Heart of a Dog

“A dog’s heart, gentlemen, is an altogether remarkable organ.”

Chapter 1: The Stray Dog

The story begins with a stray dog, Sharik, wandering the streets of Moscow, hungry and injured. He observes the harsh realities of Soviet life, criticizing the new social order. A well-dressed man, Professor Philip Philippovich Preobrazhensky, lures Sharik with food and takes him to his luxurious apartment.

Chapter 2: The Professor’s Experiment

Preobrazhensky, a renowned surgeon, plans a radical experiment: transplanting human pituitary gland and testicles into Sharik. His assistant, Dr. Bormenthal, assists in the operation. The dog survives, and the professors monitor his recovery with scientific curiosity.

Chapter 3: Transformation Begins

Sharik starts exhibiting human traits—walking upright, speaking rudely, and developing a taste for alcohol. He adopts the name “Polygraph Polygraphovich Sharikov” and demands official documents. His behavior becomes increasingly crude, mimicking the worst traits of the proletariat.

Chapter 4: Sharikov’s Rebellion

Sharikov, now fully human in appearance, embraces Soviet ideology, clashing with the bourgeois professor. He gets a job at the Moscow Cleansing Department (responsible for exterminating stray animals) and brings home a woman, Vasnetsova, further disrupting the household.

Chapter 5: The Downfall

Sharikov’s behavior grows violent—he threatens the professor, writes denunciations, and even attempts sexual assault. Preobrazhensky and Bormenthal realize their experiment has gone horribly wrong. In a desperate move, they reverse the surgery, turning Sharikov back into a docile dog.

Key Ideas

• The dangers of unchecked scientific experimentation.
• Satire of Soviet bureaucracy and forced proletarianization.
• The conflict between intellect and brute instinct.
• Critique of revolutionary social engineering.
• The absurdity of attempting to “improve” nature artificially.