N. V. Gogol and E. T. A. Hoffmann: on some folklore parallels in poetics

Abstract

The article deals with comparative analysis of the works by N. V. Gogol and E. T. A. Hoffman. The study object is two texts: “The Night Before Christmas” by the writer from Russia and “A New Year’s Eve Adventure” by the romantic writer from Germany. The topic being analyzed is spatial models and relations thereof in the writers’ poetics. Special attention here is drawn to folklore tradition as in folk art a clear differentiation of various types of space can be observed. The parallels with Chinese fairy tales are drawn here where a literary technique of an animated portrait appeared to be relevant to the artistic world of the authors in question. Great importance is attached to archetypal structures associated with the feminine principle (the images of Oksana and Julia). Historico-literary and typological methods of the work analysis are used.