Gogol's grave at the Novodevichy Cemetery. The mystery of Gogol's grave

The mystery of Gogol's death still haunts both a huge number of scientists and researchers, and ordinary people, among which even those who are far from the world of literature. Probably, it was such a general interest and widespread discussion with a lot of very different assumptions that caused so many legends to arise around the death of the writer.

Some facts from the biography of Gogol

Nikolai Vasilyevich lived short life. He was born in 1809 in the Poltava province. Gogol's death occurred on February 21, 1852. He was buried in Moscow, in a cemetery located on the territory of the Danilov Monastery.

He studied at a prestigious gymnasium, but there, as he believed with his friends, the students received insufficient knowledge. That's why future writer carefully educated himself. At the same time, Nikolai Vasilyevich already tried himself in writing activity, however, worked mainly in poetic form. Gogol also showed interest in the theater, he was especially attracted to comic works: already in his school years, he had an unsurpassed sense of humor.

According to experts, contrary to popular belief, Gogol did not have schizophrenia. However, he suffered from manic-depressive psychosis. This illness manifested itself in different ways, but its strongest manifestation was that Gogol was terribly afraid that he would be buried alive. He did not even go to bed: he spent his nights and hours of daytime rest in armchairs. This fact was overgrown with a huge number of speculations, which is why in the minds of many there was an opinion that this is exactly what happened: the writer, they say, fell asleep in a lethargic sleep, and he was buried. But this is not so at all. The official version is already for a long time is that Gogol's death took place even before his burial.

In 1931, it was decided to dig up the grave in order to refute the rumors that had spread then. However, it resurfaced fake information. It was said that Gogol's body was in an unnatural position, and the inner lining of the coffin was scratched with nails. Anyone who is able to analyze the situation even a little, of course, doubts this. The fact is that for 80 years the coffin, along with the body, if not completely decomposed in the ground, then certainly would not have retained any traces and scratches.

Gogol's death itself is also a mystery. The last few weeks of his life, the writer felt very bad. Not a single doctor then could explain what was the reason for the rapid withering. Due to excessive religiosity, especially exacerbated in last years life, in 1852 Gogol began fasting 10 days ahead of schedule. At the same time, he reduced the consumption of food and water to an absolute minimum, thereby bringing himself to complete exhaustion. Even the persuasion of friends who begged him to return to a normal way of life did not affect Gogol.

Even after so many years, Gogol, whose death was a real shock for many, remains one of the most widely read writers not only in the post-Soviet space, but throughout the world.

Secrets of the death of Nikolai Gogol

The fate of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is still striking in its mystical side. His life seems to be full of accidents and mysteries. But most of all, the mystery of his death, which has not been revealed so far, is interesting.

It is widely known that Nikolai Gogol suffered from the so-called taphophobia - the fear of being buried alive. We know this not only from the reports of contemporaries, but also from personal diaries writer. He had this fear in his youth, after he had been ill with malarial encephalitis. The disease was very difficult and was accompanied by deep fainting. Gogol was very afraid that during one of these attacks he would be taken for dead and buried alive. Already in the last years of his life, this fear reached its climax - the writer practically did not sleep and never went to bed. The maximum that he could afford was to take a nap in an armchair.

Now more and more often they say that Gogol's fears justified themselves, and the writer was really buried alive. These rumors went after the reburial of Gogol's body. After opening the coffin, it was noticed that the skeleton lies in an unnatural position - slightly leaning to the side. They also say that the lid of the writer's coffin was scratched from the inside, which suggests that the buried person was still alive. However, these are just rumors and it is difficult to know which of them is really true.

A curious story is known, which is still told at the grave of Nikolai Vasilyevich. In 1940, another famous Russian writer, Mikhail Bulgakov, who always considered himself a student of Nikolai Gogol, died. His wife, Elena Sergeevna, went to choose a stone for her dead husband's tombstone. Randomly, from a pile of blank gravestones, she chose only one. It was lifted up to engrave the name of the writer on it, but it was immediately realized that it already had another name on it. When they saw what was written there, they were even more surprised - it became obvious that this was a tombstone that had disappeared from Gogol's grave. Thus, Gogol seemed to signal to Bulgakov's relatives that he was finally reunited with his outstanding student.

To this day no one can know true reason death of the great Russian writer Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. By official version Nikolai Vasilyevich died at 8 am on February 21, 1852, in Moscow. But there are also many versions put forward by both the writer's contemporaries and researchers who lived much later. Many versions contradict each other, many prove that the date of death was much later, and some scholars generally argue that the great Russian classic was buried while still alive.

Let's start with the official version and last days writer's life. A few days before his death, Gogol stops leaving the house, hardly eats and hardly sleeps. On the night of February 11-12, 1852, he burns the second tome of the dead shower. All this time, doctors and relatives help him, but the writer himself is already preparing for death and asks him not to disturb him. Nevertheless, on February 20, a council meets and the writer is going to be forcibly treated, as a result, the writer still dies. The funeral took place on February 24, 1852 at the cemetery of the Danilov Monastery in Moscow.
Along with the thousands of immortal works left by the writer, there are also thousands of versions of his death.
One of the versions of the death of N.V. Gogol was traumatized in connection with the fleeting death of the sister of a close friend.
Another no less original version is that Gogol committed suicide. It is very easily refuted due to the strong faith of the writer. For him it was a terrible sin.
Also original is the version of death from lack of oxygen due to being buried alive. This conclusion was made on the basis of exhumation after 80 years of burial. The writer V. Lidin became the first source of information about the exhumation of Gogol. It was he who stated that the writer's coffin was well preserved, the lining of the coffin was torn and scratched from the inside, while in the coffin there was an unnaturally twisted skeleton with a turned head.
And in 1852 Gogol died due to very mystical, hitherto controversial circumstances.

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a big fan of practical jokes. After leaving this world, he left us many amazing, sometimes mystical, mysteries.

As you know, authoritative professors of medicine, called to the bed of a dying writer, could not find the reason for his rapid extinction. Assumptions were very different - from meningitis, typhoid fever or malaria - to mental insanity or religious mania.

Sources: fb.ru, pwpt.ru, kokay.ru, medconfer.com, video.sibnet.ru

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Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol died on March 3, 1852. On March 6, 1852, he was buried in the cemetery near the Danilov Monastery. According to the will, no monument was erected to him - Golgotha ​​towered over the grave.

But 79 years later, the ashes of the writer were removed from the grave: the Danilov Monastery was transformed by the Soviet government into a colony for juvenile delinquents, and the necropolis was subject to liquidation. Only a few graves were decided to be transferred to the old cemetery of the Novodevichy Convent. Among these "lucky ones", along with Yazykov, Aksakovs and Khomyakovs, was Gogol ...

The entire color of the Soviet intelligentsia was present at the reburial. Among them was the writer V. Lidin. It is to him that Gogol owes the emergence of numerous legends about himself. One of the myths concerned the writer's lethargic sleep. According to Lidin, when the coffin was taken out of the ground and opened, those present were bewildered. In the coffin lay a skeleton with a skull turned to one side. No one has found an explanation for this.

I recalled the stories that Gogol was afraid of being buried alive in a state of lethargic sleep and seven years before his death he bequeathed: “My body should not be buried until clear signs of decomposition appear. I mention this because even during the illness itself, moments of vital numbness came over me, my heart and pulse stopped beating. What they saw shocked those present. Did Gogol really have to endure the horror of such a death?

It is worth noting that in the future this story was subject to criticism. Sculptor N. Ramazanov, who took off Gogol's death mask, recalled: "I did not suddenly decide to take off the mask, but the prepared coffin ... finally, the incessantly arriving crowd who wanted to say goodbye to the dear deceased forced me and my old man, who pointed out the traces of destruction, to hurry ... "Found my own an explanation for the rotation of the skull: the side boards at the coffin were the first to rot, the lid falls under the weight of the soil, presses on the dead man’s head, and it turns to its side on the so-called “Atlantean” vertebra.

However, Lidin's violent fantasy was not limited to this episode. A more terrible story followed - it turns out that when the coffin was opened, the skeleton did not have a skull at all. Where could he go? This new invention of Lidin gave rise to new hypotheses. They remembered that in 1908, when a heavy stone was installed on the grave, a brick crypt had to be erected over the coffin to strengthen the foundation. It was suggested that it was then that the writer's skull could have been stolen. It was suggested that it was stolen at the request of a Russian theater fanatic, merchant Alexei Alexandrovich Bakhrushin. It was rumored that he already had the skull of the great Russian actor Shchepkin.

One of the most mystical personalities in Russian literature is N.V. Gogol. He was alive secretive person and took with him many mysteries. But he left brilliant works in which fantasy and reality are intertwined, beautiful and repulsive, funny and tragic.

Here witches fly on a broomstick, couples and ladies fall in love with each other, an imaginary auditor takes on a pompous look, Viy raises his leaden eyelids and runs away from A writer unexpectedly says goodbye to us, leaving us in admiration and bewilderment. Today we will talk about his last charade, left to posterity - the secret of Gogol's grave.

Writer's childhood

Gogol was born in the Poltava province on March 1, 1809. Before him, two dead boys had already been born in the family, so the parents prayed to Nicholas the Wonderworker for the birth of the third and named the first-born in his honor. Gogol was a sickly child, they shook him a lot and loved him more than other children.

From his mother, he inherited religiosity and a penchant for premonitions. From the father - suspiciousness and love for the theater. The boy was attracted by secrets horror stories, prophetic dreams.

At the age of 10, he and his younger brother Ivan were sent to the Poltava School. But the training did not last long. The brother died, which greatly shocked little Nikolai. He was transferred to the Nizhyn gymnasium. Among his peers, the boy was distinguished by his love for practical jokes and secrecy, for which he was called the Mysterious Carlo. So the writer Gogol grew up. His work and personal life were largely determined by the first childhood impressions.

Artistic world of Gogol - the creation of a crazy genius?

The writer's works surprise with their phantasmagorism. Terrifying sorcerers ("Terrible Revenge") come to life on their pages, witches rise at night, led by the monster Viy. But along with evil spirits, caricature pictures of modern society await us. A new inspector arrives in the city, they are bought by Chichikov dead Souls, Russian life is shown with the utmost honesty. And next - the absurdity of "Nevsky Prospekt" and the famous "Nose". How were these images born in the head of the writer Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol?

Creativity researchers are still at a loss. Many theories are connected with the madness of the writer. It is known that he suffered from painful conditions, during which there were mood swings, extreme despair, fainting. Perhaps it was disturbed thinking that prompted Gogol to write such vivid, unusual works? After all, after suffering, there were periods of creative inspiration.

However, psychiatrists who have studied Gogol's work find no signs of insanity. According to them, the writer suffered from depression. Hopeless sadness, special sensitivity are common to many brilliant personalities. This is what helps them to become more aware of the surrounding reality, to show it with unexpected sides, startling the reader.

The writer was shy and closed person. In addition, he had a good sense of humor and loved practical jokes. All this gave rise to many legends about him. So, excessive religiosity suggests that Gogol could be a member of a sect.

Even more speculation is the fact that the writer was not married. There is a legend that in the 1840s he proposed to Countess A. M. Villegorskaya, but was refused. There was a rumor about platonic love Nikolai Vasilyevich to a married lady A. O. Smirnova-Rosset. But these are all rumors. As well as talk about Gogol's homosexual inclinations, from which he allegedly tried to get rid of with the help of austerities and prayers.

The writer's death raises many questions. Gloomy thoughts and forebodings overcame him after the end of the second volume " dead souls"in 1852. In those days, he talked with confessor Matvey Konstantinovsky. The latter urged Gogol to abandon the sinful literary activity and devote more time to spiritual pursuits.

A week before Lent, the writer subjects himself to the most severe austerity. He hardly eats or sleeps, which negatively affects his health. On the night he burns papers in the fireplace (presumably the second volume of "Dead Souls"). Since February 18, Gogol has not gotten out of bed and is preparing for death. On February 20, doctors decide to start compulsory treatment. On the morning of February 21, the writer dies.

Causes of death

How the writer Gogol died is still guessing. He was only 42 years old. Despite the poor health Lately Nobody expected such an outcome. Doctors could not make an accurate diagnosis. All this gave rise to many rumors. Let's consider some of them:

1. Suicide. Before his death, Gogol of his own free will refused to eat and prayed instead of sleeping. He deliberately prepared for death, forbade himself to be treated, did not listen to the exhortations of his friends. Perhaps he passed away of his own free will? However, for a religious person who is afraid of hell and the devil, this is not possible.
2. Mental illness. Perhaps the reason for this behavior of Gogol was a clouding of reason? Shortly before the tragic events, Ekaterina Khomyakova, the sister of a close friend of the writer, to whom he was attached, died. On February 8-9, Nikolai Vasilievich dreamed of his own death. All this could shake his unstable psyche and lead to unnecessarily severe asceticism, the consequences of which turned out to be terrifying.
3. Wrong treatment. Gogol could not be diagnosed for a long time, suspecting either enteric fever or inflammation of the stomach. Finally, a council of doctors decided that the patient had meningitis, and subjected him to bloodletting, warm baths, and cold douches, which were unacceptable for such a diagnosis. All this undermined the body, already weakened by a long abstinence from food. The writer died of heart failure.
4. Poisoning. According to other sources, doctors could provoke intoxication of the body by prescribing calomel to Gogol three times. This was due to the fact that various specialists were invited to the writer, who did not know about other appointments. As a result, the patient died from an overdose.

Funeral

Be that as it may, the burial took place on February 24. It was public, although the writer's friends objected to this. Gogol's grave was originally located in Moscow on the territory of the St. Danilov Monastery. The coffin was brought here in their arms after the funeral service in the church of the martyr Titiana.

According to eyewitnesses, a black cat suddenly appeared at the place where Gogol's grave is located. This caused a lot of buzz. Assumptions spread that the writer's soul moved into a mystical animal. After the burial, the cat disappeared without a trace.

Nikolai Vasilievich forbade erecting a monument on his grave, so a cross was erected with a quote from the Bible: "I will laugh at my bitter word." Its basis was a granite stone brought from the Crimea by K. Aksakov ("Golgotha"). In 1909, in honor of the centenary of the writer's birth, the grave was restored. A cast-iron fence was installed, as well as a sarcophagus.

Opening of Gogol's grave

In 1930 the Danilovsky Monastery was closed. In its place, it was decided to arrange a reception center for juvenile delinquents. The cemetery was urgently reconstructed. In 1931 the graves of such prominent people, like Gogol, Khomyakov, Yazykov and others, were opened and transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery.

This happened in the presence of representatives of the cultural intelligentsia. According to the memoirs of the writer V. Lidin, they arrived at the place where Gogol was buried on May 31. The work took all day, since the coffin was deep and inserted into the crypt through a special side hole. The remains were discovered at dusk, so no photographs were taken. The NKVD archives contain an autopsy report, which does not contain anything unusual.

However, according to rumors, this was done in order not to make a fuss. The picture that was revealed to those present shocked everyone. A terrible rumor immediately spread around Moscow. What did the people who were present at the Danilovsky cemetery see that day?

buried alive

In oral conversations, V. Lidin said that Gogol lay in the grave, turning. In addition, the lining of the coffin was scratched from the inside. All this gave rise to terrible speculation. What if the writer fell into a lethargic sleep and was buried alive? Perhaps, waking up, he tried to get out of the grave?

Interest was fueled by the fact that Gogol suffered from tophephobia - the fear of being buried alive. In 1839, in Rome, he suffered severe malaria, which led to brain damage. Since then, the writer has experienced fainting, turning into a long sleep. He was very afraid that in such a state he would be taken for dead and buried ahead of time. Therefore, he stopped sleeping in bed, preferring to doze half-sitting on a sofa or in an armchair.

In his will, Gogol ordered not to bury him until there were clear signs of death. So is it possible that the writer's will was not carried out? Is it true that Gogol turned over in his grave? Experts say that this is impossible. As evidence, they point to the following facts:

• Gogol's death was recorded by five of the best doctors of the time.
• Nikolai Ramazanov, who shot from the great namesake, knew about his fears. In his memoirs, he states: the writer, unfortunately, slept in eternal sleep.
• The skull could have been rotated due to the displacement of the coffin lid, which often happens over time, or while being carried by hand to the burial site.
• It was impossible to see the scratches on the upholstery that had decayed over 80 years. This is too long.
• V. Lidin's oral stories contradict his written memoirs. Indeed, according to the latter, Gogol's body was found without a skull. In the coffin lay only a skeleton in a frock coat.

Legend of the Lost Skull

The headless body of Gogol, in addition to V. Lidin, is mentioned by the archaeologist A. Smirnov, who was present at the autopsy, as well as V. Ivanov. But should you trust them? After all, the historian M. Baranovskaya, who was standing next to them, saw not only the skull, but also the light brown hair preserved on it. And the writer S. Solovyov did not see either the coffin or the ashes, but he found ventilation pipes in the crypt in case the deceased was resurrected and he needed something to breathe.

Nevertheless, the story of the missing skull was so "in the spirit" of the author Viy that it was developed. According to legend, in 1909, during the restoration of Gogol's grave, the collector A. Bakhrushin persuaded the monks of the Danilovsky Monastery to steal the head of the writer. For a good reward, they sawed off the skull, and he took his place in the theater museum of the new owner.

He kept it secretly, in a pathologist's bag, among medical instruments. Having passed away in 1929, Bakhrushin took with him the secret of the location of Gogol's skull. However, could the story of the great phantasmagoric, which was Nikolai Vasilyevich, end there? Of course, she came up with a continuation worthy of the pen of the master himself.

ghost train

One day, Gogol's great-nephew, fleet lieutenant Yanovsky, came to Bakhrushin. He heard about the stolen skull and, threatening with a loaded weapon, demanded that it be returned to his family. Bakhrushin gave the relic. Yanovsky decided to bury the skull in Italy, which Gogol loved very much and considered his second home.

In 1911, ships from Rome arrived in Sevastopol. Their goal was to take the remains of compatriots who died during the Crimean campaign. Yanovsky persuaded the captain of one of the ships, Borgose, to take with him a chest with a skull and hand it over to the Russian ambassador in Italy. He was supposed to bury him according to the Orthodox rite.

However, Borgose did not have time to meet with the ambassador and went on another voyage, leaving an unusual casket in his house. The captain's younger brother, a student at the University of Rome, discovered the skull and planned to scare his friends. He was to ride in a cheerful company through the longest tunnel of that time on the Rome Express. The young rake took the skull with him. Before the train entered the mountains, he opened the chest.

Immediately, an unusual fog enveloped the train, panic began among those present. Borgose Jr. and another passenger jumped off the train at full speed. The rest disappeared along with the Roman Express and Gogol's skull. The search for the composition was unsuccessful, they hastened to wall up the tunnel. But in subsequent years, the train was seen in different countries, including in Poltava, the writer's homeland, and in the Crimea.

Is it possible that where Gogol was buried, only his ashes are located? While the spirit of the writer wanders the world in a ghost train, never finding peace?

Last resort

Gogol himself wanted to be laid to rest in peace. Therefore, let's leave the legends to science fiction lovers and move on to the Novodevichy cemetery, where the remains of the writer were reburied on June 1, 1931. It is known that before the next burial, admirers of the talent of Nikolai Vasilyevich stole pieces of the coat, shoes and even the bones of the deceased "as a keepsake". V. Lidin admitted that he personally took a piece of clothing and placed it in the binding of "Dead Souls" of the first edition. All this, of course, is terrible.

Together with the coffin, the fence and the Golgotha ​​stone, which served as the basis for the cross, were transported to the Novodevichy cemetery. The cross itself was not installed in a new place, since the Soviet government was far from religion. Where he is now is unknown. Moreover, in 1952, a bust of Gogol by N. V. Tomsky was erected at the site of the grave. This was done contrary to the will of the writer, who, as a believer, urged not to honor his ashes, but to pray for the soul.

Golgotha ​​was sent to the lapidary workshop. There, the widow of Mikhail Bulgakov found the stone. Her husband considered himself a student of Gogol. IN difficult moments he often went to his monument and repeated: "Teacher, cover me with your cast-iron overcoat." The woman decided to install a stone on Bulgakov's grave so that even after his death Gogol would invisibly protect him.

In 2009, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Nikolai Vasilievich, it was decided to return the place of his burial to its original form. The monument was dismantled and transferred to Historical Museum. A black stone with a bronze cross was again installed on Gogol's grave at the Novodevichy cemetery. How to find this place to honor the memory of the great writer? The grave is located in the old part of the cemetery. From the central alley, turn right and find the 12th row, section No. 2.

Gogol's grave, as well as his work, is fraught with many secrets. It is unlikely that it will be possible to solve them all, and is it necessary? The writer left a covenant to his loved ones: do not grieve for him, do not associate him with the ashes that worms gnaw, do not worry about the burial place. He wanted to perpetuate himself not in granite monument but in his work.

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Secrets of Gogol, his work is filled with contradiction. There are many brilliant names in the history of mankind, among which the great Russian 19th writer century Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (1809-1852). The uniqueness of this personality lies in the fact that, despite a severe mental illness, he created masterpieces of literary art and maintained a high intellectual potential until the end of his life.

Gogol himself in one of his letters to the historian M.P. Pogodin in 1840 explained the likelihood of such paradoxes as follows:

"The one who was created to create in the depths of his soul, to live and breathe his creations, he must be strange in many ways."

Nikolai Vasilyevich, as you know, was a great worker. In order to give a finished look to his works and make them as perfect as possible, he reworked them several times, ruthlessly destroying poorly written ones.

All his works, as well as the creations of other great geniuses, were created by incredible labor and exertion of all spiritual forces.

The famous Russian writer-Slavophile Sergey Timofeevich Aksakov one of causes of illness and tragic death Gogol considered him "immense creative activity."

Let's try once again to consider several seemingly mutually exclusive factors in Gogol's life.

Secrets of Gogol. HEREDITY

In development mystical inclinations Gogol played an important role heredity. According to the recollections of relatives and friends, Gogol's maternal grandfather and grandmother were superstitious, religious, believed in omens and predictions.

Aunt on the mother's side (memoirs younger sister Gogol Olga) was with "oddities": for six weeks she smeared her head with a tallow candle so that "prevent graying of hair" was extremely slow and slow, dressed for a long time, was always late for the table, “came only to the second course”, “sitting at the table, grimacing”, having lunch “She asked me to give her a piece of bread.”

One of Gogol's nephews (the son of Maria's sister), left an orphan at the age of 13 (after the death of his father in 1840 and his mother in 1844), later, according to the recollections of his relatives, "became mentally ill" and committed suicide.

Gogol's younger sister Olga did not develop well in childhood. Until the age of 5, she could not walk well, "holding on to the wall" She had a poor memory and had difficulty learning foreign languages.

In adulthood, she became religious, was afraid to die, visited church every day, where she prayed for a long time.

Another sister (according to Olga's memoirs) "loved to fantasize": in the middle of the night she woke the maids, took them out into the garden and made them sing and dance.

The writer's father Vasily Afanasyevich Gogol-Yanovsky (c. 1778 - 1825) was extremely punctual and pedantic. He had literary abilities, wrote poetry, stories, comedies, had a sense of humor. A.N. Annensky wrote about him:

« Gogol's father is an unusually witty, inexhaustible joker and storyteller. Wrote comedy for home theater his distant relative Dmitry Prokofievich Troshchinsky (retired Minister of Justice), and he appreciated his original mind and gift of words.

A.N. Annensky believed that Gogol "I inherited humor, love for art and theater from my father." At the same time, Vasily Afanasyevich was suspicious, “I was looking for various diseases in myself”, believed in miracles and destiny. His marriage had a strange, mystical character.

I saw my future wife in a dream at the age of 14.

He had a strange, but rather vivid dream, imprinted for life.

At the altar of a church Holy Mother of God showed him a girl in white clothes and said that this was his betrothed. Waking up, on the same day he went to his acquaintances Kosyarovsky and saw their daughter, a very beautiful one-year-old girl Masha, a copy of the one that lay at the altar.

Since then, he called her his bride and waited for many years to marry her. Without waiting for her to come of age, he proposed when she was only 14 years old. The marriage turned out to be happy. Spouses for 20 years, until the death of Vasily Afanasyevich from consumption in 1825, could not do without each other for a single day.

Gogol's mother Maria Ivanovna (1791-1868) , had an unbalanced character, easily fell into despair. There were occasional mood swings. According to the historian V.M. Shenroku, she was impressionable and distrustful, and "her suspicion reached its extreme limits and reached an almost morbid state." Her mood often changed for no apparent reason: from lively, cheerful and sociable, she suddenly became silent, withdrew into herself, "fell into strange thoughtfulness", sat for several hours without changing her posture, looking at one point, not responding to calls.

According to the recollections of relatives, Maria Ivanovna was impractical in everyday life, bought unnecessary things from peddlers that had to be returned, frivolously took on risky ventures, and did not know how to balance income with expenses.

She later wrote about herself: “My character and my husband are cheerful, but sometimes gloomy thoughts came over me, I foresaw misfortunes, believed in dreams.”

Despite early marriage and a favorable attitude from her husband, she never learned how to run a household.

These strange properties, as is known, are easily recognized in the actions of such well-known Gogol artistic characters, How " historical man» Nozdryov or the Manilovs.

The family had many children. The couple had 12 children. But the first children were born stillborn or died shortly after birth.

Desperate to give birth to a healthy and viable child, she turns to the holy fathers and to prayer. Together with her husband, she goes to Sorochintsy to the famous doctor Trofimovsky, visits the temple, where, in front of the icon of St. Nicholas the Pleasant, she asks to send her a son and swears to name the child Nicholas.

In the same year, an entry appeared in the metric sheet of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior: “In the town of Sorochintsy in the month of March, on the 20th day (Gogol himself celebrated his birthday on March 19), the son Nikolai was born to the landowner Vasily Afanasyevich Gogol-Yanovsky.

Successor Mikhail Trofimovsky.

From the very first days of his birth, Nikosha (as his mother called him) became the most adored creature in the family, even after the second son Ivan was born a year later, and then several daughters in succession. She considered her firstborn son sent to her by God and predicted a great future for him. She told everyone that he was a genius, since she did not succumb to persuasion

When he was still in his teens, she began to attribute to him the discovery railway, a steam engine, the authorship of literary works written by other persons, which caused him indignation.

After the unexpected death of her husband in 1825, she began to behave inappropriately, talked to him as if he were alive, demanded that a grave be dug for her and put next to her.

Then she fell into a stupor: she stopped answering questions, sat without moving, looking at one point. She refused to take food, when trying to feed her, she sharply resisted, clenched her teeth, the broth was poured into her mouth by force. This state continued for two weeks.

Gogol himself considered her not quite mentally healthy. On August 12, 1839, he wrote from Rome to his sister Anna Vasilievna: "Thank God, our mother is now healthy, I mean her mental illness." At the same time, she was distinguished by kindness and gentleness, she was hospitable, there were always many guests in her house. Annensky wrote that Gogol "inherited from his mother a religious feeling and a desire to benefit people."

Maria Ivanovna died suddenly at the age of 77 from a stroke, outliving her son Nikolai by 16 years.

Based on information about heredity, it can be assumed that the development of mental ailments, as well as a tendency to mysticism, Gogol was partially influenced by the mental imbalance of his mother, and he inherited his literary talent from his father.

Secrets of Gogol. CHILDHOOD FEARS

Gogol's childhood was spent in the village of Vasilyevka (Yanovshchina) of the Mirgorod district of the Poltava province, not far from the historical monuments-estates of Kochubey and Mazepa and the site of the famous Poltava battle.

Nikosha grew up sickly, thin, physically weak, "scrofulous". Sores and rashes often appeared on the body, red spots on the face; often watery eyes.

According to sister Olga, he was constantly treated with herbs, ointments, lotions, and various folk remedies.

Carefully protected from colds.

The first signs of a mental disorder with a mystical bias in the form of childhood fears were noticed at the age of 5 in 1814. The story of Gogol himself about them was recorded by his friend Alexandra Osipovna Smirnova-Rosset:

« I was five years old.

I was sitting alone in one of the rooms in Vasilievka. Father and mother left.

There was only one old nanny left with me, and she went away somewhere.

Twilight descended.

I pressed myself against the corner of the sofa and, in the midst of complete silence, listened to the sound of the long pendulum of the old wall clock.

There was a buzz in my ears. Something moved in and out. It seemed to me that the knock of the pendulum was the knock of time passing into eternity.

Suddenly, the faint meow of a cat broke the peace that weighed on me. I saw her, meowing, cautiously creeping towards me. I will never forget how she walked, stretching, towards me and her soft paws weakly tapped her claws on the floorboards, and green eyes sparkled with evil light. I was terrified. I climbed onto the couch and leaned against the wall.

“Kitty, kitty,” I called, wanting to cheer myself up. I jumped off the sofa, grabbed the cat, which easily gave itself into my hands, ran into the garden, where I threw it into the pond and several times, when it wanted to swim out and get ashore, I pushed it away with a pole.

I was scared, I was trembling and at the same time I felt some satisfaction, maybe it was revenge for the fact that she scared me. But when she drowned and the last circles on the water fled, complete peace and silence settled in, I suddenly felt terribly sorry for the cat.

I felt remorse, it seemed to me that I had drowned a man. I cried terribly and calmed down only when my father whipped me.

According to the description of the biographer P.A. Kulish, Gogol at the same age of 5, walking in the garden, heard voices, apparently of a frightening nature.

He was trembling, looking around fearfully, his face was an expression of horror. These first signs of a mental disorder were regarded by relatives as increased impressionability and a feature of childhood.

They were not given much importance, although his mother began to protect him even more carefully and pay even more attention than other children.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol-Yanovsky did not differ in development from his peers, except that at the age of 3 he learned the alphabet and began to write letters with chalk. He was taught to read and write by one seminarian, first at home with his younger brother Ivan, and then for one academic year (1818-1819) at the Higher Department of the 1st class of the Poltava district school. At the age of 10, he suffered a severe mental shock: during the summer holidays in 1819, his 9-year-old brother Ivan fell ill and died a few days later.

Nikosha, who was very friendly with his brother, sobbed for a long time, kneeling at his grave. He was brought home after persuasion. This family misfortune left a deep imprint in the soul of the child. Later, as a high school student, he often remembered his brother, wrote a ballad "Two fish" about your friendship with him.

According to the memoirs of Gogol himself, in childhood he was "distinguished by increased impressionability." Mother often talked about goblin, demons, about the afterlife, about the terrible judgment for sinners, about the benefits for virtuous and righteous people.

The child's imagination vividly painted a picture of hell, in which "sinners were tormented by torments", and a picture of paradise, where righteous people were in bliss and contentment.

Gogol later wrote: “She described the eternal torment of sinners so terribly that it shocked me and awakened the highest thoughts.” Undoubtedly, these stories influenced the emergence of children's fears and painful nightmarish ideas. At the same age, he periodically began to have bouts of lethargy, when he stopped answering questions, sat motionless, looking at one point. In this regard, the mother began to express concern about his mental health more often.

Gogol's literary talent was first noticed by the writer V.V. Kapnist. Visiting Gogol's parents and listening to the poems of 5-year-old Nikoshi, he stated that "He's going to be a great talent."

Secrets of Gogol. THE MYSTERIOUSNESS OF NATURE

Much in Gogol's life was unusual, even his birth after a prayer in the church at the icon of St. Nicholas. Unusual, and at times mysterious, was his behavior in the gymnasium, about which he himself wrote to his relatives: “I am considered a mystery to everyone. No one has figured me out completely."

In May 1821, 12-year-old Nikolai Gogol-Yanovsky was assigned to the first class of the Nizhyn Gymnasium of Higher Sciences, for a 7-year course of study.

It's prestigious educational institution was intended for boys from wealthy families (aristocrats and nobles). Living conditions were good. . Each of the 50 pupils had a separate room. Many were on full boarding provision.

Because of his secrecy and mystique, the schoolboys called him “mysterious Karla”, and because he sometimes suddenly fell silent during a conversation and did not finish the phrase he had begun, they began to call him “a man of dead thought” (“blockage of thought”, according to A.V. Snezhnevsky, one of the symptoms characteristic of schizophrenia). Sometimes his behavior seemed incomprehensible to the pupils.

One of the pupils of the gymnasium, in the future the poet I.V. Lyubich-Romanovich (1805-1888) recalled: “Gogol sometimes forgot that he was a man. Sometimes he screams like a goat, walking around his room, then crows like a rooster in the middle of the night, then grunts like a pig.

To the bewilderment of the gymnasium students, he usually answered: "I prefer to be in the company of pigs than people."

Gogol often walked with his head down. According to the memoirs of the same Lyubich-Romanovich, he “he gave the impression of a person deeply occupied with something, or a harsh subject, neglecting all people. He considered our behavior to be the arrogance of aristocrats and did not want to know us.

Incomprehensible to them was his attitude to insulting attacks against him. He ignored them, stating: "I do not consider myself worthy of insults and do not take them upon myself." This angered his persecutors, and they continued to excel in their bad jokes and bullying.

Once a deputation was sent to him, which solemnly presented him with a huge honey cake as a gift. He threw it in the faces of the deputies, left the class and did not appear for two weeks.

His rare talent, the transformation ordinary person into a genius. This mystery was not only for his mother, who almost early childhood considered him a genius. The mystery was his lonely wandering life in different countries and cities.

The movement of his soul was also a mystery, sometimes filled with a joyful enthusiastic perception of the world, sometimes immersed in a deep and gloomy melancholy, which he called "spleen". Later, one of the educators of the Nizhyn gymnasium, who taught French, wrote about the mystery of Gogol's transformation into a brilliant writer:

“He was very lazy. I neglected the study of languages, especially in my subject.

He mimicked and copied everyone, branded them with nicknames.

But he had a good character and did it not out of a desire to offend anyone, but out of passion.

He loved drawing and literature. But it would be too ridiculous to think that Gogol-Yanovsky would famous writer Gogol. It's strange, really strange."

The impression of Gogol's mystery was given by his secrecy. He later recalled: “I did not confide my secret thoughts to anyone, did not do anything that could reveal the depths of my soul. And to whom and why would I express myself, so that they would laugh at my extravagance, so that they would consider me an ardent dreamer and an empty person.

As an adult and independent person, Gogol wrote to Professor S.P. Shevyrev (historian): “I am hidden from fear of letting in whole clouds of misunderstandings.”

But the case of Gogol's inadequate behavior, which agitated the entire gymnasium, seemed especially strange and incomprehensible. On this day, they wanted to punish Gogol for painting some kind of picture during the service, not listening to prayers. Seeing the executor summoned to him, Gogol screamed so piercingly that he frightened everyone.

Gymnasium student T.G. Pashchenko described this episode as follows:

"Suddenly became terrible anxiety in all departments: "Gogol went berserk"! We ran and saw: Gogol's face was terribly distorted, his eyes sparkled with a wild brilliance, his hair was puffed up, he grinds his teeth, foam comes out of his mouth, beats furniture, falls to the floor and beats.

Orlai (principal of the gymnasium) came running and gently touched his shoulders. Gogol grabbed a chair and swung it. Four ministers seized him and took him to a special department of the local hospital, where he remained for two months, perfectly playing the role of a madman.

According to other pupils, Gogol was in the hospital for only two weeks. The high school students who attended him did not believe that it was an attack of illness. One of them wrote: "Gogol pretended to be so skillfully that he convinced everyone of his insanity." This was the reaction of his protest, expressed in violent psychomotor agitation.

It resembled catatonic excitement with hysterical components (information about his stay in the hospital and the conclusion of doctors could not be found in available sources). After his return from the hospital, the schoolboys looked at him with apprehension and avoided him.

Gogol did not particularly monitor his appearance. In his youth he was careless in his clothes. Educator P.A. Arseniev wrote:

“Gogol's appearance is unattractive. Who would have thought that under this ugly shell lies the personality of a brilliant writer, whom Russia is proud of.

His behavior remained incomprehensible and mysterious for many, when in 1839 the 30-year-old Gogol sat for days at the bedside of the dying young man Joseph Vielgorsky.

He wrote to his former student Balabina: “I live his dying days. It smells of the grave. A muffled voice whispers to me that this is for a short time. It is sweet for me to sit beside him and look at him. With what joy I would take his illness upon myself, if it would help restore him to health. M.P. Gogol wrote to Pogodin that he sits day and night at Vielgorsky's bedside and "does not feel tired." Some even suspected Gogol of homosexuality. Until the end of his days, Gogol remained an unusual and mysterious personality for many of his friends and acquaintances, and even for researchers of his work.

Secrets of Gogol. DIVING INTO RELIGION

“I almost don’t know how I came to Christ, seeing in him the key to the human soul,” Gogol wrote in The Author’s Confession. As a child, according to his recollections, despite the religiosity of his parents, he was indifferent to religion, did not really like to go to church and listen to long services.

“I went to church because they were ordered, I stood and saw nothing but the priest’s robe, and heard nothing but the nasty singing of the deacons, I was baptized because everyone was baptized,” he later recalled.

Being a high school student, according to the recollections of friends, he did not cross himself and did not bow. Gogol's first indications of religious feelings ah are found in his letter to his mother in 1825 after the death of his father, when he was on the verge of suicide:

“I bless you, sacred faith, only in you do I find consolation and satisfaction of my sorrow.”

Religion became dominant in his life in the early 1940s. But the idea that there is some higher power in the world that helps him create brilliant works appeared at the age of 26. These were the most productive years in his work.

As mental disorders deepened and became more complex, Gogol began to turn more often to religion and prayers. In 1847 he wrote to V.A. Zhukovsky: “My health is so frail and at times it is so hard that it cannot be endured without God.” He told his friend Alexander Danilevsky that he wanted to gain "the freshness that embraces my soul», and he himself “is ready to follow the path outlined from above. We must humbly accept ailments, believing that they are useful. I can’t find words how to thank the heavenly providence for my illness.”

As further development painful phenomena increases and his religiosity. He tells his friends that now he does not start “any business” without prayer.

In 1842, on religious grounds, Gogol met the pious old woman Nadezhda Nikolaevna Sheremeteva, a distant relative of the most famous count family. Having learned that Gogol often attends church, reads church books, helps poor people, she was imbued with respect for him. They found mutual language and corresponded until her death.

In 1843, the 34-year-old Gogol wrote to his friends:

“The deeper I look into my life, the better I see the wonderful participation of the Higher Power in everything that concerns me.”

Gogol's piety deepened over the years. In 1843, his friend Smirnova noted that he was "so immersed in prayer that he did not notice anything around." He began to assert that "God created him and did not hide my purpose from me."

Then he wrote a strange letter to Yazykov from Dresden, with omissions and unfinished phrases, something like a spell:

“There is the wonderful and the incomprehensible. But the sobs and tears are deeply inspired. I pray in the depths of my soul that this does not happen to you, that dark doubt flies away from you, that the lordship that I embrace this minute will be more often on your soul.

Since 1844, he began to talk about the influence of "evil spirits." He writes to Aksakov: “Your excitement is the devil’s business. Beat this beast in the face and do not be embarrassed. The devil boasted of owning the whole world, but God did not give power. In another letter, he advises Aksakov to “read daily "imitation of Christ" and after reading, indulge in reflection.

The instructive tone of the preacher sounds more and more in the letters. The Bible began to be considered "the highest creation of the mind, the teacher of life and wisdom." He began to carry a prayer book with him everywhere, to be afraid of a thunderstorm, considering it "God's punishment."

Once, while visiting Smirnova, I was reading a chapter from the second volume of Dead Souls, and at that time a thunderstorm suddenly broke out.

“It is impossible to imagine what happened to Gogol,” Smirnova recalled. “He shook all over, stopped reading, and later explained that the thunder was the wrath of God, who threatened him from heaven for reading an unfinished work.”

Coming to Russia from abroad, Gogol always visited Optina Pustyn. I met the bishop, the rector and the brethren. He began to fear that God would punish him for "blasphemous works".

This idea was supported by the priest Matthew, who suggested that in the afterlife a terrible punishment would await him for such writings. In 1846, one of Gogol's acquaintances, Sturdza, saw him in Rome in one of the churches.

He prayed earnestly, made obeisances. “I found him tempted by the fire of spiritual and bodily suffering and striving for God with all the forces and methods of his mind and heart,” the stunned witness wrote in his memoirs.

Despite the fear of God's punishment, Gogol continues to work on the second volume of Dead Souls. Being abroad in 1845, the 36-year-old Gogol received a notice of acceptance on March 29 as an honorary member of Moscow University:

"Imperial Moscow University, respecting the distinction in the educational light and merits in literary work in Russian literature, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, recognizes him as an honorary member with full confidence in assisting Moscow University in everything that can contribute to the success of the sciences. In this important act for him, Gogol also saw the "province of God."

From the mid-40s, Gogol began to find many vices in himself. In 1846, he composed a prayer for himself: “Lord, bless this coming year, turn it all into fruit and labor, many-beneficial and beneficial, all for your service, all for the salvation of the soul.

Autumn with your highest light and the insight of the prophecy of your great miracles.

May the Holy Spirit descend on me and move my lips and destroy my sinfulness, impurity and vileness in me and turn me into a worthy temple. Lord, don't leave me."

In order to cleanse himself from sins, Gogol made a trip to Jerusalem at the beginning of 1848. Before the trip, he visited Optina Hermitage and asked the priest, rector and brethren to pray for him, sent money to the priest Matthew so that he "prayed for his physical and mental health" for the duration of his trip.

In Optina Hermitage, he turned to Elder Filaret: “For Christ's own sake, pray for me. Ask the rector and all the brethren to pray. My path is difficult.

Before going to the holy places in Jerusalem, Gogol wrote a spell for himself in the form of an appeal to God: “Fill his soul with a blessed thought throughout his trip. Remove from him the spirit of hesitation, the spirit of superstition, the spirit of thoughts of rebellious and exciting empty signs, the spirit of timidity and fear.

From that time on, he had ideas of self-accusation and self-abasement, under the influence of which he wrote a message to his compatriots: “In 1848, heavenly mercy removed the hand of death from me. I am almost healthy, but weakness heralds that life is in the balance.

I know that I have caused grief to many, and set others against me. My haste was the reason that my works appeared in an imperfect form. For everything that is offensive in them, I ask you to forgive me with that generosity with which only the Russian soul can forgive. There were many unpleasant and repulsive things in my communication with people.

This was partly due to petty pride. I ask you to forgive fellow writers for my disrespect for them. I apologize to the readers if there is anything inconvenient in the book. I ask you to expose all my shortcomings, which are in the book, my ignorance, thoughtlessness and arrogance. I ask everyone in Russia to pray for me. I will pray at the tomb of the Lord for all my compatriots.”

At the same time, Gogol writes a testamentary disposition with the following content: “Being in the full presence of memory and in common sense, I state my last will. I ask you to pray for my soul, to treat the poor to dinner. I bequeath not to put any monuments over my grave. I bequeath to no one to mourn me.

Sin per soul will be taken by the one who will consider my death a significant loss. Please do not bury me until signs of decay appear. I mention this because during my illness, moments of vital numbness come over me, my heart and pulse stop beating. I bequeath to my compatriots my book called "The Farewell Tale". She was a source of tears that no one could see. It is not for me, the worst of all, suffering from a serious illness of my own imperfection, to make such speeches.

Upon returning from Jerusalem, he writes a letter to Zhukovsky:

“I was honored to spend the night at the tomb of the Savior and partake of the “holy mysteries”, but I did not become better.”

In May 1848 he went to his relatives in Vasilievka. According to Sister Olga, “I came with a mournful face, brought a bag with consecrated earth, icons, prayer books, a carnelian cross.” Being with relatives, he was not interested in anything, except for prayers, he attended church.

He wrote to his friends that after visiting Jerusalem he saw even more vices in himself.

“At the tomb of the Lord, I was as if in order to feel how much coldness of heart, selfishness and self-conceit are in me.”

Returning to Moscow, in September 1848 he visited S.T. Aksakov, who noticed a sharp change in him: “Uncertainty in everything. Not the Gogol. On such days, when, in his words, “there was a refreshment,” he wrote the second volume of Dead Souls.

He burned the first version of the book in 1845 to write a better one. At the same time, he explained:

"To be resurrected, one must die." By 1850 he had written 11 chapters of the already updated second volume.

Although he considered his book “sinful,” he did not hide the fact that he had material considerations: “many debts to Moscow writers,” which he wanted to pay off.

At the end of 1850, he made a trip to Odessa, as he did not endure the winter in Moscow well. But even in Odessa I did not feel in the best way. At times there were bouts of melancholy, he continued to express ideas of self-accusation and delusions of sinfulness. He was absent-minded, thoughtful, prayed earnestly, spoke of the "last judgment" beyond the grave.

At night, “sighs” and whispers were heard from his room: “Lord, have mercy.” Pletnev from Odessa wrote that he "does not work and does not live." I began to limit myself in food. I lost weight and looked bad. Once he came to Lev Pushkin, who had guests who were struck by his haggard look, and the child among them, seeing Gogol, burst into tears.

From Odessa in May 1851, Gogol went to Vasilievka. According to the recollections of relatives, during their stay he was not interested in anything except prayers, he read daily religious books, carried a prayer book with him.

According to Sister Elizabeth, he was withdrawn, focused on his thoughts, "became cold and indifferent to us."

The ideas of sinfulness were becoming more and more strengthened in his mind. I stopped believing in the possibility of cleansing from sins and in forgiveness from God.

At times he became anxious, waited for death, slept badly at night, changed rooms, said that the light interfered with him. He often prayed on his knees. At the same time, he corresponded with friends.

Apparently he was obsessed evil spirit”, Since he wrote to one of his friends: “The devil is closer to a man, he unceremoniously sits on his back and controls, forcing him to do tomfoolery after tomfoolery.”

From the end of 1851 until his death, Gogol did not leave Moscow. He lived on Nikitsky Boulevard in the house of Talyzin in the apartment of Alexander Petrovich Tolstoy. He was completely dominated by religious feelings, repeating spells written by him back in 1848:

“Lord, drive away all the deceptions of the evil spirit, save the poor people, do not let the evil one rejoice and take possession of us, do not let the enemy mock us.”

For religious reasons, he began to fast even on non-fast days, and ate very little. I read only religious literature.

Corresponded with the priest Matthew, who called him to repentance and to prepare for the afterlife.

After the death of Khomyakova (the sister of his deceased friend Yazykov), he began to say that he was preparing for the “terrible moment”: "It's all over for me." Since that time, he began to obediently wait for the end of his life.

Member of the Russian Geographical Society (RGO) of the city of Armavir Frolov Sergey

Square

The amazing mysterious world of N. Gogol surrounds many from childhood: the delightful images of "The Night Before Christmas", bright folk festivals on " Sorochinskaya Fair», creepy stories about “May Night”, “Viya” and “Terrible Revenge”, from which the whole body is covered with small goosebumps. This is just a small list famous works N.V. Gogol, who is considered the most mystical Russian writer, and abroad, his stories are equated with the gothic stories of Edgar Allan Poe. In this article, you will learn interesting facts from Gogol's biography, which are considered mysterious and mystical. Get ready to get goosebumps!

Gogol was born into a rural Ukrainian family with many children, he was the third child out of twelve. His mother is a woman of rare beauty - she was 14 years old when she became the wife of a man twice her age. They say that it was the mother who developed the religious and mystical worldview in her son. Maria Ivanovna was distinguished by her natural view of religion, she told her son about ancient Russian pagan traditions, Slavic mythology. Gogol's letters to his mother dating back to 1833 have been preserved. In one of them, Gogol writes that a mother in childhood told her child in colors what the Last Judgment is, what will await a person for virtuous deeds, and what fate will overtake sinners.

Childhood, adolescence and youth

Nikolai Gogol with early years was a closed and uncommunicative person, even close relatives could not imagine what was going on in his head and soul. The boy lived apart, had little contact with his brothers and sisters, but spent a lot of time with his beloved mother.

Gogol later said that at the age of five he first experienced panic fear.

“I was 5 years old. I was sitting alone in Vasilievka. Father and mother left ... Twilight descended. I clung to the corner of the sofa and, in the midst of complete silence, listened to the sound of the long pendulum of the old wall clock. There was a buzzing in my ears, something approaching and leaving somewhere. Believe me, it already seemed to me then that the knock of the pendulum was the knock of time passing into eternity. Suddenly, the faint meow of a cat broke the peace that weighed on me. I saw her, meowing, cautiously creeping towards me. I will never forget how she walked, stretching, and her soft paws weakly tapped her claws on the floorboards, and her green eyes sparkled with an unkind light. I got scared. I climbed onto the couch and leaned against the wall. "Kitty, kitty," I muttered, and, wanting to encourage myself, I jumped off and, grabbing the cat, which easily surrendered to my hands, ran into the garden, where I threw it into the pond and several times, when it tried to swim out and go ashore, pushed her sixth. I was scared, I was trembling, but at the same time I felt some satisfaction, maybe revenge for the fact that she scared me. But when she drowned, and the last circles on the water fled, complete peace and silence settled in, I suddenly felt terribly sorry for the “kitty”. I felt remorse. I felt like I drowned a man. I cried terribly and calmed down only when my father, to whom I confessed my deed, whipped me.

Nikolai Gogol from childhood was sensitive person, giving in to fears, experiences, life's troubles. Any negative situation was reflected in his psyche, when another person could withstand such a thing. The child drowned the cat because of fear, he seemed to have overcome his fear through cruelty and violence, but he realized that panic cannot be overcome in this way. It can be assumed that the writer was left alone with his fears, since his conscience did not allow him to use violence again.

This situation is very reminiscent of the moment in the work " May night, or the Drowned Woman, ”when the stepmother turned into a black cat, and the lady struck in fear and cut off her paw.

It is known that Gogol drew as a child, but his drawings seemed mediocre, incomprehensible to others. Such an attitude towards his art, again, could have a negative impact on self-esteem.

From the age of 10, Nikolai Gogol was sent to the Poltava gymnasium, where the boy became a member of a literary circle. It is not known why Gogol developed such low self-esteem, but it was precisely this self-isolation that provoked a mental breakdown in maturity.

The first attempt to bring his work to the people's court

Nikolai Gogol began to create, he wrote a lot, but he ventured to show his work " Ganz Küchelgarten". It was a failure, criticism was unfavorable to the story, then Gogol destroyed the entire circulation. Before becoming a writer, Gogol tried to become an actor and enter the official service. But the love of literature still captured the young man, who was able to find a new approach to this type of art. It was Gogol who touched on the other side of life and showed how they live in Little Russia! The collection "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka" made a splash! His mother Maria Ivanovna helped to collect material and develop plots for the writer. For many years Gogol successfully worked in the literary field, corresponded with Pushkin and Belinsky, who were delighted with his works. Despite his fame, Gogol never became an open person On the contrary, over the years he led an increasingly reclusive lifestyle.

By the way, Pushkin gave Gogol the pug Josie, after the death of the dog Gogol was attacked by longing, because the writer definitely had no one closer to Josie.

Question about writer's homosexuality

Gogol's personal life is surrounded by conjectures and assumptions. The writer has never been married to a woman, perhaps even had no intimacy with them. There are references in a letter to his mother that Gogol wrote about a beautiful divine person whom he did not want to correlate with ordinary woman. Contemporaries say that it was an unrequited love for Anna Mikhailovna Vielgorskaya. After this incident, there were no more women in Gogol's life, as well as men. But researchers believe that letters to men are highly emotional. In the unfinished work "Nights at the Villa" there is a motif of love for a young man suffering from tuberculosis. The work is autobiographical, hence the researchers had a hunch that, perhaps, Gogol had feelings for men.

Semyon Karlinsky argued that Gogol is a very religious person, God-fearing, therefore he could not include any intimate relationships in his life.

But Igor Kon believes that it was God-fearing that prevented Gogol from accepting himself as he is. Therefore, depression developed, fears of being incomprehensible appeared, as a result, the writer completely fell into religion and brought himself to death, the sea of ​​hunger - these were attempts to cleanse himself of sinfulness.

Candidate of Philological Sciences L. S. Yakovlev calls attempts to determine Gogol's sexual orientation "provocative, outrageous, curious publications."

Eggnog

Nikolai Gogol was madly in love with goat's milk combined with rum. The writer jokingly called his amazing drink “mogul-mogul”. In fact, the mogul-mogul dessert appeared in ancient times in Europe, was first made by the German confectioner Keukenbauer. So famous whipped egg yolk with sugar has nothing to do with the famous writer!

Writer's phobias

• Gogol was terribly afraid of thunderstorms.
• When a stranger appeared in society, he left so as not to run into him.
• In recent years, he stopped going out and communicating with writers altogether, led an ascetic lifestyle.
• I was afraid to look ugly. Gogol terribly disliked him a long nose, therefore, he asked the artists in the portraits to depict a nose close to the ideal. On the basis of his complexes, the writer wrote the work "The Nose".

Lethargy or death?

Gogol constantly thought about being buried alive and was terribly afraid of such a fate. Therefore, 7 years before his death, he made a will, where he indicated that he should be buried only when visible signs of decomposition appeared. Gogol died at the age of 42, after fasting before Lent for 15 days. On the night of February 11-12, a week before his death, the writer burns the second volume of Dead Souls in the oven, explaining that he was beguiled evil spirit. The writer was buried on the third day after his death. In 1931, the necropolis where Gogol was buried was liquidated and a decision was made to transfer the writer's grave to the Novodevichy cemetery. After opening the grave, they discovered the absence of Gogol's skull (according to Vladimir Lidin), later there is a rumor that the skull was in the grave, but turned on its side. This information was not made public for many years, and only in the 90s they again started talking about whether Gogol was accidentally buried in a state of lethargic sleep?

There are some facts confirming that Gogol could have been buried alive. I am posting what I have been able to find.

After suffering from malarial encephalitis in 1839, Gogol often fainted, which led to many hours of sleep. Based on this, the writer developed a phobia that he could be buried alive while he was unconscious.

But there is no official evidence that in 1931, during the opening of the grave, a skull turned on its side was found. Witnesses to the exhumation give different testimonies: some say that everything was in order, others claim that the skull was turned to the side, and Lidin did not see the skull at all in its proper place. The presence of a death mask completely debunks these myths. It cannot be done on a living person, even if he is in lethargy, because the person will still react to the high temperature during the procedure and begin to suffocate from filling the external respiratory organs with plaster. But this was not the case, Gogol was buried after a natural death.

Death mask Gogol