The Night Before Christmas Summary – Mykola Gogol

Gogol’s The Night Before Christmas, first published in 1832, is a humorous Christmas story about the blacksmith Vakula, his love for Oksana, and his magical journey to obtain the shoes she demands.

The Night Before Christmas Main Characters analysis

• Vakula — A talented blacksmith who deeply loves Oksana and is determined to marry her, even after she sets him an impossible condition.
• Oksana — Chub’s beautiful and vain daughter, who enjoys admiring herself and teasing Vakula but eventually realizes that she loves him.
• Chub — Oksana’s father, a Cossack who becomes confused during the snowstorm and later gives his consent to Vakula’s marriage to Oksana.
• Solokha — Vakula’s mother, a witch who entertains several respected Cossacks at her home while secretly pursuing her own interests.
• The Devil — A mischievous supernatural figure who wants revenge on Vakula but is eventually tricked by the blacksmith and forced to help him.
• Patsyuk — A mysterious, potbellied Cossack rumored to have dealings with evil spirits. Vakula seeks his advice when he does not know how to reach the Devil.
• The Cossack Sverbyhuz — A large Cossack who comes to Solokha’s house as a guest but is too large to fit inside the sacks where the other visitors are hiding.
• The Deacon — One of Solokha’s guests who ends up hiding inside a sack along with the other unwanted company.
• The Headman — Another guest at Solokha’s house who is forced to hide in a sack.
• The Empress — Vakula meets her in St. Petersburg and asks her for the beautiful shoes Oksana wants.

The Night Before Christmas Summary

On the night before Christmas, the moon rises into the sky to illuminate the hamlet. A witch, gathering stars, encounters the Devil, who steals the moon from the sky in order to take revenge on the blacksmith Vakula for skillfully painting the wall of a church. Without moonlight, Cossack Chub, the father of the beautiful Oksana, will not go to the deacon’s house for the Christmas kutia, and Vakula will not meet his beloved before the holiday.

While the Devil is courting the witch and whispering to her what he usually whispers to women, Chub and his godfather leave the house. Although they are surprised by the impenetrable darkness, they decide to continue on their way to the gathering.

Meanwhile, the blacksmith quietly enters Chub’s house. His spoiled daughter Oksana is turning in front of the mirror, admiring her own beauty. So absorbed is she in her reflection that she does not immediately notice Vakula entering the room. The blacksmith’s heart is filled with tenderness, but Oksana only teases him. A knock at the door interrupts their conversation, and Vakula goes to open it.

Outside stands Chub, who has lost his way in the snowstorm and been separated from his companion. The Cossack decides to return home. When he sees his house, he knocks on the door. However, hearing the blacksmith’s voice, he assumes that he has wandered into someone else’s house. Vakula, unable to tell who has arrived because of the blizzard, drives the Cossack away and nearly beats him. Chub realizes that the house must belong to someone else and that the blacksmith is there, which means that Vakula’s mother is home alone. He therefore heads to Solokha’s house.

As the Devil circles around the witch, he accidentally lets go of the moon. It rises into the sky and illuminates everything around it. The snowstorm dies down. A noisy crowd bursts into Chub’s house and sweeps Oksana and the blacksmith into a cheerful dance. Among her friends, the proud beauty notices a pair of beautiful shoes embroidered with gold. The lovestruck Vakula promises to get an even more beautiful pair for his beloved Oksana. However, the capricious girl declares that she wants only the shoes worn by the Empress herself and says that she will marry him if he manages to obtain them.

One after another, guests begin arriving at the hospitable Solokha’s house. They are respected Cossacks. The Devil hides inside a sack used for carrying coal. Then the headman and the deacon are also forced to climb into sacks. The most desirable guest is Chub’s widow, whose wealth Solokha plans to acquire. She climbs into the sack containing the deacon. The very last guest, the Cossack Sverbyhuz, is too large to fit inside a sack. Solokha therefore takes him out into the garden so that she can hear why he has come.

When Vakula returns home, he sees the sacks lying in the middle of the house and decides to clear them away. He picks up the heavy load and leaves the house. Outside, amid the cheerful crowd, he hears what seems to be Oksana’s voice. Vakula drops the sacks and makes his way toward his beloved, but Oksana reminds him about the shoes, laughs, and runs away. The angry blacksmith decides to take his own life, but then comes to his senses and goes to seek advice from the Zaporozhian Cossack Patsyuk. According to rumors, the potbellied Patsyuk has dealings with evil spirits. Desperate, Vakula asks him how to find the road to the Devil so that he can get his help, but Patsyuk gives him an unclear answer. Coming to his senses, the devout blacksmith runs out of the house.

The Devil, sitting inside the sack on Vakula’s back, cannot let such an opportunity slip away. He offers the blacksmith a deal. Vakula agrees but demands that the agreement be sealed. By tricking the Devil into crossing himself, Vakula manages to make him obedient. The Devil is now forced to carry the blacksmith to St. Petersburg.

The girls who are out caroling discover the sacks Vakula has abandoned. Wanting to see what the blacksmith has collected while caroling, they hurry after the sled to take the find to Oksana’s house. An argument breaks out over the sack containing Chub. The godfather’s wife, thinking that there is a boar inside, takes the sack away from her husband and the weaver. To everyone’s surprise, they discover that the sack contains not only Chub but also the deacon, while another sack contains the headman.

After flying to St. Petersburg on the Devil’s back, Vakula meets Zaporozhian Cossacks who had previously traveled through Dikanka and joins them on their visit to the Empress. During the reception, the Zaporozhians speak about their concerns. The Empress asks what the Cossacks want. Vakula falls to his knees and asks for a pair of shoes like those worn by the Empress herself. Touched by the blacksmith’s sincerity, the Empress orders that the shoes be brought to him.

The entire hamlet is buzzing with rumors of the blacksmith’s death. Meanwhile, Vakula, having outwitted the Devil, arrives with gifts at Chub’s house to ask for Oksana’s hand in marriage. The Cossack gives his consent, and Oksana joyfully welcomes Vakula, ready to marry him even without the shoes. Later, the people of Dikanka admire the wonderfully painted house where the blacksmith’s family lives, as well as the church, where Vakula has skillfully depicted the Devil in hell. Everyone who passes by spits at the Devil in the painting.