Final answer:
Ivan and Masha Dmitritch's were genteel poor and on the brink of financial instability at the start of the text, with a precarious financial status.
Step-by-step explanation:
At the start of the text, Ivan and Masha Dmitritch's financial position is best described as precarious. Their circumstances, as described in Dorothy and William's financial situation in 1802, suggest they are genteel poor and on the brink of financial instability. With the resources nearly running out and with little to live upon, they represent the type of strained gentility of that era, where living on the edge of financial ruin was a haunting possibility for those of modest means.