Article

Name: Archetypal reading of the poem “Dead Souls” by Nikolai Gogol: comprehending the author’s strategy of mystery

Authors: Vladimir K. Vasilyev

Siberian Federal University Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation

In the section On the 100th anniversary of the birth of Viktor Georgievich Odinokov, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Education

Abstract:

The paper endeavors to unravel the mysteries of the poem “Dead Souls” by employing an archetypal methodological approach developed by the author through numerous works. Gogol started to write the poem without a deliberate plan. Nevertheless, while working, he came to realize that the portrayal of a hero, someone who purchases deceased souls, could only be depicted in an anti-Christian manner. In adherence to the algorithms of the archetype plot concerning the Antichrist, the author was compelled to undertake a thorough development of the “adventures” (biography) and moral character of Chichikov. The author positions the hero solely as an adversary of the Son of God through the involvement in the commission for the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the theft of funds for its creation. It is due to this fact that Gogol dressed Chichikov in a tailcoat, “woven” from sparks, flames, and smoke. The strategy of mystery is also embodied in the subsequent transformation of the biographical fable narrative into a plot narrative. The exceptional power of subordination inherent in the (binary) archetype of Christ and Antichrist manifested itself in the transformation of Gogol’s life through the psychoanalysis of the hero’s pathologies, reshaping his internal reality. He takes the path of Christ-imitation. This holds the key to unraveling the mystery of the poem and provides insight into the author’s message.

Keywords: Gogol, the mystery of “Dead souls’, methodology of literary criticism

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