Critical Essay | Critical Essay by John Schillinger

Critical Essay by John Schillinger

"Gogol's 'The Overcoat' as a Travesty of Hagiography," in Slavic and East European Journal, Vol. 16, No. 1, Spring, 1972, pp. 36-41.

In this essay Schillinger asserts that "The Overcoat" is "a travesty of the saints' calendar account of St. Acacius of Sinai, and to some extent of hagiography itself ."

Does the name Akakij Akakievi in Gogol's "The Overcoat" indicate more than Gogol's familiar sense of humor? Quite possibly. Another origin, and this is offered by Gogol himself at Akakij Akakievič's christening, is an Eastern Orthodox calendar of saints. Among the saints in such a calendar are several Saints Acacius, one of whom, sixth-century St. Acacius of Sinai, resembles Akakij Akakievi quite closely. F. C. Driessen has written: "There is no question of chance. It would scarcely be possible to find another name which expressed so strongly the character of its bearer and at the same time embraced the...
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