White Nights

"...a whole moment of happiness! Is that too little for the whole of a man's life?"

A poignant tale of love and loneliness takes place during the 'White Nights' of St. Petersburg: a time in the summer months when the nights do not darken beyond twilight due to the city's northern location.

The story is told by an unnamed narrator, a young man of 26, a self-professed dreamer and introvert, who lives alone in St. Petersburg. Wandering the streets at night he meets a young lady, lonely like himself, and they strike up a friendship. Meeting on successive nights the friendship develops and begins to show signs of love.

'White Nights—A Sentimental Story from the Diary of a Dreamer' is a short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) first published in 1848, early in his writing career. This translation by Constance Garnett (1861-1946) was first published in the collection 'White Nights and Other Stories' in 1918.

Public Domain (P)2022 Amanda Friday, Rob Goll