Evenings On A Farm Near Dikanka - Significance

Significance

This was Gogol's groundbreaking work, though not his first, and formed the core of his style, especially his sense of the macabre. It was this collection that proved he was a new power in Russian literature with unique innovation and a carefully arranged mingling of the horrifying and the humorous. Alexander Pushkin had a heavy influence on the writing of the collection, which features references to Ukraine, at that time referred to as Little Russia, where Gogol spent the early years of his life. The stories are heavily laced with Ukrainian folklore and cultural references, offering a unique perspective into life in the country during Gogol's time period. The structure found in this collection became characteristic of Gogol's writing later on, found in works such as Dead Souls. "Evenings" gained Gogol the fame that would lead him to a prominent placement in the Russian literary circle, as well as opening the doors for future works.