Amid the repressive regime of Tsar Nicholas I, Russian author Nikolai Gogol published a satirical novel in the form of a fictional diary kept by a minor civil official who descends into madness. Disguised as the personal account of a lunatic, Diary of a Madman is a brutally honest and reflective critique of 19th-century Russian society. It portrays the exaggerated depiction of a human mind trapped in a helpless desire to find purpose, sanity, and place within a rigid, circumscribed world—ironically, to the point of insanity.

By choosing to write the story in the first person through a diary-entry format, Gogol begins by describing the initially mundane life of Aksenty Ivanovich Poprishchin, a “titular counselor”—a rather grand title for a minor clerk—who performs monotonous tasks like sharpening quills and copying documents in the office of a Director in St. Petersburg. The protagonist is discontent and hypercritical of everyone, from the condescending Section Chief, who notices the early signs of his madness, to the journalists depicted in a theatrical play. This creates the impression of a narrator who, though imperfect, represents an average figure with relatable, everyday thoughts. It also allows the story to follow a bell-shaped curve, starting with the boring, ordinary routine of a seemingly sane Poprishchin, before his gradual descent into insanity, culminating in the incoherent letter to his mother…

This article was published on the Thrive Global on November 6, 2019.