[woul however, lke 10 comment on four tems tht oes frequen in Eshenbaum’s arte. One i igre, which can mean liber “gio” or “performance.” Both meanings ae revantf0 6 Feemuloa”Hea of the matore of a work of aT have sully stuck with “performance,” which seems ber atid to Elen ‘bum’ ide of the narrator as «ind of stor. The ober thee sr: Lonposisna, sruktura, and parroenie. All xn mesh "sro ue,” but they are realy not synonymows. Konposiaa I render ss "exture (ete fist Sentence othe atc), by way f Sug [sting in the wordr of Weiter Second Intentional Dios, "ie characterise capastion or connection of heads ina woven fabri” or "he rrr quality resting frm the ari’ Mende ing of clamens": the English “compaction” i sage, and docs ot (lose, at ast) convey she Hen of oth prose tnd coe ponent clement, a does the Ruslan kompoutnia, (On the oes and forthe tle of Gopi article in thie colleton, “ste” oes sem to me a becer way of rendering ompoctaya) "Tex ‘ure also goes wth Eichenbaums image of "iterweving™ (epleteni) inthe ist nd second paragraphs. “Structure” renders intara, tad suggests the Baked work me whole. “Cons” Fenders potroene, and ideates the process of puting the work together "Moi (mot) and “matiation” (mottos) ae ako ry Formals coceps. A mous the baie auras uit (ete ‘uel; each work may contain many mets and th facto oF {score determining the ay In whch hey sre brought toeter i ‘he motivation (eg, the jourmey is the motivation for Dom Ouxore). Its te iniereaionship of mots and motivation that ‘specially interes Format writers on poecon, a8 We =e from the frst ewo paragraphs of Eiceabsum’s arte, 268 How Gogol’s “Overcoat” is Made by Bris Eenanbaurr 1 “tm rexruns ofa sory depends in re part on he ole payed 1 he ate pol ie, eon hr i ae 9 ‘lng pei snd ette moe oem the sion of Sex! et wht ar he psy fora fenton fing evens and iS hoetre of esmdryimportnce The pele sory, ns well fs the aovenreove as oo shar abd needs one, bss Sani sod si ners ae why determined bythe ‘Spi socesion of eis and soso of vais King. Ts ‘Strung pane th itreving of moti and hi mo {ln Toe se eof the come sry st ell 1 Based tn anedte ta ih income stone ea fe que ‘om sa ‘Win sty frst Kind of strocture reas If he plo as sulk (he ineresing of oy mens of tei motaton) {fart to ply ngaling role, te aarti one Way Sree, pus hime nthe found and seme fo be ong fhe pt tly to ntermesve inion sii devin The ‘Sour gryshitedfom he plo wich now redeed to Sininer) Yo the devices ofa; andthe ost important com ‘e's asin to pay on wordy which sometimes soon 12 ‘eine more thn ple pu sd soit Gv ine smal eutoes,Comi efi ae acted y the mane a wick the Sheep presente, Thorfor for sy fe ype of tare, iti pel these apparel etal sete troop {he sama which ove to be Inportant—so mech so tha tiny ae removed, te sacre othe ry fa apart: Here wo Kind of omic sa ua be tinguished (1) tat wh ort (2) tn wich erodes. The it cone to joke, pls o9 ‘meeing cts oe mend inodesdevces of eral mir and ‘vl gest n te form of speily deve com area Monday based on sounds, expcow sangemess of 5. Indo on The tnt cute the mpresin of a8 even 109 of (0For detnoe of sar se th ingaduton andthe ae by cosh is cen 269‘pec; the second often sens to ke concealing an ator, 0 that the saz here fecomes 2 kindof plajacng, and the ruts ‘sdetermined no by the spe nkage of one comic pode with voter, but by sem of atulted phon estes of aint Ende Many of Gogol sores, or individual sections of thm, oer Inerstng mater for analy ofthis kindof sks, Stricture, in Gogol, is no determined by plo, hx plots ae lays sca. Rather, thee opt st al, tony some come sustion (end fometines even that not at al come el), tering, ws ‘wee, merely am pets o eet for the elaboration of comic eves, Thus, "The Nose develops out ofa single nde reat inthe form ofan anecdote; Mariage and The Inspector General als grow out of parte ston whch itl dotnet change ‘Dead Sout x cosrated by the simple accuulaton finda ‘scene which are ued aly by the tae of Chicka. We know ‘tht Gogol fet cramped by the azcesity of always having sme thing resembling a ple. According to PV. Aanenkov: "He sad that for any story to be sacl, all te author had to do was ‘sre a room and a see that were fame im." In eter to Pushkin in 1835, Gogl wrote! "Do mea faver snd give me a Plot of some kind, | dont care wether it's fay or mot Tog ‘a purely Russian stor... Do me a favor and give me plot id bea feeact comedy in thing fat and—I swear—fonier ‘han the dev!” He offen ass peopl to send him anecdotes. For instance, be wrote Prokopoich in 1887: "Ask Jules [re Annen- ow] especialy to write me, He hae something to we about ‘Something funny must have happened is te ace” ‘On he oer hand, Gogo was ated fr his seca sil in read- ing his own works aloud, as many of his contemporaries att NV. Ga Roe eo 8 et Litre verona, onto Propo on uy 257 Nay akan Pkapnch {Gigs rtm of ts rn hy ‘Reh, it Fin tres al as the inate Te re op, Alcan Drag. Balt T sho we wy pt of ie oy wah ar amen Sse Comte Ur" CA Cog v ioe om 80 ‘re vipat Moco, 06h p59) 270 > “Two major dees cin be Senin ere eer a ebanc-tike, lamatory se, of spel manscr of ming things outa time ole, which nonetheless sever sone ie the wy ars Fender is parts at we know from Turgenet.* There fs well sown sory of EL Panyerssbow the tine Gog asteisbed Tv mins by taking wh a rape sich rom onary eo Neston to ang fhat at ist is belng and he soto ues ret appropit ot wore lan for teal And ms Pace D. A Olen eps was a mas f the at of reading aloud: not only did he ‘rate each word isnt bt he often veaeé eon lon thereby hing his language verity and) making his ene aber the ste! shading of thought. {remember bow he bean in mmf and rater spurl vole "Bat ty ope poverty aeaye poverty And aw ene again we Td ure nthe backwater oct gan we ave stumbled foam ouofthe-way pace" Afr these words Gogo raed is Seo spy, toned ack his Bai, and went on, But aow 2 ood ad tnspeal ore: “Yet wha a ackwat, what ano ‘takeway pace!” Folowing which e tepan the mapnicnt ‘Shserpdon et Tnteikor's vlogs fi Pat? of Dead So Stic cme ou the way Gopal ead ia if ha een writen Inacera metr Above all was struck bythe exteordaany meow ony of is anunge. Hee Tpereved wis wn Cleft ose Gagl nd made of hose lel mums for grass and lovers that he had so penakingy collected. Apprenyhe ‘rod sometimes pati some sonorous word ist forthe Tarmonton eet 1.1. Panayov characterized Gogls manner of reading lows: Gogo wat an ismiabe reader. Among today's men of eters, ‘Stray and Pim ae conldred th best readers oftheir satan nn dy et teat eee DG eer, cet» sec ate et hdd Re ate CSRS eos ne Se tt mera ml nn” Ree te Avis Shay (i) 3 anen work. Ostovity reas witout any dramatic eet, th ‘he preset simpy imaginable yet e gives cach character ‘he proper shading: Psemsty zea Ike an actoe he act ot his play oto speak, in he fading... In Gogots manaer of realng bere was something muda between thse two Hl He read more dramatealy than Ostrovsky and with much rater simply than Pie.” ven when dcsted, Gogol would put on a kind of ps formance P.'V. Ammen wer Opening his aotcbok before hin, Nikolay Vasivch would become completely engrved in it and. would begin ican in'e measted abd solemn maser, wih such fig Ind such expressiveness thatthe cepts of het ylume of Dead Sous took on 8 special coloration In my memory. Ie wat lke the calm, even ow af inspieation tat asuly comes from ‘he profound contemplation ofa sbject, NV. wold patiently ‘ai Torte teach up with i, abd he would then go 08 vith anew sentence inex the same tone of vie, saaed with concentrated feeling and thought. 1 semeisber that ‘Gopals sition never reshed sich emoiona ntry sn this pasage [he desepion ef Piyush’ garden), yet all he naturales of his art was presen. Gogol even ot up trom Ns char and he accomponted his dation wit a proud Such accounts ladcate that the basis of & Gopstian text i ‘acy and that iis made up of the actual cement of peech and ized emotions. Even moe. this shar hat 2 tendency not Simply to nate, noc simply 1 alk, but aio to repeedace words ‘with an emphasis on mimebe and aculted sounds Sentences are nf tame rman. eye, ont» an 28 ‘nd pepo cle rei asa ft si etn as Pe acer ren) just mand grates He i bet known for the novel a Thowsnd Sou (Sata dy 08). andthe pa 4 ard Lo (Gorey mh, ten NEN. Gort Rne om a! Lara ronan 21 levied ang pt together at according othe principles of lopest Sperth alone Bit more asording tothe principles of expressive hoch, whore atclated sun, mimicry, phonic gests, te Hay poco, Hence the phenomenon Of sound-semaniss in Gogol language: the phonic "enveope” of the word, of is Scouse charac, fake om sgnfiance quite independent of lope or of concrete meaning, Arteaated sound, and I acoustic ‘let sui priory am oxpenive device. Tiss why Gogol towed sumame, ven name, ete they allow fr the play of sch fdevce of atalted sound. Mowovee, BB manner of reading ‘was oftn ascompanisd by gestures (see above), and became ‘imei, a we cam als ce ts writen form, "Reports by Gopols comtemporsespolnt up tse same fsx ture For asance, A Obes Wet [A the psthoue I found the compl book and read out 3 fatter amusing gv by some getleman or othe. Alte ering it Gogol seed me: “And who do You tink this gene- fan BY What srt of character tnd special als does he hae” Teall doa Koow,” Tepe. "Wal, ll ou” Whereupon ts pin inthe most amexng ad ein! wea, codeseribe to ‘nent hi elemans piel appearane hen he ol all ‘Shout his pofsslonl carer, even acing ut eran episodes from his. I remember that T laughed ke a Innate, bat Be ts doing allthis In complete eras. Thon he cold me chat he ‘had ence shared lodgings with NM. Yazykoy (the pet) and that whe geting ready for bed igh, they would amuse thormcles by desrbing various character and thea Would think up an appropriate name foreach of them" (0. N, Smimora slo hit someting 19 say about surnames in Gog: He devote an extraordinary anoust of ateson tothe names ‘ol bi character he loked or them everywbere; they became ‘roe foun them on notin (he ame of CREM In tof Dead Soul, was found on 2 house—in the old cays there were no nomen, jas he asm of the ONDE) aNd on enboards, When be was telanng the second volume af Dea! ‘Soul be fund the name of Genera Betsey in 4 Book i PCr Vern, Goa?» han 8 The ns are herb 273‘ posnause, and Be tld on of he ends that a he sight of {nS name he are ed rasta ogee greed Gogo’ special atte toward persoal names and his in- ‘semiveness im this aren have already been noted in he schelaly Tisraue, ein Profesor I. Mandesbam’s ook: Dating trom the period when Gogol was sil cocerad with ‘amusing himself ae ist fe, ame hase obviously devied ‘wits! repad for "Tougher through ear” [ke for purely comic ‘ffect]:Pupoper, Gslpuz, Dovgechthan, Golopapenke, Seer byguz, Kizyakolupento, Pereperciths, Krutonshthenko, Pecheryya, Zaksuyguba, es. Moreover, Gopal flowed the same iat of devising amsig names even in later works: We see it In Yalcalsa’ (Mariage, Neavarhay-Koryo. (Dead Soul), Belobryasbtovs and Bashiachia (The Ororoat”), with the Iter also peoiding th basis fc a play om words Sometimes he deliberately chose names that actually exis: ‘Alaky Abakctich, Tilly, Dula, Varakhasy,Puvsakhy, aki, «In the eases he wed ames ae pans. (TAS eve hs long been employed by all comic writers. Mole times his audiences with names ike Pourcesagnee, Distr, argon, Macroton, Desonands, Vilebequn; Rabel, on innely greater extent, ses improbable combinations of sounds ‘which provoke Inger merely becase they ave onl «remote semblance c exiting words, eg Salmigondinoys, Tapgua- small, Toullogan, 2)" {oi Nice Sir (48D we dnp of Sos ier nema SE a trate Cope re, Hi 7 ‘Saya ora moda coer tS awk he a nce ORD. tr 10 Gott an ahr” ie "An Atos Contin ex the moro seat o ee work oft ae ‘shemale co cy ink ne {fom hg i ol ut ater ew th "he ‘ut "berame meee Sera and ve page her tes eal 214 And 0, plot a Gogoi fen extemal importance and ther fore isin fet satis there good season Why The Taspecior Genera ends witha mute sane for which everything that comes ‘ofore i only» preparation, at ie were. Tae seal djuamle fore tnd thecctore the steture of Gopot's works depends on the wy the shar pr together, on the play of language. His characters ts only petied poses Tey are dominated bythe mil ant ‘verplayul sito the aris himself as stagedirctor and real hero Procoig rom these general prisps of srctre aad fom the atria 09 Gogo tha we Rate ntedoced, let ew Hy 1 throw some Tt on the primary layer in the suctre of “The ‘Ovecoit” Thi sory i espsialyintering for this pe of tal bocee combines purely comic via, containing al ‘he devies of weal play that af so character of Cool, ith highly emotional, dematory syle which forms a it were, 2 Secondary layer. This secondary layer has been taken by oot roe a he primary one, andthe whole complex "Mbyrinh of Jinkages” (Leo Talstoy’s expression) as Been reduced to one pareular Idea, which has been repestd, by traditions decree, Sows to the present day, cven in scaled scholarly stds of Goga:* Gogol might have replied to ers and scholre of tit ei th same way Tolstoy did othe ces of Ana Karenina" angraulte hom and can confident tse them qs om sent Pus one que mo” eames 7a ent ma enore cecmemeates caen acterane eaee ees Seay ae aa ee ET Reerenaee mente nena eta Toe anda tata eat eee ee ae aotearoa Sohess egueterers Se katate eectgaen ora Scio maser ars nec wecemme meatier ores Sa selma meee 2751 {et us fst examine the most imporsntskse-devios separ, 'An important function i payed by puns of various Kinds, ‘special at the beginning. They are constricted either on simi Inties of sound, plays on espmologis, or hidden abs, ‘The ft sentence of the inkl deaf contained «play on sound: "In the Department of Assessment and Collections ‘SHES, Homerr, ie omeimes called the Departmen of Nonsense {nd Confections” Inthe reson drafts tentence wes aol which ‘arsed this particular play on snd even furl: "Let reader Sot thick, however, tat th name coal aetly be found In res! feet a all 1s ently a mater ere of the ctymoiogclsm- Sariy of word. In comequene, the Department of Mining an Salt Asin riled he Deparmest of Whining and Say fairs Somatimes a pent eal entre the Bead of clerk ring the period een work std the whis-game.” This parelar pan dino 20 laa he fal esta "Eiymologial pus ae purl fvores of Gogol, and co wing thom of, he often dover special sumames. Ths, AESky ‘Akakcie's fst name stared oat ae Tsherich—bu tht it isl it not provide any basis for punning. Then Gopal waver eimeen two forms—Basbmakevch (el. Sobukeich, ie Dead Sout), td. Bathmakow. Finally he stied on the fons Baste ‘machkin The shift from Tihkevch to Bashnakevih was of ume motivated by the ds to ses something on which pone ould be made andthe choice ofthe form Bashmachiin can be txphined by Cops predection for dnioute sulle, which te carsctrie of ht le, at well By the grater expecseve ower ineren ie this parce fom, im terme of alt DoT ve ad 6 ete Sve of he pun are ee ha lg eet isi he ed dept at dry “Kom paca npn npn depo pt | 2" (Gieny “The Deine of Ameen and Coleco, he ‘seri sometiney cle he Depeinest ose and Neer) She son pay erties pnt soak tl dpe ‘ont pr vt The Deperinent Mig a AE fs, The Daprtmet of Biter an Sly Sains) Ala). Phe 276 ound (.oundimiation)= produces Kind of phonle gesures* “The pn ceed ly atau ofthis name ie made more complex by com devine which make lok complely serious rom the ame alone iti already clear that t was decived from the word fr shoe (bash; but when at what tie, and ln what manner i derived from “shoe"—ot this nothing i own His father, hie pander, and evens Droherina (he pun ie inpersepehy redoced to the absurd—a common vice in Gog), and sbsluey all the Bashachkins wore ‘oot, merely butiog thes esled abou hee times 8 yea.” ‘The pun seems to be destroyed by commentary of this or-— ‘the mote so snc ute ilvant dale ihe eles) ate tro ‘ced in pssing In pot of ft the result ba complex or, a8 t ‘rte double pun The dvis of ducing something to abou tr of making 1 norlgieal eombiton of words soften met wih Goel, ba ier oly masked by ste local syacax and therfore creates the impression thats utlatentonnl—s, for trample inthe desertion of Pewovch, who “spite Being one ‘jel abl vine a completely pockmaried face, was rahe Sic ‘Sal at mending te trowers apd cont of clerk a all thee Sari,” Here the lope aberdty ie farther masked by plcthoee of datas which distract our attention ‘The pa i not Fused the contrary, i conse in every possible Way, Sd i comic ete Is therfore hephoned. Tae prey emo- Tog pun ovur rather froqucnty "miforsines ve ata oe {he path ae ot oly fala, bt ese py asta, oar 0 ll ctber cours, even tose who ive no couse to enone, nor Themis take from ayone?™* erie rom alah, ou” Buseck sed Co asa, “a” Sono bi for aning” he renaty eae it oot oui nthe folowing prt) , Toe a an the prem camer te Ecesa {erect pns econo Rea Eg ‘ie i se: oi come) aver coum or eu. Te Fe nto quem stove me coos’) amr“These are the most prominent types of jokes and pus in “The Cveron.” Let us add another device here the pom based on sounds, We have areal spoken of Gogol’ fondaes for meaningless” irs apd names; such words “Useead™ meaning sd open up posite fr = dative semantics of sound.” ‘bay Akakievch is dliberatly chose for the ako sound. ‘Signieantiy, the scene desebing hk name i sccompanied by le Title story. Inthe rough dra, Gogol nots specially Sor coarse, migh have een posable semahow to svokd the ‘requ! rpsion af th ler bet circumstance wee such that was sbltely imposible 19 do 0” The sounisemaaticn ‘of tis name i fertber prepared by 2 sees of otber ames that Sr ao especialy expesive as shoer sound and are obvcusly hose of "one for jst thi reason In the rough drat, {he season wat somewhat diferet 1) Yer, Mokky, Yevony: 2) Varkasy, Dil, Trey, (Varad, Ferm)" 3) Pevatakhy, Fameng. Inthe final version: 1) Mokky, Sou, Khonrat 2) ‘Tri, Dal, Vara, (Waradst, Varo) 3) Pasta, Vakty and Aaky.” ‘A compton of tet to lt hows that the second vs the imprenion of having ben more carly selected forthe sake ot Fe as nt ds ‘Sinan (ow. wher bn celeron to Sranomno Tanna” (sa Sed ore reese ees re ae Speciiaiedslandivereeretbersimel Seeeiaeaa ens oo pees Ree CER co ein a ee Bootes eekecste oe Sane Sent le gt roa Soo 278 r celted sound: forms a distinctive sound-stem, The comic ‘Mec ofthe sound of thee names doesnot pend on thei ing mapa! (onusualaes nlf eanoot be comic), but rater o the ‘ey the Selection sae: is Ngly monotenous quality prepares the comic name of Akaky, ang even moe, Akakevch, which i Conlantion ARaky Aleevch actully sounds Ike ick tame, mich coneels& meaning dependent cn sound. The comic ict further nes hy te fat tht te ames reesed by the mother remain wii the same pnealestem. The rest of thi is ap lmao in aroused roond-—e pon gesture.” Sill another pusage in "The Overcoat” Ineestng in this respectibe ane where Asks Akakievih's appearance is being lsenbeds “And son certain deparent there worked ce {ain clerk a cle who could note called very rematkable— ‘hors i ste, rater pockmarked, with mer reds hae, ‘ren rather noses, wh a smash bald patch atop hit hen, ‘ith wrinkles on both cheeks andthe sot of complexion that it Shown as hemortholal" The last word placed hat is phonic ftrotre acquires 2 special emotional and expesie free, and is pevened sa comle plone geste independent ofthe meaning Tele prepare, on the one hand, by the device of rhytme acre: tins and on the ober, by the Senta! endings of several words, teh noe the eat {0 catching roundmpessions.(shorish- Tedabvsmalish); the. ast woré—"hemoroidal”— therefor Sunds grndiont apd fants, ute apart fom any reference £0 meaning” Tc Goon ee ged i an on ey ‘Borst min esa” 0) he are by Zo. Stas Rant loch vert, 196 No.1, p17 "ete ei Heep srl a non "The Rain sett "eat nis tum chy acer’ eae nese) ‘So, eta. yatoat atlas "oho, neo he md ina sete nw marche po on strona EAST um hy se mcm The ee [ise penal) sat precede aie, wc a all ‘Bese Rem td ede Mage tot ony ye oer wos ‘ony eet Ens “a, att yt mewn” et 5°0hn Shne teflon “Henna abo ater he thn ‘Zogln te nesting ie Al a aman nit ete Someta ‘Ro sora eh ne oe bh wh 219Interestingly enough, this sentence was much simpler inthe rough drat: “And 30, inthis deparnent thee worked 9 clerk, ‘who was not very atentve—shor, bald, rater pockmsked, Yeah completion, even rater acarsighed.” Ia al form, {his sentence tnot 29 much = decripion of Akay’ appears 25a reproduction oe by means of arculted sound The words fe chsen nd placed ina certain order, sot i accordance Wilk ‘ny principe of characterdelneton, But in accordance withthe Prin of sound-emaats, The reader's lanes ej remaasBane (eink nothing is more dia han to make daring o€ Goga’ eres al that remain ofthe ene seateace In one's memory the impression of w certain order of sounds, which clint ia resounding word vitally devoid of opel mesning yet extaord- ‘any expressive a soe arulted Sound “hemonhoia Hee D. A. Obolensky’ ebservaton Is ene 1 the poat— ‘hat Gogo semeimes “Would putin some sonorous word js fr ‘he harmonious eflec.” The sentence gles the imprestion of ‘ng whole and complete in isel’—e stem of phone gestores ‘wich has boen erated By the careful choice of words. Therefore these words are vitally hoe perceied a loll unis of sex ‘bles of concep: they have bee broken down and reuembled according f0 the pncple of language based on sound. Tae ic fone of th remarkable elects af Gogals language. Some of is femtenser function a= phon lseron,* so prominently do ‘culated Sound and aus stad out ia ther. The most com ‘monplie word sometimes introduced in such away thse the Tegal or soncrte meaning recede, tu he semantics othe ound stands ou, anda simple term takes onthe sppearnce of ick ‘me: “he came upon a pliseman who, is halberd placed beside him, was shaking tobacco out of a orl into a ealused fst.” (Fr *Maybe seeing as how is come into fashion, wel even fasten the collar wit sver-plated cusps." This represcals sn bviows lying with aria sand (aatove malp tat «merit © ceeaon of hese Tet eample Sorat ue oe og anon herb t Inmind te end alent ohh om nee ‘aie nd nase sn noe “ray eae he ‘hetemese Iie ew exp the say of ered Cp ‘Scripnts et) welt the Rein “dt ode” ian © Sse lend) oma 280 > ‘Thee is m0 neural evel of language in Gogol, no Topical binging fgeter ef simple pyshoiogizal or concrete concepts into oninary sentence A sgh intend intonation alterates ‘vith tis mimetic and atulted sound and gives the Setences tei shape, Ggors works ae fequenysrctred on thi alter tion In ie Overcoat” thee is suking example of an ifona- tinal eet of his Kind, highly emotional pec of deciamatn ven during those hours when the aay Se. Peterburg hes ro completly dak an when te stir popelation fees fie dno and cents ach st he he cen scoring tots uly end is ow whine, when have led rested from he satching ot pen ad the bo the ofc, fom {Sing wo tne ow stl oopaton and thst of other opt om alte tks that ress man wing Sgn Fim even beyond wht St ess, when the cles ae acening wo doce hi remaiig ime perre some, more {rely rth of ote than; sone fo he see, here fo tein eam nd ty ie hats oe aa evening png compliments sme race il ‘Gomar faite see ole some—and ths happens ns froyenysmply vt flowelere the fourth or thd forint anal ore, i Pal then ad with crain petesons fo fsbo, with = lamp and poe oer fue objec wih has cee many sciees of doer. and Cresingyoutin a nord vena hit Hine won al he clerks ‘Gevtctecd abou te anal aprments ot that fends 10 ay stray une of win ping tex om gases a le Ing onstopeck susan demwing the smoke eat of on Send pips, and wile he cars te beng eal, eng Swe pee of gop which as led down rom high socey ‘eb that» Rersan can nver rest onde ay ceum~ aneay er even, when tore i nothing to 0, repening the NEliing sory about the comsrndng eer who ws td ‘ur te tl onthe howe f Fulenes state had been it oe “This norsous pers, which imately bul he notion up to pita enomons ton, seed ith esse sin ‘ics in wo ven daring the ne when everore wes Pet EeGhening hams, Aisky Alakeich allowed hin? no SKeSon The rer ise sae of comic party bawecn the 21Intonation ofthe syntx, which bens in mad and mysterio ‘vay and bls upto pat of reat tensen, andthe ays ‘esoed semana. This impresion further heightened by the choice of protic word, which seem © be delberstay at ‘variance wit th ature of he symtan: prety ite as the tae- tive gir the sipping of fa from gases along with one-Kopeck Tibet, and ally the story of Falone’s statue of Peter the Great that throw in as a afterthought. This contradiction or ‘rp acts upon th words thomsen sch 9 way that they ‘come’ strange, enigmatic, unfanifia-souncing.stkng the far, ae I they had oon damerered or invented by Gogo for the fre tine “The Overcoat” cntsinssnoter kindof dedamatory se as wel which msker sh nexpesedintrsion ato the genera syle {Bat i Based on wordplay: the entmenta aod melodramatic. ‘This is the famous "humans" pasapr, which as enjoyed such celebrity in Rusia ieerary eels tha i sno longer ee {hry sti dvie et as ecome the "idee of the ene soy. "Leave me alone, Why do you insult me” And there was some= ‘hing Stange ia these ors and the tae of vik in which they ‘were ater. Somediag that roused compassion could be heard in them, that one young man, who had been receay ap oimed. And fora Tong tine thereafter, the shorsh gure af The lite cle with the tald-psich op his head would appear ‘fre Bin, ini happiest moment. In these heart-rending ‘od others ould behead And the poor sung man would ‘ry is face in is ands" te This passage doesnot eit nthe rough drat; it wasp in Inter, and undoubsely Belongs 0 the Secondary layer, whse elements of emctioal dedamation give Bester compet fo te pay eect le of th egal vier gent me rms tue that he doe nt know ho to dw dierent» and, being fees meaeg mec moma tia ae Scie Satur cape Sea heb 9 ie NS ‘on that rene mo canal sey, there flint 8 nd of Pisces Diane aes Heel aes SEE MEG pated Sasa 282 ‘Gogol gives hi characters a “The Overcoat ie to sa, and, asi always the cate wth him, tle Language i fashioned in a ‘ee speci way, Despite individu diferences, aver ves he Iprenion of Beng everyday language, a8 does, for satan, in Ontrovsy (there very good reson hy Gogol read his woes Ina diferent mange): t's alvay styize. Alaky Alakiveh's Tngunge act of the penerl sate of Goglin Tangnape snd is mime, atclaed sound: # cowstrcted ina special way fnd gamabed wih commentary: "Ke apst bo noted tht ARK ‘Alakivich expesedhimel forthe ‘as putin reposition, ‘verb, and at butt Tes, pareles of ain that have Auoucly no meaning” Petovieh's lengge,valke the jerky triculton of Akaky.Akakieve, Is condensed, tes, voy nd tts by way of cota Tecoma no aces of very Ing: {Thora ella Intonation i nappropeate to ei jst as “onrved™ and arti ae the Inaguage of Akay ARabievich himself Asis always the cate nth Copel (CE. "OU-Fashioned. Landowners” “The Two Wine” Deal Souls, and the ys). these phates stand ouside time, outside the momeat—they a6 Imotiatesy freer so: thy ae anguage tat might be spoken by poppe Gopas own langusge—bie stax jst 8 conse to. In ‘the Overcon” this az sind a special brand of ofan fat mave chatter, “Unnecewary” deta pop up in the most ‘atualooking way: "On ber night stood tbe godfather, moe xcleat many Ivan Twanvich Yerebkin, who worked a ote of the head clas in the Senate, and the godmother, the wile of a pike ofc and s woman of ra vitss, Ara Semyeno%na Beloryurkova” Or the star can become verbose and faint intone! “Of core, not much sould be sid abou his allo, bat ce tis already au etabsbed practice in oven to deseribe cach ‘rectly, tee nothing #0 be done—lets have Pesrovich fave too.” What Is come here i Ut after such a pronounce Inent the “sharacernaton” of Pevovch i exhousted by the ‘tsence to his drinking on every ollday indiscriminately. The ‘She device ir repeted with pnd ois wife: "Since weve 10% Ienoned the wie it wil be uteeary to say couple of Words sees eS i om ie es we 283shout her to; but wnfortanately, very litle was known about ber ‘except that Petrovich di in fact havea wie, and that she even tore a bomet no a kesh bur It would Seem that she ould ot bos of beauty at easton soldi ofthe guard woud pee Ieneth her one’ when they encountered he, witch thi tates, and give vent 1s carous sound” "This shaz syle especially marked ie cae sentence: “Just where ‘he clerk who tad inated him lve, we an sa, ufortoatly, ‘our memory has beg play real wicks ene an everything in Petersburg al the house td recs Rave goten so modded ‘med up in our head tat is exemely difielt to get anything ut fit in proper ode.” If wo adé wo this al the numerous ex presi Ike “some. or eter,” "unfortunately ite is Known "nothings known, i don't remember" ley thee weet 991 sal, the impeession ofa device which rates the ison that te ‘worst whole 9 real roy, relted at fac but noe known {othe areator in chery small deta. He readily dieses om the bale story and tster in loin remarks such 9: "hey Sy that"—for example, tthe begining, wen healing aot {he pion made y some poe elit ("1 dont remember from what town”) also about Bashmachiin’s ancestry, thet of he hore on the Falcone statue, the ular counllor who was made 2 lector ad preseaied to partion of special room for Kimi hich he call the "presence chamber,” and 50 eo. It wel Known that the plot of "The Overcoat” deed from an “lice Hor” ahoat a por clerk who lst gun for which fe had ong ‘hen sving up "The aneadote was the germ’ the wonder story ‘The Overoa "PV. Aanekow wes Is ocnal fle ‘was "The Tle of a Clerk Who Sle Orecont” snd in he rough “rts the general manner af the sa marked by aa ven gree ‘ization In imfacon of earls. cater aad informa "T Felly dont remember his ume”; “deep dows he war 2 vey Kindared Beas,” et In te Baal version, Gogol toned down eres ofthis sot sme ett, and embelishd the sory wih Pons and anscdtes, bat he as introduced a dsiamatory se, Tereoy making the orignal src layer much more cole ‘The reat sa grotesua, in which the mimicry af luger alter. ates withthe mimicry of sorme—th resting the peson [00% V. Gol v Rie om Hsp” iemarve spain, oon, 6, Se ie 5 Chey be re cle 284 . ing a prforminc, with a pre-establshed oder of gestures and u Let us ow flow tis tention throwgh he ory wih the im of dicorering the base metbos by which the india devices are linked Benesta this Tnkage, 07 texture, les the haz, whose ‘racers have been dened above. it has brea shown that thi ska ent a naeton tien msi nd a dean thon ota feler of aor who ides Behind the piste text of “he Overcoat” bu, rae, performer, ast comic acer. ‘Waist then i the eonaio forth role? ‘At the very beponing of the story there isa calison a bres, ‘an abe change in one. The fetal seduction ("Io he de pactnnt of) sen bres of, nd instead of the ele manner tthe story, wich might be expected fll, there comes ‘tone of exaggerate ration and tccasm. AS rst We got the impression of provision: te ala anes of naan ‘model ves way to vstour digresions. Nothing bab 8 Yet een sid, bt there i sendy anecdote, od in 2 casual ed Dried manner (" don't remeber from which town,” "of some romantic work oF ole"). Bu this i allowed by what looks tke ‘etun the tone ia which the story Begins: "Ard wo, oa cern ‘kporment there mocked iteia sles” Homer hit rump tion of the epic manne i nmeditely interop bythe sentence ‘hat was dseused above—oae that 0 contrived, so sggesive ‘scout tat nothing malas of the actual sk Gogo starts ying i oe: snd for rounding f this whimsical and sing ‘hoes of words wid ooe that Is pandoweoundng sed vitaly ‘meanings ("hemorchodal”), be eis this episode with a mi Iie pet: "Nothing can Bo dove abot i i all he fault of. the Se Petersburg climate” 'A penona ane, wih all the devices ofthe Gopoian saz, be= comer embeded in the ory and takes on the character of a [Beg les or grace. This niet propars the eanion 1s the pun on the surname and the story ofthe bh and pe of ‘Akay Akakivch The semen of fst that roend of thi ory (Cte the way, ten, that Absky Akio came 10 be. ‘And thi i the way al hit come be") crete the peso ‘hac the arrade form is being played wi; there is good reson 285why they contain a mild joke, which makes them look Uke an “ward repetition" The "torent of gies” Nows on, sn the tas contings inthis tone ht up o the entonan "Bt he Od fot ansver siglo word,” where the comic sa i reddely ‘ntuple by 2 sentimental and meledeamase diresion, which nian the chirstertie dees ofthe sentimental se. With this device, Gop ssxseds in rusing "The Overeant™ from the level as tnple anecdote to that of = grotesque. The sentimental snd inteionallyensopbistieated contest of tis passage (io tis ‘eepat the protege concider wih he selma) i convey by mean of sei intensifying intonation, which i Solemn and motional (nated by the introductory “ands” andy the frtenlar word der: “Aud there was something strange. ‘And fora long ne therefier«-wouldsppeas Belov hi ‘And ia these heartening Word. And he would bury he face ‘his hands «and may times in ir fe thereat he would Shudder"). The el someting tat resembles the device fof "hei ision,"whea te actor suddely seems 1 ssp out fof role and begins wo speak lke fel person (ct, in The Inspector General: “What ace you auging st? You've tanghing at yourselves: or the celebrated “It dreary wor, my: deat "a the end of “The Two Fans.” We are accustomed to ‘aking thi pssage Btrly: an atti vice which tanlorms comic story ino a gresque and pe= pres the “anasto” ending ir seen 8 since aterventon ot ‘tbe bear” Graning tht sach a ception i, in Kara's ‘wor "simp ofa” srantng tht the read’ ae may Ne chaeming intl sch mavete in eholchip repent ay thigg but tsa, became revels jos how incompetent Scholarships Suh aa lcerpreaton destroys the ene rere nd the eo arts design of "The Overcoat” Proceeding from {he base proposton that ns wrk of art no sng sentence can, Invand f il, be a mete “velecton” of the autor personal feting, but rather is always a consivt and performance, [Th la eae hos lan an in gi THe ‘pen Gop hve er arb (at snl nig ol at cla ‘Septminey the feos of he hae): "Pain sb | Pees ‘Sky Alot im vox tan bro praia me Sa The eis inl ye pe ri “Tt So 286 2 anno and have no right to ee anything otc than an expe Stasi device ih sich’ n peas Te Sotooary prowdre of ‘Mening Some gen stent wih he soments o tb we “Spjetolg fae a schol. th ese be mind of he seit ast am vio espenener yas mons ave reais Se mus romain oie te Yousef wat be ecu The work Tarts aye someting ttm taone, cones tot ely ant tr aio afi, the bs ses the won. ‘Terre erento no on ere be cy nce forte Iotoston of empl rect of hefner el The ales find pally of oqat eve in (hb pesape tom “The Oreo” come ou parcsnywll nthe wae bs the ty melodrama cadence fe vnc, wan opiate ‘einen mann tht sews fo efor be grotesque: "And {Be poor young man wos Sry Bt face nr Hans ad may {ines bse terete h wld shor on seg bow uch Ian thece ih ma, how much rt cusenss les Hide nt scnd nd eeuetted wo miner so, Low! een ina mun whom the mold oeopis a beng wale and toot The mcloeamaic epi we by way of cones wth the coms shes Theo sil the wor-las inthe Tater, thet, ‘TTemune tbe mow coon and janie te mane wn Seonbtied seimenaiam mst be tbe dvi wich ste {Become pecormnce A pane ttn presented «Stout ‘econ wold ot hate posed conto and wold ave teen capble of mmeily Inpating» greets gall) To the etieeore,lnshretore mows th inedily {Sowing tis eye, Gogal erm fo what has gone before fis tothe pono! syle aaa then opal no earcts ‘hat, wil fe such "Only he id be note at Be was sottn he mide ol, bt after nthe mie the te ‘Mt deebing bow Alsiy Aleve abd ops ol wien isonet bes to "tl ep” Gogol agin ima no 4 Aecamatery sje bu ot omer eet Ka ven Cong thence weg Her inte ee of ame rege ‘ute td peur seo intomatos ope, wach feadnly bois up aan immeely Tong pid, and then fled ina oerparely sme ay Ta pe yt et te ees bun seas tarey between the prolonged fhe Cvben vv wien. when") abd he ede, bo 8 des 287ot occur as nde the very cole of wore and expression nti= mates. The disp beeween a Solem and series istonation and the acel meaning ofthe sentence is agin employed at 4 ro ‘eoque deve. Ths new “dseeptlon” on the prt of the comic ‘cor followed naturally by new play on words—the “coun- Sors"hich rings the fist at of "The Overcoat” to a elon “Ths flowed onthe peacefl ie of « man. "at 30 oe “The pater established nthe Ast pat, whersty «purely sncedoa az I inernonen wih delamaton of seldcimit ‘salem Kin, i fact deceive forthe ete exe o "The Overcoat” a a grotesque. The otesqe ile requires st ofall tat thesution o event Being desribed shoald be enone i fantastically small world of aia experiences (sacha a “Ol shined Landowner” and "The Two Wane"), thet tbe cont pletely oat from realty at lage and fom the tre falas of the inne ie and, seoed that th should be done ne with a ect or scl intent, Bat rather to make i posible to play ‘sith ety, to break up its elements apd space them rel, 30 {hat ‘normal coreladons ad associations. (psyeolopicl and logical) wl prove inoperative ia this newly coestcted Nord, tnd any ie ca grow o coloil proportions. Ie only ithe enter of such ele thit the faintest Ticker of eine fclng an take on the appearance of somthing carhsbakine “The thing that Gogo ound of vale nthe soy about the clerk wns prskely this antsy Lied and se-enclosed complex of though, fekngs, an desis, within whose ntrow soni: the aris is at erty to exaggerate dtals and vllte the normal proporsons ofthe worl. "The Overcoat” I ald out slong p= [Say these nc The point cernly not Akaky Akskivchs “isgnicane" oa Seton on "humanenes” toward o's st ‘reten, but rather, Gogo aby, once be bs oated te ie ea ofthe story oem realty at lags, join eoeter wht ‘anno be ome, to exaggerate what sl td iminsh what it coorty tte, whore not tal da a bee he ‘er foe reunion coupand” es, ON) Engh lyme Tench Shp A ee Et ic oe i ot ie ae we 288 rea.” Ina word, he i able to play wth all he noms an avs ‘the inner eae rely And th exacty how he proses ‘Atay Akskivch's fet word ( infact suck a tem Pet ‘miei bere) no nsiniennt (hit wtion has ben incodaced ‘by ovr mive and senimentl historians of erature, who have been mesmerz by Belin) bat fantasti Timed end his ery om “ln Bi copying he acmenow sow evereared () and [peasant world of hit own. --- Outde hs coping nothing seemed (Genet foc him “Ths wold bas own laws, i own proportions. cording to ‘he li ofthis won new overcoat proves o bea grand evnt— nd Goga supplies a roteque formation: “he dil partake of Suite aourehment, for Bis thoughts were consaniy on the ‘Sorat on ofthe fare overcoat And agains "TE wa a8 he ‘rer no longer alone but mere accompanied by some apreable Inspmect who had consented to Walk the rood of ite with hin, ‘This hlpmeet was none oer tua the new vera, with is wart. padding snd its eordy Ving.” Small deals stand out sch os Petoric oenay whch “hic nd hard ara toetae sb” fi snul-bor “vith the portrait of Some geal or other on it— Ist which general nobody ke, beau the spot whee the face ‘sed fo be hal Been poke throsgh with finger and then pasted ‘over ith «equate ple of pape." tiv su bet ee ac eco, est deo Ot ed haan comeqenar’ Cu Fao Lado ser he rdsion snl teal by Meahkonty Sn he peat colt tin te (ean casing ceo of he ih th ute he worl (Sinn dean COI Fahne “aston ie is de See rough awh hl at ete Seep o0 soe, iturin ee ey: ang erect ssn hs ‘NER pe i ay eh ony ws SSS ya sao vr ei nd aon ewe a 289bs “This grotesque hyperboleson unl, st belo, aginst the background of the comic sas, wih pans, Ramorovs words snd cexprsion,atcodtey, eta They dd not buy marten Becnne ‘relly woe 0 expensive; fread they slated the Best ca for that was to be found in the sbop car that from a dstance ‘could always be ten for marten” Or: “The exact posiion and uncon ofthe Important Pesenage rein unknown To this dy. Sufce ito say that a eran Important Pesonage had ony = ey becune an Important Pesonage, but tat ul hea head been an unimporant penooage.” Or elsewhere: “They even sy ‘hata ceca ula Counclor, on being made director of some smal separate off, promptly paritoned of » special room for inset called it the ‘presence’ camber,” and staboned eckeys rit red collars and geld brad atthe door, who grasped the ance and opened it for evergone who came, ath tere wt arely enough foom in the ‘presence chamber’ for an eriaary wring table.” These are ascompaied by statements “rom the thorn the same cults which fet tthe beginning and which seems fo conceal a grimace: "But maybe be did even Think cae—efor al, you cat pti mas here (there is ind of joke here aswel fone bear i mld the way ie which ‘Akaky Akakicvich is badled generals) and ind ou everything he may be thinking” (here the anecdote is being pled With though it were quetion of el reality). "The death of Atak ASaievch a dererbe jt a grotegsely ‘i his bith te eration of coms nd tage deta ‘vith the sudden statement that “ally poor Ataky sive up the thos." with the tsiion to sundry tiles (the enumeration ths inhertance: bundle of goose ull, © gale of oil bite paper, thre pas of soaks, wo oF the batons that Bad ome Of his tose, nd the Uresing gown’ hat is already fama fo the reader"), and fall withthe coalsion stated i the pow famtiae se: “Who inked all ths, Lord enly knows: TPeonfss tat the person ting this sory didnt even tke ony Ines ins mate” And hens By now the rl fr te {So fo nig ment del we ain a etn uta coe Ec) Sg, as now ie pay ewe Thar heat encom of Cop eae 290 ; depiction of such asad sone—comes a new melodrama dec ‘maton wish tikes 8 back to the “bumane” passage: “And St Fetrburg went on bout Akaky Alaklevich, nf he had never Tred there stall A crete disappeared and vanished who had tren defended by nobody, wo was deat 1 nobody, of interes 10 body, who sever stricted the atenion even of a natura, ttho lets no opportunity lip tof an ordinary By pin and ‘eamine i hugh the miroocope te “Tae ending of The Oreroa?” % a effective apotheosis of the rotesaoe someting ike the mat cee ia The Inspector General ‘The nawe scholars who have sce the whole pont of the story i ‘he huss” pstage stop in Deildemeat before his unexpected ‘Sut umccounabe inrsion of "omantisn” into "wea" Gogst himself har given them some cacourapsment: “Bat who ‘Sout have imagined that swan not ll hee watt tl shout ‘Akay Alki, that e was destined to go oo ing and making the presence ft for afew day after hs death, as though he were teing rewarded ors ile that had gs uaneied by anyone. But Sit happened, and oar Hite sory wnxpecedy hata fantastic ding” Act, thie ending no moe fase or “romantio™ than the tory a whole On the contrary up 0W we bave hat tal groteque fonany, which was rendered 85 playing with ‘eal here the story emerge nto a wodd of more normal con- opis an events, ba everyting sweated spying wit ana “The fnow "dscepon” «ove ofthe groteque in reverse: “The ghost suddenly looked acund, an, coming 16s sap asked ‘What you want?” bradshing a Bt of ase you don't set ‘venom vig nen. The policeman said "Nothing and immediately farmed back Tht ghost oweter, was ch tale and had enor now msiaches, and, turing BB steps apparently toward the Dbuktoy Bede, vankbed complately ito the darknes.” "The anes hats developed in the ending leads away from the "pte ston” with ts melodramatic epiodes. The pusly Comic star of the beginning reams, wih al devices, Along ith te mustachioed phos. be cate grotesque also dsappesrs Tht darkner, reacving it In Inughter Kalesakow vanishes ie thissame way in The Iapetor Geer andthe mut scene aks the ations back to the bepang ofthe ply.Gogol" n Slavonic and East Exropean Review, 10%, 1952, 476 405, The Ruslan text of the presest article under the tide ‘Sin Gog” speared i te ound Soemenne spit (Paris), uxvu, 1938, 172-195. we Pa 204 About Gogol’s “Overcoat” by Omiry Chhevshy 1 Dots avrTuino more aed t te wten about “The Overcoat”? ‘We have all beet familiar with this sory since our schooldays i ie in ile, we have happened to rend books and aries oo ‘Gopal they Reve old ws the tae od tings, ears of wheter they have bee the ouigrowth ofa “toc proach,” which is typi of Resin ee and Russian trary history, or the Wen of he Formas: hat "The Overcoat” represents one sage In Gogo's development inte dietion of reals, tet i theme isthe poor clerk, one ofthe “esled and injred”—s theme {teequntlysaborated In more than a ned Rasan stories fete, ex in "Poor Fol" “A Faint Hear” and ober eaty ‘rons by Dostoeveky, by Gogol hinself in "Diary of « Madan, (nt by Venbergs "He wan a stlar cower and she was = sera’ dang" Prope vu loeate the main ies of “The Overcoat” in the tamoos Spat" pasnge whic fallow ater Akaky Alahevh's Fenton fo the tang of his fellow clerks: "Leave me alone. Wy o you ist ‘And thre was someting strange ia these words snd te one foie in whieh they wore sere. Something that aroseé Sompanin coud be Rend them, so hat one young. man, Sito had been resnly appointed and who, following the ex tipi of the oes slowed eet to tes Bim, saenly ‘Sopped es if eat tothe hear, aad from tat moment on every ‘hing seemed to cbange and present elf to him ina diferest Tih Some unseen foes turned him away fem is clleages, th wom he had become sequantd becoase he had fakes (hem for dotat and we-beed people, Aad for # Tong sine ‘Hereaferthe humble cle wih the bald patch lop Ns ead woul eppese before bin n his happiest moments, spake (Pye taper nbs (0-908) wi a weer of gnu ve ‘one eee Sy ha prec tr at 295