Kafka and Gogol: Schloss and Vij

Abstract

The question is raised about the relationship between Gogol’s short story “Viy” and Kafka’s novel “The Castle”. When comparing the texts of Gogol and Kafka, the author focuses on elements of Menippean satire (in the broadest sense, not only as a genre). The chronotope of the works, as well as their historiosophic meaning (perception of infernality; orientation towards the fate of Europe, especially noticeable in Kafka) are considered.