Russian Dramatic Greats - Gogol
19th century Russian Drama; 'The Government Inspector' & 'Marriage'
Oct 31, 2009
Born in what is now present-day Ukraine, Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) has long been identified as the 'father of modern Russian realism'. Like Pushkin, his contemporary artist and friend, his literary talents extended beyond drama. As well as being an accomplished playwright, his knack for humour and satire found its release in the form of a several short stories and novels (of which 'Dead Souls' is his most well known).
Gogol's critical views of political corruption and bureaucracy under the Russian Empire forced him to seek exile for a period of twelve years in order to write without opposition. Nevertheless, his plays arguably revolutionised Russian drama during the 19th century and his works are still widely enjoyed today.
Pushkin's Influence Upon Gogol's Plays
It is impossible to consider Gogol's literary output – and indeed 19th century Russian drama as a whole – without also considering the influence of his friendship with Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) on his career.
Gogol first met the Romantic poet-playwright Pushkin in 1831 in St. Petersburg. The 22 year-old writer had arrived in the capital to (unsuccessfully) publish a German-language pastoral poem, whilst entertaining vague dreams of becoming an actor. Fortunately, under Pushkin's guidance, he turned his hand to fiction writing and found some literary success with three separate volumes of short stories and prose. Once establishing himself as a fine fiction writer, Gogol soon turned his hand to writing for the stage.
The four-year period that marked Pushkin and Gogol's friendship saw Gogol working at his hardest. One of the fruits of his literary output was his most famous play 'The Government Inspector', whose publication in 1836 established Gogol's style of grotesque parody and solidified his desires to become a writer.
Indeed, 'The Government Inspector' is alleged to be based on an incident where Pushkin himself was mistaken for a government inspector in 1833. The play, however, was met with public outcry from the reactionary press, its production demanding an intervention on behalf of Emperor Nikolai I for its performance at the Alexandrinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.
Pushkin's death in 1837 – whilst Gogol was still in exile in Rome – had a profound effect on the writer. In the years following Pushkin's death he produced his most challenging and definitive work, the satirical novel 'Dead Souls'. Printed in Moscow in 1842 under the censor-friendly title of 'The Adventures of Chichikov', the novel established his reputation as the greatest Russian prose and dramatic writer of the 19th century.
Nikolai Gogol's 'The Government Inspector'
The sharp, visceral realism of Gogol's 'The Government Inspector' (1836) - sometimes known as 'Revizor' (Russ.) or 'The Inspector-General' - didn't resemble any play of its time. 19th century Russian theatre going audiences were enamoured with the noble heros and romantic plotlines popular during the Romantic Movement. 'The Government Inspector', however, was a biting criticism of the small-mindedness and corruption of local politicians under Tsarist Russia.
According to the modern Russian critic DS Mirsky: "The great originality of its plan consisted in the absence of all love interest and of sympathetic characters. The latter feature was deeply resented by Gogol's enemies, and as a satire the play gained immensely from it."
The plot revolves around a noble-but-impoverished civil servant called Khlestakov, who manages to convince the local authorities of a provincial town that he is an undercover government inspector from St. Petersburg. The concerned local governor and his officials, in an attempt to cover up their own misconduct and neglect, flatter and bribe Khlestakov in an attempt to win his good opinions. The action descends into farce and self-deception, as Khlestakov abuses his temporary position to take advantage of those around him.
Whilst the play's criticism is clearly directed at the corruption of local government, Gogol projects his sense of poignancy and farce onto his audience when the governor suddenly addresses the audience: "What are you laughing at? You are laughing at yourselves." This sentiment is also echoed by the play's cautionary epigraph: "If your face is crooked, don't blame the mirror."
Nikolai Gogol's 'Marriage'
'Marriage' (1833) was Gogol's attempt to subvert the conventional plot ending of popular Russian comedies in which protagonists overcame various obstacles to reach a common end - matrimony. Instead of aspiring to marriage for the sake of love, Gogol's characters are driven by a desire for wealth, power and stability (as well as fear of bachelorhood).
In 'Marriage' a cosmopolitan young woman is torn between three suitors, all of which offer different promising qualities but none of which she loves. The suitors expose their own corrupt motivations as they compete with each other to win her affections. As in 'The Government Inspector' the play's protagonists are characterised by greed, desire and insecurity.
'Marriage', although written in 1833, was not produced and performed until 1844 when it was published in a set of Gogol's collected works. The negative reviews of 'The Inspector General' discouraged Gogol's speedy return to the stage and prompted him to produce a sketch explicitly entitled 'Departure from the theatre after the performance of a new comedy'.
The reception of 'Marriage' by theatre critics, however, was no more warm than that of 'The Government Inspector'. The play's critical tone and lack of aspirational characters was ill received; in many ways Gogol's style was too innovative for the 19th century stage and his later career suffered for it. Nevertheless, Gogol's works (though misunderstood by his contemporaries) are counted amongst the most influential in Russian literature, setting an example for a generation of young Russian writers to come, including Mikhail Bulghakov and Yevgeny Zamyatin.
Sources:
A History of Russian Literature', D.S. Mirsky. Illinoi: Northwestern University Press, 1999. ISBN: 0-8101-1679-0
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