GOGOL’S AESTHETIC AMORALISM: THE PARADOX OF HEROIC SPIRIT

Abstract

The bogatyrs are important literary images in ancient Russian folklore, which gave rise to a unique Russian “bogatyr spirit.” Influenced by the intellectual atmosphere of the 19th century, the images and narratives of bogatyrs extensively entered literary works. Gogol’s writings also exhibit an appeal to this bogatyr spirit, along with the inheritance and reinterpretation of traditional bogatyr storylines. On the one hand, in his fiction and literary criticism, Gogol extols the ancient Russian bogatyr spirit, viewing it as the embodiment of the Russian national character. On the other hand, his approach to inheriting and reinterpreting traditional bogatyr imagery reveals a profound dichotomy between his aesthetic amoralism and deeply held religious faith. The paper argues that Gogol’s story “Taras Bulba” possesses an implicit connection to the ancient folk epic “The Fight of Ilya Muromets and his Son.” Through comparative textual analysis, the article aims to uncover Gogol’s adaptation of traditional bogatyr images and plots, and to trace the manifestations of the ancient bogatyr spirit in 19th-century Russian literature.