The basis of the artistic meaning of “Vii” is a complex balancing act between “medieval” and “renaissance” overtones. From the point of view of the “Renaissance” subtext, pannochka is not a witch in the literal sense, but the plot of “Vii” is love-adventurous and love-mystical. All the fiction of “Vii” is heroic in the sense that it rises above the ordinary, but more often “heroism” is accompanied by infernal overtones, which just collides the “Renaissance” meaning of “Vii” with its “medieval” meaning, literalizing the plot of pressure on the hero of evil spirits. When Khoma takes the “witch” seriously, he is acting from a “medieval” point of view. At the same time, as a kind of parallel to his characters, Gogol’ set certain Renaissance images, dating back, among other things, to Shakespeare and Cervantes. Khoma dies not only from a too literal perception of “devilry”. Khoma is ruined by the fascination with the witch in her manifestation through “beauty”, which is unexpected for the neophyte: Khoma, under the rule of the aesthetic-artistic principle (i.e., the Renaissance context), he to some extent becomes its bearer.
Gogol’; Shakespeare; Cervantes; Middle Ages; Renaissance; devilry; laughter.
Shul’ts, S.A. “Gogol’ – Sheakspeare – Cervantes (on “Medieval” and “Renaissance” Sub-text in “Vii”. Literaturovedcheskii zhurnal, no. 4(58), 2022, pp. 81–112.