Money, like vodka, turns a person into an eccentric.

The comparison treats money as an intoxicant: like vodka, it can alter perception, loosen inhibitions, and amplify traits that were previously restrained. “Eccentric” here suggests not charming quirkiness but a drift away from ordinary social norms—people with sudden wealth may behave unpredictably, indulge impulses, or become insulated from corrective feedback. The line also implies a moral-psychological skepticism typical of Chekhov: external conditions (wealth, drink) do not create a new self so much as reveal and exaggerate what is already there, often in ways that distort judgment and relationships. It’s a compact warning about power’s capacity to unbalance character.