Dangers of Indulgence

In reading Gogol's The Overcoat, and following the life of Akaky Akakievich, one sees even the most mechanical and simple-minded man fall to materialism and consciousness of fitting into society.
Though Akaky lives robotically, obsessed within his line of work, his work "was a labour of love to him." As boring and pathetic as that may seem to us living in the 21st century, Akaky lived the "peaceful life of a man who knew how to be content" with his life. Although society may laugh at this example of a minimalistic life, Akaky himself is okay with where he is. It is we as people in society that are not okay with such a social misfit- even a content one at that. Being able to relate and understand the man's choice to live a life of such simplicity-as boring as such a life may be- is something that is very difficult to grasp. He does not need luxuries and embellisments in his life, and has not yet been coerced into society's never-ending quest for more.
Akaky demonstrates the progression of fitting in with society through his eventual cave to materialism when he is forced to buy a new overcoat. Work is his first love but is replaced by his new overcoat. Akaky goes from doing the bare minimum to exist in the world, (through his work) to something more materialistic in the form of a new coat. The book talks about a "great enemy" to those who do not make enough money to withstand the cold frost in St. Petersburg. The overcoat is linked to this enemy (the cold winter) and represents the greater enemy of money and greed. Akaky's overcoat is worn out from constant usage throughout his life, but perhaps is metephorically worn out from battles against conformity in society. Akaky knows the value of money, as shown through his careful calculations and use of his bare 400 roubles, and so feels absurd in having to spend money on material goods. However, Akaky's "whole existence...seemed now to somehow become fuller," when he gets a new overcoat, and his own vanity emerges, erasing the orignial simplicty of his life previous to the coat. Akaky receives recognition and is showered with congratulations by coworkers and people who never gave him the time of day before. The acquisition of the new overcoat leads Akaky to "indulge" in more frivilous affairs, because of his immediate yet temporary acceptance into society. The praise and recognition is only momentary as people "for[get] all about him and his overcoat." This reveals the fact that people are never satisfied with what they have, and are constantly searching for more, wrapped up in consumerism. The idea that materialism can make you cold happens to Akaky in the most literal sense when he is robbed of his precious coat. I believe that Gogol is trying to demonstrate the dangers of materialism through the humbling tale of The Overcoat. Perhaps when we all stop trying to live up to society's expectancies, can true happiness and complacency be found within one's life, devoid of outer influences.