The Rude Realizations of Russian Romantics
“How strangely, how mysteriously does fate play with us! Everything seems to happen contrary to our hopes and expectation” (Gogol 200). These words of jaded exasperation embody the main idea found in the works of Russian writers Nicolai Gogol and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. While it may be debatable whether it was intended as means of reverence or ridicule, Nicolai Gogol’s Nevsky Avenue was redesigned and repurposed by Fyodor Dostoyevsky in his work Notes from Underground. Analogous plot structures and characters are developed by these authors to portray parallel observations and viewpoints regarding the corrupting influence of civilized conformity and the heartless, materialistic nature of society. Gogol’s …show more content…
They seem to possess the moral values commonly displayed by antiquated literary heroes. These protagonists base their world views on the ideas of innocence and beauty, gallantry and chivalry, honor and pride. The young Underground Man unconsciously seeks the “sublime and beautiful” (Dostoyevsky 18) while living a rich fantasy life. His preference for the companionship of books over that of people results in his delusional belief that situations should be handled in reality as they are fictitiously. In fact, he believes books are instruction manuals that show us “…what side to take, where to place our allegiance, what to love and what to hate, what to respect and what to despise” (Dostoyevsky 118). Piskarev is an artist and an idealist. He spends his days finding the beauty in everything and committing it to canvas. When Piskarev first encounters the woman on the street, he assumes she “…must be a woman of high society” (Gogol 168) because she is a “…ravishing creature who seemed to have flown down…straight from heaven…” (Gogol 169). Gogol’s artist falls victim to an ugly flaw still present in modern society; that is, Piskarev believes that external values are indicative of inner worth. The romantic mentality of these two men exemplifies the common behavioral foible of seeing only what you want to see. Life can seem easier to deal with and society can seem a more perfect creation if one remains …show more content…
Firstly, it is essential to note that these men even consider the women to be damsels in distress. Both Liza of Notes from Underground and the unnamed beauty from Nevsky Avenue do not exhibit any outward signs of distress or dismay concerning their stations in life. The men consider these women to be beneath them, to be blemishes on society. Upon entering the home of the beauty he had so fervently followed and realizing he had been led into a brothel, Piskarev defines the residents as “wretched creatures,” each of them a female who had lost “…the purity of her heart all that is womanly and adopting in a way that can only arouse disgust the impudent manners of man, and so ceasing to be the weak and lovely creature that is so different from ourselves.” (Gogol 174). Rigid social structure and its class system have conditioned these protagonists to judge others according to society’s strict regulations. While both Piskarev’s and Underground Man’s experiences may culminate in these similar acts of false heroics, their motivations and intentions are dissimilar. Piskarev was swept up by sudden passionate feelings for the mystery woman who becomes his entire existence with a single glance. His gentlemanly rescue is a way to appease his desire to make his beloved his wife and “…restore to the world