An edition from the "Kaleidoscope Lite" series. Printed in 12pt type with wide line spacing for maximum readability. Unabridged. Modern translation. The publication is supplemented with an annotation that examines ten interesting facts about Fyodor Dostoevsky.

The plot is structured as the confession of a pawnbroker standing over the coffin of his young wife, who has committed suicide. He attempts to understand the reasons behind the tragedy by recalling the history of their marriage: how he, a forty-year-old man with wounded pride, took a sixteen-year-old dowerless girl as his wife, deciding to 'conquer' her with his silence and austerity.

His desire to dominate and mold his wife into an ideal, submissive creature leads to a silent psychological confrontation and mutual alienation. By the time the protagonist finally realizes his love and readiness to change, it is too late - A Gentle Creature, unable to endure the spiritual oppression and seeing no way out, throws herself from a window holding an icon.