What was the name of Gogol? Interesting facts from the life of Gogol

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol is one of the most famous classics of Russian literature. His biography is shrouded in secrets and mysteries. Perhaps, this affected the work of the poet and prose writer, because his works are also full of mystics.

The mysterious story of Gogol

Gogol's life was full and full of tragic moments. Even during his lifetime, the poet encountered rumors, often embellished. There were many reasons for this: Gogol was known as a closed person, practically isolated from society. And let after the death of the writer passed more than a century and a half, to this day almost nothing is known about his life.

Gogol, interesting facts from the life of which continue to be revealed to this day, was inclined to mythologize his own biography. So, he deliberately kept silent about his life and even came up with stories that never happened to him in reality.

Family of the great writer and playwright

Do you know what the name of Gogol really is? Mysteries surrounded him from birth. The poet came from a respected noble family Gogol-Yankovsky, originating in the 17th century. The family legend says that the founder of this Ukrainian Cossack family was Ostap Gogol - the hetman of Right-bank Ukraine.

Father Gogol - Vasily Afanasyevich Gogol-Yankovsky. Vasily Afanasyevich was a writer, poet and playwright. His works (mostly, plays for small theaters) he wrote in Ukrainian. This affected the fate of the young Nikolai Vasilyevich, who, unfortunately, lost his father quite early - the boy was barely 15 years old at the time of his death.

The mother of the poet and prose writer was Maria Ivanovna Gogol. It is she who is considered the "culprit" of the son's fascination with religiosity and mysticism. In addition to Nikolai Vasilyevich, there were eleven other children in their family. Gogol was the third, and, in fact, the eldest child in the family - the first two babies were born dead.

Biographical mystery of the great genius: what was the name of Gogol

So what was the name of Gogol? Despite the fact that this fact of the biography is actively discussed by historians and biographers, at birth, as we all know, the poet received the name of Nikolai Vasilyevich. But few know that at birth the boy was called Yanovskim. By the way, from the age of 12 the Russian classic had a double surname: Gogol-Yanovsky. It is believed that the writer, not knowing the history of the origin of this name, rejected it, because he considered it a fictitious Poles.

Now that you know what was the name of Gogol at birth, we will tell you other interesting facts from Gogol's life.

Influences of childhood on Gogol's work

The great playwright spent his entire childhood in the countryside. The boy was constantly immersed in the atmosphere of Ukrainian life. And he knew about the life of peasants and workers no less than about the life of the nobility. This affected many works of Gogol. He was very keen on Ukrainian culture and history. Even after leaving for St. Petersburg, the young writer did not stop replenishing his luggage of knowledge - in letters he asked his mother to tell more about the peasant and pantry life.

Interest in literature and art as a whole manifested itself in the boy early enough - even in school years. Being a pupil of the gymnasium, he was fond of amateur theater, which he created with his comrades.

School years of the writer

At the age of ten, the parents of a young Nicholas sent him to the Nezhin gymnasium. To their regret, the boy did not succeed at all in studies, although to a large extent this was the fault of the educational institution.

Problems were with the study of Russian literature. The teacher of the subject in every possible way denied the importance in the culture of such contemporary writers and poets as Pushkin and Zhukovsky. The result of this approach was the genuine interest of gymnasium students in the romantic literature of the 19th century.

Formation of N. Gogol as a writer

After completing his studies at the gymnasium in 1828, the classic went to the city of great opportunities - Petersburg. This stage of life has become one of the most difficult in his life, but at the same time the most productive. Modest means left to him by the noble mother to live in a big city were barely enough, and Gogol got a job in the civil service, which soon bore him.

Then Nikolai Gogol went into literature. His first works, published under pseudonyms, were criticized by the public, and the desperate writer went abroad seeking a better life. However, he stayed there only for a month, after which he returned to Petersburg.

According to the observations of the future genius of Russian literature, the everyday life and culture of the Ukrainian people attracted not only the Little Russians, but also the Russians. It was then that the plan for the famous "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" began to be outlined in his head. The young man persistently asked his mother, living in the village, to tell about the Ukrainian traditions and customs that he did not know, about Ukrainian legends, manuscripts and costumes. All this helped him most fully and accurately depict the Little Russian village and its inhabitants.

In 1830, Gogol's first successful work "Evenings on the eve of Ivan Kupala", published in Otechestvennye Zapiski (1834) was published. But the real fame and recognition of the young author brought "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka", "May Night" and "Sorochinskaya Fair."

From that moment the life of the writer turned over.

What influenced the work of Gogol?

In 1830, Nikolai Vasilyevich met with PA Pletnev, VA Zhukovsky and Alexander Pushkin, who influenced Gogol's literary work to a greater extent.

Everything in the life of a literary classic was reflected in his works. Over time, he more and more plunged into the metropolitan life. As a result, the "Petersburg Stories" appeared in the light, consisting of 5 stories:

• "Nevsky Prospect".
• "Overcoat"
• "Diary of a Madman".
• "Portrait".
• "Nose".

The collection is united not only by a common problem, but also by a common place of action - the city of St. Petersburg, where NV Gogol lived.

Particular attention in his works the author paid to the image of St. Petersburg. Many people wrote about this city: writers and poets. For them, St. Petersburg was not just a city - it was a symbol of a new Russia, its bright future.

Few raised in their works the theme of the duality of the capital. People saw in it not only the "City of Petrov", but also a refuge of evil. The greatest poet of the golden age, AS Pushkin, was one of the first to show the whole ambiguity of the "city on the Neva". He described it as follows: "The city is magnificent, the city is poor".

This problem is especially brightly revealed in Nevsky Prospekt. Behind the lap of the main street are hidden hopes, tragedies of ordinary citizens. In the story, the city is indifferent to the problems of people - all run by money and ranks. Representations of good and evil in the capital have long been destroyed. The same idea was also uncovered by NV Gogol. The plot of many works is developing precisely in St. Petersburg: it is an ambiguous "Nose", and "Notes of a Madman", "Overcoat" and "Nevsky Prospekt". Petersburg in the works of Gogol - a place for homeless and poor officials. This image resists the generally accepted image of the capital - luxurious, idle, blinding its brilliance.

On the other hand, Gogol's capital is a city where mysticism and reality live as one whole.

Mirgorod in the life and work of Gogol

Although St. Petersburg played a significant role in the work of Gogol, the first place in it was occupied by Ukrainian folklore. In addition to such wonderful works as "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" and "May Night", the writer wrote a number of other cult stories, which were combined in the collection "Mirgorod". Gogol chose this name for his collection: Mirgorod was featured in his work "A Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich".

Also in this collection are other works that are known to us from the school bench:

• "Viy".
• "Taras Bulba".
• "Old-world landlords."

Why is it Mirgorod? Gogol deliberately chose this settlement. He was near the village of Velikie Sorochintsy, where the young Nicholas spent his childhood and youth. This same village appears in his work "Sorochinskaya Fair."

Throughout Ukraine and, in particular, in Mirgorod district, to this day honor the memory of the great countryman. Everywhere you can find not only monuments dedicated to the writer, but also streets, hotels, sanatoria, squares, hospitals, libraries named in his honor.

The originality of Gogol's stories

Analyzing all the works, we can identify the specific features of Gogol's work. Some moments from the life of the writer are still objects of controversy to this day, but in his creations Gogol was extremely precise and straightforward.

The creative manner of the author is very recognizable. It was the uniqueness of his letter that enabled Gogol to become one of the greatest writers of the golden age. His first poem "Ganz Kühelgarten", which he published under a pseudonym, failed miserably. The reason for this was an attempt to write a poem in the manner of the romance of Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky.

His subsequent novels were also written in a romantic manner, but the unique Gogol character of the letter begins to appear in them. A little later, the writer, under the influence of Pushkin, took a course toward critical realism. And although Gogol saw him as his mentor, he never tried to create the model of Pushkin's creations.

The late works of the writer had an obvious social orientation. Gogol was one of the first to accurately reflect the essence of the problem of the "little man" in corrupt Russia. He skillfully ridiculed the vulgarity and laziness of modern man, exposed the social contradictions of that time.

Separate attention is paid to Nikolai Vasilievich's early works. These works share common recognizable features. For example, mysteriousness and romanticism, expressive and "living" description of Ukrainian life, references to Ukrainian folklore.

This hobby is quite natural: the writer's childhood was spent in Ukraine. For many years his life was closely connected with Ukrainian customs and culture. In these works, mysticism takes place to a greater degree - they are very much like gloomy tales. In his writings, Gogol skillfully combined reality and mysterious otherworldly powers - next to the simple Ukrainian people lived witches, and mermaids, and even devils.

Death of a genius

A lot of questions about the life of a great and mysterious writer worry people's minds. What was the name of Gogol? Was he married? Did his descendants remain? But the most important question, to this day not solved and causing a lot of controversy, is the cause of Gogol's death.

Until now, no one can say for sure how this genius of literary thought left the world. Many historians, biographers and literary critics have put forward their own versions of his death. One of the most common, but still not confirmed version is that the writer was buried alive.

This truly terrifying variation of the death of the classic was put forward in 1931. Since the cemetery where he was buried was liquidated, it was decided to rebury it. Many eminent writers attended the ceremony, and when the coffin was opened, eyewitnesses with horror discovered that Gogol's skeleton was lying with his head turned on his side.

This news caused a real flurry of discussions not only in the literary and historical environment, but also among ordinary people. As it turned out, this phenomenon has a completely logical explanation: the side boards of the coffin are the first to undergo decay processes, and the coffin lid, which does not have a strong support, starts to press on the head of the deceased, provoking its turn on the "Atlantian" vertebra. According to the burial experts, this is normal practice, and Gogol is far from the first to be discovered in the posture after burial.

The situation was complicated by the fact that the greatest fear of Nikolai Vasilyevich was the burial alive. Even during his lifetime, he noticed that he was subject to the state of the so-called "lethargic sleep," when there is no reaction to the world around him, his heartbeat slows down considerably, and the pulse ceases to be palpated. For this reason, he made a will, in which he ordered to bury him only when signs of cadaveric decay become evident. This gave the legend of the burial of the writer alive even greater mystery.

Another, not so frightening version of the death of the classic is the poisoning of calomel (a mercury-containing drug used in the 19th century). The writer himself was susceptible to many diseases, and therefore was treated by a variety of doctors. It was the medical error that could have caused Gogol's premature death.

The latest version has become most common, but so far it is not recognized as official.

So, it is believed that Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol died due to exhaustion of the body caused by hunger. Contemporaries of the classic recognized that he was subject to depressive states and excessively carried away by religion, which pushed him to adhere to the ascetic way of life and renounce carnal pleasures.

In pursuit of the triumph of the spirit over the body, Gogol wasted himself by stubbornly refusing food. A week before the start of the great post, he decided to abandon creativity, food and maximally restrict contact with people.

Before he dies, he burns his things, as he himself explains, "under the influence of the evil spirit." Two days before his death, the writer's condition worsened considerably - he went to bed and stubbornly refused any help, morally preparing for death. Doctors did not stop trying to cure the writer, but on February 21, 1852 Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol dying.

Now Gogol is buried in the Moscow Novodevichye cemetery. The writer left this world in the prime of life, but, as the literary critic V.A. Voropayev, it's a "death, full of spiritual meaning," which the writer wanted.