The main idea of the overcoat. Overcoat

Essay

The story of N. V. Gogol "The Overcoat" is included in the cycle "Petersburg Tales", which, in addition to "The Overcoat", included the following stories: "Nevsky Prospekt", "Nose", "Portrait", "Carriage", "Notes of a Madman", " Rome". The first draft of The Overcoat is called The Tale of the Official Stealing the Overcoat. It is narrated in an anecdotal manner with a clear focus on comic effects. In the final version of the story, the comic effect is weakened, the author's irony and the drama of the situation give the fate of the unfortunate Akaky Akakievich a tragic shade.

The plot of the story is traditionally traced back to the anecdote cited in the memoirs of P. V. Annenkov about a poor official who lost his gun. Compositionally, the story is divided into four parts: a story about the circumstances of the birth and baptism of the hero, about his service in the department, about the deplorable state of his overcoat, a fantastic story about the dead Bashmachkin.

In the first part of the story, the portrait characteristic of the protagonist, Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin, has a great semantic load. There is something pitiful in his appearance: “short, somewhat pockmarked, somewhat reddish, somewhat even blind, with a slight bald spot on his forehead, with wrinkles on both sides of his cheeks…”

From birth, the unfortunate Bashmachkin was unlucky: when the boy was chosen a name, the most ridiculous names came across on the calendar: Trifimy, Dula, Varasakhy. In the end, he was named after his father - Akakiy. When the child was baptized, he, as if anticipating his bitter fate, “cried”, “made a grimace”.

Bashmachkin is an "eternal titular adviser", all his life he has been rewriting papers. The monotony, the routine of this work, devoid of creativity, does not bother Bashmachkin at all: “Outside of this rewriting, it seemed that nothing existed for him.”

The hero’s evenings are boring and monotonous: having come home from work and having a quick dinner (and not noticing the taste of food), he “takes out a jar of ink and rewrites the papers brought home.” Moreover: if there was no work, Bashmachkin "shot on purpose, for his own pleasure, a copy for himself ..."

In the first part of the story, the collective image of bureaucracy plays an important role. Officials in Bashmachkin's department are heartless people. The downtroddenness, the worthlessness of the poor, lonely Bashmachkin, so miserable, does not arouse any sympathy in them. They “laughed and sneered at him, as long as their clerical wit was enough, they immediately told him various stories compiled about him ...” They poured papers on his head, “calling it snow.”

If the short background of the unfortunate Bashmachkin (the story of his birth, choice of name and his baptism) is made in the tradition of an anecdote, then the story about the department and Bashmachkin's fellow officials removes this comic effect. The phrase of the unfortunate Akaki Akakievich - "Leave me, why do you offend me?" - full of drama. In these words, “something was heard, bowing to pity, that one young man, who had recently made up his mind, who, following the example of others, allowed himself to be laughed at, suddenly stopped, as if pierced, and since then everything seemed to have changed before it seemed to him in a different light.

But the life of Akaky Akakievich is changing dramatically. The "strong enemy" of all Petersburgers - the "northern frost" - forced the unfortunate Bashmachkin to think about buying a new overcoat, because his old one had become unusable: "The cloth was so worn out that it was see through, and the lining was spread." But buying a new thing for the “little man” Bashmachkin is a whole event, fraught with great financial difficulties. So Gogol's work includes another theme - the theme of a little man crushed by poverty. Meager wages do not allow Bashmachkin to make this purchase. He “drooped completely in spirit” and thought: “How, in fact, with what, with what money to make it?”

The comic effect, tangible in the story of the birth, baptism and choice of the name of Akaky Akakievich; about those "misfortunes" that now and then rained down on his head (either a "whole cap of lime" falls on him from the roof, then a chimney sweep will touch and black out "all of him, etc.) completely disappear. Gogol ruthlessly talks about those hardships , which his hero went to for the sake of a new overcoat: he stopped drinking tea and lighting candles in the evenings, began to walk very carefully through the streets, “almost on tiptoe”, so as not to quickly wear out the soles, etc.

The tailor Petrovich, who sewed Bashmachkin's overcoat, is the only person who took part in the fate of Akaky Akakievich. The new overcoat became a real holiday for the hero Gogol. On this day, he went to work as a holiday.

But a misfortune happened: at night, when Akaky Akakievich was returning from a reception arranged by colleagues, his overcoat was stolen from him. Of course, for the hero Gogol, who suffered so much hardship for the sake of buying a new overcoat, this is a real shock, a disaster. On the part of the authorities, Akaki Akakievich, instead of help and sympathy, met with complete indifference. Moreover, the “significant person” was indignant at the impudence of Bashmachkin, who demanded a search for the thief: “Do you know to whom you are telling this? Do you understand who is standing in front of you ... ”The death of the unfortunate Akaky Akakievich is not so much a consequence of fever, but of human indifference and cruelty.

General concern about rank for Gogol is a kind of global social law. It is disastrous for all people standing at any step of the social ladder: the authorities made the “significant person” cruel, indifferent, and the “little man” Bashmachkin was depersonalized by the humiliating role of the “eternal titular adviser”, turned into a downtrodden creature whose spiritual world is terrible.

The last part of the story - fantastic (the story of a dead man taking off his greatcoat from the general) - also has a great ideological and semantic load. It can be regarded both as a kind of moral warning to "significant persons", and as a sad conclusion of the author. In real life, the harsh Russian reality, the “little man” does not have the opportunity to declare himself, his rights, demand attention and respect for himself, and therefore the writer chooses a fantastic ending for his story.

Other writings on this work

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N. V. Gogol is considered the most mystical writer in Russian literature. His life and work is full of secrets and mysteries. Gogol's story "The Overcoat" is studied at literature lessons in grade 8. A full analysis of the work requires familiarity with the work and some biographical information of the author.

Brief analysis

Year of writing – 1841.

History of creation- The story was created on the basis of an anecdote with a similar plot.

Theme- the theme of the "little man", a protest against social orders that limit the individual.

Composition- the narrative is built on the principle of "being". The exposition is a brief history of Bashmachkin's life, the plot is the decision to change the overcoat, the climax is the theft of the overcoat and the clash with the indifference of the authorities, the denouement is the illness and death of the protagonist, the epilogue is the news of the ghost stealing the overcoat.

Genre- story. A little something in common with the genre of "lives" of the saints. Many researchers find similarities in the plot with the life of the Monk Akaki of Sinai. This is indicated by the numerous humiliations and wanderings of the hero, his patience and rejection of worldly joys, death.

Direction- critical realism.

History of creation

In The Overcoat, the analysis of a work is impossible without a background that prompted the author to create the work. Someone P. V. Annenkov in his memoirs notes a case when, in the presence of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, a “clerical anecdote” was told about a petty official who lost his gun, for the purchase of which he had been saving money for a long time. Everyone found the anecdote very funny, and the writer became gloomy and thought deeply, this was in 1834. Five years later, the plot will emerge in Gogol's "The Overcoat", artistically rethought and creatively reworked. This prehistory of creation seems very plausible.

It is important to note that writing the story was difficult for the writer, perhaps some emotional, personal experiences played a role: he was able to finish it only in 1841, thanks to the pressure of M. V. Pogodin, a well-known publisher, historian and scientist.

In 1843 the story was published. It belongs to the cycle of "Petersburg Tales", becomes the final and the most ideologically rich. The author changed the name of the protagonist during the work on the work Tishkevich - Bashmakevich - Bashmachkin).

The name of the story itself underwent several changes (“The Tale of the Official Stealing the Overcoat”) before the final and most accurate version, “The Overcoat”, reached us. Criticism accepted the work calmly; during the life of the author, it was not particularly noted. Only a century later it became clear that "The Overcoat" had a huge impact on Russian literature, on the historical understanding of the era and the formation of literary trends. Gogol's "little man" was reflected in the work of many writers and poets, created a whole wave of similar, no less brilliant, works.

Theme

The work is structured in such a way that we trace the entire life of the protagonist, starting from the moment of birth (where the story of why he was named Akakiy is mentioned) and to the most tragic point - the death of the titular adviser.

The plot is built on the disclosure of the image of Akaki Akakievich, his clash with public order, power and indifference of people. The problems of an insignificant creature do not bother the powerful of this world, no one notices his life, and even death. Only after death will justice prevail in the fantastic part of the story - about a night ghost taking overcoats from passers-by.

Issues“The Overcoat” covers all the sins of a well-fed, soulless world, makes the reader look around and notice those who are just as “small and defenseless” as the main character. Main thought stories - a protest against the lack of spirituality of society, against orders that humiliate a person morally, materially and physically. The meaning of Bashmachkin's phrase “Leave ..., why are you offending me?

” – contains both moral and spiritual and biblical context. What the work teaches us: how not to treat your neighbor. Idea Gogol is to show the impotence of a small person in the face of a vast world of people who are indifferent to other people's grief.

Composition

The composition is built on the principle of the life or "walking" of saints and martyrs. The whole life of the protagonist, from birth to death, is the same painful feat, a battle for the truth and a test of patience and self-sacrifice.

The whole life of the hero of "The Overcoat" is an empty existence, a conflict with public order - the only act that he tried to commit in his life. In the exposition of the story, we learn brief information about the birth of Akaki Bashmachkin, about why he was called that, about the work and inner world of the character. The essence of the plot is to show the need to acquire a new thing (if you look deeper - a new life, striking bold changes).

The climax is an attack on the protagonist and his clash with the indifference of the authorities. The denouement is the last meeting with the "significant person" and the death of the character. The epilogue is a fantastic (in Gogol's favorite style - satirical and terrifying) story about a ghost who takes overcoats from passers-by and eventually gets to his offender. The author emphasizes the impotence of a person to change the world and achieve justice. Only in the “other” reality the main character is strong, endowed with power, they are afraid of him, he boldly says in the eyes of the offender what he did not have time to say during his lifetime.

main characters

Genre

The story about the titular counselor is built on the principle of the lives of the saints. The genre is defined as a story, due to the scale of the content plan of the work. The story about a titular adviser who is in love with his profession has become a kind of parable, has acquired a philosophical connotation. The work can hardly be considered realistic, given the ending. She turns the work into a phantasmagoria, where bizarre unreal events, visions, strange images intersect.

Artwork test

Analysis Rating

Average rating: 4.2. Total ratings received: 2119.

The Overcoat", like Gogol's other stories about a humiliated person, is in succession with Pushkin's "Station Master". Based on Pushkin's creative experience, Gogol created deeply original artistic generalizations in St. clashes between a "little" person and the noble, powerful of this world, clashes that resulted in the collapse of the hero's happiness. Gogol more broadly reflected the social inequality of "small" people, showing not only their defenselessness, but also the harsh struggle for everyday existence. in Gogol, it merges inseparably with the disclosure of constant social oppression, which, dooming the "little" person to suffering, mercilessly disfigures him, erasing the living human individuality.
That deep drama that is imbued with "The Overcoat" is revealed, on the one hand, in the depiction of the ordinary, and on the other, in the display of the "shocks" of the hero. On this internal clash, the development of the plot in the story is built primarily. This is how the peaceful life of a man who, with four hundred salaries, knew how to be satisfied with his lot, went on, and would have reached, perhaps, to a ripe old age, if there weren’t various disasters scattered on the road of life, not only titular, but even secret, real, outward and all advisers. The story about the acquisition of an overcoat is everyday life, revealed in its dramatic tension. An ordinary, ordinary phenomenon appears as a "calamity"; an insignificant event, as in a focus, concentrates in itself a reflection of the essential aspects of reality.
The tension and drama of these clashes make the ending of the story organic, into which the author introduces fantasy. Fiction in "The Overcoat" is a necessary element of revealing the main idea of the story.
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The idea of humanism in the story of N.V. Gogol "The Overcoat".
The hero of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol's story "The Overcoat" Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin is offended by fate in everything, but he does not grumble: he is already over fifty, he has not gone beyond the correspondence of papers, he has not risen above the rank of titular adviser - and yet he is humble, meek, devoid of ambitious dreams. Bashmachkin has neither family nor friends, he does not go to the theater or visit. All his "spiritual" needs are satisfied by rewriting papers: "It is not enough to say: he served zealously - no, he served with love." No one considers him a person. “Young officials laughed and made fun of him, as long as clerical wit was enough ...” Bashmachkin did not answer a single word to his offenders, did not even stop working and did not make mistakes in the letter.

Gogol introduces into the story the image of a young official - perhaps having an autobiographical character. This official, having entered the service, was about to join in the mockery of Bash-machkin, but, hearing his words, he suddenly stopped, “as if pierced, and since then everything seemed to have changed in front of him and seemed in a different form ... And for a long time then, in the midst of the most merry moments, he imagined a short official with a bald spot on his forehead, with his penetrating words: "Leave me, why do you offend me?" - in these penetrating words, other words rang out: "I am your brother." “Love your neighbor as yourself” - if this truth is trampled on, the human world has nothing to hold on to.

Sewing an overcoat was not just a salvation of the body from the cold, but an elevation of the soul, a statement of human dignity. It was not only the feat of Akaky Akakievich, but also the feat of Petrovich, the drunken tailor, he put his soul into it, he made every seam with love. secretly behind Akaky Akakievich to once again admire his creation.

The story of Akaky Akakievich is a kind of parable illustrating the words of the Gospel.

Can one small work revolutionize literature? Yes, Russian literature knows such a precedent. This is the story of N.V. Gogol's "Overcoat". The work was very popular with contemporaries, caused a lot of controversy, and the Gogol trend developed among Russian writers until the middle of the 20th century. What is this great book? About this in our article.

The book is part of a cycle of works written in the 1830s-1840s. and united by a common name - "Petersburg Tales". The story of Gogol's "Overcoat" goes back to an anecdote about a poor official who had a great passion for hunting. Despite the small salary, the ardent fan set a goal for himself: by all means buy a Lepage gun, one of the best at that time. The official denied himself everything in order to save money, and finally, he bought the coveted trophy and went to the Gulf of Finland to shoot birds.

The hunter sailed away in a boat, was about to take aim - but did not find a gun. It probably fell out of the boat, but how remains a mystery. The hero of the story himself admitted that he was a kind of oblivion when he was looking forward to the treasured prey. Returning home, he fell ill with a fever. Fortunately, everything ended well. The ill official was saved by his colleagues by buying him a new gun of the same kind. This story inspired the author to create the story "The Overcoat".

Genre and direction

N.V. Gogol is one of the brightest representatives of critical realism in Russian literature. With his prose, the writer sets a special direction, sarcastically called by the critic F. Bulgarin "Natural School". This literary vector is characterized by an appeal to acute social topics relating to poverty, morality, and class relationships. Here, the image of the “little man”, which has become traditional for writers of the 19th century, is being actively developed.

A narrower direction, characteristic of Petersburg Tales, is fantastic realism. This technique allows the author to influence the reader in the most effective and original way. It is expressed in a mixture of fiction and reality: the real in the story "The Overcoat" is the social problems of tsarist Russia (poverty, crime, inequality), and the fantastic is the ghost of Akaky Akakievich, who robs passers-by. Dostoevsky, Bulgakov and many other followers of this direction turned to the mystical principle.

The genre of the story allows Gogol to concisely, but quite vividly, highlight several storylines, identify many relevant social topics, and even include the motive of the supernatural in his work.

Composition

The composition of "The Overcoat" is linear, you can designate an introduction and an epilogue.

The story begins with a kind of writer's discourse about the city, which is an integral part of all "Petersburg Tales". Then follows the biography of the protagonist, which is typical for the authors of the "natural school". It was believed that these data help to better reveal the image and explain the motivation for certain actions.
Exposition - a description of the situation and position of the hero.
The plot occurs at the moment when Akaki Akakievich decides to acquire a new overcoat, this intention continues to move the plot until the climax - a happy acquisition.
The second part is devoted to the search for the overcoat and the exposure of senior officials.
The epilogue, where the ghost appears, loops this part: first, the thieves go after Bashmachkin, then the policeman goes after the ghost. Or perhaps a thief?

About what?

One poor official Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin, in view of the severe frosts, finally dares to buy himself a new overcoat. The hero denies himself everything, saves on food, tries to walk more carefully on the pavement so as not to change the soles once again. By the right time, he manages to accumulate the required amount, soon the desired overcoat is ready.

But the joy of possession does not last long: on the same evening, when Bashmachkin was returning home after a gala dinner, the robbers took away the object of his happiness from the poor official. The hero tries to fight for his overcoat, he goes through several instances: from a private person to a significant person, but no one cares about his loss, no one is going to look for robbers. After a visit to the general, who turned out to be a rude and arrogant person, Akaky Akakievich fell ill with a fever and soon died.

But the story "accepts a fantastic ending." The spirit of Akaky Akakievich wanders around St. Petersburg, who wants to take revenge on his offenders, and, mainly, he is looking for a significant person. One evening, the ghost catches the arrogant general and takes his overcoat from him, on which he calms down.

Main characters and their characteristics

The protagonist of the story - Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin. From the moment of birth, it was clear that a difficult, unhappy life awaited him. This was predicted by the midwife, and the baby himself, when he was born, “cried and made such a grimace, as if he had a presentiment that there would be a titular adviser.” This is the so-called "little man", but his character is contradictory and goes through certain stages of development.
The image of the overcoat works to reveal the potential of this, at first glance, a modest character. A new thing dear to the heart makes the hero obsessed, like an idol, she controls him. The little official shows such perseverance and activity that he never showed during his lifetime, and after his death he decides on revenge and keeps Petersburg in fear.
The role of the overcoat in Gogol's story is difficult to overestimate. Her image develops in parallel with the main character: a holey overcoat is a modest person, a new one is an enterprising and happy Bashmachkin, a general's is an almighty spirit, terrifying.
Petersburg image presented in a completely different way. This is not a pompous capital with smart carriages and flourishing front doors, but a cruel city with its fierce winters, unhealthy climate, dirty stairs and dark alleys.

Themes

The life of a little man is the main theme of the story "The Overcoat", so it is presented quite vividly. Bashmachkin does not have a strong character or special talents; higher-ranking officials allow themselves to be manipulated, ignored, or scolded. And the poor hero only wants to regain what is his by right, but significant people and the big world are not up to the problems of a small person.
The opposition of the real and the fantastic makes it possible to show the versatility of Bashmachkin's image. In harsh reality, he will never reach out to the selfish and cruel hearts of those in power, but becoming a powerful spirit, he can at least avenge his offense.
The theme of the story is immorality. People are valued not for their skill, but for their rank, a significant person is by no means an exemplary family man, he is cold towards his children and is looking for entertainment on the side. He allows himself to be an arrogant tyrant, forcing those who are lower in rank to grovel.
The satirical nature of the story and the absurdity of the situations allow Gogol to most expressively point out social vices. For example, no one is going to look for the missing overcoat, but there is a decree to catch the ghost. This is how the author denounces the inactivity of the St. Petersburg police.

Issues

The problematics of the story "The Overcoat" is very wide. Here Gogol raises questions concerning both society and the inner world of man.

The main problem of the story is humanism, or rather, its absence. All the characters in the story are cowardly and selfish, they are not capable of empathy. Even Akaky Akakievich has no spiritual purpose in life, does not seek to read or be interested in art. They are driven only by the material component of being. Bashmachkin does not recognize himself as a victim in the Christian sense. He has completely adapted to his miserable existence, the character does not know forgiveness and is only capable of revenge. The hero cannot even find peace after death until he fulfills his base plan.
Indifference. Colleagues are indifferent to Bashmachkin's grief, and a significant person is trying by all means known to him to drown out all manifestations of humanity in himself.
The problem of poverty is touched upon by Gogol. A man who performs his duties exemplarily and diligently does not have the opportunity to update his wardrobe as needed, while careless flatterers and dandies are successfully promoted, have luxurious dinners and arrange evenings.
The problem of social inequality is covered in the story. The general treats the titular councilor like a flea that he can crush. Bashmachkin becomes shy in front of him, loses the power of speech, and a significant person, not wanting to lose his appearance in the eyes of his colleagues, humiliates the poor petitioner in every possible way. Thus, he shows his power and superiority.

What is the meaning of the story?

The idea of Gogol's "Overcoat" is to point out the acute social problems that are relevant in Imperial Russia. With the help of a fantastic component, the author shows the hopelessness of the situation: a small man is weak in front of the powerful of this world, they will never respond to his request, and even kick him out of his office. Gogol, of course, does not approve of revenge, but in the story "The Overcoat" is the only way to reach the stone hearts of high-ranking officials. It seems to them that only the spirit is higher than them, and they will agree to listen only to those who surpass them. Having become a ghost, Bashmachkin occupies just this necessary position, so he manages to influence the arrogant tyrants. This is the main idea of the work.

The meaning of Gogol's "Overcoat" is in the search for justice, but the situation seems hopeless, because justice is possible only when referring to the supernatural.

What does it teach?

Gogol's "Overcoat" was written almost two centuries ago, but remains relevant to this day. The author makes you think not only about social inequality, the problem of poverty, but also about your own spiritual qualities. The story "The Overcoat" teaches empathy, the writer urges not to turn away from a person who is in a difficult situation and asks for help.

To achieve his authorial goals, Gogol changes the ending of the original anecdote, which became the basis for the work. If in that story the colleagues collected the amount sufficient to buy a new gun, then Bashmachkin's colleagues practically did nothing to help a comrade in trouble. He himself died fighting for his rights.

Criticism

In Russian literature, the story "The Overcoat" played a huge role: thanks to this work, a whole trend arose - the "natural school". This work became a symbol of the new art, and this was confirmed by the journal "Physiology of Petersburg", where many young writers came up with their own versions of the image of a poor official.

Critics recognized Gogol's skill, and "The Overcoat" was considered a worthy work, but the controversy was mainly conducted around the Gogol direction, opened by this particular story. For example, V.G. Belinsky called the book "one of Gogol's deepest creations", but he considered the "natural school" to be a hopeless direction, and K. Aksakov refused Dostoevsky (who also started with the "natural school"), the author of "Poor People", the title of artist.

Not only Russian critics were aware of the role of the "Overcoat" in literature. The French reviewer E. Vogüe owns the well-known statement "We all came out of Gogol's greatcoat." In 1885, he wrote an article about Dostoevsky, where he spoke about the origins of the writer's work.

Later, Chernyshevsky accused Gogol of excessive sentimentality, deliberate pity for Bashmachkin. Apollon Grigoriev, in his criticism, contrasted Gogol's method of satirical depiction of reality with true art.

The story made a great impression not only on the writer's contemporaries. V. Nabokov in the article "The Apotheosis of the Face" analyzes Gogol's creative method, its features, advantages and disadvantages. Nabokov believes that The Overcoat was created for "a reader with a creative imagination", and for the most complete understanding of the work, it is necessary to get acquainted with it in the original language, because Gogol's work is "a phenomenon of language, not ideas."

The history of the creation of Gogol's work "The Overcoat"

Gogol, according to the Russian philosopher N. Berdyaev, is "the most mysterious figure in Russian literature." To this day, the writer's works cause controversy. One of these works is the story "The Overcoat".
In the mid 30s. Gogol heard a joke about an official who lost his gun. It sounded like this: there lived one poor official, he was a passionate hunter. He saved up for a long time for a gun, which he dreamed about for a long time. His dream came true, but while sailing through the Gulf of Finland, he lost it. Returning home, the official died of frustration.
The first draft of the story was called "The Tale of the Official Stealing the Overcoat." In this version, some anecdotal motifs and comic effects were visible. The official bore the surname Tishkevich. In 1842, Gogol completes the story, changes the name of the hero. The story is being printed, completing the cycle of "Petersburg Tales". This cycle includes the stories: "Nevsky Prospekt", "The Nose", "Portrait", "Carriage", "Notes of a Madman" and "Overcoat". The writer works on the cycle between 1835 and 1842. The stories are united according to the common place of events - Petersburg. Petersburg, however, is not only a scene of action, but also a kind of hero of these stories, in which Gogol draws life in its various manifestations. Usually writers, talking about life in St. Petersburg, covered the life and characters of the capital's society. Gogol was attracted by petty officials, artisans, impoverished artists - "little people". Petersburg was not chosen by the writer by chance, it was this stone city that was especially indifferent and ruthless to the “little man”. This topic was first discovered by A.S. Pushkin. She becomes the leader in the work of N.V. Gogol.

Genus, genre, creative method

An analysis of the work shows that the influence of hagiographic literature is visible in the story "The Overcoat". It is known that Gogol was an extremely religious person. Of course, he was well acquainted with this genre of church literature. Many researchers wrote about the influence of the life of St. Akakiy of Sinai on the story "The Overcoat", among which are well-known names: V.B. Shklovsky and GL. Makogonenko. Moreover, in addition to the conspicuous outward similarity of the fates of St. Akaki and the hero Gogol were traced the main common points of the plot development: obedience, stoic patience, the ability to endure various kinds of humiliation, then death from injustice and - life after death.
The genre of "The Overcoat" is defined as a story, although its volume does not exceed twenty pages. It received its specific name - a story - not so much for its volume, but for its enormous semantic richness, which you will not find in any novel. The meaning of the work is revealed only by compositional and stylistic devices with the extreme simplicity of the plot. A simple story about a poor official who invested all his money and soul in a new overcoat, after stealing which he dies, under Gogol's pen found a mystical denouement, turned into a colorful parable with enormous philosophical overtones. "The Overcoat" is not just a diatribe-satirical story, it is a wonderful work of art that reveals the eternal problems of being, which will not be translated either in life or in literature as long as humanity exists.
Sharply criticizing the ruling system of life, its internal falsity and hypocrisy, Gogol's work suggested the need for a different life, a different social order. "Petersburg Tales" of the great writer, which includes "The Overcoat", is usually attributed to the realistic period of his work. Nevertheless, they can hardly be called realistic. The mournful tale of the stolen overcoat, according to Gogol, "unexpectedly takes on a fantastic ending." The ghost, in which the deceased Akaky Akakievich was recognized, ripped off everyone's overcoat, "without disassembling the rank and title." Thus, the ending of the story turned it into a phantasmagoria.

Subject of the analyzed work

The story raises social, ethical, religious and aesthetic problems. Public interpretation emphasized the social side of the "Overcoat". Akaky Akakievich was seen as a typical "little man", a victim of the bureaucratic system and indifference. Emphasizing the typical fate of the "little man", Gogol says that death did not change anything in the department, Bashmachkin's place was simply taken by another official. Thus, the theme of man - the victim of the social system - is brought to its logical end.
An ethical or humanistic interpretation was based on the pitiful moments of The Overcoat, a call for generosity and equality, which was heard in Akaky Akakievich’s weak protest against clerical jokes: “Leave me, why are you offending me?” - and in these penetrating words other words rang: "I am your brother." Finally, the aesthetic principle, which came to the fore in the works of the 20th century, focused mainly on the form of the story as the focus of its artistic value.

The idea of the story "Overcoat"

“Why, then, portray poverty ... and the imperfections of our life, digging people out of life, remote nooks and crannies of the state? ... no, there is a time when otherwise it is impossible to direct society and even a generation towards the beautiful, until you show the full depth of its real abomination, ”wrote N.V. Gogol, and in his words lies the key to understanding the story.
The author showed the "depth of abomination" of society through the fate of the main character of the story - Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin. His image has two sides. The first is spiritual and physical squalor, which Gogol deliberately emphasizes and brings to the fore. The second is the arbitrariness and heartlessness of others in relation to the protagonist of the story. The ratio of the first and second determines the humanistic pathos of the work: even such a person as Akaky Akakievich has the right to exist and be treated fairly. Gogol sympathizes with the fate of his hero. And it makes the reader involuntarily think about the attitude to the whole world around, and first of all about the sense of dignity and respect that every person should arouse for himself, regardless of his social and financial situation, but only taking into account his personal qualities and merits.

The nature of the conflict

At the heart of N.V. Gogol lies the conflict between the "little man" and society, a conflict leading to rebellion, to the uprising of the humble. The story "The Overcoat" describes not only an incident from the life of the hero. The whole life of a person appears before us: we are present at his birth, naming him, find out how he served, why he needed an overcoat and, finally, how he died. The story of the life of the “little man”, his inner world, his feelings and experiences, depicted by Gogol not only in The Overcoat, but also in other stories of the Petersburg Tales cycle, firmly entered Russian literature of the 19th century.

The main characters of the story "The Overcoat"

The hero of the story is Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin, a petty official of one of the St. Petersburg departments, a humiliated and disenfranchised man "short in stature, somewhat pockmarked, somewhat reddish, somewhat even blind-sighted, with a slight bald spot on his forehead, with wrinkles on both sides of his cheeks." The hero of Gogol's story is offended by fate in everything, but he does not grumble: he is already over fifty, he did not go beyond the correspondence of papers, did not rise above the rank of titular councilor (a state official of the 9th class who does not have the right to acquire personal nobility - if he is not born a nobleman) - and yet humble, meek, devoid of ambitious dreams. Bashmachkin has neither family nor friends, he does not go to the theater or visit. All his "spiritual" needs are satisfied by rewriting papers: "It is not enough to say: he served zealously - no, he served with love." No one considers him a person. “Young officials laughed and made fun of him, as long as clerical wit was enough ...” Bashmachkin did not answer a single word to his offenders, did not even stop working and did not make mistakes in the letter. All his life Akaky Akakievich has served in the same place, in the same position; his salary is meager - 400 rubles. a year, the uniform has long been no longer green, but a reddish-flour color; co-workers call an overcoat worn to holes a hood.
Gogol does not hide the limitations, the scarcity of the interests of his hero, tongue-tied. But something else brings to the fore: his meekness, uncomplaining patience. Even the name of the hero carries this meaning: Akaki is humble, gentle, does no evil, innocent. The appearance of the overcoat reveals the hero's spiritual world, for the first time the hero's emotions are depicted, although Gogol does not give the character's direct speech - only a retelling. Akaky Akakievich remains wordless even at a critical moment in his life. The drama of this situation lies in the fact that no one helped Bashmachkin.
An interesting vision of the main character from the famous researcher B.M. Eikhenbaum. He saw in Bashmachkin an image that "served with love", in the rewriting "he saw some kind of diverse and pleasant world of his own", he did not think at all about his dress, about anything else practical, he ate without noticing the taste, he did not indulge in any kind of entertainment, in a word, he lived in some kind of ghostly and strange world of his own, far from reality, he was a dreamer in uniform. And it is not for nothing that his spirit, freed from this uniform, so freely and boldly develops its revenge - this is prepared by the whole story, here is its whole essence, its whole whole.
Along with Bashmachkin, the image of the overcoat plays an important role in the story. It is also quite comparable with the broad concept of “honor of the uniform”, which characterized the most important element of noble and officer ethics, to the norms of which the authorities under Nicholas I tried to attach raznochintsy and, in general, all officials.
The loss of the overcoat turns out to be not only a material, but also a moral loss for Akaky Akakievich. Indeed, thanks to the new overcoat, Bashmachkin for the first time in the departmental environment felt like a man. The new overcoat is able to save him from frost and illness, but, most importantly, it serves as protection for him from ridicule and humiliation from his colleagues. With the loss of his overcoat, Akaki Akakievich lost the meaning of life.

Plot and composition

The plot of The Overcoat is extremely simple. The poor little official makes an important decision and orders a new overcoat. While sewing it, it turns into a dream of his life. On the very first evening when he puts it on, thieves take off his overcoat on a dark street. The official dies of grief, and his ghost roams the city. That’s the whole plot, but, of course, the real plot (as always with Gogol) is in the style, in the internal structure of this ... anecdote, ”V.V. retold the plot of Gogol’s story. Nabokov.
Hopeless need surrounds Akaky Akakievich, but he does not see the tragedy of his situation, as he is busy with business. Bashmachkin is not burdened by his poverty, because he does not know another life. And when he has a dream - a new overcoat, he is ready to endure any hardships, if only to bring the implementation of his plans closer. The overcoat becomes a kind of symbol of a happy future, a favorite brainchild, for which Akaki Akakievich is ready to work tirelessly. The author is quite serious when he describes the delight of his hero about the realization of a dream: the overcoat is sewn! Bashmachkin was perfectly happy. However, with the loss of Bashmachkin's new overcoat, real grief overtakes. And only after death is justice done. Bashmachkin's soul finds peace when he returns his lost thing.
The image of the overcoat is very important in the development of the plot of the work. The plot of the plot is connected with the emergence of the idea to sew a new overcoat or repair the old one. The development of the action is Bashmachkin's trips to the tailor Petrovich, an ascetic existence and dreams of a future overcoat, the purchase of a new dress and a visit to the name day, at which Akaky Akakievich's overcoat should be “washed”. The action culminates in the theft of a new overcoat. And, finally, the denouement lies in the unsuccessful attempts of Bashmachkin to return the overcoat; the death of a hero who caught a cold without an overcoat and longing for it. The story ends with an epilogue - a fantastic story about the ghost of an official who is looking for his overcoat.
The story of Akaki Akakievich's "posthumous existence" is full of horror and comedy at the same time. In the dead silence of the Petersburg night, he rips off the overcoats from officials, not recognizing the bureaucratic difference in ranks and acting both behind the Kalinkin bridge (that is, in the poor part of the capital) and in the rich part of the city. Only having overtaken the direct culprit of his death, “one significant person”, who, after a friendly bossy party, goes to “one familiar lady Karolina Ivanovna”, and tearing off the general’s overcoat from him, the “spirit” of the dead Akaki Akakievich calms down, disappears from St. Petersburg squares and streets. Apparently, "the general's overcoat came to him completely on the shoulder."

Artistic originality

Gogol's composition is not determined by the plot - his plot is always poor, rather - there is no plot, but only one comic (and sometimes not even comical in itself) situation is taken, which serves as if only an impetus or reason for developing comic tricks. This story is especially interesting for this kind of analysis, because in it a pure comic tale, with all the methods of language play characteristic of Gogol, is combined with pathetic declamation, which forms, as it were, a second layer. Gogol does not allow his characters in The Overcoat to speak much, and, as always with him, their speech is formed in a special way, so that, despite individual differences, it never gives the impression of everyday speech, ”wrote B.M. Eikhenbaum in the article "How Gogol's Overcoat" was made.
The story in "The Overcoat" is in the first person. The narrator knows the life of officials well, expresses his attitude to what is happening in the story through numerous remarks. “What to do! the Petersburg climate is to blame, ”he notes about the deplorable appearance of the hero. The climate forces Akaky Akakievich to go to great lengths for the sake of buying a new overcoat, that is, in principle, directly contributes to his death. We can say that this frost is an allegory of Gogol's Petersburg.
All the artistic means that Gogol uses in the story: a portrait, an image of the details of the situation in which the hero lives, the plot of the story - all this shows the inevitability of Bashmachkin's transformation into a "little man".
The very style of narration, when a pure comic tale, built on a play on words, puns, deliberate tongue-tied tongue, is combined with an elevated pathetic recitation, is an effective artistic tool.

The meaning of the work

The great Russian critic V.G. Belinsky said that the task of poetry is "to extract the poetry of life from the prose of life and shake souls with a true image of this life." It is precisely such a writer, a writer who shakes the soul with the image of the most insignificant pictures of human existence in the world, is N.V. Gogol. According to Belinsky, the story "The Overcoat" is "one of Gogol's deepest creations." Herzen called "The Overcoat" "a colossal work." The enormous influence of the story on the entire development of Russian literature is evidenced by the phrase recorded by the French writer Eugene de Vogüe from the words of "one Russian writer" (as is commonly believed, F.M. Dostoevsky): "We all came out of Gogol's "Overcoat".
Gogol's works were repeatedly staged and filmed. One of the last theatrical productions of The Overcoat was undertaken at the Moscow Sovremennik. On the new stage of the theatre, called "Another Stage", intended primarily for staging experimental performances, directed by Valery Fokin, "The Overcoat" was staged.
“Staging Gogol's Overcoat is my old dream. In general, I believe that there are three main works by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol - these are The Inspector General, Dead Souls and The Overcoat, ”said Fokin. - I already staged the first two and dreamed of The Overcoat, but I couldn’t start rehearsing in any way, because I didn’t see the lead actor ... It always seemed to me that Bashmachkin is an unusual creature, neither feminine nor masculine, and someone then here it was supposed to be played by an unusual, and indeed an actor or actress, ”says the director. Fokine's choice fell on Marina Neelova. “During the rehearsal and what was happening in the process of working on the performance, I realized that Neyolova is the only actress who could do what I was thinking,” says the director. The play premiered on October 5, 2004. The scenography of the story, the performance skills of the actress M. Neelova were highly appreciated by the audience and the press.
“And here is Gogol again. Again "Contemporary". Once upon a time, Marina Neyolova said that sometimes she imagines herself as a white sheet of paper, on which each director is free to depict whatever he wants - even a hieroglyph, even a drawing, even a long catchy phrase. Maybe someone will plant a blot in the heat of the moment. The viewer who looks at The Overcoat may imagine that there is no woman named Marina Mstislavovna Neelova in the world at all, that she was completely erased from the drawing paper of the universe with a soft eraser and a completely different creature was drawn instead of her. Gray-haired, thin-haired, causing in anyone who looks at him, both disgusting disgust, and magnetic cravings.
(Newspaper, October 6, 2004)

“In this series, Fokine’s “Overcoat”, which opened a new stage, looks like just an academic repertoire line. But only at first glance. Going to the performance, you can safely forget about your previous performances. For Valery Fokin, "The Overcoat" is not at all where all humanistic Russian literature came from, with its eternal pity for the little man. His "Overcoat" belongs to a completely different, fantastic world. His Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin is not an eternal titular adviser, not a miserable copyist who is unable to change verbs from the first person to the third, he is not even a man, but some strange creature of the middle gender. To create such a fantastic image, the director needed an incredibly flexible and plastic actor, not only physically, but also psychologically. Such a universal actor, or rather an actress, the director found in Marina Neelova. When this clumsy, angular creature with sparse matted tufts of hair on a bald head appears on the stage, the audience unsuccessfully tries to guess at least some familiar features of the brilliant prima Sovremennik in it. In vain. Marina Neelova is not here. It seems that she physically transformed, melted into her hero. Somnambulistic, cautious and at the same time awkward old man's movements and a thin, plaintive, rattling voice. Since there is almost no text in the performance (Bashmachkin's few phrases, consisting mainly of prepositions, adverbs and other particles that have absolutely no meaning, serve rather as a speech or even sound characteristic of the character), the role of Marina Neelova practically turns into a pantomime. But the pantomime is truly mesmerizing. Her Bashmachkin settled comfortably in his old giant overcoat, as in a house: he fumbles there with a flashlight, relieves himself, settles in for the night.
(Kommersant, October 6, 2004)

It is interesting

“As part of the Chekhov Festival, on the Small Stage of the Pushkin Theatre, where puppet performances often go on tour, and only 50 people fit in the audience, the Chilean Theater of Miracles played Gogol’s “The Overcoat”. We don’t know anything about the puppet theater in Chile, so we could expect something very exotic, but in fact it turned out that there is nothing special foreign in it - it’s just a small good performance made sincerely, with love and without any special ambitions. It was only funny that the heroes here are called exclusively by their patronymics, and all these “Buenos Dias, Akakievich” and “Por Favor, Petrovich” sounded comical.
Theater "Milagros" is a sociable affair. It was created in 2005 by the famous Chilean TV presenter Alina Kuppernheim along with her classmates. Young women say that they fell in love with The Overcoat, which is not very famous in Chile (where the Nose, it turns out, is more famous there), while still studying, and all of them studied as drama theater actresses. Deciding to make a puppet theater, for two whole years they composed everything together, adapted the story themselves, came up with scenography, and made puppets.
The portal of the theater "Milagros" - a plywood house, where four puppeteers are just placed, was placed in the middle of the Pushkinsky stage and closed a small curtain-screen. The play itself is played in a “black office” (puppeteers dressed in black almost disappear against the backdrop of a black velvet backdrop), but the action began with a video on the screen. First, there is a white silhouette animation - little Akakievich grows up, he gets all the bumps, and he wanders - long, thin, nosy, hunching more and more against the background of conditional Petersburg. The animation is replaced by a ragged video - the crackling and noise of the office, flocks of typewriters fly across the screen (several eras are deliberately mixed here). And then through the screen in a spot of light, the red-haired Akakievich himself, with deep bald patches, gradually appears at a table with papers that everyone brings and brings to him.
In fact, the most important thing in the Chilean performance is the thin Akakievich with long and awkward arms and legs. Several puppeteers lead it at once, someone is responsible for the hands, someone for the legs, but the audience does not notice this, they just see how the puppet becomes alive. Here he scratches himself, rubs his eyes, groans, with pleasure straightens his stiff members, kneading every bone, here he carefully examines the network of holes in the old overcoat, ruffled, trampling in the cold and rubbing his frozen hands. This is a great art to work so harmoniously with a puppet, few people master it; Quite recently, at the Golden Mask, we saw a production by one of our best puppet directors, who knows how such miracles are done - Evgeny Ibragimov, who staged Gogol's The Gamblers in Tallinn.
There are other characters in the play: colleagues and bosses looking out of the doors and windows of the stage, a small red-nosed fat man Petrovich, a gray-haired Significant person sitting at a table on a dais - all of them are also expressive, but they cannot be compared with Akakievich. With the way he humbles himself humbly and timidly in Petrovich's house, how later, having received his lingonberry-colored overcoat, he giggles in embarrassment, twists his head, calling himself handsome, like an elephant on parade. And it seems that the wooden doll even smiles. This transition from jubilation to terrible grief, which is so difficult for "live" actors, comes out very naturally with the doll.
During the holiday party hosted by colleagues to "sprinkle" the hero's new overcoat, a glittering carousel spun on the stage and small flat dolls made from cut out old photographs twirled in a dance. Akakievich, who used to worry that he couldn’t dance, returns from the party, full of happy impressions, as if from a disco, continuing to make knees and sing: “boo-boo-to-do-to-do.” This is a long, funny and touching episode. And then unknown hands beat him and take off his overcoat. Further, much more will happen with running around the authorities: the Chileans unfolded several Gogol lines into a whole anti-bureaucratic video episode with a map of the city, which shows how officials drive a poor hero from one to another, trying to return his overcoat.
Only the voices of Akakievich and those who are trying to get rid of him are heard: “You are on this issue with Gomez. - Gomez, please. - Do you want Pedro or Pablo? “Should I be Pedro or Pablo?” — Julio! - Please, Julio Gomez. “You go to another department.”
But no matter how inventive all these scenes may be, the meaning is still in the red-haired sad hero who returns home, lies down in bed and, pulling on the blanket, for a long time, sick and tormented by sorrowful thoughts, tossing and turning and trying to nest comfortably. Quite alive and desperately lonely.
(“Vremya novostei” 06/24/2009)

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