The article highlights the ways of more detailed comparison of the dual reality motif in the creative systems of Nikolay Gogol and Vladimir Dal. The key conclusions are made on the basis of the plot line and composition peculiarities of the texts, folklore symbolism and parallel review of the characters.
The article considers indirect plot allusions, V. Nabokov’s explicit and disguised references to the topic related to the terrible characters of Dostoyevsky, to the new embodiments of Pushkin’s and Dostoyevsky’s images.