Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is a special, colorful figure in Russian literature. A lot of mystical, strange and even terrible things are connected with his name. What is one of the most mystical stories of the XIX century - "Viy" worth! In fact, Gogol has several even more strange and instructive works, one of which is The Overcoat. The history of Gogol's "The Overcoat" is rooted in the problems of society in the 19th century.
Storyline
Petty official Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin leads a very quiet, modest and inconspicuous life. He works in the office, rewrites any papers, and only in this activity does he find some kind of outlet. Colleagues laugh at him and openly mock him, his superiors do not notice him, he has no relatives or friends.
One day Bashmachkin realizes that his old overcoat has completely fallen into disrepair and urgently needs to be replaced. To save up for a new coat, Akaki Akakievichgoes to unprecedented measures, he saves on food, candles and even walks on his toes so as not to tear his shoes. After several months of deprivation, he finally buys a new overcoat. At work, everyone - some sarcastically, some kindly - admire the old man's acquisition and invite one of his colleagues to the evening.
Akaky Akakievich is happy, he spent a wonderful evening at a party, but when the hero returned home late at night, he was robbed, that very new overcoat was taken from him. In desperation, Bashmachkin runs to the authorities, but in vain, he goes to an appointment with a "high" person, but he only shouts at a petty official. Akaky Akakievich returns to his closet, where he soon dies, and the inhabitants of St. Petersburg learn about a mysterious ghost that rips off the overcoats from we althy citizens and shouts “Mine!”.
The history of the creation of Gogol's "Overcoat" reflects a whole era with special problems, shows the unusual and distant history of our country and at the same time touches on the eternal questions of humanity that are still relevant today.
Little Man Theme
In the 19th century, a direction of realism was formed in Russian literature, covering all the little things and features of real life. The heroes of the works were ordinary people with their daily problems and passions.
If we talk briefly about the history of the creation of Gogol's "Overcoat", then it is the theme of the "little man" in a big and alien world that is especially sharply reflected here. A petty official goes with the flow of life, never gets indignant, never experiences strong ups and downs. The writer wantedto show that the real hero of life is not a shining knight or a smart and sensitive romantic character. And here is such an insignificant person, crushed by circumstances.
The image of Bashmachkin has become the starting point for the further development of not only Russian, but also world literature. European authors of the 19th and 20th centuries tried to find ways out of the "little man" from the psychological and social shackles. It was from here that the characters of Turgenev, E. Zola, Kafka or Camus were born.
The history of the creation of the "Overcoat" by N. V. Gogol
According to researchers of the great Russian writer's work, the original idea of the story was born from a joke about a petty official who wanted to buy himself a gun and saved up for his dream for a long time. Finally, having bought the treasured gun, he, sailing along the Gulf of Finland, lost it. The official returned home and soon died of worry.
The history of the creation of Gogol's "Overcoat" begins in 1839, when the author was just making rough sketches. Little documentary evidence survives, but passages indicate that it was originally a comic story without much morality or deep meaning. In the next 3 years, Gogol took up the story several more times, but brought it to the end only in 1841. During this time, the work almost lost all humor and became more pathetic and deep.
Criticism
The history of the creation of Gogol's "Overcoat" cannot be understood without taking into account the assessment of contemporaries, ordinary readers and literary critics. After the release of the collection of essays of the writerwith this story, at first they did not pay due attention to it. In the late 30s of the 19th century, the theme of a distressed official was very popular in Russian literature, and The Overcoat was originally attributed to the same pitifully sentimental works.
But already in the second half of the 19th century it became clear that Gogol's "Overcoat", the history of the creation of the story, became the beginning of a whole trend in art. The theme of man's refinement and the quiet rebellion of this insignificant creature have become relevant in Russian authoritarian society. The writers saw and believed that even such an unfortunate and "small" person is a person, a person who thinks, analyzes and knows how to defend his rights in his own way.
B. M. Eichenbaum, “How the Overcoat is made
A great contribution to understanding the history of the creation of the story "The Overcoat" by Gogol was made by B. M. Eikhenbaum, one of the most famous and honored Russian critics of the 19th century. In his work “How the Overcoat is Made”, he revealed to the reader and other authors the true meaning and purpose of this work. The researcher noted the original, tale style of narration, which allows the author to express his attitude towards the hero during the story. In the first chapters, he scoffs at the pettiness and pity of Bashmachkin, but in the last chapters he already feels pity and sympathy for his character.
The history of the creation of Gogol's "Overcoat" cannot be studied without breaking away from the social situation of those years. The author is indignant and indignant at the terrible and humiliating system of the "Table of Ranks", which puts a person in certain limits, to get out of whichnot everyone can.
Religious interpretation
Gogol was often accused of playing too freely with Orthodox religious symbols. Someone saw his pagan images of Viy, the witch and the devil as a manifestation of lack of spirituality, a departure from Christian traditions. Others, on the contrary, said that in such ways the author is trying to show the reader the way of salvation from evil spirits, namely Orthodox humility.
Therefore, some researchers saw the history of the creation of the story "The Overcoat" by Gogol precisely in a certain religious internal conflict of the author. And Bashmachkin no longer acts as a collective image of a petty official, but as a person who has been tempted. The hero invented an idol for himself - an overcoat, lived and suffered because of it. The religious interpretation is also supported by the fact that Gogol was very fanatical about God, various rituals and carefully observed everything.
A Place in Literature
The current of realism in literature and other forms of art made a real sensation in the world. Writers, poets, artists and sculptors tried to depict life as it is, without embellishment and gloss. And in the image of Bashmachkin, we also see a ridicule of a romantic hero leaving history. That one had lofty goals and majestic images, but here a person has the meaning of life - a new overcoat. This idea forced the reader to think deeper, to look for answers to questions in real life, and not in dreams and novels.
The history of the creation of N. V. Gogol's story "The Overcoat" is the history of the formation of Russian national thought. The author correctly saw and guessed the trend of time. People no longer wanted to be slaves in the literal and figurative sense, a rebellion was ripe, but still quiet and timid.
Thirty years later, Turgenev in his novels, Dostoevsky in his "Poor Folk" and partly in his famous "Pentateuch" will raise the theme of the already matured and more courageous "little man". Moreover, the image of Bashmachkin migrated to other forms of art, to theater and cinema, and here it received a new sound.
