"A Nasty Story" also translated as "A Disgraceful Affair", as well as "A Most Unfortunate Incident", is a satirical short story

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 by Fyodor Dostoyevsky concerning the escapades of a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n civil servant.

Plot introduction

Jessie Coulson, in the introduction to a 1966 Penguin publication that includes the story, states of "A Nasty Story":

"Its theme is the terrible gulf between a man's idea of himself, his ideals, and his motives, and what they prove to be in the harsh light of reality. Its cruelty

Cruelty

Cruelty can be described as indifference to suffering, and even positive pleasure in inflicting it. If this is supported by a legal or social framework, then receives the name of perversion. Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept....

 lies in the recognition that the tragedy of failure to come up to one's own expectations... is essentially comic..."

Plot summary

After drinking a bit too much with two fellow civil servants, the protagonist

Protagonist

A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

, Ivan Ilyich Pralinsky, expounds on his desire to embrace a philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 based on kindness to those in lower status

Social status

In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....

 social positions. After leaving the initial gathering, Ivan happens upon the wedding

Wedding

A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...

 celebration of one of his subordinates. He decides to put his philosophy into action, and so crashes the party. Many more drinks ensue, and Ivan embarrasses himself terribly while failing to gain the admiration of his "lessers", which he so desperately desires.

Publication

One of Dostoyevsky's more obscure works, "A Nasty Story" was written and published in 1862 following his brief tour of Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. The story was published in Dostoyevsky's magazine Vremya

Vremya (magazine)

Vremya was a monthly magazine published by Fyodor Dostoyevsky under the editorship of his brother Mikhail Dostoyevsky, as Fyodor himself, due to his status as a former convict, was unable to be the official editor.-Publication history:...

.