M. A. Bulgakov is a talented Russian writer who worked at the beginning of the 20th century. In his work, such a trend in Russian literature as “the fight against the devil” stood out. In this sense, M. A. Bulgakov is, as it were, a continuator of the traditions of N. V. Gogol in the depiction of the devil and hell - his habitat. The author himself said about the novel “The Master and Margarita”: “I am writing a novel about the devil.” Gogol’s traditions were most clearly manifested in this work of the writer.
For example, in Gogol’s “ Dead souls“The outskirts of the city of N appear before us as hell - with its incomprehensible season, with its small devils, but the devil himself is not openly represented. In Bulgakov's novel, the devil is visible in action, and the specific city of Moscow becomes his temporary habitat. “Moscow was giving off the heat accumulated in the asphalt, and it was clear that the night would not bring relief.” Well, isn't this hellish hell! The day turned out to be unusually hot, and on that day Woland appeared, he seemed to bring this heat with him.
Bulgakov also has one like this important point, like a description of the moon in the sky. The heroes constantly look at the moon, and it seems to push them to some thoughts and actions. Ivanushka stopped writing poetry, the master, looking at the moon, became worried. She is present in the novel, like a pagan goddess. And at the same time, the moon is a circle, and Gogol’s circle is a symbol of eternity, immutability, and closedness of what is happening. Perhaps Bulgakov, with the help of this detail, wanted to show that in Moscow “all the same things that already existed in ancient times are concentrated? The same people, characters, actions, virtues and vices?
Or remember the scene of Satan's ball. This is clearly a bunch of devils. Although no, not really devils - more like “dead souls”. Complete people, not even people anymore - non-humans, evil spirits, dead people. Bulgakov, as it were, continued Gogol: those dead souls that Chichikov collected in order to “resurrect” are collected and revived here. For Bulgakov, the main condition for the revival and resurrection of the soul is faith. Woland says to Berlioz’s head: “There is one among them (theories), according to which everyone will be given according to their faith.” After which Berlioz fades into oblivion. After his death, he will never go to Woland’s ball, although he sinned enough to then be a guest at this terrible celebration, and he was killed through his machinations. Here is the method of resurrecting the soul that Woland proposes: everyone will be given according to their faith. And this method turns out to be the most effective of all proposed by both Gogol and Bulgakov.
There is another point of global similarity here - the game of chess by Woland and Behemoth is reminiscent of the game of checkers by Nozdryov and Chichikov. Hippopotamus also cheats. His king, by winking, “finally understood what they wanted from him, suddenly pulled off his robe, threw it on the square and ran away from the board.” But by doing so, Behemoth, unlike Nozdryov, admits his defeat. This game can be seen as a symbolic duel between good and evil, but evil wins because of the “betrayal” of Behemoth. This is a hidden allusion to the betrayal of Pilate and the crucifixion of Yeshua. But evil does not reign supreme in the world, and the silvery lunar road symbolizes the eternity of good.
Here, in brief, are perhaps the main parallels that can be drawn between “ Dead souls"N.V. Gogol and Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita", created much later, but having the same power of influence on the reader as the great creation of the Russian genius XIX century.
N.V. Gogol and M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. Tradition and innovation
1. The artistic talent of M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin and his views on art were formed under the direct influence of N. V. Gogol and his school. Gogol is the founder of a democratic age in the development of Russian literature, and for M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin he is “the founder ... of a new, real direction of Russian literature,” to which “all later writers, willy-nilly, join.”
Saltykov-Shchedrin and Gogol understood the social and educational role of art, saw the power of the artistic word in a truthful depiction of reality, and believed that the vital truth of works can have an impact beneficial influence on society.
Saltykov-Shchedrin was considered Gogol's successor. But the author of “The History of a City” created new type political satire, having learned Gogol's artistic experience.
2. The object of Saltykov-Shchedrin’s satirical creativity was not Gogol’s Russia. “Recent times,” wrote Saltykov-Shchedrin in 1868, “have created a great many completely new types, the existence of which Gogol’s satire did not even suspect. Moreover, Gogol’s satire was strong solely on personal and psychological grounds; Nowadays, the arena of satire has expanded so much that psychological analysis has faded into the background, while the power of things and the most diverse attitudes towards it have come forward human personality" The subject of satire from the times of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin is not a “psychological” type, but one or another “ulcer”, “pestilence”. The satire of Gogol's successor is sharper, more merciless, and more succinct.
3. V. G. Belinsky considered Gogol the head of the new realistic school. The critic believed that “the perfect truth of life in Gogol’s stories is closely connected with the simplicity of meaning. He does not flatter life, but does not slander it; he is happy to expose everything that is beautiful and human in her, and at the same time does not hide her ugliness in the least.” A caustic satire on existing reality is reflected in Gogol’s works, such as “Mirgorod”, “The Inspector General”, “The Nose”, “ Dead souls" The writer exposes the vulgarity and parasitism of the landowners, the meanness and insignificance of the inhabitants in these works. “Who else but the author should tell the holy truth!” - Gogol was sure.
The theme of exposing officialdom runs through the entire work of the great writer, and in the poem “Dead Souls” it is intertwined with the theme of serfdom. Showing the vices of his heroes as a result of the influence of the environment, Gogol did not yet raise the acute question of the personal responsibility of specific carriers of evil.
Saltykov-Shchedrin not only revealed the dependence of his satirical characters on social conditions of life, but also did not relieve them of responsibility for the crimes they committed. The writer's heroes, decaying under the feudal-serf system, amazed with their meanness and ugliness.
4. The forms of artistic typification in both writers are very close, but not identical. Gogol skillfully combined the general and the individual. He is a "genius of detail". A. S. Pushkin admired this skill: “Not a single writer has yet had this gift of showing the vulgarity of life so clearly, of being able to outline the vulgarity of a vulgar person with such force, so that all the little things that escape the eye would flash large in the eyes of everyone.” " Gogol created the images of Manilov, Sobakevich, Korobochka, Plyushkin, Khlestakov and other characters with “speaking” surnames, carefully thinking through every detail, every element of the characters’ characteristics, paying attention to their speech, behavior, and inner world.
Saltykov-Shchedrin, depicting a typical character, follows the path of greater satirical exaggeration and sharpening of the image than Gogol. Satirically revealing this or that detail, using the technique of the grotesque, Saltykov-Shchedrin deeply penetrated into the essence of a socio-historical phenomenon.
5. The fate of Russia, its past, present and future - all this worried both writers. In the first volume of Dead Souls, Gogol explored the theme of the past of his homeland. The future was a mystery: “Rus, where are you going? Give me the answer. Doesn't give an answer." For scary world of landowner and bureaucratic Russia, the writer felt the soul of the Russian people, which he expressed in the image of a quickly* flying forward troika, embodying the forces of Russia: “Aren’t you, Rus', like a brisk, unstoppable troika, rushing along?” The world of “dead souls” in the poem is contrasted with the lyrical image of folk Russia.
Saltykov-Shchedrin turned in his novel to the history of the Fatherland, intending to depict the beginning of the end of despotic, inhuman, anti-people power. He could not stop at exposing the phenomena of reality; he penetrated deeply into the essence of the phenomenon and man. Otherwise, “a truthful trial against them is impossible.” Saltykov-Shchedrin’s Russia is inextricably linked with the image of the people, their ideals, aspirations, hard work, talent, but also patience. Sympathy for the suffering of the people and condemnation of their resignation - this is the author’s position.
6. The similarities and differences of writers are manifested in the peculiarities of their humor. Gogol's laughter inspires the idea that the oppressors of the people do not have power and do not have the moral right to power. Saltykov-Shchedrin solved another historical problem: he crushed the ruling class and revealed its complete political bankruptcy. The laughter of a democratic writer loses the features of Gogol's sadness; it is more furious, knows no mercy for the enemy, and is imbued with sarcasm and contempt for its characters. Gorky remarked: “This is not Gogol’s laughter, but something much more deafeningly truthful, deeper and more powerful...”
7. For creative method Saltykov-Shchedrin is characterized by the “resurrection” of Gogol’s heroes. But the author of “The History of a City” does not limit himself to revealing the peculiarities of their character. The writer discovered limitless possibilities for typifying the phenomena of reality. “In order for satire to be truly satire and achieve its goal, it is necessary, firstly, for it to make the reader feel the ideal from which its creator sets out, and secondly, for it to be quite clearly aware of the object against which it is directed. its sting,” wrote Saltykov-Shchedrin.
The creative heritage of N.V. Gogol played an important role in the fate of Russian literature, and M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin theoretically interpreted and practically developed Gogol’s traditions in his works.
People and gentlemen in the fairy tales of M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin
1.M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin - “brave ruler of satires.” A successor to the traditions of Fonvizin and Gogol. Shchedrin is the pinnacle of Russian satire. The genre diversity of Shchedrin's works: novels, stories, essays, short stories, plays, fairy tales. Early acquaintance with the peculiarities of provincial bureaucratic life. The epiphany of Shchedrin the accuser. The individuality of the writer in the creation of fairy tales. The possibilities of the fairy tale genre in revealing the true meaning of the work.
2. Political sound of fairy tales. Disclosure of the theme of exploitation, denunciation of nobles and officials who live by people's labor. Reinterpretation of fairy-tale images and plots. The absence of happy endings in Shchedrin's fairy tales. Sharp social contrast - distinguishing feature fairy tales of a democratic writer.
4. " Wild landowner" The desire of the fairy tale hero to get rid of the man and the smell of chaff. The transformation of a cultured person into a wild animal that feeds on fly agarics. Helplessness, inability, worthlessness of the landowner. The author's confidence in the strength of the people, through whose labor the landowners live.
5. " The wise minnow" Making fun of ordinary people who fear for their lives, hiding from the difficulties of a diverse life. Real actions, decisive deeds as a way to achieve a happy future.
6. The people are talented, smart, strong, have a huge thirst for knowledge, hardworking, but patient, downtrodden and dark. The fruits of the people's labor are appropriated by generals, landowners, merchants, and the bourgeoisie. The author's call to the people to think about their fate.
7. The writer’s creative style is Aesopian, that is, allegorical. Subtext. Interweaving of the real and the fantastic. Hyperbole and grotesque are Shchedrin’s favorite techniques. The connection between Shchedrin's fairy tales and folk art. A reflection of the writer’s hatred of those who live at the expense of the people, a huge faith in the power of ordinary people. Man's spirituality and his moral purification acquire a special resonance in Shchedrin's fairy tales.
Brief bibliography
Bushmin A. S. Saltykov-Shchedrin. The art of satire. - M., 1976.
The book by the famous literary scholar and critic talks about the aesthetic views and originality of the realism of the great Russian writer. The main attention is paid to the characterization of Shchedrin as an unsurpassed artist of words in the field of socio-political satire.
Bushmin A. S. Art world Saltykov-Shchedrin. - L., 1987.
The book defines the originality of the satirist's realism, the nature of genres, narrative style, the role is being revealed artistic hyperbole, realistic fiction, Aesopian allegory in the system of aesthetic views and artistic creativity writer.
BBK 83.3R6 UDC 882 I-21
Ivanova Evgenia Sergeevna, graduate student of the Russian Literature Department of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "Tambov State Technical University", e-mail: _ prickle912@,mail. ru
TRADITIONS N.V. GOGOL IN THE WORK OF M.A. BULGAKOVA:
A DREAM ABOUT TWO RATS
(reviewed)
The article is devoted to the consideration of the problem of the dream tradition of N.V. Gogol in relation to the works of M.A. Bulgakov. The author investigates the cause, determines artistic purpose and the meaning of the repetition of Gogol’s dream about two rats in Bulgakov’s story. For the first time, a comparative analysis of the dreams of the mayor from the comedy “The Inspector General” and the station chief from the story “Two-Faced Chems” has been carried out. The main dream images-symbols that characterize the characters are emphasized.
Keywords: dream, allusion, background knowledge, hypocrisy, symbol of deception.
Ivanova Evgenia Sergeyevna, post graduate student of the Russian Literature Department of FSBEIHPE “Tambov state technical university”, e-mail: [email protected]
TRADITIONS OF N. V. GOGOL IN M. A. BULGAKOV'S WORKS:
DREAM ABOUT TWO RATS
The article considers the problem of dreaming traditions of N. V. Gogol in relation to M. A. Bulgakov's works.
The author investigates the reason, defines the art purpose and sense of repetition of Gogol’s dream about two rats in Bulgakov’s story.
The analysis comparative of the dreams of the governor from the comedy “Auditor” and the station-master from the story “Two-faced Chems” has been made for the first time.
The main dreaming images-symbols acting as the characteristic features of characters have been emphasized.
Keywords: dream, hint, background knowledge, hypocrisy, deception symbol.
N.V. Gogol and M.A. Bulgakov - writers whose works include high degree the artistic technique of dreaming was used. Usage this technique in works became key in their creativity, so the study of functionality artistic technique sleep allows us to judge the individual author's view.
To date, many works have been created devoted to the study of creative parallels between N.V. Gogol and M.A. Bulgakov. The identification of continuity based on repeated techniques and motives seems to be the most fruitful direction in modern research. However, the problem of focusing Bulgakov’s texts on N.V. has not yet been resolved. Gogol: no
revealed why and for what purpose the repetition of certain artistic elements, how a work of art is “transformed” in this case. Of course, there is no definite and clear answer, because the creative connections of writers are numerous and multifaceted, and an individual researcher touches only on a certain aspect of this issue.
Our focus is on the use of M.A. Bulgakov in the story “Two-Faced Chems” allusions to a dream from the comedy N.V. Gogol "The Inspector General". A comparative study of Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General” and Bulgakov’s feuilleton “Two-Faced Chems” is new in literary criticism: we have not found any published scientific works dedicated to solving this problem.
The main objective of the study is to obtain an answer to the question: for what purpose does M.A. Bulgakov in his story uses the already “familiar” from the work of N.V. Gogol's motive for the dream of two rats?
The formulated theoretical principles and practical conclusions obtained by us in this article contribute to the expansion and deepening of existing modern science ideas about the cultural and creative dialogue of writers N.V. Gogol and M.A. Bulgakov, definition and clarification of the concept of “author's picture of the world”.
The practical significance lies in the possibility of further use of the conclusions obtained during the study in the process of scientific study of N.V.’s creativity. Gogol and M.A. Bulgakov, when clarifying them artistic heritage. These materials can be used in the preparation of training courses on Russian literature both for students and schoolchildren.
The mayor is a character in N.V.’s comedy. Gogol’s “The Inspector General” (1835) - having announced the arrival of an inspector in the city, he says that he “dreamed about two extraordinary rats all night.”
In the Encyclopedia literary heroes» researcher Shchuplov A.N. calls the mayor’s dream “incomprehensible and therefore terrible.” We agree with this characteristic, because, according to the dictionary of symbols, the rat is a symbol of destruction and decay. The mayor sees them as “black, of unnatural size.” The huge size of the animal symbolizes the significance and importance of the auditor’s person, and the black color is a symbol of tragedy, evil that disrupts the measured and established life of a provincial town. “The mayor, like other city officials, is overcome by an irresistible fear of the auditor: this is nothing more than the fear of expecting retribution for the lawlessness committed.”
We find a similar situation in Bulgakov’s story “Two-Faced Chems.” Station life under the conditional leadership of Chems is destroyed by the arrival of a correspondent who learns that the Chems “issued an order that no employee should give correspondence to newspapers without looking at it.”
The ChMS is frightened, hides the order book under lock and key, tries to find out among “dear colleagues”, “casts a shadow on our expensive station", but the search is in vain:
A full station of people, almost every other day some kind of correspondence, and when you ask: “Who?” - there is no culprit. Well, is their holy spirit writing? [ibid].
Having learned that “a correspondent had arrived before him,” Chems says, turning pale: “That’s why I dreamed all night about two big rats... ". The story not only contains Gogol’s motifs, they are repeated and reproduced almost verbatim. Bulgakov appeals to the reader’s background knowledge, therefore the description of the dream plot
is not required, because the reader already knows him. Thus, the use of a “known” dream gives an additional characteristic of Chems, similar to that given by N.V. Gogol in “Notes for Gentlemen Actors” in relation to his hero: “Although he is a bribe-taker, he behaves very respectably; quite serious; somewhat even a reasoner... The transition from fear to joy, from baseness, from baseness to arrogance is quite rapid, like in a person with roughly developed inclinations of the soul.”
The direct description of the hero is in the title - “two-faced”. Chems turns out to be two-faced not only because he “changes his face” in a conversation with a correspondent (compare the conversation with his subordinates about the ban on writing to newspapers), ingratiates himself with him, but because hypocrisy is a constant quality of the hero:
Yes Lord! Yes, my God! Yes, I’ve been struggling for six months to establish it [correspondent communications], damned. But she’s not getting better. That's the kind of people they are. What a savage people they are, I’ll tell you a secret, it’s downright terrifying. Twenty thousand times I told them: “Write, you striped devils, write!” - They don’t write a damn thing, they just get drunk. What has it come to: despite the fact that I am overloaded with work, as you yourself understand, dear comrade, I myself suggested to them: “Write,” I say, “for the sake of all that is holy, I will correct your correspondence myself, I will help you myself, I will send it myself.” , just write so that you don’t have a bottom or a tire.”
Chems is deceitful, crafty, even his smile turns out to be false and two-spirited: “... he affectionately grinned at the correspondent with one cheek, and at the employee with the other..”. Gogol “encodes” a similar characteristic in the hero’s surname - Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky. According to V. Dahl’s dictionary, “to sneak through” means “to sneak around”, “to sneak around”, which means that a draftsman is a cunning person, a shrewd one, a swindler. In other words, the heroes, who are always rude and cruel in dealing with their subordinates, change radically when communicating with their superiors: their courtesy, ostentatious cordiality and attentiveness are limitless.
The similarity of the characters of Gorodnichy and Chems is emphasized through the artistic device of sleep. Both characters appear ignorant, comparing the auditor/correspondent to a rat. It would seem that the solid social position of the heroes should regulate their behavior, but there is no need to talk about decency in their attitude towards people and work: the mayor takes bribes, flogs people; Chems - oppresses workers, deprives them of freedom of speech.
The plot of the mayor’s dream contains a hint that the inspector’s inspection will not lead to results: the rats “came, sniffed - and went away.” This is absurd, because he “dreamed about them all night.” It is even more absurd that these “rats” only “sniffed” and nothing more, because the heroes regard the arrival of the inspector with a “secret order” as an event that has political reasons (compare, Ammos Fedorovich: “I think ... here it is subtle and more political reason."
The mayor notes that his dream was prophetic, he “seemed to have a presentiment,” the same in the situation with Chems, who correlates the correspondent’s arrival with a dream about rats. None of the characters takes into account the actions of the rats: they came, sniffed, left - the mayor and the ChMS expect more serious events. This fact is confirmed by the further actions of Gogol’s and Bulgakov’s heroes: they “hide” from view everything that could compromise them.
An obvious reference to Gogol's text creates a certain effect in work of art in terms of content: birth occurs
reader's association with the world of deceivers and bribe-takers, described by Gogol in his comedy. In addition, a parallel is created between the past and the present, the Gogol and modern Bulgakov eras: has society changed much? It turns out that such phenomena as hypocrisy and fraud have not gone away from our lives, they live with a person and in a person.
The repetition of the dream plot about two rats acquires a symbolic designation, which provides depth literary text and expanding the boundaries of interpretation of the text by the reader: the idea is affirmed that it is impossible to correct the Russian character, about the futility of any revisions. Using the artistic device of dreams, Bulgakov not only characterizes Chems, drawing a parallel of characters with Gogol’s mayor, but also reveals the characteristic (unchangeable) features of Russian bureaucratic society. Also, an allusion to Gogol’s dream gives the author the opportunity to convey maximum meaning in a concise form, within one sentence, to express his attitude towards the characters, to enter into a dialogue with the reader, forcing him to again pay attention to the problems that existed in society previously and still exist. .
We see further development of our research in expanding the range of works for comparative analysis of Russian writers N.V. Gogol and M.A. Bulgakov. We are interested in the specific functionality of sleep reception in separate work, as well as in their system, which will help identify trends, features of the disclosure of the plot, the characters of the characters, their words, actions, will help to define and clarify such a concept as the author's picture of the world.
Literature:
1. Encyclopedia of literary heroes [Electronic resource]. M.: Agraf, 1997. URL: http://www.a4format.ru/pdf files bio2/471221fa.pdf (access date: 02.9.15)
2. Hall J. Dictionary of plots and symbols in art / trans. from English A.E. Maikapara. M.: KRON-PRESS, 1996. 659 p.
3. Cooper J. Encyclopedia of symbols. Book IV. M.: Golden Age, 1995. 401 p.
4. Gogol N.V. Collected works. In 7 vols. T. 4. Dramatic works The Inspector General, Marriage, etc. M.: Khud. lit., 1977. 446 p.
5. Matyushenko L.I., Matyushenko A.G. Tutorial on Russian history
literature of the 19th century century [Electronic resource]. M.: MAKS Press, 2009. URL:
http://www.a4format.ru/pdf files bio2/4dc1188f.pdf (access date: 02/9/15)
6. Bulgakov M.A. Collected works. In 5 volumes. T. 2. Diaboliad; Fatal Eggs; Heart of a Dog; Stories; Feuilletons. M.: Khud. lit., 1989. 751 p.
7. Dal V. Explanatory dictionary of the living Great Russian language. T. 1-4. M.: Rus. language,
1. Encyclopedia of literary heroes. M.: Agraffe, 1997. URL: http://www.a4format.ru/pdf_files_bio2/471221fa.pdf (date of access: 02.9.15)
2. Hall J. The dictionary of plots and symbols in art / Tr. from English by A.E. Maykapar. M.: KRON - PRESS, 1996. 659 p.
3. Cooper J. Encyclopedia of symbols. Book IV. M.: Golden Age, 1995. 401 p.
4. Gogol N. V. Coll. of works in 7 v. V.4. The drama works Auditor, Marriage, etc. M.: Fiction, 1977. 446p.
5. Matyushenko L.I., Matyushenko A.G. The manual on the history of the Russian
literature of the XIX century. M.: MAX Press, 2009. URL:
http://www.a4format.ru/pdf_files_bio2/4dc1188f.pdf (date of the access: 02.9.15)
6. Bulgakov M. A. Coll. of works in 5 v. V.2. Diavoliada; Fatal eggs; Dog's Heart; Stories; Feuilletons. M.: Fiction, 1989. 751 p.
7. Dal V. Explanatory dictionary of living great Russian language. V. 1-4. M.: Russian language, 1989.
Bulgakov was a master of the satirical portrait, but at the same time he recalls the true purpose of the writer: after satirical or comic picture bitter words follow lyrical hero, making the reader think, laughter gives way to compassion for the hero, and then a feeling of protest. In general, "Theatrical Romance" produces a poetic impression. Here Gogol’s dual understanding of reality is continued: comic and highly lyrical.
"Theatrical novel" depicts two worlds - theatrical and literary. Gogol's "Theatrical Travel" is devoted to the same topic. Both artists, devoted to literature and highly appreciating the role of the Theater, responded to their deep experiences: Gogol - to the production of "The Inspector General", Bulgakov - to the production of "Molière", which dragged on for several years and was then recognized in the press as unsuccessful.
IN " Theatrical novel"Gogol's word flows (now intensifying, now fading) into another reality reproduced by Bulgakov, separated from Gogol's world, as equal to the author's. The author of the novel conducts a dialogue with his fellow man, inviting him to compare both life material and skill in mastering it - a dialogue, containing both an act of respect for the “teacher” and a respectful, but not humble challenge.
If we recall the “muttering” of Bulgakov’s hero, who fell ill after a party (“Yesterday I saw new world, and this world was disgusting to me. I won't go there. He is a foreign world. Disgusting world! We must keep this completely secret, shh!"), then another, flatter, but undoubtedly also present in the text, aspect of the wide inclusion of Gogol's material that we observed appears. Gogol becomes the only ally of the narrator in his clash with the "disgusting world" He invisibly covers him with his cast-iron overcoat, under which the noise and merriment of the wider and wider “feast” is not so audible. Mastering this “alien world” with Gogol’s word, Maksudov finds the strength to resist it.
Even in early prose, Russian literature appears as the hero’s internal support in his resistance to alcoholism. It appears as a sign of the norm, helping to recognize a violation of this norm, to realize it and to contrast certain values with it, and this function of it is obvious in the “Theatrical Novel”.
The free development of Gogol's word in the novel complexly combined the self-affirmation of the author-narrator and his assertion of the continuity of the tradition of Russian literature. “Classical” Gogolian techniques have been made a property of our time, polemically brought forward - as if they were not pushed aside and not surpassed by the modern prose that Maksudov reads, thinking about his second novel and wanting to know “what they (contemporaries) write about, how they write, What is the magical secret of this craft? And this motive begins to serve as a key to deciphering the meaning of the strong Gogolian element in the “Theatrical Novel”. Without explaining anything, Bulgakov, by the very way of telling the story, points to the one who became not only for his hero, but also for himself a living guide in the work on that novel, which was begun four years after the completion of the first ("The White Guard"), and completed only before death.
There is no need to prove what a huge impression Gogol’s “powerful years of fantasy” and interest in the characters he depicted had on Bulgakov.
Bulgakov turned to the most fantastic of Gogol's St. Petersburg stories to convey the atmosphere of institutional life in Moscow in the 20s. So “The Nose” flashed through Bulgakov’s first works (“Notes on Cuffs”, “Diaboliada”).
In the last creation, the novel "The Master and Margarita", a significant part of the epilogue varies the ending of "The Nose": ridiculous rumors spread in both capitals, the critical attitude towards them of "respectable and well-intentioned people" in the story - and "the most developed and cultured people" in novel; experiments in magnetism in "The Nose" - and a gang of hypnotists and ventriloquists in "The Master and Margarita"; and, finally, the curiosity of the crowd of ordinary people flocking to Juncker’s store to look at the nose, which in Bulgakov was transformed into the excitement of numerous cat hunters (the crowd in the theater).
Laziness of mind, lack of imagination, tenacity of prejudices - this is what Bulgakov ironically ridiculed in the epilogue, this is why he turned to Gogol's story.
In “The Master and Margarita” the face of a person “well known” to Bulgakov appears again. The portrait of the Master is given sparingly: “From the balcony, a shaved, dark-haired man with a sharp nose, anxious eyes and a tuft of hair hanging over his forehead cautiously looked into the room, about thirty-eight years old.”
This portrait immediately brings to mind the face of Gogol (a portrait of N.V. Gogol by E.A. Dmitriev-Mamonov of the 40s).
Master - historian by training. Chance freed him from service, and then he found out that his true happiness was writing a novel. The master is a person prone to loneliness. He becomes mentally ill. All this reminds me of Gogol. And besides, the burning of the manuscript by Gogol and the Master. The description of the Master's departure to the hospital is similar to Gogol's visit to the hospital, described by his contemporary.
In the last novel “Dead Souls”, in the image of Chichikov, Gogol sounds the theme of selling the soul to the devil; Bulgakov pits his characters against Satan himself.
The antithesis of good and evil is where the main commonality of dissimilar plots lies. But unity also lies in the ways of artistic interpretation of what is happening to people. The constant change between the psychological and the fantastic in the novel perfectly corresponds to the laws of artistic realism. And it turns out that Bulgakov is Gogol’s heir not only because of his attraction to the phantasmagoric nature of scenes, to the depiction of the universe as a deformed being, an unbridled element.
In explaining the incredible cruelty of the procurator Pilate towards Yeshua, Bulgakov follows Gogol. The dispute between the Roman procurator of Judea and a wandering preacher over whether there will be a kingdom of truth or not sometimes reveals, if not equality, some strange intellectual similarity between the executioner and the victim. For minutes it seems that the first one will not commit a crime against a defenseless stubborn person.
The image of Pilate demonstrates the internal struggle of the individual, and therefore it is dramatic in its own way. But unequal principles collide in a person: strong will and the power of circumstances. Yeshua spiritually overcame the latter, but this was not given to Pilate. As a person, he does not approve of the death sentence; as a procurator, he is obliged to sign it to the person who revealed to him his daring utopia: the end of imperial rule, Caesar’s power, will come.
Here eternal theme world literature and this is the essence of artistic realism. Let us remember: using completely different material from life, Gogol solves this topic in full accordance with the principles of realism. A high-ranking official from “The Overcoat” destroys a little man with his heartlessness. In the author's interpretation of a cruel act - he was a good person, but became a general - the essence of a realistic analysis of human actions is expressed, the judgment of realism over the bad social metamorphoses of an individual is visible.
Here, perhaps most of all, Bulgakov acts as a follower of Gogol. Of course, the imagery, plot and style similarities with the classics of the past are obvious. How not to remember after seeing scenes with people flying in the sky and a talking cat, fairy-tale episodes in Gogol’s “Evenings” and the story “The Nose”.
Bulgakov continues the tradition of grotesque realism in the de-aestheticization of the depicted world. It explains the entire style of the novel, all the devilry, farcical stupidity and unreality of the actions of Koroviev and Azazello.
The chapter "Bad Apartment" makes extensive use of the contrast effect characteristic of Gogol's poetics: the vocabulary of the intelligentsia ("cutest", "thank you", "have mercy") and vulgarisms ("hanging around", "bastard, troublemaker, opportunist and sycophant"). Gogol's was also used aesthetic principle: the funnier, the scarier and the scarier, the funnier: “...Styopa opened his glued eyelids and saw that reflected in the dressing table in the form of a man with hair sticking out in different directions, with a swollen face covered with black stubble, with swollen eyes, in a dirty shirt with a collar and tie, in long johns and socks,” etc.
Playing with mystery in infernal novels is the key to plot development. And one could see in this the symptoms of adventure relief, if not for the philosophical subtext that peeks through the misunderstandings. In essence, every infernal plot - as in Gogol's "Portrait" - is a tragic attempt by a person to explain himself to fate, to his future, to the great mystery that lies before us all. Or, simply, an addition to the aphorism: “Man proposes, but God disposes,” if only God alone.
The sign of a “prosaic” (“shagreen”) Satan is a mystery. The boundary between the visible and the invisible, the permitted and the unlawful, the disastrous and the intelligible is drawn - with a sharp stroke of the author's imagination. What is here is given to us in sensation. And what THERE is is a mystery, an unknown, edged with elastic lines that can retreat deeper, succumbing to the onslaught of human curiosity, but never open.
Gogol became the founder of a number of traditions in Russian literature, many of which were subsequently reflected in the works of writers of the second century. half XIX-XX centuries. Characteristic artistic manner Gogol's features can be seen in the story “Heart of a Dog” and in the novel “The Master and Margarita” by M. A. Bulgakov.
Both in these Bulgakov works and in some of Gogol’s novels and stories, there are two worlds - real and fantastic. They are parallel, but can also intersect and interact, which usually leads to the emergence of supernatural phenomena among people. This can be seen in Gogol’s “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka.” Dikanka and St. Petersburg in the story “The Night Before Christmas”, Kyiv in “Terrible Revenge” are quite real, but the appearance of the devil and the sorcerer speak of the presence of otherworldly forces. Also, Bulgakov’s Moscow is a completely real city, but it also has evil spirits represented by Woland, Azazello, Koroviev and Behemoth.
Bulgakov's depiction of Moscow also goes back to Gogol's traditions. Moscow as a whole is a closed world, just as the city appears in “Dead Souls” or in “The Inspector General,” isolated from the country and at the same time identified with it. The inhabitants of this city and Moscow personify all the vices inherent in humanity.
Gogolian traditions are reflected in Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” and in the depiction of evil spirits. Its representatives contribute to the revelation of the characters' characters. Thus, thanks to the devil and the witch Solokha in Gogol’s story “The Night Before Christmas,” human sins appear on the surface. The head, the clerk, the devil himself - they are all trying to achieve Solokha’s favor, stooping to hypocrisy and deception. This can be seen in " Heart of a Dog" and "The Master and Margarita", where Bulgakov shows the vile soul of Sharikov, the drunkenness of Styopa Likhodeev, the cowardice of Rimsky, the bribery of Nikanor Ivanovich, the hypocrisy of Varenukha. Woland comes to the human world after two thousand years to find out whether people have changed or not. It turns out not. In fact, this is demonstrated by Boland, Azazello and Behemoth during a black magic session. But if in Gogol evil spirits can evoke sympathy along with disgust (the reader, as a rule, likes Solokha and Patsyuk, but he has a negative attitude towards the sorcerer), then in Bulgakov even Satan is presented positively, the cat Behemoth, Koroviev, are described with gentle and kind humor, Azazello.
Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita” is also similar to Gogol’s story “The Night Before Christmas” in that Margarita makes a fantastic journey on a broom, just as the blacksmith Vakula flies with the devil to St. Petersburg to visit the queen.
The grotesque technique that Bulgakov resorts to, the irony when depicting the MASSOLIT society and its members in “The Master and Margarita” or when conveying the images of Sharikov and Shvonder in “Heart of a Dog” also go back to Gogol’s traditions. Gogol uses these techniques, showing landowners and officials in “Dead Souls” and “The Inspector General,” which Bulgakov follows in his works, bringing some scenes to the point of absurdity.
Gogol became an innovator in Russian literature. His techniques were reflected in the works of later writers of both the 19th and 20th centuries. The continuity of Gogol's traditions can be traced in the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin, in the satirical stories of Zoshchenko, in the stories and novels of Bulgakov.
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