A Nasty Story

"A Nasty Story" (Russian: Скверный анекдот), also translated as "A Disgraceful Affair", as well as "A Most Unfortunate Incident", is a satirical short story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky concerning the escapades of a Russian civil servant.

Plot introduction

Jessie Coulson, in the introduction to a 1966 Penguin publication that includes the story, states of "A Nasty Story":

"Its theme is the terrible gulf between a man's idea of himself, his ideals, and his motives, and what they prove to be in the harsh light of reality. Its cruelty lies in the recognition that the tragedy of failure to come up to one's own expectations... is essentially comic..."

Plot summary

After drinking a bit too much with two fellow civil servants, the protagonist, Ivan Ilyich Pralinsky, expounds on his desire to embrace a philosophy based on kindness to those in lower status social positions. After leaving the initial gathering, Ivan happens upon the wedding celebration of one of his subordinates. He decides to put his philosophy into action, and so crashes the party. Many more drinks ensue, and Ivan embarrasses himself terribly while failing to gain the admiration of his "lessers", which he so desperately desires.

Publication

One of Dostoyevsky's more obscure works, "A Nasty Story" was written and published in 1862 following his brief tour of Spain. The story was published in Dostoyevsky's magazine Vremya.

References

• Dostoevsky, Fyodor; Jessie Coulson (trans.) (1966). The Gambler/Bobok/A Nasty Story. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-044179-4.