Today it is celebrated as a holiday of world culture. Numerous commemorative events will be held in Moscow, St. Petersburg, as well as in Ukraine and other countries.
“My thoughts, my name, my works will belong to Russia” - these words of Nikolai Gogol ring especially true today in our homeland, when the anniversary of the great writer is celebrated. By decision of UNESCO, 2009 was declared throughout the world as the “Year of Gogol”, before whom, according to Taras Shevchenko, “one should reverence him as a person gifted with the deepest mind and the deepest love for people.” At the same time great Ukrainian poet especially emphasized that Nikolai Vasilyevich is “a true knower of the human heart.” This is exactly how Gogol and his descendants perceive him, whose thoughts today are turned to the immortal name.
The main events on the anniversary day will begin in Moscow in the morning. At the Novodevichy Cemetery, a ceremony will take place to lay wreaths on Gogol’s grave by cultural and artistic figures led by the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Alexander Avdeev. Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsky and Kolomna is also here. While there is a bust of the work on the grave Soviet sculptor Nikolai Tomsky. It was installed in 1952, after the coffin with Gogol's body was moved from the original burial in the St. Daniel Monastery. During the transfer, the granite calvary, a tombstone with a bronze cross, located at the site of the first burial, was lost. Gogol himself bequeathed “not to erect any monument and not to think about such a trifle, unworthy of a Christian.” Now his posthumous will will be fulfilled - in the fall, the original tombstone will be restored at the writer’s grave. In addition to the Novodevichy Cemetery, the funeral service will be held at the St. Daniel Monastery.
On the same day, Chairman of the Federation Council Sergei Mironov and a group of parliamentarians will lay flowers at the Gogol monument in the courtyard of the house on Nikitsky Boulevard, where Gogol lived the last four years of his life and died on February 21, 1852. Last Friday, the first museum of the writer in Russia opened here. It is adjacent to city library number 2, where on the anniversary day they will open " Gogol readings".
The main event associated with the name of the writer will take place in the evening at the Academic Maly Theater, which is rightfully considered his home. Artistic director Theater Yuri Solomin recalled in an interview with ITAR-TASS that on May 25, during the 1836-1837 season, the play “The Inspector General” appeared on the stage of the Maly Theater for the first time. As Solomin said, his story is as follows: “Nikolai Vasilyevich wrote a letter to his friend, theater artist Mikhail Shchepkin, where he asked him not only to take part in the play, but also to become a director.” “Since then, “The Inspector General” has not left the stage of our theater; during this time, 12 productions have been performed here immortal comedy", added Solomin. The third act from the latest production, which, by the way, was also performed by Solomin, will be shown today on the famous stage. In addition, the evening program includes a performance by Gogol’s biographer, literary critic Igor Zolotussky, and theater groups that will perform fragments from the works writer.
Today the long-awaited Moscow film directed by Vladimir Bortko will take place. He played the title role in the film with a star Russian-Ukrainian cast National artist USSR, in the recent past, Minister of Culture of Ukraine Bogdan Stupka.
On the same day, cultural events on many other stages and stages will be dedicated to Gogol. So maestro Valery Gergiev and led by him Mariinskii Opera House We have prepared new productions of operas based on the works of the classics for the “round” date: “Litigation”, “Ivan Fedorovich Shponka”, “The Stroller”. Their authors were young Russian composers. Also on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater will be shown the operas "May Night" by Rimsky-Korsakov, "Sorochinskaya Fair" and "The Marriage" by Mussorgsky, as well as " Dead Souls"Rodion Shchedrin. And the Moscow Philharmonic will dedicate the musical and literary composition “They will laugh at my bitter word” to Nikolai Vasilyevich. It will be presented by soloists of the Moscow choral ensemble “Blagovest”, who will perform Russian folk spiritual poems, Ukrainian carols and psalms. In addition, the Philharmonic dedicated to the 200th On the occasion of the writer’s anniversary, an online screening of Mussorgsky’s “Sorochinskaya Fair” performed by the State Academic Chapel of Russia under the direction of Valery Polyansky.
Gogol's anniversary is marked by many other cultural events: the opening of exhibitions, the publication of new books dedicated to his work, documentaries and retrospectives of paintings based on classic works.
April 1, 2019 - 210 years
from the day of birth
N.V. Gogol (1809-1852).
Of course, I don’t believe in various mystical things, but.... there’s probably something in it.! Usually, I find it easy to start working on a new presentation. IN in this case- for 2 whole days something slowed me down, made me stupid... I just couldn’t formulate for myself the concept of the script and presentation. ! I don’t even know how to explain this! Probably still mystical fate Gogol!!!
As always, the script turned out to be long, but don't let that bother you. You can of course shorten the text. But very interesting fate writer, I wanted the children to not miss out on as many facts as possible.
This LIBRARY lesson! Therefore, works according to the program are not considered here. Here Gogol is presented as if behind the pages of a textbook.
Slides here:https://blogbadirina.blogspot.com/2019/03/blog-post.html#links
Scenario.
Gogol behind the pages of a textbook: mysticismfrom birth to death.
Sl. 1. Screensaver.
...To be a classic - to watch from the closet in the classroom
For schoolchildren; they will remember Gogol -
Not a wanderer, not a righteous man, not even a dandy,
Not Gogol, but Gogol's upper third.
April 1 marks the 210th anniversary of the birth of the classic of world literature, and this date will be celebrated (and is already being celebrated) by the entire cultural community of Europe, America and Russia... After all, Gogol’s stories have not lost popularity for more than 200 years!
During his lifetime he was called a monk, a joker, and a mystic, and his work intertwined fantasy and reality, the beautiful and the ugly, the tragic and the comic.
There are many myths associated with the life and death of Gogol. For several generations of researchers of the writer's work, they have not been able to come to an unambiguous answer to the questions: why Gogol was not married, why did he burn the second volume" Dead souls“and whether he burned it at all and, of course, what killed the brilliant writer.
Sl.2. What do we know about Gogol?
Everyone judges by himself, from his own vanity,
Everyone has gone into oblivion, but You have become famous!
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, what do we know about him?
Who had a nose like a bird,
That his stories are like fables,
What quill pen he covered the pages,
That I rode in a carriage from village to village,
That he wrote “Dead Souls” and died
This is such a writer, this is how the issue came out.
What else: Gogol is a mystic, he is a satirist, he is a shepherd...
I'll tell you - he's a genius, gifted from the cradle
Although the sprout did not emerge and there is not much strength,
But he will write the story as he reads it alone
He will not bend his conscience; he honors God.
Initiated everyone living into the world of spiritual mysteries,
He brought many people to heart-rending hysterics,
He exposed this and that, the gentlemen did not like it.
But the writer wrote according to heavenly right.
He described the sins and human vices,
Prophets are never honored in our world.
There is no point in incriminating him himself
It is better for us to observe his sober thoughts.
Brilliant satirist, Mirgorod storyteller
He is a writer of stories and fantasies,
Where Viy is, ghouls and evil spirits,
Where the evil witch carried Thomas.
He saw the invisible world, experienced it for himself,
He was cheerful and young, but he stopped joking.
They called him crazy, but he knew in advance...
Gogol described life, exposed these passions.....
Gogol is a wise bird, he has reached the crown...
Gogol is a genius, a prophet with an unusual destiny...
In class you study the works of the writer, and I want to tell you about unusual fate Nikol Vasilievich. And he has it not only unusual, but also mysterious, and even mystical! Not only the life, but also the death of Gogol is shrouded in mysticism. Until recently, it seemed to literary scholars and biographers of Gogol that literally everything was known about the writer. However, they are still opening earlier unknown facts and new readings of his works appear. And much has not yet been proven, and how much is still unknown about his life!
Sl.3.Childhood and youth.
And Gogol’s mysticism begins with the birth of the writer. There is a saying: “We all come from childhood!” The amazing mysterious world of N. Gogol has surrounded many since childhood: delightful images of “The Night Before Christmas”, vibrant folk festivities at the “Sorochinskaya Fair”, creepy stories about “May Night”, “Viya” and “Terrible Revenge”, from which the whole body is covered small goosebumps. This is just a small list of famous works by N.V. Gogol, which is considered the most mystical Russian writer, and abroad his plots are equated with the gothic stories of Edgar Allan Poe. But even for the writer himself, his childhood years clearly colored his worldview.
Since childhood, Nikolai Gogol was a sensitive person, susceptible to fears, worries, and life’s troubles. Any negative situation affected his psyche, when another person could withstand something like that.
One day the parents left their son at home, and the rest of the household went to bed. Suddenly Nikosha - that’s what Gogol was called in childhood - heard meowing, and a moment later he saw a sneaking cat. The child was scared half to death, but he had the courage to grab the cat and throw it into the pond. “It seemed to me that I had drowned a man,” Gogol later wrote.
The child drowned the cat out of fear; he supposedly conquered his fear through cruelty and violence, but realized that panic could not be conquered this way. It can be assumed that the writer was left alone with his fears, since his conscience again did not allow him to use violence. Perhaps this is a memory from childhood, this terrible act then resulted in the episode with the witch who turned into a black cat in the work “May Night, or the Drowned Woman.” When the stepmother, who has turned into a black cat, tries to strangle the centurion’s daughter, but as a result loses a paw with iron claws, reminds real story from the life of a writer.
Level 4
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol was born in the village of Sorochintsy, Poltava province, into the family of a poor Ukrainian landowner Vasily Afanasyevich Gogol-Yanovsky and Maria Ivanovna, née Kosyarovskaya. The exact date of birth of the writer remained a mystery to his contemporaries for a long time. At first it was said that Gogol was born on March 19, 1809, then on March 20, 1810. And only after his death, from the publication of the metric, it was established that the future writer was born on March 20, 1809, i.e. April 1, new style.
Poltava region is a region where the magic of dense green oak forests coexists with the mysticism of deep dark ponds. It is no coincidence that the world-famous mystic writer Nikolai Gogol spent his childhood here. Gogol's childhood years were spent on his parents' estate in Vasilyevka (formerly the Kupchinsky farm, and now the village of Gogolevo), near the village of Dikanka, a land of legends, beliefs, and historical traditions. Now known throughout the world.
Sl. 5
The future genius was born into the family of a poor Ukrainian landowner Vasily Afanasyevich Gogol-Yanovsky and Maria Ivanovna, née Kosyarovskaya.
His father, Vasily Afanasyevich, a passionate admirer of art, a theater lover, and the author of poetry and witty comedies, played a certain role in the upbringing of the future writer.
Gogol's mother was incredible beautiful woman. She married at barely 14 years old to a man twice her age. From her the future writer inherited a reverent attitude towards death, rare intuition, suspiciousness, faith in prophetic dreams and other mysticism. When Gogol was still just a boy, his mother told him in colors about the existence Last Judgment, before which everyone will have to appear with their sins and virtues after physical death.
There is also a mystical secret in the acquaintance of the writer’s parents.!
As a boy, Nikolai Vasilyevich’s father went to a temple in the Kharkov province, where there was a wonderful image Mother of God. One day he saw in a dream the Queen of Heaven, who pointed to a child sitting on the floor at Her feet: “...Here is your wife.” He soon recognized in his neighbors' seven-month-old daughter the features of the child he had seen in his dream. For thirteen years, Vasily Afanasyevich continued to monitor his betrothed. After the vision repeated itself, he asked for the girl’s hand in marriage. A year later, the young people got married.
After some time, a son, Nikolai, appeared in the family, named in honor of St. Nicholas of Myra, before whose miraculous icon Maria Ivanovna Gogol made a vow.
From his mother, Nikolai Vasilyevich inherited a fine spiritual organization, a tendency towards God-fearing religiosity and an interest in premonition.
His father was suspicious. It is not surprising that from childhood Gogol was fascinated by secrets, prophetic dreams, and fatal omens, which later manifested itself on the pages of his works. From childhood, Gogol was withdrawn, shy and had little interaction with others. He was sensitive and had a hard time dealing with adversity.
Sl. 6 School.
Sl.7
When Gogol was studying at the Poltava School, his younger brother Ivan, who was in poor health, suddenly died. For Nikolai, this shock was so strong that he had to be taken from school and sent to the Nizhyn gymnasium. At the gymnasium, Gogol became famous as an actor in the gymnasium theater. According to his comrades, he joked tirelessly, played pranks on his friends, noticing their funny traits, and committed pranks for which he was punished. At the same time, he remained secretive - he did not tell anyone about his plans, for which he received the nickname Mysterious Carlo after one of the heroes of Walter Scott's novel "Black Dwarf".
The comrades were not very fond of the new student. Shy, secretive, he was extremely tormented by the poorly concealed ambition given to him by nature. But in the gymnasium he developed a talent for imitating - a talent for strange, sometimes simply ridiculous exaggerations, which later spoiled a lot of blood for his friends
Sl.8. Interesting fact.
Nikolai Gogol was madly in love goat milk combined with rum. The writer jokingly called his amazing drink “mogol-mogol.” In fact, the dessert “mogol-mogol” appeared in ancient times in Europe, it was first made by the German confectioner Köckenbauer. So the famous beaten egg yolk with sugar has nothing to do with the famous
to the writer!
Sl. 9.
At the age of three, he could already parse and write words with chalk tolerably well, having memorized the alphabet from drawn, toy letters. At the age of five, Gogol decided to write poetry. Nobody understood what kind of poetry he wrote.
At the gymnasium they did not understand him. Gogol constantly looked askance at the children, stayed aloof, and always looked with a frown. In order to occupy a place in the class where no one would see him, he came into the classroom first or last and, sitting in the back rows, left the class in the same way. In general, Gogol was the most ordinary mediocrity, and it never occurred to anyone then that he could subsequently become famous in the field of Russian literature. However, the truth must be told, Gogol loved reading and books.
In everyday life, the pupils amused themselves with pranks invented by Gogol and other playful boys.
Gogol's passion for writing awoke very early, almost from the first days of his admission to the gymnasium. In the classroom, he pulled out a drawer from the table, in which there was a board with a slate or a notebook with a pencil, leaned over the book, looked at it and at the same time wrote in the drawer, and so skillfully that the teacher did not notice this trick.
Sl. 10. Interesting fact.
Already at the age of 12, he had his first facial hair, and a mustache became an obsession for the future writer. In the gymnasium, he drew them on every illustration in textbooks - Gogol was scolded, but not kicked out, because he even drew mustaches with talent. It was for this drawing that he received a scolding and his reaction scared the entire gymnasium.
Sl. eleven
This was a particularly strange and incomprehensible case of Gogol's inappropriate behavior. On this day, they wanted to punish Gogol for the fact that during the service, without listening to prayer, he painted some picture. Seeing the executor called to him, Gogol screamed so shrilly that he scared everyone. Pupil of the gymnasium T.G. Pashchenko described this episode as follows: “Suddenly it became terrible anxiety in all departments: “Gogol has gone mad”! We came running and saw: Gogol’s face was terribly distorted, his eyes sparkled with a wild brilliance, his hair was bristling, he was grinding his teeth, foam was coming out of his mouth, he was hitting furniture, falling to the floor and beating. Orlay (the director of the gymnasium) came running and carefully touched his shoulders. Gogol grabbed a chair and swung it. Four servants grabbed him and took him to a special ward of the local hospital, where he remained for two weeks, perfectly playing the role of a madman.”
One of them wrote: “Gogol pretended so skillfully that he convinced everyone of his insanity.” This was his reaction of protest, expressed in violent excitement. By the way, information about his stay in the hospital and doctors’ conclusions about his madness could not be found in available sources. After his return from the hospital, the schoolchildren looked at him warily and passed him by.
Sl.12.
Until the end of his days, Gogol remained an unusual and mysterious person for many of his friends and acquaintances, and even for researchers of his work.
Gogol's secrecy gave the impression of mystery. He later recalled: “I did not confide my secret thoughts to anyone, so that they would not laugh at my extravagance, so that they would not consider me an ardent dreamer and an empty person.” As an adult and an independent person, Gogol said: “I am hidden for fear of releasing whole clouds of misunderstandings.” And he often walked with his head down. And I usually walked along the streets and alleys on the left side, so I constantly ran into passers-by.
In the gymnasium, Gogol dreams of broad social activities that would allow him to accomplish something great “for the common good, for Russia.” With these broad and vague plans, he arrived in St. Petersburg and experienced his first severe disappointment.
Gogol publishes his first work - a poem in the spirit of German romantic school"Hans Kuchelgarten". The pseudonym V. Alov saved Gogol’s name from heavy criticism, but the author himself took the failure so hard that he bought all the unsold copies of the book in stores and burned them. Until the end of his life, the writer never admitted to anyone that Alov was his pseudonym.
Sl.13 Interesting fact.
When stranger in society, he would leave so as not to run into him. IN last years generally stopped going out and communicating with writers, led ascetic image life.
Sl.14. Adulthood
Level 15
Later, Gogol received service in one of the departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. “Copying out the nonsense of the gentlemen, the clerks,” the young clerk looked closely at the life and everyday life of his fellow officials. These observations would later be useful to him for creating the famous stories “The Nose”, “Notes of a Madman” and “The Overcoat”. Later he taught at the Women's Patriotic Institute, where he often told young ladies entertaining and instructive stories. The fame of the talented “teacher-storyteller” even reached St. Petersburg University, where he was invited to lecture at the Department of World History.
Sl.16
The meeting in 1831 with Pushkin was of fateful significance for Gogol. Alexander Sergeevich not only supported the aspiring writer in the literary environment of St. Petersburg, but also gave him the plots of “The Inspector General” and “Dead Souls.”
The play "The Inspector General", first staged on stage in May 1836, was favorably received by the Emperor himself, who presented Gogol with a diamond ring in exchange for a copy of the book. However, critics were not so generous with their praise. The disappointment he experienced became the beginning of a protracted depression for the writer, who in the same year went abroad to “unlock his melancholy.” He traveled almost all over Western Europe, spending the longest time in Italy. In 1839, the writer returned to his homeland, but a year later he again announced his departure to friends and promised to bring the first volume of Dead Souls next time.
Sl.17 Interesting fact.
One day in May 1840, Gogol was seen off by his friends.
When the crew was out of sight, they noticed that black clouds had obscured half the sky. Suddenly it became dark, and the friends were overcome with gloomy forebodings about Gogol’s fate. As it turned out, it is no coincidence...
Sl.18.
In 1839, in Rome, Gogol contracted severe swamp fever (malaria). He miraculously managed to escape death, but a serious illness led to progressive mental and physical health problems. As some researchers of Gogol’s life write, the disease affected the writer’s brain. He began to experience seizures and fainting, which is typical of malarial encephalitis. But the most terrible thing for Gogol were the visions that visited him during his illness. The writer allegedly received a sign from above to go to Jerusalem, to the Holy Sepulcher. However, his stay in Jerusalem did not bring the expected result.
The disease subsided only for a short time. In the autumn of 1850, once in Odessa, Gogol felt better, he again became cheerful and cheerful as before. The second volume of Dead Souls was completed, Gogol felt empty. The “fear of death” began to take hold of him more and more.
The serious condition was aggravated by conversations with a fanatical priest, Matvey Konstantinovsky, who reproached Gogol for his imaginary sinfulness, demonstrated the horrors of the Last Judgment, thoughts about which tormented the writer with early childhood. Gogol's confessor demanded that he renounce Pushkin, whose talent Nikolai Vasilyevich admired.
On the night of February 12, 1852, an event occurred, the circumstances of which still remain a mystery to biographers. Nikolai Gogol prayed until three o'clock, after which he took his briefcase, took out several papers from it, and ordered the rest to be thrown into the fire. Having crossed himself, he returned to bed and cried uncontrollably.
It is believed that that night he burned the second volume of Dead Souls. However, later the manuscript of the second volume was found among his books. And what was burned in the fireplace is still unclear.
After this night, Gogol delved even deeper into his own fears. At that time, doctors could not recognize his disease and treated him with drugs that only weakened him. If doctors had started treating him for depression in a timely manner, the writer would have lived much longer.
Sl.19. Interesting fact.
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol was terribly afraid of thunderstorms.
Sl.20. Attitude to religion.
Sl. 21.
His relationship with religion was also strange. From full recognition to disbelief in God.
As a child, according to his recollections, despite the religiosity of his parents, he was indifferent to religion, did not really like going to church and listening to long services. As a high school student, according to the recollections of his friends, he was not baptized and did not bow. Gogol's first indications of religious feelings are in his letter to his mother in 1825 after the death of his father, when he was on the verge of suicide.
Religion became dominant in his life in the early 1940s. But the thought that there is some kind of high power, which helps him create brilliant works, appeared to him at the age of 26. These were the most productive years in his work.
As further development painful phenomena, his religiosity also increases. He tells his friends that he now does not begin “any business” without prayer. Gogol's piety deepened over the years. In 1843, his friend Smirnova noted that he was “so immersed in prayer that he does not notice anything around him.” He began to claim that “God created him and did not hide my purpose from me.” Since 1844, he began to talk about the influence of “evil spirits.”
When coming to Russia from abroad, Gogol always visited Optina Pustyn. I met the bishop, the rector and the brethren. He began to fear that God would punish him for his “blasphemous works.” This idea was supported by the same priest Matthew, who inspired that in the afterlife a terrible punishment would await him for such writings. Despite the fear of God's punishment, Gogol continues to work on the second volume of Dead Souls. From the mid-40s, Gogol began to find many vices in himself. In 1846, he composed a prayer for himself, was even more withdrawn, focused on his thoughts, “became cold and indifferent to others and relatives.
I stopped believing in the possibility of cleansing from sins and in forgiveness from God. At times he became anxious, expected death, slept poorly at night, changed rooms, said that the light was bothering him. He often prayed on his knees.
He corresponded with the priest Matthew, who called him to repentance and preparation for the afterlife. After the death of the sister of his deceased friend, Yazykova began to say that he was preparing for a “terrible moment”: “Everything is over for me.” From that time on, he began to meekly await the end of his life.
Sl.22
Heredity played an important role in the development of Gogol’s mystical inclinations. According to the recollections of relatives and friends, the grandfather and grandmother on Gogol’s mother’s side were superstitious, religious, and believed in omens and predictions. An aunt on her mother’s side was “odd”: she anointed her head with a tallow candle for six weeks to “prevent graying of her hair,”
One of Gogol’s nephews, left an orphan at the age of 13 (after the death of his father and mother), “went crazy” and committed suicide.
Gogol's younger sister Olga did not develop well as a child. In adulthood, she became religious, was afraid of dying, and attended church every day, where she prayed for a long time.
Another sister woke up the maids in the middle of the night, took them out into the garden and forced them to sing and dance.
The writer's father Vasily Afanasyevich Gogol-Yanovsky (c. 1778 - 1825) was extremely punctual and pedantic. He had literary abilities, wrote poetry, stories, comedies, and had a sense of humor.
The writer's mother considered her first-born son to be sent to her by God and predicted a great future for him. She told everyone that he was a genius, and she was not dissuaded. Since infancy, she began to attribute to him the discovery railway, steam engine, the authorship of literary works written by other persons, which caused his indignation. After the unexpected death of her husband in 1825, she began to behave inappropriately, talked to him as if he were alive, and demanded that he dig a grave for her and lay it next to her. Then she fell into a daze: she stopped answering questions, sat without moving, looking at one point. She refused to take food, when trying to feed her, she sharply resisted, clenched her teeth, and the broth was forced into her mouth. This state lasted for two weeks. Gogol himself considered her not entirely mentally healthy.
Sl.23.A few more interesting facts Gogol as a mysterious personality.
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol was afraid of appearing ugly. Gogol really didn’t like his long nose, so he asked artists to depict a nose that was close to ideal in their portraits. Based on his complexes, the writer wrote the work “The Nose”.
Sl.24.Interesting fact
Gogol was afraid of dumplings, but loved to cook and treat his friends to dumplings and dumplings
Sl. 25.Interesting fact
Gogol had a hobby that was strange by the standards of those around him - he adored needlework. He knitted, cut and sewed, and wove belts. I took great pleasure in coming up with outfits for my sisters. By summer I was sewing scarves for myself.
Sl. 26.Interesting fact
I really didn't like being photographed. He flatly refused - he covered his face with a top hat, bristled his mustache and made faces in every possible way. For such behavior, he was very rarely invited to social events, which offended the writer.
Sl. 27. Interesting fact.
He had a sweet tooth. In his trouser pockets he always had a significant supply of all kinds of sweets - sweets and gingerbread. And from time to time, taking it out from there, he chewed without ceasing, even in the classrooms, during classes. As an adult, I remained faithful to sweets.
Living in a hotel, he never allowed the servants to take away the sugar served with tea, he collected it, hid it, and then gnawed pieces while working or talking.
Sl.28. The mystery of death.
The mystery of death greatest classic The literature of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol has haunted scientists, historians, and researchers for more than a century and a half. How did the writer actually die? He died at the age of 42, suddenly, “burning out” in just a few weeks. Later his death was called terrifying, mysterious and even mystical.
Sl.29. Interesting fact.
After suffering from malarial encephalitis in 1839, Gogol often fainted, which led to many hours of sleep. Based on this, the writer was afraid that he might be buried alive while he was unconscious. But the most terrible thing for Gogol were the visions that visited him during his illness.
He suffered from taphephobia - the fear of being buried alive. This fear was so strong that the writer repeatedly gave written instructions to bury him only when obvious signs of cadaveric decomposition appeared.
Sl. thirty.
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol died on February 21, 1852. He was buried in the cemetery of the St. Daniel Monastery, and in 1931 the monastery and the cemetery on its territory were closed. When Gogol's remains were transferred to Novodevichy Cemetery, discovered that there was no head (skull) in the coffin.
What the writer actually died from is still not known. More than 160 years have passed, and the mystery of Gogol’s death has not been fully solved
There are versions.
1. Lethargic sleep.
The most common version. The rumor about the supposedly terrible death of the writer, buried alive, turned out to be so tenacious that many still consider it an absolutely proven fact. And the poet Andrei Voznesensky in 1972 even immortalized this assumption in his poem “The Funeral of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol.”
Gogol, curled up, lies on his side.
Partly, rumors about his burial alive were created, without knowing it... Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. The fact is that the writer was subject to fainting and somnambulistic states. Therefore, the classic was very afraid that during one of his attacks he would be mistaken for dead and buried. In his “Testament” he wrote: “Being in the full presence of memory and common sense, I express here my last will. I bequeath my body not to be buried until obvious signs of decomposition appear. I mention this because even during the illness itself, moments of vital numbness came over me, my heart and pulse stopped beating...” It is known that 79 years after the writer’s death, Gogol’s grave was opened to transfer the remains from the necropolis of the closed Danilov Monastery to the Novodevichy cemetery. They say that his body lay in an unusual position for a dead man - his head was turned to the side, and the upholstery of the coffin was torn to shreds. These rumors gave rise to the deep-rooted belief that Nikolai Vasilyevich died terrible death, in pitch darkness, underground. Historians and science refute this fact, but the version is still alive today.
Sl.31
Suicide. IN recent months In his life, Gogol experienced a severe mental crisis. The writer was shocked by the death of his close friend. The classic stopped writing, spent most of his time praying and fasting furiously. Gogol was overcome by the fear of death; the writer reported to his acquaintances that he heard voices telling him that he would soon die. It was during that feverish period, when the writer was semi-delirious, that he burned the manuscript of the second volume of Dead Souls. Depressive state the writer intensified. He grew weaker, slept very little and ate practically nothing. In fact, the writer voluntarily extinguished himself from the light. According to the testimony of doctor Tarasenkov, who observed Nikolai Vasilyevich, in last period In just one month of his life, he aged “at once.” By February 10, Gogol’s strength had already left him so much that he could no longer leave the house. On February 20, the writer fell into a feverish state, did not recognize anyone and kept whispering some kind of prayer. A council of doctors gathered at the patient’s bedside prescribes “forced treatment” for him. For example, bloodletting using leeches. Despite all efforts, at 8 a.m. on February 21, he was gone.
However, most researchers do not support the version that the writer deliberately “starved himself to death,” that is, essentially committed suicide. And for a fatal outcome, an adult must not eat for 40 days. Gogol refused food for about three weeks, and even then periodically allowed himself to eat a few spoons of oatmeal soup and drink linden tea.
Medical error. In 1902, Dr. Bazhenov’s short article “The Illness and Death of Gogol” was published, where he shares an unexpected thought - most likely, the writer died from improper treatment.
In addition, at the medical consultation, an incorrect diagnosis was made - “meningitis”. Instead of feeding the writer high-calorie foods and giving him plenty of drink, he was prescribed a procedure that weakened the body - bloodletting. And if not for this “medical care,” Gogol could have remained alive.
Gogol revealed to the world “all of Rus'”, its funny, sad, dramatic, and also its heroic sides. And the people respond to their beloved writer with love too!
DC 34. Monument.
There is a monument to Gogol’s nose in Kyiv - a comic monument dedicated to the nose of the outstanding writer Nikolai Gogol. The art object was created based on the author’s story of the same name, “The Nose,” but most Kiev residents strongly associate it with part of the writer’s face. The monument was erected in July 2006 opposite St. Andrew's Church, on St. Andrew's Descent.
The basis for the erection of the monument was a legend according to which Nikolai Gogol, while walking around Kyiv one November day, just opposite St. Andrew’s Church, got caught in the rain and caught a runny nose. All the writer’s thoughts revolved around his nose. Thus, according to legend again, the idea arose to write the famous story of the same name"Nose".
And today Gogol’s nose is very popular among Kiev residents and guests of the city. There is a humorous belief that if you rub your nose against Gogol’s nose, you can cure a runny nose. In addition, the Kyiv monument has a sister monument of the same name in St. Petersburg, also dedicated to Gogol.
DC 35.
As a child, you see mystery, miracle, romance, love or battle romance in Gogol, as in Taras Bulba. And just as the child lives in us, so the child’s perception of Gogol has changed, but at the same time, fundamentally it has not gone away. And the most amazing thing is that it all stays with us. But then Gogol the mystic is added, Gogol the religious writer, Gogol the preacher, Gogol the prophet.
RIA Novosti / Yuri Cover photo
(N.V. Gogol in Pavlovsk)
Opposite the Pavlovsk Palace there is a hilly area. It has long been called the Swiss roller coaster. On the left side of the site, between Soldatskaya, Zverinitskaya streets and the pond, at the beginning of the last century there was a dacha of the widow of Infantry General E.A. Arkharova. Wooden one-story house with a mezzanine and outbuildings.
Here, in this house, the glory of the future great writer N.V. was born. Gogol, who created the second part of “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” within its walls, because it was “Evenings...” that made him famous.
And the backstory was not happy. In December 1828, nineteen-year-old Gogol came to St. Petersburg for the first time. He pinned his hopes on living in the capital. But the severe frosts that met the northern city of the young dreamer were, as it were, a prologue to further ordeals. The poem "Hans Küchelgarten", begun in Ukraine at the Nizhyn gymnasium, and published in St. Petersburg with his own money, was not successful. The attempt to go on stage was futile. The service of a minor official doomed Gogol to poverty and deprivation. But at the end of 1830 Gogol met P.A. Pletnev, and through him with V.A. Zhukovsky and A.S. Pushkin. Pletnev introduced young Gogol into literary and teaching circles, introduced him to the noble families of the Vasilchikovs, Balabins, and Longinovs. For some time, Gogol was a home teacher in these houses. Future bibliographer and head of the Main Directorate for Press Affairs, former student of N.V. Gogol Mikhail Nikolaevich Longinov recalled: “Gogol soon became a very close person in our house. On the days of his lessons, he often dined with us and usually chose a place closer to us children, amusing himself with our chatter and indulging in his own gaiety. His stories were hilarious I now remember the humor with which he conveyed, for example, city rumors and rumors about dancing chairs in some house on Konyushennaya Street, which were then in full swing, it seems that this anecdote especially amused him, because several years later he remembered. him in his story “The Nose”…” For some time, Gogol taught at the Women’s Patriotic Institute.
About N.V.’s appearance Gogol of that time was later recalled by S.T. Aksakov: “Gogol’s appearance was then completely different and unfavorable for him: the crest on his head, smoothly trimmed temples, shaved mustache and chin, large and tightly starched collars gave a completely different physiognomy to his face... Gogol’s dress had a noticeable pretension to panache. What remains in my memory is that he was wearing a colorful, light-colored vest with a large chain.”
In the summer of 1831, Gogol was the tutor of a sick child in the Vasilchikov family. It was then that he lived in a house on the Swiss Hills; his grandson E.A. recalled this time. Arkharova V.A. Sollogub. This was in the summer of 1831. Gogol once read his “Evenings...” in the small low room, “the bed was bashfully blocked off by screens, an old-fashioned chintz-covered sofa stood against the wall, and in front of it round table, covered with a red paper tablecloth; a lamp was burning on the table under a dark green lampshade... All three old women were knitting stockings, looking condescendingly over their glasses at the young man sitting right next to the table...
Well, Nikolai Vasilyevich, start!
The young man looked at me questioningly; he was poorly dressed and seemed very shy; I became more dignified.
Read,” I said somewhat haughtily...
I will never forget the expression on his face! What subtle intelligence was reflected in his slightly narrowed eyes, what a caustic smile curled his thin lips for a moment. He still modestly moved closer to the table, slowly unfolded the manuscript with his long thin hands and began to read... From the first words, I separated from the back of my chair, fascinated and ashamed, and listened eagerly; Several times I tried to stop him, to tell him how much he amazed me, but he coldly raised his eyes to me and steadily continued his reading. When he finished, I threw myself on his neck and cried."
In another place in his memoirs, V. Sollogub describes Gogol the reader: “Whoever has not heard Gogol read, does not fully know his works. He gave them a special flavor with his calmness, his pronunciation, elusive shades of mockery and comedy that trembled in his voice and quickly ran through from his original, sharp-nosed face, while his small gray eyes smiled good-naturedly, and he shook the hair that always fell on his forehead. Describing the Ukrainian night, he seemed to pour into the soul the impression of summer freshness, blue, star-studded heights, fragrance, spirituality. space."
We must not forget that “Evenings...” were created in St. Petersburg and Pavlovsk, where there are no real dark nights, and in the spring in the usual sense they simply do not exist. The famous question: “Do you know the Ukrainian night?” could be perceived polemically by contemporaries. In his stories, Gogol seemed to open up another world and other nights to St. Petersburg residents. Back in May 1829, Gogol wrote to his mother from St. Petersburg: “The arrival of spring in our dusty capital, which does not look like spring at all, makes me remember with regret our Little Russian spring.”
Continuing the story about reading “Evenings...” with Arkharova’s hangers-on, Sollogub further wrote about Gogol: “Suddenly he stopped. “Yes, the hopak doesn’t dance like that!” The hangers-on cried out: “Why is it wrong?” They thought that Gogol was addressing them. Gogol smiled and continued the drunken man's monologue."
Gogol's extraordinary artistry and unsurpassed reading of his works were noted by many contemporaries.
S.T. Aksakov recalled about “Marriage” that Gogol read, or better yet, played, his play so skillfully that many people who understand this matter still say that on stage, despite good game actors, especially Mr. Sadovsky in the role of Podkolesin, this comedy is not as complete, integral and not nearly as funny as in the author’s own reading.”
In March 1830, the first story of the future “Evenings...” “Bisavryuk, or the Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala” appeared. Before this, in Gogol’s letters to his family there were constant requests to send him information about folk beliefs, customs, fortune telling, about names folk clothes, household items.
Living in Pavlovsk in the summer of 1831 and caring for the Vasilchikovs’ sick child, Gogol at the same time was finishing the second part of “Evenings...” Then he often visited Tsarskoe Selo, where he met with Pushkin and Zhukovsky. To his friend from the Nizhyn gymnasium A.S. He wrote to Danilevsky: “I lived all summer in Pavlovsk and Tsarskoe Selo... We gathered almost every evening: Zhukovsky, Pushkin and I. Oh, if you only knew how many delights came from the pens of these men.”
Gogol and Pushkin met at the end of May 1831 at Pletnev’s. Getting to know Zhukovsky a little earlier. Now in the summer this creative intimacy has strengthened. Gogol asked the letters to be addressed to himself in the name of Pushkin in Tsarskoe Selo.
Matters related to the printing of “Evenings...” caused Gogol’s early departure to St. Petersburg. “How much trouble this book caused me...,” Gogol wrote to Zhukovsky, “for three days I was constantly pushing from the printing house to the Censorship Committee, from the Censorship Committee to the printing house, and finally now I just took a breath.” By September 10, “Evenings...” had already been published, and in the same letter Gogol writes to Zhukovsky about sending him three printed copies: “One for you, the other for Pushkin, the third with a sentimental inscription for Rosetti, and the rest for those you care about.” determine at your own discretion."
In August, Gogol wrote to Pushkin: “The most curious thing was my meeting with the printing house. As soon as I poked my head through the doors, the typesetters, seeing me, let each snort and spray into his hand, turning to the wall. This surprised me somewhat. I am a factor, and he, after some deft evasions, finally said that the THINGS THAT YOU DELIVERED TO SEND FROM PAVLOVSK FOR PRINTING ARE VERY EXTREMELY FUNNY AND BROUGHT GREAT FUN TO THE COMPOSITORS.” In a reply letter, Pushkin congratulated Gogol on this first popular recognition and in the same 1831 he used this story by Gogol in a printed response to the publication of the book “Evenings...” in a letter to the publisher of “Literary Additions” to the “Russian Invalid”. “Just now I read “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”. They amazed me. This is real gaiety, sincere, unconstrained, without affectation, without primness. And in places, what poetry! What sensitivity! All this is so unusual in our current literature that I have not yet came to his senses... Congratulations to the audience on truly a fun book, and I sincerely wish the author further success,” wrote Pushkin.
It is known that later Pushkin would share his literary ideas with Gogol. He will tell him the plots of "The Inspector General" and "Dead Souls".
Shortly before tragic death on the eve of the premiere of “The Inspector General,” remembering “Evenings...”, Pushkin will say about their author: “He has been constantly developing and improving since then. Mr. Gogol is moving forward.”
Yes, world fame awaited Gogol, but it began with “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka,” created in Pavlovsk. Gogol visited Pavlovsk and in the early 1840s already famous writer- in the house of A.P. Bryullov on Elizavetinskaya Street (now Pravda), in the house of M.Yu. Vielgorsky at the Five Corners. But these were episodes associated with another period of his life.
Galina BOGRAD NAA PHOTO Pavlovsk. Peel tower. G.S. Sergeev, 1799
April 1 is the birthday of the Russian writer, playwright, author of the famous poem “Dead Souls.” This year marks the 210th anniversary.
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol was born in 1809. Taras Shevchenko once spoke of him as “a true knower of the human heart.
Creative biography of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol
N.V. Gogol - classic Russian literature, perhaps the most mysterious writer in our history.
His works became the basis for ballets and theater performances. “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka” and “The Nose” brought him fame. And the pinnacle of his creativity is recognized as such works as “The Inspector General,” “Dead Souls” and “The Overcoat.”
The process of working on the famous poem “Dead Souls” and “The Inspector General,” as well as the public outcry after their publication, testified to the ambiguous influence of Nikolai Gogol’s literary talent on the minds of his contemporaries. This thought marked the beginning of his thoughts about prophetic destiny and the need to apply it for the common good. He was afraid of harming society with his works.
By the end of the 40s of the 19th century, the writer turned to his quest in the sphere of religion, which is why his work acquired an edifying character. In his later works reflected the search for positive principles.
He was interested in mystical and religious practices. Perhaps his most mysterious work is “Viy,” written based on an ancient Ukrainian legend. But literary scholars specializing in Gogol’s legacy have to this day not found convincing evidence indicating his authorship.
The personality of the writer and playwright attracts the attention of many scientists and cultural figures. Already during his lifetime, numerous rumors arose due to his closed character and tendency to mythologize his biography. And his mysterious death gave rise to various legends.
April 1 is the birthday of the great Russian writer Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. However, the issue of Gogol’s year of birth is very controversial. Thus, Gogol always answered a simple question about his date of birth evasively. What is the reason for such secrecy? The mystery of the writer's birth may have its origins in youth mother of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol.
When asked about his date of birth, Gogol answered evasively...
Of course: according to the lists of the Poltava povet school, where he studied with his younger brother Ivan, it was stated that Ivan was born in 1810, and Nikolai was born in 1811. Biographers explained this by a little trick of Vasily Yanovsky, who did not want his eldest son to be overgrown among his classmates. But the birth certificate issued to the Nizhyn Gymnasium of Higher Sciences stated that Gogol was born in 1810. And a hundred years later he became one more year older. In 1888, the magazine “Russian Antiquity” first published an extract from the metric book of the Transfiguration Church of the Savior in the town of Sorochintsy, Mirgorod district, Poltava province: “1809. No. 25 - On the 20th of March, the landowner Vasily Yanovsky had a son, Nikolai, and was baptized. Priest Ioan Belobolsky prayed and baptized. Colonel Mikhail Trakhimovsky was the recipient.”
Receiver - Godfather poet - after twenty years military service retired and settled in Sorochintsy. The Trakhimovsky and Gogol-Yanovsky families have been friendly for a long time and were distantly related. Everything is logical, but questions remained. Because from Vasilyevka it was closer to Mirgorod (where there was a church), to Kibintsy (where Gogol’s mother and father served). It was possible to drive further in the other direction, for in the legendary Dikanka, steeped in ancient legends, there were two churches: the Trinity and the ancestral church of the Kochubeys, St. Nicholas, which the Gogols visited as distant relatives. They said that it was in front of him that young Maria made her vow: if the long-awaited son was born, he would be named Nikolai, and a church would be built in Vasilyevka.
In 1908, on the eve of the centenary of the birth of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, the department of Russian language and literature of the Russian imperial academy Sciences officially confirmed the fact of the birth of N.V. Gogol - March 20 (April 1 to the present) 1809.
Theatrical novel
The genealogy of Gogol's mother has been described in detail by historians. Grandfather Kosyarevsky, after military service, became the Oryol postmaster with a salary of 600 rubles a year. His son was “assigned” to the postal department... In 1794, the Kosyarovsky couple had a daughter, Masha, who was given to be raised by her aunt Anna, in the family of Major General A.P. Troshchinsky, since the parents themselves lived too modestly. Masha “started” early. Played in home theater Troshchinsky has many roles, including the penitent Magdalene. And - I finished the game...
At the age of 14 (I write in words - at the age of fourteen), despite Russian laws which prohibited marriages in early age, married Vasily Gogol-Yanovsky (1777-1825), owner of the small farmstead Kupchin, which was called Yanovshchina, and then Vasilyevka. And Maria inherited the Yareski estate: a total of 83 acres of land (about 83 hectares), the number of “population” owned by the Kosyarovskys was 19 people. Why did the Yanovskys and Kosyarevskys quickly become related? Because “schoolgirl” Masha was pregnant. From whom?
In 1806, being in disgrace, General Dmitry Troshchinsky appeared in Kibintsy. He, an old bachelor, had illegitimate daughter and the “pupil” Skobeeva, who became his favorite. In those days, a strict law of Peter I was in effect: all illegitimate children should be deprived of the title of nobility and registered as soldiers, peasants or artists. That is why so many artists, poets and writers have appeared in Russia over two generations. By the way, is this why Taras Shevchenko became an artist? It's easy to figure out whose illegitimate son he is. But unlike Engelhardt, Dmitry Troshchinsky knew the laws thoroughly Russian state and loopholes in these laws. It is no coincidence that he was appointed Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General. Therefore, for "legal" confirmation noble origin his illegitimate son, he gave it “for adoption” to his poor relatives.
When young Masha “got heavier” at the age of 14, he, as they would say now, faced an article “for child molestation.” And an illegitimate child had to be given up as a soldier or artist. The general hedged his bets twice. I instructed my manager Vasya Yanovsky to urgently marry Masha. And he gave a huge amount as a dowry. (Gogol's sister points to 40 thousand, but apparently she made an adjustment for inflation, which was in Russia after the War of 1812). And when Nikolai Gogol was born, they made him two years older. So, according to Poltava school documents, he was born in 1811. Because Masha (born in 1794) was already 17 years old by that time. Everything is legal. (Troshchinsky turned 59 years old. He reached the age about which people say: “Grey hair in a beard - a devil in a rib”).
No matter how much the competitors later dug under the Minister of Justice, they could not prove anything. There was no DNA paternity testing back then. Nevertheless, “well-wishers” regularly reported on Troshchinsky’s intimate affairs. Everyone in the area knew everything: who walked with whom... Both now, and two hundred years ago, if you sneeze on one side of the village, then on the other they will say: “Be healthy”! So we had to send Masha to give birth to an old friend - military doctor Mikhail Trakhimovsky in Bolshie Sorochintsy. The place there is lively. There are five roads leading out of the town at once: there is where to come from and where, if something happens, to leave...
There was even a “cover” legend that Gogol was born on the road, almost right next to the bridge over the Psel River, which he so colorfully described in the story “Sorochinskaya Fair”. I checked “on the ground”: there is no bridge on the road from Vasilyevka (now Gogolevo) to Sorochintsy. Here, the “security service” of the Minister of Justice, spreading these rumors, did something wrong. The reader has the right to ask: where did the general’s money go? They became "investments". The Yareski came to life and fairs were regularly held there. A large distillery was built there, which used a steam engine. Distilling (production of vodka) was a good business. V. A. Gogol subsequently managed the Troshchinsky household, being the secretary of Dmitry Prokofievich, who in 1812 was elected leader of the nobility of the Poltava province. And in the home theater of D. P. Troshchinsky in Kibintsy, comedies by Vasily Afanasyevich were staged. Everyone is fine.
By the way, part of the money was spent on the construction of a church in Vasilyevka, on Gogol’s training in Nizhyn: 1,200 rubles a year (then Troshchinsky saved: he transferred Kolya to a “state contract”). When Gogol in St. Petersburg “grabbed Venus by the private part,” 1,450 silver rubles were spent on treatment of the “bad disease” in Germany (travel, food, medicine, consultations). (For comparison: one goose then cost one ruble. A few years later, Gogol received 2,500 rubles for the production of The Inspector General). It was expensive for the poet to visit a public institution. Since then, he treated women with restraint, but began well: “We mature and improve; but when? When we comprehend a woman more deeply and more perfectly.” (Nikolai Gogol, “Woman”, “LG”, 1831)