About the role and functions of "little things" in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls. Chichikov's attitude to Nozdrev

N. V. Gogol. The author published it in 1842. He originally planned a three-volume work. In 1842, the first volume saw the light. However, the second, almost ready, was destroyed by the writer himself (several chapters from it were preserved in drafts). The third one was not even started, there are only a few information about it. Therefore, we will consider the attitude of Chichikov to Nozdrev only on the basis of the first volume of the work. Let's start by getting to know these characters.

Who are Chichikov and Nozdrev?

Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov - a former official, and now a schemer. This retired collegiate adviser was engaged in buying up "dead souls" (that is, written certificates of dead peasants) in order to pawn them as if they were alive, get a bank loan and gain influence in society. He takes care of himself, dresses smartly. Chichikov, even after a dusty and long journey, manages to look as if he had just visited a barber and a tailor.

Nozdrev is a 35-year-old dashing "talker, reveler, reckless driver." This is the third landowner in the work, with whom Chichikov decided to start a bargain about dead souls. Let's try to answer the question of how Chichikov treated Nozdryov. To do this, you should trace the entire history of their relationship.

Acquaintance of Chichikov with Nozdrev

In the first chapter of the work, they meet, during lunch at the prosecutor's. Then the heroes accidentally collide in a tavern (fourth chapter). Chichikov is driving from Korobochka to Sobakevich. In turn, Nozdryov, together with Mezhuev, his son-in-law, returns from the fair, where he lost and drank everything, including the carriage. The landowner immediately lures the Gogol swindler into his estate. It is clear what Chichikov wanted from the landowner Nozdrev, why he agreed to go with him - he was interested in "dead souls".

Having delivered the guests, the landowner immediately begins to show the household. Nozdryov starts from the stable, then talks about a wolf cub that lives with him and eats only raw meat. Then the landowner goes to the pond. Here, according to his stories, only two fishermen together can pull out. This is followed by a demonstration of the kennel, where Nozdryov looks among the dogs as the "father of the family." After that, the guests go to the field, where, of course, the hares are caught with their hands. It is clear that Chichikov's attitude towards the landowner Nozdryov after all this boasting is unlikely to be positive. After all, this hero is very insightful.

Drinking and its consequences

The landlord is not very concerned about dinner. Only at 5 o'clock guests sit down at the table. He explains that food is not the main thing in his life. On the other hand, Nozdryov has a lot of drinks, and he does not have enough of the available ones, and he invents his own incredible "compositions" (champagne and bourguignon together, mountain ash, reeking of fuselage, "with the taste of cream"). In this case, the landowner spares himself. Chichikov, noticing this, imperceptibly pours out his glasses as well.

Nevertheless, the owner, "sparing" himself, comes to him in the morning in one dressing gown and with a pipe in his teeth. He assures, as a hussar hero should, that "the squadron spent the night" in his mouth. It doesn't matter if you have a hangover or not. The only important thing is that a decent reveler must certainly suffer from it. What was Nozdrev's attitude towards Chichikov? It is best revealed by a quarrel that occurred during the bargaining.

Quarrel between Chichikov and Nozdrev

The motive for this false hangover is important to the author in yet another respect. During the bargaining that took place the night before, Nozdryov had a major quarrel with Chichikov. The fact is that he refused to play cards for "dead souls", as well as to buy a stallion of real "Arab blood", and to receive souls "in addition". Nozdrev's attitude to Chichikov's proposal thus requires justification. However, the evening cockiness of the landowner cannot be attributed to alcohol, as well as to explain the morning peacefulness by forgetting what was done in a drunken stupor. Nozdryov in his actions is guided by only one spiritual quality: unrestraint bordering on unconsciousness.

Chess game for the soul

The landowner does not plan, does not conceive of anything, he simply does not know the measures in anything. Chichikov, agreeing (very recklessly) to play checkers for the soul (since checkers are not marked), almost becomes a victim of Nozdryov's revelry. Souls put on the line are valued at 100 rubles. The landowner shifts 3 checkers at once with his sleeve and thus moves one of them to the kings. Chichikov has no choice but to mix the figures.

The game for the soul emphasizes the essence of both characters, and not just reveals how Chichikov treated the landowner Nozdryov. The latter asks for 100 rubles for souls, and Chichikov wants to bring the price down to 50. Nozdryov's attitude to Chichikov's proposal is as follows: he asks to include some puppy in the same amount. This landowner, being an incorrigible player, does not play at all for the sake of winning - he is interested in the process itself. Nozdryova irritates and angers the loss. The ending of the game is predictable and familiar - it is a conflict turning into a fight.

Chichikov's flight

Chichikov, at the same time, thinks primarily not about physical pain, but about the fact that the courtyard people will witness this unpleasant scene. But the reputation should be maintained by all possible means. The hero resolves the conflict that threatens his image in the usual way - he flees. Subsequently, when the whole city becomes aware of the purchase of "dead souls", he does the same. Chichikov's attitude to Nozdrev, their cheating deal is a parody of entrepreneurial activity. It complements the characterization of both characters, demonstrating the vulgarity and meanness of the "middle hand" gentlemen.

It seems that reprisal against Chichikov is inevitable. The landowner shouts in excitement: "Beat him!" The visitor is saved only by the appearance of the police captain, a formidable man with a huge mustache.

The scene at the governor's ball and Nozdrev's visit

Chichikov hopes that he will never see Nozdryov again. However, these heroes will meet twice more. One of the meetings takes place at the governor's ball (chapter eight). In this scene, the buyer of "dead souls" was almost ruined. Nozdryov, unexpectedly colliding with him, shouts at the top of his voice that this is a "Kherson landowner" who "trades in dead souls." This gives rise to many incredible rumors. When, finally confused in various versions, officials of the city of NN call on Nozdryov, he, not at all embarrassed by the contradictory nature of all these opinions, confirms them all (ninth chapter). Chichikov allegedly bought dead souls worth several thousand, he is a counterfeiter and a spy, he tried to take away the daughter of the governor, and priest Sidor was supposed to marry the young for 75 rubles. Nozdrev even confirms that Chichikov is Napoleon.

In the tenth chapter, the landowner himself reports these rumors to Chichikov, whom he pays a visit without an invitation. Nozdryov, again forgetting his offense, offers him help in "taking away" the governor's daughter, and for only 3,000 rubles.

The inner world of Nozdrev

This landowner, like other heroes of Gogol's poem, seems to transfer the outlines of his own soul to the outlines of everyday life. At his house, everything is arranged stupidly. Wooden goats stand in the middle of the dining room, there are no papers and books in the office, allegedly Turkish daggers hang on the wall (Chichikov sees the name of the master on one of them - Savely Sibiryakov). Nozdryov calls his favorite hurdy-gurdy an organ.

Gogol compares the depraved and upset soul of the landowner with this spoiled hurdy-gurdy, which played not without pleasantness, but in the middle something went wrong, since the mazurka ended with the song "Mahlbrug went on a campaign", which, in turn, ended with some familiar waltz. The landowner had long since ceased to turn it, but in this hurdy-gurdy there was one brisk pipe, which did not want to calm down in any way, and for a long time alone whistled. Of course, in the crippled souls of Gogol's heroes, these "God's pipes" are very remarkable, sometimes whistling by themselves and confusing well-thought-out, impeccably and logically planned scams.

How Chichikov reveals himself in his relationship with Nozdrev

Chichikov's attitude to Nozdrev reveals the inner world of the Gogol swindler. Running away from the landowner, who is making another "story", the hunter for "dead souls" cannot understand why he went to the estate, why he trusted him, "like a child, like a fool." However, it was not by chance that he was seduced by this landowner: by nature, he is also an adventurer who, without a twinge of conscience, can transcend all moral laws in order to achieve selfish goals. Finishing to reveal the topic "Chichikov's attitude to Nozdrev", we note that to lie, deceive, and even shed a tear, while the first is no less capable than the second.

Arriving at the tavern, Chichikov ordered to stop for two reasons. On the one hand, to give the horses a rest, and on the other hand, to have a bite to eat and refresh yourself. The author must confess that he is very envious of the appetite and stomach of such people. For him, all the gentlemen of a big hand who live in St. Petersburg and Moscow, who spend their time thinking about what to eat tomorrow and what kind of dinner to compose for the day after tomorrow, and who take up this dinner only after putting a pill in their mouth, mean absolutely nothing; swallowing oysters, sea spiders and other miracles, and then going to Carlsbad or the Caucasus. No, these gentlemen never aroused envy in him. But gentlemen of the middle class, that at one station they would demand ham, at another a pig, at a third a slice of sturgeon or some kind of baked sausage with onions, and then, as if nothing had happened, sit down at the table at any time you want, and sterlet fish soup with burbots and sizzles with milk and grumbles between their teeth, seizes on a pie or a kulebyaka with a catfish plow, so that it alienates the appetite - these gentlemen, for sure, enjoy the enviable gift of heaven! Not one gentleman of a great hand would immediately donate half the souls of the peasants and half the estates, mortgaged and unmortgaged, with all the improvements on a foreign and Russian footing, in order to have such a stomach as a gentleman of an average hand has; but the misfortune is that for no amount of money, less than an estate, with or without improvements, one can acquire such a stomach as is found in a gentleman of an average hand. The darkened wooden tavern received Chichikov under its narrow hospitable canopy on carved wooden posts, resembling old church candlesticks. The tavern was something like a Russian hut, somewhat larger. Carved ornamental cornices of fresh wood around the windows and under the roof dazzled its dark walls sharply and vividly; jugs of flowers were painted on the shutters. Climbing up the narrow wooden staircase to the wide entrance, he met a door that opened with a creak and a fat old woman in colorful chintz who said: “Come here!” In the room all the old friends came across, which everyone comes across in small wooden taverns, of which there are many built along the roads, namely: a frost-covered samovar, smoothly scraped pine walls, a triangular cupboard with teapots and cups in the corner, gilded porcelain testicles in front of images, hanging on blue and red ribbons, a recently calved cat, a mirror showing four eyes instead of two, and some kind of cake instead of a face; finally, fragrant herbs and carnations studded in bunches near the icons, dried up to such an extent that anyone who wanted to sniff them only sneezed and nothing more. - Is there a piglet? - Chichikov turned to the standing woman with such a question.- Eat. — With horseradish and sour cream? - With horseradish and sour cream. - Give it here! The old woman went to dig and brought in a plate, a napkin so starched that it puffed up like dried bark, then a knife with a yellowed bone block, thin as a penknife, a two-pronged fork, and a salt shaker, which could not possibly be placed directly on the table. Our hero, as usual, now entered into a conversation with her and asked if she herself kept a tavern, or is there an owner, and how much income does the tavern give, and whether sons live with them, and that the eldest son is a single or married person, and what kind of wife, whether with a large dowry or not, and whether the father-in-law was pleased, and was not angry that he received few gifts at the wedding - in a word, did not miss anything. It goes without saying that he was curious to find out what kind of landowners they had in the circle, and found out that there were all sorts of landowners: Blokhin, Pochitaev, Mylnoy, Cheprakov the colonel, Sobakevich. "A! Do you know Sobakevich? he asked, and at once heard that the old woman knew not only Sobakevich, but also Manilov, and that Manilov would be more magnanimous than Sobakevich: he orders the chicken to be boiled at once, and asks for veal too; if there is mutton's liver, then he will ask for mutton's liver, and will just try everything, but Sobakevich will ask one thing, and then he will eat everything, even asking for a surcharge for the same price. While he was talking in this way, eating a piglet, of which there was already the last piece left, the sound of the wheels of an approaching carriage was heard. Glancing out the window, he saw a light britzka drawn by three good horses stopped in front of the tavern. Two men got out of the chaise. One blond, tall; the other is a little lower, dark-haired. The fair-haired one was in a dark blue Hungarian coat, the dark-haired one was simply in a striped jacket. In the distance, another carriage dragged along, empty, drawn by some long-haired quadruple with tattered collars and a rope harness. The fair-haired one immediately went up the stairs, while the black-haired one still remained and felt something in the britzka, talking right there with the servant and at the same time waving to the carriage coming after them. His voice sounded somewhat familiar to Chichikov. While he was examining him, the blond had already found the door and opened it. He was a tall man with a thin face, or what is called wasted, with a red mustache. From his tanned face one could conclude that he knew what smoke was, if not gunpowder, then at least tobacco smoke. He politely bowed to Chichikov, to which the latter replied in kind. In the course of a few minutes, they would probably have been talking and getting to know each other well, because the beginning had already been made, and both, almost at the same time, expressed pleasure that the dust on the road had been completely beaten down by yesterday's rain and now it was cool and pleasant to drive, how his dark-haired comrade entered, throwing his cap off his head on the table, valiantly ruffling his thick black hair with his hand. He was of medium height, a very well-built fellow, with full ruddy cheeks, teeth as white as snow, and jet-black sideburns. He was fresh as blood and milk; health seemed to spurt from his face. - Ba, ba, ba! he suddenly exclaimed, spreading both arms at the sight of Chichikov. - What fates? Chichikov recognized Nozdryov, the same one with whom he dined together at the prosecutor's, and who in a few minutes got on such a short footing with him that he already began to say "you", although, for his part, he did not give any reason for this. — Where did you go? said Nozdryov, and without waiting for an answer he continued: “And I, brother, from the fair. Congratulate: blown into fluff! Do you believe that you have never been so blown in your life. After all, I came to the philistine! Look out the window on purpose! - Here he himself bent Chichikov's head, so that he almost hit it against the frame. - You see, what rubbish! They dragged him by force, damned, I already climbed into his britzka. Saying this, Nozdryov pointed a finger at his comrade. - Have you met yet? My son-in-law Mizhuev! We've been talking about you all morning. “Well, look, I say, if we don’t meet Chichikov.” Well, brother, if you knew how I was blown! Would you believe that not only did he thump four trotters, he let everything down. After all, I have neither a chain nor a watch ... Chichikov looked and saw for sure that he had neither a chain nor a watch. It even seemed to him that one of his sideburns was smaller and not as thick as the other. “But if there were only twenty rubles in your pocket,” continued Nozdryov, “precisely no more than twenty, I would win back everything, that is, besides what I would win back, that’s how an honest man would now put thirty thousand in his wallet. “However, you said so even then,” answered the blond, “and when I gave you fifty rubles, I immediately squandered them. “And I wouldn’t have squandered!” by God, I would not have squandered! If I hadn't done something stupid myself, I wouldn't have squandered. If I didn’t bend the duck after the password on the damned seven, I could break the whole bank. “However, he didn’t break it,” said the blond. - I didn’t pick it because I bent the duck at the wrong time. Do you think your major plays well? “Good or not good, but he beat you. — What an importance! - said Nozdryov, - that way I will beat him. No, if he tries to play doublet, then I'll see, then I'll see what kind of player he is! But, brother Chichikov, how we drank in the first days! Indeed, the fair was excellent. The merchants themselves say that there has never been such a congress. I have everything that was brought from the village, sold at the best price. Oh, brother, what a spree! Now, even when you remember ... damn it! I mean, what a pity you weren't. Imagine that three versts from the city there was a regiment of dragoons. Do you believe that the officers, no matter how many there were, forty people of some officers were in the city; how we began to drink, brother... Captain-captain Kiss... so glorious! mustache, brother, such! He calls Bordeaux simply a burdashka. “Bring it, brother, he says, burdashki!” Lieutenant Kuvshinnikov... Ah, brother, what a lovely man! now, one might say, in all form a reveler. We were all with him. What kind of wine did Ponomarev give us! You need to know that he is a swindler and you can’t take anything in his shop: all sorts of rubbish is mixed into the wine: sandalwood, burnt cork and even elderberry, scoundrel, rubs; but on the other hand, if he pulls out some kind of bottle from a distant room, which he calls special, - well, simply, brother, you are in the empyrean. We had such champagne - what is the governor's before him? just kvass. Imagine, not a clique, but some kind of clique-matradura, that means a double clique. And he also took out one bottle of French called: bonbon. Smell? - socket and whatever you want. We've had a lot of fun!.. Some prince came after us, sent to the shop for champagne, there wasn't a single bottle in the whole city, all the officers had drunk. Would you believe that I alone drank seventeen bottles of champagne in the course of dinner! “Well, you won’t drink seventeen bottles,” the blond remarked. “As an honest man, I say that I drank,” answered Nozdryov. “You can tell yourself what you want, but I tell you that you won’t drink even ten. - Well, you want to bet that I'll drink! - Why bet? - Well, put your gun, which you bought in the city.- Don't want. - Well, give it a try! And I don't want to try. - Yes, if you were without a gun, it would be like without a hat. Eh, brother Chichikov, that is, how I regretted that you were not there. I know that you would not part with Lieutenant Kuvshinnikov. How well you would get along with him! This is not like the prosecutor and all the provincial misers in our city, who are shaking for every penny. This one, brother, is in galbik, and in a jar, and in whatever you want. Eh, Chichikov, what would it cost you to come? Really, you're a pig for this, a kind of cattle breeder! Kiss me, darling, death loves you! Mizhuev, look, fate brought together: well, what is he to me or me to him? He came from God knows where, I also live here ... And how many carriages, brother, and all this en gros. He played fortune: he won two cans of lipstick, a china cup and a guitar; then again he set it once and turned it over, channel, more than six rubles. And what, if you knew, red tape Kuvshinnikov! We were with him at almost all the balls. One was so dressed up, ruffles on her, and ruffles, and the devil knows what was not there ... I only think to myself: “Damn it!” And Kuvshinnikov, that is, this is such a beast, sat down next to her and in French allowed her such compliments ... Believe me, he did not miss ordinary women. That's what he calls: take advantage of the strawberries. Wonderful fish and balyks were brought in. I did bring one with me; it's good that I guessed to buy when there was still money. Where are you going now? "And I'm going to one little man," said Chichikov. - Well, what a little man, drop him! let's go to me! - No, you can't, there's a problem. - Well, that's the point! already figured it out! Oh, you, Opodeldok Ivanovich! - Right, business, and even necessary. - I'm betting, you're lying! So tell me, who are you going to? - Well, to Sobakevich. Here Nozdryov burst out laughing with that resonant laughter that only a fresh, healthy person bursts into, whose teeth to the last show white as sugar, their cheeks tremble and bounce, and the neighbor behind two doors, in the third room, rises from sleep, wide-eyed and saying: "Ek dismantled him!" - What's so funny? said Chichikov, somewhat dissatisfied with such laughter. But Nozdryov continued to laugh at the top of his lungs, saying: - Oh, have mercy, really, I'll crack with laughter! "There's nothing funny: I gave him my word," said Chichikov. “But you won’t be happy with life when you come to him, it’s just a Zhidomor!” After all, I know your character. You will be cruelly taken aback if you think to find a jar and a good bottle of some kind of bonbon there. Listen, brother: well, to hell with Sobakevich, let's go to my place! what a balyk I will drink! Ponomarev, the beast, bowed like that, saying: “Only for you, the whole fair, he says, search, you won’t find such a thing.” The rogue, however, is terrible. I said it to his face: “You, I say, are the first swindlers with our farmer!” Laughs, the beast, stroking his beard. Kuvshinnikov and I had breakfast every day in his shop. Oh, brother, I forgot to tell you: I know that you will not leave now, but I won’t give it back for ten thousand, I tell you in advance. Hey Porfiry! - he shouted, going up to the window, at his man, who held a knife in one hand, and in the other a crust of bread with a piece of balyk, which he had the good fortune to cut off in passing, taking something out of the britzka. “Hey, Porfiry,” shouted Nozdryov, “bring me a puppy!” What a puppy! he continued, turning to Chichikov. - Stolen, the owner did not give for himself. I promised him a brown mare, which, remember, I traded with Khvostyrev ... - Chichikov, however, never saw a brown mare or Khvostyrev in his life. - Barin! do you want to eat anything? said the old woman at that time, coming up to him. - Nothing. Oh, brother, what a spree! However, give me a glass of vodka: what kind do you have? “Anise,” the old woman answered. "Well, let's have anise," said Nozdryov. - Give me a glass too! the blond said. - In the theater, one actress, rascal, sang like a canary! Kuvshinnikov, who was sitting next to me, - “Here, he says, brother, I would like to use it about strawberries!” Some booths, I think, were fifty. Fenardi turned the mill for four hours. Here he accepted a glass from the hands of the old woman, who bowed low to him for that. - Oh, give it here! he shouted, seeing Porfiry come in with the puppy. Porfiry was dressed, like the master, in some kind of arkhaluka, quilted with cotton, but somewhat greasy. - Come on, put it here on the floor! Porfiry laid the puppy on the floor, which, stretched out on all four paws, sniffed the ground. - Here's a puppy! said Nozdryov, taking him by the back and lifting him up with his hand. The puppy let out a rather plaintive howl. “However, you didn’t do what I told you,” Nozdryov said, turning to Porfiry and carefully examining the puppy’s belly, “and didn’t think to comb it out?” — No, I combed it. - And why the fleas? - I can not know. It may turn out that somehow they got out of the britzka. - You're lying, you're lying, and you didn't imagine scratching; I think, the fool, still let his own. Here, look, Chichikov, look at those ears, feel it with your hand. - Yes, why, I already see: a good breed! Chichikov answered. - No, take it on purpose, feel your ears! To please him, Chichikov felt his ears, saying: Yes, a good dog. “Do you feel how cold your nose is?” take it with your hand. Not wanting to offend him, Chichikov took hold of his nose, saying: - Good sense. “A real muzzle,” Nozdryov continued, “I confess, I sharpened my teeth on a muzzle a long time ago. Here, Porfiry, take it! Porfiry, taking the puppy under his belly, carried him into the britzka. “Listen, Chichikov, you must certainly go to me now, five versts in all, we will rush in spirit, and there, perhaps, you can go to Sobakevich. "Well," Chichikov thought to himself, "I'm really going to visit Nozdryov. Why is he worse than others, the same person, and even lost. He is, apparently, ready for everything, so you can get something from him for nothing. “If you please, let’s go,” he said, “but don’t mind delaying me, time is precious to me.” - Well, my soul, that's it! That's good, wait, I'll kiss you for it. - Here Nozdryov and Chichikov kissed. - And nice: the three of us and ride! “No, you, please, let me go,” said the blond, “I need to go home.” - Trifles, trifles, brother, I won't let you in. - Indeed, the wife will be angry; now you can transfer to their chaise. - No, no, no! And don't think. The blond was one of those people whose character, at first glance, has some kind of stubbornness. Before you open your mouth, they are already ready to argue and, it seems, they will never agree to something that is clearly contrary to their way of thinking, that they will never call a stupid person smart, and that they will especially not agree to dance according to someone else's tune; but it will always end with softness in their character, that they will agree precisely to what they rejected, they will call the stupid smart and then go dancing as well as possible to someone else's tune - in a word, they will start smooth, and end with shit. - Nonsense! - said Nozdryov in response to some performance of the blond, put a cap on his head, and - the blond went after them. “They didn’t pay for vodka, sir,” said the old woman. “Oh, good, good, mother! Listen, son-in-law! pay please. I don't have a penny in my pocket. - How old are you? - said the brother-in-law. “Yes, father, two kopecks of everything,” said the old woman. - You lie, you lie. Give her half a ruble, she's plenty of it. “It’s not enough, master,” said the old woman, but she accepted the money gratefully and ran in a hurry to open the door for them. She was not at a loss, because she asked for four times what the vodka cost. The guests sat down. Chichikov's chaise rode next to the chaise in which Nozdryov and his son-in-law were sitting, and therefore all three of them could freely talk to each other as the road continued. Behind them followed, constantly lagging behind, Nozdryov's small carriage on lean philistine horses. In it sat Porfiry with a puppy. Since the conversation that the travelers had among themselves was not very interesting for the reader, we will do better if we say something about Nozdryov himself, who, perhaps, will have a chance to play not the last role in our poem. Nozdryov's face is already somewhat familiar to the reader. Everyone had to meet a lot of such people. They are called broken fellows, they are known even in childhood and at school for good comrades, and for all that they are very painfully beaten. Something open, direct, daring is always visible in their faces. They soon get to know each other, and before you have time to look back, “you” are already telling you. Friendship will start, it seems, forever: but it almost always happens that the one who makes friends will fight with them that same evening at a friendly feast. They are always talkers, revelers, reckless people, prominent people. Nozdryov at thirty-five was exactly the same as he had been at eighteen and twenty: a go-getter. His marriage did not change him at all, especially since his wife soon departed for the next world, leaving two children, who he definitely did not need. The children, however, were looked after by a pretty nanny. He could not sit at home for more than a day. His sensitive nose could hear him for several tens of miles, where there was a fair with all sorts of congresses and balls; he was already there in the twinkling of an eye, arguing and causing confusion at the green table, for he had, like all such, a passion for cards. As we have already seen from the first chapter, he played cards not entirely without sin and cleanly, knowing many different overexposures and other subtleties, and therefore the game very often ended in another game: either they beat him with boots, or they set his overexposure to thick and very good sideburns, so that sometimes he returned home with only one sideburn, and then quite thin. But his healthy and full cheeks were so well created and contained so much vegetative strength that his sideburns soon grew again, even better than before. And what is strangest of all, what can happen only in Rus' alone, after a few time he already met again with those friends who thrashed him, and met as if nothing had happened, and he, as they say, nothing, and they nothing. Nozdryov was in some respects a historical person. Not a single meeting he attended was without a story. Some kind of story was bound to happen: either the gendarmes would lead him by the arms out of the gendarme hall, or they would be forced to push out their own friends. If this does not happen, then, nevertheless, something will happen that will never happen to another: either he will cut himself in the buffet in such a way that he only laughs, or he will lie in the most cruel way, so that at last he himself will become ashamed. And he will lie completely without any need: he will suddenly tell that he had a horse of some blue or pink wool, and similar nonsense, so that the listeners finally all leave, saying: “Well, brother, it seems you have already begun to pour bullets ". There are people who have a passion to spoil their neighbor, sometimes for no reason at all. Another, for example, even a man in rank, with a noble appearance, with a star on his chest, will shake hands with you, talk to you about deep subjects that cause reflection, and then, look, right there, before your eyes, and spoil you. And he will spoil like a simple collegiate registrar, and not at all like a man with a star on his chest, talking about subjects that provoke reflection, so that you just stand and marvel, shrugging your shoulders, and nothing more. Nozdryov had the same strange passion. The closer someone got along with him, the more likely he was to piss everyone off: he spread a fable, more stupid than which it is difficult to invent, upset a wedding, a trade deal, and did not at all consider himself your enemy; on the contrary, if chance brought him to meet with you again, he treated you again in a friendly way and even said: “After all, you are such a scoundrel, you will never come to me.” Nozdryov was in many respects a versatile person, that is, a man of all trades. At that very moment, he offered you to go anywhere, even to the ends of the world, to enter into any enterprise you want, to change everything that is for everything you want. A gun, a dog, a horse—everything was an object of exchange, but not at all in order to win: it came simply from some kind of restless briskness and glibness of character. If he was lucky enough to attack a simpleton at the fair and beat him, he bought a bunch of everything that he had previously seen in the shops: collars, smoking candles, nanny's handkerchiefs, a stallion, raisins, a silver washstand, Dutch linen, grain flour, tobacco, pistols, herrings, paintings, sharpening tools, pots, boots, faience dishes - as far as money was enough. However, it rarely happened that this was brought home; almost on the same day it all descended to another, the happiest player, sometimes even his own pipe with a pouch and mouthpiece was added, and at other times the whole quadruple with everything: with a carriage and a coachman, so that the owner himself went in a short frock coat or arhaluk to look for what some buddy to use his carriage. That's what Nozdryov was like! Maybe they will call him a battered character, they will say that now Nozdryov is no longer there. Alas! those who speak thus will be unjust. Nozdryov will not be out of the world for a long time. He is everywhere between us and, perhaps, only walks in a different caftan; but people are frivolously impenetrable, and a man in a different caftan seems to them a different person. Meanwhile, three carriages had already rolled up to the steps of Nozdryov's house. There was no preparation in the house for their reception. In the middle of the dining-room stood wooden goats, and two peasants, standing on them, whitewashed the walls, singing some endless song; the floor was all splattered with whitewash. Nozdryov ordered the peasants and the goats out at the same time and ran into another room to give orders. The guests heard him ordering dinner from the cook; realizing this, Chichikov, who was already beginning to feel somewhat appetite, saw that they would not sit down to table before five o'clock. Nozdryov, returning, led the guests to inspect everything that he had in the village, and in a little over two hours he showed absolutely everything, so that there was nothing left to show. First of all, they went to inspect the stable, where they saw two mares, one dappled gray, the other brown, then a bay stallion, unprepossessing in appearance, but for which Nozdryov swore that he had paid ten thousand. “You didn’t give ten thousand for him,” said the son-in-law. He's not even worth one. "Honest to God, I gave you ten thousand," said Nozdryov. “You can swear to yourself as much as you like,” answered the son-in-law. - Well, if you want, we'll bet! Nozdrev said. The son-in-law did not want to bet on the mortgage. Then Nozdryov showed the empty stalls, where there were also good horses before. In the same stable they saw a goat, which, according to the old belief, was considered necessary to keep with the horses, which, as it seemed, was in harmony with them, walked under their bellies, as at home. Then Nozdryov led them to look at the wolf cub that was on a leash. "Here's a wolf cub! - he said. “I feed him raw meat on purpose. I want him to be a perfect beast!” We went to look at the pond, in which, according to Nozdryov, there were fish of such size that two people could hardly pull out a thing, which, however, the relative did not fail to doubt. “I’ll show you, Chichikov,” said Nozdryov, “I’ll show you the most excellent pair of dogs: the strength of black meat simply inspires amazement, the shield is a needle!” - and led them to a very beautifully built little house, surrounded by a large courtyard fenced on all sides. Entering the yard, they saw all sorts of dogs there, both thick-dogs and pure-dogs, of all possible colors and stripes: muruga, black and tan, half-piebald, murugo-piebald, red-and-piebald, black-eared, gray-eared ... There were all nicknames, all imperative moods: shoot, scold, flutter, fire, mow, draw, bake, bake, severga, killer whale, reward, guardian. Nozdryov was among them just like a father among a family; all of them, immediately throwing up their tails, which the dogs call rules, flew straight towards the guests and began to greet them. About ten of them put their paws on Nozdryov's shoulders. Scold showed the same friendship to Chichikov and, rising to his hind legs, licked him with his tongue right on his lips, so that Chichikov immediately spat out. We examined the dogs, which inspired amazement with the strength of black meats - they were good dogs. Then they went to examine the Crimean bitch, who was already blind and, according to Nozdryov, would soon die, but about two years ago there was a very good bitch; they also looked at the bitch - the bitch, for sure, was blind. Then they went to inspect the water mill, where there was a lack of fluff, into which the upper stone is fastened, rapidly rotating on a spindle - “fluttering”, in the wonderful expression of a Russian peasant. - And here soon there will be a forge! Nozdrev said. After walking a little, they saw, for sure, a smithy, and examined the smithy. “Here in this field,” said Nozdryov, pointing with his finger at the field, “there is such a death of the Rusaks that the earth is not visible; I myself caught one by the hind legs with my own hands. - Well, you can't catch a hare with your hand! son-in-law remarked. - But I caught it, I caught it on purpose! Nozdryov replied. "Now I'll take you to see," he continued, turning to Chichikov, "the border where my land ends." Nozdryov led his guests through the field, which in many places consisted of hummocks. The guests had to make their way between fallows and raised fields. Chichikov began to feel tired. In many places their feet squeezed the water under them, to such an extent the place was low. At first they were careful and stepped carefully, but then, seeing that this was of no use, they wandered straight on, not making out where the dirt was more and where it was less. After walking a decent distance, they saw, for sure, the border, which consisted of a wooden post and a narrow ditch. - This is the border! Nozdrev said. “Everything you see on this side is all mine, and even on the other side, all this forest that is turning blue over there, and everything beyond the forest is all mine. “But when did this forest become yours?” the son-in-law asked. Did you buy it recently? Because he wasn't yours. “Yes, I bought it recently,” answered Nozdryov. When did you manage to buy it so soon? - Well, I bought it the day before, and it was expensive, damn it. “Why, you were at the fair at the time. - Oh, Sofron! Isn't it possible to be at the fair at the same time and buy land? Well, I was at the fair, and my clerk bought it here without me. - Yes, well, perhaps the clerk! said the son-in-law, but even here he hesitated and shook his head. The guests returned by the same nasty road to the house. Nozdryov led them to his study, in which, however, there were no traces of what happens in studies, that is, books or paper; only sabers and two guns hung - one worth three hundred and the other eight hundred rubles. The brother-in-law, having looked around, shook his head only. Then Turkish daggers were shown, on one of which was mistakenly carved: "Master Savely Sibiryakov." After that, a hurdy-gurdy appeared to the guests. Nozdryov immediately turned something over in front of them. The hurdy-gurdy played not without pleasantness, but in the middle of it, it seems, something happened, for the mazurka ended with the song: "Malbrugh went on a campaign," and "Malbrug went on a campaign" unexpectedly ended with some long-familiar waltz. Nozdryov had long ceased to twirl, but there was only one very lively pipe in the hurdy-gurdy, which in no way wanted to calm down, and for a long time afterwards it whistled alone. Then pipes appeared - wooden, clay, meerschaum, stoned and unsmoked, covered with suede and not covered, a shank with an amber mouthpiece, recently won, a pouch embroidered by some countess, who, somewhere at the post station, fell head over heels in love with him, with which handles , according to him, were the most sublime superflue, a word that probably meant with him the highest point of perfection. Having had a bite of salmon, they sat down at the table about five o'clock. Dinner, apparently, was not the main thing in Nozdryov's life; the dishes did not play a big role: some burned, some did not cook at all. It can be seen that the cook was guided by some kind of inspiration and put the first thing that came to hand: if there was a pepper near him - he poured pepper, if he caught cabbage - he popped cabbage, stuffed milk, ham, peas - in a word, go ahead, it would be hot, but some taste would surely come out. On the other hand, Nozdryov leaned heavily on wine: soup had not yet been served, he had already poured out a large glass of port wine for the guests and, in a different way, state sourtern, because in provincial and district cities there is no simple sautern. Then Nozdryov ordered to bring a bottle of Madeira, better than which the field marshal himself did not drink. Madeira, for sure, even burned in the mouth, for the merchants, already knowing the taste of the landowners who loved good Madeira, mercilessly filled it with rum, and sometimes poured aqua regia into it, in the hope that Russian stomachs would endure everything. Then Nozdryov ordered to bring some special bottle, which, according to him, was both bourgognon and champagne together. He poured very diligently into both glasses, right and left, both for his son-in-law and for Chichikov; Chichikov noticed, however, somehow casually, that he did not add much to himself. This forced him to be careful, and as soon as Nozdryov somehow spoke or poured for his son-in-law, he immediately knocked over his glass into a plate. In a short time, rowanberry was brought to the table, which, according to Nozdryov, had the perfect taste of cream, but in which, to amazement, fuselage was heard in all its strength. Then they drank some kind of balm, which bore a name that was even difficult to remember, and the owner himself on another occasion called it by a different name. Dinner was long over, and the wines had been tasted, but the guests were still sitting at the table. Chichikov did not want to speak to Nozdryov in front of his son-in-law about the main subject. Still, the son-in-law was an outsider, and the subject required a solitary and friendly conversation. However, the son-in-law could hardly be a dangerous person, because he loaded, it seems, plenty and, sitting on a chair, every minute nodding. Noticing himself that he was not in a reliable condition, he finally began to ask for leave to go home, but in such a lazy and sluggish voice, as if, in a Russian expression, he was pulling a collar on a horse with tongs. - And no-no! I won't let you! Nozdrev said. “No, don’t offend me, my friend, really, I’ll go,” my son-in-law said, “you will offend me very much. - Rubbish, rubbish! we're going to make a little jar this minute. - No, build it yourself, brother, but I can’t, my wife will be in a big claim, really, I have to tell her about the fair. It is necessary, brother, really, it is necessary to give her pleasure. No, don't hold me! - Well, her wife, to ...! really important thing you will do together! — No, brother! she is so respectful and loyal! Services are such ... believe me, I have tears in my eyes. No you don't hold me; as an honest man, I will go. I assure you of this in my true conscience. "Let him go, what's the use of him!" Chichikov said quietly to Nozdryov. - And really! Nozdrev said. “Death doesn’t like such thaws!” - and added aloud: - Well, to hell with you, go to fuck with your wife, fetuk! “No, brother, don’t scold me with a fetuk,” answered the son-in-law, “I owe her my life.” Such, really, kind, dear, she renders such caresses ... she disassembles to tears; he asks what he saw at the fair, you need to tell everything, such, really, dear. - Well, go, lie to her nonsense! Here is your card. “No, brother, you shouldn’t speak of her like that at all; By this you, one might say, offend me myself, she is so sweet. “Well, then get out to her quickly!” “Yes, brother, I’ll go, I’m sorry I can’t stay.” I would be happy with my soul, but I can’t. The son-in-law repeated his apologies for a long time, not noticing that he himself had been sitting in the britzka for a long time, had long gone out of the gate and had long been empty fields in front of him. It must be assumed that the wife did not hear many details about the fair. - Such rubbish! said Nozdryov, standing in front of the window and looking at the departing carriage. - Wow, how he dragged himself! the tie-down horse is not bad, I have long wanted to pick it up. Yes, you can't get along with him. Fetyuk, simply fetyuk! Then they entered the room. Porfiry gave the candles, and Chichikov noticed in the hands of the owner a pack of cards that had come from nowhere. “Well, brother,” said Nozdryov, pressing the sides of the pack with his fingers and bending it a little, so that the piece of paper cracked and bounced off. - Well, to pass the time, I keep three hundred rubles in a jar! But Chichikov pretended not to have heard what he was talking about, and said, as if suddenly remembering: - A! so as not to forget: I have a request to you.- Which? “Give me your word first that you will fulfill it.” - What is the request? - Well, give me your word!— Excuse me. - Honestly? - Honestly. - Here's a request: do you have, tea, a lot of dead peasants who have not yet been deleted from the audit?- Well, there is, but what? - Transfer them to me, to my name.- And what do you want? - Well, I need it.- Yes, for what? - Well, yes, it’s necessary ... it’s my business, in a word, it’s necessary. “Well, it’s true, he’s up to something. Confess what? - Yes, what did you do? nothing can be made out of such a trifle. - Why do you need them? — Oh, how curious! he would like to touch all sorts of rubbish with his hand, and even smell it! “Why don’t you want to say? “But what do you know about profit?” Well, it's just a fantasy. - So here it is: as long as you do not say, I will not do it! - Well, you see, that's really dishonest of you: you gave your word, and back down the yard. - Well, as you want for yourself, but I won’t do it until you tell me what for. "What would you say to him?" thought Chichikov, and after a moment's reflection he declared that he needed dead souls to gain weight in society, that he did not have large estates, so until that time at least some little souls. - You lie, you lie! said Nozdryov, not letting him finish. - You lie, brother! Chichikov himself noticed that he did not come up with it very cleverly and the pretext was rather weak. “Well, I’ll tell you more directly,” he said, recovering himself, “just please don’t let anyone know. I thought about getting married; but you need to know that the father and mother of the bride are pre-ambitious people. Such a commission, really: I’m not glad that I got in touch, they certainly want the groom to have no less than three hundred souls, and since I have almost a hundred and fifty peasants missing ... - Well, you're lying! you're lying! shouted Nozdryov again. “Well, here it is,” said Chichikov, “he didn’t lie so much,” and he showed the smallest part with his thumb on his little finger. - I bet you're lying! "However, it's embarrassing!" What am I really! why do I always lie? “Well, yes, I know you: you are a big swindler, let me tell you this out of friendship!” If I were your boss, I would hang you from the first tree. Chichikov was offended by this remark. Already any expression, in any way rude or insulting decency, was unpleasant to him. He did not even like to allow familiar treatment with him in any case, unless the person was of too high a rank. And so now he is completely offended. “Honest to God, I would have hanged you,” Nozdryov repeated, “I am telling you this frankly, not to offend you, but simply in a friendly way. "There are limits to everything," Chichikov said with dignity. “If you want to flaunt such speeches, then go to the barracks. - And then he added: - If you don’t want to give it away, then sell it. - Sell! Why, I know you, because you are a scoundrel, because you won’t give dearly for them? "Oh, you're good too!" look you! that they are diamonds, or what? - Well, it is. I already knew you. “Have mercy, brother, what kind of Jewish impulse do you have!” You should just give them to me. - Well, listen, to prove to you that I'm not some kind of scammer, I won't take anything for them. Buy a stallion from me, I'll give you one to boot. “Forgive me, what do I need a stallion for? said Chichikov, really amazed at such a proposal. - How to what? Why, I paid ten thousand for it, and I'll give it to you for four. - What do I need a stallion for? I don't own a factory. - Yes, listen, you don’t understand: after all, I will only take three thousand from you now, and you can pay me the rest of the thousand later. - Yes, I do not need a stallion, God bless him! - Well, buy a brown mare. "And you don't need a mare." “For the mare and the gray horse you saw at my place, I will charge you only two thousand. “I don't need horses. “You will sell them, they will give you three times as much for them at the first fair. “So it’s better to sell them yourself when you are sure that you will win three times. “I know that I will win, but I want you to benefit too. Chichikov thanked for the location and flatly refused both the gray horse and the brown mare. - Well, buy dogs. I'll sell you such a pair, it's just cold on the skin! busty, with a mustache, the hair stands up like bristles. The sideburn of the ribs is incomprehensible to the mind, the paw is all in a lump, it will not touch the ground. Why do I need dogs? I am not a hunter. Yes, I wish you had dogs. Listen, if you really don't want dogs, then buy a hurdy-gurdy from me, a wonderful hurdy-gurdy; I myself, as an honest man, cost one and a half thousand: I'll give it to you for nine hundred rubles. - But why do I need a hurdy-gurdy? After all, I'm not a German, so that, trudging along the roads with her, begging for money. “Why, it’s not such a hurdy-gurdy as the Germans wear. This is an organ; look on purpose: all mahogany. Here I'll show you more! - Here Nozdryov, grabbing Chichikov by the hand, began to drag him into another room, and no matter how he put his feet on the floor and assured that he already knew what kind of barrel organ, he should have heard again how Malbrug went on a campaign. “When you don’t want money, listen to this: I’ll give you a hurdy-gurdy and all the dead souls I have, and you give me your britzka and three hundred rubles in addition. - Well, here's another, but what am I going to go in? - I'll give you another chaise. Let's go to the shed, I'll show it to you! You just repaint it, and there will be a miracle of the chaise. “Oh, how his restless demon seized him!” thought Chichikov to himself, and resolved to get rid of all sorts of britzkas, hurdy-gurdies, and all possible dogs at all costs, in spite of the inconceivable barrel-shaped ribs and lumpy paws. “Why, the britzka, the hurdy-gurdy, and the dead souls, all together!” "I don't want to," Chichikov said once more. "Why don't you want to?" - Because I just don’t want to, and that’s enough. — What you, right, such! with you, as I see, it is impossible, as is usual between good friends and comrades, such, really! .. Now it is clear that a two-faced person! - What am I, a fool, or what? Judge for yourself: why buy a thing that is absolutely unnecessary for me? “Well, please don’t talk. Now I know you very well. Such, right, rakalia! Well, listen, do you want to throw a bunch? I'll put all the dead on the map, the hurdy-gurdy too. "Well, going to the bank means being exposed to the unknown," said Chichikov, and meanwhile glanced askance at the cards in his hands. Both waists seemed to him very much like artificial ones, and the brim itself looked very suspicious. Why the unknown? Nozdrev said. - No uncertainty! if only happiness is on your side, you can win the damn abyss. There she is! What happiness! - he said, starting to throw to excite the enthusiasm. - What happiness! What happiness! out: so it beats! here's that damned nine, on which I squandered everything! I felt that I would sell, but already, closing my eyes, I think to myself: “Damn you, sell it, damn it!” When Nozdryov said this, Porfiry brought a bottle. But Chichikov resolutely refused to play or drink. Why don't you want to play? Nozdrev said. - Well, because it is not located. Yes, I confess to say, I'm not at all a fan of playing. Why not a hunter? Chichikov shrugged his shoulders and added: Because it's not a hunter.- You're a jerk! — What to do? so God created. - Fetyuk is simple! I used to think that you were at least somewhat decent, but you didn't understand any conversion. There is no way to speak with you as with a close person ... no straightforwardness, no sincerity! perfect Sobakevich, such a scoundrel! "But why are you scolding me?" Is it my fault for not playing? Sell ​​me the souls of some, if you are such a person that you tremble because of this nonsense. - You'll get the hell! I wanted to, I wanted to give it away for nothing, but now you won’t get it! At least three kingdoms come on, I won’t give it back! Such a shchilk, nasty stove-maker! From now on, I don't want to have anything to do with you. Porfiry, go tell the groom not to give oats to his horses, let them eat only hay. Chichikov did not expect the last conclusion. “It would be better if you just didn’t show me in front of my eyes!” Nozdrev said. In spite of this quarrel, however, the guest and host dined together, although this time there were no fancy-named wines on the table. There was only one bottle sticking out with some kind of Cypriot, which was what is called sourness in all respects. After supper, Nozdryov said to Chichikov, taking him to a side room where a bed had been prepared for him: "Here's your bed!" I don't want to wish you good night! Chichikov remained after Nozdryov's departure in the most unpleasant frame of mind. He was inwardly annoyed with himself, scolding himself for stopping by and wasting his time in vain. But he scolded himself even more for talking about the matter with him, acted carelessly, like a child, like a fool: for the matter is not at all of the kind to be entrusted to Nozdryov ... Nozdryov is a rubbish man, Nozdryov can lie, add, dissolve God knows what, some more gossip will come out - not good, not good. "I'm just a fool," he said to himself. He slept very badly at night. Some kind of small, agile insects bit him unbearably painfully, so that he scraped the wounded place with his whole handful, saying: “Ah, the devil take you along with Nozdryov!” He woke up early in the morning. His first act, having put on his dressing-gown and boots, was to go across the yard to the stables and order Selifan to lay down the britzka at once. Returning through the yard, he met Nozdryov, who was also in a dressing gown, with a pipe in his teeth. Nozdryov greeted him in a friendly way and asked how he slept. "So-so," Chichikov answered very dryly. - And I, brother, - said Nozdryov, - such an abomination climbed all night, that it’s vile to talk, and after yesterday, it’s like the squadron spent the night in my mouth. Imagine: I dreamed that I was flogged, she-she! and guess who? You'll never guess: Staff Captain Kisses, together with Kuvshinnikov. “Yes,” Chichikov thought to himself, “it would be nice if you were torn off in reality.” — By God! yes it hurts! I woke up: damn it, something really itches - that's right, flea witches. Well, you go now get dressed, I'll come to you now. You just need to scold the scoundrel clerk. Chichikov went into the room to get dressed and wash. When after that he went out into the dining-room, there was already a tea set with a bottle of rum on the table. There were traces of yesterday's lunch and dinner in the room; it seems that the floor brush was not touched at all. Bread crumbs lay on the floor, and tobacco ash was even visible on the tablecloth. The owner himself, who did not hesitate to enter soon, had nothing under his dressing gown, except for an open chest, on which some kind of beard grew. Holding a chibouk in his hand and sipping from a cup, he was very good for a painter who does not like the fear of gentlemen sleek and curled, like barber signs, or cut with a comb. - Well, what do you think? said Nozdryov, after a short silence. - Don't want to play for souls? “I already told you, brother, that I don’t play; buy - if you please, I will buy. — I don't want to sell, it won't be friendly. I'm not going to take hymen off God knows what. In a jar is another matter. Let's drop the waist! “I already said no. - Don't you want to change?- Don't want. - Well, listen, let's play checkers, you win - everything is yours. After all, I have a lot of those that need to be deleted from the audit. Hey, Porfiry, bring the chess player here. - In vain work, I will not play. — Why, it's not to the bank; there can be no happiness or falsehood here: after all, everything comes from art; I even warn you that I don’t know how to play at all, unless you give me something in advance. “Here I am,” Chichikov thought to himself, “I’ll play checkers with him! I played checkers pretty well, but it’s hard for him to get up here on things. ” - If you please, I'll play checkers. - Souls go in a hundred rubles! - Why? enough if they go at fifty. — No, what is kush fifty? Well, in this amount, I’d better include for you some puppy of an average hand or a gold signet for a watch. - Well, please! Chichikov said. - How much will you give me in advance? Nozdrev said. - Why is that? Of course, nothing. “At least let it be my two moves. - I don't want to, I'm bad at playing myself. “I haven’t picked up checkers for a long time!” said Chichikov, also moving a saber. - We know you, how badly you play! - said Nozdryov, speaking with his saber. “I haven’t picked up checkers for a long time!” said Chichikov, moving his saber. - We know you, how badly you play! said Nozdryov, moving a saber, and at the same time moved another saber with the cuff of his sleeve. “I haven’t taken it in my hands for a long time! .. Eh, eh!” this, brother, what? put her back! Chichikov said.- Whom? "Yes, a checker," said Chichikov, and at the same time he saw, almost in front of his very nose, another one, which, it seemed, was making its way into the kings; where it came from, that only God knew. "No," said Chichikov, getting up from the table, "there is no way to play with you!" They don’t walk like that, all of a sudden three checkers! Why three? This is by mistake. One moved inadvertently, I'll move it, if you please. - Where did the other one come from?- What is the other one? “But this one that sneaks into the ladies?” “Here you go, as if you don’t remember!” — No, brother, I counted all the moves and remember everything; you've just added it. Where is her place! - How, where is the place? said Nozdryov, blushing. - Yes, you, brother, as I see it, a writer! - No, brother, it seems that you are a writer, but only unsuccessfully. Who do you think I am? Nozdrev said. - Am I going to cheat? “I don’t consider you to be anyone, but from now on I’ll never play.” “No, you can’t refuse,” Nozdryov said, getting excited, “the game has begun!” - I have the right to refuse, because you do not play as decently as an honest person. - No, you're lying, you can't say that! - No, brother, you yourself are lying! “I didn’t cheat, but you can’t refuse, you must finish the game!” "You won't force me to do that," Chichikov said coolly, and, going up to the board, mixed his checkers. Nozdryov flushed and went up to Chichikov so close that he took two steps back. "I'll make you play!" It's nothing that you mixed checkers, I remember all the moves. We will put them back the way they were. - No, brother, it's over, I won't play with you. So you don't want to play? You can see for yourself that there is no way to play with you. - No, tell me straight, do you want to play? said Nozdryov, stepping even closer. - Don't want! said Chichikov, and, however, brought both hands closer to his face, just in case, for the matter was getting really hot. This precaution was quite in place, because Nozdryov waved his hand ... and it could very well have happened that one of our hero's pleasant and full cheeks would have been covered with indelible dishonor; but happily parrying the blow, he seized Nozdryov by both of his fervent hands and held him tightly. - Porfiry, Pavlushka! Nozdryov shouted furiously, trying to break free. Hearing these words, Chichikov, in order not to make the yard people witness the seductive scene, and at the same time feeling that it was useless to hold Nozdryov, let go of his hands. At that very moment Porfiry entered, and with him Pavlushka, a stout fellow with whom it was absolutely unprofitable to deal with. “So you don’t want to finish the games?” Nozdrev said. - Answer me directly! “There is no way to finish the game,” Chichikov said and looked out the window. He saw his britzka, which stood completely ready, and Selifan seemed to be waiting for a wave to roll up under the porch, but there was no way to get out of the room: two burly serf fools were standing in the doorway. “So you don’t want to finish the games?” repeated Nozdryov, his face burning as if on fire. — If you played like an honest man. But now I can't. - A! so you can't, you scoundrel! when you saw that it wasn’t yours, you couldn’t! Beat him! he shouted frantically, turning to Porfiry and Pavlushka, and he himself grabbed a cherry chubuk in his hand. Chichikov became pale as a sheet. He wanted to say something, but felt that his lips were moving without a sound. - Beat him! shouted Nozdryov, rushing forward with a cherry chibouk, covered in heat and sweat, as if he were approaching an impregnable fortress. - Beat him! he shouted in the same voice as during a great attack he shouts to his platoon: “Guys, go ahead!” - some desperate lieutenant, whose eccentric courage has already gained such fame that a special order is given to hold his hands during hot deeds. But the lieutenant already felt abusive enthusiasm, everything went round in his head; Suvorov rushes before him, he climbs to a great cause. "Guys, go ahead!" - he shouts, rushing, not thinking that he is harming the already well-thought-out plan of the general attack, that millions of gun barrels have been exposed in the embrasures of impregnable fortress walls that go beyond the clouds, that his powerless platoon will fly up like fluff into the air and that the fatal bullet is already whistling, preparing to slam his noisy throat. But if Nozdryov expressed himself as a desperate, lost lieutenant who approached the fortress, then the fortress he was going to did not at all look like an impregnable one. On the contrary, the fortress felt such fear that its soul hid in its very heels. Already the chair with which he had taken it into his head to defend himself had been torn from his hands by the serfs, already, closing his eyes, neither alive nor dead, he was preparing to taste the Circassian chubuk of his master, and God knows what might happen to him; but the fates were pleased to save the sides, shoulders and all the well-bred parts of our hero. In an unexpected way, suddenly, as if from clouds, the sounds of a bell rattled, the sound of the wheels of a cart flying up to the porch was clearly heard, and even in the room itself the heavy snoring and heavy shortness of breath of the heated horses of the stopped troika echoed. Everyone involuntarily glanced out the window: someone with a mustache, in a semi-military frock coat, was climbing out of the cart. Having inquired about the entrance, he entered at the very moment when Chichikov had not yet had time to recover from his fear and was in the most miserable position in which a mortal had ever been. - May I know who Mr. Nozdryov is here? said the stranger, looking in some bewilderment at Nozdryov, who was standing with a chibouk in his hand, and at Chichikov, who was barely beginning to recover from his disadvantageous position. “May I first inquire to whom I have the honor of speaking?” said Nozdryov, coming closer to him. - Captain-Captain. — What do you want? “I have come to announce to you the notice communicated to me that you are under court until the end of the decision in your case. "What nonsense, what business?" Nozdrev said. - You were involved in the story, on the occasion of inflicting personal insult on the landowner Maximov with rods in a drunken state. - You're lying! I never even saw the landowner Maksimov! - Your Majesty! let me tell you that I am an officer. You can say that to your servant, not to me! Here Chichikov, without waiting for Nozdryov to answer this, rather slipped out onto the porch by the cap and behind the police captain, got into the britzka, and ordered Selifan to drive the horses at full speed.

As part of the project "Gogol. 200 years" RIA Novosti presents a summary of the work "Dead Souls" by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol - a novel that Gogol himself called a poem. The plot of "Dead Souls" was suggested to Gogol by Pushkin.

The proposed history, as will become clear from what follows, took place somewhat shortly after the "glorious expulsion of the French." A collegiate adviser Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov arrives in the provincial town of NN (he is not old and not too young, not fat and not thin, rather pleasant and somewhat rounded in appearance) and settles in a hotel. He makes a lot of questions to the tavern servant - both regarding the owner and income of the tavern, and revealing its solidity: about city officials, the most significant landowners, asks about the state of the region and whether there were "what diseases in their province, epidemic fevers" and other similar adversity.

Having gone on visits, the visitor discovers extraordinary activity (visiting everyone, from the governor to the inspector of the medical board) and courtesy, for he knows how to say something pleasant to everyone. About himself, he speaks somehow vaguely (that he “experienced a lot in his lifetime, endured in the service for the truth, had many enemies who even attempted on his life,” and now he is looking for a place to live). At the governor's house party, he manages to gain general favor and, among other things, make acquaintance with the landowners Manilov and Sobakevich. In the following days, he dined with the chief of police (where he met the landowner Nozdryov), visited the chairman of the chamber and the vice-governor, the farmer and the prosecutor, and went to the Manilov estate (which, however, was preceded by a fair author's digression, where, justified by love for detail, the author certifies in detail Petrushka, the visitor's servant: his passion for "the process of reading itself" and the ability to carry with him a special smell, "responding somewhat to residential peace").

Having traveled, against the promise, not fifteen, but all thirty miles, Chichikov finds himself in Manilovka, in the arms of an affectionate master. Manilov's house, standing on a jig, surrounded by several English-style flower beds and a gazebo with the inscription "Temple of Solitary Reflection", could characterize the owner, who was "neither this nor that", not weighed down by any passions, only unnecessarily cloying.

After Manilov's confessions that Chichikov's visit was "a May day, a name day of the heart", and a dinner in the company of the hostess and two sons, Themistoclus and Alkid, Chichikov discovers the reason for his arrival: he would like to acquire peasants who have died, but have not yet been declared as such in the revision certificate, having issued everything in a legal way, as if on the living (“the law - I am dumb before the law”). The first fright and bewilderment are replaced by the perfect disposition of the kind host, and, having made a deal, Chichikov leaves for Sobakevich, and Manilov indulges in dreams of Chichikov's life in the neighborhood across the river, of the construction of a bridge, of a house with such a belvedere that Moscow is visible from there, and of their friendship, having learned about which the sovereign would grant them generals.

Chichikov's coachman Selifan, much favored by Manilov's yard people, in conversations with his horses misses the right turn and, at the sound of a downpour, knocks the master over into the mud. In the dark, they find lodging for the night at Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka, a somewhat timid landowner, with whom Chichikov also begins to trade dead souls in the morning. Explaining that he himself would now pay taxes for them, cursing the old woman’s stupidity, promising to buy both hemp and lard, but another time, Chichikov buys souls from her for fifteen rubles, receives a detailed list of them (in which Pyotr Savelyev is especially struck by Disrespect -Trough) and, having eaten an unleavened egg pie, pancakes, pies and other things, departs, leaving the hostess in great concern as to whether she had sold too cheap.

Having driven out onto the main road to the tavern, Chichikov stops for a bite to eat, which the author provides with a lengthy discourse on the properties of the appetite of middle-class gentlemen. Here Nozdryov meets him, returning from the fair in the britzka of his son-in-law Mizhuev, for he lost everything with his horses and even the watch chain. Describing the charms of the fair, the drinking qualities of dragoon officers, a certain Kuvshinnikov, a great lover of "to use about strawberries" and, finally, presenting a puppy, "a real face", Nozdryov takes Chichikov (thinking to get hold of here too) to himself, taking away his son-in-law, who is reluctant.

Having described Nozdryov, “in some respects a historical person” (for wherever he was, there was history), his possessions, the unpretentiousness of dinner with an abundance, however, drinks of dubious quality, the author sends his son-in-law to his wife (Nozdryov admonishes him with abuse and a word “fetyuk”), and Chichikova is forced to turn to her subject; but he fails to beg or buy souls: Nozdryov offers to exchange them, take them in addition to the stallion or make a bet in a card game, finally scolds, quarrels, and they part for the night. Persuasion resumes in the morning, and, having agreed to play checkers, Chichikov notices that Nozdryov is shamelessly cheating. Chichikov, whom the owner and the servants are already trying to beat, manages to escape in view of the appearance of the police captain, who announces that Nozdryov is on trial.

On the road, Chichikov's carriage collides with a certain carriage, and while the onlookers who come running are breeding tangled horses, Chichikov admires the sixteen-year-old young lady, indulges in reasoning about her and dreams of family life.

A visit to Sobakevich in his strong, like himself, estate is accompanied by a thorough dinner, a discussion of city officials, who, according to the owner, are all swindlers (one prosecutor is a decent person, “and even that one, to tell the truth, is a pig”), and is crowned with an interesting guest deal. Not at all frightened by the strangeness of the object, Sobakevich bargains, characterizes the favorable qualities of each serf, provides Chichikov with a detailed list and forces him to give a deposit.

Chichikov's path to the neighboring landowner Plyushkin, mentioned by Sobakevich, is interrupted by a conversation with a peasant who gave Plyushkin an apt, but not too printed nickname, and by the author's lyrical reflection on his former love for unfamiliar places and the indifference that has now appeared. Plyushkin, this "hole in humanity", Chichikov at first takes for a housekeeper or a beggar, whose place is on the porch. His most important feature is his amazing stinginess, and he even carries the old sole of his boot into a heap heaped in the master's chambers. Having shown the profitability of his proposal (namely, that he would take over the taxes for the dead and runaway peasants), Chichikov fully succeeds in his enterprise and, refusing tea with cracker, provided with a letter to the chairman of the chamber, departs in the most cheerful mood.

While Chichikov is sleeping in the hotel, the author reflects with sadness on the meanness of the objects he paints. Meanwhile, the satisfied Chichikov, waking up, composes the merchant's fortresses, studies the lists of the acquired peasants, reflects on their alleged fate, and finally goes to the civil chamber in order to conclude the case as soon as possible. Manilov, met at the gates of the hotel, accompanies him. Then follows a description of the public office, Chichikov's first ordeals and a bribe to a certain jug snout, until he enters the chairman's apartment, where, by the way, he also finds Sobakevich. The chairman agrees to be Plyushkin's attorney, and at the same time speeds up other transactions. The acquisition of Chichikov is discussed, with land or for withdrawal he bought peasants and in what places. Having found out that they were sent to the Kherson province, having discussed the properties of the sold peasants (here the chairman remembered that the coachman Mikheev seemed to have died, but Sobakevich assured that he was still alive and "has become healthier than before"), they finish with champagne, go to the chief of police, "father and a philanthropist in the city” (whose habits are immediately outlined), where they drink to the health of the new Kherson landowner, become completely excited, force Chichikov to stay and attempt to marry him.

Chichikov's purchases make a splash in the city, a rumor is circulating that he is a millionaire. Ladies are crazy about him. Several times trying to describe the ladies, the author becomes shy and retreats. On the eve of the governor's ball, Chichikov even receives a love letter, though unsigned.

Having used, as usual, a lot of time on the toilet and being pleased with the result, Chichikov goes to the ball, where he passes from one embrace to another. The ladies, among whom he is trying to find the sender of the letter, even quarrel, challenging his attention. But when the governor's wife approaches him, he forgets everything, because she is accompanied by her daughter ("Institute, just graduated"), a sixteen-year-old blonde, whose carriage he encountered on the road. He loses the favor of the ladies, because he starts a conversation with a fascinating blonde, scandalously neglecting the rest. To complete the trouble, Nozdryov appears and loudly asks if Chichikov has bought a lot of the dead. And although Nozdryov is obviously drunk and the embarrassed society is gradually distracted, Chichikov is not given a whist or the subsequent dinner, and he leaves upset.

At this time, a chariot with the landowner Korobochka enters the city, whose growing anxiety forced her to come in order to find out, nevertheless, at what price dead souls. The next morning, this news becomes the property of a certain pleasant lady, and she hurries to tell it to another, pleasant in all respects, the story is overgrown with amazing details (Chichikov, armed to the teeth, breaks into Korobochka at dead midnight, demands souls that have died, inspires terrible fear - " the whole village has come running, the children are crying, everyone is screaming. Her friend concludes from the fact that the dead souls are only a cover, and Chichikov wants to take away the governor's daughter. After discussing the details of this enterprise, the undoubted participation of Nozdryov in it and the qualities of the governor's daughter, both ladies dedicate the prosecutor to everything and set off to rebel the city.

In a short time, the city seethes, to which is added the news about the appointment of a new governor-general, as well as information about the papers received: about the fake banknote maker who showed up in the province, and about the robber who fled from legal persecution.

Trying to understand who Chichikov is, they recall that he was certified very vaguely and even spoke about those who attempted on his life. The postmaster’s statement that Chichikov, in his opinion, is Captain Kopeikin, who took up arms against the injustice of the world and became a robber, is rejected, since it follows from the entertaining postmaster’s story that the captain is missing an arm and leg, and Chichikov is whole. An assumption arises whether Chichikov is Napoleon in disguise, and many begin to find a certain similarity, especially in profile.

Questions from Korobochka, Manilov, and Sobakevich did not yield any results, and Nozdryov only multiplied the confusion by announcing that Chichikov was definitely a spy, a maker of forged banknotes, and had an undoubted intention to take away the governor's daughter, in which Nozdryov undertook to help him (each of the versions was accompanied by detailed details up to the name priest who took up the wedding). All these rumors have a tremendous effect on the prosecutor, he has a stroke, and he dies.

Chichikov himself, sitting in the hotel with a slight cold, is surprised that none of the officials visits him. Finally, having gone on visits, he discovers that they do not receive him at the governor's, and in other places they fearfully shun him. Nozdryov, visiting him at the hotel, among the general noise he made, partly clarifies the situation by announcing that he agrees to hasten the kidnapping of the governor's daughter. The next day, Chichikov hurriedly leaves, but is stopped by a funeral procession and forced to contemplate the whole world of bureaucracy flowing behind the coffin of the prosecutor Brichka leaves the city, and the open spaces on both sides of it evoke sad and encouraging thoughts about Russia, the road, and then only sad about their chosen hero.

Concluding that it is time for the virtuous hero to give rest, and, on the contrary, to hide the scoundrel, the author sets out the life story of Pavel Ivanovich, his childhood, training in classes where he already showed a practical mind, his relationship with his comrades and teacher, his service later in the state chamber, some kind of commission for the construction of a government building, where for the first time he gave vent to some of his weaknesses, his subsequent departure to other, not so profitable places, transfer to the customs service, where, showing honesty and incorruptibility almost unnatural, he made a lot of money in collusion with smugglers, went bankrupt, but dodged the criminal court, although he was forced to resign. He became a confidant, and during the fuss about the pledge of the peasants, he put together a plan in his head, began to travel around the expanses of Rus', so that, having bought dead souls and pawned them in the treasury as living, he would receive money, buy, perhaps, a village and ensure future offspring.

Having again complained about the properties of his hero’s nature and partly justified him, having found him the name of “owner, acquirer”, the author is distracted by the urged running of horses, the similarity of the flying troika with rushing Russia and the ringing of the bell completes the first volume.

The material was provided by the Internet portal briefly.ru, compiled by E. V. Kharitonova

Matsapura V. I. Doctor of Philology, prof. Poltava State ped. un-ta - Poltava (Ukraine) / 2009

Gogol belongs to those creators who were interested in the little things and for whom they were artistically significant. In the seventh chapter of Dead Souls, he mentions the fate of an unrecognized writer who dared to "call out<...>all terrible, amazing mire of trifles(my italics - V. M.), entangling our lives ”(VI, 134). In this and in many other cases, the word "little things" means details. Such word usage was not accidental, because the word "detail" in translation from French means "detail", "trifle".

Gogol's details, as a rule, are bright and memorable. The detailing of the depicted is one of the characteristic features of the writer's style. However, in general, not much has been written about the role of details and trifles in Gogol's poem. Their significance in the artistic structure of Gogol's poem was one of the first to be emphasized by Andrei Bely. The researcher believed that “to analyze the plot of Dead Souls means: bypassing the fiction of the plot, feeling the little things that have absorbed both the plot and the plot ...” .

Interest in Gogol’s details, in particular in the objective world of his works, is reflected in the works of V. B. Shklovsky, A. P. Chudakov, M. Ya. Weiskopf, E. S. Dobin, A. B. Esin, Yu. V. Mann and other researchers. However, the problem of studying the role of details in the writer's work is far from exhausted. Let us focus on such details that run through the entire text of the first volume of the poem and have a leitmotif character, in particular, on the little things associated with the image of Chichikov, random characters, as well as with the motives of food, drink and card games.

The writer deliberately sought to ensure that the details of the text were remembered by the reader. He resorted to repetitions, mentioning this or that detail in different variations. A clear marking of the characters is combined in Gogol's poem with a detailed description of the exterior and interior. And this is not accidental, because "the language of art is the language of detail." Each of the images that play a significant role in the plot of the poem is revealed with the help of a whole system of characteristic details. Gogol confessed in the "Author's Confession" that he could guess a person only when he presented "the smallest details of his appearance" (VIII, 446). Thus, the details of Chichikov's portrait indicate the features of averageness and uncertainty in his character (“not handsome, but not bad-looking, not too fat, not too thin ...”) (VI, 7). Considering the role of the fiction device in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls", Andrei Bely rightly points out that the definitions "a few", "neither more nor less", "to some extent" do not define, and the phenomenon of Chichikov in the first chapter is "an epithalama to impersonality<...>the phenomenon of a round common place hidden in a britzka. This "common place" is indicated in the poem in detail. So, the repetitive detail of the hero's appearance - "lingonberry-colored tailcoat with a spark" - reminds of his desire to stand out, to be noticed, which corresponds to his "Napoleonic" plans. In Chichikov's costume, attention is drawn to such details as "white collars", "a dandy lacquered ankle boots, buttoned with mother-of-pearl buttons", "blue tie", "new-fashioned shirt-fronts", "velvet vest". The mosaic of the hero's portrait is formed gradually and consists of individual details. His spiritual needs and interests are mentioned in passing, in passing and not in as much detail as described, for example, the food he eats or how he washed himself with a wet sponge, rubbed his cheeks with soap, “splashed” himself with cologne, changed his underwear, etc. at the end of the seventh chapter, Chichikov, who was pretty drunk, who “clucked glasses with everyone”, suddenly begins to read Sobakevich a message in Werther’s verses to Charlotte "(VI, 152-153), meaning V. I. Tumansky's poem" Werther and Charlotte (an hour before death )", published in 1819 in the magazine "Well-intentioned"... In the tenth chapter of the poem, it is mentioned that Chichikov "even read some volume of the Duchess Lavarière" (VI, 211). However, the details indicating his spiritual interests are rare. They do not have a systemic character and, possibly, are connected with Gogol's plans to ennoble his heroes in the second volume of the poem.

It is impossible to imagine Chichikov without his serfs - the coachman Selifan and the footman Petrushka, as well as without a britzka, a trio of horses and a box - "a small mahogany casket with piecework made of Karelian birch."

In contrast to the farcical Petrushka, the Russian jester in a red caftan and red cap, Gogol's Petrushka is dressed in a wide brown frock coat "from the master's shoulder." The author focuses on such features of the hero's appearance as "big nose and lips", as well as on his passion for reading as a process, on his ability to sleep without undressing, and wear his own "special air", a smell that "responds somewhat to residential peace ". A pair of the hero's servants is drawn according to the principle of contrast. The silent Petrushka, who does everything automatically, is opposed by the talkative Selifan, who likes to drink. In his mouth, the author puts lengthy statements addressed to his horses.

In a detailed description of the Chichikov triple, Gogol actively uses the techniques of personification and anthropomorphism, in particular, he endows animals with human qualities. So, the reader learns that the chubarny harness horse “was very crafty and showed only for the sake of appearance, as if he was lucky, while the native bay and harness coat of color, called the Assessor,<...>they worked with all their hearts, so that even in their eyes the pleasure they received from this was noticeable ”(VI, 40). In the speeches and assessments of the “talkative” Selifan, who reads instructions to the horses, the bay one is a “venerable horse” and the Assessor is a “good horse”, and the scaly one is “pantalon<...>German", "fool", "ignoramus", "barbarian" and "Bonaparte<...>damn". In the third chapter of the poem, the bay and Assessor are “amiable” and “respectable”, and the scaly one is “crow”. It is interesting that Gogol, long before L. N. Tolstoy, who captured the “thoughts” of the horse in the story “Strider”, introduces the reader to the “thoughts” of his chubar: “You see, how he was blown away! he thought to himself, tucking his ears in a little. - Probably knows where to beat! It doesn’t slap right on the back, but just chooses a place where it’s livelier” (VI, 59).

The image-thing - Chichikov's box - also plays an important role in revealing the character of the hero, since it is directly related to his secret and enrichment plans. Chichikov is not simple, his "secret", like the second bottom, is not revealed immediately, but at the end of the first volume of the novel. "Mahogany chest" also has a second bottom. The symbolic nature of this object becomes apparent in the episodes of Chichikov's stay at Korobochka. “The box is both a symbol and a real object,” Andrey Bely emphasizes, “it is a plan for acquisition, hidden in the case of the soul ...” . The Chichikov box is described by the author in all details. It is multi-tiered, in the upper, removable drawer, there is a soap dish, “razor partitions”, “nooks for sandboxes and inkwells”, “boats for feathers, sealing wax”, and under them there is space for papers and “a small hidden money box that slides out imperceptibly from the side of the box” (VI, 56). Abram Tertz notes that Chichikov’s miracle box, which is the main subject of his luggage and adoration, “reminiscent of a magic box in a fairy tale, where a whole army, or even the entire vast kingdom-state of a wandering prince, fits easily.” In the seventh chapter of the poem, Chichikov wakes up with the thought that "he now has almost four hundred souls." He looks through the notes of the landowners with the names and nicknames of the ransomed peasants and comes to emotion: “My fathers, how many of you are stuffed here! What have you hearts done in your lifetime? How did you get along?” (VI, 136). Dead men appear here as if they were alive, and in the pathetic descriptions by Pyotr Savelyev Neurozhay-Trough, Stepan Probka, Maxim Telyatnikov, the voice of the author and the voice of the hero merge into one.

The object of focalization in Gogol's poem is repeatedly food and drink. The artistic detailing of food is one of the leitmotifs of Gogol's poem. Starting from the first pages, Dead Souls describes in detail what the characters of the work ate and drank. So, already in the first chapter of the poem, the reader will find out what dishes were usually served in taverns: “schi with puff pastry<...>, brains with peas, sausages with cabbage, fried poulard, pickled cucumber, etc. (VI, 9). Obviously, these and other descriptions were affected not only by the influence of ancient authors, but also by I.P. Kotlyarevsky, who in his Aeneid gives long catalogs of dishes and drinks consumed by the heroes.

In the fourth chapter of the poem, reflecting on the “gentlemen of the middle hand” and their stomachs, the author describes what they ate in taverns: “at one station they will demand ham, at another pig, at the third a chunk of sturgeon or some kind of baked sausage with onions and then, as if nothing had happened, they sit down at the table at any time you want, and the sterlet’s ear with burbots and milk hisses and grumbles between their teeth, seized by pie and kulebyaka with a catfish plow ... ”(VI, 61). Chichikov also belongs to such gentlemen, who, stopping at a tavern, orders himself a pig with horseradish and sour cream.

Eating, as a rule, begins or ends Chichikov's operation to buy dead souls. For example, with the mismanaged Manilov, everything is “simple, according to Russian custom, cabbage soup, but from a pure heart” (VI, 30). A much richer lunch at Korobochka, who offered the guest “mushrooms, pies, quick thinkers, shanishki, spinners, pancakes, cakes with all sorts of seasonings: seasoning with onions, seasoning with poppy seeds, seasoning with cottage cheese, seasoning with pictures” (VI, 56-57) . The list of dishes in this case testifies to the economy and ingenuity of the landowner. During a tea party at Korobochka, Chichikov himself pours "fruit" into a cup of tea. This is not a random plot detail. She testifies that the hero decided not to stand on ceremony with the hostess.

It is noteworthy that in a conversation with Korobochka, the motive of drunkenness is detailed. The economic landowner complains that her blacksmith “burned out”: “He somehow caught fire inside, he drank too much, only a blue light came from him, all decayed, decayed and blackened like coal ...” (VI, 51 ). The author does not comment on this episode in any way, but it eloquently testifies to how the serfs drank. Gogol masterfully conveys the intonation of the speech of the drunken Selifan, who was treated by the courtyard people of Manilov. In response to Chichikov’s accusations (“You’re drunk as a shoemaker!”), the coachman delivers a monologue, slow and illogical: “No, sir, how can I be drunk! I know it's not a good thing to be drunk. I talked to a friend, because you can talk to a good person, there is nothing bad in that; and ate together. Snack is not a hurtful affair; you can eat with a good person” (VI, 43). The fact that Selifan "played up" had its consequences: he lost his way, the cart overturned, Chichikov "flopped" into the mud, and as a result, an unexpected turn in the development of the action appeared in the poem - the travelers got to Korobochka.

In Gogol's poem, serfs, landowners, and officials drink. A striking proof of this is the dinner at the police chief in the seventh chapter of the poem, when they drank “to the health of the new Kherson landowner”, to the resettlement of his serfs, to the health of his future wife, etc. conversations "about everything", when they argued and shouted about politics, about military affairs, and even expressed "free thoughts". This is the only episode in the poem in which Gogol portrays the drunken Chichikov. He is psychologically motivated. Having made the "purchase" in the civil chamber, he relaxed and left the role. Kherson villages and capitals seemed to him a reality. The author laughs at the hero, who "fell asleep decisively as a Kherson landowner." The procedure for undressing Chichikov, Selifan's reaction to the delirium of the owner, to his orders "to gather all the newly resettled peasants in order to make a personal roll call to everyone" (VI, 152) are described in full detail. This whole episode is permeated with humor and comedy. Gogol deliberately does not name the place where the servant and the coachman went after their master fell asleep, but the details of his description eloquently indicate that it was a tavern. “What Petrushka and Selifan were doing there, God knows them, but they left an hour later, holding hands, maintaining perfect silence, showing each other great attention and warning each other from all angles. Hand in hand, not letting go of each other, they climbed the stairs for a whole quarter of an hour ”(VI, 153). Before Gogol, no one in Russian literature described the process of drunkenness and its results in such detail.

The characteristic function is performed by the details of the treat offered by Nozdrev. Describing the dinner in his house, the author emphasizes that the dishes did not play a big role in the life of this character (“some things burned, some did not cook at all”), but he gives a long list of drinks that Nozdryov offers to the guest. “... Soup had not yet been served, he had already poured the guests a large glass of port wine and, in a different way, gos terna ...” (VI, 75), then they brought a bottle of Madeira, which they “filled” with rum, “and sometimes they poured royal vodka”, then followed by “bourgoignon and champignon together”, rowanberry, balm, etc. All the details of this list speak of Nozdrev's addiction to alcoholic beverages. The hero has his own scale of values, and the subject of his boasting is not only a card game, but also what and in what quantities he drank. “Do you believe that I alone drank seventeen bottles of champagne in the course of dinner!” Nozdrev boasts to Chichikov (VI, 65).

The feast at Sobakevich, on the contrary, indicates that it is food that is the main pleasure and meaning of his life. In terms of the abundance of dishes, in relation to them, the hero’s dinner at Sobakevich’s resembles a dinner at Pyotr Petrovich Petukh in the second volume of Dead Souls. Describing the “snack” that preceded dinner, the author emphasizes that the guest and the host “drank a proper glass of vodka” and ate in the same way “as the whole vast Russia snacks in cities and villages”, that is, a glass of vodka was eaten up with “all sorts of pickles and other exciting graces" (VI, 97). After the snack, the characters went to the dining room, and here the focus of the author's attention is not so much on the quantity and quality of dishes, but on how the hero eats and how he praises the merits of his home cooking, preferring it to French and German inventions. So, having praised the cabbage soup and having eaten “a huge piece of nanny”, the owner suggests to the guest: “Take a ram,<...>- this is a lamb side with porridge! These are not the fricassees that are made in the master's kitchens from lamb, which is lying around on the market for four days!<...>he tipped half a lamb side onto his plate, ate it all, gnawed it, sucked it down to the last bone” (VI, 91-92). After the side of lamb, there were cheesecakes “larger than a plate”, “a turkey the size of a calf, stuffed with all sorts of good things: eggs, rice, livers and who knows what” (VI, 99-100). In describing the dinner at Sobakevich's, Gogol actively uses the technique of hyperbolization, as well as detailing, which seems superfluous. However, many details indicate that Sobakevich also has his own “heap” - this is a heap of food, various dishes, each of which is large.

Sobakevich's addiction to food is also accentuated in other episodes of the novel, for example, at a dinner at the police chief, where the guests, having started eating, “began to reveal, as they say, each of his character and inclinations, leaning some on caviar, some on salmon, some on cheese" (VI, 150). Against this background, the author depicts Sobakevich in close-up, drawing the reader’s attention to how, even before the start of dinner, he “outlined” the sturgeon lying to the side on a large platter, how he “attached himself to the sturgeon” and how “in a quarter of an hour with a little he drove it all ". And when the police chief remembered the sturgeon and saw that only the tail was left of it, Sobakevich “spiked”, as if he hadn’t eaten it, “and, going up to the plate, which was far away from the others, he poked with a fork into some kind of dried small fish » (VI, 150-151). In the details of this episode, in particular in the behavior of Sobakevich, in the reaction of the police chief to this behavior, not only the comedy of the situation is revealed, but also the character of the character.

Plyushkin demonstrates a completely different attitude to food. The slow dying of his life affects not only the desolation that reigned in his estate, but also in relation to food. “Kulich cracker” and a liqueur, which the deceased wife still made, is all that he can offer the guest. However, even such a strange behavior of the hero indicates that the owner of the estate remembered the old Russian customs, in particular, the law of hospitality.

Artistic detailing as a technique is also implemented in the descriptions of the situation and the course of the card game, which are important in their own way in the depiction of landlord and bureaucratic life in Gogol's Dead Souls. Throughout the first volume of the poem, the writer repeatedly returns to the motif of the card game, which is regarded as a natural and habitual occupation of landowners and officials during their leisure hours. In the first chapter of the poem, the author introduces the reader to how whist was played in the governor's house. Whist is a commercial game. Yu. M. Lotman points out that sedate and respectable people played whist. Having joined the "fat", Chichikov ended up in a separate room, where they "put a card on whist" into him. The players “sat down at the green table and did not get up until dinner. All conversations ceased completely, as always happens when one finally indulges in a sensible occupation. Although the postmaster was very eloquent, he, having taken the cards in his hands, immediately expressed a thinking physiognomy on his face ... ”(VI, 16). The author does not go into the details of the game, but describes in detail what the players “sentenced” by hitting the table with a card: “... If there was a lady: “Go away, old priest!”, if the king: “Go, Tambov man!” etc. (VI, 16). The changed names of the cards with which they "crossed" the suits in their society are "worms! worm-hole! picnic! or: “pickendras! pichurushchuh! "Pichura!" etc., emphasize the provincial character of bureaucratic life, and the abundance of exclamation points conveys the intensity of passions during the game.

It is noteworthy that Chichikov's acquaintance with Nozdryov takes place during a card game with the police chief, "where from three o'clock in the afternoon they sat down in whist and played until two in the morning." The fact that Nozdrev is an avid gambler and rogue will become clear later, but already in the first chapter of the poem, alarming details appear that characterize him as a player. Despite the fact that he was on “you” with everyone, “when they sat down to play a big game, the police chief and the prosecutor examined his bribes with extreme attention and watched almost every card with which he walked” (VI, 17).

As a gambler, Nozdryov is revealed in several episodes of the fourth chapter of the poem. Having met Chichikov in a tavern, he reports that he was “blown out”: “Do you believe that you have never been blown like that in your life. After all, I came to the philistine.<...>Not only thumped four trotters - he just let everything down. After all, I have neither a chain nor a watch ... ”(VI, 64). Nozdryov gambles and hopes for a chance. He also explains his failures by chance: “If I didn’t bend the duck after the password on the damned seven, I could break the whole bank” (VI, 64). The speech of this character is replete with gambling terminology: “play with a doublet”, “did a fortune”, “both in a pebble, and in a bank, and whatever you want”. The author's characteristics of the gambler emphasize that he "argued and started a turmoil at the green table<...>. Into the cards<...>he did not play quite sinlessly and purely...” (VI, 70). One of the proofs of the hero's cheating machinations is the description of how he did not leave the room for four days, doing a "business" that required great care. This matter “consisted in picking up from several dozen dozen cards of one “waist”, but with the most accurate one, which one could rely on as a true friend” (VI, 208). Nozdrev is a player not only at the card table, but also in life, as evidenced by the details of his behavior.

There is an episode in Gogol's poem in which the description of a card game performs a psychological function. This is the episode when Chichikov, after "exposing" Nozdryov, trying not to think about what happened, "sat down to whist" so as not to think about what happened. Those present drew attention to the fact that Pavel Ivanovich, who “understood the game so subtly,” played poorly: “everything went like a crooked wheel: twice he went into someone else’s suit and, forgetting that they don’t hit the third, swung with all his might and foolishly enough of his own" (VI, 173). Chichikov's bad game is evidence of his inner state. The narrator notes that he felt as if he suddenly stepped into a dirty, stinking puddle with a perfectly polished boot (VI, 173).

Gogol's poem impresses with a huge number of episodic characters, each of which is unforgettably individual, because it is surrounded by details and details. However, at the same time, Gogol’s episodic characters, as A. B. Esin rightly noted, “do not give impetus to the plot action, do not help to characterize the main characters<...>. They exist on their own, they are interesting for the author as an independent object of the image, and not at all in connection with this or that function. For example, the description of Chichikov's entry into the provincial town is accompanied by a mention of two Russian peasants thinking about the wheel and whether it will reach Moscow or Kazan. Not a word will be said about these men in the further narration. A young man who accidentally met Chichikov is also described in sufficient detail: “... In white kanifas pantaloons, very narrow and short, in a tailcoat with attempts on fashion, from under which a shirt-front was visible, buttoned with a Tula pin with a bronze pistol” (VI, 7 ). The details of this description may speak of the fashion of that time, the "Tula pin" - of the place where it was made, but at the same time they do not carry any psychological burden, since the mentioned "young man" will never appear on the pages of the poem. However, his appearance "in the frame" is motivated by the author's desire to recreate the fullness of life. The author describes in detail the images of servants, officials, city ladies, real and dead men, creating an image of the people and the nation, which corresponded to the genre nature of the work he conceived.

The detailing of the depicted is a characteristic feature of Gogol's manner of writing, which found, perhaps, the most vivid expression in the poem "Dead Souls". The functions of details and trifles in this work are varied: these are the functions of “slowing down”, “delaying” the action, the functions of concretizing the time and place of the action, creating a background, including the historical one, the functions of the psychological characteristics of the characters, etc. Artistic details in Gogol, usually not unique. They are combined into a system and carry a significant semantic and ideological and artistic load.