Masculinity In Nikolai Gogol's Petersburg Tales

Nikolai Gogol was a prominent dramatist, novelist, and short story writer in 19th century Russia. Born in Ukraine, much of Gogol’s writing was satirical of the Russian government during his time. Gogol wrote short stories, plays, poems, novels and more. Through Gogol’s writing prominent themes arise. These themes are relevant to and occur throughout Gogol’s short stories in his Petersburg Tales. Masculinity is shown through the character’s constant need to increase their social standing and their inability to cope with the reality of their positions and how they internalize this. Gogol’s short stories acknowledge the protagonist's dilemmas with their masculinity that emerge from the societal and continue to the individual level.
Gogol emphasizes

the idea of the ideal man in his short stories by defining them the same way in each story. The ideal man in 19th century Russia was one who had high status and nobility, and was aware of it. Men in 19th century Russia were so obsessed with status and how other people viewed them that they did most anything to appear this way. In “The Carriage”, the protagonist, Pythagor Pythagorovich Chertokutsky’s description of what kind of man he is takes up an entire page and a half of the short story. Chertokutsky is attending the general’s dinner with other important people and is described as: “one of the chief aristocrats...generally behaved with largess...In short, he was a real landowner...A landowner good and proper” (Gogol 309-310). Even though Chertokutsky seems to have embodied the idea of a “man” in 19th century Russia, he still seeks approval from those of authority around him. He engages in a conversation with the general and cannot help but inflate himself: “I have a surpassing carriage, Your Excellency...very, very comfortable...And so roomy!” (Gogol 332). Chertokutsky embellished upon something that he had in order to gain the general’s attention to gain a higher standing in society. In “The Nose” when major Kovalev loses his nose and placing an add in the newspaper and is asked his name, he responds with, “‘No, why the name? I can’t tell you” (Gogol 311). Kovalev doesn’t want to risk his reputation and have people know there is any defect with him. The men in 19th century Russia were so obsessed with their appearance and how people viewed them it that they take their societal positions to a whole new level.
Gogol emphasizes the protagonists underlying issues with the masculinity through their positions in society and how they internalize them.

Because the men were so dutiful to their jobs, they would take whatever job was given to them without true consideration of what that job was. This being the case, men were reduced to lowly jobs such as sharpening pencils. They put so much emphasis on their jobs and position in society and being the ideal man that they attempt to rationalize their jobs and become mere vessels for them. They think they are important and create alternate realities in order to cope with the reality they are living in. In “The Diary of a Madman” we see the protagonist already on his downward spiral to his alternate reality. Poprischin is a titular councilllor who is reduced to sharpening pencils. Gogol writes him, as the title suggests, a madman. It is because Poprischin knows he will never be anyone of importance that he loses his sense of reality and creates his own. It is only in his madness that he gains the greatness he could never achieve otherwise. “This day-is a day of the greatest solemnity! Spain has a king. He has been found. I am that king” (Gogol 294). Poprischin creates himself to be what he isn’t and goes mad because of it. In “The Nose” the collegiate assessor Kovalev, loses his nose. It is seemingly not cut off or removed in any forceful way; one day it just disappears. Kovalev’s loss of his nose is another representation of his insecurity

of his masculinity of his position in society. When Kovalev finds his nose it appears to be much better off and in a higher position than Kovalev: “He was in a gold-embroidered uniform with a big standing collar...From his plumed hat it could be concluded that be belonged to the rank of state councillor” (Gogol 306). Kovalev describes his nose in awe: “‘By all tokens, by his uniform, by his hat, one can see he’s a state councillor. Devil knows how to go about it’” (Gogol 307). Kovalev internalizes his low position by having a part of him (although detached at the time) become a higher rank than he is. Gogol’s characters create their alternate realities of the men they wish they could be in reality but know they will never become.
There are many common themes that arise in Gogol’s short stories. These include what it means to be a 19th century man in Russia and Gogol acknowledges his protagonist's dilemmas with their masculinity. This begins on the societal level and continues to the individual and personal level. Men in 19th century Russia were obsessive with the social ranking and positions in society and needed they to be validated constantly. This in turn led to the characters taking their jobs so seriously they had no other choice but to make that the center of their lives. And because they were not satisfied with their jobs, they created their own sense of and altered reality to endure. Gogol’s characters all shared similar traits that most people in the 21st century can relate to as well.