How we cite our quotes: (Section.Paragraph)
Quote #7
I was just about to go to the office, but various reasons and reflections held me back. I couldn't get these Spanish affairs out of my head. […] I confess, these events so crushed and shook me that I was decidedly unable to busy myself with anything all day long. Mavra observed to me that I was extremely distracted at the table. And, indeed, it seems I absentmindedly threw two plates on the floor, which proceeded to break. (11.1)
Gogol is being spot on again about Poprishchin's mental breakdown. Schizophrenia isn't just about hallucinations. It also makes you withdrawn and preoccupied with your thoughts—sometimes so much so that the "real" world seems unreal. Take that last sentence: he says, "it seems" he threw two plates on the floor. He didn't notice himself doing it, but Mavra later told him he did it. And then, he says, "which proceeded to break," as if he himself didn't have any role to play in it.
Quote #8
The Year 2000, 43rd of April: This day—is a day of the greatest solemnity! Spain has a king. He has been found. I am that king. Only this very day did I learn of it. I confess, it came to me suddenly in a flash of lightning. I don't understand how I could have thought and imagined that I was a titular councillor. How could such a wild notion enter my head? It's a good thing no one thought of putting me in an insane asylum. (12.1)
This is the first entry in the diary with a crazy date. This is Gogol's way of showing that Poprishchin is really crazy at this point, so that we don't go thinking that he actually becomes the king of Spain. And then look at the way Poprishchin breaks the news: first, "he has been found." Passive voice means we don't know who found the king.
And then, "I learn[ed] of it." Okay, so we assume that means someone found the king and then told Poprishchin about it, right? But then he says, "I confess, it came to me suddenly in a flash of lightning." Riiiiight. So, that's when we get the truth: Poprishchin himself did the "finding."
Gogol writes so brilliantly from the perspective of a madman. And that last mention of an insane asylum: do you think Gogol is doing some foreshadowing or is he just having some fun?
Quote #9
Strolled incognito on Nevsky Prospect. His Majesty the emperor drove by. The whole city took their hats off, and I did, too; however, I didn't let on that I was the king of Spain. I considered it unsuitable to reveal myself right there in front of everybody; because, first of all, I have to present myself at court. The only thing holding me up is that I still don't have royal attire. (14.1)
So those wheels of logic are still turning in Poprishchin's head. But the fact that he is being logical doesn't mean he's connected to reality. Get that? Gogol seems to be showing something really important here: logic does not equal truth.