Gogol and Merimee: in the context of spiritual and aesthetic pursuit of the 1840s

This article analyses N.V. Gogol's essay , which has not been the subject of special attention among literary critics. The essay is considered in the context of Gogol's spiritual and aesthetic development in the last decade of his life. The researcher is focused on Merimee's novella The Souls of Purgatory, which was known by Gogol and could have been translated by him. It can be argued that, if Gogol had translated and published Merimee's novella, it could have been perceived as a pretext to his Dead Souls. To prevent such an interpretation of the poem, Gogol probably abandoned the idea to publish Merimee's novella, and thereby avoided the direct allusion to the Catholic model of the second volume of Dead Souls, which can be called "Dead Souls in Purgatory", because the writer did not declare openly the structure of The Divine Comedy as the point of reference. According to the plan, Gogol's essay on Merimee was to be the preface to the translation of his novella. So, it can be assumed that Merimee's novella had a definite influence on the idea of Dead Souls. This connection between the two works can be seen at the level of motifs. The central common motif is the 'slap' as indication of a shift in the psychology of the character in the process of 'recycling in our own human nature' (Gogol). The next important motif Gogol constantly refers to is the devil, found in the second volume of Dead Souls. When arrested, Chichikov is ready to atone for his sins, which, as he thinks, were instigated by the devil. The next significant motif is the Last Judgment, which is popular with Gogol and which plays a very important role in Merimee's novella. When a child, the protagonist of Merimee's Souls of Purgatory was impressed by the painting depicting the tormented sinners. Painted in a dry and strict manner, it showed various forms of tortures. The protagonist experienced Transfiguration after he had seen the picture. Another important theme of is the reflection on the vocation of the artist. In this context, Merimee's image created by Gogol is rather declarative than real. Gogol depicted an ideal concept of an artist that had excited his own imagination for many years, rather than the real French writer. Gogol's essay shows his special interest in Merimee's novella, which shares a number of motifs and ideas with the poem Dead Souls. At a certain stage of his plan Gogol was interested in translating Merimee's novella, but realized the dangerous proximity of their works and decided against it. His essay had lost relevance and remained in the archive of the writer.

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