"White Nights": Nastenka's description and analysis of the work of F.M. Dostoevsky

Lev Shestov (Russian existentialist philosopher) said that if Dostoevsky's great novels such as "Crime and Punishment", "Idiot", "Demons", "Teenager" and "Brothers Karamazov" were not born, then perhaps , The early works of the writer would not reach the reader of the XX century.

In the focus of attention - "White Nights": a characteristic of Nastenka and other characters. To what and proceed.

Main character

A young man of 26 years is a dreamer. He lives mostly with his own fantasies, he rarely looks into real life. Once he went from nothing to do wandering around the city, but so carried away by a walk that he left the city. There he enjoyed the free natural air. When the hero returned home late in the evening, he met a young, thin girl, who for some reason was crying.

The young man did not immediately dare speak to her. She, meanwhile, crossed to the other side of the street. The hero saw that there was about to stick to her drunk. The dreamer heroically saved the girl from trouble. True, there were no manhandling: it turned out that only the presence of a young man next to a beautiful stranger is enough.

The hero overcomes his embarrassment and escorts the girl to home. Along the way she tells her about herself, about her poverty, fantasies, secret hopes. Then the young people reach their destination and say goodbye, having agreed to meet tomorrow. At this point in the work "White Nights" Nastenka's description is completely unclear to the reader. One thing is clear: this is a young and, apparently, an unhappy girl.

The story of Nastenka. Characteristics of the protagonist

All the events of Dostoevsky's work take place on white nights (hence the name) in Petersburg. Everything about all the classics is enough descriptions of four meetings of the characters. And the first of them went to the prelude to the story of the girl, who is the whole salt of the work. The question of what the role of Nastenka's story in the story "White Nights" will disappear by itself after its description.

"Prishpilennaya" girl

Nastya has not stepped away from her grandmother in the morning and afternoon for a couple of years. She was almost blind, and for some misdemeanor, which is not reported, the relative in a literal sense has attached the girl to herself, so that she still has not done anything. Nastya is an orphan, her parents have died, and she has remained with her granny. They have two rooms in the house: in one they live, and the other grandmother rented out - this is the only source of their existence, except for the old woman's pension.

And here the tenant came to them - a young man. As a result of one awkward episode, he realized that Nastya was strapped to her grandmother's pin. He pitied the girl, began to give her books and take her to the theater. She, of course, fell in love with a benefactor, opened to him, but he said that until he can marry her, he does not have enough money at this moment for such a responsible step, and he should go to Moscow for a year in the near future. If during this time Nastia does not change feelings to him, he will come exactly in a year and marry her.

The same day, when the heroes met, turned a year and slightly more since the contract, but the young man did not appear at the agreed place, although he was already in the city, which is well known to the girl. The dreamer opens the cause of Nastenka's tears. Now the reader should be clear what the role of Nastenka's story in the story "White Nights". And if not, then we'll helpfully advise him: it builds the whole plot of Dostoyevsky's not very entertaining work.

But we move on. Now we are ready to determine the very essence of the main heroine of the work. Sentimental work Dostoevsky ("White Nights"). Characteristic Nastenka, oddly enough, the reverse, devoid of sentimentality. The girl is not too smart, but not too stupid. She has a taste for literature, or rather, she loves stories. The bridegroom got her by chance, but she grabbed him, like a straw, to escape from a blind old woman who was disgusted with her. Probably, as a conscientious girl, she was also tormented by the fact that she did not like her elderly cousin too much. And, nevertheless, she was on the verge of despair and, perhaps, insanity, when the groom suddenly broke off the hook, because he personified a way out of life's captivity. It is to this interpretation that the reader has the story "White Nights". Nastenka's characterization, of course, is not too flattering and sentimental, but true. Fortunately for the heroine, not everything is lost.

Infinitely reflective dreamer wants to help the girl and invites her to compose a letter for the condemned, and he will carry him where he should go. Surprisingly, the necessary letter has already been written by the girl, and the hero is given clear instructions, to whom exactly he should be given. It can not be said that Nastya manipulates the dreamer deliberately, exploiting his love, it comes out involuntarily and innocently.

The meeting ends with the fact that Nastya and the dreamer sing songs. What she rejoices is understandable, and he, apparently, hopes to serve her and gain reciprocal feelings from the girl and, anticipating this event, sings.

The third and fourth nights. The final of the story

We are not interested in the characteristics of the hero. Nastenka ("White Nights" we consider further) us too takes a lot. It remains only to tell the story to the end.

The third meeting. Voltage increases. A friend of the girl does not respond to the transmitted letter, she is in extreme exaltation (to be honest, the heroes do not leave this state for a minute for the entire time of the narration). The dreamer, on the contrary, was depressed. He realized that his chances of reciprocity were rapidly approaching zero. The girl tries to somehow comfort him and assure her of her friendly disposition. Naturally, it is not easier for the dreamer.

Fourth night. The girl has almost plunged into the abyss of despair, for the hero the right moment has come - he confesses his love. They say "sweets" to each other , and now Nastenka is ready to forget the betrothed her fiancé, but then he appears himself in person, and Nastya, forgetting about her dreaming friend, rushes into the arms of old love.

The next day she wrote a letter to the dreamer, in which she says that she is all right, and that soon she and her lover will get married. The main hero can only remember the adventure that happened to him under the pale light of the white nights, and yearn for lost love. Characteristics of the heroes of the work "White Nights" are ready. We were left aside only the groom for the reason that his nature can not be determined in any way. This character is purely decorative and instrumental in the narrative of the Russian classic.