Poprichchin is a low-ranking civil servant. Day after day, he toils away in his dreary existence, unhappy in his job and, to make matters worse, hopelessly in love with his boss’s daughter.
He longs for social advancement, but as his dreams prove unattainable, he withdraws further and further until he turns his back on reality entirely.
In Diary of a Madman, Nikolai Gogol depicts a man caught between hopelessness and self-abandonment. Instead of accepting his circumstances, the protagonist takes refuge in a sense of omnipotence that escalates into megalomania in order to cope with his inferiority complex.
Samuel Finzi plays the madman who, at the age of 42, embarks on a new career.
