A summary of Nikolai Gogol’s "Petersburg Tales"

The Russian writer’s cycle of short stories was written between 1835 and 1842. In all of his works, the author explores the poignant theme of the little man — the poor, unremarkable resident of a big city, rejected by society. Dozens of films have been based on the stories in the cycle. Among the most famous are the 1959 Soviet adaptation of "The Overcoat" and Rolan Bykov’s 1977 feature film "The Nose."

The collection "Petersburg Tales" is a standalone book series. It consists of five works: " Nevsky Prospect ," "The Nose," " Portrait ," " The Overcoat ," and " Notes of a Madman ." Scholars sometimes include the story "The Carriage" in this series, but it is not included in the classic edition.

Nevsky Prospect

Artist Piskarev and Lieutenant Pirogov begin an evening stroll along Nevsky Prospect. This street constantly attracts young men with its bright lights and passing women. The friends spot two girls and decide to split up. Piskarev follows a dark-haired stranger. The girl leads the artist straight to a brothel.

Having realized the terrible truth, Piskarev flees to his apartment in terror. That night, the artist dreams that the brunette turns out to be a noblewoman hiding a secret. Piskarev begins taking opium regularly to constantly dream about it. Reality loses all meaning for him. The artist decides to save the girl, offering her honest work and a quick marriage.

The girl rejects the honest, poor life with open contempt. The artist returns home, locks himself in his room, and slits his throat with a razor. Meanwhile, the brazen and self-assured Lieutenant Pirogov pursues the blonde. She turns out to be the wife of a local German tinsmith named Schiller. Pirogov persistently courts the woman, orders spurs from Schiller, and regularly visits their home.

One day, a drunk Schiller and his friends, the shoemaker Hoffman and the carpenter Kunz, catch the lieutenant with the tinsmith’s wife. The Germans brutally beat Pirogov. The lieutenant flies into a rage, promises to complain to the general and send all those who offended him to Siberia. However, on the way, he stops at a pastry shop, eats two pies, reads the newspaper, and by evening, completely forgets about his revenge.

Nose

Collegiate assessor Platon Kovalev wakes up in his St. Petersburg apartment. He always calls himself "major" for the sake of authority. Kovalev discovers that where his nose used to be, his face is completely smooth. That same morning, the local barber, Ivan Yakovlevich, is cutting fresh bread. Inside the loaf, he finds Kovalev’s nose. His wife angrily throws the barber out of the house, demanding he immediately throw the find away. Ivan Yakovlevich throws the nose off a bridge into the Neva.

Major Kovalev covers his face with a handkerchief and goes to see the Chief of Police. Outside, the hero suddenly sees his own nose. Nose is dressed in a gold-embroidered uniform, suede trousers, and a plumed hat. The escaped body part holds the rank of State Councilor, far higher than Kovalev himself. Nose gets into a carriage and drives to Kazan Cathedral. Kovalev follows him and timidly asks him to return. Nose declares he doesn’t understand anything and calmly leaves.

Kovalev goes to a newspaper office to place a missing person’s ad. A local official refuses to accept the ad, fearing for the publication’s reputation. Kovalev returns home. That evening, a police officer brings back the nose, intercepted on his way to Riga with a fake passport. Kovalev is genuinely overjoyed, but soon realizes he can’t reattach it. The doctor he invites refuses to perform the operation. Almost two weeks later, the nose suddenly reappears in its rightful place. Kovalev goes out again and flirts with women.

Portrait

A young, poor artist, Chartkov, stops in front of an art shop in Shchukin Dvor. He spends his last twenty kopecks on an old portrait of an Asian man in a loose robe. The old man’s eyes are painted so vividly that they frighten the viewer. That night, Chartkov imagines the old man stepping out of the frame. In the morning, the district warden demands rent. Chartkov accidentally breaks the portrait frame, and a bundle containing a thousand chervonets falls out.

The artist pays off his debts, rents a luxurious apartment on Nevsky Prospect, and buys fashionable clothes. He places a paid advertisement in the newspaper to promote his talent. Soon, wealthy clients begin to come to him. Chartkov paints their portraits, smoothing over their flaws and catering to the tastes of the wealthy public. He gains popularity, accumulates gold, but gradually loses his true talent. His paintings quickly degenerate into monotonous, artisanal creations.

Years later, the Academy of Arts asks Chartkov to evaluate a painting by a Russian master sent from Italy. Chartkov sees a brilliant work and realizes his professional decline. He locks himself in his studio, trying to create a masterpiece, but his hand forgets the brush. Chartkov begins buying up the best paintings of talented artists at auctions and furiously cutting them into pieces. His hero goes mad, sees the old man’s eyes everywhere, and soon dies of severe consumption.

The second part shifts the action to an auction. Bidders are bidding for that very portrait of the Asian man. The artist B. interrupts the bidding and tells the story of how the painting was created. His father painted the portrait of a wealthy moneylender from the Kolomna district. The moneylender lent money at enormous interest rates, and this money brought only great misery to the people. The moneylender asked for his portrait to be painted in order to save his life.

While working, the artist’s father felt an overwhelming fear. The moneylender died, but his evil spirit inhabited the painting. The artist retired to a monastery to atone for his sins. The portrait, however, continued to ruin the lives of all its owners. When B. finishes his lengthy story, the audience turns to the wall. They discover that the painting has mysteriously disappeared.

Overcoat

Akakiy Akakievich Bashmachkin works in a St. Petersburg department as a titular councilor. He’s over fifty, pockmarked, short, and slightly balding. Bashmachkin copies papers. He loves his job so much that he takes papers home and spends long evenings copying them. His coworkers constantly laugh at him, nudge him, and shower him with papers.

The cold St. Petersburg winter forces Bashmachkin to turn to Petrovich, the tailor. Akakiy Akakievich’s old overcoat has become so threadbare that his colleagues call it a hood. Petrovich flatly refuses to patch it and demands eighty rubles for a new one. For Bashmachkin, this is a truly enormous sum. He begins a strict economy: he stops drinking tea in the evenings, doesn’t light candles, and walks on tiptoe.

A few months later, Bashmachkin receives a bonus, and Petrovich sews him a greatcoat. The collar is made of a cat, which from a distance could be mistaken for a marten. The new greatcoat becomes the highlight of the poor official’s life. Colleagues in the department notice the new outfit and demand a banquet. Bashmachkin attends the party, feeling extremely awkward. That night, he returns home through a deserted square. Two unknown men with mustaches stop him, take off his new greatcoat, and kick him.

Akaky Akakievich tries to seek help from a private bailiff, but the bailiff only asks unnecessary questions. His colleagues advise him to turn to a more important figure — a recently promoted general. The general, seeking self-affirmation, brutally yells at Bashmachkin: "Do you know who you’re talking to?" Bashmachkin loses consciousness, makes his way home through a snowstorm, contracts a sore throat, and dies of a fever.

Soon, the ghost of a dead official appears in St. Petersburg. He wanders near the Kalinkin Bridge and rips coats off passersby. The police are unable to catch the dead man. One day, an important figure returns from a party in a sleigh. Bashmachkin’s ghost grabs the general by the collar and rips off his coat. The general flees in terror and from then on stops yelling at his subordinates. The official’s ghost no longer appears on the streets.

Notes of a Madman

Titular Counselor Aksenty Ivanovich Poprishchin works in the department, sharpening pens for the director. He is forty-two years old. He keeps a diary, describing his petty grievances and dreams. Poprishchin is secretly in love with the director’s daughter, Sophie. One day, on the street, he sees Sophie and her little dog, Medzhi. Poprishchin overhears Medzhi talking to another dog named Fidel. Poprishchin is surprised, but decides that there are many strange things happening in the world.

Later, Poprishchin learns that dogs can write letters. He goes to Fidel’s house, finds a dog basket, and steals a bundle of letters. In these letters, Medji tells Fidel about Sophie’s life and mentions the chamberlain Teplov. Poprishchin realizes with horror that the director is marrying his daughter off to this handsome young man. He feels intense envy and injustice due to his low rank.

Gradually, the diary entries become increasingly bizarre. Dates are replaced by strange words. Poprishchin reads in the newspapers about problems in Spain, where there is no heir to the throne. He decides that the heir has been found and that it is he himself — King Ferdinand VIII. Poprishchin sews himself a royal robe from an old uniform and avoids the department for three weeks. When he finally returns to work, he does not take off his hat to the director.

Soon, people arrive for Poprishchin and take him to a mental hospital. He is absolutely certain he has arrived in Spain. The orderlies shave his head, pour cold water on his scalp, and beat him with a stick. Poprishchin attributes this brutal torture to traditional Spanish customs and the machinations of the Grand Inquisitor. The torment becomes physically unbearable. In the final recording, Poprishchin desperately appeals to his mother, begging her to take the poor orphan away from this cruel world.