thumb|Poprishchin. Painting by [[Ilya Repin (1882)]]"Diary of a Madman" (, Zapiski sumasshedshevo) is a farcical short story by Nikolai Gogol first published in 1835. Along with "The Overcoat" and "The Nose", "Diary of a Madman" is considered to be one of Gogol's greatest short stories. The tale centers on the life of a minor civil servant during the era of Nicholas I. The story shows the descent of the protagonist, Poprishchin, into insanity. "Diary of a Madman", the only one of Gogol's works written in first person, follows diary-entry format.

Plot introduction

Although nineteenth-century medical authorities noted the accuracy of Gogol's depiction of the course of madness, the text itself (with the exception of the title) never crosses the boundary into objectification. Everything is told exclusively from the point of view of the protagonist, and conclusions about him and what is happening to him can only ever be inferred from the solipsistic and increasingly fantastic narrative of events and thoughts recorded in his diary. The character has been described by psychiatrist Eric Lewin Altschuler as one of the earliest and most extensive depictions of what became known as schizophrenia. The image of the insane asylum as a house of correction, indirectly presented through Poprishchin's deranged diary entries, is also true to ideological perspectives and institutional practices pertaining to the treatment of madness in the era of European industrialization.

Poprishchin's descent into madness is a result of his alienation from society. His desire to achieve the dignity and authority that he sees around him, but never feels, yields frustration rather than motivation. His lack of motivation causes Poprishchin to wish for power and wealth, instead of actively trying to work toward achieving this goal in reality.

Poprishchin's relationship with three specific characters, the Director, the Section Chief and Sophie, contribute significantly to the disintegration of his sanity. The Section Chief causes Poprishchin the most direct frustration through constant criticism. Poprishchin responds to the Section Chief's attempts to bring him into reality with anger and aggression. The Director takes a much more passive role in affecting Poprishchin. Poprishchin actually idolizes the Director, in large part due to the fact that he remains distant from Poprishchin and never interferes in his personal life with comments or suggestions. Despite this initially peaceful relationship, Poprishchin finds a way to see a menace in the Director. Poprishchin notices that the Director has too much ambition, a quality that Poprishchin desires, but knows he cannot achieve in reality, and therefore turns his admiration of the Director into hatred. Sophie is a beautiful woman to whom Poprishchin has a strong sexual attraction. However, Poprishchin painfully discovers that Sophie finds him unattractive and irritable, and he is unable to cope. Poprishchin is enlightened about both the Director's ambition and Sophie's view of him from letters written by a dog. Poprishchin's imagination conjured the complimentary letter from Sophie when, in reality, the letter neglects mentioning him. His destruction of the letter evidences his insanity by symbolizing his release of reality.

Legacy

Chinese writer Lu Xun was well acquainted with Russian literature and wrote a story with a similar title as Gogol's in 1918.

The story's name was reflected in Lina Kostenko's novel Notes of a Ukrainian Madman, which makes frequent references to Gogol's writings.

Adaptations

On December 19, 1964, the story was adapted by Erik Bauersfeld for the radio series The Black Mass. This adaptation was later rebroadcast in 1987 in two parts on the radio series Tales from the Shadows.

In 1968, the story was adaptated to film under the title Sofi, directed by Robert G. Carlisle and written by Don Eitner and Tom Troupe, with Tom Troupe as the only actor.

Martin Donegan recorded the story in 1969 for CMS Records (CMS-536).

Kenneth Williams recorded Nikolai Gogol's story in 1961 for an animated film by Richard Williams which was never completed. On 03 February 1991, the audio recording was broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

In 2001, the story was adapted by Elliott Hayes for CBC Radio and performed by Stephen Ouimette before a live audience at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto.

On 1 May 2002, Griff Rhys-Jones starred in a BBC Radio 4 dramatization by Jim Poyser as an episode of the comedy series Three Ivans, Two Aunts and an Overcoat.

David Holman adapted the story into a play; the 2010 production in Sydney (later at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City) starred Geoffrey Rush.

References

  • Online text (Russian) from Public-Library.ru
  • 1916 translation of the story on Project Gutenberg
  • Listen to Kenneth Williams perform Diary of a Madman at Internet Archive
  • Listen to Martin Donegan read Diary of a Madman at Internet Archive
  • Listen to Diary of a Madman on The Black Mass at RadioEchoes.com