In The Bet, why does the lawyer willingly stay fifteen years instead of five years for no extra reward?

Question

In *The Bet* by Anton Chekhov, the lawyer voluntarily accepts to stay in prison for 15 years, instead of the original agreed upon 5 years. Here's the relevant passage:> "The death sentence and the life sentence are equally immoral, but if> I had to choose between the death penalty and imprisonment for life, I> would certainly choose the second. To live anyhow is better than not> at all."> > A lively discussion arose. The banker, who was younger and more nervous in those days, was suddenly carried away by excitement; he> struck the table with his fist and shouted at the young man:> > "It's not true! I'll bet you two million you wouldn't stay in solitary confinement for five years."> > "If you mean that in earnest," said the young man, "I'll take the bet, but I would stay not **five but fifteen years**."> > > "Fifteen? Done!" cried the banker. "Gentlemen, I stake two million!"> > "Agreed! You stake your millions and I stake my freedom!" said the young man.(emphasis mine)Why does the lawyer do this? He's not gaining any monetary reward, so I really can't see his motivation for opting to stay in prison an extra 10 years.

Answer 1

In this passage the lawyer agrees to stay ten extra years to prove a point. The preceding discussion by the characters concerned the death penalty and whether serving a life sentence would be preferable. The lawyer states that the life sentence would be preferable, but the banker calls his bluff, saying that he couldn't stand five years in prison.

The decision by the lawyer to raise the stakes is meant to prove his point that a life sentence would be preferable to a death sentence. Since the character is a lawyer, it is implied that this character has experience with the legal system and would likely have wanted to match more closely the actual length of time a prisoner serving a life sentence would have to serve. You could also infer that, since his chosen profession is being a lawyer, he would likely be very abstinent and eager to prove a point past what is necessary just to solidify his argument.

On the larger picture, the play The Bet mostly shows the ways in which the lawyer improves himself during his stay in prison, ultimately becoming a better man by the end of it. The main effect of the increased time is to show that "material goods" and "fleeting things" are less important than "divine salvation" and bettering oneself. Shortly before this play was written Chekhov had taken a trip to the Ukraine Steppe to recover from illness and overwork, and it's likely that this trip is largely what inspired the main idea of this play.