Diary of a Madman (Nikolai Gogol)

"Diary of a Madman" (Russian: Записки сумасшедшего, Zapiski sumasshedshevo) is a farcical short story by Nikolai Gogol first published in 1835.

Although nineteenth-century medical authorities noted the accuracy of Gogol's depiction of the course of madness, the text itself (with the exception of the title) never crosses the boundary into objectification.

Everything is told exclusively from the point of view of the protagonist, and conclusions about him and what is happening to him can only ever be inferred from the solipsistic and increasingly fantastic narrative of events and thoughts recorded in his diary.

[1] The entries haphazardly mix a past tense recounting of events of the day with present time registering of thoughts and associations relating to them.

It begins with a standard date-based diary format, but at a certain point even the dates take on an irrational form, as if the writer's sense of conventional time has dissolved.

Poprishchin is reluctant to go to the office, believing that the chief clerk is envious of his position as the mender of pens.

Poprishchin goes for a walk "incognito", feeling it beneath his dignity to be recognized in the world when he has not yet presented at court.

The "Chancellor" pushes him into a room and threatens to beat him if he calls himself Ferdinand VIII again, but Poprishchin repeats his claim and is beaten.

And do you know that the Bey of Algiers has a wart under his nose?Gogol evokes common images of madness in his characterization of Poprishchin – auditory hallucination (the talking dogs), delusions of grandeur (thinking he is the King of Spain), and the institutional context of the asylum and its effect on the individual.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, "Diary of a Madman" was frequently cited as a realistic case study: medical specialists wrote articles confirming its authenticity as an outline of the progress of paranoid delusion.

[4] The image of the insane asylum as a house of correction, indirectly presented through Poprishchin's deranged diary entries, is also true to ideological perspectives and institutional practices pertaining to the treatment of madness in the era of European industrialization.

His lack of motivation causes Poprishchin to wish for power and wealth, instead of actively trying to work toward achieving this goal in reality.

[1] Poprishchin's relationship with three specific characters, the Director, the Section Chief and Sofi, contribute significantly to the disintegration of his sanity.

Poprishchin sees a menace in everyone and always finds a way to blame others for his personal frustrations, and consequently treats them with the aggression he believes they deserve.

This behavior fuels a vicious cycle that justifies the negative perception and treatment that society exerts toward Poprishchin.

A Freudian analysis performed by Ermakov hypothesized that Poprishchin used this absurd date to avoid May 13, because the word maja suggests majat'sja, which in Russian means suffering.

He agrees that Poprishchin is indeed trying to avoid May 13, but his reasoning is that the letters from the dogs that exposed the grave reality of Sofi and the Director were presented exactly half a year earlier on November 13.

The story's name was reflected in Lina Kostenko's novel Notes of a Ukrainian Madman, which makes frequent references to Gogol's writings.

David Holman adapted the story into a play; the 2010 production in Sydney starred Geoffrey Rush.