AND THE mIEVAL ORTHODOX SLAVfC WORLD-VIEW Philip Hatttrup A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctot of Philosophy Depatment of Slavic Languages and Literatures University of Toronto @ Copyright by Philip Batttrup National Library Bibliothwue nationale 191 du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services sewices bibiiogaphiques 395 Wellington Street 395. me Wellington OttewaON KIA ON4 OttawaON K1AOW Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde me licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive pennettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distniute or sell reproduire, prster, distriiuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format eectronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriete du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protege cette these. thesis nor substantial extracts &om it Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Abstract NIKOLAI GOGOL AND THE MEDIEVAL ORTHODOX SLAVIC WORLD-VIEW PHILIP HARTTRUP DEPARTMENT OF SLAVIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO 1998 This thesis examines Nikolai Gogolrs creative and publicistic writings in the context of the medieval Orthodox Slavic literary and cultural tradition. Though Gogol wrote his entire corpus during the Romantic period and clearly shared a great deal with the Romantics in both Russia and the West, his thought and writings reveal his strong affinity for the heritage of Kievan Rust and Muscovite Russia. The particular aspects of the pre-Petrine tradition most prevalent in Gogolrs work include the following: the notion of the writerrs role as divinely inspired, the monastic vocation, eschatological thought, aesthetic values, the influence of the demonic, and the ethical matrix of the culture. While it was once believed that Gogol had undergone a religious crisis, a close examination of his correspondence and creative output shows that his religious and moral views remained relatively constant throughout his life. Indeed, what he says in his early works reappears, only more overtly, in his final book, Selected Passages From Correspondence With Friends, As Gogol adapted and assimilated various aspects of the medieval tradition throughout his writings, Selected Passages may be viewed as the ultimate and most explicit testimony to his medieval world-view. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION v WORKS BY GOGOL CITED IN THE THESIS v INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE: GOGOL AND R0MANTICISM:THE OBSESSION WITH THE PAST TWO: THE PRE-PETRINE LITERARY AND CULTURAL TRADITION 2.1: The Function of the Writer and his Place in Society 38 2.2: The Importance of the Monastic Vocation 43 2.3: The Preoccupation with Eschatological Concerns 46 2.4: Aesthetic Values 55 2.5: The Fascination with the Demonic 61 2.6: The Ethical Matrix of the Culture 66 THREE: THE QUESTION OF A DECISIVE RELIGIOUS CRISIS IN GOGOL 83 FOUR: THE PRE-PETRINE TPADITION IN GOGOL' S CREATIVE WRITING 4.1: The Role of the Writer/Artist 4.2: The Monastic Ideal 4.3: Eschatological Concerns 4.4: Aesthetic Values 4.5: The Demonic 4.6: Ethical Values FIVE: SELECTED PASSAGES FROM CORRESPONDENCE WITH FRIENDS AND THE MEDIEVAL TRADITION 18 9 5.1: Gogol's Self-professed Role as a Writer 190 5.2: An Appeal for Monasticism 196 5.3: A Concern About the End 199 5.4: The Power of Beauty 207 5.5: The Demonic 212 5.6: Ethical Issues 216 5.7: Influences: The Old Testament and Old Slavic 228 CONCLUSION 239 BIBLIOGRAPHY 243 While working on my thesis I often felt I was quite alone. However, now looking back on the years I spent researching and writing, I realize I was constantly surrounded by friends and colleagues who generously gave their support. First, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Richard Marshall, for encouraging me to write on Gogol and for helping me to tap into Gogol's medieval mind. I also thank him for his insightful comments and suggestions at the various stages of my thesis. I am also grateful to a number of colleagues and friends with whom I have studied over the years. I started studying Russian at the University of Ottawa and I would like to thank two of my classmates from those days, Joanne Ledger and Martha Lemieux, for their encouragement. I am also indebted to my friends Mark Conliffe and Rolf Hellebust for volunteering to read a draft of my thesis and for their critical comments. I thank as well my dear friend Greta Matevossian for helping me to better understand Gogolts Russian and for sharing with me her wonderful Russian spirit. Many friends outside the field patiently and frequently listened to me talk about my thesis over the years. 1 wish to acknowledge them for their support, their wisdom, and iii their wit. In particular, I thank Jacqueline Lilley and Ileana Stockwell as well as Angela Favretto, Perry Size, Steven Lynch, Jeff Stuart, Dan Winger, Susan Arevalo, Denise Hills and Donna Daly. And I am especially indebted to my close friend Dorothy Sitek whose incredible generosity has brought joy to my life. This thesis could not have been completed without the love and support of my family, and especially that of my parents, Fred and Olive Harttrup. Words cannot adequately express my gratitude to them for everything they have done for me. It is to them that I dedicate this thesis. NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION Transliterations from the Cyrillic are based on the system used by the Library of Congress. The soft sign (b) is omitted in proper names; therefore, Gogol instead of Gogolf. The adjectival ending -ii- is rendered by a -y- only for common Russian surnames; therefore, Belinsky instead of Belinskii. WORKS BY GOGOL CITED IN THE THESIS The following is a list of works by Gogol cited in this thesis. Only the English titles are used in the text. Certain works are referred to by a shorter title (e.g. Dikanka .) (Inconsistent with the transliteration is Hanz (Kiuchelqarten)instead of Gants. ) Gants Kiuchel'garten Hanz Kiuchelgarten Get'man The Hetman Zhenshchina Woman Boris Godunov. Poema Boris Godunov. A Long Poem Pushkina by Pushkin Vechera na khutore bliz Evenings on a Farm Near Dikan 'ki Dikanka Sorochinskaia iarmarka The Fair a t Sorochinsky Vecher nakanune Ivana St. John's Eve Kupa 1a Maiskaia noch', ili F, May Night, or The Utoplennitsa Drowned Ma iden Propavshaia gramota The Lost Letter Noch ' pered rozhdestvom Christmas Eve Strashnaia mest ' A Terrible Vengeance Ivan Fedorovich Shpon 'ka Ivan Fedorovich Shponka i ego tetushka his Auntie Zakoldovannoe mes to A Bewitched Place Arabeski Arabesques Skul'ptura, zhivopis' i Sculpture, Painting muzyka and Music 0 srednikh vekakh On the Middle Ages 0 prepodavanii On the Teaching of vseobshchei istorii Universal History Neskol'ko slov o A Few Words About Pushkin Pushkine Ob arkhitekture On Present -day Architecture nyneshnego vremeni Life 0 malorossiiskikh On the Songs of Little pesniakh Russia Mysli o geografii Thoughts on Geography Posl edni i den ' Pompei The Last Day of Pompei Zapiski suma sshedshego Diary of a Madman Nevski i Prospekt Nevsky Prospect Portret The Portrait Starosve tskie pomeshchiki Old-World Landowners Taras Bul'ba Paves t ' o tom, kak The Story of how Ivan possorilsia Ivan Ivanovich fvanovich Quarreled with Ivan s Ivanom Nikiforovichem Nikiforovich Koliaska The Carriage Nos The Nose The Overcoat Revi zor The Inspector General Mertvye dushi Dead Souls Teatral'nyi ratffezd posle Leaving the Theatre After the predstavleniia novoi Performance of a New Comedy komedii Peterburgskie zapiski Petersburg Notes of 1836 1836g. Zapisnaia knizka 1846 Notebook for 1846 Razmyshleniia o Bozhest- Meditations on the Divine vennoi 1 i t urgii Li t urgy Avtorskaia ispoved' An Author's Confession Vybrannye mesta Selected Passages From perepiski s druz'iami Correspondence With Friends Zhenshchina v svete Woman in the World Znachenie boleznei The Meaning of Sickness 0 tom, chto takoe slovo On the Meaning of Words 0 pomoshchi bednym On Helping the Poor Ob Odissee, perevodimoi The Odyssey in Zhukovsky's Zh ukovskim Transla tion 0 lirizme nashikh poetov On the Lyricism of Our Poets Predmety dlia Subjects for the Lyrical liricheskogo poeta v Poets of Our Time nyneshnee vrenia Nuzhno liubit ' Rossiiu It is Necessary to Love Russia Nuzhno proezdi t 'sia It is Necessary to po Rossii Travel Through Russia vii Russkii pomeshchik The Russian Landowner Is toricheskii The Historical Painter zhivopisets Ivanov Ivanov Chem mozhet byt' zhma What a Wife Can Do for Her cilia muzha v prostom Husband in Simple domashnem bytu, pri Domestic Matters as nyneshnem poriadke Things are Now In Russia veshchei v Rossii Chto takoe What The Wife of A guberna torsha Provincial Governor Is Strakhi i uzhasy Rossii Fears and Horrors in Russia Bl izorukomu priia teliir To A Near-Sighted Friend Zanimai ushchemu To One Occupying An vazhnoe mesto Important Position Khristianin idet vpered The Christian Goes Forward Naputstvie Parting Words V chem zhe, nakonets, On the Essence of Russian sushchestvo russkoi Poetry and On Its poezii i v chem se Originality osobennost' Svetloe voskresen 'e Bright Resurrection viii INTRODUCTION Nikolai Gogol is demonstrably one of the most enigmatic writers in the history of Russian literature. Accordingly, his work has attracted the attention of scholars for over a century and a half. Much of the extensive scholarship devoted to the diverse aspects of Gogol's creative output has focused on the literary connections between his writings and the works of earlier writers in an effort to determine his literary origins.