2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
The events of the story "The Night Before Christmas", belonging to the cycle "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka", are incredible, fantastic and similar to a fairy tale. The whole plot narrative is saturated with a folklore spirit, reminiscent of original ancient legends and fairy tales.
Start-climax-denouement
The main action of the work "The Night Before Christmas", the heroes of which are mostly residents of Dikanka, revolves around the main character - the blacksmith Vakula, and the permanent hero of folk beliefs - the devil. The plot of the original plot can be considered a conversation between the obstinate beauty Oksana and Vakula, who is in love with her to the point of unconsciousness. The girl promises to go down the aisle with the blacksmith only if he gets her the cherished little slippers worn by the Empress.
The culmination of the action is called the blacksmith's flight on a demon to St. Petersburg and back. And in the denouement, the main character not only gets the desired shoes, but also reconciles with the father of his beloved, after which the happy couple unites by marriage.
Folk beliefs as the basis
Practically all readers who plunged into the exciting fairy-tale world of literature noted the extraordinary charm and poetry of N. V. Gogol. A distinctive feature of the story "The Night Before Christmas", whose characters are familiar to everyone since childhood, is the widespread use of oral folk art, folklore. This trend can be seen both in the plot twists and in the images of the characters. It is from folk beliefs that Solokha and the devil appear. A demon who managed to steal the month, and a witch flying out of the chimney of a rural hut and having fun with the stars. You can also draw a parallel between folk legends and the blacksmith's magical flight. In his work, the author plausibly reflects the spirit of the Ukrainian village, the hinterland.
Solokha
"The Night Before Christmas" in an amazing way combines the real with the fictional, fabulous. The characters in the story are unique and colorful. Among women, the mother of the protagonist, Vakula, stands out especially. Describing this image, we recall that Solokha is “a woman of Balzac age”, she is “no more than forty years old.”
It's hard not to remember the charismatic Gogol heroine. Although, according to the author's description, she is neither ugly nor pretty, a large number of representatives of the strong half of the village are her fans. Moreover, the woman is so smart, or rather, insidious, that none of the admirers could even imagine that he had a rival. The explanation for such dexterity can be the fact that Solokha is a witch. And, as befits a representative of this "craft", she is fluent in the art of seduction, however, as well as the skills of flying on a broomstick. Call this character a model of virtueimpossible, but he charms the reader no less than the beautiful Oksana, the deacon Osip Nikiforovich or Sverbyguz.
Outlandish name
Many fans of the story are concerned about why Vakula's mother's name is so unusual - Solokha. This name is outlandish even for a witch, perhaps Gogol specially invented it for his heroine? It turns out that it doesn't. This name has existed since ancient times. Its echoes are preserved in modern surnames like Soloshyn, Solokhov or Soloshenko. Most likely, this name is derived from some other Christian one.
There are several different versions of the origin of the name. Perhaps Solokha is a derivative of Sophia, which means "wise, wisdom." And if we take into account that the witch means "knowing", possessing secret knowledge, wisdom, then the name of the heroine is the most suitable and symbolic for the sorceress. According to another version, this is a derivative of Solomonis, a female variation of the name Solomon, which is uniquely associated with the image of the legendary king, known throughout the world for his infinite wisdom.
Combining the real with the fabulous
The traditional characterization of Solokha is predominantly negative. She is distinguished by cunning, hypocrisy, readiness to commit vile acts in order to satisfy her own interests. The woman welcomed only we althy boyfriends, while giving preference to the richest among them - the Cossack Chuba, as she dreamed of taking over his household, fantasizing about how she would live whenwill become a full mistress.
The author deliberately portrayed this character in a close interweaving of fantasy and reality: she is both a clever rural woman, and a daring witch flirting with both the devil and the deacon. All rural women secretly envy her. Solokha does not frighten or repel the reader; she cannot be called a negative character. In the image of this heroine, a sly mockery created by the great writer is seen. In her, this portly and attractive woman, Gogol wanted to show the reader various human vices: treason, self-interest, greed, constant deceit.
The Enchanted World
In the story "The Night Before Christmas" the reader is presented with a special world with its own laws and rules, traditions. Real situations so organically merge into fantastic, fabulous ones that it begins to seem: this is how it should be. Both worlds in the work, intertwined, merge into a single whole. And sketches of the surrounding reality contribute to the creation of a fabulous atmosphere. Many natural phenomena come to life in the enchanted world: “the stars looked”, “the month rose majestically into the sky”. In the work "The Night Before Christmas" Gogol's skill was fully manifested.
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