The Story Archive

Nevsky Prospect

Nikolai Gogol · 1835 CE · Short Story · Russian · Romantic

Petersburg's great street is surveyed hour by hour, from the beggars at dawn through the clerks at two to the moustaches and side-whiskers of the evening promenade, and then two young men on it separate to follow two women. The painter pursues a dark-haired beauty into a house that is not the sanctuary he has decided it is; the lieutenant follows a blonde home to a German tinsmith sleeping off a drunk. The opening piece of the Petersburg tales, where the city first becomes the thing that lies to you.

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Lineage

Attributes

Genre
PsychologicalSatire
Theme
Appearance vs RealityVanity & BeautyArt & CreationIsolation & Alienation
Archetype (Jung / Campbell)
CreatorFallen WomanEveryman
Plot structure
Dual WorldIronic Reversal
Symbol / motif
The CityThe DreamThe Mask
Conflict
vs Selfvs Society
Mode / tone
SatiricalIronicGothic
Culture / tradition
Russian

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