The life and creative path of Gogol. Gogol's life and creative path in literature

Brief biography

N.V. Gogol was born on March 20 (April 1), 1809 in the town of Velikie Sorochintsy, Mirgorod district, Poltava province, into a middle-income landowner family, where in addition to Nikolai there were five more children. Initially, Gogol studied at the Poltava district school (1818-19), and in May 1821 he entered the newly founded Nizhyn Gymnasium of Higher Sciences. Gogol was a fairly average student, but distinguished himself in the gymnasium theater as an actor and decorator. The first literary experiments in poetry and prose date back to the gymnasium period. However, the thought of writing has not yet “come to mind” for Gogol; all his aspirations are connected with “public service”; he dreams of a legal career. In December 1828 he arrives in St. Petersburg, where a series of blows and disappointments await him: he fails to get the desired place; poem " Hanz Kuchelgarten"caused harsh and mocking reviews.

Gogol first served in the Department of State Economy and Public Buildings of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Then - in the department of appanages. His stay in the offices caused Gogol deep disappointment in the “state service,” but it provided him with rich material for future works that depicted bureaucratic life and the functioning of the state machine. During this period, “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” (1831-1832) was published. They aroused almost universal admiration.

The pinnacle of Gogol’s fiction is the “St. Petersburg story” “The Nose” (1835; published in 1836), in the fall of 1835 he began writing “The Inspector General,” the plot of which was suggested by Pushkin; the work progressed so successfully that on January 18, 1836, he read the comedy at an evening with Zhukovsky (in the presence of Pushkin, P. A. Vyazemsky and others), and already on April 19, the play premiered on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. May 25 - premiere in Moscow, at the Maly Theater. In June 1836, Gogol left St. Petersburg for Germany (in total, he lived abroad for about 12 years). He spends the end of summer and autumn in Switzerland, where he begins to continue “ Dead souls" The plot was also suggested by Pushkin.

In September 1839, Gogol arrived in Moscow and began reading chapters of Dead Souls in the presence of his old friends. There was universal delight. In May 1842, “The Adventures of Chichikov, or Dead Souls” was published. After the first, very commendable reviews, the initiative was seized by Gogol’s detractors, who accused him of caricature, farce and slander of reality. In June 1842 Gogol goes abroad. Three years anniversary. (1842-1845), which followed the writer’s departure abroad, was a period of intense and difficult work on the 2nd volume of Dead Souls. In 1847, “Selected Places from Correspondence with Friends” was published in St. Petersburg. The release of Selected Places brought a real critical storm upon its author. Gogol cannot recover from the blows he received. In April 1848, Gogol finally returned to Russia.

In the spring of 1850, he made an attempt to organize his family life- makes an offer to A. M. Vielgorskaya, but is refused. On the night of February 11-12, 1852, in a state of deep mental crisis, the writer burns the white manuscript of the 2nd volume (only 5 chapters survived in incomplete form; published in 1855). On the morning of February 21, 1852, Gogol died in his last apartment in the Talyzin house in Moscow. The writer's funeral took place with a huge crowd of people at the cemetery of the St. Daniel's Monastery.

More details:

• http://az.lib.ru/g/gogolx_n_w/text_0202.shtml (From the Brogkaus and Efron encyclopedia)
• http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/ (From Wikipedia)
• http://www.tonnel.ru/ (Vinogradov I.A. Biography of N.V. Gogol)

Chronology of life and creativity

• 1809, March 20 – Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol was born in the town of Bolshie Sorochintsy
• 1818-1819 – studied at the Poltava povet school
• 1820 – Life in Poltava at the home of teacher G. Sorochinsky, preparation for the second grade of the gymnasium
• 1821-1828 – Study at the Nizhyn Gymnasium of Higher Sciences, book. Bezborodko
• 1825, March 31 – Death of Gogol’s father Vasily Afanasyevich Gogol-Yanovsky, end of Gogol’s childhood
• 1828, end of December - Gogol arrives in St. Petersburg
• 1829 – The poem “Italy” (without signature) was published in the magazine “Son of the Fatherland”, the publication of the poem “Hanz Küchelgarten” under the pseudonym V. Alov,
• service in the Department of State Economy and Public Buildings
• 1830 – Gogol – scribe in the Department of Appanages
• 1830 – The story “Bisavryuk, or the Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala” was published (without signature) in Otechestvennye zapiski. Meeting Zhukovsky
• 1831, May – Meeting A. S. Pushkin
• 1831-1835 – Gogol works as a history teacher at the Patriotic Institute
• 1831, September – Publication of the first part of “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”
• 1832 – Publication of the second part of “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”
• 1834-1835 – Gogol – associate professor at the Department of General History at St. Petersburg University
• 1835 – “Arabesques” and “Mirgorod” were published. "Dead Souls" started
• 1835, November-December – “The Inspector General” was written
• 1836, April 11 – Publication of the first issue of Sovremennik, where “The Stroller” and “The Morning of a Business Man” were published.
• 1836, April 19 – Premiere of “The Inspector General” at the Alexandria Theater
• 1836, June 6 – Gogol’s departure abroad
• 1836-1839 – Life abroad. Meeting A. A. Ivanov
• 1839, September - 1840, May - Gogol in Russia. Meeting V. G. Belinsky
• 1840, May 9 – Meeting M. Yu. Lermontov
• 1842, May – “Dead Souls” was released
• 1842-1848 – Life abroad
• 1842, December – First performance of “Marriage” in St. Petersburg
• 1842-1843 – Publication of the Works of N.V. Gogol, where “The Overcoat” and “Theater Travel” were first published
• 1844 – Creation of a fund to help needy young students. Death of Gogol's sister M.V. Trushkovskaya
• 1845, spring – Gogol's illness in Frankfurt
• 1845, summer – Burning of one of the editions of the second volume of “Dead Souls”
• 1846 – “The Inspector’s Denouement” and the preface to the second edition of “Dead Souls” were written
• 1847 – “Selected passages from correspondence with friends.” "Author's Confession"
• 1847, June-August – Exchange of letters between Gogol and Belinsky regarding “Selected passages from correspondence with friends”
• 1848, February - Gogol in Jerusalem
• 1848, autumn - The beginning of the “romance” with A.M. Vielgorskaya. Meeting Goncharov, Nekrasov, Grigorovich. Gogol settles in Moscow
• 1850 – Gogol in Optina Pustyn and Vasilyevka
• 1850, autumn -1851, spring – Life in Odessa
• 1851 – Gogol’s last stay in Vasilievka. Meeting I. S. Turgenev
• 1952, January 26 – death of E.M. Khomyakova
• 1852, night from February 11 to 12 – burning of the second volume of “Dead Souls”
• 1852, February 21 - at 8 o'clock in the morning N.V. Gogol died
• February 21 – Gogol’s funeral at the Danilov Monastery cemetery

Source: Zolotussky Igor Petrovich. Gogol / Zolotussky Igor Petrovich. - 2nd ed., corrections and additions. - M.: Young Guard, 1984. - 528 pp.: ill. - (Life wonderful people; Biographical series, Issue 11(595)). – from 523-524.

“Literature has taken up my whole life”

Major works

Collections of stories:

• “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”, part 1, 1831 (“Sorochinskaya Fair”, “Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala”, publ. 1830 under the title “Basavryuk”, “May Night, or the Drowned Woman”, “The Missing Letter”);
• “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”, part 2, 1832 (“The Night before Christmas”, “Terrible Revenge”, “Ivan Fedorovich Shponka and his Aunt”, “Enchanted Place”).
• “Mirgorod”, 1835 (part 1 – “Old World Landowners”, “Taras Bulba”, new edition 1839-41;
• part 2 – “Viy”, “The story of how Ivan Ivanovich and Ivan Nikiforovich quarreled”)
• “Arabesques”, 1835 (stories “Nevsky Prospekt”, “Notes of a Madman”, “Portrait”, 1st ed.;
• chapters from the unfinished novel “Hetman”;
• articles, including “A few words about Pushkin”, “About Little Russian songs”, etc.)

• "The Nose" (1836)
• "The Carriage" (1836)
• "The Overcoat" (1942)

• "The Inspector General" (1836)
• “Theatrical tour after the presentation of a new comedy” (1842)
• "Marriage" (1842)
• "The Players" (1842)

Poem (in prose):

• “Dead Souls” (vol. 1, 1842; vol. 2 destroyed by the author, partially published 1855)

• "Selected Passages from Correspondence with Friends" (1847)

Spiritual evolution and spiritual prose

The tragedy of Gogol’s personality lay in the fact that, as a deep religious philosophical thinker, he was almost not understood by his contemporaries, and his artistic creativity was misinterpreted. His spiritual testament to his descendants can be considered “Selected Passages from Correspondence with Friends,” which was not understood by the reading public and rejected by critics as reactionary. Only a few with the exception of his closest friends, M.P. Pogodin, S.P. Shevyrev, S.T. Aksakov, V.A. Zhukovsky and some others, the prophetic calling of N.V. Gogol was obvious. For most, this side of the writer remained closed. Misunderstanding and condemnation of his contemporaries, failures in his personal life, and worsening illness accelerated the writer’s death. Strictly speaking, we simply do not know the real Gogol. We didn’t read it or read it through someone else’s eyes - school teacher literature, Belinsky or another critic. Gogol himself encountered this during his lifetime: “Do not judge me and do not draw your own conclusions: you will be mistaken, like those of my friends who, having created from me their own ideal of a writer, in accordance with their own way of thinking about a writer, began from demand that I meet the ideal they themselves created.” The real Gogol must be sought in his works and in his prayers and testaments to friends. He did everything he could in this life. Said everything I could say. Then it’s up to the readers to hear or not to hear... Two days before his death, he wrote on a piece of paper: “Be not dead, but living souls...”

Literature:

• Gogol N.V. Collected works: in 7 volumes. T.6: Articles / N.V. Gogol. - M.: Khudozh. lit., -560s.
• Gogol N.V. Spiritual prose / N.V. Gogol. - M.: Russian book, -560 p.
• Gogol N.V. Selected passages from correspondence with friends / N.V. Gogol. - M.: Sov.Russia, 1990.-432p.
• Vinogradov I.A. Gogol the artist and thinker: Christian foundations of the worldview: / I. A. Vinogradov. - M.: Heritage, 2000. - 448 p.
• Barabash Yu. Gogol: The Mystery of “The Farewell Tale” ( Selected passages from correspondence with friends" Experience of unbiased reading) / Yu. Barabash. - M.: Khudozh. Lit., 1993.- 269 p.

N.V. Gogol “Spiritual Testament”. Fragments

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I give all the property I have to my mother and sisters. I advise them to live together in the village and, remembering that having given themselves to the peasants and all people, remember the saying of the Savior: “Feed My sheep!” May the Lord inspire everything that they must do. Reward the people who served me. Yakima to be released. Semyon also, if he serves the count for ten years. I would like our village, after my death, to become a refuge for all unmarried girls who would give themselves to raise orphans, daughters of poor, indigent parents. Education is the simplest: the Law of God and continuous exercise in labor in the air near the garden.

Advice to Sisters

In the name of the Father and the Son... I would like that after death a temple would be built in which frequent commemorations would be held for my sinful soul. For this purpose, I put half of my income from my writings as a basis. If the sisters do not get married, they will turn their house into a monastery, building it in the middle of the courtyard and opening a shelter for poor girls living without a place. Life should be the simplest, be content with what the village produces and not buy anything. Over time, the monastery can turn into a monastery, if later in their old age the sisters have a desire to accept the monastic rank. One of them may be the abbess. I would like my body to be buried, if not in the church, then in the church fence, and that funeral services for me would not stop.

To my friends

Thank you very much, my friends. My life has been adorned with you. I consider it my duty to tell you a parting word now: do not be embarrassed by any events that happen around you. Do your own thing, praying in silence. Society will only get better when everyone private person will take care of himself and live as a Christian, serving God with the tools that have been given to him, and trying to have a good influence on the small circle of people around him. Everything will then come to order, correct relationships between people will then be established by themselves, and the limits that are legal to everything will be determined. And humanity will move forward.

Be not dead, but living souls. There is no other door except the one indicated by Jesus Christ, and everyone, if you are a thief and a robber, should climb differently.

Source:

• Gogol N.V. Spiritual prose / N.V. Gogol; Comp. and comment. V.A.Voropaeva, I.A.Vinogradova; Entry Art. V.A.Voropaeva.- M.: Russian Book, 1992.- 560 pp.: 1 p. portrait; 16 l. ill..- P.442-443.

N.V. Gogol Selected Prayers

Draw me to you, my God, by the power of your holy love. Do not leave me for a moment of my existence: accompany me in my work, for which you brought me into the world, so that in completing it, I will abide entirely in You, my Father, presenting You alone day and night before my mental eyes. Do it, may I remain in peace, may my soul become desensitized to everything except You, may my heart become desensitized to everyday sorrows and storms, which are raised by Satan to disturb my spirit, may I not place my hope on anyone living on earth , but only to You, my Lord and Master! I believe that You alone are able to lift me up; I believe that this very thing is the work of my hands, and I am working on it now, not of my will, but of Your holy Will. You planted in me the first thought about him; You grew her, and you also grew me for her; You gave strength to bring to an end the work You inspired, building my entire salvation: sending sorrow to soften my heart, raising persecution to frequently resort to You and to receive the strongest love for You, with it may my whole soul inflame and ignite from now on, glorifying Thy holy name every minute, glorified always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Lord, let me remember forever my... ignorance, my lack of knowledge, my lack of education, so that I may not form a careless opinion about anyone or anything. (Do not judge anyone and avoid making opinions. May I remember every minute the words of Your Apostle. Not everything will be done.)
God! Save and have mercy on poor people. Have mercy, Creator, and show Your hand over them. Lord, bring us all out of darkness into the light. Lord, drive away all the deceptions of the evil spirit that deceive us all. Lord, enlighten us, Lord, save us. Lord, save your poor people. ... The heavenly harmony and wisdom of Christ, which accompanied God during the creation of the world, would be nothing without it. Show Your love for mankind for the sake of Your Holy Blood, for the sake of the sacrifice made for us. Bring in holy order, and disperse wicked thoughts, call harmony out of chaos, and save us, save us, save us. Lord, save and have mercy on your poor people.

God, let me love more more people. Let me collect in my memory all the best in them, remember closest to all my neighbors and, inspired by the power of love, be able to depict. Oh, let love itself be my inspiration.

I pray for my friends. Hear, Lord, their desires and prayers. God save them. Forgive them, God, as well as me, a sinner, for every sin against You.

Source:

• Gogol N.V. Spiritual prose / N.V. Gogol; Comp. and comment. V.A.Voropaeva, I.A.Vinogradova; Entry Art. V.A.Voropaeva.- M.: Russian Book, 1992.- 560 p.: 1 p. portrait; 16 l. ill..- P.442-443.

Aphorisms by N.V. Gogol

• The Russian man has an enemy, an irreconcilable, dangerous enemy, without whom he would be a giant. This enemy is laziness.
• What Russian doesn't like driving fast?
• IN literary world there is no death, and the dead also interfere in our affairs and act together with us, just like the living.
• Words must be handled honestly.
• You marvel at the preciousness of our language: every sound is a gift: everything is grainy, large, like the pearl itself, and, truly, another name is even more precious than the thing itself.
• The lady is pleasant in every way.
• There is no word that would be so sweeping, lively, so bursting out from under the very heart, so seething and vibrant, like an aptly spoken Russian word. In every word there is an abyss of space, every word is immense.
• No matter how stupid the words of a fool are, sometimes they are enough to confuse an intelligent person

Source: Wisdom of Millennia: Encyclopedia/Auth.-comp. V.Balyazin.- M.: OLMA-PRESS, 2000.-848 p.//Chapter “Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich”: p. 552-554

Statements by N.V. Gogol

About myself and my work

• I am considered a mystery to everyone; no one can solve me completely.
• There is hardly the highest of pleasures than the pleasure of creating.
• Work is my life; If you don't work, you don't live.
• Honor me as you please, but only from my present career will you recognize my real character; just believe that noble feelings always fill me, that I have never humbled myself in my soul and that I have doomed my whole life to goodness. You call me a dreamer, reckless, as if I wasn’t laughing at them inside myself. No, I know too many people to be a dreamer.
• The thing I’m sitting and working on now... doesn’t look like a story or a novel, long, long, several volumes... If God helps me complete my poem as it should, then this will be my first decent creation . All Rus' will respond to him.
• (Gogol Pogodin about “Dead Souls”)
• My essay is much more important and significant than one might assume from its beginning... I can die of hunger, but I will not betray a reckless, thoughtless creation...
• ...There is a time when it is impossible to otherwise direct society or even an entire generation towards the beautiful until you show the full depth of its real abomination; There are times when you shouldn’t even talk about the lofty and beautiful without immediately showing, as clear as day, the paths and roads to it for everyone. (Gogol about "Dead Souls")

About national motives and national character

• ...True nationality does not lie in the description of the sundress, but in the very spirit of the people.
• Ukrainian songs do not break away from life for a moment and are always true to the moment and the state of feelings at that time. Everywhere this broad will of Cossack life penetrates them, everywhere they breathe. Everywhere one can see the strength, joy, power with which the Cossack abandons the silence and carelessness of his homely life in order to delve into all the poetry of battles, dangers and riotous feasting with his comrades.
• Eh, three! Bird-three, who invented you? To know, you could only have been born to a lively people... Eh, horses, horses, what kind of horses... Rus', where are you rushing to? Give me the answer... The bell rings with a wonderful ringing, the air rattles and becomes torn into pieces by the wind, everything that is on the earth flies past, and, looking askance, other peoples and states step aside and make way for it.

About satire, humor, laughter

• How much do we have good people, but how much there is also chaff, from which there is no life for the good... On to their stage! Let all the people see! Let them laugh! Oh, laughter is a great thing!
• And for a long time it is determined for me by the wonderful power to walk hand in hand with my strange heroes, to survey the whole enormously rushing life, to survey it through laughter visible to the world and invisible, unknown to it tears!

• You marvel at the preciousness of our language: every sound is a gift; everything is grainy, large, like the pearl itself, and, truly, another name is even more precious than the thing itself.
• Every nation is unique, each with its own in your own words which reflects his character. The word of a Briton will echo with heart knowledge and wise knowledge of life; The short-lived word of a Frenchman will flash and spread like a light dandy; the German will intricately come up with his own, not accessible to everyone, clever and thin word; but there is no word that would be so sweeping, lively, would burst out from under the very heart, would seethe and vibrate so vividly, like a well-spoken Russian word.
• Before you is a community - the Russian language. Deep pleasure calls you, the pleasure of plunging into all immeasurability and studying its wonderful laws.

About other types of art

• We made a toy out of the theater, like those trinkets with which children are lured, forgetting that this is a pulpit from which a live lesson is read to a whole crowd at once, where, with the solemn brilliance of lighting, with the thunder of music, with unanimous laughter, a familiar, hidden vice is revealed and, with the secret voice of universal participation, a familiar, timidly hidden sublime feeling is exposed.
• (“Petersburg Notes” 1836)
• All of Europe is for watching, and Italy is for living.
• Architecture is also a chronicle of the world: it speaks when both songs and legends are already silent and when nothing speaks about the lost people.

The life of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is so vast and multifaceted that historians are still researching the biography and epistolary materials of the great writer, and documentarians are making films that tell about the secrets of the mysterious genius of literature. Interest in the playwright has not waned for two hundred years, not only because of his lyric-epic works, but also because Gogol is one of the most mystical figures of Russian literature of the 19th century.

Childhood and youth

To this day it is unknown when Nikolai Vasilyevich was born. Some chroniclers believe that Gogol was born on March 20, while others are sure that the true date of birth of the writer is April 1, 1809.

The master of phantasmagoria spent his childhood in Ukraine, in the picturesque village of Sorochintsy, Poltava province. He grew up in a large family - in addition to him, 5 more boys and 6 girls were raised in the house (some of them died in infancy).

The great writer has an interesting pedigree, dating back to the Cossack noble dynasty of the Gogol-Yanovskys. According to family legend, the playwright’s grandfather Afanasy Demyanovich Yanovsky added the second part to his surname to prove blood ties with the Cossack hetman Ostap Gogol, who lived in the 17th century.

The writer's father, Vasily Afanasyevich, worked in the Little Russian province in the postal department, from where he retired in 1805 with the rank of collegiate assessor. Later, Gogol-Yanovsky retired to the Vasilyevka estate (Yanovshchina) and began farming. Vasily Afanasyevich was known as a poet, writer and playwright: he owned the home theater of his friend Troshchinsky, and also performed on stage as an actor.

For productions, he wrote comedy plays based on Ukrainian folk ballads and tales. But before modern readers Only one work by Gogol Sr. has survived - “The Simpleton, or the Cunning of a Woman Outwitted by a Soldier.” It was from his father that Nikolai Vasilyevich adopted his love for literary art and creative talent: it is known that Gogol Jr. began writing poetry from childhood. Vasily Afanasyevich died when Nikolai was 15 years old.

The writer's mother, Maria Ivanovna, née Kosyarovskaya, according to contemporaries, was pretty and was considered the first beauty in the village. Everyone who knew her used to say that she was a religious person and was involved in the spiritual education of children. However, Gogol-Yanovskaya’s teachings were reduced not to Christian rituals and prayers, but to prophecies of the Last Judgment.

It is known that the woman married Gogol-Yanovsky when she was 14 years old. Nikolai Vasilyevich was close to his mother and even asked for advice on his manuscripts. Some writers believe that thanks to Maria Ivanovna, Gogol’s work is endowed with fantasy and mysticism.

Nikolai Vasilyevich’s childhood and youth were spent surrounded by peasant and gentleman’s life and were endowed with those bourgeois characteristics that the playwright meticulously described in his works.

When Nikolai was ten years old, he was sent to Poltava, where he studied science at school, and then learned to read and write from a local teacher, Gabriel Sorochinsky. After classical training, the 16-year-old boy became a student at the Gymnasium of Higher Sciences in the city of Nizhyn, Chernihiv region. In addition to the fact that the future classic of literature was in poor health, he was also not strong in studies, although he had an exceptional memory. Nikolai’s relationship with the exact sciences did not work out, but he excelled in Russian literature and literature.

Some biographers argue that the gymnasium itself is to blame for such an inferior education, rather than the young writer. The fact is that in those years the Nizhyn gymnasium had weak teachers who could not provide students with decent education. For example, knowledge in moral education lessons was presented not through the teachings of eminent philosophers, but through corporal punishment with a rod; the literature teacher did not keep up with the times, preferring the classics of the 18th century.

During his studies, Gogol gravitated toward creativity and zealously participated in theatrical productions and improvised skits. Among his comrades, Nikolai Vasilyevich was known as a comedian and a perky person. The writer communicated with Nikolai Prokopovich, Alexander Danilevsky, Nestor Kukolnik and others.

Literature

Gogol began to be interested in the writing field back in student years. He admired A.S. Pushkin, although his first creations were far from the style of the great poet, but were more like the works of Bestuzhev-Marlinsky.

He composed elegies, feuilletons, poems, tried himself in prose and other literary genres. During his studies, he wrote a satire “Something about Nezhin, or the law is not written for fools,” which has not survived to this day. It is noteworthy that the young man initially regarded his craving for creativity as a hobby rather than as his life’s work.

Writing was for Gogol “a ray of light in dark kingdom"and helped to distract from mental torment. Then Nikolai Vasilyevich’s plans were not clear, but he wanted to serve the Motherland and be useful to the people, believing that a great future awaited him.

In the winter of 1828, Gogol went to the cultural capital - St. Petersburg. In the cold and gloomy city, Nikolai Vasilyevich was disappointed. He tried to become an official, and also tried to join the theater, but all his attempts were defeated. Only in literature was he able to find opportunities for income and self-expression.

But failure awaited Nikolai Vasilyevich in his writing, since only two works by Gogol were published in magazines - the poem “Italy” and romantic poem"Hanz Küchelgarten", published under the pseudonym V. Alov. “Idyll in Pictures” received a number of negative and sarcastic reviews from critics. After his creative defeat, Gogol bought all editions of the poem and burned them in his room. Nikolai Vasilyevich did not abandon literature even after a resounding failure; the failure with Hanz Küchelgarten gave him the opportunity to change the genre.

In 1830, Gogol’s mystical story “The Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala” was published in the famous journal Otechestvennye zapiski.

Later, the writer meets Baron Delvig and begins to publish in his publications “Literary Newspaper” and “Northern Flowers”.

After his creative success, Gogol was warmly received in the literary circle. He began to communicate with Pushkin and. The works “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, “The Night Before Christmas”, “Enchanted Place”, seasoned with a mixture of Ukrainian epic and everyday humor, impressed the Russian poet.

Rumor has it that it was Alexander Sergeevich who gave Nikolai Vasilyevich the background for new works. He suggested plot ideas for the poem “Dead Souls” (1842) and the comedy “The Inspector General” (1836). However, P.V. Annenkov believes that Pushkin “did not quite willingly cede his property to him.”

Fascinated by the history of Little Russia, Nikolai Vasilyevich becomes the author of the collection “Mirgorod”, which includes several works, including “Taras Bulba”. Gogol, in letters to his mother Maria Ivanovna, asked her to talk in more detail about the life of the people in the outback.

In 1835, Gogol's story "Viy" (included in "Mirgorod") about the demonic character of the Russian epic was published. In the story, three students lost their way and came across a mysterious farm, the owner of which turned out to be a real witch. The main character Khoma will have to face unprecedented creatures, church rituals and a witch flying in a coffin.

In 1967, directors Konstantin Ershov and Georgy Kropachev produced the first Soviet horror film based on Gogol's story "Viy". The main roles were played by and.

In 1841, Gogol wrote the immortal story “The Overcoat”. In the work, Nikolai Vasilyevich talks about “ little man"Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin, who becomes poor to such an extent that the most ordinary thing becomes a source of joy and inspiration for him.

Personal life

Speaking about the personality of the author of "The Inspector General", it is worth noting that from Vasily Afanasyevich, in addition to the craving for literature, he also inherited a fatal fate - psychological illness and fear early death, which began to appear in the playwright from his youth. Publicist V.G. wrote about this. Korolenko and Doctor Bazhenov, based on Gogol’s autobiographical materials and epistolary heritage.

If during times Soviet Union It was customary to keep silent about Nikolai Vasilyevich’s mental disorders, but today’s erudite reader is very interested in such details. It is believed that Gogol suffered from manic-depressive psychosis (bipolar affective personality disorder) since childhood: a cheerful and perky mood young writer gave way to severe depression, hypochondria and despair.

This troubled his mind until his death. He also admitted in letters that he often heard “gloomy” voices calling him into the distance. Because of life in eternal fear, Gogol became a religious person and led a more reclusive life as an ascetic. He loved women, but only from a distance: he often used to tell Maria Ivanovna that he was going abroad to visit a certain lady.

He corresponded with lovely girls different classes(with Maria Balabina, Countess Anna Vielgorskaya and others), courting them romantically and timidly. The writer did not like to advertise his personal life, especially his amorous affairs. It is known that Nikolai Vasilyevich has no children. Due to the fact that the writer was not married, there is a theory about his homosexuality. Others believe that he never had relationships beyond platonic ones.

Death

The early death of Nikolai Vasilyevich at the 42nd year of his life still excites the minds of scientists, historians and biographers. Mystical legends are written about Gogol, and about the real reason The death of the visionary is still debated to this day.

IN recent years life Nikolai Vasilyevich mastered creative crisis. It was associated with the early death of Khomyakov’s wife and the condemnation of his stories by Archpriest Matthew Konstantinovsky, who sharply criticized Gogol's works and besides, he believed that the writer was not pious enough. Gloomy thoughts took possession of the playwright's mind, and from February 5 he refused food. On February 10, Nikolai Vasilyevich, “under the influence of an evil spirit,” burned the manuscripts, and on the 18th, while continuing to observe Lent, he went to bed with a sharp deterioration in his health.

The master of the pen refused medical help, expecting death. Doctors, who diagnosed him with inflammatory bowel disease, probable typhus and indigestion, eventually diagnosed the writer with meningitis and prescribed forced bloodletting, dangerous to his health, which only worsened Nikolai Vasilyevich’s mental and physical condition. On the morning of February 21, 1852, Gogol died in the count's mansion in Moscow.

Memory

The writer's works are required for study in schools and universities. educational institutions. In memory of Nikolai Vasilyevich in the USSR and other countries were issued postage stamps. Streets, a drama theater, a pedagogical institute, and even a crater on the planet Mercury are named after Gogol.

Based on the works of the master, hyperbole and grotesque are still created theatrical performances and works of cinematic art are filmed. Thus, in 2017, Russian viewers can expect the premiere of the gothic detective series “Gogol. The Beginning" with and starring.

The biography of the mysterious playwright contains interesting facts, it is impossible to describe all of them even in a whole book.

• According to rumors, Gogol was afraid of thunderstorms because natural phenomenon affected his psyche.
• The writer lived poorly and wore old clothes. The only expensive item in his wardrobe is a gold watch, donated by Zhukovsky in memory of Pushkin.
• Nikolai Vasilyevich’s mother was known as a strange woman. She was superstitious, believed in the supernatural and constantly told amazing stories, embellished with fiction.
• According to rumors, Gogol’s last words were: “How sweet it is to die.”

• Gogol's work was inspiring.
• Nikolai Vasilyevich loved sweets, so he always had sweets and pieces of sugar in his pocket. The Russian prose writer also loved to roll bread crumbs in his hands - this helped him concentrate on his thoughts.
• The writer was sensitive to his appearance; he was mainly irritated by his own nose.
• Gogol was afraid that he would be buried while in lethargic sleep. The literary genius asked that in the future his body be buried only after the appearance of cadaveric spots. According to legend, Gogol woke up in a coffin. When the writer’s body was reburied, the surprised those present saw that the dead man’s head was turned to one side.

Bibliography

• “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka” (1831–1832)
• “The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich” (1834)
• "Viy" (1835)
• "Old World Landowners" (1835)
• "Taras Bulba" (1835)
• "Nevsky Prospekt" (1835)
• "The Inspector General" (1836)
• "The Nose" (1836)
• "Notes of a Madman" (1835)
• "Portrait" (1835)
• "The Carriage" (1836)
• "Marriage" (1842)
• "Dead Souls" (1842)
• "The Overcoat" (1843)

Born in the town of Velikiye Sorochintsy, Mirgorod district, Poltava province, in the family of a landowner. They named him Nicholas in honor of the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas, kept in the church of the village of Dikanka.

The Gogols had over 1000 acres of land and about 400 serfs. The writer's ancestors on his father's side were hereditary priests, but his grandfather Afanasy Demyanovich left the spiritual career and entered the hetman's office; It was he who added another name to his Yanovsky surname - Gogol, which was supposed to demonstrate the origin of the family from the 17th century, known in Ukrainian history. Colonel Evstafy (Ostap) Gogol (this fact, however, does not find sufficient confirmation).

The writer's father, Vasily Afanasyevich Gogol-Yanovsky (1777-1825), served at the Little Russian Post Office, in 1805 he retired with the rank of collegiate assessor and married Maria Ivanovna Kosyarovskaya (1791-1868), who came from a landowner family. According to legend, she was the first beauty in the Poltava region. She married Vasily Afanasyevich at the age of fourteen. In addition to Nikolai, the family had five more children.

Gogol spent his childhood years on his parents' estate Vasilievka (another name is Yanovshchina). Cultural center the region was Kibintsy, the estate of D. P. Troshchinsky (1754-1829), a distant relative of the Gogols, a former minister elected to the district marshals (district leaders of the nobility); Gogol's father acted as his secretary. In Kibintsi there was a large library, there was home theater, for whom Father Gogol wrote comedies, being also its actor and conductor.

In 1818-19, Gogol, together with his brother Ivan, studied at the Poltava district school, and then, in 1820-1821, took lessons from the Poltava teacher Gabriel Sorochinsky, living in his apartment. In May 1821 he entered the gymnasium of higher sciences in Nizhyn. Here he is engaged in painting, participates in performances - as a set designer and as an actor, and with particular success he plays comic roles. He also tries himself in various literary genres (writes elegiac poems, tragedies, historical poem, story). At the same time he writes the satire “Something about Nezhin, or the law is not written for fools” (not preserved).

However, the thought of writing has not yet “come to mind” for Gogol; all his aspirations are connected with “public service”; he dreams of a legal career. Gogol’s decision to make this was greatly influenced by Prof. N. G. Belousov, who taught a course in natural law, as well as a general strengthening of freedom-loving sentiments in the gymnasium. In 1827, the “case of freethinking” arose here, which ended with the dismissal of leading professors, including Belousov; Gogol, who sympathized with him, testified in his favor during the investigation.

Having graduated from the gymnasium in 1828, Gogol, together with another graduate A. S. Danilevsky (1809-1888), went to St. Petersburg in December. Experiencing financial difficulties, unsuccessfully fussing about a place, Gogol made his first literary attempts: at the beginning of 1829 the poem “Italy” appeared, and in the spring of the same year, under the pseudonym “V. Alov”, Gogol published “an idyll in pictures” “Hanz Küchelgarten”. The poem evoked harsh and mocking reviews from N. A. Polevoy and later a condescending and sympathetic review from O. M. Somov (1830), which intensified Gogol’s difficult mood.
At the end of 1829, he managed to decide to serve in the department of state economy and public buildings of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. From April 1830 to March 1831 he served in the department of appanages (first as a scribe, then as an assistant to the clerk), under the command of the famous idyllic poet V.I. Panaev. His stay in the offices caused Gogol deep disappointment in the “state service,” but it provided him with rich material for future works that depicted bureaucratic life and the functioning of the state machine.
During this period, “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” (1831-1832) was published. They aroused almost universal admiration.
The pinnacle of Gogol’s fiction is the “St. Petersburg story” “The Nose” (1835; published in 1836), an extremely bold grotesque that anticipated some trends in twentieth-century art. In contrast to both the provincial and metropolitan world was the story "Taras Bulba", which captured that moment in the national past when the people ("Cossacks"), defending their sovereignty, acted integrally, together and, moreover, as a force that determined the nature of pan-European history.

In the fall of 1835, he began writing “The Inspector General,” the plot of which was suggested by Pushkin; the work progressed so successfully that on January 18, 1836, he read the comedy at an evening with Zhukovsky (in the presence of Pushkin, P. A. Vyazemsky and others), and in February-March he was already busy staging it on stage Alexandria Theater. The play premiered on April 19. May 25 - premiere in Moscow, at the Maly Theater.
In June 1836, Gogol left St. Petersburg for Germany (in total, he lived abroad for about 12 years). He spends the end of summer and autumn in Switzerland, where he begins to work on the continuation of Dead Souls. The plot was also suggested by Pushkin. The work began back in 1835, before the writing of The Inspector General, and immediately acquired a wide scope. In St. Petersburg, several chapters were read to Pushkin, causing him both approval and at the same time a depressing feeling.
In November 1836, Gogol moved to Paris, where he met A. Mickiewicz. Then he moves to Rome. Here in February 1837, in the midst of work on " Dead souls", he receives the shocking news of Pushkin's death. In a fit of "inexpressible melancholy" and bitterness, Gogol feels the "present work" as the poet's "sacred testament."
In December 1838, Zhukovsky arrived in Rome, accompanying the heir (Alexander II). Gogol was extremely educated by the poet's arrival and showed him Rome; I drew views with him.

In September 1839, accompanied by Pogodin, Gogol came to Moscow and began reading the chapters of “Dead Souls” - first in the Aksakovs’ house, then, after moving to St. Petersburg in October, at Zhukovsky’s, at Prokopovich’s in the presence of his old friends. A total of 6 chapters have been read. There was universal delight.
In May 1842, “The Adventures of Chichikov, or Dead Souls” was published.
After the first, brief, but very commendable reviews, the initiative was seized by Gogol’s detractors, who accused him of being a caricature, a farce and slandering reality. Later, N.A. Polevoy came up with an article that bordered on denunciation.
All this controversy took place in the absence of Gogol, who went abroad in June 1842. Before leaving, he entrusts Prokopovich with the publication of the first collection of his works. Gogol spends the summer in Germany; in October, together with N. M. Yazykov, he moves to Rome. He is working on the 2nd volume of Dead Souls, which apparently began back in 1840; He devotes a lot of time to preparing his collected works. “The Works of Nikolai Gogol” in four volumes was published at the beginning of 1843, since censorship suspended the two volumes that had already been printed for a month.
The three years (1842-1845), which followed the writer's departure abroad, was a period of intense and difficult work on the 2nd volume of Dead Souls.
At the beginning of 1845, Gogol showed signs of a new mental crisis. The writer goes to Paris to rest and “recuperate”, but returns to Frankfurt in March. Is the streak of treatment and consultations with various medical celebrities, moving from one resort to another beginning? then to Halle, then to Berlin, then to Dresden, then to Carlsbad. At the end of June or beginning of July 1845, in a state of sharp exacerbation of the disease, Gogol burns the manuscript of the 2nd volume. Subsequently (in "Four Letters to to different persons regarding “Dead Souls” - “Selected Places”) Gogol explained this step by saying that the book did not clearly show “paths and roads” to the ideal.
Gogol continues to work on the 2nd volume, however, experiencing increasing difficulties, he is distracted by other matters: he composes a preface to the 2nd edition of the poem (published in 1846) “To the reader from the author”, writes “The Inspector's Denouement” (published 1856 ), in which the idea of ​​a “prefabricated city” in the spirit of the theological tradition (“On the City of God” by St. Augustine) was refracted into the subjective plane of a “spiritual city” individual person, which brought to the fore the requirements of spiritual education and improvement of everyone.
In 1847, “Selected Places from Correspondence with Friends” was published in St. Petersburg. The book performed a dual function - both an explanation of why the 2nd volume has not yet been written, and some compensation for it: Gogol proceeded to present his main ideas - doubt about the effective, teaching function of fiction, a utopian program for all “classes” to fulfill their duty and "ranks", from peasant to high officials and king.
The release of Selected Places brought a real critical storm upon its author. All these responses overtook the writer on the road: in May 1847, he headed from Naples to Paris, then to Germany. Gogol cannot recover from the “blows” he received: “My health... was shaken by this devastating story for me about my book... I marvel at how I was still alive.”
Gogol spends the winter of 1847-1848 in Naples, intensively reading Russian periodicals, new fiction, historical and folklore books - “in order to plunge deeper into the indigenous Russian spirit.” At the same time, he is preparing for a long-planned pilgrimage to holy places. In January 1848 he went to Jerusalem by sea. In April 1848, after a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Gogol finally returned to Russia, where most of spends time in Moscow, visits St. Petersburg, and also in his native places - Little Russia.

In mid-October, Gogol lives in Moscow. In 1849-1850, Gogol reads individual chapters of the 2nd volume of Dead Souls to his friends. General approval and delight inspire the writer, who now works with redoubled energy. In the spring of 1850, Gogol makes his first and last attempt to arrange his family life - he proposes to A. M. Vielgorskaya, but is refused.
In October 1850 Gogol arrived in Odessa. His condition is improving; he is active, cheerful, cheerful; willingly gets along with the actors of the Odessa troupe, to whom he gives lessons in reading comedy works, with L. S. Pushkin, with local writers. In March 1851 he left Odessa and, after spending the spring and early summer in his native places, returned to Moscow in June. A new round of readings follows of the 2nd volume of the poem; In total, up to 7 chapters were read. In October he attended “The Inspector General” at the Maly Theater, with S. V. Shumsky in the role of Khlestakov, and was pleased with the performance; in November he reads “The Inspector General” to a group of actors, including I. S. Turgenev.

On January 1, 1852, Gogol informs Arnoldi that the 2nd volume is “completely finished.” But in the last days of the month, signs of a new crisis were clearly revealed, the impetus for which was the death of E. M. Khomyakova, sister of N. M. Yazykov, a person spiritually close to Gogol. He is tormented by a premonition near death, aggravated by newly intensified doubts about the beneficialness of his writing career and the success of the work being carried out. On February 7, Gogol confesses and receives communion, and on the night of 11 to 12 he burns the white manuscript of the 2nd volume (only 5 chapters have survived in incomplete form, relating to various draft editions; published in 1855). On the morning of February 21, Gogol died in his last apartment in the Talyzin house in Moscow.
The writer's funeral took place with a huge crowd of people at the cemetery of the St. Daniel's Monastery, and in 1931 Gogol's remains were reburied at the Novodevichy cemetery.

.
1831-1842 - “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”, “Mirgorod”, St. Petersburg stories (“Nevsky Prospekt”, “Nose”, “Portrait”, “Overcoat”, “Notes of a Madman”, “Stroller”) were created.
1836, January - completion of the comedy “The Inspector General”; April 19 - premiere in St. Petersburg in Alexandrinsky Theater;
May 25 - premiere at the Maly Theater in Moscow.
1842 - censorship permission to print the first volume of “Dead Souls” With the title changed to “The Adventures of Chichikov, or Dead Souls”; The first volume of “Dead Souls”, the story “The Overcoat”, is published.
1842-1845 - work on the second volume of Dead Souls.
1848 - pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
1852, on the night of February 13 - the white manuscript of the 11th volume of “Dead Souls” was burned.
1852, February 21 (March 4) - died in Moscow.

Essay on life and work

The beginning of the journey. In December 1828 Gogol graduates from the Nizhyn Gymnasium of Higher Sciences and heads to St. Petersburg. It should be noted that this trip was planned with the utmost seriousness and the young man’s dreams of his own device were quite specific. He “... went to the capital with great intentions and generally useful enterprises: firstly, to inform my mother at least 6,000 rubles. the money he will receive for his tragedies; Secondly, to ask Little Russia to waive all taxes.” This is how one of the family’s friends ironically describes Gogol’s hopes.

Naturally, the dreams remained dreams, and the search for money for food was quite difficult and darkened the first years of life in the capital. The publication of the idyll poem “Hans Küchelgarten” written in Nizhyn under the pseudonym V. Alov does not bring success. After reading the lines: “My small payment / For the rest of my life story“,” the reviewer wrote: “The price for such poems should be to keep them hidden.” The review forced the author to buy the remaining copies of the poem and destroy them.

However, Gogol does not tire of writing new works, and his prose stories quickly find their readers. Published in early 1830, the work “Bisavryuk, or the Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala” was noticed by readers and critics. Gogol makes literary acquaintances. He manages to enlist in the Department of Appanages. Moving up the career ladder, he even becomes an assistant to the head of the office.

At the same time, a novice writer works and actively publishes, choosing various pseudonyms. Yes, for the chapter historical novel pseudonym chosen: “0000” (these are four “o”s from the first and last name: Nikolai Gogol-Yanovsky).

True, it is not yet possible to live comfortably. “I’ll tell you about myself,” Gogol writes to his “dear friend Mama” on February 10, 1831. - that my circumstances are getting further, better and better, everything gives me hope that if not this year, then next year I will be able to support myself with my own labors; at least the foundation is laid from the strongest stone. Only now I will greatly disturb you with a convincing request to send two hundred and fifty rubles.”

On May 20, 1831, the most big dream Gogol: he was introduced Pushkin. The desire to assert oneself is characteristic of every person, and one can understand the desire of an aspiring writer to prove to his mother and all his loved ones that he is “on friendly terms” with Pushkin. This gave rise to the awkward actions of the young provincial. In the summer, Gogol lives as a tutor at the Vasilchikovs' dacha in Pavlovsk, and Pushkin rents a dacha for his family in Tsarskoe Selo. So Nikolai Vasilyevich tells his mother: “Address letters to me in the name of Pushkin, in Tsarskoe Selo, like this: “To His High Nobility Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. And I ask you to give it to N.V. Gogol. In the next letter he repeats: “Do you remember the address? in the name of Pushkin." Realizing the awkwardness of his action, in his first letter to Pushkin, Gogol apologizes for his tactlessness.

Life is enriched by friendly meetings with interesting people. The writer’s artistic talent also contributed to the expansion of his circle of acquaintances. “In addition to facial expressions, Gogol knew how to adopt the voices of others. During his stay in St. Petersburg, he liked to introduce an old man, V., whom he knew in Nezhin.

One of his listeners, who had never seen this B., once came to Gogol and saw some old man... the voice and manners of this old man immediately reminded him of Gogol’s performance. He takes the owner aside and asks if it is B.. Indeed, it was B."

“Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”.

At the beginning of September 1831, the first part of the collection “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” was published. By January 1832, all the stories in this cycle were completed. The first part includes “Sorochinskaya Fair”, “The Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala”, “May Night, or the Drowned Woman”, “The Missing Letter”). In the second - “The Night Before Christmas”, “Terrible Revenge”, “Ivan Fedorovich Shponka and his Auntie”, “Enchanted Place”.

Pushkin’s response to the publication of the collection is known: “How amazed we were at the Russian book that made us laugh, we, who had not laughed since the times Fonvizina! This is how Belinsky assessed this collection: Gogol, who so cutely pretended to be Pasichnik, is one of the extraordinary talents. Who doesn’t know his “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”? How much wit, gaiety, poetry and nationality do they have?) Later he will write: “This is a funny comic, the smile of a young man greeting God’s beautiful world. Everything is bright here, everything sparkles with joy and happiness; the gloomy spirits of life do not confuse with heavy forebodings a young heart trembling with the fullness of life.”

The unusual nature of the works created by the young author attracted Pushkin, Zhukovsky, and Pletnev. At this time, writes a contemporary, “the most important thing in Gogol was the thought that he brought with him everywhere. We are talking about an energetic understanding of the harm produced by vulgarity, laziness, indulgence in evil, on the one hand, and gross complacency, arrogance and insignificance of moral foundations, on the other... In his pursuit of the dark sides of human existence there was a passion that constituted true moral expression his face." While denouncing, Gogol actively drew material from constant observations of everything that happened around him, including from observations of his own actions.

Filled with the brightest hopes, Gogol seemed to be capable of any field of activity. Besides creating works of art, he decided to try himself in historical science. Using the patronage of his friends, the writer receives the position of professor of history at St. Petersburg University. However, he quickly realized the hopelessness of the idea: lecturing required intense, tireless work and great knowledge. After reading two excellent lectures (one of which was listened to by Pushkin, the other was listened to and described by Tyrgenev), Gogol began to skimp heavily on his studies and finally gave up teaching. He openly confessed this failure to his friend M.A. Maksimovich. Now the literary completely controls his thoughts.

"Mirgorod".

In 1835, the collection “Mirgorod” was published, consisting of two parts. The first part included the stories “Old World Landowners” and “Taras Bulba”, the second - “Viy” and “The Story of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich. Although Gogol wrote that these are “stories that serve as a continuation of “Bechers on a farm near Dikanka,” the cheerful romantic idyll is a thing of the past. Satirical sketches of everyday life, tragic pictures of reality, and vitally true scenes of the historical past filled the pages of this collection. The reader no longer meets the naive and complacent narrator Rudy Pasichnik, the author-narrator appears before him.

The author's courage and sharpness of denunciation are also visible when referring to the past. “Strike the present in the past, and your word will be clothed with triple strength,” Gogol advised N.M. Yazykov. The writer contrasted the world of vulgarity and boredom with sublime passions in the historical story “Taras Bulba”. V. G. Belinsky in “On the Russian story and the stories of Mr. Gogol” called distinctive features the writer's creativity - simplicity of fiction, the perfect truth of life, nationality, originality. “And this is our life: at first it’s funny, then it’s sad,” the critic wrote.

The first comedy. "Inspector".

A restless disposition and continuous creative search often gave rise to funny everyday solutions. So, on the way to St. Petersburg from his homeland (after a summer visit to his relatives), as the writer’s friend A. S. Danilevsky recalls, “the original rehearsal of “The Inspector General” was performed... Gogol wanted to thoroughly study the impression that would make on stationmasters his revision with an imaginary incognito. For this purpose, he asked Pashchenko to go ahead and spread the word everywhere that an auditor was following him, carefully concealing the real purpose of his trip. Pashchenko had left several hours earlier and arranged it so that everyone at the stations was already prepared for the arrival and meeting of the imaginary auditor. Thanks to this maneuver, which was a remarkably successful success, all three rode with extraordinary speed... Gogol’s travel document read: “adjunct professor,” which was usually taken by the confused caretakers almost as an adjutant of His Imperial Majesty.”

Work on the play “The Inspector General” was in full swing, and already in January 1836 Gogol wrote that the comedy was ready and rewritten. One of the writer’s contemporaries recalled: “When reading it, the censorship got scared and strictly banned it. All that remained for the author was to appeal this decision to a higher authority.” Thanks to the efforts of friends, the play gets to Nicholas 1, and, as Gogol tells his mother, “if the sovereign himself had not shown his high patronage and intercession, then, probably, “The Inspector General would never have been played or published.”

The performance was a triumph in St. Petersburg, then in Moscow, but Gogol was not pleased with the success. He told Zhukovsky his doubts: “The Inspector General” was played, and my soul was so vague, so strange... I expected, I knew in advance how things would go, and despite all this, a feeling of sadness and annoying-painful came over me... My laughter was good-natured at first; I did not at all think of ridiculing anyone for any purpose, and I was so amazed when I heard that entire classes and classes of society were offended and even angry with me, that I finally thought about it. If the power of laughter is so great that people fear it, then it should not be wasted.”

Abroad .

Working on the poem " Dead Souls" The desire to avoid a heated discussion of comedy and an acute feeling of fatigue drives Gogol out of the capitals. He went abroad and spent about three years traveling from June 1836 to September 1839. In Paris, he learns about the death of Pushkin, this message shocks Gogol. Changing his place of residence again and again, he comes to Rome, which fascinates him. Here work continues on the poem “Dead Souls”. There is a rapprochement with Russian artists, and in particular with A. A. Ivanov, who in those years worked on the painting “The Appearance of Christ to the People.” Here the friendship with Count I. M. Vielgorsky ends tragically: the young man dies in the arms of the writer. This death for Gogol will be a farewell to his own youth.

The need to organize household chores brings the writer back to Russia. During this visit, Gogol stayed in his homeland for less than a year: he met with friendly and hospitable Moscow, with his admirers in St. Petersburg, and made new acquaintances. A meeting took place with V. G. Belinsky, and at a dinner, which was traditionally given in honor of Gogol’s name day on May 9, 1840 in the garden of Pogodin’s house on Devichye Pole in Moscow, he met Lermontov and listened to the author’s reading of the poem “Mtsyri”.

Leaving abroad again, the writer promises his friends to bring the finished poem in a year. By the end of August 1841, the first volume was finished and rewritten by the hands of volunteer assistants. The promise made to friends when parting was fulfilled. Gogol returns to Russia to print the first volume of Dead Souls. Through joint efforts, censorship obstacles were overcome; for this purpose, “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” was remade. So, the main work of life has already been done. However, the author believes that this is only the beginning of a great work, since he hoped that it would be he who would be able to show the way to the revival of Russia. "Gogol sets himself the goal of giving" positive images"Russian people - to present them as vivid, telling examples, capable of acting with force... These illustrative examples of exemplary life should have been: a clever acquirer, landowner Kostanzhoglo, a virtuous wine farmer, millionaire Murazov, a noble governor-general, a pious priest and, finally, Tsar Nicholas himself, with his mercy reviving the repentant Chichikov to life” (V. Veresaev).

A turning point was finally determined in the writer’s mind. S. T. Aksakov notes: “...He began to write “Dead Souls” as a curious and funny anecdote... only later did he learn, in his words, “what strong and deep thoughts and profound phenomena an insignificant plot can lead to.” , that... little by little this colossal building was built, filled with the painful phenomena of our public life... subsequently he felt the need to escape from this terrible gathering of human monsters. This is where Gogol’s constant desire to improve himself begins. spiritual person and the predominance of the religious trend, which subsequently reached... Such a high mood that is no longer compatible with the human body..."

From now on, all subsequent works of the writer are subordinated to the realization of an impossible goal: Gogol feels like a preacher, he strives to teach people to live according to high moral laws. “When all the utopianism that was in Gogol when he wrote The Inspector General received a cruel blow from an obvious discrepancy artistic value creations of art (in in this case“The Inspector General”) with its impact on morals, on the moral consciousness of society - then Gogol found in the religious worldview a different basis for understanding the function of art, emphasizes V. Zenkovsky, a researcher of the writer’s work.
“Selected passages from correspondence with friends.” At first, Gogol expected a direct and immediate result from “The Inspector General”, then - from “Dead Souls”, from those stories and stories on which he worked in parallel, but with the creation of a poem. Then his hopes were connected with “Selected Passages from Correspondence with Friends.” In the preface to this book, he writes: “My heart says that my book is needed and that it can be useful...” The writer again touches on those issues and problems, those aspects of Russian life that are touched upon in stories, comedies, and poems.

The desire of any person to subordinate the will of those around him to what he himself considers an absolute good inevitably ends in failure. An attempt to create a work that will show all people how one can and should live, the sincere confidence that only his decision is correct, and the inability to do this precisely thanks to the merciless honesty of talent is the cause of Tragedy. Gogol set himself a task that was impossible for humans. He doomed himself to defeat in advance.

A lot of controversy has arisen and is arising around “You cursed passages from correspondence with friends.” Disappointed in the writer's capabilities, Gogol decides to turn to people with the word of a preacher. He said: “... For some time, my occupation became not the Russian man and Russia, but man and the soul in general.” The result of the appearance of Gogol’s work will be the writer’s polemic with the critic V. G. Belinsky, in which the widest literary circles were involved. The critic argued: “...woe to the man whom nature itself created as an artist, woe to him if, dissatisfied with his own path, he rushes onto someone else’s path!”

Gogol writes in the "Author's Confession", created in May - June 1847, that he decides to quit writing. Depressed by misunderstanding, he undertakes a pilgrimage in January 1848. Zhukovsky explains his decision this way: “My journey to Palestine was definitely made by me in order to find out personally and, as it were, to see with my own eyes how great the callousness of my heart is. Friend, this callousness is great! I was honored to spend the night at the tomb of the Savior, I was honored to partake of the holy mysteries that stood on the tomb itself instead of the altar, and for all that I did not become the best, whereas everything earthly should have burned up in me and only the heavenly remained.

Work on the second volume of Dead Souls.

Last years of life. Returning to Russia, Gogol continues work on the second volume of Dead Souls. For other travelers, returning to their homeland was also a return to their home. For Gogol, this was only a change in the place of his wanderings. As always, the road had a beneficial effect on him: “The road is my only medicine”; “...the road through our open steppes immediately performed a miracle on me. Kaluga governor A. O. Smirnova, who was close to him and sympathized with his spiritual quest, remarked: “He always needs to warm up somewhere, then he’s healthy.” And he “warmed up” with A. O. Smirnova, V. A. Zhukovsky, the Vielgorskys in Nice, S. P. Apraksina in Naples, M. P. Pogodin and Count A. P. Tolstoy in Moscow. He never had a home. But he did not like and did not know how to be alone: ​​in St. Petersburg he lived next to A. S. Danilevsky, I. G. Pashchenko, in Rome he lived next to P. V. Annenkov, N. M. Yazykov, V. A. Panov.

He attempted to overcome loneliness only once. This happened in the family of Count Vielgorsky, a rich and noble courtier. His house was, as contemporaries write, the center of the capital's aristocratic life. The count himself was good musician, and R. Schumann called him the most brilliant of amateurs. Vielgorsky was close to Karamzin, Zhukovsky, Pushkin and Gogol. largely thanks to him (The Inspector General came to the stage. His son Joseph Mikhailovich died in 1839 in Rome in Gogol’s arms. What happened to his youngest daughter, Anna Mikhailovna, was what Gogol himself obviously considered (an affair). Anna Mikhailovna (aka Anolina, Nozi) eagerly listened to the writer’s teachings and was in constant correspondence with him. But the friendship of the smart and kind girl, as it turned out, did not imply a closer relationship. Gogol’s attempt to offer his hand and heart remained unanswered.

Gogol had no close friends throughout his life. Closed and distrustful, ironic and mocking, he did not trust anyone with his innermost thoughts and feelings.

Nikolai Gogol appears. His books are familiar to everyone. Films and performances are based on his works. The work of this writer is very diverse. It contains both romantic stories and works of realistic prose.

Biography

Nikolai Gogol was born in Ukraine into the family of a regimental clerk. His talent as a satirist showed up early. Gogol showed a tireless thirst for knowledge already in childhood. Books played a big role in his life. At the Nizhyn school, where he received his education, he was not given sufficient knowledge. That’s why he wrote out additional literary magazines and almanacs.

Back in school years he began to compose witty epigrams. The subject of ridicule of the future writer were teachers. But the lyceum student did not attach any importance to such creative explorations. special significance. After completing the course, he dreamed of leaving for St. Petersburg, believing that there he could get a job in the civil service.

Service in the office

The dream came true, and the lyceum graduate left his native land. However, in St. Petersburg he was able to get only a modest position in the chancellery. In parallel with this work, he created small ones. But they were bad, and he bought almost all copies of the first poem, which was called “Hans Küchelgarten,” in a bookstore and burned it with his own hands.

Longing for my small homeland

Soon, failures in creativity and financial difficulties plunged Gogol into despondency. The northern capital began to evoke melancholy in his soul. And more and more often the employee of the small office remembered the Ukrainian landscapes dear to his heart. Not everyone knows which book brought Gogol fame. But there is not a schoolchild in our country who would not be familiar with the work “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka.” The creation of this book was inspired by longing for small homeland. And that's exactly what literary work brought fame to Gogol and allowed him to gain recognition from his fellow writers. Gogol was awarded a laudatory review by Pushkin himself. The books of the great poet and writer had a decisive influence on him in his youth. Therefore, the opinion of the luminary of literature was especially valuable for the young author.

"Petersburg Tales" and other works

Since then, Gogol has been well known in literary circles. He communicated closely with Pushkin and Zhukovsky, which could not but influence his work. From now on, writing became the meaning of life for him. He began to take this matter very seriously. And the result was not long in coming.

During this period, the most famous books Gogol. The list of them suggests that the writer worked in an extremely intensive mode and did not give particular preference to one genre or another. His works caused a stir in the world of literature. Belinsky wrote about the talent of the young prose writer, who was distinguished by his amazing ability to recognize unique abilities at an early stage. Realistic direction, laid down by Pushkin, developed at a decent level, as evidenced by Gogol’s books. Their list includes the following works:

• "Portrait".
• "Notes of a Madman."
• "Nose".
• "Nevsky Prospekt".
• "Taras Bulba".

Each of them is unique in its own way. In a sense, Nikolai Gogol became an innovator. His books were distinguished by the fact that for the first time in the history of Russian literature they touched on the topic. It was done superficially, but before that the fate of thousands ordinary people portrayed in fiction only in passing.

But no matter how strong and unique the talent of the creator of “The Overcoat” was, he still made a special contribution to literature thanks to the writing of “The Inspector General” and “Dead Souls.”

Satire

Gogol's early works brought success. However, the writer was not satisfied with this. Gogol did not want to remain just a contemplator of life. The realization that the writer’s mission was extremely great grew stronger and stronger in his soul. The artist is able to convey to his readers his vision of modern reality, thereby influencing the consciousness of the masses. From now on, Gogol worked for the good of Russia and its people. His books testify to this good aspiration. The poem "Dead Souls" became greatest work in literature. However, after the release of the first volume, the writer was subjected to severe attacks from adherents of conservative views.

The difficult situation that arose in the life and work of the writer led to the fact that he was never able to complete the poem. The second volume, which was written shortly before his death, was burned by the writer.