The Bear Scene 4 Summary & Analysis

Grigory Stepanovich Smirnov enters, speaking rudely to Luka. He changes tone as soon as he sees Popova and greats her formally. Unamused, Popova does not offer him her hand and asks him what his business is.

Smirnov and Popova are both landowners and belong to the same class above Luka. As a result, they speak to him gruffly and carelessly. Power imbalances are so entrenched in their society that this behavior is entirely unremarked upon throughout the play.

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Smirnov tells Popova that her husband owed him 1200 rubles and passed away leaving two I.O.U.s. Smirnov himself owes money to the bank, which is due tomorrow, and is now coming to collect urgently today. Popova is shocked and asks what the money was for. He tells her that her late husband bought oats from him, which leads Popova to remind Luka to feed Toby the horse extra oats.

Despite his status as a landowner, Smirnov has money troubles. He gives freely to other landowners who cannot pay him back, including Popova’s late husband. The precarity of his situation, which is negligible relative to Luka’s, demonstrates the overall economic uncertainty of late 19th-century Russia. Furthermore, Toby the horse is brought up as the ostensible source of his suffering, a claim Popova almost entirely ignores.

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Popova says she has no money on hand. Furthermore, she is too distressed to handle this matter herself. Her foreman will return to the estate tomorrow and can resolve this issue then. Smirnov won’t accept this answer. If he doesn’t repay the interest to the bank, they will foreclose his estate. They argue back and forth, refusing to budge from their original positions.

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The back and forth between the characters becomes a bit heated. Their problem has very clear stakes: Smirnov needs money today that Popova does not have on hand. Yet, the issue continues to escalate beyond reason, as they struggle to see past their own perspectives.

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Smirnov is clearly upset. This is not the first time he’s run into trouble collecting debts. He admits he’s known for losing his temper, but that is because he needs money now! Popova is displeased with his attitude and leaves the room.

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Smirnov is known around town for flying off the handle when trying to collect his debts. He is often a victim of his own intense emotions and is unable to act logically because he has a strong sense of what he is owed. Popova feels the same, and it is their respective senses of entitlement that make it impossible for them to understand one another.

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The Bear: Scene 4 Summary & Analysis