Rome and its Ukrainian Soul: Fragments of Ukraine in Gogol’s Rim
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29173/md22882Abstract
Gogol’s persona is still nowadays at the centre of a debate, which aims to place him either within the Russian or Ukrainian borders. His Russian contemporary scholars - such as Belinsky - while building a national literature, placed Gogol’ into their literary canon. Today, instead, scholars such as Bojanowska are trying to deconstruct the Russian imperialist discourse, in order to affirm a new awareness on Gogol’s writings and personal inclination. Although the two main currents exclude one another, they both trace a moment in Gogol’s production when the author seems to detach himself from his Ukrainianness.
Nevertheless, the debate on Gogol’s persona does not end in the Russian, Ukrainian, and North American context. Further studies, which are less concerned about the nationalistic discourse or postcolonial theories, provide other interpretations of the matter. For instance, in her preface to the Italian translation of Rome, Giuliani traces a topographic triangle in the Gogolian literature. The summits are represented by three main places and the correspondent literary works: Ukraine (Mirgorod, 1835), Saint Petersburg (Nevsky Prospekt, 1835), and Rome (Rome, 1842). At the same time, these three places trace Gogol’s literary growth: Ukraine is seen as his beloved homeland, Saint Petersburg as the place where he started his career, and Rome as the city where his spirit finally found peace.
Following these steps, the present work aims to analyze the fragment Rome, in order to trace its Ukrainian elements by comparing it to the stories in the collection Evening from a Farm Near Dikanka.
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