Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin

E535115

Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin is the meek, impoverished government clerk whose tragic obsession with a new overcoat forms the heart of Nikolai Gogol’s classic short story "The Overcoat."

All labels observed (2)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf fictional character
literary character
protagonist
appearsIn The Overcoat
archetype little man in Russian literature
associatedWith 19th-century Russian literature
Russian realism
overcoat
centralThemeIn The Overcoat
characterTrait introverted
meek
poor
submissive
timid
createdBy Nikolai Gogol
deathCause illness after theft of overcoat
employer St. Petersburg government department
firstPublicationYear 1842
gender male
ghostActivity steals overcoats from passersby
influenced later depictions of the bureaucratic “little man”
language Russian
literaryMovement Russian realism
literaryRole anti-hero
tragic hero
medium prose
narrativeFunction critiques social hierarchy
embodies the small man archetype
illustrates the impact of poverty
nationality Russian Empire
notableFor obsession with a new overcoat
tragic fate
occupation government clerk
titular councillor
plotEvent dies after losing the overcoat
has his new overcoat stolen
saves money to buy a new overcoat
posthumousFate appears as a ghost
relatedWork Petersburg Tales
residence St. Petersburg
settingOfLife Tsarist bureaucracy
socialStatus impoverished
symbolizes bureaucratic dehumanization
social invisibility
the plight of the poor civil servant
workType short story character

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

The Overcoat mainCharacter Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin
Шинель mainCharacter Акакий Акакиевич Башмачкин
linked to: Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin
Shinel’ mainCharacter Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin