Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol is one of the most famous classics of Russian literature. His biography is shrouded in secrets and mysteries. Perhaps this affected the work of the poet and prose writer, because his works are also full of mysticism.
The mysterious story of Gogol
Gogol's life was full and full of tragic moments. During his lifetime, the poet came across rumors, often embellished. There were many reasons for this: Gogol was known as a closed person, practically isolated from society. And although after the death of the writer more than one and a half centuries have passed, to this day almost nothing is known about his life.
Gogol, whose interesting facts from his life continue to be revealed to this day, was inclined to mythologize his own biography. So, he deliberately kept silent about his life and even thought up stories that never happened to him in reality.
The family of the great writer and playwright
Do you know what Gogol’s name really was? Riddles surrounded him from birth. The poet came from a respected noble family Gogol-Yankovsky, originating in the 17th century. Family legend says that the founder of this Ukrainian Cossack family was Ostap Gogol - hetman of Right-Bank Ukraine.
Gogol's father is Vasily Afanasevich Gogol-Yankovsky. Vasily Afanasevich was a writer, poet and playwright. He wrote his works (for the most part, plays for small theaters) in Ukrainian. This affected the fate of the young Nikolai Vasilievich, who, unfortunately, lost his father quite early - the boy was barely 15 years old at the time of his death.
The mother of the poet and prose writer was Maria Ivanovna Gogol. It is she who is considered the “culprit” of her son’s hobby for religiosity and mysticism. In addition to Nikolai Vasilievich, their family had eleven more children. Gogol was the third, and, in fact, the eldest child in the family - the first two babies were born dead.
The biographical mystery of the great genius: what was the name of Gogol
So what was the name of Gogol? Despite the fact that this fact of biography is actively discussed by historians and biographers, at birth, as we all know, the poet received the name of Nikolai Vasilyevich. But few know that at birth the boy was named Yanovsky. By the way, from the age of 12, the Russian classic had a double surname: Gogol-Yanovsky. It is believed that the writer, not knowing the history of the origin of this family name, discarded it, since he considered it a made-up Poles.
Now that you know what Gogol’s name was at birth, we’ll tell you other interesting facts from Gogol’s life.
Influences of childhood on the work of Gogol
The great playwright spent all his childhood in the village. The boy was constantly immersed in the atmosphere of Ukrainian life. Moreover, he knew about the life of peasants and workers no less than about the life of the nobility. This affected many of Gogol's works. He was very passionate about
Ukrainian culture and history. Even having left for St. Petersburg, the young writer did not stop replenishing his luggage of knowledge - in letters he asked his mother to tell more about peasant and lordly life.
Interest in literature and art as a whole manifested itself in the boy quite early - back in school years. As a student of the gymnasium, he was passionately interested in the amateur theater, which he created together with his comrades.
School years of the writer
At the age of ten, the parents of young Nikolai sent him to the Nizhyn gymnasium. Unfortunately, the boy did not succeed at all at school, although the educational institution was to a large extent responsible for this.
There were problems with the study of Russian literature. The subject teacher in every possible way denied the significance in the culture of such modern writers and poets as Pushkin and Zhukovsky. The result of this approach was the genuine interest of high school students in romantic literature of the 19th century.
Becoming N.V. Gogol as a writer
After completing his studies at the gymnasium in 1828, the classic went to the city of great opportunities - Petersburg. This stage of life has become one of the most difficult in his life, but at the same time the most productive. The modest means left by his noble mother to live in a big city were scarcely enough, and Gogol got a public service, which soon bored him.
Then Nikolai Gogol turned to literature. His first works, published under pseudonyms, were criticized by the public, and the desperate writer went abroad in search of a better life. However, he stayed there for only a month, after which he returned to Petersburg.
According to the observations of the future genius of Russian literature, the life and culture of the Ukrainian people attracted not only Little Russians, but also Russians. It was then that a plan of the famous “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” began to chart in his head. The young man insistently asked his mother, who lives in the village, to talk about Ukrainian traditions and customs unknown to him, about Ukrainian legends, manuscripts and costumes. All this helped him to most fully and accurately depict the Little Russian village and its inhabitants.
In 1830, Gogol's first successful work, “Evenings on the Eve of Ivan Kupal”, published in 1830's Domestic Notes, was published. But real fame and recognition to the young author was brought by “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, “May Night” and “Sorochinskaya Fair”.
From that moment on, the writer’s life turned upside down.
What influenced the work of Gogol?
In 1830, Nikolai Vasilievich met with P. A. Pletnev, V. A. Zhukovsky and A. S. Pushkin, who had a greater influence on Gogol's literary work.
Everything in the life of a literary classic was reflected in his works. Over time, he plunged into the capital's life more and more. As a result, Petersburg Stories, consisting of 5 novels, were published:
- "Nevsky Prospect".
- "Overcoat"
- "Diary of a Madman".
- "Portrait".
- "Nose".
The collection is united not only by a common problem, but also by a common scene - the city of St. Petersburg, where N.V. Gogol lived.
The author paid special attention to the image of Petersburg in his works. Many wrote about this city: both writers and poets. For them, Petersburg was not just a city - it was a symbol of the new Russia, its bright future.
Few raised in their works the theme of the duality of the capital. People saw in it not only the City of Petrov, but also the refuge of evil. The greatest poet of the golden age, A. S. Pushkin, was one of the first to show the ambiguity of the "city on the Neva." He described it like this: "The city is magnificent, the city is poor."
This problem is especially vividly disclosed in Nevsky Prospect. Broken hopes, tragedies of ordinary citizens are hidden behind the gloss of the main street. In the story, the city is indifferent to the problems of people - everyone is run by money and ranks. The ideas of good and evil in the capital have long been destroyed. N.V. Gogol also revealed the same idea. The plot of many works develops precisely in St. Petersburg: this is an ambiguous “Nose”, and “Notes of a madman”, “Overcoat” and “Nevsky Prospect”. St. Petersburg in the works of Gogol is the haven of homeless and impoverished officials. This image is opposed to the generally accepted image of the capital - luxurious, idle, blinding with its brilliance.
On the other hand, the Gogol capital is a city where mysticism and reality live as one.
Mirgorod in the life and work of Gogol
Although Petersburg played a significant role in the work of Gogol, Ukrainian folklore occupied the first place in it. In addition to such wonderful works as “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” and “May Night”, the writer wrote a number of other cult stories, which were combined into the collection “Mirgorod”. It’s not without reason that Gogol chose this name for his collection: the city of Mirgorod appears in his work “The Story of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich”.
Also, this collection includes other works that are known to us from the school bench:
- "Viy."
- "Taras Bulba."
- "Old-world landowners."
Why exactly Mirgorod? Gogol intentionally chose this locality. He was not far from the village of Veliky Sorochintsy, where young Nikolai spent his childhood and youth. The same village appears in his work “Sorochinskaya fair”.
In all of Ukraine and, in particular, in the Mirgorod district, the memory of the great countryman is still honored. Everywhere you can find not only monuments dedicated to the writer, but also streets, hotels, motels, squares, hospitals, libraries, named in his honor.
The originality of Gogol's stories
After analyzing all the works, we can highlight the specific features of the work of Gogol. Some moments from the writer's life to this day are the subject of controversy, but in his works Gogol was extremely accurate and straightforward.
The creative manner of the author is very recognizable. It was the uniqueness of his writing that allowed Gogol to become one of the greatest writers of the golden age. His first poem, The Ganz KĂĽchelgarten, which he published under the pseudonym, failed miserably. The reason for this was an attempt to write a poem in the manner of the romance of Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky.
His subsequent stories were also written in a romantic manner, but the unique Gogolian character of the letter begins to appear in them. A little later, the writer, under the influence of Pushkin, headed for critical realism. And although Gogol saw in him his mentor, he never tried to create on the model of Pushkin's creations.
Later works of the writer had an obvious social orientation. Gogol was one of the first to accurately reflect the essence of the “little man” problem in corrupt Russia. He skillfully ridiculed the vulgarity and laziness of modern man, laid bare the social contradictions of that time.
The early works of Nikolai Vasilievich are also of particular interest. These works share common recognizable features. For example, mystery and romance, expressive and “lively” description of Ukrainian life, references to Ukrainian folklore.
Such a hobby is quite natural: the writer’s childhood passed in Ukraine. For many years his life was closely connected with Ukrainian customs and culture. In these works mysticism takes place to a greater extent - they are very much like gloomy fairy tales. In his works, Gogol skillfully combined reality and mysterious otherworldly forces - witches, mermaids, and even devils lived next to the simple Ukrainian people.
The death of a genius
Many questions about the life of the great and mysterious writer excite the minds of people. What was the name of Gogol? Was he married? Did he have any descendants? But the most important question, to this day not solved and causing a lot of controversy, is the cause of Gogol's death.
Until now, no one can say for sure how this genius of literary thought left the light. Many historians, biographers and literary scholars put forward their versions of his death. One of the most common, but still not found confirmation, version says that the writer was buried alive.
This truly terrifying variation of the death of the classic was put forward in 1931. Since the cemetery, where he was buried, was liquidated, it was decided to rebury him. Many eminent writers attended the ceremony, and when the coffin was opened, eyewitnesses were horrified to find that Gogol’s skeleton was lying with his head turned on its side.
This news caused a flurry of discussions not only in the literary and historical environment, but also among ordinary people. As it turned out, there is a logical explanation for this phenomenon: the side boards of the coffin are the first to undergo decay processes, and the lid of the coffin, which does not have a strong support, begins to put pressure on the deceased's head, provoking its rotation on the “Atlantean” vertebra. According to experts on the burial, this is normal practice, and Gogol is far from the first to be found in this position after the burial.
The situation was complicated by the fact that the greatest fear of Nikolai Vasilyevich was burial alive. During his lifetime, he noticed that he was subject to the state of the so-called “lethargic sleep,” when there was no reaction to the outside world, the heartbeat slowed down significantly, and the pulse stopped being felt. For this reason, he made a will, in which he ordered to be buried only when signs of cadaverous decay become apparent. This gave the legend of the burial of the writer alive even greater mystery.
Another, not so frightening version of the death of the classic is poisoning with calomel (a mercury-containing drug used in the 19th century). The writer himself was susceptible to many diseases, and therefore was treated by a variety of doctors. It was a medical error that could have caused Gogol's premature death.
The latest version has received the greatest distribution, but so far it has not been recognized as official.
So, it is believed that Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol died due to the depletion of the body caused by hunger. The contemporaries of the classic admitted that he was subject to depressive states and overly passionate about religion, which prompted him to observe an ascetic lifestyle and rejection of carnal pleasures.
In pursuit of the triumph of the spirit over the body, Gogol starved himself by stubborn refusal of food. A week before the beginning of Lent, he decided to abandon creativity, food and limit contact with people as much as possible.
Before his death, he burns his things, as he himself explains, "under the influence of an evil spirit." Two days before his death, the writer’s condition worsened significantly - he went to bed and stubbornly refused any help, mentally preparing for death. Doctors did not stop trying to cure the writer, but on February 21, 1852 Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol died.
Now Gogol is buried at the Moscow Novodevichy Cemetery. The writer left this world in the prime of life, but, as the literary critic V.A. Voropaev, this is “a demise filled with spiritual meaning,” which the writer wanted.