An Investigation into the Structure of Gogol's The Portrait
Gogol's The Portrait, is a short story which examined through a formalistic approach, can be understood beyond its
obvious storyline and plot. Formalism is the literary theory that literature is not simply a mass of words, but
comprised of individual words that each may possess a social stereotype, a spiritual aspect or convey a physical
response in the reader. Formalism asserts that the world is full of codes that need to be decoded. By investigating
these codes, one can understand the world or in this scenario, the literary message better. These codes in
literature, must appear as defamiliarzied or distorted in literature. Everyday aspects of life outside of their average
element, still maintain their same definition but bring that very definition to a different context, thus enabling one to
see that original definition in a new light and indeed, apply it to elucidate other situations similar or completely
dislike to the primary one. The Portrait can be completely and logically dissected by formalistic methods. I will
concentrate on Part I of this short story (solely concerning Chartkov), to produce a more concentrated and concise
Formalists took the power of the word to the next level, by seeing that the word can be used as a tool, to educate
and better the masses, or for pure propagandist purposes. Art, according to the formalists, "not only bears
meaning, it forces an awareness upon the reader." This awareness is dependent upon the accepted and expected
produced images of the words in literature. These images transcend time and place;" images change little, from
century to century . . . they flow on without changing . . . images belong to no one."
Thereby, in making these familiar images seem strange, the reader perceives it in an entirely new way. A formalist
approach to the opening of The Portrait, entails the story's usage of a semi-i...