Book cover for “White Nights” by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Image courtesy of Audible
Jenna Jabbar | Contributor
“White Nights,” the prominent book by Fyodor Dostoevsky, is considered one of the most influential books in human sentiment and philosophy due to the ‘hidden’ messages in the book.
“White Nights” discusses the miserable condition of the narrator, whose name we do not know, and how he falls in love with Nastenka: a 16 year old girl grieving for her lover.
In the book, the narrator helps Nastenka reconnect with her lover, whom he promised would propose, yet did not. At the end of the book, the narrator bursts into emotion and sentiment, telling Nastenka that he loves her and is very fond of her. While she was about to run off with him, her lover made an appearance. Nastenka runs off with her lover and leaves the narrator stranded and bewildered.
Although the book’s plot is very minimal and simple, it holds a lot of value. The book debates the human condition and how we value love and happy endings. We often conceive and expect a terrific intimate relationship with someone, regardless of the realistic condition of the person we love.
Most of the time, the person we daydream about only views us as a friend or an acquaintance; just like in “White Nights,” where the Narrator was aware Nastenka could not be his because she was promised to another man, still, he fooled himself into thinking he could make her love him.
Nastenka also made it clear that her relationship with the narrator was just a friendship. This phenomenon is widespread amongst many individuals, in which falling in love with somebody defines their social status and it is considered a burden if you are not in a relationship. I have widely seen this happen among young men and teenagers. Most of the time, they end up having childish affairs with little-to-no meaning, but they claim relationships happen to be the best thing even if it is not a good engagement.
In my opinion, this book should be read by anyone who is falling into a loophole of limerence. This book reminds us not to get too ahead of ourselves and excessively daydream about someone or to set unrealistic expectations for when, where and how we will meet our person.
We should not be like the narrator who was so immersed in Nastenka that he did not properly introduce his name nor important information about him. All we know is how lonely he is: we can see how his loneliness was taking a toll on his mental health. A key takeaway from “White Nights” is to put ourselves first and to be acquainted with the appropriate person.
