The monologue of N. V. Gogol in the polyphony of “Marriage”

The article is dedicated to the study of the idea of Gogol's comedy “Marriage” in the single creative and biographical context. It is traced the relation of the play with the early Gogol's works, the stories “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, the comedy “The Inspector General”, “Nevsky Prospekt”, with the history of the writer's later probable matchmaking and old monastic aspirations of Gogol. The “polyphony” of “Marriage” reveals the hidden author's position, an ascetic attitude of the writer to marriage, as well as the connection between the idea of the play and hagiographic literature. Biblical and evangelical reminiscences are mentioned determining the circle of Gogol's reflections on the ways of salvation in monasticism or in marriage. The ideological and thematic common points between the “Marriage” and the existing chapters of the second volume of the “Dead Souls” are outlined. Some possible prototypes of Gogol's heroes are asserted. The unity of the artist's creative path is emphasized.