Night

Night Summary | Detailed Summary

"Night" is Tatyana Tolstaya's short story about a middle-aged retarded man named Alexei who lives in a communal apartment building in Moscow with his elderly mother called Mamochka. The story is one of alienation and fear symbolized by the unknown entities that are made more mysterious and dangerous at night.

The story begins in the morning, and Alexei Petrovich lies in his bed. He hears his mother Mamochka yawn, listens to the actions of her morning routine and waits for her to tell him to get up. Alexei thinks about his mother, her knowledge of everything and her facility in life. Mamochka is a big woman, and Alexei feels very small in contrast both in size and in intellect.

Now, Alexei hears the noises from the other tenants in the apartment building and imagines that they are on the deck of a ship and that Mamochka is steering for all of them. Suddenly, Mamochka yells at Alexei to "...get up! Shave, brush your teeth, wash your ears. Take a clean towel. Put the cap back on the toothpaste. Don't forget to flush. And don't touch anything in there, you hear me?"

Mamochka's words are comforting to Alexei, who considers his mother the smartest and strongest person he knows. In order to reach the bathroom, Alexei must walk through a communal kitchen, and some old women at the stove are grumpy with him as he passes by. Alexei makes a mental plea for Mamochka to take care of him.

Most of the other tenants are ready for work and have gathered in the hallway making last-minute preparations before leaving for the day. Among this group is a young woman who Alexei calls the Sea Girl. She winks at Alexei as she pulls hard on her cigarette. Fortunately, Mamochka rescues Alexei and chastises the Sea Girl for her attempts to entice her son. The Sea Girl is unfazed by Mamochka's reprimand, and Alexei is glad to be back in the apartment away from the Sea Girl. Alexei thinks that all women except Mamochka are frightening and does not understand why they need to be here.

For breakfast, Mamochka feeds Alexei some boiled sausages, and when he clumsily fumbles with his silverware, Mamochka instructs him to use his hands to pick up the meat. Once more, Alexei is grateful for Mamochka's guidance. Alexei likes the real world inside his head, but the one outside is bad. He can never remember the rules and does not understand why everyone else can remember while he has such a hard time.

After breakfast, Mamochka sets out the materials Alexei will need to glue the cardboard boxes for the local pharmacy. After Alexei completes one hundred boxes, he and Mamochka will take them to the pharmacy to get money, although it hurts Alexei to part with his beautiful boxes. The boxes are used for box lunches sold by the pharmacy, and Alexei is outraged to see his beautiful boxes torn up and thrown into trash cans after people have finished with them. One day, Alexei launches into a blind rage after seeing one of his boxes with a cigarette butt inside lying in a trash can in the apartment. Once more, Mamochka runs to Alexei's rescue and calms him before he can fight with any of the other tenants.

Mamochka takes a nap while Alexei works, and Alexei takes two boxes from the group and carefully places them under his pillow where he can smell the wonderful glue tonight. When Mamochka awakens, mother and son walk to the pharmacy with the completed boxes. This is a trip that Alexei does not want to take, and he deliberately walks slowly and sticks out his tongue at people on the street.

Alexei sees the ice cream vendor on the corner and watches the people, mostly women, who push money through the small window and receive a frozen treat in return. Mamochka denies Alexei's request for some ice cream, and he knows that Mamochka is always right. Still, he desperately craves one of the frozen confections. Alexei temporarily forgets about the ice cream and questions Mamochka about Pushkin when they approach Pushkin Square. When he learns that Pushkin was a great Russian writer, Alexei determines that he will also become a writer. Alexei's mood calms now that he knows what he will be, and he determines to find a paper and pencil later to begin his craft.

Later that evening, Mamochka reads a story to Alexei, who makes noises to add special effects to the story. Mamochka silences Alexei and tries to calm him before bedtime. When at last Alexei lies in bed, he thinks that his legs are growing longer and that his head extends up to the dome of stars in the sky overhead. There is also a tiny Alexei who lives inside the big Alexei and is in danger of vanishing, but the combination of the two is just as it should be.

Alexei asks Mamochka to pick him up, but she declines and goes to the kitchen. While she is gone, Alexei retrieves his two stolen boxes and sniffs the comforting smell of the glue. Alexei grows impatient for Mamochka to return, so he wanders out into the hallway and sees that the door to the Sea Girl's apartment is open. Alexei can see some money lying on the Sea Girl's table, and he instantly thinks about the ice cream that was denied him earlier today.

Alexei grabs the money and runs out of the apartment building onto the street, but he realizes it is night. He is not sure where to find the ice cream vendor. Alexei's conscience begins to work, and he is sure that people passing him on the street know that he has someone else's money. Alexei begins to run, frantically sure that every eye is on him and his guilty behavior. Suddenly, Alexei throws the money away and begins to unbutton his clothes in the heat that now stifles him.

Alexei cannot see Mamochka anywhere and begins to throw himself at women on the street. Suddenly, Alexei is being beaten by men who smell of strong tobacco, and he hears women's voices telling the men to stop hitting him because there is something wrong with Alexei. Alexei cries and howls in his misery because he does not belong on the street at night and silently sends words of distress to his mother. Mamochka runs to Alexei and grabs him, crying in her relief at having found her missing son.

When Mamochka and Alexei return home, Mamochka fixes a soft boiled egg and some warm milk for Alexei, who has just remembered that he wants to be a writer. Alexei demands some paper and a pencil, and he quickly writes down the rules of the outside world which he has just learned, "Night. Night. Night. Night. Night...."