This famous quote by Fyodor Dostoevsky (a great philosopher and among my fav read) caught my attention the very first time I heard it in the movie "The Namesake" (another Mira Nair classic) as I just couldn't feel the essence of the quote even after comprehending the storyline. May be I do need to read the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri. Those who have seen the movie might very well know the significance of the name Gogol (role played by Kal Pen in the movie and named after the Russian author Nikolai Gogol by Ashoke Ganguly aka Irfan Khan) and the related events. As inquisitive as I could get, I picked up a copy of 'The Overcoat", a short story by Nikolai Gogol. A classic and clever writing that would leave any reader in a predicament with the possible inferences one could draw from it.
One thing that I really appreciate and love about the Russian literature and authors, be it Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Alexander Pushkin, Vladimir Nabokov or others is their distinct and precise understanding of human psychology and the classic stories with which they present it. The way they come up with such a comprehensive character analysis of each and every individual in the novels is truly commendable.
Coming to 'The Overcoat', the story revolves around an impoverished and dedicated Russian government servant named Akaky Akakievich, often a subject of ridicule at job, (particularly his overcoat being the main theme of jokes by his colleagues) who lives a solitary yet complacent life. One day he realizes that his worn out overcoat needs an overhaul and approaches a tailor named Petrovich, but to his dismay the tailor renders the coat irreparable indicating a new buy. Enduring utter destitution trying to save money, his zeal and dedication towards his job is now replaced by the excitement about his new overcoat, which becomes a priority in his life and the key to new found happiness and purpose. Having saved enough money, he finally manages to acquire the impressive new overcoat, which becomes the talk of Akaky’s office mates. Unfortunately, he is robbed of the coat soon by 2 robbers while returning from a party, leaving him completely dejected. All his calls for help to get the coat back and pleas for justice go unheeded, and after provoking a rough scolding from a certain stern ‘prominent personage’ (a general), he falls ill with fever and eventually dies. However the ghost of Akaky roams the city stealing overcoats. After an encounter of Akaky’s ghost with the stern general (who is so frightened that he flings the coat from his shoulders hastily at the ghost and runs away), there are no more instances heard of the ghost dragging coats from people’s shoulders. Also the events leave such a deep impression on the general that he no longer acts stern that he used to before and becomes a somewhat passive guy. However at the end of the story, Nikolai Gogol leaves the readers in a fix with the mention of an apparition much too tall, with huge mustaches, and, disappearing in the darkness of the night. A stark contrast to Akaky’s human form!! I mean was that supposed to be a parody? The ending of the story has marked a great debate and one could really come up with a number of inferences.
But one thing I could really conjecture from ‘The Overcoat’ is its striking resemblance to the way we deal with our lives today. More often we are so lost and confused of what we really want from life that we tend to flow with the intuition that our ‘Willpower’ is the basic motivation in life .We crave for more and more in spite of knowing that all our emotional, physical and other desires in life can never be fulfilled. Akaky dies instantly without putting any fight but maybe it’s his Will that motivated his ghost to fancy the overcoat that he had lost when alive and which had very well served as the purpose of his life and a key to new found and ever lasting happiness.
In another context, there are many of us still hiding in that cozy overcoat, using it either as a shield or a means to squeeze tight in it each time we are unsure of expressing our emotions whether negative or positive. Those insecurities, which make you cynical and prevent you from showing your true self to the World, be it expressing your feelings to a colleague, a friend a loved one or just being yourself. How often is it that you have managed to express your resentment freely to the boss? How often is it that you have gathered scorn in return for love and affection and don’t know how to react? How often is it that you have witnessed a crime or injustice and done something about it rather than being stone dead (or deaf I had say)?
No matter how all the stories on the planet affect our lives or how we continue to strive for happiness and a purpose in life, Fyodor Dostoevsky rightly said once “ We all come out from Gogol’s Overcoat”
Amen!!
One thing that I really appreciate and love about the Russian literature and authors, be it Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Alexander Pushkin, Vladimir Nabokov or others is their distinct and precise understanding of human psychology and the classic stories with which they present it. The way they come up with such a comprehensive character analysis of each and every individual in the novels is truly commendable.
Coming to 'The Overcoat', the story revolves around an impoverished and dedicated Russian government servant named Akaky Akakievich, often a subject of ridicule at job, (particularly his overcoat being the main theme of jokes by his colleagues) who lives a solitary yet complacent life. One day he realizes that his worn out overcoat needs an overhaul and approaches a tailor named Petrovich, but to his dismay the tailor renders the coat irreparable indicating a new buy. Enduring utter destitution trying to save money, his zeal and dedication towards his job is now replaced by the excitement about his new overcoat, which becomes a priority in his life and the key to new found happiness and purpose. Having saved enough money, he finally manages to acquire the impressive new overcoat, which becomes the talk of Akaky’s office mates. Unfortunately, he is robbed of the coat soon by 2 robbers while returning from a party, leaving him completely dejected. All his calls for help to get the coat back and pleas for justice go unheeded, and after provoking a rough scolding from a certain stern ‘prominent personage’ (a general), he falls ill with fever and eventually dies. However the ghost of Akaky roams the city stealing overcoats. After an encounter of Akaky’s ghost with the stern general (who is so frightened that he flings the coat from his shoulders hastily at the ghost and runs away), there are no more instances heard of the ghost dragging coats from people’s shoulders. Also the events leave such a deep impression on the general that he no longer acts stern that he used to before and becomes a somewhat passive guy. However at the end of the story, Nikolai Gogol leaves the readers in a fix with the mention of an apparition much too tall, with huge mustaches, and, disappearing in the darkness of the night. A stark contrast to Akaky’s human form!! I mean was that supposed to be a parody? The ending of the story has marked a great debate and one could really come up with a number of inferences.
But one thing I could really conjecture from ‘The Overcoat’ is its striking resemblance to the way we deal with our lives today. More often we are so lost and confused of what we really want from life that we tend to flow with the intuition that our ‘Willpower’ is the basic motivation in life .We crave for more and more in spite of knowing that all our emotional, physical and other desires in life can never be fulfilled. Akaky dies instantly without putting any fight but maybe it’s his Will that motivated his ghost to fancy the overcoat that he had lost when alive and which had very well served as the purpose of his life and a key to new found and ever lasting happiness.
In another context, there are many of us still hiding in that cozy overcoat, using it either as a shield or a means to squeeze tight in it each time we are unsure of expressing our emotions whether negative or positive. Those insecurities, which make you cynical and prevent you from showing your true self to the World, be it expressing your feelings to a colleague, a friend a loved one or just being yourself. How often is it that you have managed to express your resentment freely to the boss? How often is it that you have gathered scorn in return for love and affection and don’t know how to react? How often is it that you have witnessed a crime or injustice and done something about it rather than being stone dead (or deaf I had say)?
No matter how all the stories on the planet affect our lives or how we continue to strive for happiness and a purpose in life, Fyodor Dostoevsky rightly said once “ We all come out from Gogol’s Overcoat”
Amen!!
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