Heart of a Dog

The Heart of a Dog (1925) is a novella by Russian author and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov. During his lifetime, Bulgakov was celebrated as a playwright in the Soviet Union, but his works often faced censorship by authorities due to their satirical critiques of Soviet life and government. The Heart of a Dog is a satirical science fiction tale of a surgeon who uses organ transplants to transform a stray dog into a man. It deals with the themes of Class Conflict in Domestic Spaces, The Transformation of Bodies and Society, and Government Corruption in the Early Soviet Union. As a result of its critical stance, The Heart of a Dog was banned in the Soviet Union for decades; it was not officially published in the Soviet Union until 1987. Bulgakov’s most famous novel, The Master and Margarita, also a satirical critique of Bolshevik policies, was published posthumously. The Heart of a Dog has been adapted into numerous stage productions and films.

This guide references the 1968 Harcourt, Brace, and World edition of Michael Glenny’s translation of The Heart of a Dog.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, animal cruelty, sexual harassment, child sexual abuse, substance use, and racism.

Language Notes: In his dog form, the character is called Sharik. In his human form, the character is called Sharikov. This guide preserves this naming convention from the novella. In instances where both forms are referenced, the character is referred to as Sharik(ov). The source text also uses the term “mad scientist” to describe Philipovich’s eccentricity. This guide incorporates this term in direct quotes only. 

Plot Summary

The novella opens in the first-person perspective of a stray dog named Sharik living on the streets of Moscow in January 1925. He is badly scalded because a cook has poured boiling water on him to deter him from going through the garbage for food scraps. A blizzard is raging. Sharik believes he is going to die. Suddenly, a “gentleman” appears and offers Sharik some sausage. Lured by the sausage, Sharik follows the man, Professor Philip Philipovich, to his apartment. The man treats Sharik’s burns, and Sharik settles into life with the professor.

Philipovich is an experimental surgeon specializing in “rejuvenation” surgeries where he implants animal organs into humans to revitalize them. He lives in a large apartment that also serves as his medical practice. The day after Sharik’s arrival, the new House Management Committee of Philipovich’s apartment building arrives. They tell the professor that he must give up some of his space to make room for more tenants. Philipovich refuses, and he gets the support of one of his patients, a more senior government figure, to override the House Committee’s demands. The leader of the committee, Shvonder, is furious. That evening, Philipovich has a lavish dinner with his assistant, Bormenthal. Philipovich complains about the state of the country and the new regulations.

Two weeks later, Philipovich gets a call from Bormenthal. He has a fresh corpse for Philipovich. They sedate Sharik and prepare him for surgery. They transplant the testicles and the pituitary gland of the corpse into Sharik.

In a series of case notes, Bormenthal describes Sharik’s prognosis as he recovers from surgery. Gradually, the dog transforms into a man. He grows, learns to walk on his hind legs, loses his fur, and learns to speak. Bormenthal hopes that Sharik will continue to learn and evolve, but Philipovich is skeptical because the organ donor was a thuggish petty criminal with an alcohol abuse problem.

By late January, Sharik has completely transformed into a human. He is disobedient and disrespectful of the rules of the household: He smokes, spits, and pees on the floor. Philipovich chastises Sharik for his unruly behavior. He objects when Sharik tries to call him “Pop.” Shvonder and Sharik both agree that Sharik needs identification papers. Sharik decides to adopt the name Poligraph Poligraphovich Sharikov.

Minutes later, Sharikov comes crashing into the apartment chasing a cat. He chases the cat into the bathroom, and the door locks behind him. The cat escapes through the bathroom window, but Sharikov is stuck in the bathroom with the water running. Eventually, the doorman helps release Sharikov from the bathroom, and water comes gushing out.

Some time later, Sharikov, Bormenthal, and Philipovich eat dinner together. Bormenthal and Philipovich chastise Sharikov for his excessive drinking and sexual harassment of women. Philipovich is outraged when he learns Sharikov has been reading a book of Engels’s correspondence with a Russian Marxist given to him by Shvonder. He directs the housemaid to burn the book. That evening, Sharikov goes to the circus with Bormenthal while the professor stays home. Philipovich looks at Sharikov’s pituitary gland in a jar and makes a decision.

A week later, Sharikov receives his identity papers. Sharikov immediately demands that Bormenthal move out and give his room to Sharikov. Bormenthal and Philipovich refuse. That evening, Sharikov steals the professor’s money and goes out drinking. He comes home with two random men who steal Philipovich’s hat and walking stick. Philipovich and Bormenthal confront Sharikov, but he lies about what happened. Philipovich and Bormenthal complain about how difficult it’s becoming to control Sharikov’s bad behavior. They are interrupted by the cook, who complains that Sharikov tried to sneak into her bed. Bormenthal beats Sharikov.

The next morning, Sharikov goes out and gets a job killing cats for animal control. Two days later, he comes home with a girl to whom he is engaged. When Philipovich reveals to her that her fiancé is a dog transformed into a man, she is horrified. Sharikov has told her that his scars were due to a war injury. Philipovich pays the girl to leave. As the week progresses, the tension between Sharikov and the professor escalates. When the professor asks Sharikov to leave the house. Sharikov refuses, threatening Bormenthal at gunpoint. Bormenthal sedates Sharikov, and he and Philipovich work through the night to reverse the operation, turning Sharikov back into a dog. 

Later, when the police arrive to arrest them for Sharikov’s murder, Philipovich and Bormenthal reveal that Sharik(ov) is a dog and still very much alive. The story ends with Sharik asleep on the rug with “warm, comfortable thoughts flow[ing]” through his mind (145).