• The metatheatricality of “The Government Inspector” and Gogol’s multidimensional view of theatre

УДК: 821.161.1-22+792.2(=161.1)

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2023-1-46-66

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Artem N. Zorin

Dr. Sc. in Philology, Professor, Editor-in-Chief of the Theatre. Fine Arts. Cinema. Music journal.
Saratov State University, Saratov State Conservatoire
Saratov, Russia
E-mail: art-zorin@yandex.ru

The metatheatricality of “The Government Inspector” and Gogol’s multidimensional view of theatre

Abstract

Gogol’s “The Government Inspector”, within the context of all comments made on the comedy, is considered as a combination of different points of view on the play and the nature of the theatre, which are correlated with different loci of theatrical architectural space. Notes to “The Government Inspector” reflect the evolution of Gogol’s interpretations of his own play. They change not only in regards to time, but also in regards to space — every next published comment reveals a new direction of viewing theatrical space and a point of view from the position of a certain theatrical locus. They are the scene (“Wishes for those who I would like to properly play The Government Inspector”), stalls and boxes (“Letter written by the author after the presentation of a new comedy”), the foyer, the theatre staircase and the space behind it (“Theatrical tour after the presentation of one comedy”), theatre workshops (letters to colleagues in the theatre workshops), artistic dressing rooms (“The Outcome of The Government Inspector”). In general, the totality of points of view on the Inspector in a particular work or letter with the comments on the “The Government Inspector” can be correlated with a specific place within the theatre space. In general, it is interpreted by Gogol himself as the versatility of this approach to theatre. But such versatility is opposed in “Selected passages from correspondence with Friends” with a “one-sided” consumer approach to theatre from one position, which eliminates the possibility for dialogue and judging a dramatic actor “according to the laws he recognized above himself”.

Keywords

N. V. Gogol, The Inspector General, dramaturgy, poetics of drama, Russian theatre.

For citation

Zorin A.N. The metatheatricality of “The Government Inspector” and Gogol’s multidimensional view of theatre. Theatre. Fine Arts. Cinema. Music. 2023, no. 1, pp. 46–66.

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2023-1-46-66

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Received: 11.12.2022

Revised: 02.02.2023

Accepted: 09.02.2023