White Nights (short story)

White Nights (Russian Белые ночи ) is a novel by the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky, for the first time in 1848 under the original title " Белые ночи. Сентиментальный роман ( Из воспоминаний мечтателя ) " (Russian for White Nights. A sentimental novel ( The Memoirs of a dreamer ) ) appeared. It is about an outsider who meets a young woman with whom he falls in love and with whom he meets regularly from now on.

Action

A young man meets one night in St. Petersburg a crying 17- year old girl named Nastenka. Full of compassion he speaks to her, resulting in a friendship and over the following nights a tender love arises. They meet every night at the same place at the same time and talk about her life. He tells her about his lonely life as a dreamer, and she him. Between one and now unrequited love for a former tenant of her grandmother, with whom she then even tried to run away However, he first wanted to make money, to offer her a comfortable life than his wife can. Still she is eagerly waiting for the promised return. The young man and Nastenka learn to know each other better and eventually love in the meantime. But while his love is getting stronger, she has to choose between him and her great love.

The novel ends with the return of Nastenkas worshipers, for they end also decides. Despite the disappointment, the young man promises to maintain the friendship.

Adaptations

Films

The story was filmed, among other things, 1957 in the French-Italian movie White Nights (Le Notti Bianche ) by Luchino Visconti.

Opera