White nights

The White Nights (in Russian: Белые ночи) a short story by the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky. The story is considered one of his early works, first published in 1848. Like many of Dostoevsky's works, the story is narrated from the perspective of an anonymous narrator, and in the story, the narrator lives in the city of Saint Petersburg, suffering from loneliness. This story is considered one of his best short stories, and it has been adapted into cinema in Russia, Italy, France, America, India, and Iran. The main theme of the story is the relationship between the narrator - the main character whose name is unknown - and his newly acquainted girlfriend "Nastenka." The narrator falls in love with Nastenka, but he does not admit his love for her, while Nastenka harbors a deep love for another man who refuses to reply to her messages. Both escape from despair into this friendly relationship, as the narrator escapes from his loneliness and Nastenka escapes from her cold relationship with her lover. Nastenka asks the narrator to help her write messages to her lover, not knowing that the narrator also loves her passionately, and she even tells him: "I love you because you haven't fallen in love with me." Because of his intense love for her, the narrator begins to feel alienated in her company, as he has to pretend not to love her. When her lover does not reply to her messages, Nastenka feels despair, especially since her lover lives in the same city, so she turns to her friend in the hope that he will console her, which prompts the narrator to confess his love to her. Nastenka initially feels confused, which the narrator did not expect, and then he feels that after this incident he will no longer be able to continue their friendship, so he insists on not seeing her again, but she asks him to stay. The two go out into the street, and she tells him that perhaps their relationship might someday turn into a romantic one, clearly wanting his friendship in her life, and the narrator feels reassured that he has at least managed to preserve their friendship. While walking in the street, they encounter a man; the man turns to Nastenka and calls her, and it becomes clear that he is her lover whom she has been messaging. She jumps into his arms happily, then returns to the narrator to give him a quick kiss, but she spends the night in the company of her lover, leaving the narrator alone and emotionally wounded.