Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol was born on April 1, 1809 in the town of Velikie Sorochintsy, Mirgorodsky district, Poltava province, in the family of a landowner. The Gogol family had a large property, about a thousand acres of land and about four hundred souls of peasants.
Gogol spent all his childhood in the Yanovshchina estate, which belonged to the parents of Nikolai Vasilyevich. His mother tried very hard to instill in her son a love of religion. Gogol was interested in this, but not so much religion as a whole, as prophecies about the Last Judgment and about the idea of the afterlife retribution.
Our experts can check your essay according to the USE criteria
Site experts Kritika24.ru
Teachers of leading schools and current experts of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.
Also in childhood, Gogol began to write poetry.
Nikolai Vasilyevich began to study. At first it was the Poltava district school, then private lessons, and then Nikolai Vasilyevich entered the gymnasium of higher sciences in Nizhyn. Here he begins to try himself in different literary genres, but he is not going to associate himself with this, because he dreams of a legal career.
After graduating from the gymnasium in 1828, Gogol went to St. Petersburg, but there he met with failure. The poem "Idyll in Pictures" written by him causes laughter and indulgence. Then Nikolai Vasilievich suddenly leaves for Germany, and just as suddenly he returns. But here again, failure, he does not enter the stage as a dramatic actor.
At the end of 1829, he served in the Department of State Economy and Public Buildings of the Ministry of the Interior. In the interval from 1830 to 1831, he served in the department of appanages.
This experience gave Gogol disappointment in public service and passion for literature. He begins to spend a lot of time on this matter. His works are beginning to appear. Gogol begins to spend a lot of time in the circle of Pushkin and Zhukovsky. And, finally, in 1831-1832, Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka were published. After the release of the second part of this work, Gogol becomes famous, he goes to Moscow. But then he begins to have difficulties with censorship.
Gogol became more and more interested in history, and several times tried to teach at universities, but he was not accepted. A little later he became an adjunct professor in the department of world history.
In parallel with this, he writes stories that had their own style, bright to that an example was the work "The Nose" and "Taras Bulba".
When Gogol wrote The Inspector General, the reaction to his work was ambiguous. The fact is that already two months after the completion of writing the comedy, Gogol already put it on stage. But after a while, criticism rained down on Nikolai Vasilyevich, which greatly upset Gogol. The deterioration of relations with Pushkin also added fuel to the fire.
Nikolai Vasilyevich begins to spend a lot of time abroad. He goes to Germany, then to Switzerland. And at the same time he is working on the work “Dead Souls”, the idea of which, as the idea of the “Inspector General”, was suggested by Pushkin. And being in France, Gogol learns about his death. Then Nikolai Vasilievich decided that this work was like a kind of "sacred testament" of the poet.
Since 1837, Gogol has been on the road again: Rome, Turin, Baden-Baden, Frankfurt, Geneva and again Rome.
Further, the life of Nikolai Vasilyevich is in full swing. He goes to Moscow, reads the chapters of the first volume dead souls, receives good feedback, leaves again, burns some chapters of the work, finishes it and submits it for censorship. And when he decided to write the second volume, Gogol had a crisis. He travels a lot, but the work is very difficult to write. And in the end he burns it.
Nikolai Vasilyevich begins the first spiritual crisis, he is being treated, and only by the autumn of 1845 did he feel better. He goes back to the second volume of Dead Souls, but it's still difficult. Gogol is distracted a lot by other things. After writing the book "Selected passages from correspondence with friends", Gogol receives another blow. He is getting heavily criticized. This had a very bad effect on Nikolai Vasilyevich. After that, he reads a lot and decides to go on a pilgrimage to holy places. In 1849 - 1850, Nikolai Vasilyevich decided to read some chapters of the second volume of Dead Souls, and Gogol's friends liked them. Then he decides to finally think about family life and makes an offer to Anna Mikhailovna Vielgorskaya, but she refuses the writer.
Gogol continues to work on the second volume of Dead Souls. He leads a fairly active lifestyle, and in 1852 he completes the second volume, but Gogol begins a crisis. He meets with Father Matthew, and on February 7 he confesses and takes communion. On the night of 11/12, he burns the entire second volume, leaving only drafts of five chapters. February 21, in the morning, Gogol died.
"To be in the world and not signify one's existence in any way - that seems terrible to me." N. V. Gogol.
The genius of classical literature
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is known to the world as a writer, poet, playwright, publicist and critic. A man of remarkable talent and an amazing master of words, he is famous both in Ukraine, where he was born, and in Russia, where he moved over time.
Especially Gogol is known for his mystical heritage. His stories, written in a unique Ukrainian language, which is not literary in the full sense of the word, convey the depth and beauty of Ukrainian speech, known to the whole world. The greatest popularity of Gogol was given by his "Viy". What other works did Gogol write? Below is a list of works. These are sensational stories, often mystical, and stories from the school curriculum, and little-known works of the author.
List of writer's works
In total, Gogol wrote more than 30 works. Some of them he continued to finish, despite the publication. Many of his creations had several variations, including "Taras Bulba" and "Viy". Having published the story, Gogol continued to reflect on it, sometimes adding or changing the ending. His stories often have multiple endings. So, next we consider the most famous works of Gogol. The list is in front of you:
- "Ganz Kühelgarten" (1827-1829, under the pseudonym A. Alov).
- “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka” (1831), part 1 (“Sorochinsky fair”, “Evening on the eve of Ivan Kupala”, “Drowned woman”, “Missing letter”). The second part was published a year later. It includes the following stories: "The Night Before Christmas", "Terrible Revenge", "Ivan Fedorovich Shponka and his Aunt", "The Enchanted Place".
- Mirgorod (1835). Its edition was divided into 2 parts. The first part included the stories "Taras Bulba", "Old World Landowners". The second part, completed in 1839-1841, included "Viy", "The Tale of how Ivan Ivanovich quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich."
- "Nose" (1841-1842).
- "Morning of a business man". It was written, like the comedies Litigation, Fragment and Lakeyskaya, from 1832 to 1841.
- "Portrait" (1842).
- "Notes of a Madman" and "Nevsky Prospekt" (1834-1835).
- "Inspector" (1835).
- The play "Marriage" (1841).
- "Dead Souls" (1835-1841).
- Comedies "Players" and "Theatrical tour after the presentation of a new comedy" (1836-1841).
- "Overcoat" (1839-1841).
- "Rome" (1842).
These are published works that Gogol wrote. The works (a list by year, to be more precise) indicate that the writer's talent flourished in 1835-1841. And now let's go through the reviews of Gogol's most famous stories.
"Viy" - the most mystical creation of Gogol
The story "Viy" tells about the recently deceased lady, the centurion's daughter, who, as the whole village knows, was a witch. The centurion, at the request of his beloved daughter, forces the funeral worker Khoma Bruta to be read over her. The witch, who died through the fault of Khoma, dreams of revenge...
Reviews of the work "Viy" - continuous praise for the writer and his talent. It is impossible to discuss the list of Nikolai Gogol's works without mentioning everyone's favorite Viy. Readers note bright characters, original, unique, with their own characters and habits. All of them are typical Ukrainians, cheerful and optimistic people, rude but kind. It is impossible not to appreciate the subtle irony and humor of Gogol.
They also highlight the unique style of the writer and his ability to play on contrasts. During the day, the peasants walk and have fun, Khoma also drinks, so as not to think about the horror of the coming night. With the advent of evening, a gloomy, mystical silence sets in - and Khoma again enters the circle outlined in chalk ...
A very short story keeps you in suspense until the last page. Below are stills from the 1967 film of the same name.
Satirical comedy "The Nose"
The Nose is an amazing story, written in such a satirical form that at first it seems fantastic absurdity. According to the plot, Platon Kovalev, a public person and prone to narcissism, wakes up in the morning without a nose - it is empty in its place. In a panic, Kovalev begins to look for his lost nose, because without it you won’t even appear in a decent society!
Readers easily saw the prototype of Russian (and not only!) Society. Gogol's stories, despite being written in the 19th century, do not lose their relevance. Gogol, whose list of works for the most part can be divided into mysticism and satire, very subtly felt modern society, which has not changed at all over the past time. The rank, the external gloss are still held in high esteem, but the inner content of a person is of no interest to anyone. It is Plato's nose, with an outer shell, but without inner content, that becomes the prototype of a man richly dressed, rationally thinking, but soulless.
"Taras Bulba"
"Taras Bulba" is a great creation. Describing the works of Gogol, the most famous, the list of which is provided above, it is impossible not to mention this story. In the center of the plot are two brothers, Andrei and Ostap, as well as their father, Taras Bulba himself, a strong, courageous and utterly principled man.
Readers especially emphasize the small details of the story, on which the author focused, which enlivens the picture, makes those distant times closer and more understandable. The writer studied the details of the life of that era for a long time, so that readers could more vividly and vividly imagine the events taking place. In general, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, whose list of works we are discussing today, has always attached particular importance to trifles.
Charismatic characters also made a lasting impression on readers. The tough, merciless Taras, ready to do anything for the sake of the Motherland, the brave and courageous Ostap and the romantic, selfless Andrey - they cannot leave readers indifferent. In general, the famous works of Gogol, the list of which we are considering, have an interesting feature - an amazing, but harmonious contradiction in the characters' characters.
"Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka"
Another mystical, but at the same time funny and ironic work by Gogol. The blacksmith Vakula is in love with Oksana, who promised to marry him if he gets her little slippers, like the queen herself. Vakula is in despair... But then, quite by chance, he comes across evil spirits, having fun in the village in the society of a witch. It is not surprising that Gogol, whose list of works contains numerous mystical stories, involved a witch and a devil in this story.
This story is interesting not only for the plot, but also for the colorful characters, each of which is unique. They, as if alive, appear before the readers, each in his own way. Gogol admires some with slight irony, he admires Vakula, and teaches Oksana to appreciate and love. Like a caring father, he chuckles good-naturedly at his characters, but it all looks so soft that it causes only a gentle smile.
The character of the Ukrainians, their language, customs and foundations, so clearly described in the story, could only be described in such detail and lovingly by Gogol. Even joking about the "Muscovites" looks cute in the mouths of the characters in the story. This is because Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, whose list of works we are discussing today, loved his homeland and spoke of it with love.
"Dead Souls"
Sounds mystical, right? However, in reality, Gogol did not resort to mysticism in this work and looked much deeper - into human souls. Main character Chichikov seems to be a negative character at first glance, but the more the reader gets to know him, the more positive traits notices in it. Gogol makes the reader worry about the fate of his hero, despite his hard-hitting actions, which already says a lot.
In this work, the writer, as always, acts as an excellent psychologist and a real genius of the word.
Of course, these are not all the creations that Gogol wrote. The list of works is incomplete without the continuation of Dead Souls. It was his author who allegedly burned it before his death. Rumor has it that in the next two volumes, Chichikov was supposed to improve and become a decent person. Is it so? Unfortunately, now we will never know for sure.
Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich - the famous Russian writer, a brilliant satirist, was born on March 20, 1809 in the village of Sorochintsy, on the border of the Poltava and Mirgorod counties, in the family estate, the village of Vasilievka. Gogol's father, Vasily Afanasyevich, was the son of a regimental clerk and came from an old Little Russian family, the ancestor of which was considered an associate of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Hetman Ostap Gogol, and his mother, Marya Ivanovna, was the daughter of the court adviser Kosyarovsky. Gogol's father, a creative, witty man, who had seen a lot and was educated in his own way, who loved to gather neighbors in his estate, whom he entertained with stories full of inexhaustible humor, was a great lover of the theater, staged performances in the house of a wealthy neighbor and not only participated in them himself, but he even composed his own comedies from Little Russian life, and Gogol's mother, a housewife and hospitable hostess, was distinguished by special religious inclinations. (See article Gogol's Childhood.)
The innate properties of Gogol's talent and character and inclinations, partly learned by him from his parents, were clearly manifested in him already in his school years, when he was placed in the Nezhinsky Lyceum. He liked to go with close friends to the shady garden of the lyceum and there sketch out the first literary experiments, compose caustic epigrams for teachers and comrades, come up with witty nicknames and characteristics that clearly marked his outstanding powers of observation and characteristic humor. The teaching of sciences in the lyceum was very unenviable, and the most gifted young men had to replenish their knowledge through self-education and in one way or another satisfy their needs for spiritual creativity. They subscribed to magazines and almanacs, the works of Zhukovsky and Pushkin, staged performances in which Gogol, who played comic roles, took a very close part; published their own handwritten journal, whose editor was also chosen by Gogol.
Portrait of N. V. Gogol. Artist F. Müller, 1840
However, Gogol did not attach much importance to his first creative exercises. At the end of the course, he dreamed of leaving for public service in St. Petersburg, where, as it seemed to him, he could only find a wide field for activity and the opportunity to enjoy the true benefits of science and art. But Petersburg, where Gogol moved after completing his course in 1828, far from lived up to his expectations, especially at first. Instead of extensive activities "in the field of state benefit", he was offered to confine himself to modest studies in the offices, and his literary attempts were so unsuccessful that the first work he published - the poem "Hans Küchelgarten" - Gogol himself took away from bookstores and burned it after an unfavorable critical note. about her Field.
Unaccustomed living conditions in the northern capital, material shortcomings and moral disappointments - all this plunged Gogol into despondency, and more and more often his imagination and thought turned to his native Ukraine, where he lived so freely in his childhood, from where so many poetic memories were preserved. In a wide wave they poured over his soul and poured out for the first time into the direct, poetic pages of his Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka, published in 1831 in two volumes. "Evenings" was very cordially welcomed by Zhukovsky and Pletnev, and then by Pushkin, and thus finally established Gogol's literary reputation and introduced him to the circle of luminaries of Russian poetry.
From that time on, Gogol's biography began a period of the most intense literary creativity. Proximity to Zhukovsky and Pushkin, before whom he revered, inspired his inspiration, gave him courage and energy. In order to become worthy of their attention, he began to look more and more at art as a serious matter, and not just as a game of mind and talent. The appearance, one after another, of such amazingly original works by Gogol as "Portrait", "Nevsky Prospekt" and "Notes of a Madman", and then "The Nose", "Old-world landowners", "Taras Bulba" (in the first edition), "Viy" and "The story of how Ivan Ivanovich quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich", - made a strong impression in the literary world. It was obvious to everyone that in the person of Gogol a great original talent was born, which was destined to give high examples of truly real works and thereby finally consolidate in Russian literature that real creative direction, the first foundations of which had already been laid by the genius of Pushkin. Moreover, in Gogol's stories almost for the first time (albeit still superficially) the psychology of the masses, those thousands and millions of "little people" whom literature has hitherto touched only in passing and occasionally, is touched upon (albeit still superficially). These were the first steps towards the democratization of art itself. In this sense, the young literary generation represented by Belinsky enthusiastically welcomed the appearance of Gogol's first stories.
But no matter how powerful and peculiar the writer’s talent was in these first works, imbued with either the fresh, charming air of poetic Ukraine, or the cheerful, cheerful truly folk humor, or the deep humanity and stunning tragedy of The Overcoat and The Madman’s Notes, - however, not in they expressed the main essence of Gogol's work, what made him the creator of The Inspector General and Dead Souls, two works that constituted an era in Russian literature. Ever since Gogol began to create The Inspector General, his life has been completely absorbed exclusively by literary creativity.
Portrait of N. V. Gogol. Artist A. Ivanov, 1841
As far as the external facts of his biography are simple and not varied, just as deeply, tragic and instructive is the inner spiritual process that he experienced at that time. No matter how great was the success of Gogol's first works, however, he was still not satisfied with his literary activity in that form of simple artistic contemplation and reproduction of life, in which it had hitherto been, according to the prevailing aesthetic views. He was dissatisfied with the fact that his moral personality, with this form of creativity, remained, as it were, on the sidelines, completely passive. Gogol secretly longed to be not only a simple contemplator of life's phenomena, but also their judge; he longed for a direct impact on life in the name of good, he longed for a civic mission. Having failed to carry out this mission in the service field, first as an official and teacher, and then as a professor of history at St. Petersburg University, for which he was little prepared, Gogol turns to literature with even greater passion, but now his view of art is more severe, more demanding; from a passive contemplative artist, he tries to transform into an active, conscious creator, who will not only reproduce the phenomena of life, illuminating them only with random and scattered impressions, but will lead them through the “crucible of his spirit” and “bring to the eyes of the people” as an enlightened deep, penetrating synthesis.
Under the influence of such a mood that was developing in him more and more insistently, Gogol finishes and puts on stage, in 1836, The Inspector General, an unusually bright and caustic satire, not only revealing the ulcers of the modern administrative system, but also showing how much vulgarization under the influence of this system, the most sincere warehouse of a good-natured, Russian person went down. The impression made by the Inspector General was unusually strong. Despite, however, the huge success of the comedy, it caused Gogol a lot of trouble and grief, both from censorship difficulties in staging and printing it, and from the majority of society, touched by the play to the quick and accusing the author of writing lampoons on his own. fatherland.
N. V. Gogol. Portrait by F. Müller, 1841
Frustrated by all this, Gogol goes abroad, so that there, in the "beautiful far away", far from the hustle and bustle and trifles, take on Dead Souls. Indeed, the relatively calm life in Rome, among the majestic monuments of art, at first had a beneficial effect on Gogol's work. A year later, the first volume of Dead Souls was ready and printed. In this highly original and unique "poem" in prose, Gogol develops a broad picture of the serf way of life, mainly from the side as it reflected on the upper, semi-cultural serf layer. In this capital work, the main properties of Gogol's talent - humor and an extraordinary ability to grasp and embody the negative aspects of life in the "pearl of creation" - reached their apogee in their development. Despite the relatively limited scope of the phenomena of Russian life he touched upon, many of the types he created can compete with the classical creations of European satire in terms of depth of psychological penetration.
The impression made by Dead Souls was even more amazing than from all other works of Gogol, but it also served as the beginning of those fatal misunderstandings between Gogol and the reading public, which led to very sad consequences. It was obvious to everyone that with this work Gogol dealt an unremovable, cruel blow to the entire serf-like structure of life; but while the younger literary generation drew the most radical conclusions on this subject, the conservative part of society was indignant at Gogol and accused him of slandering his homeland. Gogol himself seemed to be frightened by the passion and bright one-sidedness with which he tried to concentrate all human vulgarity in his work, to reveal "all the mud of trifles entangling human life". To justify himself and express his real views on Russian life and his works, he published the book "Selected passages from correspondence with friends." The conservative ideas expressed there were extremely disliked by the Russian radical Westernizers and their leader Belinsky. Belinsky himself, shortly before this, had diametrically changed his socio-political convictions from ardent guardianship to nihilistic criticism of everything and everyone. But now he began to accuse Gogol of "betraying" his former ideals.
The Left circles fell upon Gogol with passionate attacks, which grew stronger with time. Not expecting this from recent friends, he was shocked and discouraged. Gogol began to seek spiritual support and calm in a religious mood, so that with new spiritual vigor he could begin to complete his work - the end of Dead Souls - which, in his opinion, should have finally dispelled all misunderstandings. In this second volume of theirs, Gogol, contrary to the wishes of the "Westerners", intended to show that Russia does not consist of only mental and moral freaks, he thought to portray the types of ideal beauty of the Russian soul. With the creation of these positive types, Gogol wanted to complete, - as the last chord, - his creation, Dead Souls, which, according to his plan, should not have been exhausted by the first, satirical, volume. But the physical strength of the writer was already seriously undermined. Too long a secluded life, away from his homeland, a harsh ascetic regime that he imposed on himself, his health undermined by nervous tension - all this deprived Gogol's work of a close connection with the fullness of life impressions. Suppressed by the unequal, hopeless struggle, in a moment of deep dissatisfaction and longing, Gogol burned the draft manuscript of the second volume of Dead Souls and soon died of a nervous fever in Moscow on February 21, 1852.
House of Talyzin (Nikitsky Boulevard, Moscow). Lived here in last years and N. V. Gogol died, here he burned the second volume of "Dead Souls"
Gogol's influence on the work of the literary generation that immediately followed him was great and versatile, being, as it were, an inevitable addition to those great testaments that the untimely deceased Pushkin left far unfinished. Having brilliantly completed the great national cause firmly established by Pushkin, the work of developing a literary language and artistic forms, Gogol, in addition to this, introduced two deeply original streams into the very content of literature - the humor and poetry of the Little Russian people - and a bright social element, which from that moment received in fiction undeniable value. He strengthened this meaning by the example of his own ideally high attitude to artistic activity.
Gogol raised the importance of artistic activity to the height of civic duty, to which it had not yet risen to such a vivid degree before him. The sad episode of the sacrifice by the author of his beloved creation in the midst of the wild civic persecution raised around him will forever remain deeply touching and instructive.
Literature on the biography and work of Gogol
Kulish,"Notes on the life of Gogol".
Shenrock,"Materials for the biography of Gogol" (M. 1897, 3 volumes).
Skabichevsky, "Works" vol. II.
Biographical sketch of Gogol ed. Pavlenkova.
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol was born on March 20, 1809 in the Poltava province in the family of a small landowner. Their family was quite large. In addition to Nicholas himself, he had six more children: four sisters and a brother."Early" Gogol
Nikolai Vasilyevich spent his childhood years in his parents' estate, which was located near the village of Dikanka. This place, as the writer himself learned with age, was embraced by many different legends, beliefs and mysterious traditions, which subsequently resulted in the works of the creator. As expected, his father, Vasily, played a big role in Gogol's upbringing. He was an ardent admirer of the various kinds art, including poetry and funny comedies. With age, Nikolai and his brother Ivan were sent to study at the Poltava district school.Nikolai began to take his first steps in the field of art in 1921. It was during this period of his life that he entered the gymnasium of higher sciences, which at that time was located in Nizhyn. By the way, Gogol was then engaged exclusively in painting, and also acted as an actor in various comedy scenes. He tries himself in many forms of art, including literature. At this time, his satire was born, called “Something about Nizhyn, or the law is not written for fools”, which, unfortunately, could not be preserved.
In 1828 he graduated from the gymnasium and moved to St. Petersburg. Of course, such a change was not the easiest in the life of the author. He experienced serious financial difficulties, but did not lower own hands. At that time, he makes his first attempts in the literary field, first the poem "Italy" appears, and then under the pseudonym "V. Alov" Gogol prints "an idyll in pictures" "Hanz Küchelgarten". Actually, this experience was a failure. Critics rated this work in an extremely negative light, which only increased the difficult mood and existence of the writer. The writer himself had an extremely touching attitude to his creations throughout his life and paid attention to their criticism, for which he was very worried and worried.
This very much touched the writer himself, which is why in 1829 he burned all unsold copies of his works and in July of the same year went to live abroad - in Germany. Nevertheless, fate turned out in such a way that the writer, literally two months later, returned to St. Petersburg again. At the end of 1829, he managed to get into the service of the Department of State Economy and Public Buildings of the Ministry of the Interior. This period of Gogol's life is, perhaps, fundamental. The thing is that thanks to such a position, he was able to gain some experience, as well as the opportunity to capture bureaucratic life in the form it really is. The civil service disappointed Gogol, and quite strongly, but in the future, he transferred this experience to one of his works.
Creativity Gogol
After such a service, he did not leave attempts to write interesting works and in 1832 he published one of his most famous books - Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka. It is based on the teachings of the Ukrainian people, songs, fairy tales and beliefs, and, of course, on Gogol's personal experience. This work made a huge splash, many admired it, and Gogol himself has since become a very famous cultural figure. Even Pushkin noted that the appearance of this work is an extremely unusual phenomenon in Russian literature.In the same year, Gogol, who had already become famous, arrived in Moscow. He begins to communicate with M.P. Pogodin, the family of S.T. Aksakova, M.N. Zagoskin, I.V. and P.V. Kireevsky, and they, in turn, exert on him big influence, on his worldview and becoming a writer. Two years later, the writer was appointed adjunct professor in the Department of World History at St. Petersburg University. At this time, he closely studies the history of Ukraine and its people, which later becomes the basis of another famous and popular work of Gogol - "Taras Bulba". He completes another year at the university and comes to the conclusion that he should devote himself completely to creativity and literature.
Naturally, the writer has a large amount of free time due to such a decision, which allows him to give all his strength only to writing his stories. The year 1835 becomes quite rich for him in the creation of a wide variety of works. At this time, there appeared: a collection of short stories "Mirgorod", which included "Old-world landowners", "Taras Bulba", "Viy" and others, and a collection of "Arabesques" (on the themes of St. Petersburg life).
Immediately after this, Gogol begins to write The Government Inspector. As we already know, in writing this work, the writer was helped by his personal experience when he was in the public service. Of course, it was not without the help of other famous figures, for example, Pushkin, who prompted him a little with the plot. The work was written very quickly, and already in January next year he reads a comedy at the evening at Zhukovsky's (in the presence of Pushkin, P. A. Vyazemsky and some other famous writers). A month later, Gogol is engaged in staging on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater, and the premiere took place in April of the same year. Indeed, The Inspector General made a huge stir among many famous cultural figures of that time and, of course, ordinary readers as well.
The huge popularity of The Inspector General made Gogol pay attention to a huge number of editions, he was invited to social events, but the writer got tired of all this pretty quickly. He left Moscow and went to live abroad. At first he lived in Switzerland, then moved to Paris, but all this time he did not sit idly by, but was engaged in writing Dead Souls. Soon news of Pushkin's death reached him, which was a real blow.
In the autumn of 1839, the writer moved back to Moscow and showed several chapters of Dead Souls. Of course, they made an impression on the public. But despite this, the work was not yet completed to the end and Gogol again leaves his homeland. In 1840, in Vienna, the writer was overtaken by one of the first bouts of his mental illness. In October of the same year, he returns and reads the last five chapters of Dead Souls. Despite the fact that the public liked the work, it is not allowed to be printed in Moscow. Then Gogol sends him to St. Petersburg, where they gladly helped him, only with the condition of changing the name. The piece was a great success, but there were occasional negative reviews of the farce. Excessive caricature, but this did not hurt the writer in any way, for he had already gone to live abroad again and work on the second volume of Dead Souls.
During this period of his life, he takes a lot of time to prepare for the creation of a collection of essays, but he also continues to work on the second volume. The writer's state of mind deteriorates significantly, and he tries to find peace in the resorts, but this does not help him much. In 1845, as a result of an exacerbation of his illness, he burned the second volume of Dead Souls. The writer argued this by the fact that in his new work the roads to the ideal were not clearly shown.
Last years
In the last years of his life, the writer traveled very often. In 1847, he published a series of articles in the form of letters "Selected passages from correspondence with friends." Here censorship tried very hard, it was changed almost beyond recognition, and the result of its appearance was extremely negative - critics recognized it as weak artistically. At the same time, the writer is also working on "Reflections on Divine Liturgy”, which appears only after the death of Gogol. At this time of his life, he paid a lot of attention to religion, believed that he could not work until he bowed to the Holy Sepulcher and went there. In 1850, the writer makes a marriage proposal to A.M. Vielgorskaya, but, unfortunately, is refused. In 1852, he regularly met with Archpriest Matvey Konstantinovsky, a real fanatic and mystic. February of the same year was fatal for Gogol. On the night of February 11-12, the writer orders his servant Semyon to bring a briefcase with his manuscripts. He puts all his notebooks and notes in the fireplace and simply burns them. Only a small part of the draft manuscripts relating to the various editions of Dead Souls remains. On February 20, the medical council decides on compulsory treatment of Gogol, but, as it turns out, no treatment helps him. The next day, the writer dies, moreover, with the words: “Ladder, hurry up, give me a ladder!”.
Loading...