Gogol

Description

Nikolai Gogol is considered one of the founding fathers of Russian literature. Born in Ukraine, he initially attempted to write poetry, but met with such resounding failure that he abandoned the craft entirely and turned to writing short stories. His first collection of stories was an immediate success. He later left Russia, hoping to emigrate to America, but was forced to return after running out of money. Despite lacking a university degree, he worked as a teacher at a girls’ boarding school and later in St. Petersburg. His stories often depicted the lives of peasants in the Ukrainian countryside, blending a playful tone with tales of spirits and sorcerers drawn from Ukrainian folklore—a style that captured the attention of both readers and critics. Dostoevsky famously remarked, “All of Russian realist fiction emerged from Gogol’s ‘Overcoat’.” Later in life, Gogol became consumed by religious obsessions and ceased writing for a long period. When he eventually published a selection of his correspondence with friends, it was met with a harsh attack from Belinsky—a critic who had previously been a great admirer of his work. Following this, Gogol withdrew from society; he traveled to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage, then returned to wander across Russia, unable to find peace. He eventually fell under the influence of an extremist priest, who persuaded him to burn the second part of his novel *Dead Souls*. Shortly thereafter, he stopped eating and eventually passed away in February 1852.