우울증을 통한 윌리엄 스타이론과 니콜라이 고골의 비교 연구

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

William Styron was one of the most influential American authors of the 20th century. He was a master of prose and one of a group of highly respected American writers who continued the traditions set by Hemingway and Faulkner. He is considered by the international press to be not only a great literary stylist, but also a born storyteller.
Styron is widely known for his novel "Confessions of Nat Turner", which describes the uprising of black slaves led by Nat Turner, beginning in 1831 in Virginia. This was one of William Styron’s most controversial novels but also the most commercially successful. It was first published in 1967, and has since spawned many editions and been translated into 20 languages. In the wake of the civil rights struggle, Styron was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the novel "Confessions" in 1968, and in 1970 received a Medal Howells (Howells medal) from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Even if William Styron enjoyed success as one of the most well-known American writers, he abused alcohol at his 40 years. He saw drinking as the daily washing of his mood. When he was in his 60’s, Styron suddenly appeared to develop a complete alcohol intolerance, and just one sip of wine could cause nausea and a state of stupefaction. Without daily servings of alcohol Styron began to develop severe depression and his mood for the next six months deteriorated to the extent that he had thoughts of suicide. In 1990 he wrote "Darkness Visible," which most vividly described his struggle with depression.
In this work I am going to write about the origin of the word “depression”; types of depression, the possible causes for the depression and how we can see depression reflected in literature. This thesis will look at Styron, who ultimately survived his depression, and the Russian 19th century author Nikolai Gogol who eventually killed himself after a long time suffering from depression. Firstly the focus is on Styron’s book specifically about his struggle with depression, Darkness Visible. I will try to explain the reason for his madness and understand his point of view according to his book. He struggled with depression and although this could have been misunderstood by his habits of drinking alcohol every day, it was this mental disorder which caused serious problems between him and his family, friends and loved ones. William Styron chooses the best way of talking about his problems with the readers, as he is giving information and helpful advice to somebody who is struggling with the same depressive mood as he suffered. He does not feel uncomfortable talking to his readers but he understands how it might be helpful for him to give practical advice from personal experience.
After I have considered William Styron’s work on depression, I will compare it to the work of a prominent Russian author from the 19th century, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. It is an interesting comparison as their environment is so different (different eras, different countries, different experiences) but their disease is the same. Ultimately their main difference is that Styron was able to overcome his demons, but Gogol eventually succumbs to them and ended his own life aged just 43. Gogol also didn’t write directly about his experience with depression, and he was never formally diagnosed with it, but symptoms of his depression became clear after his death.
It is important to look at influential writers experiences with depression, as these are the people other sufferers of depression may relate to when they are having trouble. Styron in particular helped many people overcome their difficulties, whereas Gogol created as a cautionary tale for how dangerous it was not to get the right treatment. Depression is, simply, a mental disease, but it seems to matter a lot to both writers and sufferers of depression in terms of how much support they get from people who understand their feelings.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• I. Introduction 1
• II. William Styron 6
• • William Styron’s life, famous works of literature and struggle with depression 6
• •William Styron’s publishing of Darkness Visible 9
• III. Nikolai Gogol 18
• •Nikolai Gogol’s life, depression and death 18
• •Nikolai Gogol’s work 23
• IV. Comparing how depression is shown in both writers’ works 30
• V. Conclusion 38
• Cited works 42