Anthroponymic characteristics of the heroes of “dead souls”. Characters of "dead souls" Characteristics of the image of the hero dead souls gogol

The prose poem “Dead Souls” is the central work in the work of one of the most original and colorful Russian writers - Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol.

Gogol as a mirror of Russian landownership

In the work “Dead Souls” the main characters are representatives of one of the three main strata of Russian society in the first half of the nineteenth century - landowners. The other two classes - the bureaucracy and the peasantry - are shown somewhat schematically, without the special colors inherent in Gogol’s language, but the landowners... In this work you can see their different colors, characters and habits. Each of them represents some kind of human weakness, even a vice inherent in people of this class (according to the author’s observations): low education, narrow-mindedness, greed, arbitrariness. Let's take a closer look at them.

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol, “Dead Souls”. Main characters

There is no need here to retell the plot of the poem in prose, since this would require a separate article. Let's just say that a certain man named Chichikov, a real fine fellow in modern times - resourceful, inventive, with original thinking, extremely sociable and, most importantly, absolutely unprincipled - decides to buy up "dead souls" from landowners in order to use them as a mortgage against which you can buy a real village with living peasants made of flesh and blood.

To implement his plan, Chichikov travels around the landowners and buys out “dead” peasants from them (the names included in the tax returns). In the end, he is exposed and escapes from the city of NN in a carriage carried away by the "three bird".

If we discuss who the main characters of the poem “Dead Souls” are, then the collegiate adviser Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov will certainly top their list.

Images of landowners

The second number I would like to mention is the landowner Manilov - a sentimental, pompous, empty, but harmless man. He quietly dreams, sitting on his estate, looks at life through and makes unrealistic plans for the future. And although Manilov does not evoke much sympathy, he is still not the most unpleasant character in the poem “Dead Souls”. The main characters who appear before the reader further are much less harmless.

Korobochka is an elderly and narrow-minded woman. However, he knows his business well and holds the income from his small estate tightly in his wrinkled hands. She sells Chichikov a soul for fifteen rubles, and the only thing that confuses her about this strange deal is the price. The landowner is worried about selling things too cheap.

Continuing the list under the code title “Dead Souls - the Main Characters,” it is worth mentioning the gambler and reveler Nozdryov. He lives widely, cheerfully and noisily. Such a life rarely fits into generally accepted frameworks, and therefore is on trial.

Following Nozdryov, we meet the rude and stubborn Sobakevich, “a fist and a beast,” but now they would call him a “strong business executive.”

And the painfully stingy Plyushkin closes the row of sellers of “dead souls”. This landowner was so in the grip of his passion for thrift that he practically lost his human appearance; in any case, at first glance it is impossible to determine his gender and social affiliation - he is just some kind of figure in rags.

In addition to them, Nikolai Vasilyevich mentions representatives of other classes: officials and their wives, peasants, military men, but it is the landowners in the work “Dead Souls” who are the main characters. Quite soon it becomes clear that it is their souls that have been dead, and for many years now, and it is at them that the writer and his sharp pen are aimed.

All the heroes of the poem can be divided into groups: landowners, ordinary people (serfs and servants), officers, city officials. The first two groups are so interdependent, so merged into a kind of dialectical unity, that they simply cannot be characterized separately from each other.

Among the surnames of landowners in “Dead Souls,” the ones that primarily attract attention are those surnames that come from the names of animals. There are quite a few of them: Sobakevich, Bobrov, Svinin, Blokhin. The author closely introduces the reader to some landowners, while others are only mentioned in passing in the text. The surnames of landowners are mostly dissonant: Konopatiev, Trepakin, Kharpakin, Pleshakov, Mylnoy. But there are exceptions: Pochitaev, Cheprakov-Colonel. Such surnames already by their sound inspire respect, and there is hope that these are really smart and virtuous people, unlike other half-humans, half-beasts. When naming the landowners, the author uses sound notation. So the hero Sobakevich would not have acquired such heaviness and solidity if he had the surname Sobakin or Psov, although in meaning they are almost the same thing. What adds further solidity to Sobakevich’s character is his attitude towards the peasants, the way they are indicated in his notes given to Chichikov. Let us turn to the text of the work: “He (Chichikov) scanned it (the note) with his eyes and marveled at the neatness and accuracy: not only was the craft, rank, years and family fortune written down in detail, but even in the margins there were special notes about behavior, sobriety, - in a word , it was nice to watch." These serfs - carriage maker Mikheev, carpenter Stepan Probka, brickmaker Milushkin, shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov, Eremey Sorokoplekhin - and after their death they are dear to the owner as good workers and honest people. Sobakevich, despite the fact that “it seemed that this body had no soul at all, or it had one, but not at all where it should be, but, like the immortal Koshchei, somewhere behind the mountains and covered with such a thick shell, that whatever was stirring at the bottom of it did not produce absolutely any shock on the surface,” despite this, Sobakevich is a good owner.

The serf Korobochki have nicknames: Peter Savelyev Disrespect-Trough, Cow Brick, Wheel Ivan. “The landowner did not keep any notes or lists, but knew almost everyone by heart.” She is also a very zealous housewife, but she is not so interested in the serfs as in the amount of hemp, lard and honey that she can sell. Korobochka has a truly telling surname. She surprisingly suits a woman of “elderly years, in some kind of sleeping cap, put on hastily, with a flannel around her neck,” one of those “mothers, small landowners who cry about crop failures, losses and keep their heads somewhat to one side, and meanwhile gain little by little.” money in colorful bags placed in dresser drawers."

The author characterizes Manilov as a man “without his own enthusiasm.” His surname consists mainly of sonorant sounds that sound soft without making unnecessary noise. It is also consonant with the word “to beckon.” Manilov is constantly attracted by some kind of fantastic projects, and, “deceived” by his fantasies, he does absolutely nothing in life.

Nozdryov, on the contrary, with his last name alone gives the impression of a man in whom there is too much of everything, like too many noisy vowels in his last name. In contrast to Nozdryov, the author portrayed his son-in-law Mizhuev, who is one of those people who “before you even have time to open your mouth, they are ready to argue and, it seems, will never agree to something that is clearly opposite to their way of thinking, that they will never call someone stupid smart and that in particular they will not agree to dance to someone else’s tune; and it will always end with the fact that their character will turn out to be soft, that they will agree to exactly what they rejected, they will call the stupid thing smart and then go off to dance as best they can to someone else’s tune - in a word , they will start as a smooth surface, and end up as a viper." Without Mizhuev, Nozdryov’s character would not have played so well with all its facets.

The image of Plyushkin in the poem is one of the most interesting. If the images of other landowners are given without a backstory, they are what they are in essence, then Plyushkin was once a different person, “a thrifty owner! He was married and a family man, and a neighbor came to him for lunch, listened and learned from him about farming and wise stinginess." But his wife died, one of his daughters died, and the remaining daughter ran away with a passing officer. Plyushkin is not so much a comic hero as a tragic one. And the tragedy of this image is grotesquely emphasized by the funny, absurd surname, which has something of the kolach that his daughter Alexandra Stepanovna brought to Plyushkin for Easter along with a new robe, and which he dried into breadcrumbs and served to rare guests for many years. Plyushkin's stinginess is brought to the point of absurdity, he is reduced to a "hole in humanity", and it is in this image that Gogol's "laughter through tears" is felt most strongly. Plyushkin deeply despises his serfs. He treats his servants as Moor and Proshka, scolds them mercilessly and mostly just like that, not to the point.

The author is deeply sympathetic to ordinary Russian people, servants, serfs. He describes them with good humor, take for example the scene in which Uncle Mityai and Uncle Minyai are trying to force stubborn horses to walk. The author calls them not Mitrofan and Dimitri, but Mityai and Minyai, and before the reader’s mind’s eye appears “the lean and long Uncle Mityai with a red beard” and “Uncle Minyai, a broad-shouldered man with a jet-black beard and a belly similar to that gigantic samovar. In which sbiten is cooked for the entire vegetated market." Chichikov's coachman Selifan is called by his full name because he claims to have some kind of education, which he pours out completely on the horses entrusted to his care. Chichikov's footman Parsley, with its special smell that follows him everywhere, also evokes a good-natured smile from the author and the reader. There is no trace of the evil irony that accompanies descriptions of landowners.

The author’s reasoning, put into Chichikov’s mouth, is full of lyricism about the life and death of the “dead souls” he bought. Chichikov fantasizes and sees how Stepan Probka “lifted himself... for greater profit under the church dome, and maybe he dragged himself onto the cross and, slipping, from there, from the crossbar, fell to the ground, and only some one standing nearby... Uncle Micah, scratched. With his hand on the back of his head, he said: “Eh, Vanya, what a blessing it is for you!” - and he himself, tying himself with a rope, climbed into his place. It is no coincidence that Stepan Cork is named Vanya here. It’s just that this name contains all the naivety, generosity, breadth of soul and recklessness of the ordinary Russian people.

The third group of heroes can be conventionally designated as officers. These are mostly friends and acquaintances of the landowner Nozdryov. In a sense, Nozdryov himself also belongs to this group. Besides him, one can name such revelers and bullies as Captain Potseluev, Khvostyrev, and Lieutenant Kuvshinnikov. These are real Russian surnames, but in this case they ambiguously indicate such characteristics of their owners as a constant desire to drink wine and something stronger, and not in mugs, but preferably in jugs, the ability to curl their tail behind the first skirt they come across and give out kisses left and right . Nozdryov, who himself is a bearer of all the above qualities, talks about all these exploits with great enthusiasm. We should also add a cheating card game here. In this light, N.V. Gogol portrays representatives of the great Russian army who were quartered in the provincial city, which to some extent represents the whole of vast Rus'.

And the last group of persons presented in the first volume of the poem can be designated as officials, from the lowest to the governor and his retinue. In the same group we will include the female population of the provincial city of NN, about whom a lot is also said in the poem.

The reader somehow learns the names of officials in passing, from their conversations with each other; for them, rank becomes more important than their first and last name, as if it grows to the skin. Among them, the central ones are the governor, the prosecutor, the gendarmerie colonel, the chairman of the chamber, the police chief, and the postmaster. These people seem to have no soul at all, even somewhere far away, like Sobakevich. They live for their own pleasure, under the guise of their rank, their lives are strictly regulated by the size of their rank and the size of the bribes that they are given for the work that they are required to do by virtue of their position. The author tests these sleeping officials with the appearance of Chichikov with his “dead souls.” And officials, willingly or unwillingly, must show who is capable of what. And they turned out to be capable of a lot, especially in the area of guessing about the personality of Chichikov himself and his strange enterprise. Various rumors and opinions began to circulate, which, “for some unknown reason, had the greatest effect on the poor prosecutor. They affected him to such an extent that, when he came home, he began to think and think and suddenly, as they say, for no reason at all.” "On the other hand, he died. Whether he was suffering from paralysis or something else, he just sat there and fell backwards out of his chair... Only then did they learn with condolences that the deceased definitely had a soul, although out of his modesty he never showed it." The rest of the officials never showed their souls.

Ladies from the high society of the provincial city of NN helped the officials a lot in causing such a big commotion. Ladies occupy a special place in the anthroponymic system of Dead Souls. The author, as he himself admits, does not dare to write about ladies. “It’s even strange, the pen doesn’t rise at all, as if some kind of lead were sitting in it. So be it: about their characters, apparently, we need to leave it to someone who has livelier colors and more of them on the palette, and we’ll only have to say two words about appearance and about what is more superficial... The ladies of the city of NN were what is called presentable... As for how to behave, maintain tone, maintain etiquette, many of the most subtle decencies, and especially observe ode in the very last little details, then in this they were ahead of even the ladies of St. Petersburg and Moscow... A calling card, whether it was written on a two of clubs or an ace of diamonds, was a very sacred thing.” The author does not give names to the ladies, and explains the reason as follows: “It is dangerous to call a fictitious surname. Whatever name you come up with, you will certainly find it in some corner of our state, fortunately, someone bearing it will certainly not be angry.” to the stomach, and to death... Call them by rank - God forbid, and even more dangerous. Now all ranks and classes are so irritated in our country that everything that is in a printed book already seems to them to be a person: such is the disposition in air. It is enough to just say that there is a stupid man in one city, that is already a person; suddenly a gentleman of respectable appearance will jump out and shout: “After all, I am also a man, therefore, I am also stupid,” - in a word, he will instantly realize what is the matter ". This is how a lady pleasant in all respects and a simply pleasant lady appear in the poem - collective female images that are delightfully expressive. From the conversation between the two ladies, the reader subsequently learns that one of them is called Sofya Ivanovna, and the other is Anna Grigorievna. But this doesn’t really matter, because no matter what you call them, they will still remain a pleasant lady in all respects and simply a pleasant lady. This introduces an additional element of generalization into the author's characterization of the characters. A lady pleasant in all respects “acquired this title in a legitimate way, because, as a matter of fact, she did not regret anything in becoming amiable to the last degree, although, of course, through the amiability, oh, what a nimble agility of a woman’s character crept in! And although sometimes it stuck out in every pleasant word wow, what a pin! and God forbid, what was seething in my heart against the one that would somehow and somehow get through in the first place. But all this was clothed in the most subtle secularism that only happens in a provincial city." "The other lady... did not have that versatility in character, and therefore we will call her: just a pleasant lady." It was these ladies who laid the foundation for the loud scandal about dead souls , Chichikov and the kidnapping of the governor's daughter. A few words need to be said about the latter. She is no more and no less than the governor's daughter. Chichikov says about her: “Glorious grandmother! The good thing is that now, apparently, she has just been released from some boarding school or institute, that, as they say, there is nothing feminine about her yet. That is, exactly what is most unpleasant about them. She is now like a child, everything about her is simple, she will say whatever she wants, laugh wherever she wants to laugh. Anything can be made of her, she can be a miracle, or she can turn out to be rubbish...” The governor’s daughter is untouched virgin soil, (tabula rasa), so her name is youth and innocence, and it doesn’t matter at all whether her name is Katya or Masha. After the ball, on in which she aroused universal hatred from the ladies, the author calls her “poor blonde.” Almost “poor sheep.”

When Chichikov goes to the court chamber to formalize the purchase of “dead” souls, he encounters the world of petty officials: Fedosei Fedoseevich, Ivan Grigorievich, Ivan Antonovich the jug’s snout. “Themis simply received guests as she was, in a negligee and robe.” “Ivan Antonovich seemed to be well over forty years old; his hair was black and thick; the whole middle of his face protruded forward and went into his nose - in a word, it was the face that is called in the hostel a jug’s snout.” Apart from this detail, there is nothing remarkable about the officials, except perhaps their desire to receive a larger bribe, but this no longer surprises anyone about the officials.

In the tenth chapter of the first volume, the postmaster tells the story about Captain Kopeikin, calling it a whole poem in some way.

Yu. M. Lotman in his article “Pushkin and “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” finds prototypes of Captain Kopeikin. This is the hero of folk songs, the thief Kopeikin, whose prototype was a certain Kopeknikov, an invalid during the Patriotic War of 1812. He was refused help by Arakcheev, after which he became, as they said, a robber. This is Fyodor Orlov - a real person, a man who was disabled in the same war. Lotman believes that “the synthesis and parodic crushing of these images gives rise to the “hero of the penny” Chichikov.”

Smirnova-Chikina, in her comments to the poem “Dead Souls,” considers Kopeikin as the only positive character conceived by Gogol in the first part of his work. The author writes that Gogol wanted to do this in order to “justify her<поэмы>genre, which is why the narrator-postmaster prefaces the story with the words that “this, however, if told, would turn out to be a whole poem, in some way interesting for some writer.”” In addition, the author pays attention to the role of contrasts, which is also considered in my work , oppositions in the composition of the story. She says that this “helps to deepen the satirical meaning of the story.” Smirnova-Chikina draws attention to how Gogol contrasts the wealth of St. Petersburg, the luxury of its streets with the poverty of Kopeikin.

“The Tale...” appears in the poem at the moment when the high society of the city of N, having gathered together, is wondering who Chichikov really is. Many assumptions are made - a robber, a counterfeiter, and Napoleon... Although the postmaster's idea that Chichikov and Kopeikin were the same person was rejected, we can see a parallel between their images. It can be noticed by at least paying attention to the role the word “kopek” plays in the story about Chichikov’s life. Even in childhood, his father, instructing him, said: “... most of all, take care and save a penny, this thing is most reliable, as it turns out, “he was only versed in the advice of saving a penny, and he himself accumulated a little of it,” but Chichikov turned out to have “a great mind from the practical side." Thus, we see that Chichikov and Kopeikin have the same image - a penny.

The surname Chichikov cannot be found in any dictionary. And this surname itself does not lend itself to any analysis, either from the emotional content, or from the side of style or origin. The surname is unclear. It does not carry any hints of respectability or humiliation, it does not mean anything. But that is precisely why N.V. Gogol gives such a surname to the main character, who “is not handsome, but not of bad appearance, neither too fat nor too thin; one cannot say that he is old, but not that he is too young.” . Chichikov is neither this nor that, however, this hero cannot be called an empty place either. This is how the author characterizes his behavior in society: “Whatever the conversation was about, he always knew how to support it: whether it was about a horse farm, he talked about a horse farm; whether they talked about good dogs, and here he made very practical comments ; whether they were interpreting the investigation carried out by the treasury chamber - he showed that he was not unaware of the judicial tricks; whether there was a discussion about the billiard game - and in the billiard game he did not miss; whether they were talking about virtue, and he reasoned about virtue very well, even with tears in his eyes; about the production of hot wine, and he knew the use of hot wine; about customs overseers and officials, and he judged them as if he himself were both an official and an overseer... He spoke neither loudly nor quietly, but absolutely as it should be." The life story of the main character, included in the poem, explains a lot about “dead souls,” but the living soul of the hero remains as if hidden behind all his unseemly actions. His thoughts, which the author reveals, show that Chichikov is not a stupid person and not devoid of conscience. But it is still difficult to guess whether he will correct himself as he promised or whether he will continue along his difficult and unrighteous path. The author did not have time to write about this.

"Dead Souls"- a work by the writer Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, the genre of which the author himself designated as a poem.
characteristics of the heroes of dead souls. The main characters of "Dead Souls" were supposed to depict the three main Russian classes: landowners, peasants and officials. Particular attention is paid to landowners who have Chichikov buys up dead souls: Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Plyushkin and Sobakevich.

Officials in this poem they are quite similar to the landowners. A very expressive character is the provincial prosecutor, who dies of shock after learning about Chichikov’s scam. So it turns out that he also knew how to feel. But in general, according to Gogol, officials only know how to take bribes.

Peasants are episodic characters, there are very few of them in the poem: serfs of landowners, random people they meet... Peasants are a mystery. Chichikov thinks for a long time about the Russian people, fantasizes, looking at the long list of dead souls.

And finally, the main character, Chichikov, does not fully belong to any of the classes. In his image, Gogol creates a fundamentally new type of hero - he is the owner-acquirer, whose main goal is to accumulate more money.

To some extent, he can be called a superman, but Chichikov intends to rise above all others not because of his outstanding qualities, but due to his ability to save a penny.

The main characters of "Dead Souls"

Chichikov Pavel Ivanovich
Manilov
Mikhailo Semenych Sobakevich
Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka
Nozdryov
Plyushkin

Characteristics of Plyushkin in the poem"Dead Souls"

Stepan Plyushkin is the last “seller” of dead souls. This hero personifies the complete death of the human soul. In the image of P., the author shows the death of a bright and strong personality, consumed by the passion of stinginess.
Description of Plyushkin's estate(“he does not grow rich in God”) depicts the desolation and “cluttering” of the hero’s soul. The entrance is dilapidated, there is a special disrepair everywhere, the roofs are like a sieve, the windows are covered with rags. Everything here is lifeless - even the two churches, which should be the soul of the estate.
P.’s estate seems to be falling apart into details and fragments; even the house - in some places one floor, in others two. This indicates the collapse of the owner’s consciousness, who forgot about the main thing and focused on the tertiary. He no longer knows what is going on in his household, but he strictly monitors the level of liquor in his decanter.
Portrait of Plyushkin(either a woman or a man; a long chin covered with a scarf so as not to spit; small, not yet extinguished eyes, running around like mice; a greasy robe; a rag around the neck instead of a scarf) speaks of the hero’s complete “loss” from the image of a rich landowner and from life in general.
P., alone of all the landowners, has a fairly detailed biography. Before the death of his wife, P. was a zealous and wealthy owner. He carefully raised his children. But with the death of his beloved wife, something broke in him: he became more suspicious and stingier. After troubles with the children (the son lost at cards, the eldest daughter ran away, and the youngest died), P.’s soul finally became hardened - “a wolfish hunger of stinginess took possession of him.” But, oddly enough, greed did not take control of the hero’s heart to the last limit. Having sold dead souls to Chichikov, P. ponders who could help him draw up a deed of sale in the city. He recalls that the Chairman was his schoolmate. This memory suddenly revives the hero: “... on this wooden face... expressed... a pale reflection of feeling.” But this is only a momentary glimpse of life, although the author believes that P. is capable of rebirth. At the end of the chapter about P. Gogol describes a twilight landscape in which shadow and light are “completely mixed” - just like in P.’s unfortunate soul.

Characteristics of Nozdryov in the poem"Dead Souls"

Nozdryov is the third landowner from whom Chichikov is trying to buy dead souls. This is a dashing 35-year-old “talker, carouser, reckless driver.” N. lies constantly, bullies everyone indiscriminately; he is very passionate, ready to “take a shit” on his best friend without any purpose. All of N.’s behavior is explained by his dominant quality: “nimbleness and liveliness of character,” i.e. unrestrained, bordering on unconsciousness. N. doesn’t think or plan anything; he simply does not know the limits in anything. On the way to Sobakevich, in the tavern, N. intercepts Chichikov and takes him to his estate. There he quarrels to death with Chichikov: he does not agree to play cards for dead souls, and also does not want to buy a stallion of “Arab blood” and receive souls in addition. The next morning, forgetting about all the grievances, N. persuades Chichikov to play checkers with him for dead souls.

Caught in cheating, N. orders Chichikov to be beaten, and only the appearance of the police captain calms him down. It is N. who almost destroys Chichikov. Confronted with him at the ball, N. shouts out loud: “he sells dead souls!”, which gives rise to a lot of the most incredible rumors. When officials call on N. to sort things out, the hero confirms all the rumors at once, without being embarrassed by their inconsistency. Later he comes to Chichikov and himself talks about all these rumors. Instantly forgetting about the insult he had caused, he sincerely offers to help Chichikov take away the governor’s daughter. The home environment fully reflects N.’s chaotic character. Everything at home is stupid: there are goats in the middle of the dining room, there are no books or papers in the office, etc. We can say that N.’s boundless lies are the other side of the Russian prowess with which N. endowed in abundance. N. is not completely empty, it’s just that his unbridled energy does not find proper use. With N. in the poem begins a series of heroes who have retained something alive in themselves. Therefore, in the “hierarchy” of heroes, he occupies a relatively high – third – place.

Image Korobochka Nastasya Petrovna"Dead Souls"

Korobochka Nastasya Petrovna is a widow-landowner, the second “saleswoman” of dead souls to Chichikov. The main feature of her character is commercial efficiency. Every person for K. is only a potential buyer.
K.'s inner world reflects her household. Everything in it is neat and strong: both the house and the yard. It's just that there are a lot of flies everywhere. This detail personifies the frozen, stopped world of the heroine. This is also evidenced by the hissing clock and the “outdated” portraits on the walls in K’s house.
But such “fading” is still better than the complete timelessness of Manilov’s world. At least K. has a past (husband and everything connected with him). K. has character: she begins to frantically bargain with Chichikov until she extracts from him a promise to buy many other things in addition to souls. It is noteworthy that K. remembers all his dead peasants by heart. But K. is stupid: later she will come to the city to find out the price of dead souls, and thereby expose Chichikov. Even the location of the village of K. (away from the main road, away from real life) indicates the impossibility of its correction and revival. In this she is similar to Manilov and occupies one of the lowest places in the “hierarchy” of the heroes of the poem.

The image of Sobakevich "Dead Souls"

Mikhailo Semenych Sobakevich is the fourth “seller” of dead souls. The very name and appearance of this hero (he looks like a “medium-sized bear”, besides, his tailcoat is also bear-colored, his gait is at random, his face is “hardened and hot”) speak of the excessive power of his nature.
Literally from the very beginning, the image of money, calculation and thriftiness is firmly attached to Sobakevich. He is a very direct and open person.

When communicating with Chichikov, despite his thin hints, Sobakevich immediately gets to the heart of the question: “Do you need dead souls?” He is a true entrepreneur. The main thing for him is the deal, the money, the rest is secondary. Sobakevich skillfully defends his position, bargains well, not disdaining cheating (even slips Chichikov a “female soul” - Elizaveta Vorobei).

All the things around him reflect his spiritual appearance. Sobakevich’s house has been cleared of all unnecessary and “useless” architectural creations. The huts of his subordinates are also very austere and built without unnecessary decoration. In Sobakevich’s house you can only find paintings of ancient Greek heroes, in some places similar to the owner.

Image and characteristics of Manilov"Dead Souls"

Manilov- a businesslike, sentimental landowner, is the first “seller” of dead souls. Behind the hero's sugary pleasantness and sense of smell lies a callous emptiness and insignificance, which Gogol tries to emphasize with the details of his estate.

Manilov's house is dilapidated, open to all winds. Slender birch trees can be seen everywhere. The pond is completely overgrown with duckweed. The only tidy place on his estate is a neat gazebo, which he calls the “Temple of Solitary Thinking.” His office is not particularly beautiful either - it is covered with cheap blue paint, which from the outside looks gray.

This detail indicates the lifelessness of the character, from whom not a single living word can be squeezed out.

Manilov's thoughts are chaotic. Having caught on to one topic, they can fly far away and renounce reality. He is not able to think about the present, much less make any important decisions. He tries to wrap his whole life in exquisite verbal formulas - action, time, and meaning.

As soon as Chichikov mentioned his desire to acquire dead souls, Manilov, without hesitation, gives his consent, although earlier his hair would have stood on end from such a proposal.

The image and characteristics of Chichikov"Dead Souls"

Chichikov Pavel Ivanovich, a character in N.V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”.
Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov stands out clearly against the background of other various characters. The author tried to combine the various qualities of the landowners of that time.

Up until the eleventh chapter, we remain in the dark about the appearance of such traits in his character, and about the formation of his character in particular. Pavel Ivanovich came from a poor noble family. In my father’s dying will there was a handful of copper coins and a covenant - to please bosses and teachers, study diligently and, most importantly, save and take care of a penny.

There was not a word in the will about duty, dignity and honor. Then Chichikov quickly realized that high moral principles only harm the achievement of his cherished goals. Therefore, he decides to make his way into respected and revered people through his own efforts.

At school he was an exemplary student. He studied well, was a model of good manners, politeness and submissive obedience. All the teachers were delighted with such a capable student. After studying, the first instance in his career ladder becomes the government chamber, where he easily gets a job. Chichikov immediately begins to please the boss, and even tries to look after his pretty daughter...

After some time, Chichikov became an attorney and, during the troubles of pledging the peasants, he formed a plan in his head, began to travel around the expanses of Rus', so that, having bought dead souls and pawning them in the treasury as if they were alive, he would receive money, perhaps buy a village and provide for future offspring...

landowner	Appearance	Manor	Characteristic	Attitude to Chichikov's request
Manilov	The man is not yet old, his eyes are as sweet as sugar. But there was too much sugar. In the first minute of a conversation with him you’ll say what a nice person he is, a minute later you won’t say anything, and in the third minute you’ll think: “The devil knows what this is!”	The master's house stands on a hill, open to all winds. The economy is in complete decline. The housekeeper steals, there is always something missing in the house. Cooking in the kitchen is a mess. The servants are drunkards. Against the backdrop of all this decline, the gazebo with the name “Temple of Solitary Reflection” looks strange. The Manilov couple love to kiss, give each other cute trinkets (a toothpick in a case), but at the same time they absolutely do not care about home improvement.	About people like Manilov, Gogol says: “The man is so-so, neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan.” The man is empty and vulgar. For two years now, there has been a book in his office with a bookmark on page 14, which he constantly reads. Dreams are fruitless. Speech is sugary and sweet (name day of the heart)	I was surprised. He understands that this request is illegal, but cannot refuse such a pleasant person. He agrees to give the peasants away for free. He doesn’t even know how many souls he has died.
Box	An elderly woman, wearing a cap, with a flannel around her neck.	A small house, the wallpaper in the house is old, the mirrors are antique. Nothing is lost on the farm, as evidenced by the net on the fruit trees and the cap on the scarecrow. She taught everyone to be orderly. The yard is full of birds, the garden is well-kept. Although the peasant huts were built randomly, they show the contentment of the inhabitants and are properly maintained. Korobochka knows everything about her peasants, does not keep any notes and remembers the names of the dead by heart.	Economical and practical, she knows the value of a penny. Club-headed, clueless, stingy. This is the image of a hoarding landowner.	He wonders why Chichikov needs this. Afraid of selling out. Knows exactly how many peasants died (18 souls). He looks at dead souls the same way as he looks at lard or hemp: in case they come in handy on the farm.
Nozdryov	Fresh, “like blood and milk,” radiant with health. Average height, well built. At thirty-five he looks the same as he did at eighteen.	A stable with two horses. The kennel is in excellent condition, where Nozdryov feels like the father of a family. There are no usual things in the office: books, paper. And hanging there is a saber, two guns, a barrel organ, pipes, and daggers. The lands are unkempt. The farming went on by itself, since the main concern of the hero was hunting and fairs - there was no time for farming. The repairs in the house are not completed, the stalls are empty, the barrel organ is faulty, the chaise is lost. The situation of the serfs, from whom he extracts everything he can, is deplorable.	Gogol calls Nozdryov a “historical” person, because not a single meeting at which Nozdryov appeared was complete without “history.” He is reputed to be a good friend, but is always ready to play a dirty trick on his friend. “A broken fellow”, a reckless reveler, a card player, loves to lie, spends money thoughtlessly. Rudeness, blatant lies, and recklessness are reflected in his fragmentary speech. While talking, he constantly jumps from one subject to another, uses swear words: “you’re an ass for this,” “such rubbish.”	From him, a reckless reveler, it seemed that it was easiest to get dead souls, and yet he was the only one who left Chichikov with nothing.
Sobakevich	Looks like a bear. Bear-colored tailcoat. The complexion is reddened and hot.	Big village, awkward house. The stable, barn, and kitchen were built from massive logs. The portraits that hang in the rooms depict heroes with “thick thighs and incredible mustaches.” A walnut bureau on four legs looks ridiculous. Sobakevich’s farm developed according to the principle “it’s not cut well, but it’s sewn tightly”, it’s solid and strong. And he doesn’t ruin his peasants: his peasants live in miraculously built huts, in which everything was fitted tightly and properly. He knows the business and human qualities of his peasants very well.	Kulak, rude, clumsy, uncouth, incapable of expressing emotional experiences. An evil, tough serf owner will never miss his profit.	Of all the landowners with whom Chichikov dealt, Sobakevich is the most savvy. He immediately understood what the dead souls were for, quickly saw through the guest’s intentions and made a deal to his advantage.
Plyushkin	It was difficult to determine whether it was a man or a woman. Looks like an old key holder. Gray eyes quickly ran from under fused eyebrows. There is a cap on the head. The face is wrinkled, like that of an old man. The chin protruded far forward; there were no teeth. On the neck is either a scarf or a stocking. The men call Plyushkin “Patched”.	Dilapidated buildings, old dark logs on the peasants' huts, holes in the roofs, windows without glass. He walked the streets, picking up everything he came across and dragging it into the house. The house is full of furniture and junk. The once prosperous farm became unprofitable due to pathological stinginess, brought to the point of wastefulness (hay and bread rotted, flour in the basement turned to stone).	Once upon a time, Plyushkin was simply a thrifty owner; he had a family and children. The hero also met with his neighbors. The turning point in the transformation of a cultured landowner into a miser was the death of the owner. Plyushkin, like all widowers, became suspicious and stingy. And it turns, as Gogol says, into “a hole in humanity.”	The offer amazed and delighted me because there would be income. He agreed to sell 78 souls for 30 kopecks.

Landowner Portrait Characteristics Estate Attitude to housekeeping Lifestyle Result Manilov Handsome blond with blue eyes. At the same time, his appearance “seemed to have too much sugar in it.” Too ingratiating look and behavior Too enthusiastic and refined dreamer who does not feel any curiosity about his farm or anything earthly (he doesn’t even know whether his peasants died after the last revision). At the same time, his dreaminess is absolutely [...]
Compositionally, the poem “Dead Souls” consists of three externally closed, but internally interconnected circles. landowners, a city, a biography of Chichikov, united by the image of a road, plot-related by the main character’s scam. But the middle link - the life of the city - itself consists, as it were, of narrowing circles gravitating towards the center; this is a graphic representation of the provincial hierarchy. It is interesting that in this hierarchical pyramid the governor, embroidering on tulle, looks like a puppet figure. True life is in full swing in civil [...]
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is one of the most brilliant authors of our vast Motherland. In his works, he always spoke about painful issues, about how His Rus' lived in His time. And he does it so well! This man really loved Russia, seeing what our country really is - unhappy, deceptive, lost, but at the same time - dear. Nikolai Vasilyevich in the poem “Dead Souls” gives a social profile of the Rus' of that time. Describes landownership in all colors, reveals all the nuances and characters. Among […]
The work of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol fell on the dark era of Nicholas I. It was the 30s. XIX century, when reaction reigned in Russia after the suppression of the Decembrist uprising, all dissidents were persecuted, the best people were persecuted. Describing the reality of his time, N.V. Gogol creates the poem “Dead Souls,” which is brilliant in its depth of reflection of life. The basis of “Dead Souls” is that the book is a reflection not of individual features of reality and characters, but of the reality of Russia as a whole. Myself […]
In Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" the way of life and morals of the feudal landowners is very correctly noted and described. Drawing images of landowners: Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich and Plyushkin, the author recreated a generalized picture of the life of serf Russia, where arbitrariness reigned, the economy was in decline, and the individual underwent moral degradation. After writing and publishing the poem, Gogol said: ““Dead Souls” made a lot of noise, a lot of murmur, touched many people to the quick with ridicule, truth, and caricature, touched […]
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol noted that the main theme of “Dead Souls” was contemporary Russia. The author believed that “there is no other way to direct society or even an entire generation towards the beautiful until you show the full depth of its real abomination.” That is why the poem presents a satire on the local nobility, bureaucracy and other social groups. The composition of the work is subordinated to this task of the author. The image of Chichikov traveling around the country in search of the necessary connections and wealth allows N.V. Gogol […]
Chichikov, having met landowners in the city, received an invitation from each of them to visit the estate. The gallery of owners of “dead souls” is opened by Manilov. The author at the very beginning of the chapter gives a description of this character. His appearance initially made a very pleasant impression, then - bewilderment, and in the third minute “... you say: “The devil knows what this is!” and move away..." The sweetness and sentimentality highlighted in the portrait of Manilov constitute the essence of his idle lifestyle. He is constantly talking about something [...]
French traveler, author of the famous book “Russia in 1839” The Marquis de Kestin wrote: “Russia is ruled by a class of officials who occupy administrative positions straight from school... each of these gentlemen becomes a nobleman, having received a cross in his buttonhole... Upstarts are among those in power, and they use their power as befits upstarts.” The Tsar himself admitted with bewilderment that it was not he, the All-Russian autocrat, who ruled his empire, but the head appointed by him. Provincial town [...]
In his famous address to the “bird-troika”, Gogol did not forget the master to whom the troika owes its existence: “Not a cunning, it seems, road projectile, not grabbed by an iron screw, but hastily, alive, with one ax and a chisel, the Yaroslavl equipped and assembled you a quick guy." There is another hero in the poem about swindlers, parasites, owners of living and dead souls. Gogol's unnamed hero is a serf slave. In “Dead Souls” Gogol composed such a dithyramb for the Russian serf people, with such direct clarity […]
N.V. Gogol conceived the first part of the poem “Dead Souls” as a work that reveals the social vices of society. In this regard, he was looking for a plot not a simple fact of life, but one that would make it possible to expose the hidden phenomena of reality. In this sense, the plot proposed by A. S. Pushkin suited Gogol perfectly. The idea of “travelling all over Rus' with the hero” gave the author the opportunity to show the life of the entire country. And since Gogol described it in such a way “so that all the little things that elude […]
In the fall of 1835, Gogol began working on “Dead Souls,” the plot of which, like the plot of “The Inspector General,” was suggested to him by Pushkin. “In this novel I want to show, although from one side, all of Rus',” he writes to Pushkin. Explaining the concept of “Dead Souls,” Gogol wrote that the images of the poem are “in no way portraits of insignificant people; on the contrary, they contain the features of those who consider themselves better than others.” Explaining the choice of the hero, the author says: “Because it’s time, finally, give rest to the poor virtuous man, because [...]
It should be noted that the episode of the crews’ collision is divided into two micro-themes. One of them is the appearance of a crowd of onlookers and “helpers” from a neighboring village, the other is Chichikov’s thoughts caused by his meeting with a young stranger. Both of these themes have both an external, superficial layer that directly concerns the characters of the poem, and a deep layer that brings to the scale of the author’s thoughts about Russia and its people. So, the collision occurs suddenly when Chichikov silently curses Nozdryov, thinking that […]
Chichikov met Nozdrev earlier, at one of the receptions in the city of NN, but the meeting in the tavern is the first serious acquaintance of both Chichikov and the reader with him. We understand what type of people Nozdryov belongs to, first by seeing his behavior in the tavern, his story about the fair, and then by reading the author’s direct description of this “broken fellow,” a “historical man” who has a “passion to spoil his neighbor, sometimes for no reason at all.” " We know Chichikov as a completely different person – [...]
Gogol's poem “Dead Souls” is one of the greatest and at the same time mysterious works of the 19th century. The genre definition of “poem,” which then unambiguously meant a lyric-epic work written in poetic form and predominantly romantic, was perceived differently by Gogol’s contemporaries. Some found it mocking, while others saw hidden irony in this definition. Shevyrev wrote that “the meaning of the word “poem” seems to us twofold... because of the word “poem” a deep, significant […]
At the literature lesson we got acquainted with the work of N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls". This poem gained great popularity. The work has been filmed several times both in the Soviet Union and in modern Russia. Also, the names of the main characters have become symbolic: Plyushkin is a symbol of stinginess and storage of unnecessary things, Sobakevich is an uncouth person, Manilovism is immersion in dreams that have no connection with reality. Some phrases have become catchphrases. The main character of the poem is Chichikov. […]
What is the image of a literary hero? Chichikov is the hero of a great, classic work created by a genius, a hero who embodied the result of the author’s observations and reflections on life, people, and their actions. An image that has absorbed typical features, and therefore has long gone beyond the scope of the work itself. His name became a household name for people - nosy careerists, sycophants, money-grubbers, outwardly “pleasant,” “decent and worthy.” Moreover, some readers' assessment of Chichikov is not so clear. Comprehension […]
Gogol was always attracted by everything eternal and unshakable. By analogy with Dante's "Divine Comedy", he decides to create a work in three volumes, where the past, present and future of Russia could be shown. The author even designates the genre of the work in an unusual way - poem, since different fragments of life are collected in one artistic whole. The composition of the poem, which is built on the principle of concentric circles, allows Gogol to trace Chichikov’s movement through the provincial town of N, the estates of landowners and all of Russia. Already with […]
“A rather beautiful spring chaise drove through the gates of the hotel in the provincial town of NN... In the chaise sat a gentleman, not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin; One cannot say that he is old, but not that he is too young. His entry made absolutely no noise in the city and was not accompanied by anything special.” This is how our hero, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, appears in the city. Let us, following the author, get to know the city. Everything tells us that this is a typical provincial [...]
Plyushkin is the image of a moldy cracker left over from Easter cake. Only he has a life story; Gogol portrays all other landowners statically. These heroes seem to have no past that would be in any way different from their present and explain something about it. Plyushkin's character is much more complex than the characters of other landowners presented in Dead Souls. Traits of manic stinginess are combined in Plyushkin with morbid suspicion and distrust of people. Preserving an old sole, a clay shard, [...]
The poem “Dead Souls” reflects the social phenomena and conflicts that characterized Russian life in the 30s and early 40s. XIX century It very accurately notes and describes the way of life and customs of that time. Drawing images of landowners: Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich and Plyushkin, the author recreated a generalized picture of the life of serf Russia, where arbitrariness reigned, the economy was in decline, and the individual suffered moral degradation, regardless of whether she was a slave owner or [... ]

/S.P. Shevyrev (1806-1864). The Adventures of Chichikov, or Dead Souls. Poem by N. Gogol. Article one/

Let's carefully go through the gallery of these strange persons who live their own special, full life in the world where Chichikov performs his exploits. We will not disturb the order in which they are depicted. Let's start with Manilov, assuming that it is not without reason that the author himself begins with him. Almost thousands of faces are brought together in this one person. Manilov represents a lot of people living inside Russia, about whom we can say together with the author: people are so-so, neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan. If you want, they are generally good people, but empty; They praise everyone and everything, but their praises are of no use. They live in the village, don’t do housework, but look at everything with a calm and kind look and, smoking a pipe (a pipe is an inevitable attribute of theirs), indulge in idle dreams like how to build a stone bridge across a pond and set up shops on it. The kindness of their soul is reflected in their family tenderness: they love to kiss, but that’s all. The emptiness of their sweet and cloying life echoes the pampering of children and bad upbringing. Their dreamy inaction affected their entire economy; look at their villages: they will all look like Manilov. Gray log huts, no greenery anywhere; there is only one log everywhere; pond in the middle; two women with a nonsense in which two crayfish and a roach are entangled, and a plucked rooster with its head gouged to the brain (yes, in such people in the village even the rooster must certainly be plucked) - these are the necessary external signs of their rural life, to which even and the day is light gray, because in sunlight such a picture would not be so interesting. There is always some kind of deficiency in their house, and with furniture upholstered in smart material, there will certainly be two chairs covered in canvas. For any business matter, they always turn to their clerk, even if they happen to be selling some rural product.<…>

Box- this is a completely different matter! This is the type of active landowner-housewife; she lives entirely on her own farm; she knows nothing else. In appearance, you will call her a penny-pincher, looking at how she collects fifty dollars and quarters in different bags, but, looking at her more closely, you will give justice to her activities and involuntarily say that she is a minister of all sorts in her business. Look how orderly she is everywhere. The contentment of the inhabitants is visible in the peasant huts; the gates were not askew anywhere; The old boards on the roofs have been replaced with new ones everywhere. Look at her rich chicken coop! Her rooster is not like Manilov’s in the village - it’s a dandy rooster. All the birds, as you can see, have been so accustomed to the caring housewife, they seem to form one family with her and come close to the windows of her house; That’s why at Korobochka’s a not entirely polite meeting could take place between the Indian rooster and the guest Chichikov. Her housekeeping is running at full speed: it seems that Fetinya is the only one in the house, and look at those cookies! and what a huge down jacket took the tired Chichikov into its depths! - And what a wonderful memory Nastasya Petrovna has! How she, without any note, told Chichikov by heart the names of all her extinct men! Have you noticed that the men of Korobochka differ from other landowner men by some unusual nicknames: do you know why this is?

The box is on her mind: she already has what is hers, then firmly hers; and the men are also marked with special names, just as a bird is marked by careful owners so that it does not run away. That is why it was so difficult for Chichikov to settle matters with her: although she loves to sell and sells every household product, she also looks at dead souls the same way as lard, hemp or honey, believing that they are also in the household. may be needed. She tormented Chichikov to the point of sweat with her difficulties, all citing the fact that the product was new, strange, unprecedented. She could only be frightened by the devil, because Korobochka must be superstitious. But it’s a disaster if she happens to sell some of her goods cheap: it’s as if her conscience is not at peace - and therefore it’s no wonder that, having sold dead souls and then thinking about them, she galloped into town in her travel watermelon, stuffed with chintz pillows and bread , rolls, kokurki, pretzels and other things, she galloped up then to find out for sure how much dead souls are walking around and whether, God forbid, she missed the mark by selling them, perhaps for a fraction of the price.

On the high road, in some wooden, darkened tavern, I met Chichikov Nozdreva, whom I met back in the city: where can I meet such a person, if not in such a tavern? There are quite a few Nozdrevs, the author notes: however, at every Russian fair, even the most insignificant, you will certainly meet at least one Nozdrev, and at another, more important one, of course, several such Nozdrevs. The author says that this type of people in our Rus' is known under the name broken little one: epithets also go to him: careless, eccentric, jumbled, braggart, bully, bully, liar, rubbish person, scoundrel, etc. The third time they tell their friend - You; at fairs they buy everything that comes into their head, such as, for example: clamps, smoking candles, a dress for a nanny, a stallion, raisins, a silver washstand, Dutch linen, fine flour, tobacco, pistols, herrings, paintings, a sharpening tool - in a word , their purchases are as jumbled as their heads. In their villages, they love to brag and lie without mercy, and call everything theirs that does not belong to them. Don’t trust their words, tell them to their faces that they are talking nonsense: they are not offended. They have a great passion to show everything in their village, although there is nothing to look at, and to boast to everyone: this passion shows cordiality - a trait of the Russian people - and vanity, another trait, also dear to us.

The Nozdryovs are big hunters of change. Nothing sits still for them, and everything must revolve around them as well as in their heads. Friendly endearments and curses flow from their tongues at the same time, getting mixed up in a stream of obscene words. God forbid from their dinner and from any shortness with them! In the game they brazenly cheat - and are ready to fight if you notice it to them. They have a special passion for dogs - and the kennel yard is in great order: doesn’t this come from some kind of sympathy? for there is something truly canine in the Nozdrevs’ character. It is impossible to get along with them in any way: that is why at first it even seems strange that Chichikov, such an intelligent and businesslike fellow, who recognized the person from the first time, who he was and how to speak to him, decided to enter into relations with Nozdryov. Such a mistake, for which Chichikov himself later repented, can, however, be explained by two Russian proverbs: that simplicity is enough for every wise man and that a Russian man is strong in hindsight. But Chichikov paid the price later; without Nozdryov, who would have so alarmed the city and caused all the turmoil at the ball, which caused such an important revolution in Chichikov’s affairs?

But Nozdryov must give way to a huge type Sobakevich. <…>

It sometimes happens in nature that a person’s appearance deceives and under a strange monstrous image you meet a kind soul and a soft heart. But in Sobakevich, the external perfectly, exactly, corresponds to the internal. His outer image is imprinted on all his words, actions and everything that surrounds him. His awkward house, full-weight and thick logs used for stables, barns and kitchens; the dense huts of the peasants, marvelously cut down; a well lined with strong oak, suitable for a ship's structure; in the rooms there are portraits with thick thighs and endless mustaches, the Greek heroine Bobelina with a leg in her torso, a pot-bellied walnut bureau on the most absurd four legs; a blackbird of a dark color - in a word, everything surrounding Sobakevich looks like him and can, together with the table, armchairs, chairs, sing in chorus: and we are all Sobakevich!

Look at his dinner: every dish will repeat the same thing to you. This colossal nanny, consisting of a mutton stomach stuffed with buckwheat porridge, brains and legs; cheesecakes are larger than a plate; a turkey the size of a calf, stuffed with God knows what - how similar all these dishes are to the owner himself!<…>

Talk to Sobakevich: all the calculated dishes will be regurgitated in every word that comes out of his mouth. All his speeches echo the entire abomination of his physical and moral nature. He chops down everything and everyone, just as he himself was chopped off by merciless nature: his whole city is fools, robbers, swindlers, and even the most decent people in his dictionary mean the same thing as pigs. You, of course, have not forgotten Fonvizin’s Skotinin: he is, if not his own, then at least Sobakevich’s godfather, but one cannot help but add that the godson outdid his father.

“Sobakevich’s soul seemed to be covered with such a thick shell that whatever was tossing and turning at the bottom of it did not produce absolutely any shock on the surface,” says the author. So the body overpowered everything in him, covered the whole person and became incapable of expressing emotional movements.

His gluttonous nature also manifested itself in his greed for money. The mind operates in him, but only to the extent that he needs to cheat and make money. Sobakevich is exactly like Caliban 1, in whom only evil cunning remains from his mind. But in his inventiveness he is funnier than Caliban. How skillfully he screwed Elizabeth Sparrow into the list of male souls and how cunningly he began to poke a small fish with a fork, having first eaten a whole sturgeon, and played out the hungry innocence! It was difficult to get things done with Sobakevich, because he is a fist man; his tough nature loves to bargain; but once the matter was settled, it was possible to remain calm, for Sobakevich was a respectable and firm man and would stand up for himself.

The gallery of persons with whom Chichikov does his business is concluded by a miser Plyushkin. The author notes that such a phenomenon rarely occurs in Rus', where everything likes to unfold rather than shrink. Here, just like with other landowners, Plyushkin’s village and his house depict to us outwardly the character and soul of the owner himself. The logs on the huts are dark and old; the roofs are leaky like a sieve, the windows in the huts are without glass, covered with a rag or a zipun, the church, with its yellow walls, is stained and cracked. The house looks like a decrepit invalid; its windows are shuttered or boarded up; on one of them there is a dark triangle made of blue sugar paper. Decaying buildings all around, dead, carefree silence, gates always locked tightly, and a giant castle hanging on an iron loop - all this prepares us for a meeting with the owner himself and serves as a sad living attribute of his soul shut up alive. You take a break from these sad, heavy impressions in a rich picture of a garden, although overgrown and decayed, but picturesque in its desolation: here you are treated for a moment by the poet’s wonderful sympathy for nature, which all lives under his warm gaze on her, and yet in the depths In this wild and hot picture, you seem to be looking into the story of the life of the owner himself, in whom the soul has died out just like nature in the wilderness of this garden.

Go to Plyushkin's house; everything here will tell you about him before you see him. Piled up furniture, a broken chair, on the table a clock with a stopped pendulum, to which a spider had attached its web; a bureau lined with mother-of-pearl mosaic, which in some places has already fallen out and left behind only yellow grooves filled with glue; on the bureau there are a bunch of finely written pieces of paper, a lemon, all dried up, a broken arm of a chair, a glass with some liquid and three flies, covered with a letter, a piece of sealing wax, a piece of a rag picked up somewhere, two feathers, stained with ink, dried out, as if in consumption , a toothpick, completely yellowed, with which the owner, perhaps, picked his teeth even before the French invasion of Moscow... Further, paintings on the walls, blackened by time, a chandelier in a canvas bag, the dust made it look like a silk cocoon in which sits a worm, a pile of various rubbish in the corner, from where a broken piece of a wooden shovel and an old boot sole protruded, and the only sign of a living creature in the whole house, a worn cap lying on the table... How here Plyushkin is seen in every object, and how wonderful it is in this awkward pile you already recognize the man himself!

But here he is, looking from a distance like his old housekeeper, with an unshaven chin that protrudes very far forward and resembles a comb made of iron wire, such as is used to clean horses in a stable, with gray eyes that scurry from under the high eyebrows... Plyushkin appears to us so vividly, as if we recall him in a painting by Albert Durer in the Doria 2 gallery... Having depicted a face, the poet goes inside it, exposes to you all the dark folds of this hardened soul, tells the psychological metamorphosis of this man: how avarice, having once made a nest in his soul, little by little extended its possessions in it and, having conquered everything, devastated all his feelings, turned a person into an animal which, by some instinct, drags into its hole everything that would suit him. nothing came across on the road - an old sole, a woman’s rag, an iron nail, a clay shard, an officer’s spur, a bucket left by a woman.

Every feeling almost imperceptibly slides over this callous, petrified face... Everything dies, rots and collapses around Plyushkin... It is no wonder that Chichikov could find such a large number of dead and fugitive souls from him, which suddenly multiplied his fantastic population so significantly.

These are the people with whom Chichikov puts his plan into action. All of them, in addition to the special properties that actually belong to each, have one more feature common to all: hospitality, this Russian cordiality towards the guest, which lives in them and persists as if it were a national instinct. It is remarkable that even in Plyushkin this natural feeling was preserved, despite the fact that it was completely contrary to his stinginess: and he considered it necessary to treat Chichikov to tea and ordered the samovar to be put on, but to his happiness, the guest himself, having realized the matter, refused the treat .