Fears and horrors. About N. Gogol’s story “Viy”

History of creation

In 1835, Nikolai Gogol published the collection “Mirgorod”, consisting of four works, one of which was the story “Viy”. It is named after a creepy creature that can kill with a glance. According to the author’s words and notes, the image of this monster is based on folk legends and mythology.

It is worth noting that the word “Viy” itself is ambiguous. Many associate it with consonant Ukrainian words meaning eyelids and eyelashes. This version is the most likely, because it was the character’s eyes that had the described magical effect.

This work was of great importance for the writer and occupied an important place in his work. He repeatedly returned to the developments of his writings for this story. During Gogol's lifetime, Viy was republished twice.

The origins of the story

It is worth understanding that such an image as Viy refers to fairy-tale mystical East Slavic characters. A researcher of folklore traditions in literature, A. Afanasyev, argued in his book that such an image looks like an old man, but strong and powerful, who has huge eyebrows and eyelashes that are luxuriously long. By the way, the literal translation of the title of the work means eyelashes. And this huge Slavic folklore’s eyelashes turned out to be so thick that real strongmen lifted them for him.

This mystical hero was also known to Gogol, who took only some of his features. Viy appears in the plot of Gogol's story at the moment when he spent the night near the dead lady. But at the sight of this hero, he immediately falls, losing consciousness, as if dead. The author himself wrote that his mystical hero originates in Ukrainian folk legend. Typically, those characters who are associated with the mystical world are blind.

The essence

The plot of the story is thought out to the smallest detail, this fact gives credibility to the entire story. It all starts with the reader meeting three students from the Kyiv Bursa. By chance, they got lost and were forced to look for accommodation for the night. They had the opportunity to find shelter in a remote farmstead. The old landlady did not refuse the tortured wanderers. One of them, Khoma Brut, by the way, she became more interested in than others. A separate overnight stay was prepared for him in a stable. But he was not destined to see dreams in it. As night fell, he had to face the actions of his mistress, or rather the witch. Jumping on him, she galloped with him across the fields. Being discouraged, Khoma fearfully began to read prayers, which at that moment saved his life. Having weakened the witch's spell, he finished her off with sheaves, and then the unexpected happened - the old woman turned into a young girl.

After such adventures, Khoma fled back to Kyiv and tried to forget what happened. But the evil forces had other plans for him. He was assigned the funeral service for a young lady who died from beatings. What was Khoma’s fear and horror when he recognized her as a familiar witch. Being imprisoned with her in church, he tried in every possible way to protect himself - he read prayers, drew a protective circle. On the very first night, the girl rose from the dead and tried to take revenge on her offender. For two nights, fate was on the side of the living. On the third, and last night for Khoma, “Viy” himself was called as a lady. Inhuman fear and the deadly gaze of the monster killed the hero.

The meaning of Gogol's work "Viy"

Nikolai Gogol's mystical story still captivates many horror movie fans. A film was made based on it - it holistically depicts the story that Gogol told. Filmed during the Soviet Union, nevertheless, the film delights with the acting and the plot thought out to the smallest detail. The story itself is very dynamic and original, because before this no one had thought to tell about the mysterious life, mysticism and magic that took place in the lives of ordinary villagers.

This story is about seminarians who, having gone on vacation, got lost and asked to spend the night with a lonely old woman. She liked Khoma Brut - she bewitched him, saddled him and flew on his shoulders above the ground. Her prayers overpowered her and she fell to the ground. Khoma, deciding to save herself, finishes her off and sees that lying on the grass is not just an old woman, but a beautiful lady. The girl’s father says that his daughter’s last wish was this: let her funeral service be held for three nights in the local Khoma Brut church, otherwise her soul will be restless in the next world. For three nights, Khoma held the funeral service for the lady, and some kind of devilry was constantly happening to him. On the third night, the most terrible, Khoma was overcome by Viy, who met Khoma’s gaze. The next morning Brutus was found dead.

This and other stories became the most popular in Gogol's work. In addition to “Viy”, “Taras Bulba”, “Old World Landowners”, “The Story of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich” were also written. These works reflect the myth of Ancient Greece about the centuries of human existence: gold, silver, bronze and iron. “Viy” is a story about that same Iron Age, when the human soul becomes impoverished, lies and betrayal become constant companions of human life.

The story about Viya was written from the stories of Ukrainians, whose folklore Gogol was interested in throughout his life. He was interested in searching for and writing down all sorts of fables, tall tales, and stories about magical creatures from the lips of old people. Viy was one of those creatures that instilled fear in the common people. This demon was very scary in appearance - he had huge eyelashes and eyelids that he could not lift on his own. It was because of this that he said when he entered the church, “Lift my eyelids!” All the other demons who serve him help him raise his eyelids, and only after that Viy can kill with his gaze anyone who looks at him.

What is the meaning of this story? It is quite simple and is reflected even in the behavior and names of the main characters: students who study at the theological seminary are not particularly worried about the state of their souls. It is more important for them to have something to drink, eat and smoke. They also cannot resist the temptation to steal something that is in poor condition. Therefore, these were heroes from whom one should not follow an example. Khoma, as the main character, gets into trouble with the lady and goes on a kind of test to test how strong his faith is. You shouldn’t look sin in the eye so as not to let it penetrate deep into your soul - this was precisely the main meaning of this story. It is important for any person to take care of the purity of his inner world, to remove from it everything unnecessary that can affect his thoughts and reason.

The image of Viy in the story is the very sin that destroyed Khoma’s soul. The seminarian’s inner voice whispered to him: “Don’t look,” but Brutus could not resist and, because of his curiosity, said goodbye to life. This was a direct indication that the human soul requires rebirth and self-care, so as not to get bogged down in sins and lose its original pure appearance.

The story “Viy” still attracts and fascinates a huge number of readers. This is the work that has become a classic.

The main characters and their characteristics

1. “Viy” is the personification of a demon, Satan, and evil spirits. A character that combines all the horrors and fears of the people. Most people died not from his hands, but from animal fear of him, their hearts simply broke.
2. The monster's henchwoman was also a young lady . As the villagers noted, she was “a girl with a devil.”
3. Khoma was a typical representative of the society of that time. He combined laziness and carelessness. Any anxiety was drowned out by alcohol and cheerful company. So were the other two students who went on the trip with him.

List and brief characteristics of the heroes of N. V. Gogol’s story “Viy”

The main characters of the story “Viy”:

• Khoma Brut is a student of the Kiev Bursa, a lover of “forgetting” about science. A cheerful fellow, a lover of good company. I went to one of the farms in the Kyiv province to start tutoring. He pacified the witch, under whose guise a beautiful girl was hiding. After her death, I read prayers over the coffin. At the end of the third night he died.
• Pannochka is the daughter of the captain and the main villain of the story. A witch who killed many village residents. After death, Khoma is pursued, and at the end of the third night, the witch is helped by evil spirits led by Viy.
• Viy is one of the main opponents of Khoma Brut. Powerful mythical gnome-villain, leader of the gnome country. A distinctive feature is the eyelids that droop to the ground, which are raised by evil spirits. If anyone looks at Viy, death awaits the unfortunate fool.

Minor characters of the story “Viy”:

• The theologian nicknamed Freebie is one of Khoma Brut’s comrades and fellow students. Got a job as a bell ringer. He regrets the death of Khoma.
• The rhetorician Tiberius, nicknamed Gorobets (Sparrow) , is Khoma’s comrade and fellow student. Became a philosopher. It was Tiberius who expressed the opinion that Khoma could have survived if he had not looked into Viy’s eyes.
• The centurion is the owner of the farm. Although he looked askance at Khoma, he did what his daughter asked before his death: he sent the philosopher to church so that he would read prayers over the coffin.

Topics and issues

No matter how the story is veiled by mystical events, the main issue is very pressing - the confrontation between good and evil. But in this case it is viewed from an unusual angle - the struggle of these forces for the human soul. Evil wins because the person does not find the strength and faith to resist it.

The main theme of the book is folk legends, one of which was realized in this story. The author depicted in detail the evil forces and everything that is known about ways to combat them. In fact, they are the main characters of the story. The writer, turning to these ancient images, demonstrated his respect for folk culture.

Plot of the story

Three students from the Kyiv Bursa go on vacation in the summer. Their road runs through the endless steppe. At night, the young men lose their way and wander into the first farm they come across, where they ask the hostess for an overnight stay. She places all the students in separate rooms: a barn, a house, a pantry.

Traveler names:

• theologian Freebie;
• philosopher Khoma Brutus;
• rhetorician Tiberius Gorobets.

At night, the old woman who sheltered him comes to Khoma’s barn. She turns out to be a witch and, riding the philosopher, rides through the fields and ravines. An exhausted student prays against evil spirits and climbs onto the back of the terrible creature, and then beats him with a log. During the massacre, the grandmother suddenly turns into a beautiful girl - a lady. This metamorphosis greatly shocked Khoma. Trembling like an aspen leaf, he immediately ran away.

The hero decides to return to the empty dormitory of the Kyiv bursa. However, he soon receives an order from the rector - he will go to the rich centurion to read prayers over his daughter, who is dying. Despite resistance, the philosopher is taken by force to the nobleman’s estate.

Arriving at the place, Khoma learns that the centurion’s beautiful daughter has already died. People say that the lady once returned in the morning, all beaten up, and lay down in bed to die. There are also rumors that she was associated with evil spirits. The philosopher is obliged to read the funeral service over the body of the deceased for three nights in a row.

Mystical events that occurred in the church while reading prayers:

1. On the first night, the body came out of the coffin and began to look for the philosopher. The quick-witted student draws a circle around himself with chalk and becomes invisible to the evil spirits.
2. On the second night, the witch calls for help from many hellish monsters, who continue to search for the reader. Fortunately, the sacred circle again helps the unlucky student. Khoma was so frightened that in the morning he left the temple completely gray-haired.
3. On the third night, Viy, the main ruler of evil spirits with incredibly long eyelids reaching to the floor, appears in the church. The young man should not have looked at him, but he lost his composure and was noticed by the monster. All the evil spirits instantly attacked the reader. Khoma immediately gave up the ghost. Suddenly a second rooster crowed and all the monsters rushed out, but got stuck in the church windows.

In the morning people came to the temple. Seeing such obscenity, they quickly went home and forever forgot the way to this cursed place.

the main idea

The main message is to show the role and significance of the individual in the struggle between good and evil. If he is nothing, just floating with the flow, then it costs the evil spirits nothing to get his soul. Even if the forces of light stand up for him, they need the desire and help of a person coming from his heart. He must fight for himself, but Khoma could not do this, and fell victim to evil spells.

In folklore images, the reader sees temptations that surround all people, regardless of their location. They are representatives of the dark side, magnets that attract souls. The hero was an easy prey for vice, and therefore fell into its snare and could not get out.

A very brief retelling of the story “Viy”

The plot takes place on one of the farms in the vicinity of Kyiv. Bursa student Khoma Brut and his two friends decided to start a part-time tutoring job. Khoma encounters a strange old woman, pacifies the witch, and she turns into a beautiful girl. After this incident, she dies, but before her death she asks her father, Sir, to have Bursak Khoma read prayers over her coffin for three nights in a row. Having received the task from the master, Khoma gets down to business, but he fails to finish what he started; at the end of the third night, looking at the terrible Viy, Khoma dies.