A Gentle Creature

For the films, see A Gentle Creature (1960 film) and A Gentle Creature (2017 film).
"A Gentle Creature"
Short story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Original titleКроткая (Krotkaya)
CountryRussian Empire
LanguageRussian
Genre(s)Short story
Publication
Media typePrint
Publication date1876

"A Gentle Creature" (Russian: Кроткая, romanized: Krotkaya), sometimes also translated as "The Meek One", is a short story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky written in November 1876. A first-person stream of consciousness narrative, the piece comes with the subtitle of "A Fantastic Story", and it chronicles the relationship between a pawnbroker and a girl that frequents his shop.[1] The story was inspired by a news report that Dostoyevsky read in April 1876 about the suicide of a seamstress. Dostoyevsky referred to it as a "meek suicide" that "keeps haunting you for a long time."[2]

  1. ^ Magarshack, David (2005). "Introduction". The Best Stories of Fyodor Dostoevsky. New York City: The Modern Library. pp. xi–xxvi. ISBN 9780345481269.
  2. ^ Koehler (1985), pp. 113, 115.