The Kherson plot in Gogol's Dead Souls
Journal: The South African Journal for Slavic, Central and Eastern European Studies
Year: 2014

The article discusses the symbolic meaning and function of the plot of relocating dead souls to the province of Kherson. The author argues that Gogol makes a travesty of the ideas of the 'Greek project' espoused by Catherine II, and associated with the acquisition of Crimea. Parodying the image of Crimea as 'heaven on earth', Kherson province plays the role of the 'other' space in the symbolic structure of Dead Souls.