In the article Gogol’s «Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka» and «Mirgorod» are studied in terms of the interaction and development of two motives – the motive of the bewitched place and the motive of strange transformations. From this point of view the cycles’ consecutive ideological correlation to «Arabesques» is also outlined.
In the article Gogol’s image of the blacksmith Vakula is studied as one of the so-called «liminal beings», typical for the writer’s works. In the nature of such creatures there is a transition from the supernatural world into the real one, which allows them to act as mediators.
