Sergei A. Shul’ts, DSc in Philology, Independent Researcher, Rostov-on-Don, Russia. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3429-6714
Abstract. Thomas Mann always spoke highly of Russian literature. Intertextual connections with it – and with Russian themes in general – are present in many of Mann’s works. Gogolian motifs are evident in the novel “Doctor Faustus”. In particular, the motif of infernal temptation, present in Gogol’s stories “Viy”, “Nevsky Prospect”, and “The Portrait”, is particularly prominent. The article draws parallels between the composer Leverkühn and Gogol’s romantic heroes – Khoma Brut, Piskarev, and Chartkov. None of these Gogolian heroes endures the ordeal, although it ends differently for each. Gogol’s intertextual connection with “Doctor Faustus” also includes the novella “Diary of a Madman”, whose hero was originally conceived by the author as a musician. At the end of “Doctor Faustus”, Leverkühn, like Poprishchin, loses his mind.
Gogol; T. Mann; infernal motives; romantic artist; madness.
15.08.2025
10.09.2025
Shul’ts, S.A. “Gogol’s Intertext in Thomas Mann’s Novel Doctor Faustus”. Literaturovedcheskii zhurnal, no. 4(70), 2025, pp. 20–32. (In Russ.)
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