watch her cook. One evening, Sharik lays on the still-warm stove and watches a man with Darya in her room. She comments that the man is acting like he’d gotten the rejuvenation treatment, but he brags that he didn’t need it. Later that night, Philip sits at his desk, dissecting human brains with a small knife, while Sharik lazes on the carpet and thinks about dinner.
Sharik’s still concerned first and foremost with food—his natural instincts continue to control him. In contrast, Philip is cutting up brains: science gives him control over nature. For Bulgakov, these represent the two extremes of class hierarchy: nature dominates the masses, while the elite dominate nature. But Philip and Sharik manage to live together peacefully, suggesting that the elite and masses can coexist harmoniously if they accept hierarchy. Of course, the rest of the book will show what happens if they don’t accept hierarchy.
Themes
