Nikolai Gogol Quotes

Ten Days of Fasting, Then the Fire

In the final years, Gogol fell under the influence of a fanatical priest, Father Matvei Konstantinovsky, who convinced him that his literary work was sinful. On the night of February 11, 1852, Gogol burned the manuscript of the second volume of 'Dead Souls' in his fireplace. He then began a severe fast, refusing food and medical help. Ten days later, on February 21, 1852, he was dead at forty-two. The doctor's diagnosis was unclear. The writer who had made Russia laugh at itself destroyed his own masterpiece and starved himself to death because a priest told him his gift was a sin.