Nevsky Prospect

Summary

«Nevsky Prospect» is a novella by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol that depicts the life and events on one of the main streets of St. Petersburg. The central characters are two young men: the artist Piskaryov and Lieutenant Pirogov. Piskaryov falls in love with a beautiful stranger he meets on Nevsky Prospect, but his dreams of happiness are shattered when he discovers she is a prostitute. Unable to bear the disappointment, Piskaryov takes his own life. Pirogov, on the other hand, becomes infatuated with the wife of a German tinsmith, but his attempts to win her heart end in humiliation and a beating. Ultimately, the novella reveals the illusory and deceptive nature of Nevsky Prospect's outward glamour, as well as the tragic fates of those who succumb to these illusions.