In any case, The Overcoat became one of Gogol's best known and influential works, with Vladimir Nabokov commenting a century later that it was, "The greatest Russian short story ever written." It's easy to see why; The Overcoat is an extremely compelling tale, though- like most of Gogol's works- a bit odd and eccentric. It's a strange mix of farce, tragedy, satire, and horror that somehow all works together to form an effective and affecting narrative which holds the reader's interest throughout.
In any case, when the young clerk who joins in the general mockery of Akakiy hears his plea to be left in peace, he is stuck with remorse for his part in it:
"And there was something strange in the words and the voice in which they were uttered. There was in it something which moved to pity; so much that one young man, a new-comer, who, taking pattern by the others, had permitted himself to make sport of Akakiy, suddenly stopped short, as though all about him had undergone a transformation, and presented itself in a different aspect. Some unseen force repelled him from the comrades whose acquaintance he had made, on the supposition that they were well-bred and polite men. Long afterwards, in his gayest moments, there recurred to his mind the little official with the bald forehead, with his heart-rending words, "Leave me alone! Why do you insult me?" In these moving words, other words resounded --"I am thy brother."
The young clerk ceases his torment and later is periodically haunted by the thought of what he had taken part in. And here we are given a statement by Gogol which may be, though it occurs so early in a story which will yet have a number of twists and turns, the primary take away from his tale:
"And the young man covered his face with his hand; and many a time afterwards, in the course of his life, shuddered at seeing how much inhumanity there is in man, how much savage coarseness is concealed beneath delicate, refined worldliness, and even, O God! in that man whom the world acknowledges as honourable and noble."
I'm going to pause the review here, but there are going to be numerous examples coming up of the inhumanity of man in this story of Akakiy and his overcoat. I'll discuss those in my next post, as well as other thoughts I have about Gogol's The Overcoat.