The night before Christmas summary. Brief retelling of The Night Before Christmas (Gogol N.V.)
“The Night Before Christmas” is the first story of the second book “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” by N.V. Gogol.
It's the night before Christmas in Dikanka, Little Russia. A witch flies out of the chimney of one house on a broom and begins to collect stars from the sky into her sleeve. Next to her in the sky appears, who grabs the hot moon and hides it in his pocket. In this way, the devil wants to take revenge on the village blacksmith and painter Vakula, who painted an unpleasant picture in the church about the expulsion of the evil spirit from hell.
Vakula is passionately in love with Oksana, the daughter of the Cossack Chub. Chub is going to spend the night before Christmas drinking at the clerk's house, while Vakula is waiting for Oksana to be left at home without her father so that he can come and declare his love to her. But the devil, having stolen the month from the sky, plunges Dikanka into darkness with the expectation that this darkness will force Chub to stay at home and upset the blacksmith’s plan.
“The Night Before Christmas” (“Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”). 1961 film
However, Chub still goes to the clerk for a treat. Young Oksana, seeing her father off, . Vakula enters her hut. He tells Oksana about his love, but the capricious coquette only laughs at him. The heated explanation is interrupted by an unexpected knock on the door. Dissatisfied with this obstacle, Vakula comes out of the door with the intention of crushing the uninvited guest's sides.
None other than its owner, Chub, knocks on the hut. The devil, Vakula’s insidious enemy, created a blizzard on his way, which nevertheless forced Oksana’s father to abandon the thought of drinking at the clerk’s and return home. But due to the heavy snow, Chub is not entirely sure that he is knocking on his own house, and not on someone else’s. And Vakula, who comes out to knock in the middle of a snowstorm, does not recognize Chub. He tells him to get out, rewarding him with two strong blows. Mistakenly believing that the hut is really not his, Chub decides to spend the rest of the night before Christmas with Vakula’s mother, Solokha, with whom he has been playing love tricks for a long time.
Gogol. Christmas Eve. Audiobook
We present to you a summary of the story by N.V. Gogol from the cycle “Yesterday on a farm near Dikanka”. As usual, we have prepared 2 options for you summary(retelling) of the story "The Night Before Christmas".
Summary of the story The Night Before Christmas
The story begins with a description of a picture of a Ukrainian farm at night. The last day before Christmas ended, followed by a clear starry night. A witch takes off from the chimney of one hut on a broom. She flies across the night sky and collects stars. And at this time the devil steals the month. He did this because he knew that today Chub was invited by the clerk to attend kutya, and his beautiful daughter would remain at home, and the blacksmith would come to her at that time. It was this blacksmith who the devil took revenge on. This blacksmith, a rather good artist, once painted a picture where Saint Peter, on the day of the Last Judgment, expels an evil spirit from hell. The devil interfered with the blacksmith in every possible way, but the work was completed, the board was brought into the church and embedded in the wall. Since then, the devil swore to take revenge on the blacksmith. Having stolen the month, the devil hoped that Chub would not go anywhere in such darkness, and the blacksmith with his father would not dare to come to Chub’s daughter.
Chub, leaving his hut with Panas at that time, was wondering what he should decide on: to go to the clerk or not. Chub nevertheless decided to go and both godfathers went to the clerk.
Oksana, Chub's daughter, was known as the first beauty on the farm. However, by nature she was capricious and spoiled. The result was a stable interest in her from local gentlemen, but this interest was usually short-lived. Over time, the guys preferred the simpler and more spoiled girls. And only the blacksmith Vakula did not leave her alone, even though she treated him no better than the others.
As soon as Chub left, Vakula hurried to his passion. The blacksmith confesses his love to Oksana. However, Oksana, on a whim, only flirts with the young man and even openly mocks him. At this time, there was a knock on the door and Vakula, ahead of Oksana, hurries to open the door.
At the same time, the witch in the sky became bored. She got tired of flying and went home. The devil flies after her. It’s worth saying here that the witch is Vakula’s mother. Her name is Solokha, she is about 40 years old, she was neither good nor bad in appearance. However, Solokha was so able to charm the Cossacks that many came to her, without even suspecting that they had rivals. At the same time, she showed the greatest respect to the wealthy Chub, since she wanted to marry him to herself and take his wealth into her hands. The insidious Solokha feared that her son Vakul would get ahead of her by marrying Oksana before she could ring Chub. In order to get ahead of her own son on the path to Chub’s wealth, she constantly quarrels between them.
Following Solokha, the devil noticed that Chub had left home after all. The devil began to tear up the snow so that a blizzard would arise. So he wanted to force Chub to return home. But because the snowstorm was too strong, Chub and his godfather could not find the hut for a long time. Finally, Chub seemed to have managed to find his home. He knocked on the window, but in response he heard Vakula’s voice. Chub thought that he had wandered into the wrong place, but he was in no hurry to leave. Chub became extremely interested - whose hut is this and who does the blacksmith go to? Chub pretended to be caroling, said that he had come to carol, but Vakula drove him out with a strong blow to the back. Beaten, Chub went to Solokha.
When the devil flew from the chimney of Solokha’s hut and back, his month fell out and rose into the sky, which illuminated everything around. The boys and girls went out to carol. Friends also came to see Oksana. She saw nice shoes on one of the girls, and she wanted the same ones. Vakula promised Oksana that he would get her the best. Oksana swore that if Vakula brought her the booties that the queen herself wore, she would marry him.
At this time, the devil was softening up with Solokha, kissing her hands, but then a knock and the voice of the Head were heard. The devil could only hide in one of the bags of coal that Vakula had left near the entrance. Golova said that he was going to the clerk, and when a snowstorm began, he decided to turn to Solokha. There was a knock again. It was the clerk who came. The head asks to hide it, Solokha hides it in the largest bag of coal. The clerk entered and said that since no one came to him because of the snowstorm, he decided to celebrate at Solokha’s. There was a knock again. This time Chub came. Solokha hides the clerk in another coal sack. Chub came to Solokha to drink vodka because he was completely cold. Again there was a knock on the door and a voice: “Open.” Vakula came home. Solokha, frightened by the appearance of her son, pointed Chub to the bag in which the clerk was already sitting. Chub climbed into it, the clerk could not even cough to reveal his presence, and therefore endured severe pain. Vakula, entering the hut, first collapsed on the bench, but then noticed that he had not removed the bags of coal. He decided to take them out. Thinking about Oksana, the blacksmith went out into the street. There was a celebration going on there. The blacksmith, hearing Oksana’s voice among the voices of those walking, threw down the heavy bags and, leaving only a small bag in his hands, went into the crowd. Oksana again laughed at poor Vakula. There was no strength to endure anymore, and Vakula decided to drown himself. He ran as fast as he could to the edge of the village. But halfway there he changed his mind and decided to go to pot-bellied Patsyuk to ask for advice. That Patsyuk was a healer; as soon as he whispered a few words, the illness disappeared. Vakula asks Patsyuk to show him the way to hell, since he sees no other way to help in his matter with Oksana. But Patsyuk replies that “he who has the devil behind him doesn’t have to go far.” Vakula, frightened, left the hut. And the devil is right there: he began to whisper to the blacksmith that he would help him with Oksana, but the contract needed to be signed. Vakula grabbed the devil by the tail, sat on him and raised his hand to make the sign of the cross. The devil prayed that he would do everything, just don’t put signs on him. Vakula ordered him to be taken directly to the queen in St. Petersburg.
Oksana thought for a long time about what she did with the blacksmith. What if he falls in love with someone else? But then the fears passed, and she was already laughing with her friends. Oksana’s friends discovered the bags that Vakula had left behind and decided that he was the one who caroled so much. But since there was no strength to lift them, everyone ran for the sled. At this time, a thin godfather came out of the school and stole the bags, also deciding that someone had caroled. He called the weaver for help, because... He was unable to carry the bag home by himself. At home, a fight broke out between them and the godfather’s wife over a bag. The fight was stopped by the sudden appearance of Chub from the bag. The clerk got out after him. Chub marvels at the cunning of Solokha, who hides her suitors in bags.
The girls returned and found only one bag, but decided that they had had enough of what they had. They threw the bag onto a sled and took it to Oksana’s hut. The girls began to untie the bag and discovered that someone was sitting there. At this time Chub entered the house. He immediately realized that this bag was also from Solokha’s house. The Head came out of the bag. Everyone was confused. The head, having put his head down, left. And Chub vented his frustration on Solokha for a long time.
Meanwhile, Vakula reached St. Petersburg on the line. He ordered the devil to lead him to the Cossacks, who passed through Dikanka in the fall and were now in the city. The Cossacks immediately recognized the blacksmith. He asks them to take them with him to the queen. The Cossacks refused for a long time, but then, not without the intervention of the devil, they agreed. Vakula put on the same dress as theirs, and everyone went to the palace. There the blacksmith, turning to the queen, asked for the same slippers as she was wearing. The queen ordered to bring the most expensive ones, embroidered with gold. Vakula marveled at the beauty of the slippers, simultaneously complimenting the queen on the slenderness of her legs. After this, the blacksmith ordered the devil to take him out of the palace, and suddenly found himself behind a barrier.
Meanwhile, a rumor spread on the farm that the blacksmith either drowned himself or hanged himself. Oksana, having learned this news, could not sleep all night, she kept thinking about Vakula, “and by morning she fell head over heels in love with the blacksmith.”
In the morning the devil returned Vakula to his hut. Instead of gratitude, Vakula hit the devil on the back three times with a twig. The devil started to run. Vakula went home, collapsed on a bench and slept until lunch. Then he put on his festive attire, took the slippers and went to Chub. Chub was surprised by the appearance of the blacksmith, whom everyone thought was dead. Vakula asks for Oksana’s hand in marriage, shows what little slippers he brought, Chub agrees. But now Oksana no longer needed the slippers. The blacksmith himself became her main object of interest.
The story ends with Vakula and Oksana getting married according to church customs.
Summary (retelling) of the story The Night Before Christmas - option No. 2
A clear frosty night covers the farm after the pre-Christmas day. The girls and boys have not yet come out to carol. This allows the local witch Solokha to fly into the sky behind the stars unnoticed. The devil flies towards Solokha, for whom “the last night was left to wander around the world.” Having stolen the month, the devil hides it in his pocket.
The devil hopes that the darkness will not let the wealthy Cossack Chub, invited to the clerk for a feast, leave the house, and the blacksmith Vakula, hated by the devil (who painted a picture of the Last Judgment and the shamed devil on the church wall), will not dare to come to Chubova’s daughter Oksana.
While Chub and his godfather are building chickens for the witch, they come out of the hut and don’t decide whether to go to the sexton, where a pleasant company will gather over the varenukha, or, in view of such darkness, to return home - and they leave. At home, Chub leaves his beautiful daughter Oksana, who was dressing up in front of the mirror, and the blacksmith, Vakula, catches her doing it.
Here it is necessary to briefly say that Vakula is the son of the witch Solokha and he is in love with Oksana. The spoiled beauty has a very bad character. Her beauty attracts boys, but no one builds a serious relationship with her. Very quickly the guys, having had enough of the insatiable and materialistic girl, prefer more modest girls to her. And only Vakula selflessly and blindly loves the daring beast. The harmful and insidious beauty mocks him, not at all touched by his tender feelings. The offended blacksmith goes to unlock the door, on which Chub, who has lost his way, knocks, having decided to return home on the occasion of the blizzard raised by the devil. But the blacksmith’s voice makes him think that he was not in his own hut (but in a similar one, the lame Levchenko, to whose young wife the blacksmith probably came). Chub changes his voice, and the angry Vakula, jabbing him, drives out the disguised Cossack . The beaten Chub, realizing that the blacksmith has clearly left his own home, goes to his mother, Solokha. Solokha, who was a witch, returned from her journey, and the devil flew with her, dropping a month in the chimney.
It became light, the snowstorm subsided, and crowds of carolers poured into the streets. The girls come running to Oksana, and, noticing on one of them new slippers embroidered with gold, Oksana declares that she will marry Vakula if only he gets her the slippers “that the queen wears.” Meanwhile, the devil, who had relaxed at Solokha’s, is scared away by his head, who did not go to the clerk for the feast. The devil quickly climbs into one of the bags left among the hut by the blacksmith, but soon his head has to climb into another, since the clerk is knocking on Solokha’s door. Praising the virtues of the incomparable Solokha, the clerk is forced to climb into the third bag, since Chub appears. However, Chub also climbs into the same place, avoiding meeting with the returning Vakula. While Solokha is talking in the garden with the Cossack Sverbyguz, who has come after him, Vakula is carrying away the bags thrown in the middle of the hut, and, saddened by the quarrel with Oksana, does not notice their weight. On the street he is surrounded by a crowd of carolers, and here Oksana repeats her mocking condition. Throwing away all but the smallest bags in the middle of the road, Vakula runs, and rumors are already creeping behind him that he has either been damaged in his mind, or has gotten carried away.
Vakula comes to the Cossack Pot-bellied Patsyuk, who, as they say, is “a little like the devil.” Having caught the owner eating dumplings, and then dumplings, which themselves climbed into Patsyuk’s mouth, Vakula timidly asks the way to hell, relying on his help in his misfortune. Having received a vague answer that the devil is on his shoulder, Vakula runs away from the savory dumplings that are falling into his mouth. Anticipating easy prey, the devil jumps out of the bag and, sitting on the blacksmith’s neck, promises him Oksana that same night. Vakula, cunningly, grabs the devil by the tail and tells him to take himself “to Petersburg, straight to the queen.”
Having found Kuznetsov’s bags at that time, the girls want to take them to Oksana to see what Vakula caroled. They go for the sledge, and Chubov’s godfather, calling a weaver to help, drags one of the bags into his hut. There, a fight ensues with the godfather's wife over the unclear but seductive contents of the bag. Chub and the clerk find themselves in the bag. When Chub, returning home, finds a head in the second bag, his disposition towards Solokha greatly decreases.
The blacksmith, having galloped to St. Petersburg, appears to the Cossacks who were passing through Dikanka in the fall, and, holding the devil in his pocket, tries to be taken to see the queen. Marveling at the luxury of the palace and the wonderful paintings on the walls, the blacksmith finds himself in front of the queen, and when she asks the Cossacks, who came to ask for their Sich, “what do you want?”, the blacksmith asks her for her royal shoes. Touched by such innocence, Catherine draws attention to this passage of Fonvizin standing at a distance, and gives Vakula shoes, having received which he briefly considers it a blessing to go home.
Meanwhile, the Dikan women in the middle of the street are arguing about how exactly Vakula committed suicide. Rumors about this disturb Oksana’s soul, she sleeps poorly at night, and not finding the devout blacksmith in the church in the morning, she is ready to cry. The blacksmith simply slept through matins and mass, and upon waking up, he takes a new hat and belt out of the chest and goes to Chub for matchmaking. Chub, although offended by Solokha’s treachery, but still “buttered” by the luxurious gifts, agrees. He is echoed by Oksana, who has entered and is ready to marry the blacksmith “without slippers.” Now the family Vakula painted his hut with paints, and in the church he painted a devil, and “so disgusting that everyone spat when they passed by.”
The last day before Christmas is replaced by a clear, frosty night. The girls and boys had not yet come out to carol, and no one saw how smoke came out of the chimney of one hut and a witch rose on a broom. She flashes like a black speck in the sky, gathering stars into her sleeve, and the devil flies towards her, for whom “the last night was left to wander around the white world.” Having stolen the month, the devil hides it in his pocket, assuming that the coming darkness will keep the rich Cossack Chub, invited to the clerk for a feast, at home, and the blacksmith Vakula, hated by the devil (who painted a picture of the Last Judgment and the shamed devil on the church wall) will not dare to come to Chubova’s daughter Oksana . While the devil is building chickens for the witch, Chub and his godfather, who came out of the hut, do not decide whether to go to the sexton, where a pleasant company will gather over the varenukha, or, in view of such darkness, to return home - and they leave, leaving the beautiful Oksana in the house, who was dressing up in front of the mirror, for which and Vakula finds her. The stern beauty mocks him, not at all moved by his gentle speeches. The disgruntled blacksmith goes to unlock the door, on which Chub, who has lost his way and lost his godfather, knocks, having decided on the occasion of the blizzard raised by the devil to return home. However, the blacksmith’s voice makes him think that he was not in his own hut (but in a similar one, the lame Levchenko, to whose young wife the blacksmith probably came). Chub changes his voice, and the angry Vakula, jabbing him, kicks him out. The beaten Chub, having realized that the blacksmith has therefore left his own home, goes to his mother, Solokha. Solokha, who was a witch, returned from her journey, and the devil flew with her, dropping a month in the chimney.
It became light, the snowstorm subsided, and crowds of carolers poured into the streets. The girls come running to Oksana, and, noticing on one of them new slippers embroidered with gold, Oksana declares that she will marry Vakula if he brings her the slippers “that the queen wears.” Meanwhile, the devil, who had relaxed at Solokha’s, is scared away by his head, who did not go to the clerk for the feast. The devil quickly climbs into one of the bags left among the hut by the blacksmith, but soon his head has to climb into another, since the clerk is knocking on Solokha’s door. Praising the virtues of the incomparable Solokha, the clerk is forced to climb into the third bag, since Chub appears. However, Chub also climbs into the same place, avoiding meeting with the returning Vakula. While Solokha is talking in the garden with the Cossack Sverbyguz, who has come after him, Vakula takes away the bags thrown in the middle of the hut, and, saddened by the quarrel with Oksana, does not notice their weight. On the street he is surrounded by a crowd of carolers, and here Oksana repeats her mocking condition. Having thrown all but the smallest bags in the middle of the road, Vakula runs, and rumors are already creeping behind him that he was either mentally damaged or hanged himself.
Vakula comes to the Cossack Pot-bellied Patsyuk, who, as they say, is “a little like the devil.” Having caught the owner eating dumplings, and then dumplings, which themselves climbed into Patsyuk’s mouth, Vakula timidly asks the way to hell, relying on his help in his misfortune. Having received a vague answer that the devil is behind him, Vakula runs away from the savory dumplings falling into his mouth. Anticipating easy prey, the devil jumps out of the bag and, sitting on the blacksmith’s neck, promises him Oksana that same night. The cunning blacksmith, having grabbed the devil by the tail and crossed him, becomes the master of the situation and orders the devil to take himself “to Petemburg, straight to the queen.”
Having found Kuznetsov’s bags at that time, the girls want to take them to Oksana to see what Vakula caroled. They go for the sled, and Chubov’s godfather, calling a weaver to help, drags one of the sacks into his hut. There, a fight ensues with the godfather's wife over the unclear but tempting contents of the bag. Chub and the clerk find themselves in the bag. When Chub, returning home, finds a head in the second bag, his disposition towards Solokha greatly decreases.
The blacksmith, having galloped to St. Petersburg, appears to the Cossacks who were passing through Dikanka in the fall, and, holding the devil in his pocket, tries to be taken to an appointment with the queen. Marveling at the luxury of the palace and the wonderful paintings on the walls, the blacksmith finds himself in front of the queen, and when she asks the Cossacks, who came to ask for their Sich, “what do you want?”, the blacksmith asks her for her royal shoes. Touched by such innocence, Catherine draws attention to this passage standing at a distance, and gives Vakula shoes, having received which he considers it a blessing to go home.
In the village at this time, the Dikan women in the middle of the street are arguing about exactly how Vakula committed suicide, and the rumors that have reached about this confuse Oksana, she does not sleep well at night, and not finding the devout blacksmith in the church in the morning, she is ready to cry. The blacksmith simply slept through matins and mass, and upon awakening, he takes a new hat and belt out of the chest and goes to Chub to woo him. Chub, wounded by Solokha’s treachery, but seduced by gifts, agrees. He is echoed by Oksana, who has entered and is ready to marry the blacksmith “without slippers.” Having started a family, Vakula painted his hut with paints, and painted a devil in the church, and “so disgusting that everyone spat when they passed by.”
Summary of “The Night Before Christmas” Option 2
- About the product
- Main characters
- Other characters
- Summary
- Conclusion
About the product
The story “The Night Before Christmas” was written by N.V. Gogol in 1830 - 1832. The first edition of the work was published in 1832 in the printing house of A. Plushar. The story is part of the writer’s famous cycle “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”. In “The Night Before Christmas,” he humorously depicted poeticized rural life on a holiday, developing the plot around the love story of the blacksmith Vakula and the daughter of a rich Cossack Oksana.
Main characters
Vakula- a blacksmith, “a strong man and a good fellow,” in his free time he was engaged in “painting”, was in love with Oksana and flew to St. Petersburg on the devil to get her slippers from the queen herself.
Oksana- daughter of the Cossack Chuba, Vakula’s beloved, she “was not yet seventeen years old”, “she was capricious, like a beauty.”
Crap- He disliked Vakula because he painted him in a bad light and took the blacksmith to St. Petersburg.
Other characters
Forelock- a rich Cossack, widower, father of Oksana.
Solokha- the witch, Vakula’s mother, “was no more than forty years old.”
Pot-bellied Patsyuk- a healer, a former Cossack, who has been living in Dikanka for many years.
Head, clerk, godfather Panas, Queen Catherine.
It was a clear winter night in Dikanka before Christmas. Suddenly, a witch flew out of the chimney of one of the huts riding a broom and, rising to the sky, began collecting stars in her sleeve. On the other hand, a devil appeared in the sky. He hid the month in his pocket, and everything around immediately became dark. The devil did this so that the Cossack Chub would be too lazy to walk in the dark and stay at home, and therefore the blacksmith Vakula could not come to his daughter Oksana. So the devil wanted to take revenge on the blacksmith, who painted him disgraced in the painting of the Last Judgment.
Chub and Panas, waiting for a “good drinking party” at the clerk’s, leave the Cossack’s hut and see that a month has disappeared in the sky, and it has become completely dark outside. After hesitating, they still decide to continue on their way.
While Chub left, Oksana, left alone at home, admired herself in front of the mirror.
Vakula, who came to her, finds the girl doing this. The blacksmith addresses Oksana with tender speeches, but she only laughs and mocks him. Frustrated, Vakula decides that the girl does not love him.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and the blacksmith went to open it.
The frost increased, so the devil and the witch went down through the chimney into her hut. The witch was none other than Vakula’s mother, Solokha. She knew how to charm men so much that many Cossacks of the village came to her, but none of them knew about their rivals. Among all her admirers, Solokha singled out the rich Cossack Chub.
Meanwhile, when the devil was going down the chimney, he noticed Chub and created a strong snowstorm, thus trying to bring him home.
And indeed, seeing nothing because of the snowstorm, Chub decided to go back and he and his godfather went in different directions. Having reached his hut, the Cossack knocked, but, hearing Vakula’s indignant cry, decided that this was not his house and changed his voice. Not recognizing Chub in the newcomer, the blacksmith beat the Cossack. Then Chub, reasoning that if Vakula was here, then he was not at home, went to Solokha.
While the devil was flying out of the chimney and back, the month flew out of the “palm” hanging on his side and rose into the sky. “Everything lit up. Snowstorms like never before." Crowds of caroling boys and girls with bags appeared on the street.
The girls hurried to Chub's house. Oksana noticed one of the girls had new shoes and was sad that she had no one to get her a beautiful new thing. Then Vakula himself volunteered to get “the kind of slippers that a rare lady wears.” Jokingly, Oksana said that only those worn by the queen herself would suit her, and if the blacksmith got hold of them, she would marry him.
A hefty head suddenly comes to Solokha, who is sitting with the devil. While the woman was opening the door, the unclean hid in the bag. The head only had time to drink a glass of vodka and say that because of the snowstorm he didn’t get to the clerk, when there was another knock on the door - it was the clerk himself. Solokha hid her head in the second bag. However, the woman’s conversation with the clerk was soon interrupted - the Cossack Chub came to Solokha.
The hostess hid the clerk in the third bag, and soon Chub ended up in the same bag, who did not want to see Vakula, who had come to his mother.
While Solokha went out to see the next visitor, the blacksmith takes away all three bags and, saddened by Oksana’s bullying, does not even notice their weight.
On the street, Vakula meets carolers. Oksana, laughing, repeats her condition again in front of everyone. Upset, Vakula threw the bags on the ground and, taking the smallest one with him, said goodbye to everyone and ran away.
Vakula decides to go to the local healer - Pot-bellied Patsyuk - “he, they say, knows all the devils and will do whatever he wants.” Finding Patsyuk eating first dumplings, and then dumplings, which themselves flew into the owner’s mouth, Vakula asks him how to find the devil in order to ask him for help. To this the healer answered him: “He who has the devil behind him does not need to go far.” Frightened by a quick dumpling flying into his mouth, Vakula runs away from Patsyuk.
Hearing the blacksmith’s words, the devil immediately jumped out of the bag and offered to conclude a contract, signing it in blood. However, Vakula grabbed the devil by the tail. After baptizing the unclean one, the blacksmith saddled him and forced him to take him to St. Petersburg to the queen.
Oksana notices the bags left by Vakula and offers to pick them up. While the girls went to get the sled, the bag with Chub and the clerk is carried away by the godfather who came out of the tavern. During a quarrel between Panas and his wife over the contents of the bag, Chub and the clerk got out of it, explaining that they had decided to make a joke.
The girls took the remaining bag to Oksana. At this time, Chub returned home and, finding the confused head in the bag, was outraged by Solokha’s cunning.
Having flown to St. Petersburg, the devil turned into a horse, and then, at the behest of Vakula, he shrunk and hid in his pocket. The blacksmith finds familiar Cossacks, and with the help of the evil spirit, he receives consent to go with them to the queen.
In the palace, the Cossacks and Vakula were met by Potemkin, and then by the queen herself. When Catherine asked the Cossacks what request they came to her with, the blacksmith immediately fell at the queen’s feet, asking for his wife the same beautiful slippers as hers.
Catherine was amused by his simplicity, and she ordered to bring the most expensive shoes with gold. Praising the queen’s legs, the blacksmith, pushed by the Cossacks, stepped back and the devil instantly carried him “behind the barrier.”
Rumors had already spread around Dikanka at this time that Vakula had either drowned or hanged himself. Hearing about this, Oksana was very upset - after all, he loved her, and now, perhaps, he left the village forever or disappeared completely. Vakula did not appear after mass either.
The blacksmith got back even faster, and after giving the devil three blows with a twig, he released him. Upon entering home, Vakula immediately fell asleep and slept until mass. Waking up, the blacksmith took with him the queen’s shoes for Oksana and a hat and belt for Chub and went to the Cossack. After her father’s consent to the matchmaking, the embarrassed girl said that she was ready to marry Vakula “without any stalks.”
After getting married, the blacksmith painted his entire hut, and in the church he depicted the devil in hell - “so disgusting that everyone spat when they passed by.”
Conclusion
In the story “The Night Before Christmas,” Gogol reveals the theme of folk life, depicting a number of typical rural characters - the clever and strong blacksmith Vakula, the beautiful and narcissistic Oksana, the stupid and rich Chub, the cunning Solokha and others. By introducing mythical characters into the narrative (witch, devil, healer), the author brings the plot of the work closer to a fairy tale, thus intertwining the techniques of realism and romanticism in the story.
A brief retelling of “The Night Before Christmas” describes the main plot of the work, but for a better understanding of the story, we advise you to read its full version.
Summary of “The Night Before Christmas” |
Brief retelling
“The Night Before Christmas” Gogol N.V. (Very briefly)
The last day before Christmas is replaced by a clear, frosty night. The girls and boys had not yet come out to carol, and no one saw how smoke came out of the chimney of one hut and a witch rose on a broom. She flashes like a black speck in the sky, gathering stars into her sleeve, and the devil flies towards her, for whom “the last night was left to wander around the white world.” Having stolen the month, the devil hides it in his pocket, assuming that the coming darkness will keep the rich Cossack Chub, invited to the clerk for a feast, at home, and the blacksmith Vakula, hated by the devil (who painted a picture of the Last Judgment and the shamed devil on the church wall) will not dare to come to Chubova’s daughter Oksana . While the devil is building chickens for the witch, Chub and his godfather, who came out of the hut, do not decide whether to go to the sexton, where a pleasant company will gather over the varenukha, or, in view of such darkness, to return home - and they leave, leaving the beautiful Oksana in the house, who was dressing up in front of the mirror, for which and Vakula finds her. The stern beauty mocks him, not at all moved by his gentle speeches. The disgruntled blacksmith goes to unlock the door, on which Chub, who has lost his way and lost his godfather, knocks, having decided to return home on the occasion of the blizzard raised by the devil. However, the blacksmith’s voice makes him think that he was not in his own hut (but in a similar one, the lame Levchenko, to whose young wife the blacksmith probably came). Chub changes his voice, and the angry Vakula, jabbing him, kicks him out. The beaten Chub, having realized that the blacksmith has therefore left his own home, goes to his mother, Solokha. Solokha, who was a witch, returned from her journey, and the devil flew with her, dropping a month in the chimney.
In the village at this time, the Dikan women in the middle of the street are arguing about exactly how Vakula committed suicide, and the rumors that have reached about this confuse Oksana, she does not sleep well at night, and not finding the devout blacksmith in the church in the morning, she is ready to cry. The blacksmith simply slept through matins and mass, and upon awakening, he takes a new hat and belt out of the chest and goes to Chub to woo him. Chub, stung by Solokha’s treachery, but seduced by the gifts, agrees. He is echoed by Oksana, who has entered and is ready to marry the blacksmith “without slippers.” Having started a family, Vakula painted his hut with paints, and painted a devil in the church, and “so disgusting that everyone spat when they passed by.”
The last day before Christmas is replaced by a clear, frosty night. The girls and boys had not yet come out to carol, and no one saw how smoke came out of the chimney of one hut and a witch rose on a broom. She flashes like a black speck in the sky, gathering stars into her sleeve, and the devil flies towards her, for whom “the last night was left to wander around the white world.” Having stolen the month, the devil hides it in his pocket, assuming that the coming darkness will keep the rich Cossack Chub, invited to the clerk for a feast, at home, and the blacksmith Vakula, hated by the devil (who painted a picture of the Last Judgment and the shamed devil on the church wall) will not dare to come to Chubova’s daughter Oksana . While the devil is building chickens for the witch, Chub and his godfather, who came out of the hut, do not decide whether to go to the sexton, where a pleasant company will gather over the varenukha, or, in view of such darkness, to return home - and they leave, leaving the beautiful Oksana in the house, who was dressing up in front of the mirror, for which and Vakula finds her. The stern beauty mocks him, not at all moved by his gentle speeches. The disgruntled blacksmith goes to unlock the door, on which Chub, who has lost his way and lost his godfather, knocks, having decided to return home on the occasion of the blizzard raised by the devil. However, the blacksmith’s voice makes him think that he was not in his own hut (but in a similar one, the lame Levchenko, to whose young wife the blacksmith probably came). Chub changes his voice, and the angry Vakula, jabbing him, kicks him out. The beaten Chub, having realized that the blacksmith has therefore left his own home, goes to his mother, Solokha. Solokha, who was a witch, returned from her journey, and the devil flew with her, dropping a month in the chimney.
It became light, the snowstorm subsided, and crowds of carolers poured into the streets. The girls come running to Oksana, and, noticing on one of them new slippers embroidered with gold, Oksana declares that she will marry Vakula if he brings her the slippers “that the queen wears.” Meanwhile, the devil, who had relaxed at Solokha’s, is scared away by his head, who did not go to the clerk for the feast. The devil quickly climbs into one of the bags left among the hut by the blacksmith, but soon his head has to climb into another, since the clerk is knocking on Solokha’s door. Praising the virtues of the incomparable Solokha, the clerk is forced to climb into the third bag, since Chub appears. However, Chub also climbs into the same place, avoiding meeting with the returning Vakula. While Solokha is talking in the garden with the Cossack Sverbyguz, who has come after him, Vakula takes away the bags thrown in the middle of the hut, and, saddened by the quarrel with Oksana, does not notice their weight. On the street he is surrounded by a crowd of carolers, and here Oksana repeats her mocking condition. Having thrown all but the smallest bags in the middle of the road, Vakula runs, and rumors are already creeping behind him that he was either mentally damaged or hanged himself.
Vakula comes to the Cossack Pot-bellied Patsyuk, who, as they say, is “a little like the devil.” Having caught the owner eating dumplings, and then dumplings, which themselves climbed into Patsyuk’s mouth, Vakula timidly asks the way to hell, relying on his help in his misfortune. Having received a vague answer that the devil is behind him, Vakula runs away from the savory dumplings falling into his mouth. Anticipating easy prey, the devil jumps out of the bag and, sitting on the blacksmith’s neck, promises him Oksana that same night. The cunning blacksmith, having grabbed the devil by the tail and crossed him, becomes the master of the situation and orders the devil to take himself “to Petemburg, straight to the queen.”
Having found Kuznetsov’s bags at that time, the girls want to take them to Oksana to see what Vakula caroled. They go for the sled, and Chubov’s godfather, calling a weaver to help, drags one of the sacks into his hut. There, a fight ensues with the godfather's wife over the unclear but tempting contents of the bag. Chub and the clerk find themselves in the bag. When Chub, returning home, finds a head in the second bag, his disposition towards Solokha greatly decreases.
The blacksmith, having galloped to St. Petersburg, appears to the Cossacks who were passing through Dikanka in the fall, and, holding the devil in his pocket, tries to be taken to see the queen. Marveling at the luxury of the palace and the wonderful paintings on the walls, the blacksmith finds himself in front of the queen, and when she asks the Cossacks, who came to ask for their Sich, “what do you want?”, the blacksmith asks her for her royal shoes. Touched by such innocence, Catherine draws attention to this passage of Fonvizin standing at a distance, and gives Vakula shoes, having received which he considers it a blessing to go home.
In the village at this time, the Dikan women in the middle of the street are arguing about exactly how Vakula committed suicide, and the rumors that have reached about this confuse Oksana, she does not sleep well at night, and not finding the devout blacksmith in the church in the morning, she is ready to cry. The blacksmith simply slept through matins and mass, and upon awakening, he takes a new hat and belt out of the chest and goes to Chub to woo him. Chub, stung by Solokha’s treachery, but seduced by the gifts, agrees. He is echoed by Oksana, who has entered and is ready to marry the blacksmith “without slippers.” Having started a family, Vakula painted his hut with paints, and painted a devil in the church, and “so disgusting that everyone spat when they passed by.”
Name: Christmas Eve
Genre: Tale
Duration: 10min 21sec
Annotation:
Villagers are preparing for Christmas night. At the clerk's house, Chub is expected to visit, who will leave his arrogant, beautiful daughter Oksana alone. The blacksmith Vakula is waiting for Chub to leave the house so he can visit Oksana. He is hopelessly in love with her, but his love is unrequited. He would get the moon out of the sky for her if he could. For her sake he was ready to do anything.
And in fact, someone actually took the moon out of the sky that night. And none other than the devil himself. He harbored a grudge against the blacksmith for drawing a devil on the walls of the church, and so truthfully. The picture showed that the devil has a big shortage of sinners who are destined to go to him, to hell. The devil wanted to ruin the plans of the villagers and stole the light that the moon gave. He hoped that Chub would stay at home, thereby preventing Vakula from spending that evening with his beloved Oksana. And this story will tell what can happen when the devil and people interfere in each other's affairs.
N.V. Gogol - The Night Before Christmas. Listen to the short audio content online.
