Humorismo e epicidade em Almas mortas e Tarás Bulba.

Abstract

In this dissertation, we propose to interpret Dead souls and Taras Bulba, two works of Nikolai Gogol, in the light of the aspects of humor and the epic. We note that, in both narratives, these aspects do not cancel each other, but coexist, and this relationship, that implies contrasts and ambiguities, differs from the epic genre considered by the literary canon. This point, we emphasize that, although Gogol has appropriated elements from the old epics to compose his works, Dead souls and Taras Bulba do not constitute classic models of the epic genre, because they present different facets when they dialogue mainly with the element of laughter. What they express, in our view, is an epic essence. In the same way, the Gogolian texts do not fall into the tradition of comedies, since the comic and ridiculous manifestations embodied by their characters do not separate from the noble character of the epic sentiment. Therefore, we believe that, in Gogol’s work, both humor and epic are parts of the same perspective on the world. About our method, we prefer to designate it as an interpretive attitude toward works, as a perspective that allows us to “listen” to texts. On the basis of the principles of hermeneutic philosophy, we do not put ourselves above the Gogolian work in order to impose a certain point of view on it, but we listen to what it has to say to us and, thus, we let it take us all over power of senses. Therefore, our reading of Dead souls and Taras Bulba, as well as Gogol’s poetics, does not mean an objectivist reading, but a sensitive to the complexity of the human condition. In addition, aiming to broaden our interpretive horizons of Gogol’s work, we consider the theoretical and critical perspectives of authors such as Richard Palmer about the hermeneutic question, by Emil Staiger about the epic genre, as well as the platonic and aristotelian conceptions with reference to comedy and epic, by Vladimir Propp, D. C. Muecke and Søren Kierkegaard on the various facets of laughter, and Mikhail Bakhtin in relation to the point of view of carnivalization in Gogol’s narratives, among others. Finally, we would like to emphasize that, with its caricatures and elements of the popular comic culture, Gogol awakened a worldview essentially geared to the Russian people and to the depths of the soul, focusing on what is trivial and low, but also essential in life human. In this way, Gogol’s work instigates us to look at ourselves, and this is one reason why we read and study it. Constantly, we seek answers to what we are, and, in a way, Gogol’s insightful eye shows us some directions.