Aksyonov, a well-to-do young merchant from the town of Vladimir, prepares to set off for the commercial Fair at Nizhny. Aksyonov’s wife urges him to say home, saying that she has had a bad dream in which his hair turned completely gray. Aksyonov assumes that she is worried he will drink too much (as he has a habit of binge drinking) and dismisses her concerns. He promises that he will “do some good business” at Nizhny and bring her back “expensive presents.”
