On the Issues of the “Infernal Theme” In the Work of N.V. Gogol and P. Merimee

Abstract

The article examines the “Infernal theme” in Russian and foreign literature on the example of the works “Viy” by Gogol and “Carmen” by Merimee. The infernal theme in the study understood as an object of artistic reflection, those life characters and situations (the relationship of characters, as well as the interaction of a person with society, with nature, everyday life). Which, as it were, pass from reality into a work of art, form the objective side of its content and have a connection with the other world and the world of base human passions. The theme of the work in this interpretation is an intermediary between reality and the artistic whole; it manifests itself both in the real world and in the artistic one.

The mystical consciousness of writers, expressed in different ways, leads to one thing: renewal, strengthening of realism as a method. Gogol fights against the “capture” of a person by evil mystical forces, resorting to the help of a spiritual, divine-moral principle. Merimee contrasts such forces with a romantic personality with its beauty, love, freedom. Often understanding freedom narrowly as freedom from society, we forget about the acquisitions that made by realist writers back in the XIX century. In this sense, the story “Viy” by Gogol and the short story “Carmen” by Merimee are modern and in demand even in the XXI century.