Analysis of "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka" Gogol. Analysis of "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka" Gogol Evenings on a farm near Dikanka genre
If we talk about the first books of Nikolai Gogol, and at the same time exclude from mention the poem "Hanz Küchelgarten", which was published under a pseudonym, the Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka cycle is Gogol's first book, which consists of two parts. The first part of the cycle was published in 1831, and the second in 1832.
Briefly, many call this collection "Gogol's Evenings". As for the time of writing these works, Gogol wrote Evenings on a farm near Dikanka in the period 1829-1832. And according to the plot, these stories seem to have been collected and published by the beekeeper Rudy Panko.
Brief analysis of Evenings on a farm near Dikanka
The Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka cycle is interesting in that the events taking place take the reader from century to century. For example, "Sorochinsky Fair" describes the events of the 19th century, from where the reader finds himself in the 17th century, moving on to reading the story "Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala". Further, the stories "May Night, or the Drowned Woman", "The Missing Letter" and "The Night Before Christmas" refer to the time of the 18th century, and then the 17th century follows again.
Both parts of the cycle Evenings on a farm near Dikanka are united by the stories of the grandfather of the deacon Foma Grigoryevich, who, with the events of his life, seems to combine the past, the present, reality and fiction. However, speaking about the analysis in the evening on a farm near Dikanka, it is worth saying that Nikolai Gogol does not interrupt the flow of time on the pages of his cycle, on the contrary, time merges into a spiritual and historical whole.
What stories are included in the cycle Evenings on a farm near Dikanka
The cycle includes two parts, each with four stories. Please note that on our website, in the Summary section, you can in a simple form quickly get acquainted with the summary of each story included in the Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka cycle.
In addition, each summary is accompanied by a brief description of the work, indicating the date of its writing, characteristics and time of reading the summary itself.
"Evenings on a farm near Dikanka") - the first book of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (excluding the poem "Hanz Küchelgarten", published under a pseudonym). Consists of two volumes. The first came out in, the second - in 1832. The stories of "Evenings" Gogol wrote in -1832. According to the plot, the stories of the book were allegedly collected and published by "beekeeper Rudy Panko".The structure of the work
The action of the work is freely transferred from the 19th century (“ Sorochinskaya Fair”) to the 17th (“Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala”), and then to the 18th (“May Night, or the Drowned Woman”, “The Missing Letter”, “The Night Before Christmas”) and again in the XVII (“Terrible revenge”), and again in the XIX (“Ivan Fedorovich Shponka and his aunt”). Both books are ringed by the stories of the grandfather of the clerk Foma Grigorievich - a dashing Cossack who, with his life, as it were, connects the past and the present, reality and fiction. The passage of time is not broken on the pages of the work, being in a certain spiritual and historical fusion.
The entire first part should have been excluded altogether: these are the initial student experiments, unworthy of the reader's strict attention; but with them I felt the first sweet moments of youthful inspiration, and I felt sorry to exclude them, how sorry it is to pluck from my memory the first games of irrevocable youth.
"Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka, although written in Russian, keeps the melody of Ukrainian speech. By and large, this is the main book of Ukrainian literature," notes Dmitry Bykov.
Screen adaptation
The most famous Soviet film adaptation of the story "The Night Before Christmas" is the 1961 film by Alexander Rowe, "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka".
Arriving in Moscow after her meeting with Rostov, Princess Marya found there her nephew with a tutor and a letter from Prince Andrei, who prescribed them their route to Voronezh, to Aunt Malvintseva. Worries about moving, anxiety about her brother, the arrangement of life in a new house, new faces, the upbringing of her nephew - all this drowned out in the soul of Princess Marya that feeling of temptation that tormented her during her illness and after the death of her father, and especially after meeting with Rostov. She was sad. The impression of the loss of her father, united in her soul with the death of Russia, now, after a month that had passed since then in the conditions of a quiet life, was felt more and more strongly by her. She was anxious: the thought of the dangers to which her brother, the only close person left to her, was exposed, tormented her incessantly. She was preoccupied with the education of her nephew, for whom she felt constantly inadequate; but in the depths of her soul there was agreement with herself, which flowed from the consciousness that she crushed in herself the personal dreams and hopes that had risen, connected with the appearance of Rostov.
The cycle of stories "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka" - presents in all its glory a picturesque picture of Ukrainian life in the 17th-18th centuries. The period in which Gogol created his masterpiece was the happiest in the life of the author, full of subsequently embodied grandiose literary plans. Along with national recognition, the cycle "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" was highly appreciated by the brilliant writer of our time - Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.
History of creation
Gogol's childhood passed in one of the most picturesque places in Ukraine - in the Poltava region, in the village of Dikanka. Since ancient times, there have been many fantastic rumors and legends about this place. Echoes of childhood impressions were fully reflected in a number of Gogol's stories, which constituted a single cycle "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka". In 1829, the author began work on the work, and in 1831-1832 the cycle was published and highly appreciated by the literary community. Separate stories of the cycle "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" have undergone many theatrical productions and adaptations.
Analysis of the work
Description of the artwork
Each of the parts is preceded by an ironic narration by an imaginary author - beekeeper Rudy Panka.
Sorochinskaya Fair. A story about a savvy, dapper lad Gritsk, who won the right to marry the rich lady Paraska with his cunning and resourcefulness. The action is accompanied by a colorful description of the fair and is distinguished by a special satirical depiction of the images of some heroes.
Evening on the eve of Ivan Kupala. An eerie narrative, shrouded in mystical coloring, says that unjustly obtained wealth does not bring happiness to its owner.
May Night or Drowned Woman. This story partly resonates with the plot of the Sorochinskaya Fair. The young Cossack Levka has a beloved girl, Hanna. To reunite with his future bride, the cunning young man has to turn to the help of a mystical girl - the drowned Pannochka.
The missing letter. The story is permeated with fantastic coloring with elements of Gogol's lively humor. The grandfather, from whom they stole a letter, money, horses and a hat, with the help of the sign of the cross, wins the stolen cards from the witch.
Christmas Eve. And again the story of the marriage of a simple and savvy lad to a beautiful lady. The blacksmith Vakula wins the love of the rich rural beauty Oksana. They find their happiness not without the help of evil spirits. Touched by the innocence of the blacksmith, the queen gives the coveted little laces for the future bride of the blacksmith.
Terrible revenge. A story written in an epic narrative style. A terrible story of the Cossack ataman Danila Burulbash and his wife Katerina, forced to make a terrible choice in relation to her sorcerer father. At the end of the story, the sorcerer pays in full for his terrible atrocities.
Ivan Fedorovich Shponka and his aunt. The only purely everyday satirical sketch about a small landowner trying to get his inheritance. The only unfinished story of the Gogol cycle.
Enchanted place. A story about evil jokes of evil spirits. A phantasmagoric story about the search and finding of a "treasure" in an enchanted place.
main characters
The heroes of the cycle are divided into several groups:
- young lads, possessing both innocence and cunning and ingenuity - Gritsko, Levko and Vakula;
- beautiful ladies, whose parents are very meticulous about their future suitors - Paraska, Ganna, Oksana;
- comic characters shown in the fullness of Gogol's humor - Patsyuk, Chub, Shponka and others;
- evil spirits, the tricks of which often punish the heroes of some stories of the cycle (Petrus, Grandfather from the last story) for their passion for wealth, and sometimes evil spirits become an assistant to cunning and savvy characters in achieving their goal.
The structure of the work
Compositionally, the work consists of 8 stories arranged in two books (4 stories in each). An introduction to the colorful world of Ukrainian life is the preface of the imaginary publisher Rudy Panok, which precedes each of the books.
Genuine poetry, seen by the author in the life and traditions of the Ukrainian people, unfolds in its most diverse manifestations: everyday scenes of modern life, historical legends and fantastic folk legends. The abundance of phantasmagoric scenes is intended to give greater contrast to good and evil, the struggle between the Christian principle and devilry.
Final conclusion
Gogol's work is of particular value - the personality of an ordinary person, described with great love, is in no way diminished by the presence of satire. Many heroes are described with a fair amount of good humor, gleaned by the author from the real life of Ukrainian peasants of that time. The originality of style, poetic talent for depicting the natural beauties of the Little Russian village, lyricism and good laughter make the brilliant cycle of the young writer a true masterpiece of world literature.
Evenings on a farm near Dikanka" is a work filled with folk beliefs, fantasy, fairy-tale events, but the important thing is that ordinary human truths, faith in goodness and earthly power are present in it.
Good here always triumphs over evil, self-interest and stinginess are punished, love triumphs over evil forces, meanness and baseness are ridiculed.
The writer proves to us that the power of money does not lead to happiness, that earthly passions only help a person fall under the power of dark forces, that faith and Christian virtues will always save a person, no matter how difficult a situation he finds himself in.
We read this work and stories about devils and evil spirits are perceived as superstition, and the human qualities of the heroes, their advantages and disadvantages come to the fore.
The main goal of science fiction here is to highlight subtle psychologism more clearly and carry out the idea of the victory of good over evil, proving that everything secret becomes clear, and sins are punished sooner or later.
All this is presented in Gogol's comic form. Remember, no matter how hard Solokha tried to hide the fact that men from all over the neighborhood go to her, the deception was revealed, and how comically it was revealed!
The devilry in Gogol is always opposed to the true Christian faith. The life of people who believe and carry in their souls the great and simple truths of love, compassion and honesty is always beautiful.
Nature in "Evenings ..." is, as it were, a reflection of the inner world of the characters. All parts of the work are united by the theme of the greatness and beauty of the natural world, which is as beautiful and mysterious in Gogol as the world of people.
Gogol's humor does not burn us with evil irony, it is bright and kind. The shortcomings of the heroes cause laughter in the writer and readers, they do not require indignation and censure, since all bad deeds are punished, and their heroes realize their guilt.
In “Evening on the eve of Ivan Kupala” the theme of the moral fall of a person under the destructive influence of gold and money sounds. The treasure obtained by the hero of the story through crime becomes an obstacle to happiness; wealth turns out to be illusory, leads to death.
It is no coincidence that this idea and the very motives of the story go back to numerous folk tales and legends. In his desire to establish a world of bright harmony and happiness, Gogol found support in folk thought. That is why its closeness to folklore is not only in the appeal to folk poetic means, but in a similar awareness of the main issues of life to the folk. The very thinking of the writer is akin to folk thought.
For a number of stories of "Evenings" it is possible to establish plot sources that go back to records of both Ukrainian and Russian folklore. Everyday comic characters of the stories are endowed by Gogol with features that go back to Ukrainian folklore, in particular to the interludes of puppet nativity scenes. A simpleton husband, a roguish gypsy, a boastful Cossack, a clerk courting someone else's wife, a lively, talkative woman like Khivri are the favorite characters of the Ukrainian puppet theater. To bring "Evenings" sparkle with Gogol's inexhaustible humor, caustic when he makes fun of such characters as the broken Solokha or the smug and cruel head; soft, lyrical, when he talks about the capricious beauty Oksana or the remote adventures of the blacksmith Vakula.
Just as in folk legends and fairy tales, the true pictures of everyday life in Gogol's stories, the colorful genre scenes that reveal the mores of village life, are closely intertwined with fantastic motifs. The fabulousness of "Evenings" is fundamentally different from the mystical fantasy of the German romantics - Tieck, Hoffmann and others - in whose works folk legends, legends appeared only as proof of the unreality, the illusory nature of reality.
Fiction in Gogol's stories expresses the ideas of the people themselves, their naive belief in supernatural beings. Just as in folk poetry, in fairy tales, phenomena hostile to man are shown in the form of "evil spirits", the carriers of evil in Gogol's stories are fantastic characters - devils, witches, mermaids. They are endowed with the same negative moral traits that are characteristic of the "highest lackey", the provincial bureaucracy, the local nobility.
"Unclean power" is displayed in most of the stories of "Evenings" in everyday, real terms, there is nothing demonic in it; Actually, the fantastic is most often used by Gogol as a kind of artistic device for the comic depiction of everyday life and customs. The devil in The Night Before Christmas resembles a provincial attorney not only in appearance but also in all his habits; characteristic in this sense is the author's ironic remark that not only the devil, but the entire county "know" crawls into the "people". In Gogol's stories - "The Night Before Christmas", "May Night", "The Enchanted Place" - "the folk-fiction so wonderfully merges, in artistic reproduction, with the folk-real," wrote Belinsky, "that both of these elements form a concrete poetic reality , in which you can’t find out in any way that it’s a true story and that it’s a fairy tale, you involuntarily take everything for a true story ”(V. G. Belinsky, vol. II, .). “Sorochinsky Fair” is a life story full of folk humor about how stupid Cherevik decided, in defiance of his wayward and stubborn wife, to marry his daughter to Gritsko's lad. The mysterious "red scroll", the miraculous appearance of the pig's snout do not conclude anything fantastic, but are the tricks of the gypsies, fooling and frightening Solopiy and his wife. In The Missing Letter, the adventures of the grandfather are conveyed by the narrator as a drunken obsession of a Cossack on a spree, etc.
The nationality of Gogol's stories, as already noted, is not only in the fact that he uses folklore plots, but in the ethnographic accuracy of reproducing life and customs, but in deep penetration into the national character, into the very essence of folk life. It was these features that brought Gogol's stories closer to Pushkin's works. “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” has in common with Pushkin’s fairy tales, for example, with “The Tale of the Priest and his Worker Balda”, and apt folk humor, imagery and colorful language, and an appeal to fantasy as an effective means of satirical depiction. “A distinctive feature in our morals,” Pushkin wrote, “is some kind of cheerful cunning of the mind, mockery and a picturesque way of expressing themselves” (A. S. Pushkin, vol. XI,.) “Fairytale” for both Gogol and Pushkin is important before only as a vivid expression of the national identity of the people's character.
Just like in folk poetry, in "Evenings" the comic and tragic, perky folk humor, the penetrating lyrics of Ukrainian songs and the heroic epic pathos of Cossack "dooms" coexisted. In this versatility of shades, colors, motifs, in the harmonious fusion of the epic and lyrical beginnings - the originality, strength and charm of Gogol's stories.
"Ivan Fedorovich Shponka ..." - a story from the small estate life of landowners - stands out among the stories of "Evenings" not only for its theme, but also for the maturity of the artistic method, the typical generalization of images. Shponka begins a gallery of Gogol's "existents" - from him a direct path to the heroes of "The Tale of how Ivan Ivanovich quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich", then to Podkolosin in "The Marriage". The pettiness of thoughts and feelings, dullness and mediocrity, fear of life characterize the appearance of this Gogol character.
Preserving the image of a simple-hearted, crafty storyteller in the story about Shponka, Gogol, however, makes him no longer a representative of the village environment, but the bearer of a different social consciousness, a petty "punk" living in Gadyach. In this story, the power of Gogol's irony, Gogol's "humor", as Belinsky says, is already fully manifested. The story is written in a manner typical of Gogol's mature works, when the satirical sharpness of the work arises as a result of a sharp contrast between the "epic" thoroughness and the seriousness with which the story is told, and the emptyness of the described life. The story about Shponka, included in the second book of "Evenings", anticipated, in fact, the next cycle of Gogol's stories - "Mirgorod".
Analysis of the folklore elements of the collection "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka" and the story "Viy"
folklore gogol creativity folk
The basis of folklore elements in the stories included in the collection “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, as well as the story “Viy” is the carnival beginning discussed above, which manifests itself in violation of various norms and rules.
The stories of the collection "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka" and the work "Viy" reflect the implementation of ritual culture at the plot-thematic level. The rite itself is devoid of practical meaning, but it is a symbol of certain social relations, a form of their visual expression and consolidation. The rite is often associated with a change in the social status of a person (initiation, wedding, funeral, and so on), as well as with actions that unite people (prayer, a fair, and so on). All rituals should be divided into calendar (and therefore repetitive) and extra-calendar (or family). Each of the types of rituals has certain features and traditions of ceremonies. It should be pointed out that the tradition of fortune-telling as a way to predict one's fate and create a channel of communication with the other world, which was captured more than once by N.V. Gogol, also needs to be positioned as a rite.
Folklore has a unique feature of preserving images that are ancient in their origin, meaning, considering the works of folk culture as an information channel, you can use unique, sacred knowledge. It was this significance of folklore works that was probably appreciated by N.V. Gogol above all, this is how folklore supplemented the material and spiritual world of the people created by the writer.
Next, we will briefly review the stories included in the collection "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" and the story "Viy" in order to analyze the folklore traditions captured by the writer. Exploring the stories of the collection "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka", we will move in the order of their location and the reader's acquaintance with them, then the story "Viy" will be analyzed.
Analysis of folklore elements in the story "Sorochinsky Fair"
The plot of the story "Sorochinsky Fair" reflects the tradition of holding fairs as a way to sell goods, as well as a platform for the development of folk crafts. That is, the event presented as plot-forming is a traditional folklore element. Already at the beginning of the work, demonic features appear in the plot. The focus is on a strange case: a “red scroll” appeared between the goods. These diabolical clothes, even “cut into pieces”, do not give people peace of mind: “just during the fair, the devil with a pig mask walks all over the square, grunts and picks up pieces of his scroll” Gogol N.V. Evenings on a farm near Dikanka: Tales , published by the beekeeper Rudy Pank // Gogol N.V. Complete works: [In 14 volumes] Vol. 1. 1940. S. 106 .. It should be noted that the place where the fair unfolded is “cursed”, it was there, according to tradition, that the devil's scroll was cut, that is, indicated by M.M. Bakhtin, a “fun place” initially begins to combine the features of amusement and fear.
The motif of some kind of demonic curse is traditional for folklore. The people of Ancient Russia believed in the demonic power of the pronounced curse, endowed the words with magical power. The idea of the terrible and strange power of objects belonging to evil spirits and bringing misfortune seems to be characteristic of the people.
Correspondence to this plot can be found in the literature. So, Aul Gellius, an ancient Roman writer and philologist, captured in his work “Attic Nights” the story of the horse of a certain Sejanus, condemned to death by Mark Antony. All subsequent owners of this horse also died a violent death. The gold looted by the consul Gnaeus Servilius Caepion (end of the 2nd century BC) in the Druid temple at Toulouse brought misfortune to all who received their share in the booty. Or a novel by R.L. Stevenson's "The Last Deal", which tells the story of a mysterious devilish bottle that can grant the wishes of its owners. But a curse falls on the owner of the bottle: if he cannot get rid of the bottle, then his soul will go to hell, but the bottle cannot be thrown away or broken.
Thus, it should be recognized that the motif of a demonic curse is traditional for both folklore and literature. At the beginning of the work, the Sorochinsky Fair is compared to a waterfall: “You must have heard a distant waterfall rolling somewhere ... Isn’t it true, aren’t those same feelings instantly engulfing you in the whirlwind of a rural fair? ..” Gogol N.V. Decree. op. P.104. In the worldview of the Slavs, the water element occupied a significant place.
The idea that water separates the earthly world from the afterlife and serves as a boundary that the soul overcomes on its way to the “other” world is known to many peoples. For example, the ancient Greek myth of Charon, who melted souls through the Styx. Water washes away sins and illnesses, takes away all the dirt with it, for example, the Baptism procedure that takes place in water. Water is the cradle of life, but at the same time it is closely associated with death and oblivion, water is ambivalent, it is a borderline substance. Therefore, the comparison of the Sorochinskaya fair with the water element (despite the fact that this is only a sound comparison) should be interpreted as an indication of the special significance of the fair. The fair is a special chronotope where anything is possible; this is a kind of border area, a kind of portal through which evil spirits can penetrate into everyday life, which it uses. It should be noted that at another time and in another place the “red scroll” cannot appear, this is the peculiarity of the concept of a curse.
The red color of the scrolls also seems to be traditional for folklore works. Red is the color of blood and fire, it is something bright, and therefore it is very difficult to get rid of the scrolls, hide it or break it.
The story ends with a wedding. Such an ending is traditional for works of folklore, where the vast majority of the schemes of the works suggest a wedding feast at the end.
