# Isay Fomitch Bumshtein — The House of the Dead character guide

> Isay Fomitch Bumshtein in The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Isay Bumshtein, Isay Fomitch

**First appearance:** 0009-part-i-ix-isay-fomitch-the-bathhouse-baklushin-s-story

## Snapshot

A Jewish jeweler turned convict pawnbroker, he haggles over rags, chants his Sabbath rites theatrically, and survives mockery with shameless good humor.

## Who they are

From his first hour in the prison, Isay Fomitch is doing business — seven kopecks on a pair of tattered trousers, three kopecks monthly interest — while the other convicts roar with laughter around him. He performs his Friday Sabbath ritual with deliberate showmanship, sobbing over Jerusalem and then bursting into prescribed joy, delighted that the whole ward watches. Teased relentlessly, he gives as good as he gets, and his naive vanity and resilience make him oddly beloved in a place that mocks him.

## Relationships

### [Lutchka](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/lutchka)

_social_

Isay Fomitch Bumshtein and Lutchka are fellow prisoners with routine social interactions.

## In the story

### [I: The House of the Dead](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/chapters/part-i-i-the-house-of-the-dead)

A Jewish jeweler and pawnbroker among the convicts, representing the skilled craftsmen in the prison.

### [II: First Impressions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/chapters/part-i-ii-first-impressions)

Mentioned as a convict who borrows money from the narrator on the first day.

### [IX: Isay Fomitch—The Bathhouse—Baklushin’s Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/chapters/part-i-ix-isay-fomitch-the-bathhouse-baklushin-s-story)

A Jewish convict and jeweller, he is the most excited about the bathhouse, steaming himself into a state of bliss. He is a source of amusement for the other convicts but is treated with a kind of affection.

### [Prison Animals](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/chapters/part-ii-vi-prison-animals)

Mentioned as the best gilder in the prison, alongside Akim Akimitch.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/isay_fomitch_bumshtein
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters