Notes of a Pug-Nosed Mephistopheles

Notes of a Pug-Nosed Mephistopheles (Zapysky kyrpatoho Mefistofelia), a novel first published in 1917, provides some good examples of Vynnychenko's views on sexual morality. Preserving virginity is a “violation of the laws of nature” (p.105); morality is “the pink cosmetic powder over the laws of nature” (p.121); and honesty is a concept “invented by human hypocrisy, stupidity and by the imperfect social structure” (p.123). The novel deals with the problem of unwanted children that complicate the lives of sexual partners and an attempted infanticide. Uncertainty about paternity is one of Vynnychenko’s preoccupations; once it is firmly established, paternity becomes a force that can overcome his commitment to free love and replace it with moral obligations. (Marta Tarnawsky)