Somov’s 'The Witches of Kyiv' as an Inspiration for Gogol’s 'A Terrible Vengeance'

• In Event: The Kyiv Text: Evolution, Persistence, Subversion

Abstract

Contemporaries Nikolai Gogol and Orest Somov deeply engaged with topics of Ukrainian folklore in their works. Although Gogol became a much more celebrated writer, he followed in Somov’s footsteps and was often inspired by his writings. This fact can help account for so many parallels between Gogol’s “A Terrible Vengeance” and Somov’s “The Witches of Kyiv.” By comparing these two texts, I explore how Somov’s work affected Gogol’s writing and how Gogol reinterpreted Somov’s story.

Author

• Mariia Shishmareva, U of Kansas