Diary of a Madman

Nikolai Gogol’s 1835 short story “Diary of a Madman” utilizes a series of diary entries by its protagonist, Aksenty Ivanovich Poprishchin, to track his descent into “madness.” Like Gogol’s other famous short stories, such as “The Overcoat” and “The Nose,” as well as his novel Dead Souls and his play The Government Inspector, this story satirizes people’s anxieties about their social rank and their determination to appear important in the eyes of others.

This summary guide references Christopher English’s translation of the story collected in Plays and Petersburg Tales, published in 2009 by Oxford University Press.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide use the term “madness” as a general descriptor for mental instability or illness.

“Diary of a Madman” consists of a series of diary entries by its protagonist. Poprishchin, the “madman” of the title, who has a large ego despite his relatively low rank and menial job. He describes a chance encounter with his departmental director’s daughter and her dog, Madgie. Poprishchin sees the director’s coach in the street and waits to see if the director’s daughter, with whom he is infatuated, will get out. After she darts into a shop, he is surprised to overhear Madgie and another dog, Fidèle, talking about the letters they send to one another.