“Oh, You, That in Sorrow You Grunble Against God in Vain, Man!..” Functions of the Lomonosov Quote in N. V. Gogol’s Comedy “The Inspector General”

Abstract

The attention of researchers has already been drawn to a quotation from “Ode Selected from Job” by M. V. Lomonosov, included in the replica of Khlestakov, flirting with Marya Antonovna. Yu. V. Mann identified its following functions: comedy due to the discrepancy between the topic of conversation and the content of the given poetic lines, as well as due to the situation that Khlestakov faced, as in a gymnasium exam; thought about the vicissitudes of human fate. Comparison of the content of this lyrical work, which was textbook-famous for the reader of the 19th century, with the Silent Scene, as well as with the later “Dénouement of the Inspector General”, also a Gogol text, allows us to take a fresh look at the role of the mentioned quotation. Synthesis of arts, allusiveness, rich symbolism of the Silent Scene, rich allegorical imagery of “Dénouement of the Inspector General” through associative connections with the spiritual ode of M. V. Lomonosov strengthen the eschatological and apocalyptic semantic plans of “The Inspector General”, emphasize the spiritual and moral issues, formulate their phased formulation and deepening. “Inspector General” in this aspect can be perceived not only as a satirical and socially accusatory work, but also — in the context of the later “Reflections on the Divine Liturgy” and “Selected Passages from Correspondence with Friends” — as a call to repentance and Christian renewal of life.