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    In Chapter IV of “The Witch and Other Stories,” tension escalates between the local village, Obrutchanovo, and the engineer, who grows increasingly irritable and suspicious. His paranoia leads him to bolster the security of his property; he keeps his gate bolted during the day, employs night watchmen to patrol his garden, and ceases to hire local laborers, suspecting them of thievery. This suspicion seems validated when someone swaps out the new wheels on his cart for old ones, and soon after, two bridles and a pair of pincers go missing. The village whispers of guilt point toward the Lytchkovs and Volodka, but the stolen items mysteriously reappear in the engineer’s own garden.

    The engineer’s strained relations with the villagers are further illustrated when he encounters them after they have been mushroom picking in the forest. Without greeting, he directly admonishes them for gathering mushrooms from the areas he wished to reserve for his own family, expressing his frustration that despite his efforts to treat the villagers as equals, his requests are ignored. He concludes bitterly that such disregard will inevitably dim his view of them, suggesting a breaking point in the mutual respect and understanding between him and the villagers.

    Returning home, Rodion reflects on this encounter with Mr. Kutcherov, recounting it to his wife with a heavy sigh. This moment reveals the deepening divide and tension between the engineer’s household and the village, highlighting the engineer’s isolation and the villagers’ growing resentment. The chapter closes on this note of mutual disillusionment and unresolved conflict, foreboding further estrangement.

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