Diary of a Madman

Brief Overview

«Diary of a Madman» is a novella by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, written in the form of a diary. The main character, Aksenty Ivanovich Poprishchin, a low-ranking clerk, gradually loses touch with reality. He is infatuated with his boss's daughter and begins to believe he can achieve a high status. Poprishchin is convinced that dogs can talk and reads their correspondence. Eventually, he imagines himself as the Spanish King Ferdinand VIII and ends up in an asylum. The novella explores themes of madness and social injustice.