The Eve of Ivan Kupala

Nikolai Gogol

Newcomb Livraria Press

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This is a new translation from the original Russian manuscript of Gogol's work "The Evening before Ivan Kupal" (Вечер накануне Ивана Купала) which is also translated as "St. John's Eve". This edition contains an Afterword by the Translator, a timeline of Gogol's life and works and an Index of Gogol's individual works. "The Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala" is a story by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol from the series "Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka". It was first published in 1830 in the February and March issues of Otechestvennye zapiski, without the author's signature, under the title Bisavryuk. The editor made many changes to it. This story explains the text that appeared in the preface and ridicules the editorial arbitrariness in the name of the narrator. This is a Tragic-comic story with horror and surrealist elements. The story is considered a "Kunstmarchen", a fairy tale that is based in reality or folk tale told by a subjective narrator. Foma Grigorievich, the narrator, describes his grandfather's stories as themselves magically efficacious. As in Gogol's other stories, the laws of nature are often broken; for instance, the devil's gifts float in water. It is a deeply Ukrainian story- a dark and mystical tale revolving around the protagonist's desperate quest to find a hidden treasure. The narrative intertwines love, betrayal, and the supernatural against the backdrop of the summer solstice celebration.

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A Russian dramatist, novelist, and short story writer, Gogol was a personal friedn of Dostoevsky, Turgenev and Tolstoy. He is considered the father of modern Russian realism. His works, including "Dead Souls" and "The Overcoat," are renowned for their satirical depiction of Russian society and bureaucracy. Gogol's blend of realism, grotesque, and absurdism had a profound influence on Russian and world literature.