The Seventh Gogol Readings "Gogol and Folk Culture"

International scientific Conference
April 1 – 6 2006, Moscow, Russia

I. The Seventh Gogol Readings. The opening

Foreword

Shkurko A.I.

Foreword

Afanasiev M.D.

Foreword

Enko L.D.

Foreword

Mishchenko V.D.

II. Background and origins of folk traditions in Gogol's works

Ethnography Lessons (Recurring to Bygone Disputes)

Barabash Yu.Ya.

Up-to-date interpretation of "ethnographic critics" discourse of Ukrainian novels by Nicholas Gogol (particularly, discussions of 50-60-s XIX century between P. Kulish and M. Maksimovitch) brings to life some problems of Gogol studies, as well as wider problems of literature studying and aesthetics.

What is after all the Essence and Peculiarity of Gogol’s "Ukrainianness"

Zvinyazkovsky V.Ya.

The "Ukrainianness" of Gogol was authorised by Taras Shevchenko. His poem To Gogol (December, 1844) must be read in the context of the discussion in Rostopchina’s salon. According to Shevchenko, Gogol’s laughter and his "Ukrainianness" are the same. Gogol by himself had identified his task in the world of laughter as "to present the Devil as a fool" – and this task, for Gogol, is a special Ukrainian one.

The Tale of Captain Kopeikin by N. Gogol Folklore Sources and their Meaning

Voropaev V.A.

The article focuses on the folk elements of The Tale of Captain Kopeikin. The form of the narration in the story combines folksy-poetic sources with real-event, specific historical features. Folk rumors of captain Kopeikin, originated from the folk poetry is not less important for the aesthetic comprehension of the story than the chronological matching of the character to a certain time period – the campaign of 1812. The main idea of the story is represented in the proverb "The Russian peasant is wise after the event". Gogol’s reflection on the destiny of Russian folk, its’ present and historical future, "the afterwit or the mind of the final conclusions which is predominantly the feature of Russian character", is the core of the Russian nature that defines Russians from other nations. With this very feature of the nation which is close to the wit of the folk proverbs Gogol associated the high destination of Russia.

Discovery of a Genre: Folk Song and Taras Bulba by Gogol

Vinogradov I.A.

The author traces the forming of the historical prose genre of Gogol. What influence had aural folk culture – Ukrainian folk meditation songs, on the creator of Taras Bulba is being examined in the article. The author also points out the way N. Karamzin’s creative method and its’ comprehension by N. Gogol influenced the genre evolution of the writer.

Folk Poem Features in Gogol’s Prose (kolomyikovy rhythm and rhyme)

Orlitsky Ju.B.

This article explores the assumptions stated by researchers of Gogol’s style. The researchers claim that Gogol’s prose possess a reflection of the elements of folk verse culture: so-called kolomyikovy rhythm and rhyme. Selective calculations show that these elements can be found especially in the early stories of the writer, which are more connected with folklore.

The Transformation of Literature and Folk Patterns in Gogol’s Prose of the 1930s (Gogol and the Lubok)

Strano J.

Folk culture, in all of its expressions – oral, theatrical, figurative – strongly influenced Gogol’s work. The writer used this culture in various contexts, with varying functions and aims: in creating stylistic and compositional artifices, in opposition to the models of "high" literature, in representing characters and the development of the plot. In The Fair at Sorochintsi for example, the image of the "river–beautiful maid" (reka krasavica), typical of the popular song, is contrasted with the description of Psel himself, composed in rhythmic prose and sprinkled with poetical terms. In Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka some types are mutated from the vertep, from the lubok derives the depiction of the infernal monsters. In The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarelled with Ivan Nikiforovich the two heroes form an oppositional but at the same time mirrored couple, like the characters in the seventeenth-century lubok, Foma and Yerioma, Prokhor and Boris, and the very absurdity of their behaviour is "typical lubok". In The Nose the parody of literary fantasy and its mixture with elements taken from daily life and from the lubok create a unique and complex text.

The Folk Pictures in Gogol’s Works

Gladilin M.S.

The author considers the role of the folk pictures in Gogol’s works: The Oldworld Landowners, The Portrait and Gogol’s poem Dead Souls.

Special attention is dedicated to the image of the "bird" in Gogol’s poem Dead Souls.

Incantation and Prayer. On one of the Archaic Sources of Gogol’s Poetics

Mildon V.I.

The author believes that faith has the power to rule the world through the use of words. For instance, incantation can appeal to forces of evil and prayer can appeal to forces of good. In Gogol’s artistic work, incantation prevailed. That is why in the second and third volumes of the Dead Souls, Gogol had failed to paint Chichikov as a righteous man, although he had hoped to change the whole of Russia by means of a saint hero.

On Mythological Implications and Archaic Elements of the Dead Souls’ Plot

Elnitskaya L.M.

In his book the Dead Souls N.V. Gogol uses vagrant plots of the world’s literature, in particular the ones which contain the selling of one’s soul to the devil. The picture of the world portrayed in the book reflects medieval folk beliefs according to which the possession of earthly blessings depends on the devil and a high price (the soul) has to be paid for them. The archaic character of the plot manifests itself through the mutual transitions of dead matter into living matter, of real everyday things into mythological ones. The collision of Gogol’s keen religious pathos with clear comprehension of stagnant immobility of life gives birth to laughter, which is "the only positive hero" of this author’s works.

Literary and Folklore-Mythological Traditions in Gogol’s Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka as Cycle-Forming Factors

Sapchenko L.A.

"Evening" in Gogol’s cycle represents: a) a method of compositional division; b) a time of the day that separates day and night; c) a borderline area between the real and the fantastic, the good and the evil, finite and infinite. Poetics of the cycle is defined in large part by the through images of a door and a window (a window that opens in the evening in particular). All these meanings are linked together by the semantics of a border and shed light on the most significant characteristics of Gogol’s perspective on the world. In Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka the consecutively joined parts that are traditionally linked together in a form of an oral narration are also penetrated with deep ties that are rooted in the folk mythology.

One more Romantic Source of Gogol’s Psycho-Logic of Eros (Viy and C. Bretano ballade In the dark secret thicket...)

Ivanitsky A.I.

The possible romantic origin of Viy – Clement Brentano's ballade In the dark secret thicket (1811) – is under the consideration in this article. Their plots correlate as inverted images. Khoma Brut becomes the object of the witch's love attack. With the help of prayers and incantations he manages to overcome her power but just for his male triumph over her. As a result he discloses a beauty in the old woman, comes under her spell and kills her influences by his passion. Then he repents and serves a triple funeral service that becomes a fatal for him. The hero of Brentano, a young "swain", follows the reverse way: he makes up "the holy virgin" and turns her with the help of his impassioned imagination first into a silvan fairy, then into a witch. If Brentano makes spiritual and material, connected with soil worship of a woman to contradict each other, this ever-being soil basis in Viy becomes for the hero the subject of some unconscious inspiring cult, mixed with desire and fear.

Phytonimes in N. Gogol’s Works

Sokolsky I.N., Dekhanova O.A.

The article discusses the meanings of some phytonimes, mentioned in the novel The Old World Landowners.

Traces of Archaic Tradition in Gogol’s Work: The Magic Potential of the Word

Nikolaeva P.V.

This article is focused on one of the aspects of the problem regarding "N.V. Gogol and the word", namely, the unconventional reception of words by the writer and his heroes. Analysis of the theme of the magic word is based on the works of Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka and Viy.

Proverbs in Petersburg Stories by N.V. Gogol

Izotova E.V.

"Multilingual mixtures" in Gogol’s texts are used not only as a form, but as a technique. Just so in his works, which at first sight are reduced folklore elements, folk poetry motives are developing. First of all this are motives, entered by the proverbs and by-words. Essentially French sayings se refaire le nez and vouloir manger le nez de qn organize the plot of Nose and Diary of a Madman. In the Petersburg stories proverbs about noses set theme of Russian cheap popular prints, one of the main characters of which in the first half of the XIX-th century was Napoleon. The motive of expatriated and punished ruler gets in Diary of a Madman complementary widening.

III. Gogol's Poetics and Folk Culture

Corporeal and Spiritual in Folk Culture Tradition and Gogol’s Prose

Annenkova E.I.

The article focuses on semantic and functional images of food in different works of Gogol. Comparison of Gogol’s texts to folk tradition within the Christian culture highlights new emphasizes to the problem of corporeal and spiritual that Russian literature brought into it. Developing folk tradition and arguing with it at the same time Gogol reveals that describing food may signify excessive corporeality of life as well as its entirety. In an effort to spiritual from corporeal the author doesn’t deny "gastronomical" images but complicate the artistic ones.

Gogol and the Urban Folklore

Krivonos V.Sh.

The paper is concerned with urgent problem of the role of urban folklore in Gogol’s works. This problem is revealed on the texts of Peterburg Stories. Special attention has been paid to an analysis of episodes seems to be the most representative from the point of view of the selected subject. Various manifestations of the principle of authentcity/non-authentcity in Gogol’s poetics are considered.

Exchange of Archetypes: to the Problem of Evolution of the Folklore Traditions in Gogol’s Poetics

Goldenberg A.Ch.

The author reconsiders once established comprehension of the evolution of folklore traditions in Gogol’s works. The research is based on the analysis of one of the chapters of the second volume from the Dead Souls. It is claimed that the role of Russian folklore in late Gogol’s works is increasing.

Card Plot of Gogol and Folk Theater Tradition

Paderina E.G.

The action structure in Gogol’s story The Gamblers is considered from the perspective of the folk theatre fair tradition. The structure and style elements of theatre fair performance play an important role in the creation of the intrigue as well as in the general plot of the story.

Ukrainian Folklore in the Works of Somov and Gogol

Olivieri Cl.

The article compares the work of Somov (in part his cycle dedicated to "the good robber" Garkusha) and Evenings on a farm near Dikanka by Gogol. The two authors moved in the same social circle and read and were published in the same journals. They interested themselves at the same time in the same subjects: transforming Ukrainian folk tales into literature. Their work has its roots in Russian-Ukrainian folklore and it describes both everyday and festive life in the households of "Little Russia". Their works (Gaidamak, Rusalka and The Changeling by Somov; and The Fair at Sorochintsi, The Drowned Maiden and A Terrible Vengeance by Gogol) are compared in terms of subject matter as well as in linguistic and stylistic-formal terms. The article concludes that although they do share similar characteristics, the differences between them are more significant.

Mithological Symbol of "a Way" in Art Space of Gogol’s Petersburg Stories

Osipova N.O.

This article considers the folklore-semiotics aspects of the mythological symbol of "a Way" in Gogol’s Petersburg Stories, also their artistic realization in the structurally-substantial organization of a cycle.

The Theme of Devilry in Gogol’s Petersburg Stories (Nevsky Prospect)

Nikolenko O.N.

The article focuses on the origin, structure and functions of the theme of devilry in Gogol’s story Nevsky Prospect. The story emphasizes the intensification of the Christian element in the devilry motive during the Petersburg period. The author analyzed themes that determine and are connected to this theme, such as the present – fallacy, substitutions, the struggle between light and dark, spiritual challenge, sacrifice, blood etc. The article uncovers the function of the devilry motive in the story Nevsky Prospect: creation of the "world inside out", revelation of the spiritual transformation of a person, and artistic research of society.

Ridiculous and Terrible in Folklore and Gogol’s Stories

Gordovich K.D.

In early works of Gogol’ we met the combination of ridiculous and terrible so typical for folklore literary works. The fear is overcome, won with the help of laughter. In national fairy tales and in their literary alterations, ridiculous and terrible meets within the framework of one text. The characteristic property of Gogol's works consist in such thing that more often the most terrible becomes ridiculous and accordingly after it not so terrible.

The World of Gogol as a "Vicious Place"

Ishchuk-Fadeeva N.I.

At first sight Gogol’s Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka present the picture of two worlds. Analysis discovers the single world as a "vicious place". The signs of linking between the worlds are represented by objects, the tavern, the dream and of course the characters. Devilry is not outside, but inside the human being. Mimicry, the main Gogol’s principle of this locus mysticus, travesties the world, which is the image and likeness of God. "The vicious place" thus shows similarities with the God’s travesty.

Hearsays, Rumors and Gossips in Gogol’s Works

Vysotskaya V.V.

The author considers communicative actions such as hearsay, rumors and gossip from the point of view of their role in the plots of Gogol’s prose. The dramatic effect of hearsay on subject creation is expressed especially vivid in the poem Dead Souls, where the rumors about the strange commerce of Tchitchikov, swiftly disseminate among the dwellers of town N. It leads him to stop his deals and leave the town hastily. In Gogol's short stories, the communicative actions mentioned above also play a certain part, though they are not as visible as in the Dead Souls.

"What wonders are with me..."

Patapenko S.N.

Gogol’s character, Ivan Khlestakov, is considered in connection with the folklore image of Ivan the Fool. The typological relationship of these personages is revealed through a number of outward characteristic features and on the level of their functional role in the development of the scheme of events.

Folk-Legend and Small Talk as a Structural Basis for Prosaic Cycles: Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka in the Context of the Tradition

Shraga E.A.

On the one hand, this article describes the means of narration peculiar to romantic "high society" fantastic prose of the first third of the 19-th century; on the other, it demonstrates the folklore stylizations of the time. Its thematic and structural similarities help readers discern the differences that go beyond prose styles, but make these two types of "fantasy" narration incompatible. The meaning and the ways of their combination in Gogol’s cycle is the topic of this article.

Image of a Border in the Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka of N. Gogol

Praskovjina M.V.

The author traces how N.V. Gogol uses an image of a border in his stories Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka. Guided by the theoretical researches of a border the author shows how these theoretical aspects exist in the works of a great writer. The article reveals not only space and temporal borders, but also those of people’s and evil spirit’s worlds, borders of characters ranking and borders between the author and the reader in all levels of Gogol’s works.

The Transformation of "the Fair" Concept in Nevsky Prospect by N. Gogol and in The Heart of a Dog by M. Bulgakov

Sharbenko T.V.

The research topic of this article is the transformation of the concept of "the fair" in the satirical stories Nevsky Prospect by N. Gogol and in The Heart of a Dog by M. Bulgakov. Special attention is paid to the peculiarities of space and time of the stories, to the settled motives, images, and plotlines determined by the spirit of the fair. The article demonstrates the realization of the authors’ intentions to develop the meaning of "the fair" concept. Еvidence of the development of Gogol’s literary artistic traditions is traced in the literary heritage of M. Bulgakov.

IV. Context: Religion, Historiography, Art, Personality

N.V. Gogol and the Great Polish Emigration

Mihed P.V.

The article’s author focuses on Gogol's contacts with the representatives of the Great Polish emigration. Religious quest of Polish intellectuals visibly influenced Gogol's spiritual and artistic evolution. This impact is reflected in the writer’s work from the 1840s.

Gogol's Notes in the Book of Genesis: Materials and Interpretation

Balakshina Yu.V.

This article analyzes Gogol’s notes in the margins of the Slav Bible (1820). Gogol made theses notes in the mid-1840s when he lived abroad. The notes have the form of drawings, words and lines. The dialog in the margins of the Bible includes all topics important for Gogol: life and death, word of God and word of man, clean conscience and prayer, the pilgrims to Saint Earth and creation, the role of women and personal vocation. The notes reveal new aspects of the text and connect the personal existential experience of the author with God's Truth that is presented in the Bible's word. After this dialog Gogol’s literary talent grows and becomes deeper and more serious.

Kunstreligion or the Profession of Faith in Gogol’s Works

Dmitrieva E.E.

The article deals with a particular kind of faith, so-called Kunstreligion or religion of art (a term suggested by German Romanticism), which played a no less significant role than Orthodoxy, Catholicism or Protestantism in Gogol`s writing. In speaking about such problems the antithesis of art and religion should not be neglected, as well Gogol’s seduction by the Catholic church and its beauty, his quest for religious love and, finally, his depiction of the Last Judgment in The Inspector General, which may be interpreted as a reference to the ironic image of the Last Judgment in the Nachtwachen (Night Watch) of Bonaventura.

Historical-Philosophical Views of Gogol and Shevyrev. On "strong untapped folk"

Guliani R.

In the story Rome we can trace some historical-philosophical views of Gogol, influenced by philosophic historical concept of S.P. Shevyrev, the friend of the writer from his times in Rome. In 1846-50 Shevyrev published his History of Russian literature predominantly the ancient one and again expressed his philosophic historical views in the Introduction to the book Storia della letteratura russa e segnatamente di quella antica, written together with G. Rubini (Florence, 1862). Comparison of some fragments from Rome by Gogol and Introduction by Shevyrev highlight the similarity of views of the both authors in regard of philosophic historical of Romans as well as Russians.

N.V. Gogol and "Imaginary Pushkin" (To a question on authorship of a poem The First Night)

Dubrovsky A.V.

In Dubrovsky's clause N.V. Gogol and "Imaginary Pushkin" (To a question on authorship of a poem The First Night) is considered Gogol's attitude to the verses which are passed from hand to hand under a name of A.S. Pushkin: The First Night and The Medicine for a Cholera. Possibly, under Pushkin Gogol's request Some words about Pushkin where denied its authorship have appeared in print with clause. The author of clause analyzes a problem of atribution poem The First Night (the Kind friend, you know I...), allocating A.I. Polezhaev's and A.I. Podolinski authorship.

Where does the Devil Come from in Gogol’s Works and What Happened to Him Next

Ovechkin S.V.

The figure of the devil is very significant to Gogol’s figurative system. In this report Lacanian psychoanalisis is supplied, which makes possible the conjunction of the primary trauma (the case with the drowned cat is considered as an example of such trauma) and of the ideological language, with the intermediate level of phantasme. The morphology of Gogol’s plot is given an explanation of a machine of desire that compensates insufficient socialisation. The resume offers criticism of the religious and philosophical approach from the position of metatheory of conciousness.

Gogol and Psychopathology or the Dead Souls of the Psychologists

Skavish E.A.

The author of this article – psychologist and doctor of medical sciences, reviews the collection of literary notes regarding a longstanding discussion among psychologists about which psychological disease N. Gogol suffered from. The author doesn’t share his colleagues’ confidence that Gogol suffered from any mental illness. He doubts the scientific evidence and value of the arguments that author of the The Dead Souls had psychosis and compares the psychologists themselves with "dead souls" trying to pathology a writer. The author mentions doctor Kachenovsky, who thought that Gogol was sick and died of malaria and doctor Belysheva, who believed that he died of typhoid, not a mental disease. Mental illness is not only the question of medical science but of philosophy as well, if we want to properly identify the behavior of a person as normal or deranged, in particular the personality of Gogol, who lived in another cultural-historical time. In the case of Gogol, we talk about posthumous examination and it is hard to prove or disprove the idea of "psychosis". Besides that the author criticizes the very basis of modern psychoanalysis and the philosophy of positivism.

V. Folk Interpretation and Interpretation of the Folks by Gogol

Gogol and the Problem of Public Education at the Turn of the 20-th Century

Kuritskaya A.A., Sugay L.A.

One of the main problems stated in the article is, whether Gogol’s works were easy reachable for people masses in Russia before and soon after revolution? Authors regard lubok editions of Gogol’s books, versions of his works adapted for the national folk theaters and works in verse and prose, devoted to Gogol by self educated writers came from humble background. The main concept of the present article based on the A. Chekhov’s words: "It must not be Gogol who adopted for people masses, but people masses who must be educated to accept Gogol". The analysis of Gogol’s interpretation of the idea "education" ("enlightenment") finished this article. According to authors, the problem of national education in Russia remained dissolved at the turn of the 20-th century, as far as the Gogol’s appreciation of this concept is concerned.

To the Problem of Apocryphal Stories on Gogol

Belonogova V.Yu.

The article focuses on the rarely published tale Putimec by N.S. Leskov. It narrates about one of the episodes from the Ukrainian life of young Gogol, educatee of the Nezhinskaya gymnasium. This is the moment when once, on the way to his summer vocations, Gogol learned a greedy merchant, he met in the roadside tavern, and then repented of his cruel joke. Putimec, convicted of sin, has found an abode in monastery.

Leskov gave his story a shape of the folk legend. This tale carries the traits of historical legendry, parable and still has the pattern of Gogol’s penciling, which has enlarged the gallery of Leskov’s "righteous" characters. On the one hand, Putimec is the example of the creation of myth about Gogol in Ukraine, on the other hand, it is the evidence of moral pietism of Gogol’s personality and his creative method in Russian literature of the XIX century.

Viy at Work and Rest: the Image of "Horrible Destroyer" in the Works of Gogol and Remizov

Rozanov Yu.V.

This report deals with the story by Alexei Remizov Night at Viy’s (1909) that was published in his book on the early mythology of the Slavs To the Sea-Ocean. The main attention is drawn to the poetic and structural means used by Remizov to create his personal version of the image of Viy – as a mythological hero, oriented both on the folklore sources and Gogol`s novel.

Gogol in Gazdanov’s Existential Interpretation

Kibalnik S.A.

Two critical essays by Gazdanov on Gogol: The Notes on Edgare Poe, Gogol and Mopassan (1929) and On Gogol (1960) are analyzed in the article. The author shows how the writer’s approach to Gogol has changed during years between the dates of their publication and how these changes can be explained.

In opposition to the expressed by many researchers opinion that in his approach to Gogol Gazdanov is based first of all on Leo Tolstoy’s article On Gogol (1909) S.A. Kibalnik proves that of a greater significance for Gazdanov in this issue were Vasiliy Rozanov’s and Leo Shestov’s views on Gogol. The reason for this is that Gazdanov is similar to Rozanov and Shestov in his existential perception of human life.

The Seventh Gogol Readings "Gogol and Folk Culture"

International scientific Conference April 1 – 6 2006, Moscow, Russia

I. The Seventh Gogol Readings. The opening

II. Background and origins of folk traditions in Gogol's works

III. Gogol's Poetics and Folk Culture

IV. Context: Religion, Historiography, Art, Personality

V. Folk Interpretation and Interpretation of the Folks by Gogol

International scientific Conference
April 1 – 6 2006, Moscow, Russia