Diary of a Madman (story)

"Diary of a Madman" (1835) (Russian: "Записки сумасшедшего") is a farcical short story by Nikolai Gogol. Along with "The Overcoat" and "The Nose," "Diary of a Madman" is considered to be one of Gogol's greatest short stories. The tale centers on the life of a minor civil servant during the repressive era of Nicholas I. Following the format of a diary, the story shows the digression of the protagonist, Poprishchin, into insanity. "Diary of a Madman" is the only one of Gogol's works written in first person, as the story follows diary entry format.

Plot Summary

"Diary of a Madman" centers on the life of Poprishchin, a low-ranking civil servant and Titular counsellor , who yearns to be noticed by a beautiful woman, the daughter of a senior official, with whom he has fallen in love. His diary records his gradual slide into insanity. As his madness deepens, he begins to suspect two dogs of having a love affair and believes he has discovered letters sent between them. Finally, he begins to believe himself to be the heir to the throne of Spain. When he is hauled off and maltreated by the authorities, the madman believes he is taking part in a strange coronation to the Spanish throne. It is only in his madness that the lowly anti-hero attains greatness in life.

The story satirizes the rampant petty officialdom of the bureaucracy in the 1840s in St Petersburg, and has been interpreted by some as going beyond this to being an allegory about the political state of Russia at the time, revealing Gogol's view of the government from the standpoint of a lowly citizen. The story also portrays the average man's quest for individuality in a seemingly indifferent, urban city. The description of Poprishchin's "insanity" is further claimed to be one of the earliest portrayals of schizophrenia as now known.

External links

* [http://www.rusjournal.com/gogol.html "Diary of a Madman:" Bureaucracy, Rationality, and Reality"] : An commentary showing how "Diary of a Madman" condemns bureaucracy. Published in "The American Journal of Russian and Slavic Studies."
* [http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Post/156201 "Portrait of a Madman: Gogol's Use of Animals in "Diary of a Madman" (Part I)" ] : An essay analyzing the significance of animal symbolism in "Dairy of a Madman." Published through the webgroup "Ancient Worlds."
* [http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/323/7327/1475 One of the oldest cases of schizophrenia] , by Altschuler, EL. British Medical Journal, 2001;323:1475-1477 (22-29 December)