"White Nights" by Dostoevsky: summary and analysis

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"White Nights" by Dostoevsky: summary and analysis
"White Nights" by Dostoevsky: summary and analysis

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"White Nights" by Dostoevsky belong to the genre of a sentimental novel. The composition of the work is of considerable interest to researchers: the novel consists of several short stories, each of which tells about one romantic night in the life of the protagonist.

Ties

The novel "White Nights" by Dostoevsky is written on behalf of a young man who calls himself a "dreamer". As in many other works of the great Russian novelist, the action takes place in St. Petersburg: the dreamer has been living here for eight years, renting a small room, going to work. He has no friends at all; in his free time, the young man prefers to wander the streets alone, peering into the houses. One day, on the embankment, he notices a girl who is being pursued by an obsessive gentleman. Taking pity on the sobbing stranger, the dreamer chases away the tipsy dandy and escorts her home.

White Nights of Dostoevsky
White Nights of Dostoevsky

Skin system

In the novel "White Nights" by Dostoevsky, literary critics single out two central characters: the narrator and Nastenka. This is a lively, direct and trusting girl, she tells the dreamer a simple story of her life: afterAfter the death of her parents, the girl lived with her blind grandmother, who cared so much about her morality that she pinned her skirt with a pin to her dress. Both women's lives changed when they had a guest. Nastya fell in love with him, but he excused himself with poverty and promised to marry her in a year, after which he disappeared.

Decoupling

Dostoevsky's "White Nights" ends in the best traditions of the author of the "Pentateuch": the dreamer, acting as a noble lover, volunteers to personally deliver Nastenka's letter to her insidious lover, but he does not answer. Young people are going to tie the knot. However, if everything was fine with the hero in the final, it would not be Dostoevsky. "White Nights" ends as follows: during a walk, Nastya meets a former tenant; it turns out he never forgot the girl. The lovers are reunited as the dreamer's romantic, magical nights give way to a gloomy, rainy morning.

Main character

As for the image of a dreamer, the following should be said about him: a lonely, proud, sensitive young man, capable of deep feelings. He kind of opens up a whole gallery of similar characters from the great Russian novelist.

White Nights Dostoevsky short
White Nights Dostoevsky short

The image of a dreamer can be considered autobiographical: Dostoevsky himself is hiding behind him. “On the one hand,” the writer declares, “a fictional life leads away from true reality; however, how great is its creative value. But in the end, this alone hasvalue.

"White Nights", Dostoevsky: summary

In short, the novel is a story of failed love: the hero is ready to give everything for the sake of his beloved girl, but when his sacrifice is unnecessary, the dreamer does not get embittered, does not curse fate and those around him.

Dostoevsky white nights
Dostoevsky white nights

He smiles and blesses Nastenka for her new life, the young man's love turns out to be as pure and clear as the white nights. Like many of Dostoevsky's early works, "White Nights" largely continues the tradition of sentimentalism.

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