Gogol's Far-Reaching Influence

by Chelsea Stigile 

Nikolai Gogol, the author of “The Overcoat,” has been quite the challenge to investigate. This difficulty might be due to Gogol’s little manic episode of burning his stories which were never published and which have no proof of existence (Čiževsky 478). He remains a man of mystery from the few pieces left behind. Gogol seemed to be greatly influenced by Russian culture although he was Ukrainian. He did not dismiss Ukrainian culture, but chose to be greatly influenced by his Russian surroundings. Gogol was known for writing about realistic events; he tied Romanticism with Realism. Russian romanticism was a movement that transformed Russian art and literature by focusing more on nature than civilization, rebelling against authority, as well as adding romance into art and literature. A second way Gogol shaped his image involved his ethnic allegiance. Richard Gregg in the Russian Review states, “Gogol’s “Russianness” might, at first glance, seem to be self-evident. His formal education was in Russian; all of his letters—save one—and all his recorded conversations are in Russian; more important, his entire oeuvre, belletristic and other, is in Russian. Understandably Russia has from the start claimed him for her own” (Gregg 65). Gogol’s influence on others makes finding out who influenced him more difficult. The compelling thing about Gogol is not who influenced him but rather what did. Gregg seems to believe Russia had a huge influence on the types of stories Gogol produced. It is not as if Gogol was never influenced by other writers or philosophers, but his influence on those who followed was much more immense than those who influenced him. Clarence Manning mentioned in The Slavonic Review, “It w  was the tragedy of Gogol’s career that he had helped to initiate many of these changes. He had pointed out the path along which Russian literature was to move. He had painted the situation in Russia so strongly that he had led the younger men into the path of opposition, and then he had proceeded along he own way, which led him equally far from the past and the movement toward the future” (Manning 573). With this being said, Gogol raised the stakes for Russian literature at the time. He did not write about love or ideal situations, instead he placed his characters in challenging situations to teach a lesson or oppose mainstream thinking. “It is, indeed, this direct impact on the ‘uneducated man’ that made Gogol into such a powerful social force in Russia. He alone seemed to possess the secret of insinuating himself into the minds of his readers and…‘irrevocably undermining’ the Russian people’s respect for the Tsarist government” (Magarshack 16).  He defied the government and encouraged readers and other writers to become more abstract thinkers about the world around them. He paved the way for people to start to think more realistically which leads to mistrust of authority. Gogol’s influence on others may not be direct but that does not dampen the impact his literature has had on those who followed. Dmitry Čiževsky claims, “Dostoyevsky and others of Gogol’s younger contemporaries probably imitated him quite unconsciously. What is significant here is that these imitators belonged to a variety of literary schools. Later, realists and impressionists, symbolists and futurists, and still later, Soviet writers, were to claim Gogol’ as their spiritual ancestor” (Čiževsky 476). Not only did Gogol influence Russian authors, he had a great influence on many other ethnicities and genres of literature as well.  Čiževsky believes Gogol played a much larger role in literature than some may assume. Gogol’s influence was ultimately due to his brave movement away from popular literature. Do you truly believe that Gogol’s “The Overcoat” paved the way for literature at this time? Is Gogol’s way of blending romanticism and realism visible in “The Overcoat”?

Works Cited

Čiževsky, Dmitry. “The Unknown Gogol”. The Slavonic and Eastern European Review. Vol. 30, No. 75, Jun., 1952. The Modern Humanities Research Association and University College London, School of Slavonic and East European Studies. 476 &478. Web. February 16, 2012. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/4204347?seq=7&Search=yes&searchText=1840&searchText=Russia&searchText=Gogol&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoAdvancedSearch%3Fq0%3DGogol%26f0%3Dall%26c 1%3DAND%26q1%3DRussia%2Bin%2Bthe%2B1840%26f1%3Dall%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don%26Search%3DSearch%26sd%3D%26ed%3D%26la%3D%26jo%3D&prevSearch=&item=3&ttl=399&returnArticleService=showFullText&resultsServiceName=null]

Gregg, Richard. “The Writer and His Quiff: How Young Gogol' Sought to Shape His Public Image”. Russian Review. Vol. 63, No. 1, Jan., 2004. Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Editors and Board of Trustees of the Russian Review. 65. Web. February 16, 2012. [http://www.jstor.org.proxy-su.researchport.umd.edu/stable/3664691?seq=3&Search=yes&searchText=influence&searchText=historical&searchText=Gogol&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dhistorical%2Binfluence%2Bon%2BGogol%26gw%3Djtx%26acc%3Don%26prq%3D%2528%2528history%2Bin%2BRussia%2529%2BAND%2B%25281840%2529%2529%26Search%3DSearch%26hp%3D25%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=1&ttl=1742&returnArticleService=showFullText&resultsServiceName=null]

Magarshack, David. “Gogol: A Life”. New York: Grove Press Inc., 1969. Book.

Manning, A. Clarence. “Nicolas Gogol”. The Slavonic Review. Vol. 4, No. 12, March 1926. The Modern Humanities Research Association and University College London, School of Slavonic and East European Studies. 573. Web. February 16, 2012. [http://www.jstor.org.proxy-su.researchport.umd.edu/stable/4201994?&Search=yes&searchText=historical&searchText=Gogol&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoAdvancedSearch%3Fq0%3Dhistorical%26f0%3Dall%26c1%3DAND%26q1%3DGogol%26f1%3Dall%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don%26Search%3DSearch%26sd%3D%26ed%3D%26la%3D%26jo%3D&prevSearch=&item=4&ttl=3311&returnArticleService=showFullText]