SEELANGS: Gogol as Realist

[Kirsty McCluskey]

Thanks to both of you.  That does make a great deal of sense in the context
of the time and place and of Trotsky's self-identification at that time.

My query arises because I was well aware of earlier critics' attitude to
Gogol, but the Realist label seemed a little disconcerting still given both
Gogol's talent for absurdity and the young Trotsky's predilection - in that
same article - for accusing Gogol of being out of touch with reality!  But
the contradiction there is entirely Trotsky's.  He seems to be clinging to
Belinskii and Herzen while evolving towards a socialist standpoint on
"bourgeois" literature something akin to that of Literature and Revolution.

Before I ramble on further about Trotsky, thanks again for your kind answers
to my rather obvious question.

Best wishes, Kirsty

On Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 5:35 PM, Valentino, Russell <
russell-valentino at uiowa.edu> wrote:

> The best treatment of the dueling visions of Gogol (humanist, realist,
> enlightener vs. explorer of the dark recesses of the human psyche, etc.) is
> in Fanger's Creation of Nikolai Gogol. The Soviet (1950s) statue of the
> upright, book in hand figure proclaiming the truth of Tsarist oppression is
> in keeping with the realist line, so Trotsky's version of it from 1902 is
> not suprising.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
> [mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Kirsty McCluskey
> Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 2:04 PM
> To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] SEELANGS: Gogol as Realist
>
> Many thanks - I certainly did not expect Trotsky to be original (at least
> at
> that stage in his career).  So it makes sense that he must have got it from
> somewhere!  He references Belinskii extensively, of course.
>
> Kirsty
>
> On Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 4:59 PM, Andrey Shcherbenok <avs2120 at columbia.edu
> >wrote:
>
> > If I am not mistaken, Gogol was proclaimed the father of the so-called
> > "Natural School" by Belinsky; "Natural School", in its turn, was often
> > understood as realism par excellence (their manifest was "Fisiologia
> > Peterbugra", a collection of ethnographic essays of the city). Thus,
> > Trotsky
> > is not very original here. Later on, the main Soviet work of Gogol's
> > realism
> > is Gukovsky's "Realism Gogolia", written in the 1940s, if I am not
> > mistaken.
> >
> > Best,
> > Andrey
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
> > [mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Kirsty McCluskey
> > Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 2:53 PM
> > To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
> > Subject: [SEELANGS] SEELANGS: Gogol as Realist
> >
> > Hello all
> >
> > I am currently polishing up a commented translation of a very early
> article
> > by Trotsky, published in 1902 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of
> > Gogol's
> > death.  Throughout the piece, Trotsky consistently refers to Gogol as a
> > Realist; indeed, as the Father of the Realist School.  As one who knows
> > Trotsky somewhat better than I know Gogol studies (although I know
> Gogol's
> > output well), this strikes me as an odd descriptor.
> >
> > I wonder, can anyone tell me whether this is consistent with contemporary
> > views on Gogol?  Did the great minds of 1902 indeed see Gogol not only as
> a
> > Realist, but as *the* Realist?
> >
> > Best wishes
> > Kirsty McCluskey
> >
> > --
> > http://kirstyjane.wordpress.com
> >
> > Vulpes Libris
> > A collective of bibliophiles writing about books
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>
>
> --
> http://kirstyjane.wordpress.com
>
> Vulpes Libris
> A collective of bibliophiles writing about books
> http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com
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