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- Herausgeber: Lebooks Editora
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025
White Nights is a delicate exploration of human emotions, dreams, and disillusionments, set against the melancholic backdrop of Saint Petersburg. Fyodor Dostoevsky crafts an introspective narrative that reveals the yearnings of a young dreamer whose solitary life takes on new meaning upon meeting Nastenka, a young woman equally shaped by hope and sorrow. The work reflects on the transient nature of encounters and the impact of dreams when confronted with reality. Since its publication, White Nights has been recognized for its lyrical sensitivity and profound psychological insight. Through a simple storyline, Dostoevsky delves into universal themes such as idealized love, loneliness, and the desire for connection, making the novella a timeless portrait of the human condition. The first-person narrative, with its confessional tone, deepens the bond between the protagonist and the reader, lending unique authenticity to the emotions expressed. The enduring relevance of the work lies in its ability to capture the nuances of human relationships and the emotional dilemmas that arise at the threshold between dream and reality. By portraying the fleeting but transformative impact of an encounter, White Nights invites readers to reflect on the ephemerality of happiness and the resilience of hope, even in the face of life's inevitable disappointments.
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Fyodor Dostoevsk
White Nights
Contents
INTRODUCTION
WHITE NIGHTS
FIRST NIGHT
SECOND NIGHT
THIRD NIGHT
FOURTH NIGHT
MORNING
INTRODUCTION
Fyodor Dostoevsky
1821 – 1881
Fyodor Dostoevskywas a Russian writer widely recognized as one of the greatest novelists in the history of literature. Born in Moscow, Dostoevsky is famous for his works that explore themes such as morality, human suffering, psychology, and profound existential questions, influencing generations of writers, philosophers, and artists. His narratives delve into ethical dilemmas and the complexities of the human soul, establishing him as a central figure in world literature.
Early Life and Education
Fyodor Dostoevsky was born into a middle-class family. His father, a strict doctor, had a significant influence on his childhood, marked by strict discipline and tragic events. After the death of his mother, Dostoevsky was sent to the Military Engineering School in Saint Petersburg, where he studied to pursue a technical career. However, his true passion was literature, and he soon began dedicating himself to writing, publishing his first work, Poor Folk (1846), which was well received by critics, highlighting him as a promising literary talent.
Career and Contributions
Dostoevsky’s work is characterized by its psychological depth and intense realism. Among his major works are Crime and Punishment (1866), The Brothers Karamazov (1880), The Idiot (1869), and Notes from Underground (1864). His novels explore the inner struggles of his characters, often set in contexts of poverty, despair, and moral dilemmas.
In Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky tells the story of Raskolnikov, a young student who commits murder under the justification of a philosophical ideal but is consumed by guilt and remorse. The work is a profound analysis of morality, redemption, and the psychological impact of crime. In The Brothers Karamazov, the author addresses themes such as faith, reason, family, and responsibility, creating a novel considered by many as his masterpiece.
Impact and Legacy
Dostoevsky was a pioneer in exploring the depths of the human mind, influencing fields such as psychology and philosophy. He is often cited as a precursor of existentialism, having inspired thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, and Jean-Paul Sartre. His ability to reveal the nuances of human suffering and the internal conflicts of his characters made his works timeless, resonating with contemporary dilemmas.
His narratives are notable for their ability to combine social and political issues with psychological and spiritual analyses. The Russia of his time is depicted as a microcosm of universal human struggles, and his works often present a critique of materialism and the alienation of modernity.
Dostoevsky passed away in 1881, at the age of 59, due to health complications caused by epilepsy and lung problems. Despite financial difficulties and personal challenges throughout his life, his literary legacy remains alive. He is considered one of the greatest writers in world literature, and his works continue to be widely studied and admired for their depth and relevance.
Today, Dostoevsky is celebrated for his ability to address universal issues of the human condition, creating complex characters and narratives that challenge readers to reflect on themes such as morality, freedom, and the meaning of existence. His contributions to literature and philosophy cement his place among the greatest geniuses in history.
About the work
White Nights is a delicate exploration of human emotions, dreams, and disillusionments, set against the melancholic backdrop of Saint Petersburg. Fyodor Dostoevsky crafts an introspective narrative that reveals the yearnings of a young dreamer whose solitary life takes on new meaning upon meeting Nastenka, a young woman equally shaped by hope and sorrow. The work reflects on the transient nature of encounters and the impact of dreams when confronted with reality.
Since its publication, White Nights has been recognized for its lyrical sensitivity and profound psychological insight. Through a simple storyline, Dostoevsky delves into universal themes such as idealized love, loneliness, and the desire for connection, making the novella a timeless portrait of the human condition. The first-person narrative, with its confessional tone, deepens the bond between the protagonist and the reader, lending unique authenticity to the emotions expressed.
The enduring relevance of the work lies in its ability to capture the nuances of human relationships and the emotional dilemmas that arise at the threshold between dream and reality. By portraying the fleeting but transformative impact of an encounter, White Nights invites readers to reflect on the ephemerality of happiness and the resilience of hope, even in the face of life's inevitable disappointments.
WHITE NIGHTS
FIRST NIGHT
It was a wonderful night, such a night as is only possible when we are young, dear reader. The sky was so starry, so bright that, looking at it, one could not help asking oneself whether ill-humored and capricious people could live under such a sky. That is a youthful question too, dear reader, very youthful, but may the Lord put it more frequently into your heart!... Speaking of capricious and ill-humored people, I cannot help recalling my moral condition all that day. From early morning I had been oppressed by a strange despondency. It suddenly seemed to me that I was lonely, that everyone was forsaking me and going away from me. Of course, anyone is entitled to ask who "every one" was. For though I had been living almost eight years in Petersburg I had hardly an acquaintance. But what did I want with acquaintances? I was acquainted with all Petersburg as it was; that was why I felt as though they were all deserting me when all Petersburg packed up and went to its summer villa. I felt afraid of being left alone, and for three whole days I wandered about the town in profound dejection, not knowing what to do with myself. Whether I walked in the Nevsky, went to the Gardens or sauntered on the embankment, there was not one face of those I had been accustomed to meet at the same time and place all the year. They, of course, do not know me, but I know them. I know them intimately, I have almost made a study of their faces, and am delighted when they are gay, and downcast when they are under a cloud. I have almost struck up a friendship with one old man whom I meet every blessed day, at the same hour in Fontanka. Such a grave, pensive countenance; he is always whispering to himself and brandishing his left arm, while in his right hand he holds a long gnarled stick with a gold knob. He even notices me and takes a warm interest in me. If I happen not to be at a certain time in the same spot in Fontanka, I am certain he feels disappointed. That is how it is that we almost bow to each other, especially when we are both in good humor. The other day, when we had not seen each other for two days and met on the third, we were actually touching our hats, but, realizing in time, dropped our hands and passed each other with a look of interest.
I know the houses too. As I walk along, they seem to run forward in the streets to look out at me from every window, and almost to say: "Good-morning! How do you do? I am quite well, thank God, and I am to have a new storey in May," or, "How are you? I am being redecorated tomorrow;" or, "I was almost burnt down and had such a fright," and so on. I have my favorites among them, some are dear friends; one of them intends to be treated by the architect this summer. I shall go every day on purpose to see that the operation is not a failure. God forbid! But I shall never forget an incident with a very pretty little house of a light pink color. It was such a charming little brick house, it looked so hospitably at me, and so proudly at its ungainly neighbors, that my heart rejoiced whenever I happened to pass it. Suddenly last week I walked along the street, and when I looked at my friend I heard a plaintive, "They are painting me yellow!" The villains! The barbarians! They had spared nothing, neither columns, nor cornices, and my poor little friend was as yellow as a canary. It almost made me bilious. And to this day I have not had the courage to visit my poor disfigured friend, painted the colour of the Celestial Empire.
So now you understand, reader, in what sense I am acquainted with all Petersburg.
I have mentioned already that I had felt worried for three whole days before I guessed the cause of my uneasiness. And I felt ill at ease in the street — this one had gone and that one had gone, and what had become of the other? — and at home I did not feel like myself either. For two evenings I was puzzling my brains to think what was amiss in my corner; why I felt so uncomfortable in it. And in perplexity I scanned my grimy green walls, my ceiling covered with a spider's web, the growth of which Matrona has so successfully encouraged. I looked over all my furniture, examined every chair, wondering whether the trouble lay there (for if one chair is not standing in the same position as it stood the day before, I am not myself). I looked at the window, but it was all in vain ... I was not a bit the better for it! I even bethought me to send for Matrona, and was giving her some fatherly admonitions in regard to the spider's web and sluttishness in general; but she simply stared at me in amazement and went away without saying a word, so that the spider's web is comfortably hanging in its place to this day. I only at last this morning realized what was wrong.
Aie! Why, they are giving me the slip and making off to their summer villas! Forgive the triviality of the expression, but I am in no mood for fine language ... for everything that had been in Petersburg had gone or was going away for the holidays; for every respectable gentleman of dignified appearance who took a cab was at once transformed, in my eyes, into a respectable head of a household who after his daily duties were over, was making his way to the bosom of his family, to the summer villa; for all the passers-by had now quite a peculiar air which seemed to say to everyone they met: "We are only here for the moment, gentlemen, and in another two hours we shall be going off to the summer villa." If a window opened after delicate fingers, white as snow, had tapped upon the pane, and the head of a pretty girl was thrust out, calling to a street-seller with pots of flowers — at once on the spot I fancied that those flowers were being bought not simply in order to enjoy the flowers and the spring in stuffy town lodgings, but because they would all be very soon moving into the country and could take the flowers with them. What is more, I made such progress in my new peculiar sort of investigation that I could distinguish correctly from the mere air of each in what summer villa he was living. The inhabitants of Kamenny and Aptekarsky Islands or of the Peterhof Road were marked by the studied elegance of their manner, their fashionable summer suits, and the fine carriages in which they drove to town. Visitors to Pargolovo and places further away impressed one at first sight by their reasonable and dignified air; the tripper to Krestovsky Island could be recognized by his look of irrepressible gaiety. If I chanced to meet a long procession of waggoners walking lazily with the reins in their hands beside waggons loaded with regular mountains of furniture, tables, chairs, ottomans and sofas and domestic utensils of all sorts, frequently with a decrepit cook sitting on the top of it all, guarding her master's property as though it were the apple of her eye; or if I saw boats heavily loaded with household goods crawling along the Neva or Fontanka to the Black River or the Islands — the waggons and the boats were multiplied tenfold, a hundredfold, in my eyes. I fancied that everything was astir and moving, everything was going in regular caravans to the summer villas. It seemed as though Petersburg threatened to become a wilderness, so that at last I felt ashamed, mortified and sad that I had nowhere to go for the holidays and no reason to go away. I was ready to go away with every waggon, to drive off with every gentleman of respectable appearance who took a cab; but no one — absolutely no one — invited me; it seemed they had forgotten me, as though really, I were a stranger to them!
