One of the greatest Russian writers, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, was born in 1809. His parents were not wealthy provincial landowners who lived in their small estate near the village of Dikanka in the Poltava province. Gogol’s work and life was also influenced by the fact that his father, Vasily Afanasyevich, had a passion for art, was fond of theater and had his own compositions.
Gogol's birth as a writer
Gogol received his usual home education. Later, he enters the Nizhyn gymnasium. In the gymnasium, the future writer showed interest in the theater, participating in productions, learned to play the violin, and in 1828 he graduated. The first attempts to compose turned out to be a failure for him, and such stages of Gogol's life and work will be periodically repeated in his biography. In 1829, he gets the position of a petty official, while being fond of painting and continues to write. The craving for literature takes its toll, and already in 1830 Gogol published his first story - “Basavryuk” - in “Domestic Notes”. In the same year, the chapters of the novel Hetman were published, on which the writer began work. During this period of his life, he met with Pushkin, which seriously affected the work and life of Gogol. The writer listened to the advice of Alexander Sergeyevich and highly appreciated his works. Pushkin introduced Gogol to many writers and artists of that time, including Delvig, Vyazemsky, Bryullov, Krylov.
The reflection of history and life in the works of Gogol
Gogol became famous among the writers for his collection of novels “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” (1830-1831). The village in which Gogol grew up was famous for beliefs and legends. Gogol transferred many of those traditions to his work. The writer decides to devote himself to pedagogy, scientific activity, and in 1834 he was appointed professor of the Department of History at the University of St. Petersburg. In the same year, he began work on Taras Bulba. A year later, Gogol leaves the service and completely leaves for literature. In 1835, “Viy” and “Taras Bulba” emerged from his pen. In addition, essays about life in Petersburg “Arabesques” are published, and sketches of the “Overcoat” are created, which Gogol will finish only in 1842.
Theatrical period of Gogol's creativity
Writing was not the only hobby, the work and life of Gogol were quite diverse. The appearance of the “Examiner” in 1835 was the result of a passion for theatrical productions. It was for the theater that this work was written, which was subsequently staged in one of the Moscow theaters with the participation of the famous Shchepkin. The production was sharply criticized, and the author decided to go abroad. Meanwhile, Gogol continues to work on the next work, which ridicules the bureaucracy of that time, and in 1841, with the participation of Belinsky, the first volume of Dead Souls is published in St. Petersburg.
Creative and spiritual crisis
The second volume of Dead Souls had a completely different fate. Further creativity and life of Gogol develop less successfully. The revision of life principles, disappointment in the influence of fiction on life led the writer to a complete spiritual crisis, to a serious mental illness. At one of the most critical moments, in 1852, Gogol completely burns the 2nd volume of Dead Souls. In the same year, the writer was gone. He was buried in the cemetery of the Danilov Monastery. The entire chronology of Gogol's life and work reflected in his works.