The Literature Book

Caucasus region of Russia. The

author arranged his novel in five

parts, portraying the complex

nature of a sensitive, emotional,

yet brutally cynical antihero who

despairs at the pointlessness of life.

TALES OF THE GROTESQUE

AND ARABESQUE

(1840), EDGAR ALLAN POE

Originally published in two

volumes, Tales of the Grotesque

and Arabesque consists of 25 short

stories or “tales.” Many of them are

written with elements of gothic

form, and some delve into the

darker psychological aspects of the

protagonists’ minds. American

writer Poe (1809–49) is regarded as

the creator of “Dark Romanticism”—

a specifically American form of

Romanticism. “The Fall of the House

of Usher,” best known of the tales,

sees Roderick Usher’s home cracking

and breaking and finally collapsing

in sympathetic parallel with his

own psychological breakdown.

Much analysis of Poe’s collection

has centered on the meaning of the

terms “Grotesque” and “Arabesque”:

whatever Poe’s exact intention,

the tales are significant for their

treatment of terror and horror.

THE BLACK SHEEP

(1841–1842), HONORÉ DE BALZAC

Long overlooked but now considered

to be one of the masterpieces of

French novelist and playwright

Balzac (see p.151), The Black Sheep

tells the story of the competing

plots, manipulations, and schemes

of the members of a bourgeois family

to secure a substantial inheritance.

Titled La Rebouilleuse—someone

who stirs water in order to trap

fish—in French, in reference to a

controlling mistress of the story, it

is a compelling exploration of the

nature of deceit. Money, status, and

legitimacy, and the lengths to which

human beings will go in order to

secure financial reward are among

the themes explored by Balzac.

DEAD SOULS

(1842), NIKOLAI GOGOL

Dead Souls is often seen as the first

great novel of the Russian Golden

Age. Inspired by his friend, the poet

Pushkin, Ukrainian-born writer

Gogol intended to write a three-

part epic, but only produced the

first two parts, and burned the

manuscript of the second volume

when close to his death. The

remaining novel satirizes the

practices of serfdom in Russia. Since

tax must be paid by landowners on

all their serfs—even those who

have died since the last census—

lead character Chichikov colludes

illegally with estate owners to buy

their dead serfs. He plans to borrow

money against the value of his

“dead souls” to start his own estate.

Chichikov’s travels across Russia

are a comic tale reminiscent of

Cervantes’ Don Quixote.

THE COUNT OF

MONTE CRISTO

(1844–1845), ALEXANDRE DUMAS

The most popular book throughout

Europe at the time of its serialization,

The Count of Monte Cristo, by

French playwright and novelist

Dumas (see p.123), was set during

the Bourbon Restoration. It tells the

story of the revenge inflicted by

Edmond Dantès on his enemies,

following his imprisonment on false

charges of treason. In prison he

152 FURTHER READING

Nikolai Gogol

Born in 1809 in Sorochintsy in

the Russian Empire (now part

of Ukraine), Gogol was the

progenitor of the great 19th-

century tradition of Russian

realism. Raised in the Cossack

heartlands and shaped by the

folklore of his native people,

Gogol’s early works displayed

a lively and often colloquial

style, winning instant acclaim

from the Russian literary

public. His short stories,

novels, and plays spanned

Romanticism, Surrealism,

comedy, and satire, but his

creative capacity waned in the

years before his death in 1852.

Key works

1831–32 Evenings on a

Farm near Dikanka

1836 The Government

Inspector

1842 Dead Souls (see left)

There was an iciness, a

sinking, a sickening of the

heart—an unredeemed

dreariness of thought which

no goading of the imagination

could torture into aught

of the sublime.

“The Fall of the House

of Usher”

Edgar Allan Poe

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