What was the second volume of Dead Souls about and why did Gogol burn it? Why did Gogol burn the second volume of Dead Souls? Possible versions Why the author burned the second volume of dead souls.

Gogol lived by his creativity, for his sake he doomed himself to poverty. All his property was limited to “the smallest suitcase.”

The second volume of Dead Souls, the main work of the writer’s life, the result of his religious quest, was soon to be completed. It was a work in which he put the whole truth about Russia, all his love for it. “My work is great, my feat is saving!” - Gogol said to his friends.

However, a turning point came in the writer’s life...

It all started in January 1852, when E. Khomyakova, the wife of Gogol’s friend, died. He considered her a most worthy woman. And after her death he confessed to his confessor, Archpriest Matthew (Konstantinovsky): “The fear of death came over me.” From that moment on, Nikolai Vasilyevich constantly thought about death and complained of loss of strength.

The same Father Matthew demanded that he leave his literary works and, finally, think about his spiritual state, moderate his appetite and begin to fast. Nikolai Vasilyevich, listening to the advice of his confessor, began to fast, although he did not lose his usual appetite, so he suffered from lack of food, prayed at night, and slept little.

From the point of view of modern psychiatry, it can be assumed that Gogol had psychoneurosis. Whether Khomyakova’s death had such a strong effect on him or whether there was some other reason for the development of neurosis in the writer is unknown.

But it is known that in childhood Gogol had seizures, which were accompanied by melancholy and depression, so strong that he once said: “Hanging or drowning seemed to me like some kind of medicine and relief.”

And in 1845, in a letter to N. M. Yazykov, Gogol wrote: “My health has become rather poor... Nervous anxiety and various signs of complete disintegration throughout my body frighten me.”

It is possible that exactly the same “unsticking” prompted Nikolai Vasilyevich to commit the strangest act in his biography. On the night of February 11-12, 1852, he called Semyon to him and ordered him to bring a briefcase in which notebooks with the continuation of “Dead Souls” were kept. Under the servant’s pleas not to destroy the manuscript, Gogol put the notebooks in the fireplace and set them on fire with a candle, and said to Semyon: “It’s none of your business! Pray!

In the morning Gogol, apparently amazed by his own impulse, said to Count Tolstoy: “That’s what I did! I wanted to burn some things that had been prepared for a long time, but I burned everything. How strong the evil one is - this is what he has brought me to! And I understood and presented a lot of useful things there... I thought I would send out a notebook to my friends as a souvenir: let them do what they wanted. Now everything is gone."

Most people whose profession is the study of literature, especially Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, agree that on the night of approximately February 11-12, one and a half hundred years ago, the great Ukrainian classic burned the second volume of his work under the slightly creepy title “The Dead.” souls." Why did he do this and why did Gogol burn the second volume?

A wide variety of opinions and guesses - why Gogol burned “dead souls”

There are several points of view about what happened that winter night. The first says that there was no second volume initially; something else was burned, some drafts, manuscripts, possibly left over from the first volume. The second was originally a fiction.

Others believe that the second volume of the novel actually burned in the fireplace then, but this was nothing more than an unfortunate accident. And although another classic, Bulgakov, said that manuscripts do not burn, in reality it turned out differently. Nikolai Vasilyevich had no choice but to resign himself and accept this as fate. Creative people are known to be superstitious.

There are also literary critics who believe that the idea of ​​the second and subsequent third volume was so grandiose that it was simply impossible to realize it, and as a result, the writer burned all his attempts in his heart. But there was no finished second volume. He could not positively regenerate the main character - Chichikov.

Nowadays, the opinion is becoming increasingly widespread that already at the time of writing the second volume, Gogol simply ceased to admire Ukraine, which was then called Little Russia, as well as the Cossacks. Consequently, the source of inspiration for the second volume disappeared, and the writer destroyed his pathetic attempts, realizing that he would not write anything worthwhile. But such an assumption is not based on anything specific; there is not a single fact indicating that Nikolai Gogol did not love his homeland literally until his last breath.

Mystics generally consider the work itself to be a satanic book, because, they say, the writer paid for such a title, what is the second volume, when dark forces intervened. But this fable is just as far from the truth as the previous assumption. The fact is that in the plot there was nothing magical, just like there was nothing mystical, it was about the most ordinary hack work of officials. They passed off the dead as living.

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On May 21, 1842, the first volume of Nikolai Gogol's Dead Souls was published. The mystery of the second part of the great work, destroyed by the writer, still worries the minds of literary scholars and ordinary readers. Why did Gogol burn the manuscript? And did it even exist? The Moscow Trust TV channel prepared a special report.

That night he couldn’t sleep again; he paced his office again and again in the cozy outbuilding of an old city estate on Nikitsky Boulevard. I tried to pray, lay down again, but could not close my eyes for a second. The chilly February dawn was already dawning outside the windows when he took a battered briefcase out of the closet, took out a plump manuscript tied with twine, held it in his hands for a few seconds, and then decisively threw the papers into the fireplace.

What happened on the night of February 11-12, 1852 in the mansion of Count Alexander Tolstoy? Why did Gogol, who gained fame as a great writer during his lifetime, decide to destroy, perhaps, the main work of his life? And how is this tragic event in Russian literature connected with the death that doctors will record 10 days later here, next to the fireplace, the flames of which consumed the second volume of the poem “Dead Souls”?

Count Alexander Tolstoy acquired this mansion after the death of its former owner, Major General Alexander Talyzin, a veteran of the Napoleonic War. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol ended up here in 1847, when he returned to Russia from long-distance wanderings. “He was a traveler: stations, changing horses, he thought about many of his plots on the road. And always, as a creative person, he seeks communication, in particular with his friends. And regularly one of his friends invited him to live in Moscow with him invited Tolstoy, with whom he had been in correspondence until that time,” says the director of the House N.V. Gogol Vera Vikulova.

The second volume of Dead Souls may have been almost completed by this point; all that remained was to edit the last few chapters.

House No. 7 on Suvorovsky (Nikitsky) Boulevard, where the great Russian writer N.V. Gogol lived and died. Photo: ITAR-TASS

From the windows of the estate, Nikolai Vasilyevich observed his beloved Moscow. Since then, of course, Moscow has changed a lot. The city was completely rural. There was a crane well in the courtyard of the house, and frogs were croaking under the windows.

The writer was a welcome and honored guest on the estate; he was given a whole wing, the main room of which was his office.

As the chief custodian of the House N.V. notes. Gogol, here he lived with everything ready: tea was served to him at any time, fresh linen, lunch, dinner - there were no worries, all conditions were created for him to work here on the second volume of Dead Souls.

So what happened at dawn on February 12, 1852? What secret does this office in house No. 7A on Nikitsky Boulevard keep? Researchers to this day put forward a variety of versions: from Gogol’s madness to the crisis he was experiencing.

Gogol had no particular interest in everyday life and comfort, as in general in everything material. A small couch, a mirror, a bed behind a screen, a desk where he worked. Gogol always wrote standing up, working on each phrase carefully and sometimes painfully for a long time. Of course, this sacrament required a fair amount of paper. It is clear from the manuscripts that Gogol was very demanding of himself and said that “my business is not literature, my business is the soul.”

Gogol was a merciless critic, and he placed the highest, uncompromising demands primarily on himself. “He rewrote each chapter up to seven times, he meticulously cleaned up the text so that it would fit well on the ear and so that at the same time his idea would be interesting to the reader,” says the art manager of the House N.V. Gogol Larisa Kosareva.

The final edition of the second volume of Dead Souls is by no means the first work of Gogol to perish in the fire. He burned the first one while still in school. Arriving in St. Petersburg due to criticism of the poem "Hanz Küchelgarten", he buys and burns all copies. He also burns the second volume of Dead Souls, for the first time back in 1845.

Reproduction of the painting "N.V. Gogol listens to a folk musician-kobzar at his house", 1949

This is the first version - perfectionism. Gogol also destroyed the next edition of the second volume of Dead Souls because he simply did not like it.

Writer Vladislav Otroshenko believes that it is possible to get closer to solving the mystery of the fireplace in the mansion on Nikitsky Boulevard only by thoroughly studying the character traits of the great writer, including those that led even his contemporaries to at least bewilderment, especially in the last years of Gogol’s life. In the middle of a conversation he could suddenly say: “Okay, that’s it, we’ll talk later,” lie down on the sofa and turn to the wall. His manner of communication irritated many of his friends and relatives.

One of Gogol's most inexplicable habits is his penchant for mystification. Even in the most innocent situations, he often did not finish speaking, misled his interlocutor, or even lied. Vladislav Otroshenko wrote: “Gogol said: “You should never tell the truth. If you’re going to Rome, say you’re going to Kaluga; if you’re going to Kaluga, say you’re going to Rome.” This nature of Gogol’s deceit remains incomprehensible to both literary scholars and those who study Gogol’s biography.”

Nikolai Vasilyevich also had a special relationship with his own passport: every time he crossed the border of a particular state, he categorically refused to present the document to the border service. For example, they stopped a stagecoach and said: “You need to show your passport.” Gogol turns aside and pretends that he does not understand what is being said to him. And the friends are confused and say: “They won’t let us through.” Then, in the end, he starts rummaging around, as if looking for a passport, but everyone knows who is traveling with him, that he has a passport in his pocket.

“He wrote letters, for example, to his mother, who is now in Trieste, sees the beautiful waves of the Mediterranean Sea, enjoys the views, describes Trieste to her in detail. He did not just write her a letter signed “Trieste” (written, in fact, in his estate friend, historian Mikhail Pogodin, in Moscow on Devichye Pole), he also drew a postmark of Trieste on the letter. He carefully marked it so that it was impossible to distinguish,” says Vladislav Otroshenko, who spent five years writing a book about Gogol.

So, version two: the burning of the second volume of “Dead Souls” was another eccentric act of a genius who did so much for Russian literature that he could afford almost everything. He knew very well that he was popular among his contemporaries and that he was the No. 1 writer.

Etching "Gogol reading The Inspector General to writers and artists of the Maly Theater", 1959. Photo: ITAR-TASS

It is also surprising that even before the advent of the era, Gogol’s photographs were known by sight. An ordinary walk along your favorite Moscow boulevards turned almost into a spy detective story. Moscow University students, knowing that Gogol loved to walk along Nikitsky and Tverskoy boulevards in the afternoon, left lectures with the words: “We are going to look at Gogol.” According to the memoirs, the writer was short, about 1.65 meters, he often wrapped himself in an overcoat, perhaps from the cold, or perhaps so that he would be less recognized.

Gogol had a great many fans, they not only took for granted any oddities of their idol, but were also ready to indulge him in everything. Bread balls, which the writer had a habit of rolling while thinking about something, became objects of desire for collectors; fans constantly followed Gogol and picked up the balls and kept them as relics.

Director Kirill Serebrennikov has his own view of Gogol’s work. He is ready to pose the question even more radically: did the second volume of Dead Souls exist at all? Maybe a brilliant hoaxer tricked everyone here too?

Experts who thoroughly study Gogol’s life and work partly agree with the radical director’s version. The great writer was ready to mystify anything.

Once, when Gogol was visiting Sergei Aksakov, his close friend, actor Mikhail Shchepkin, visited him. The writer enthusiastically told his guest that he had finished the second volume of Dead Souls. One can only guess how delighted Shchepkin was: he was the first who was lucky enough to learn that the grandiose plan was completed. The ending of this strange story did not take long to arrive: the decorous Moscow company, which usually gathered at Aksakov’s, had just sat down at the dinner table. Shchepkin stands up with a glass of wine and says: “Gentlemen, congratulate Nikolai Vasilyevich, he has finished the second volume of Dead Souls.” And then Gogol jumps up and says: “Who did you hear this from?” Shchepkin replies: “Yes, from you, today.” “You told me this morning.” To which Gogol responded: “You ate too much henbane, or you dreamed.” The guests laughed: indeed, Shchepkin came up with something there.

Acting attracted Gogol with an almost irresistible force: before writing anything down, Gogol acted it out in person. And surprisingly, there were no guests, Gogol was alone, but completely different voices sounded, male, female, Gogol was a brilliant actor.

Once, already a well-known writer, he even tried to get a job at the Alexandrinsky Theater. At the audition, Gogol received an offer only to convene the audience and arrange the chairs. It’s interesting that just a couple of months after this interview, the director of the troupe was instructed to prepare Gogol’s “The Inspector General.”

Gogol's wanderlust has become one of the themes of the interactive excursion, which takes place every day in the house-museum on Nikitsky Boulevard. Visitors are greeted by an ancient travel chest; the impression is enhanced by the sounds of the road coming from its depths.

As you know, Gogol visited Europe more often than Russia. Actually, he wrote the first volume of Dead Souls in Italy, where he spent a total of 12 years and which he called his second homeland. It was from Rome that one day a letter arrived that made Gogol’s friends seriously wary. One gets the feeling that Gogol in his life is beginning to act out the story with Major Kovalev’s nose. Just as the nose separated from Major Kovalev and began to walk on its own, so it is here. Gogol said in his letters that it was necessary to find someone else Gogol in St. Petersburg, that some fraudulent stories might happen, that certain works might be published under his name.

It was then that the thought crept in that Gogol’s endless hoaxes were not just the eccentricities of a genius, but a symptom of a deeply spiritual illness.

One of the researchers at the House of N.V. Gogol says: “I once gave a tour to psychiatrists. I didn’t know that they were psychiatrists, so I told them my opinion. But they told me: “Yes, we diagnosed Gogol a long time ago. Well, even look at the handwriting,” - in the museum on the desk there are samples of Gogol’s handwriting. They began to directly say what kind of disorder it was. But it seems to me that not every doctor would risk making a diagnosis in absentia, and here it was 200 years ago.”

Maybe the burning of the second volume of Dead Souls was really a crazy act in the clinical sense of the word? This means that attempts to understand and explain it from the point of view of common sense are an empty and useless exercise?

But this version is by no means the last. It is known that the author of the mystical “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” and the completely infernal “Viy” at the end of his life denied any devilry. At this time, Gogol was often seen in the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (Gogol’s spiritual patron) in Starovagankovsky Lane.

Drawing by Boris Lebedev "Meeting of Gogol with Belinsky", 1948. Photo: ITAR-TASS

Some researchers believe that what was truly fatal (both for the second volume of Dead Souls and for their creator) was the acquaintance with Archpriest Matvey Konstantinovsky, the spiritual mentor of Count Alexander Tolstoy. The priest, distinguished by his extremely harsh judgments, eventually became Gogol's confessor. He showed his manuscript, which he had been working on for nine years, to Father Matvey, and received negative reviews. It is possible that these cruel words of the priest were the last straw. On the night of February 11-12, 1852, a guest at a house on Nikitsky Boulevard committed what artist Ilya Repin would later call “Gogol’s self-immolation.” It is believed that Gogol burned it in a state of passion and later regretted it immensely, but he was consoled by the owner of the house, Alexander Petrovich Tolstoy. He came up and quietly said: “But you have everything here, in your head, you can restore it.”

But there could no longer be any talk of restoring the second volume. The next day, Gogol announced that he was starting to fast, and soon gave up food altogether. He fasted with such zeal that probably no other believer fasted with. And at some point, when it was clear that Gogol was already weakening, Count Tolstoy called for doctors, but they did not find any illness in Gogol.
10 days later Gogol died from physical exhaustion. The death of the great writer shocked Moscow; in the Church of the Holy Martyr Tatiana at Moscow University, it seemed that the whole city said goodbye to him. All the surrounding streets were filled with people, and the farewell took a very long time.

They decided to erect the monument to Gogol in Moscow 30 years later, in the early 80s of the 19th century. The collection of donations took a long time; the required amount was collected only by 1896. Several competitions were held, to which more than fifty projects were submitted. As a result, the monument was entrusted to the young sculptor Nikolai Andreev. He took up the matter with his characteristic thoroughness. Andreev always looked for nature for his works. He studied every possible portrait of Gogol that he could find. He painted and depicted Gogol, using the services of his brother, who posed for him for sculpture.

The sculptor visited the writer’s homeland and met his younger sister. The result of his fundamental research was, without exaggeration, a revolutionary monument for that time. In 1909, the monument on Arbat Square was unveiled in front of a crowd of thousands.

Even the laying of the monument was very solemn and was celebrated in the Prague restaurant. The organizers approached the gala dinner in a very original way, because they prepared all the dishes that one way or another appeared in Gogol’s works: this is “soup in a saucepan from Paris”, and “shanezhki with spices” from Korobochka, and various pickles, jams from the bins Pulcheria Ivanovna.

However, not everyone liked the sad, thoughtful, tragic Gogol. They say that, in the end, the monument was moved from Arbat Square to the courtyard of Count Tolstoy’s estate on the orders of Stalin himself. And in 1952, at the beginning of Gogolevsky Boulevard, a poster of Nikolai Vasilevich, bursting with health, appeared, equipped with a pathetic inscription: “To Gogol from the Government of the Soviet Union.” The new, retouched image gave rise to a lot of ridicule: “Gogol’s humor is dear to us, Gogol’s tears are a hindrance. Sitting he brought sadness, let this one stand for laughter.”

However, over time, Muscovites fell in love with this image. At the end of the 70s of the last century, Moscow hippies began to gather around the monument on Gogolevsky Boulevard. The era of flower children is long gone, but every year on April 1, aged Moscow “hiparis”, wearing their favorite flares, gather again at the “gogol” to remember their cheerful youth. Hippies have their own answer to every question, their own truth and their own mythology. And Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol occupies a special, but undoubtedly very honorable place in their pantheon. The artist Alexander Iosifov noted: “Firstly, Gogol himself already has a hippie look. Secondly, he is to some extent mystically predisposed to the perception of life, which is what those young people are predisposed to. This is precisely the inadequate perception of life.”

And, of course, every hippie has his own version of what happened in the house on Nikitsky Boulevard: “I was disappointed in life. Plus, they say he was very sick, and according to legend, when the coffin was opened, the lid was scratched. Maybe Maybe they buried him alive."

The aura of mystery that surrounded Gogol during his life only thickened after his death. Vladislav Otroshenko believes that this is natural: “Before Gogol, we never had a writer who made literature his life. Pushkin - yes, he had a lot of things in his life: he had a family, a wife, children, duels, cards , friends, court intrigues. Gogol had nothing in his life except literature. He was such a monk of literature.”

A monk, an ascetic, an eccentric hermit, a performer and a lonely traveler, a writer who left the greatest legacy and did not have even the most basic signs of everyday life during his lifetime. After the death of the writer, an inventory was compiled, mainly his property were books, 234 volumes - both in Russian and in foreign languages. The clothing listed in this inventory was in poor condition. Of all the valuable things, only a gold watch can be called." The watch, however, disappeared. And what has survived has come to us thanks to friends, relatives or simply admirers of the writer's talent. The main pride of the House of N.V. Gogol is a glass purchased from descendants on the line of his sister Elizabeth, which Nikolai Vasilyevich gave to her for her wedding. Also in the museum there is a needle case made of bone, which was passed down to him from his mother. It turns out that Nikolai Vasilyevich was a very good sewer, embroiderer, he straightened his own ties, scarves, and also sewed. dresses for sisters.

Admirers of Gogol's melodious style still come to this house on Nikitsky Boulevard. Every year in March, the writer’s memorial day is celebrated here, and every time “Prayer” is heard - Gogol’s only poem. During Gogol’s life, Gogol’s Ukrainian Wednesdays were held in this house. Gogol was very fond of Ukrainian songs, and although he himself did not have such a pronounced ear for music, he collected Ukrainian songs, recorded them and loved to sing along and even lightly tap his feet.

Painting by Peter Geller "Gogol, Pushkin and Zhukovsky in the summer of 1831 in Tsarskoe Selo", 1952. Photo: ITAR-TASS

Anyone can come to the house on Nikitsky Boulevard, but not everyone can stay. Vera Nikulina (director of the N.V. Gogol House) says: “I had cases when people came, worked for three days, their temperature rose, did not drop, and they quit. It is believed that the house accepts or does not accept a person.” Some clarify: this is not a house, but Gogol himself tests people’s strength, welcomes the faithful and decisively rejects the random. In the Gogol House a saying appeared: “this is Gogol.” When something happens, “it’s all Gogol’s fault.”

So what actually happened to Gogol on the night of February 11-12, 1852? Writer Vladislav Otroshenko is sure that these sheets of plump manuscript, rapidly turning into ashes, are only the last act of a tragedy that began ten years earlier, at the very moment when the first volume of the poem “Dead Souls” was published: “All of Russia is waiting for the second volume of “Dead Souls” from him souls", when the first volume makes a revolution in Russian literature and in the minds of readers. All of Russia looks at him, and he soars above the world. And suddenly collapse. He writes to the maid of honor of the court, Alexandra Osipovna Smirnova, this was one of his close friends, in 1845 year he writes to her: “God took away from me the ability to create.”

This version does not deny all the previous ones; rather, it combines them together, and therefore seems the most probable. Vladislav Otroshenko: “Gogol died from literature, died from “Dead Souls,” because it was such a thing that either it is written and lifts the creator simply to heaven, or it kills him if it is not written. After all, Gogol intended to write a third volume , and there were only two ways out of this grandiose plan - either accomplish it or die."

Gogol has remained one of the most mysterious writers for a century and a half. Sometimes light and ironic, more often gloomy, half-crazy, and always magical and elusive. And therefore, everyone who opens his books finds something of their own in them every time.

Larisa Kosareva (art manager of the House of N.V. Gogol): “Riddle, mysticism, mystery, humor - that’s what is missing in modern prose. Still, it is very ironic, and this joke, humor, fantasy is a blockbuster XIX century, Gogol".

One Byron (actor): “Very similar to our poet Edgar Allan Poe. There is a common dark side, it seems to me. A man with a difficult fate, both of these poets had complex life stories. They both love the moment of the absurd. I adore the absurd.” .

Vladislav Otroshenko (writer): “We always say that literature is generally the most important wealth that Russia had, a wealth that does not dry up. Because the attitude that, by the way, was set by Gogol, the attitude towards literature as something - something that completely absorbs you."

Collected works of N.V. Gogol, 1975. Photo: ITAR-TASS

And therefore, probably, every thoughtful reader has his own version of what actually happened on a February night in a house on Nikitsky Boulevard.

Museum researcher Oleg Robinov believes that Nikolai Vasilyevich, shortly before his death, came and buried the second volume of “Dead Souls” in his yard. Moreover, he made an embankment, a small mound, and told the peasants, bequeathed that if there is a bad harvest, a difficult year, you will dig it up, sell it, and you will be happy.

It can rightfully be considered one of the best books of Russian literature. Gogol's language is so fascinating that you literally cannot tear yourself away from the book. The writer’s magnificent speech makes literary critics to this day regret the impossibility of ever seeing the second volume of this work.

Many generations of researchers of the Russian writer’s work have been asking the question: why did Gogol burn the second volume of Dead Souls? There are several possible answers to this question.

Option one: the second volume did not exist

This version is based on the fact that no one has seen the handwritten version of the second volume. The only witness to her burning is Semyon, Gogol's servant. According to him, the writer told him to bring the manuscript and, throwing it into the fireplace, set the paper on fire. Semyon allegedly asked him not to burn the book, to which Nikolai Vasilyevich replied that it was none of his business.

The servant's illiteracy and young age make this version taken lightly. However, the evidence of contemporaries and studies of draft materials lead us to believe that the second volume existed. Therefore, the version that Gogol burned the second volume is quite realistic.

Option two: the writer destroyed the draft version of the second volume, and the manuscript went to Count A.P. Tolstoy

This option, like the first, is also unlikely and is based on data from the same Semyon, Gogol’s servant. Even if we assume that Tolstoy decided to hide the existence of the manuscript, after such a long time it would certainly have fallen into the hands of researchers of the writer’s work. However, this version very simply explains why Gogol burned the second volume of Dead Souls: he was getting rid of unnecessary paper.

Option three: the writer burned the second volume of the book, being in a not entirely sane state

It must be said that the writer was prone to depression from an early age; he had seizures quite often. It is known that in the winter of 1852 his state of mind was negatively affected by the death of his friend's wife. The writer was very afraid of death. Perhaps he burned his work in an excited emotional state, believing, for example, that his creation was not good enough. This version is more plausible and explains why Gogol burned the second volume of Dead Souls, but at present it is not the most popular.

Option four: Gogol burned the manuscript by mistake, confusing it with drafts

As mentioned above, the information received from Gogol’s servant, although not entirely accurate, is close to the truth. It is known that one morning the writer shared with Count Tolstoy, with whom he lived, that, intending to burn some of the things he had prepared for this, he burned everything. He also shared that the destroyed notebooks contained a lot of useful information.

According to this version, Nikolai Vasilyevich was pleased with his work. Of course, he had moments of despair, but this is typical of every person, especially a creative one. In this case, the answer to the question why Gogol burned the second volume of Dead Souls sounds incredibly simple: he made a mistake and destroyed something he didn’t want.

A little about the genre of the work and its title

Having considered the versions of why the author destroyed his work, let’s try to understand its genre features. So, why did Gogol call “Dead Souls” a poem? At first glance, this definition of the genre seems strange. When we hear the word “poem”, we think of the Iliad and the Odyssey. At first glance, it seems to us that there is nothing in common between “Dead Souls” and Homer’s creation. However, researchers of Gogol's work find evidence that these works really belong to the same genre. In particular, Korobochka is a kind of personification of the nymph Calypso, whose remote estate resembles an abandoned island. In the image of Sobakevich you can recognize the Cyclops Polyphemus - a giant who lives in dens. Odysseus and Chichikov begin to travel at the will of the elements that control them. The first is powerless before the forces of nature, the second - before human nature.

Gogol's author's confession

It is a known fact that the idea of ​​this poem belonged to A.S. Pushkin, who admired Gogol’s talent for describing portraits of people and gave Nikolai Vasilyevich his idea. The author of “Dead Souls” was so carried away by his work that he decided to write three whole volumes. According to the author's plan, the second and third parts were supposed to introduce us to positive characters and show the moral growth of the main character, Chichikov.

Initially, the author planned to write a novel, but due to the large number of lyrical turns, Gogol came to the understanding of the need to call “Dead Souls” nothing more than a poem. This definition of the genre of the work by the writer himself once again suggests that he could not destroy it of his own free will, since he valued his brainchild too much. Most likely, this really was a mistake.

So, we looked at the versions of why the author destroyed his brainchild. However, drafts remained. The most popular are the first five chapters of the destroyed volume. They were supposed to be published in 2010, but this did not happen. I would like to express the hope that sooner or later the draft version of the second volume will see the light of day.

“Dead Souls” is a landmark work in the works of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. In it, he wanted to show Russia without embellishment, with its problems and shameful sins. Gogol himself valued his work very highly and had high hopes for it, hoping to convey his thoughts and sincere experiences to the people. However, only the first volume was published. The writer destroyed the second volume. Let us consider further why he burned the second volume of Dead Souls.

The fate of the second volume of “Dead Souls”

I would like to immediately note that by the time he worked on the second part of his main work, Gogol was in a very difficult state from a psychological point of view. Nervous, very difficult in character, distrustful, secretive, Nikolai Vasilyevich lived a hard life, often in a state of depression and nervousness.

After the death of one of his close acquaintances (and perhaps not only for this reason), the writer complained to friends about his manic fear of death. He felt exhausted, exhausted, and began to have difficulty sleeping.

On one of these sleepless, torment-filled nights from February 11 to 12, 1852, Gogol ordered his young servant Semyon to bring a suitcase with manuscripts to continue the work. After this, the writer threw all the notebooks into a burning fireplace and burned volume 2 of Dead Souls.

Later, with colossal bitterness, he will tell his friend, Count Tolstoy, that he destroyed the continuation of the story due to an unforgivable mistake, which the devil seemed to push him into.

In addition, there are other versions of what happened:

• In fact, there was no full second part. Gogol never wrote it, and therefore simply came up with the idea of ​​burning manuscripts.
• Nikolai Vasilyevich was unable to write a second part that could compete in genius with the first. Therefore, he decided to destroy the book, not daring to present it to the public.
• Prone to mystification and religious, Gogol considered such an act of burning symbolic, bringing the best work of his life to the altar of God.
• The emperor ordered him to make a continuation of the work. In it, the writer had to show officials who had already come to their senses and repented. But such an idea contradicted the way the writer himself wanted to present the story, and therefore Gogol burned the second volume of Dead Souls.
• Love of fame, able to attract attention, Nikolai Vasilyevich may have decided to simply add hype to his book. After all, nothing worries as much as the unknown. And in this case, his idea was a success, since the treasured second volume is discussed today almost more often than the published work.

You can also read in some sources that the story was stolen from the writer by ill-wishers, and the story about the burning was invented in order to hide the real truth.