Composing living and dead souls in Gogol's poem dead souls. Living and dead in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" What are dead souls in Gogol's poem

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol worked on this work for 17 years. According to the writer's plan, the grandiose literary work was to consist of three volumes. Gogol himself repeatedly reported that the idea of ​​​​the work was proposed to him by Pushkin. Alexander Sergeevich was also one of the first listeners of the poem.

Work on "Dead Souls" was difficult. The writer changed the concept several times, reworked individual parts. Only on the first volume, which was published in 1842, Gogol worked for six years.

A few days before his death, the writer burned the manuscript of the second volume, from which only drafts of the first four and one of the last chapters survived. The author did not have time to start the third volume.

At first, Gogol considered "Dead Souls" satirical a novel in which he intended to show "all of Rus'." But in 1840, the writer fell seriously ill, and was healed literally by a miracle. Nikolai Vasilievich decided that this was a sign - the Creator himself demands that he create something that serves the spiritual revival of Russia. Thus, the idea of ​​"Dead Souls" was rethought. The idea was to create a trilogy similar to Dante's Divine Comedy. Hence the genre definition of the author - a poem.

Gogol believed that in the first volume it was necessary to show the disintegration of feudal society, its spiritual impoverishment. In the second, to give hope for the purification of "dead souls". In the third, the revival of a new Russia was already planned.

The basis of the plot the poem became a scam official Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. Its essence was as follows. A census of serfs was carried out in Russia every 10 years. Therefore, the peasants who died between the censuses, according to official documents (revision tale), were considered alive. Chichikov's goal is to buy "dead souls" at a low price, and then pawn them in the board of trustees and get a lot of money. The fraudster is counting on the fact that such a deal is beneficial for the landlords: they do not need to pay taxes for the deceased until the next audit. In search of "dead souls" Chichikov travels around Russia.

Such a plot outline allowed the author to create a social panorama of Russia. In the first chapter, an acquaintance with Chichikov takes place, then the author describes his meetings with landowners and officials. The last chapter is again devoted to the swindler. The image of Chichikov and his purchase of dead souls unite the storyline of the work.

The landowners in the poem are typical representatives of people of their circle and time: spenders (Manilov and Nozdrev), savers (Sobakevich and Korobochka). This gallery is completed by the spendthrift and accumulator in one person - Plyushkin.

Image of Manilov especially successful. This hero gave the name to the whole phenomenon of Russian reality - "Manilovism". In communication with others, Manilov is soft to the point of cloying, loving posturing in everything, but an empty and completely inactive owner. Gogol showed a sentimental dreamer who is only capable of lining up beautiful rows of ashes knocked out of a pipe. Manilov is stupid and lives in the world of his useless fantasies.

landowner Nozdrev on the contrary, it is very active. But his seething energy is not directed at all to economic concerns. Nozdrev is a gambler, a spendthrift, a reveler, a braggart, an empty and frivolous person. If Manilov seeks to please everyone, then Nozdryov is constantly dirtying. Not from evil, however, such is his nature.

Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka- a type of economic, but narrow-minded and conservative landowner, quite tight-fisted. The circle of her interests: pantry, barns and a poultry house. Korobochka even went to the nearest town twice in her life. In everything that goes beyond the limits of her everyday worries, the landowner is impassibly stupid. The author calls her "cudgel-headed".

Mikhail Semenovich Sobakevich the writer identifies with the bear: he is clumsy and clumsy, but strong and strong. The landowner is primarily interested in the practicality and durability of things, and not their beauty. Sobakevich, despite his rough appearance, has a sharp mind and cunning. This is a vicious and dangerous predator, the only one of the landowners capable of accepting the new capitalist way of life. Gogol notices that the time is coming for such cruel business people.

Plushkin's image does not fit into any framework. The old man himself is malnourished, starves the peasants, and a lot of food rots in his pantries, Plyushkin's chests are crammed with expensive things that are becoming unusable. Incredible stinginess deprives this man of his family.

Officialdom in "Dead Souls" is through and through a corrupt company of thieves and swindlers. In the system of urban bureaucracy, the writer paints with large strokes the image of a “jug snout”, ready to sell his own mother for a bribe. No better than the narrow-minded police chief and alarmist prosecutor who died of fear because of Chichikov's scam.

The main character is a rogue, in which some features of other characters are guessed. He is amiable and prone to posturing (Manilov), petty (Korobochka), greedy (Plyushkin), enterprising (Sobakevich), narcissistic (Nozdrev). Among officials, Pavel Ivanovich feels confident, because he went through all the universities of fraud and bribery. But Chichikov is smarter and more educated than those with whom he deals. He is an excellent psychologist: he delights the provincial society, masterfully bargains with every landowner.

The writer put a special meaning into the title of the poem. These are not only the dead peasants who are bought by Chichikov. By "dead souls" Gogol understands the emptiness and lack of spirituality of his characters. There is nothing sacred for the money-grubber Chichikov. Plyushkin has lost all human likeness. A box for the sake of profit does not mind digging up coffins. At Nozdryov's, only dogs live well; their own children are abandoned. Manilov's soul sleeps like a deep sleep. There is not a drop of decency and nobility in Sobakevich.

The landowners look different in the second volume. Tentetnikov- A disillusioned philosopher. He is immersed in thought and does not do household chores, but is smart and talented. costanjoglo and an exemplary landowner. Millionaire Murazov also endearing. He forgives Chichikov and stands up for him, helps Khlobuev.

But we never saw the rebirth of the main character. A person who has let the “golden calf” into his soul, a bribe taker, embezzler and swindler is unlikely to be able to become different.

The writer did not find during his life the answer to the main question: where is Rus' rushing like a fast troika? But "Dead Souls" remains a reflection of Russia in the 30s of the XIX century and an amazing gallery satirical images, many of which have become household names. "Dead Souls" is a striking phenomenon in Russian literature. The poem opened a whole direction in it, which Belinsky called "critical realism".

Poem N.V.
Gogol's "Dead Souls" (1835-1841) belongs to
Those timeless works
Arts that lead to large-scale
Artistic generalizations, raise
fundamental problems of human life. IN
The necrosis of the souls of characters (landlords,
Officials, Chichikov himself) Gogol sees
The tragic death of all mankind,
The dull movement of history along a closed
Circle. The origins of the spiritual emptiness of man
They lie, according to the writer, not only in
social conditions, but also in features
The mental make-up of the personality (in equal
The degrees refer to "dead souls" and
Landowners-feudal lords and the businessman-purchaser himself
Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov).
tricks
The realistic typification of Gogol is excellent
Pushkin got it. "He always told me,
The author of "Dead Souls" recalled - that neither
One writer did not have this gift
Expose so brightly the vulgarity of life, be able to
To outline in such force the vulgarity of the vulgar
Man, to all that little thing that
Escapes from the eye, flashed
Would be big
In the eyes of everyone." That is why the characters
Gogol's poem is, in the words of V. G.
Belinsky, “familiar strangers”.
Image
Business owner Pavel Ivanovich
Chichikov is typical. The problem, however, is not that
Pavel Ivanovich - "businessman" (in our
Modern Russian life the word "entrepreneur"
It has already entered firmly and definitively), and in his
Spiritual inferiority disguised
Vulgarities. This is convincingly shown in
With his essay "Nikolai Gogol" Vladimir
Nabokov (“New World”, 1987, No. 4). deadness
Chichikov is emphasized by the full
The absence of changes in his "spiritual"
Life, immersion in vanity. Pavel's chaise
Ivanovich for a long time does not leave some
The vicious circle. The fate of a hero
Shows Gogol, forever returning “to
Circles of their own ”(each new scam ends
An exposure which, in turn, is not
Prevents the "unsinkable" Chichikov again and
start all over again from scratch). Pavel's biography
Ivanovich is an example of the deepest
Psychological research. Gogol
He writes about his hero: “Do not look the author
Deeper into his soul, do not move at the bottom of it
That which eludes and hides from the light is not
Reveal the innermost thoughts that
A person does not trust anyone else ... and that's all
Would be happy and would take him for
An interesting person."
Life
Chichikova is subordinated to one goal - enrichment
For the sake of achieving comfort, "all pleasures",
“all sorts of wealth”: crews, excellent
At home, delicious dinners ... This primitive
The dream feeds the tireless energy of the scoundrel,
Who perfectly remembers his father's command "more
Just save and save a penny.” Sympathy
To people completely etched from the heart
Hero (throws to the mercy of fate
Drunk teacher, betrays the boss
Service, rejoices in high mortality
peasants), giving way to virtuoso skill
Cater to the right people. IN
City school Chichikov is knocked out in
Beloved disciples with their “diligence and
Neatness”, fully comprehends the “spirit
Chief”, who appreciated in his wards
Submission. At work in the Treasury
Pavel Ivanovich seeks the location of the “impregnable”
Povytchika.
“Finally he sniffed out his homemade,
Family life ... moved to his house,
He became a necessary and necessary person,
I bought both flour and sugar, treated my daughter,
As with the bride, he called the clerk papa and
Kissed him on the hand ... "In a word, in
Chichikove
It turns out everything “that is needed for this world:
And pleasantness in turns and actions, and
Agility in business. With such means I obtained
He briefly what
They call the bread place, and
Used it in a great way."
Arriving in the provincial city of N,
Paul
Ivanovich skillfully flatters local officials.
“I hinted to the governor somehow casually that
You enter his province, like in paradise, dear -
Gi everywhere
Velvet ... The police chief said something
Very flattering about city guards…”
- amazing ability
Adapt to a new interlocutor
Demonstrates Chichikov in conversations with
Landowners. It suffices to compare conversations with
Manilov and Sobakevich about urban
Officials.
unprincipled
Adjusting Pavel Ivanovich to
The next interlocutor reflects
The ultimate prudence of the hero: from communication
With this or that person he tries
Benefit concretely (buy dead
Souls, achieve promotion). My
The role is played, of course, by knowledge of real life
And certain acting skills.
Drawing a portrait of Paul in the first chapter
Ivanovich, Gogol specifically emphasizes
“uncertainty”, “amorphous”
Chichikova: “A gentleman was sitting in the britzka, not
Handsome, but not bad-looking, nor
Too thick, not too thin; it is forbidden
Say to be old, however
Well, not too young.” Such
Appearance allows the hero to quickly change
Psychological masks (in conversation with
Chichikov reminds Manilov
An enthusiastic young man, in a conversation with Plyushkin -
Wise in life and well-intentioned
Mister). It should be emphasized again that
All the "talents" of Pavel Ivanovich serve only
One goal - enrichment (skillful speculation
In the city school, a new way to get
A bribe at the "bread place",
Construction of a state house and
Theft of the treasury, conspiracy with
smugglers while serving on
Customs, dead soul scam).
Sincere
Human feelings are alien to Chichikov.
Only one thing brings him joy -
Good deal. Recall that he even “sings”
After you can get a good deal
Dead souls at Plushkin. Vulgarity Chichikov
It also manifests itself in reflections on the beautiful
To a blonde woman met after a visit
Nozdryova. The thought comes into the hero's head not about
Beauty, but about the possible wealth of a stranger:
“After all, if, let’s say, this girl
Give a thousand two hundred dowry, of which
It could have been a very, very tasty morsel.”
Image
Vulgar Chichikov, it seems to me,
Universal, not tied to any
certain historical time. “Chichikovshchina” is by no means limited to one
Money-grubbing. She represents
The power of vain vulgarity, inner emptiness,
Pettiness, falseness. And unfortunately she
Shows itself in any era ...
In the final
Poems Gogol outlines some
Prospects for the spiritual revival of the hero (about
This is detailed in the second volume of The Dead
shower”), reflects on the possibility
Overcoming the vulgar “deadness”, “intactness”
Peace. The overcoming of evil is, according to the thought
Writer, not in social restructuring
Society, but in the disclosure of the inexhaustible
Spiritual potential of the Russian people.
There is an image of an endless road and
A trio of birds rushing forward. In that
An indomitable movement is felt
Gogol's confidence in the great
The purpose of Russia, in the possibility
Spiritual resurrection of mankind.

Essay on literature on the topic: WHAT IS “CHICHIKOVSHINA”? (based on the poem by N. V. Gogol “Dead Souls”)

Other writings:

1. We all know the meaning of the expression "dead soul" - this is a soul that is physically alive and capable, but morally it is dead. So they say about people who live only for themselves, for their own good, in the name of their personality, they are selfish, callous, Read More ......
2. Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov was the son of poor nobles. Immediately after birth, "life looked at him ... sourly uncomfortably." The boy remembered from his childhood only his father's shuffling and coughing, plodding over prescriptions, pinching his ear and his father's eternal refrain: "do not lie, listen to your elders." However Read More ......
3. At the heart of N. V. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" lies the scam of its protagonist - the former official Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. This man conceived and practically carried out a very simple, but inherently brilliant fraud. Chichikov bought dead peasant souls from the landowners, Read More ......
4. In the poem "Dead Souls" N.V. Gogol, in his words, sought to depict "all of Rus'", but from "one side". And he succeeded: he very accurately and correctly managed to show both the negative and positive aspects of life in Russia at that time. Read More ......
5. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" consists of three compositional links, closely related to each other. The third link (the eleventh chapter) is devoted to the description of the life of the protagonist of the work - Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. Gogol introduces this character already after the environment in which Read More ......
6. The main character of Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" is Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, an adventurer who carries out a brilliant scam on the pages of the work. The author presents his hero to us in detail only in the eleventh chapter of Dead Souls. Prior to this, Gogol depicts the environment in which the hero operates; reveals Read More ......
7. Chichikov occupies a special place among the characters in Gogol's poem Dead Souls. Being the central (in terms of plot and composition) figure of the poem, this hero, right up to the last chapter of the first volume, remains a mystery to everyone - not only to the officials of the city of NN. but Read More ......
8. N. V. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" is one of the greatest works in world literature. V. G. Belinsky wrote: “Dead Souls” by Gogol is a creation so deep in content and great in creative concept and artistic perfection of form that it alone replenished Read More ......

At the heart of the poem N.V. Gogol's "Dead Souls" lies the scam of its protagonist - the former official Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. This man conceived and practically carried out a very simple, but inherently brilliant fraud. Chichikov bought dead peasant souls from the landlords in order to pawn them as if they were alive and get money for them.
In order to implement his idea, Chichikov travels all over Russia. We see how he visits the landlords, finds an approach to each of them and as a result achieves his goal - he receives dead souls.
It seems that everything about this hero is subordinated to his main goal. Even Chichikov’s appearance contributes to the fact that, on the one hand, he is not particularly remembered, and on the other hand, they are everywhere taken for “one of their own”: “There was a gentleman in the britzka, not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin ; one cannot say that he is old, but it is not so that he is too young.
This hero managed to ingratiate himself with the first persons of the city N. Everyone - the governor, and his wife, and the prosecutor, and the postmaster - considered Pavel Ivanovich "the most kind and courteous" person, the embodiment of decency and tact.
Yes, and all the landowners with whom Chichikov made acquaintance in the city gladly invited him to their estate. Manilov, Korobochka, Sobakevich, even Plyushkin - Chichikov managed to find a common language with everyone, managed to identify their weak points and, influencing them, achieve his goal. So, with Manilov Chichikov - the very nobility and good breeding: “Clever, darling! Chichikov said to this. “Tell me, but…” he continued, turning immediately to the Manilovs with a certain look of amazement, “in such years and already such information! I have to tell you that there will be great abilities in this child.” With Korobochka, "Chichikov, despite his affectionate appearance, spoke, however, with more freedom than with Manilov, and did not stand on ceremony at all." With Sobakevich, the hero is just as rude and assertive as his interlocutor; with Plyushkin, he is cunning and prudent.
Only with Nozdrev, Chichikov could not find a common language. This is not surprising - people like Nozdrev are not amenable to any study or analysis. Their distinguishing features are unpredictability, randomness, unbridled power.
In the end, Nozdryov, with the involuntary help of Korobochka, exposes Chichikov at the moment when he was very close to the goal. The hero has to "take his feet" out of the city, leaving his plan for a while. But we have no doubt that he will not back down from his "enterprise".
Of course, the type and character of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov is unique. With cunning, subtle knowledge of life and people, worldly ingenuity, perseverance, this hero surpasses most people. To understand the origins of his character, Gogol describes the childhood of his hero, the conditions in which he was brought up: "The origin of our hero is dark and modest."
Chichikov's childhood was dull, gray and lonely. He had no friends, at home Pavlusha did not know warmth and affection, but only some instructions and reproaches. After some time, the hero was assigned to the city school, where he had to exist completely independently. Before leaving, his father instructed Pavel: “... most of all please your teachers and bosses. If you please your boss, then, although you won’t have time in science and God didn’t give you talent, you will go all the way and get ahead of everyone.
In addition, he punished his son not to have friends, and if he was with anyone, then only with wealthy people who could help in some way. And most importantly, the father punished Pavlusha "to save a penny." In his opinion, only money is true friends in life.
Paul made these words his life credo. Perhaps these were the only words that the father said to the hero in a warm friendly conversation. That is why, it seems to me, Chichikov remembered them for the rest of his life.
And the hero began to embody his father's covenant in life. He fawned over the teachers, tried to be the most obedient and exemplary student, albeit to the detriment of his classmates. In addition, Pavlusha dealt only with the children of wealthy parents. And he saved every penny. Chichikov sought to make money in every possible way, and he succeeded.
Then the hero continued to go to his goal in all ways available to him. It is important that Chichikov considered it possible to break any moral law: he was the only one who did not give money to a sick teacher, wanted to marry an unloved girl for the sake of her rich dowry, plundered government property, and so on.
Fate many times destroyed the plans of the hero, left him with a “broken trough”. But Chichikov did not give up. His perseverance and self-confidence cause involuntary admiration. And then an idea, ingenious in its simplicity, came to Pavel Ivanovich's head - to enrich himself at the expense of dead souls. And he begins to carry out his adventure ...
It would seem that Chichikov is a complete scoundrel and a swindler. But not everything is so simple, in my opinion. Why did the hero want to accumulate a lot of money? His dream is the dream of an ordinary person: Pavel Ivanovich wanted a home, family, honor and respect, comfort. He wanted everything that most people in this world want. But in order to achieve his goal, Chichikov was ready for anything, he was ready to step over any moral law and moral principle. This Gogol "could not forgive" the hero.
Thus, Chichikov, thanks to the warehouse of his nature and the principles developed in him from childhood, was almost able to carry out a scam with dead souls. Undoubtedly, the great potential of this hero, his powerful inclinations. The only pity is that he sent them to the implementation of the "unrighteous" work. It is this, in my opinion, that Gogol grieves most about Chichikov.

How to understand what Nikolai Gogol really wanted to say

Text: Natalia Lebedeva/RG
Collage: Year of Literature. RF /

Photo portrait of N. V. Gogol from the group daguerreotype of S. L. Levitsky. Author K. A. Fisher / en.wikipedia.org

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is rightfully considered one of the most mysterious writers of Russian literature. Many secrets of his life and work have not yet been revealed by researchers. One of these mysteries is the fate of the second volume of Dead Souls. Why did Gogol burn the second volume, and did he burn it at all? But literary critics were still able to reveal some secrets of Dead Souls. Why are “Russian peasants” so remarkable, why did playing whist become “a sensible occupation” and what role does the fly that flew into Chichikov’s nose play in the novel? About this and more Literary historian, translator, candidate of philological sciences Evgenia Shraga told on Arzamas.

1. The secret of Russian men

In the first paragraph of Dead Souls, a cart with Chichikov enters the provincial town of NN:

“His entry made absolutely no noise in the city and was not accompanied by anything special; only two Russian peasants, standing at the door of the tavern opposite the hotel, made some remarks ... "

This is clearly an unnecessary detail: from the first words it is clear that the action takes place in Russia. Why the clarification that the men are Russian? Such a phrase would sound appropriate only in the mouth of a foreigner describing his foreign impressions. literary historian Semyon Vengerov in an article entitled “Gogol did not know real Russian life at all,” he explained it this way:

Gogol was really too late to learn about Russian (and not Ukrainian) life, not to mention the life of the Russian provinces,

Therefore, such an epithet was really significant for him. Vengerov was sure: “If Gogol had thought for at least one minute, he would certainly have crossed out this absurd epithet that says absolutely nothing to the Russian reader.”

But he did not cross out - and for good reason: in fact, this is the most characteristic technique for the poetics of Dead Souls, which the poet and philologist

called "a figure of fiction" - when something (and often a lot) is said, but nothing is actually said, definitions do not define, descriptions do not describe.

Another example of this poetics is the description of the protagonist. He “not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin; one cannot say that he is old, but not so that he is too young”, “a middle-aged man with a rank that is not too big and not too small”, “Mr., whose face we will never see, although he looks with pleasure in the mirror.

2. The secret of the rainbow scarf

This is how we first see Chichikov:

“The gentleman threw off his cap and unwound a woolen, rainbow-colored scarf from his neck, which the wife prepares with her own hands for the married, providing decent instructions on how to wrap up, and for the unmarried, I probably can’t say who does it, God knows them ... "

"... I never wore such scarves",- continues the narrator of Dead Souls. The description is built in a very characteristic Gogol way: the intonation of a know-it-all - “I know very well everything about such scarves”- sharply reversed - “I’m single, I didn’t wear anything like that, I don’t know anything.” Behind this habitual technique and in such a habitual abundance of details, a rainbow scarf is well hidden.

“He woke up the next day already quite late in the morning. The sun shone through the window straight into his eyes, and the flies that yesterday had slept peacefully on the walls and on the ceiling all turned to him: one landed on his lip, another on his ear, a third strove to land on his very eye, the same one that had the imprudence to sit down close to the nasal nostril, he pulled sleepily into the very nose, which made him sneeze very hard - a circumstance that was the reason for his awakening.

It is interesting that the narrative is full of detailed descriptions of the general dream, and only this awakening of Chichikov is an event that he talks about in detail.

Chichikov wakes up from a fly in his nose. His feelings are described almost in the same way as the shock of officials who heard about Chichikov's scam:

“The position of them [officials] in the first minute was similar to the position of a schoolboy, to whom sleepy comrades, who got up early, stuck a hussar in his nose, that is, a piece of paper filled with tobacco. Sleepily pulling all the tobacco towards him with all the zeal of a sleeping person, he wakes up, jumps up, looks like a fool, bulging his eyes in all directions, and cannot understand where he is, what he is, what happened to him ... "

Strange rumors aroused the city, and this excitement is described as the awakening of those who had previously indulged in "dead dreams on their side, on their backs and in all other positions, with snoring, nasal whistles and other paraphernalia", of the entire "hitherto dormant city ". Before us is the resurrection of the dead, albeit a parody. But all this had such an effect on the city prosecutor that he completely died. His death is paradoxical, since in a sense it is a resurrection:

A. A. Agin. "Dead Souls". Chichikov and Korobochka. 1846/www.nasledie-rus.ru

The opposition between sleep and awakening is connected with the key motifs of the novel - death and resurrection. The impetus for awakening can be the most insignificant trifle - a fly, tobacco, a strange rumor. The "Resurrectionist", in the role of which Chichikov acts, does not need to have any special virtues - it is enough for him to be in the role of a fly that has got into his nose: to break the usual course of life.

5. How to do everything: the secret of Chichikov

Chichikov leaves Korobochka:

“Although the day was very good, the earth was so polluted that the wheels of the britzka, grabbing it, soon became covered with it, like felt, which greatly burdened the crew; besides, the soil was clayey and unusually tenacious. Both were the reason that they could not get out of the country roads before noon.

So, in the afternoon, the hero hardly gets out to the post. Before that, after lengthy squabbles, he bought 18 revisionist souls from Korobochka and ate an unleavened egg pie and pancakes. In the meantime, he woke up at ten. How did Chichikov manage to do everything in just over two hours?

This is not the only example of Gogol's free treatment of time. Departing from the city of NN to Manilovka, Chichikov gets into a britzka in an "overcoat on big bears", and on the way he meets men in sheepskin coats - the weather is clearly not summer. Arriving at Manilov, he sees a house on the mountain, "dressed with trimmed turf", "bushes of lilacs and yellow acacias", birches with "small-leaved thin tops", "a pond covered with greenery", knee-deep women wander in the pond - already without any sheepskin coats. Waking up the next morning in Korobochka's house, Chichikov looks out of the window at "spacious vegetable gardens with cabbage, onions, potatoes, beets and other household vegetables" and at " fruit trees covered with nets to protect against magpies and sparrows" The season has changed again. Returning to the city, Chichikov will again put on his "bear covered with brown cloth." “In bears covered with brown cloth, and in a warm cap with ears,” Manilov will also come to the city. In general, as it is said in another Gogol text: “I don’t remember the numbers. There was no month either.

Cover of the first edition of the poem "Dead Souls", made according to the drawing by N. V. Gogol

In general, the world of "Dead Souls" is a world without time. The seasons do not follow each other in order, but accompany a place or character, becoming its additional characteristic. Time stops flowing as expected, freezing in an ugly eternity - "a state of lasting immobility", according to the philologist Michael Weiskopf.

6. The secret of the guy with the balalaika

Chichikov orders Selifan to leave at dawn, Selifan scratches his head in response, and the narrator discusses what this means:

“Is it annoyance that the meeting planned for the next day with his brother in an unsightly sheepskin coat, girded with a sash, somewhere in the Tsar’s tavern, somewhere in the Tsar’s tavern, has not succeeded, or what kind of hearty sweetheart has already begun in a new place and you have to leave the evening standing at the gate and political holding on to white hands at the hour when twilight is piling on the city, a fellow in a red shirt is strumming a balalaika in front of the yard servants and weaving quiet speeches by the raznochinny, exhausted people?<…>God knows, don't guess. Scratching in the back of the head means many different things among the Russian people.

Such passages are very characteristic of Gogol: to tell a lot of everything and come to the conclusion that nothing is incomprehensible, and indeed there is nothing to talk about. But in this next passage that explains nothing, the guy with the balalaika attracts attention. We've already seen it somewhere:

“As he drove up to the porch, he noticed two faces looking out of the window almost at the same time: a female in a cap, narrow, long, like a cucumber, and a male, round, wide, like Moldavian pumpkins, called gourds, from which balalaikas are made in Russia, two-stringed , light balalaikas, the beauty and fun of a quick-witted twenty-year-old guy, flashing and dandy, and winking and whistling at the white-breasted and white-necked girls who had gathered to listen to his quiet-stringed jingling.

You never know where Gogol's comparison will lead:

the comparison of Sobakevich's face with a Moldavian pumpkin suddenly turns into a scene with the participation of our balalaika player.

Such detailed comparisons are one of the methods by which Gogol further expands the artistic world of the novel, introduces into the text what did not fit even in such a capacious plot as a journey, what did not have time or could not to see Chichikov, something that may not fit into the overall picture of the life of the provincial city and its environs.

But Gogol does not stop there, but takes the dandy with the balalaika who appeared in a detailed comparison - and again finds a place for him in the text, and now much closer to the plot reality. From a figure of speech, from a comparison, a real character grows, who wins a place for himself in the novel and, as a result, fits into the plot.

7. Corrupt secret

Even before the events of "Dead Souls" Chichikov was a member of the commission “for the construction of some kind of state-owned very capital structure”:

A.A. Agin. "Dead Souls". Manilov with his wife. 1846/www.nasledie-rus.ru

This reference to "civil architecture" as a whole fits into Gogol's redundant style, where definitions do not define anything, and in contrast, the second element may easily be missing. But initially it was: "civil architecture" was opposed to the church. In an early edition of Dead Souls, the commission, which included Chichikov, is designated as "the commission for the construction of the temple of God."

This episode of Chichikov's biography was based on Gogol's well-known history of the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. The temple was founded October 12, 1817 year, in the early 1820s, a commission was established, and already in 1827th Abuses were discovered, the commission was abolished, and two of its members were put on trial. Sometimes these numbers serve as the basis for dating the events of Chichikov's biography, but, firstly, as we have already seen, Gogol did not really bind himself with an exact chronology; secondly, in the final version, the mention of the temple is removed, the action takes place in a provincial town, and this whole story is reduced to an element of style, to “civil architecture”, in Gogol's way, it is no longer opposed to anything.

Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" is one of the best works of world literature. The writer worked on the creation of this poem for 17 years, but never completed his plan. "Dead Souls" is the result of many years of Gogol's observations and reflections on human destinies, the destinies of Russia.
The title of the work - "Dead Souls" - contains its main meaning. This poem describes both the dead revisionist souls of serfs and the dead souls of landlords, buried under the insignificant interests of life. But it is interesting that the first, formally dead, souls turn out to be more alive than the breathing and talking landlords.
Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, carrying out his brilliant scam, visits the estates of the provincial nobility. This gives us the opportunity "in all its glory" to see the "living dead".
The first person Chichikov pays a visit to is the landowner Manilov. Behind the outward pleasantness, even the sweetness of this gentleman, is hidden senseless daydreaming, inactivity, idle talk, false love for the family and peasants. Manilov considers himself educated, noble, educated. But what do we see when we look into his office? A dusty book that has been open on the same page for two years.
Something is always missing in Manilov's house. So, in the study, only part of the furniture is covered with silk, and two chairs are covered with matting. The economy is managed by a "dexterous" clerk who ruins both Manilov and his peasants. This landowner is distinguished by idle daydreaming, inactivity, limited mental abilities and vital interests. And this is despite the fact that Manilov seems to be an intelligent and cultured person.
The second estate that Chichikov visited was the estate of the landowner Korobochka. It is also "dead soul". The soullessness of this woman lies in the amazingly petty interests of life. Apart from the price of hemp and honey, Korobochka cares little. Even in the sale of dead souls, the landowner is only afraid to sell too cheap. Everything that goes beyond her meager interests simply does not exist. She tells Chichikov that she does not know any Sobakevich, and, consequently, he does not exist in the world.
In search of the landowner Sobakevich, Chichikov runs into Nozdryov. Gogol writes about this "merry fellow" that he was gifted with all possible "enthusiasm". At first glance, Nozdryov seems to be a lively and active person, but in fact he turns out to be completely empty. His amazing energy is directed only to revelry and senseless extravagance. Added to this is the passion for lies. But the lowest and most disgusting thing in this hero is "the passion to spoil one's neighbor." This is the type of people "who will start with a satin stitch and finish with a reptile." But Nozdryov, one of the few landowners, even evokes sympathy and pity. The only pity is that he directs his indomitable energy and love for life into an "empty" channel.
The next landowner on Chichikov's path is, finally, Sobakevich. He seemed to Pavel Ivanovich "very similar to a medium-sized bear." Sobakevich is a kind of "fist", which nature "simply chopped from the whole shoulder." Everything in the guise of the hero and his house is thorough, detailed and large-scale. The furniture in the landlord's house is as heavy as the owner. Each of Sobakevich's objects seems to say: "And I, too, Sobakevich!"
Sobakevich is a zealous owner, he is prudent, prosperous. But he does everything only for himself, only in the name of his interests. For their sake, Sobakevich will go to any fraud and other crime. All his talent went only into the material, completely forgetting about the soul.
The gallery of landowners' "dead souls" is completed by Plyushkin, whose soullessness has taken on completely inhuman forms. Gogol tells us the background of this hero. Once Plyushkin was an enterprising and hardworking owner. Neighbors came to him to learn "stingy wisdom." But after the death of his wife, the suspicion and stinginess of the hero intensified to the highest degree.
This landowner has accumulated huge stocks of "good". Such reserves would be enough for several lives. But he, not content with this, walks every day in his village and collects all the rubbish that he puts in his room. Senseless hoarding led Plyushkin to the fact that he himself feeds on leftovers, and his peasants "die like flies" or run away.
The gallery of "dead souls" in the poem is continued by the images of the officials of the city of N. Gogol draws them as a single faceless mass, mired in bribes and corruption. Sobakevich gives officials an evil, but very accurate description: "A scammer sits on a scammer and drives a scammer." Officials mess around, cheat, steal, offend the weak and tremble before the strong.
At the news of the appointment of a new governor-general, the inspector of the medical board feverishly thinks of the patients who died in significant numbers from a fever, against which proper measures were not taken. The chairman of the chamber turns pale at the thought that he has made a bill of sale for dead peasant souls. And the prosecutor generally came home and suddenly died. What sins were behind his soul that he was so frightened?
Gogol shows us that the life of officials is empty and meaningless. They are just smokers of air, who have wasted their precious lives on slander and fraud.
Next to the "dead souls" in the poem, there are bright images of ordinary people who are the embodiment of the ideals of spirituality, courage, love of freedom, talent. These are the images of the dead and fugitive peasants, primarily the men of Sobakevich: the miracle worker Mikheev, the shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov, the hero Stepan Cork, the stove-maker Milushkin. Also, this is the fugitive Abakum Fyrov, the peasants of the rebellious villages Vshivaya-arrogance, Borovka and Zadiraylova.
It was the people, according to Gogol, who retained in themselves a “living soul”, national and human identity. Therefore, it is with the people that he connects the future of Russia. The writer planned to write about this in the continuation of his work. but he couldn't, he couldn't. We can only guess about his thoughts.