Year of writing: 1835
Genre: prose poem, novel
Main characters: nobleman Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, Manilov - landowner, Korobochka - landowner, landowners Nozdryov and Sobakevich.
Plot: The story is about a gentleman whose identity remains a mystery. This man comes to a small town, the name of which the author did not voice, in order to give free rein to the reader’s imagination. The character's name is Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. Who he is and why he came is not yet known. The real goal: buying dead souls, peasants. Chapter 1 talks about who Chichikov is and about those who will surround him to carry out his plan.
Our main character has developed a good skill: recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of a person. It also adapts well to a changing external environment. From chapters 2 to 6, it talks about landowners and their possessions. In the work we learn that one of his friends is a gossip who leads a riotous lifestyle. This terrible man puts Chichikov’s position at risk and after the rapid development of some events, he flees the city. The post-war period is presented in the poem.
Detailed retelling
A certain Mr. Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov arrives in the provincial town of NN, accompanied by the coachman Selifan and the footman Petrushka. The man himself was not too old, but not too young, not handsome, but not bad-looking, not fat, but not thin either. He checks into a hotel and almost immediately begins a conversation with the policeman, asking him many questions regarding the officials of this city and the most prosperous landowners. Having settled, Chichikov begins to pay visits to all city officials, attends an evening with the governor, where he makes many useful acquaintances. He charmed everyone present with his manners, behaved like an aristocrat, maintaining a “pleasant” impression of himself.
Having tested the waters, Chichikov, without wasting a minute, begins to pay visits to the landowners, but of a business nature. The essence of his scam was to ransom dead peasants from them, who on paper were still listed as alive. Having a certain number of “souls,” he could receive land from the state where he planned to establish his estate.
First he visits the village of Manilov, the journey to which took quite some time. Chichikov found the estate rather neglected, although Manilov himself did not care. Unencumbered by everyday trifles, he lived in an imaginary world and reveled in his fantasies. He found the visitor’s proposal very strange, but after he convinced him of the legality, he calmed down and gave his souls for nothing.
The happy businessman leaves Manilov and goes to the estate of Sobakevich, with whom he met at a reception with the governor. But on the way, the travelers are caught in a thunderstorm, and the chaise goes astray. So Chichikov ends up in the village with another landowner, Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka. He does not miss the opportunity to bargain with her for the deceased peasants. Korobochka was very surprised by this, but her second thought was the desire to sell it as profitably as possible and not to sell it short. Noticing that the widow is very suspicious and fearful, he explains to her that he will pay the tax himself for the purchased men, after which she agrees. Tired of bargaining with Korobochka, he departs, leaving her in extreme anxiety.
On the way to Sobakevich, he stops at a tavern for lunch, and there he meets the landowner Nozdryov, whom he met at a dinner with the prosecutor. The young serf owner, bursting with energy and health, is glad to meet him and immediately takes Pavel Ivanovich to his house. Hearing Chichikov’s request, the gambling Nozdryov becomes excited and suggests that instead of buying, they play cards for the dead souls. He agrees, but immediately notices that the owner is cheating and also begins to play dishonestly. This was followed by a quarrel that almost led to a fight, but Nozdryov very quickly thawed out and Chichikov managed to escape from his estate.
After all the misadventures, he finally reaches the estate of Mikhail Sobakevich. The owner resembled a large, clumsy bear, and his dwelling resembled a rough and strong den. It was not so easy to make a deal with him. Although he lacked mental agility and beauty of speech, he bargained and counted money regularly. Pavel Ivanovich breaks up with Sobakevich in extreme indignation.
The final point of the schemer’s route is the estate of Stepan Plyushkin, a former economical and thrifty landowner. This thriftiness soon turned into stinginess, and then into morbid greed. The guest, entering the village, sees collapse and desolation; the owner's house looks no less deplorable. They make a deal without any problems: seduced by the opportunity not to pay taxes for the dead, Plyushkin agrees.
Rumors spread in the province about the newly minted rich master Chichikov. For a short time, he created a sensation and attracted everyone's attention. However, soon his trick with the stingy peasants became obvious, and Pavel Ivanovich, realizing where things were going, hastily left, leaving his discouraged inhabitants in bewilderment.
This work shows us the whole truth of Russian life of that time. The poem is relevant at all times, as it teaches us to live honestly and not to pursue material wealth. Gogol condemns such qualities of people as hypocrisy and corruption, and calls for changing life for the better.
Picture or drawing Dead Souls
Other retellings and reviews for the reader's diary
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Chapter 1
A chaise drives through the gates of a hotel in the provincial town of NN. In it sits “a gentleman, not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin; It’s impossible to say that he’s old, but it’s not that he’s too young either” - Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. Not suffering from lack of appetite, Chichikov eats a hearty lunch. A description of a provincial town follows. “We came across signs with pretzels and boots, almost washed away by the rain, and in some places with painted blue trousers and the signature of some Arshavian tailor; where is the store with caps, caps and the inscription “Foreigner Vasily Fedorov”... Most often, the darkened double-headed state eagles were noticeable, which have now been replaced by the laconic inscription: “Drinking House”.
The next day, Chichikov pays visits to city officials: the governor (“neither fat nor thin, he had Anna around his neck... however, he was a great good-natured person and even sometimes embroidered tulle himself”), the vice-governor, the prosecutor, the chairman of the chamber , the police chief and even the inspector of the medical board and the city architect. The visitor skillfully gains the trust of all officials and skillfully flatters each of them. Officials invite him to visit them, although they learn very little about the person passing through. There follows a description of the ball held by the governor, ladies, fat (important) and thin (insignificant) men. At the ball, Chichikov meets the landowners Sobakevich and Manilov. With a pleasant address he wins them over, finds out how many peasants they have and what condition the estate is in. , “an elderly man with eyes as sweet as sugar,” gains confidence in Chichikov and invites him to his estate. Sobakevich does the same. While visiting the police chief, Chichikov meets the landowner Nozdryov, “a man of about thirty, a broken fellow, who after three or four words began to say “you” to him.” Everyone in the city has a good opinion of Chichikov. He gives the impression of a secular person, knows how to carry on a conversation on any topic and at the same time speaks “neither loudly nor quietly, but absolutely as it should.”
Chapter 2
Description of Chichikov's servants: coachman Selifan and footman Petrushka (Petrushka reads a lot and indiscriminately, he is not occupied with reading, but with putting letters into words; Petrushka has a “special smell”, since he rarely goes to the bathhouse). Chichikov goes to the village to see Manilov. He has been looking for a homestead for a long time. “The manor's house stood alone on the south... open to all the winds that might blow... Two or three flower beds with bushes of lilacs and yellow acacias; five or six birches raised their thin, small-leaved tops in small clumps. Under two of them was visible a gazebo with a flat green dome, wooden blue columns and the inscription: “Temple of Solitary Reflection”... The day was either clear or gloomy, but of some light gray color.” The owner happily greets the guest. A description of Manilov’s character follows: “Neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan... His facial features were not devoid of pleasantness, but this pleasantness seemed to have too much sugar in it... In the first minute of conversation with him you can’t help but say : “What a pleasant and kind person!” The next minute you won’t say anything, and the third you’ll say: “The devil knows what it is!” - and move away. At home he spoke very little and mostly brooded and thought, but what he was thinking about, God only knew. It couldn’t be said that he was involved in farming... the farming went on somehow by itself... Sometimes he talked about how nice it would be if suddenly an underground passage was built from the house or a stone bridge was built across the pond, on which there would be on both sides of the shop, and for merchants to sit in them and sell various small goods needed by the peasants... However, all these projects ended only in words. In his office there was always some kind of book, bookmarked on page fourteen, which he had been constantly reading for two years... In the living room there was beautiful furniture, covered in smart silk fabric, which was probably very expensive; but there wasn’t enough for two chairs, and the chairs were simply upholstered in matting; however, for several years the owner always warned his guest with the words: “Do not sit on these chairs, they are not ready yet...” In the evening, a very smart candlestick made of dark bronze was served on the table... and next to it was placed some kind of just a brass invalid..."
His wife suits Manilov quite well in character; for the holidays she gives gifts - “some kind of beaded case for a toothpick.” There is no order in the house, since the owners do not keep an eye on anything: “all these are low objects, but Manilova was brought up well. And a good education, as you know, comes from boarding schools. And in boarding schools, as you know, three main subjects form the basis of human virtues: the French language, necessary for the happiness of family life; piano, to bring pleasant moments to the spouse, and, finally, the actual economic part: knitting wallets and other surprises.” Yielding to each other, Chichikov shows unnatural courtesy, which ends with both of them squeezing through the door at the same time. An exchange of pleasantries follows with Manilov's wife, the discussion of mutual acquaintances comes down to recognizing each as a “most respectable” and “most amiable” person. The Manilovs invite the guest to dinner. Two sons of the Manilovs are present at dinner: Themistoclus and Alcides. Themistoclus's nose is running, he bites his brother's ear, and he, overcoming his tears, devolves a leg of lamb, smearing his cheeks with fat. After lunch, a business conversation takes place between Chichikov and Manilov in the owner’s office. The description of the office follows: “The walls were painted with some kind of blue paint, like gray; ...a few scribbled papers, but most of all there was tobacco. It was in different forms: in caps, and in a tobacco box, and, finally, it was simply poured in a heap on the table. On both windows there were also piles of ash knocked out of the pipe, arranged, not without effort, in very beautiful rows.” Chichikov asks Manilov for a detailed register of peasants who died after the last census (revision tales), wants to buy dead souls. The man, dumbfounded, “opened his mouth and remained with his mouth open for several minutes.” Chichikov convinces the owner that the law will be observed and that the treasury will receive the due taxes. Completely calmed down, he gives away the dead souls for free and remains convinced that he has provided Chichikov with an invaluable service. Chichikov leaves, and Manilov’s thoughts “transferred imperceptibly to other subjects and finally wandered to God knows where.” Imagining a future friendship with Chichikov, it comes to the point that in his dreams the Tsar rewards both of them with the rank of general for such a strong friendship.
Chapter 3
On the way to Sobakevich's estate, Chichikov gets caught in heavy rain, the coachman goes off the road, the chaise overturns and falls into the mud. Chichikov ends up on the nearby estate of landowner Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka. The room into which Chichikov is shown “is hung with old striped wallpaper; paintings with some birds; between the windows there were old small mirrors with dark frames in the form of curled leaves; behind each mirror there was either a letter, or an old deck of cards, or a stocking.” The wall clock hisses loudly, and on the walls between the birds hangs a portrait of Kutuzov. The hostess enters: “One of those mothers, small landowners who cry about crop failures, losses and keep their heads somewhat to one side, and meanwhile they gradually collect money in colorful bags placed in dresser drawers... although in appearance it seems as if in There is nothing in the chest of drawers except linen, night blouses, skeins of thread, and a torn cloak, which can later turn into a dress if the old one somehow burns out while baking holiday cakes or wears out on its own. But the dress will not burn or fray on its own; the old woman is thrifty, and the cloak is destined to lie for a long time in a torn state, and then, according to the spiritual will, go to the niece of her grand-sister along with all other rubbish.” Korobochka leaves Chichikov to spend the night, and in the morning the guest proceeds to business negotiations about the purchase of dead souls. In response, Korobochka invites Chichikov to buy hemp or honey from her; she cannot understand why he needs dead souls (“Well, the woman seems to be strong-headed,” “club-headed”), and is afraid of selling himself cheap. While persuading her, Chichikov loses patience and compares Korobochka to a dog in the manger. He manages to convince the hostess to make a deed only after he tells a lie about himself (that he conducts government contracts) and promises to subsequently buy both honey and hemp from her. Korobochka believes him and even decides to appease and treat the important official. Chichikov takes out the necessary papers from his box, which has many compartments and even a secret drawer for money. Korobochka's men have strange surnames (for example, Disrespect-Koryto). After much trading, the deal is completed. “The black-footed girl Pelageya” accompanies Chichikov to the main road.
Chapter 4
Chichikov, who has an excellent appetite, stops at a tavern. Nozdryov’s chaise soon arrives at the entrance. “He was of average height, a very well-built fellow, with full, rosy cheeks, teeth as white as snow and jet-black sideburns. It was fresh, like blood and milk; his health seemed to be dripping from his face.” Nozdryov happily informs Chichikov that he played at the fair, lost his money and the money of his son-in-law Mizhuev, who is present right there. When talking about the fair, Nozdryov lies shamelessly (he claims that he alone drank seventeen bottles of champagne). Nozdryov persistently invites Chichikov to visit him, promising him a delicious treat (balyk), although in the tavern he drinks vodka at his son-in-law’s expense. People like Nozdryov “are called broken fellows, they are reputed even in childhood and school for being good comrades, and for all that they get beaten very painfully... They are always talkers, revelers, reckless drivers, prominent people. Nozdryov at thirty-five was exactly the same as he was at eighteen and twenty: a lover of a walk. The children... were looked after by a pretty nanny, he couldn’t sit at home for more than a day... He played cards... he didn’t play completely sinlessly and purely... And what’s strangest of all, after a while he was already meeting those friends again , who pestered him, and met as if nothing had happened, and he, as they say, was nothing, and they were nothing. Nozdryov was in some respects a historical person. Not a single meeting where he attended was complete without a story... Either the gendarmes would lead him out of the hall by the arm, or his own friends would be forced to push him out... Or he would cut himself up at the buffet in such a way that he could only laugh, or he would tell the most cruel lies way, so that he will finally become ashamed himself. And he will lie completely without any need: he will suddenly tell that he had a horse with some kind of blue or pink wool, so that those listening finally all leave, saying: “Well, brother, it seems you have already begun to pour bullets.”
Nozdryov had the habit, even with his closest friends, of “starting with satin stitch and ending with viper.” He had a passion for exchanging things and losing not only money, but also property. At the estate, Nozdryov shows Chichikov an unsightly stallion, assuring him that it cost him ten thousand, a kennel where he keeps dogs of dubious origin, a pond in which fish of “incredible sizes” are found, and “real” Turkish daggers, which bear the mark of the master Savely Sibiryakova. Lunch was poorly prepared (madeira seasoned with rum). Despite the fact that Nozdryov swears and calls him a “fetyuk,” son-in-law Mizhuev goes home to his wife. Chichikov proceeds to business negotiations, outlines the essence of his request, explaining that he needs dead souls for a successful marriage (the bride's parents are interested in his property status, including the number of peasants). Nozdryov agrees to give Chichikov non-existent peasants, but at the same time tries to sell him a stallion, a mare, a dog, a barrel organ, etc. for the load. When Chichikov resolutely refuses, he invites him to play cards. Already repenting that he got involved with Nozdrev, Chichikov rejects this proposal too. In retaliation, Nozdryov orders the coachman to feed Chichikov’s horse not with oats, but with hay, which offends the guest, but he himself does not feel uncomfortable. In the morning, as if nothing had happened, Nozdryov invites Chichikov to play checkers. He agrees. Nozdryov cheats during the game. Chichikov accuses him of cheating and stops the game. Nozdryov starts to fight, calls the servants and orders them to beat the guest. At this moment, the police captain appears and arrests Nozdryov for inflicting a “personal insult on the landowner Maksimov while drunk.” In his characteristic manner, Nozdryov renounces everything and swears that he does not know the landowner Maximov. Taking advantage of the situation, Chichikov “disappears.”
Chapter 5
Through Selifan's fault, Chichikov's chaise collides with someone else's chaise, in which two ladies are sitting - an elderly woman and a sixteen-year-old beauty. The men gathered from the village separate the horses and raise the chaises. Chichikov is fascinated by the young stranger and after the chaises leave, he thinks for a long time about the unexpected meeting. Chichikov drives up to the village of Mikhail Semenovich Sobakevich. “A wooden house with a mezzanine, a red roof and dark gray or, better yet, wild walls, a house like the ones we build for military settlements and German colonists. It was noticeable that during its construction the architect constantly struggled with the taste of the owner. The architect... wanted symmetry, the owner of convenience and, apparently, as a result of this, boarded up all the corresponding windows on one side and screwed in their place one small one, probably needed for a dark closet... The courtyard was surrounded by a strong and excessively thick wooden lattice. The landowner seemed to be concerned a lot about strength. For the stables, barns and kitchens, full-weight and thick logs were used, determined to stand for centuries. The village huts of the peasants were also cut down in a marvelous way... everything was fitted tightly and properly. Even the well was lined with the kind of strong oak that is used only for mills and ships. In a word, everything... was stubborn, without shaking, in some kind of strong and clumsy order.” The owner himself seems to Chichikov “very similar to a medium-sized bear.” The tailcoat he was wearing was completely bear-colored... He walked with his feet this way and that, constantly stepping on other people's feet. The complexion had a red-hot, hot complexion, like what happens on a copper coin.” A pleasant conversation does not develop: Sobakevich speaks straightforwardly about all officials (“the governor is the first robber in the world,” “the police chief is a fraud,” “there is only one decent person: the prosecutor, and even that, to tell the truth, is a pig”).
The owner escorts Chichikov to a room in which “everything was solid, clumsy to the highest degree and bore some strange resemblance to the owner of the house himself; in the corner of the living room stood a pot-bellied walnut bureau on absurd four legs: a perfect bear... Every object, every chair seemed to say: “And I, too, are Sobakevich!” or: “And I also look very much like Sobakevich!”
A hearty lunch is served. Sobakevich himself eats a lot (half a side of lamb with porridge in one sitting, “cheesecakes, each of which was much larger than a plate, then a turkey the size of a calf, stuffed with all sorts of goodness: eggs, rice, livers and who knows what... When they got up from -at the table; Chichikov felt a whole pound more heavy in himself"). Over dinner, Sobakevich talks about his neighbor Plyushkin, who owns eight hundred peasants and is an extremely stingy man.
Hearing that Chichikov wants to buy dead souls, Sobakevich is not at all surprised, but immediately begins to bargain. Sobakevich promises to sell dead souls for 100 rubles apiece, citing the fact that his peasants are real craftsmen (carriage maker Mikheev, carpenter Stepan Probka, shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov). The bargaining continues for a long time. In his hearts, Chichikov silently calls Sobakevich “fist”, and says out loud that the qualities of the peasants are not important, since they are dead. Not agreeing with Chichikov on the price and fully understanding that the deal is not entirely legal, Sobakevich hints that “this kind of purchase, I say this between us, out of friendship, is not always permissible, and tell me - I or someone else - such a person will not no power of attorney...” Ultimately, the parties agree on three rubles apiece, draw up a document, and each is afraid of being cheated by the other. Sobakevich offers Chichikov to buy a “female” at a cheap price, but the guest refuses (although he will later discover that Sobakevich nevertheless included a woman, Elizaveta Vorobei, in the deed of sale). Chichikov leaves and asks a peasant in the village how to get to Plyushkin’s estate (Plyushkin’s nickname among the peasants is “patched”). The chapter ends with a lyrical digression about the Russian language. “The Russian people are expressing themselves strongly! And if he rewards someone with a word, then it will go to his family and posterity... And then no matter how cunning and ennoble your nickname, even force the writing people to derive it from the ancient princely family for a rent, nothing will help... Like countless many churches, monasteries with domes, domes, crosses are scattered in holy, pious Rus', so a countless number of tribes, generations, peoples crowd, motley and rush about the face of the earth... The word of the British will respond with heart knowledge and wise knowledge of life; The short-lived word of a Frenchman will flash and spread like a light dandy; the German will intricately come up with his own, not accessible to everyone, clever and thin word; but there is no word that would be so sweeping, lively, would burst out from under the very heart, would boil and vibrate so much, like an aptly spoken Russian word.”
Chapter 6
The chapter opens with a lyrical digression about travel. “Before, long ago, in the summers of my youth, in the years of my irrevocably past childhood, it was fun for me to drive up to an unfamiliar place for the first time... A child’s curious gaze revealed a lot of curious things in it... Now I indifferently approach any unfamiliar village and indifferently I look at her vulgar appearance; my chilled gaze is uncomfortable, it’s not funny to me, and what in previous years would have awakened a lively movement in the face, laughter and silent speech, now slides past, and my motionless lips keep an indifferent silence. O my youth! Oh my freshness!
Chichikov goes to Plyushkin’s estate and for a long time cannot find the manor’s house. “This strange castle looked like some kind of decrepit invalid... In some places it was one floor, in others two... The walls of the house were cracked in places by naked plaster lattice and, as you can see, they suffered a lot from all sorts of bad weather, rains, whirlwinds and autumn changes ... The garden, which overlooked the village and then disappeared into the field, overgrown and decayed, seemed to alone refresh this vast village and alone was quite picturesque in its picturesque desolation.” In the courtyard, Chichikov meets a man about whom he cannot even say “a man or a woman”; he decides that in front of him is the housekeeper, dressed “in an indeterminate dress”, with a cap on her head, and a robe sewn from who knows what. Chichikov is unpleasantly surprised to learn that in front of him is the owner of the house, the rich landowner Stepan Plyushkin. What follows is a description of Plyushkin’s past, “how he came to live like this.” Once he was a thrifty owner, an experienced and wise man, his wife was famous for her hospitality, Plyushkin had two daughters and a son. But soon Plyushkin became a widower, “part of the keys, and with them minor worries, passed to him. Plyushkin became more restless and, like all widowers, more suspicious and stingy.” The eldest daughter ran away and married an officer of the cavalry regiment. Her father cursed her. The son, sent to the city to decide on service, decided instead to join the military. The youngest daughter died. “Lonely life gave satisfying food to stinginess... human feelings... grew shallow every minute, and every day something was lost in this worn-out ruin...” Merchants who come to pick up goods from Plyushkin soon stop visiting him, because... due to his incredible stinginess, Plyushkin cannot bargain with anyone. “The hay and bread rotted, the luggage and stacks turned into pure manure, the flour in the basement turned into stone, it was scary to touch cloth, linens and household materials: they turned to dust... and he himself finally turned into some kind of hole in the humanity." Plyushkin collected his fortune little by little, not hesitating to pick up other people's, accidentally forgotten things. Plyushkin does not take advantage of the huge quitrent from the serfs. He keeps only boots for all the servants, and the peasants walk around the yard barefoot. Plyushkin's savings are brought to the point of absurdity (he keeps the Easter cake bread for several months, which his daughter brought him as a gift; he always knows how much liqueur is left in the decanter and makes marks with his own hand, writes neatly on paper, so that the lines overlap each other). Having learned about the purpose of Chichikov's visit, Plyushkin is filled with joy, since Chichikov offers him to pay for the dead souls. Plyushkin agrees to sell Chichikov not only dead peasants, but also runaways, and bargains for every penny. Having received money that he will never use, he hides the banknotes in a box, where they will remain until the death of the owner. Chichikov is in a hurry to leave, to Plyushkin’s great joy, refusing tea and treats. Plyushkin orders that the crackers from the Easter cake be put back into the pantry, while making sure that not a crumb is lost. Chichikov returns to the hotel.
Chapter 7
The chapter opens with a lyrical digression about two types of writers. “Happy is the writer who, past boring, disgusting characters, striking with their sad reality, approaches characters that demonstrate the high dignity of a person who, from the great pool of daily rotating images, chose only a few exceptions, who never changed the sublime structure of his lyre, did not descend from his peak towards his poor, insignificant brothers and, without touching the ground, he plunged entirely into his own, far removed from it and exalted images... He fumed human eyes with an intoxicating smoke; he wonderfully flattered them, hiding the sad things in life, showing them a wonderful person. Everyone, clapping their hands, rushes after him and rushes after his solemn chariot... But this is not the fate, and the fate of the writer, who dared to call out everything that is every minute before the eyes and which indifferent eyes do not see, all the terrible, stunning mud of little things, is different. entangled our lives, the whole depth of cold, fragmented, everyday characters... He will not receive popular applause, he will not experience the grateful tears and unanimous delight of the souls excited by him... His career is harsh and he will feel his loneliness bitterly.”
In accordance with the registered deeds of sale, Chichikov is the owner of four hundred dead souls. Chichikov reflects on who these peasants were during their lifetime. Going out into the street, he meets Manilov. Together they go to complete the deed of sale (Manilov’s list is elegantly designed: a border is drawn along the edge by his wife’s hand). In the office, Chichikov gives an official named Ivan Antonovich Kuvshinnoye Rylo a bribe to speed up the matter, but the bribe is given as if unnoticed: Ivan Antonovich covers the “piece of paper” with a book, and the banknote disappears. Sobakevich is sitting with the boss. Chichikov agrees to complete the deed of sale within one day, explaining the haste by saying that he urgently needs to leave. Chichikov gives the chairman Plyushkin’s letter, in which he asks him to be an attorney in his case, and the chairman readily agrees. Witnesses arrive, documents are drawn up, Chichikov pays only half of the fee to the treasury (“the other half was attributed in some incomprehensible way to the account of another petitioner”). After successfully completing the job, everyone goes to lunch with the police chief (according to rumors, the police chief only needs to blink when passing a fish row, and he is provided with a luxurious lunch and an abundance of fish delicacies). During lunch, Sobakevich eats a huge sturgeon alone. At the table, the tipsy and grown-up guests ask Chichikov to stay longer and decide to marry him. Chichikov himself is tipsy, assures those gathered that he is buying peasants to take to the Kherson province, where he has already acquired an estate, and he himself believes in everything he says. Having delivered the drunken owner home, Petrushka and Selifan also go for a walk to the tavern.
Chapter 8
City residents discuss Chichikov's purchases. Everyone, in their own way, offers him help for the safe delivery of the peasants to their place (convoy, education of the serfs, police captain to pacify a possible rebellion). A description of the city's inhabitants follows. “To the postmaster, whose name was Ivan Andreevich, they always added: “Sprechen zi deutsch, Ivan Andreich?” Many were not without education: the chairman of the chamber knew Zhukovsky’s “Lyudmila” by heart and masterfully read many passages, especially: “The boron has fallen asleep, the valley is sleeping,” and the word “Chu!”... For greater similarity, he even closed his eyes at that time. The postmaster was witty, flowery in words... And he equipped his speech with many different particles, such as “my sir, in some way, you know, you understand, you can imagine, relatively, so to speak, in some way.” "The others were also more or less enlightened people: some read Karamzin, some Moskovskie Vedomosti, some didn’t even read anything at all... As for plausibility, it is already known, they were all reliable people, there was no one consumptive among them."
“The ladies of the city of NN were what they call presentable... As for how to behave, maintain tone, maintain etiquette, many of the most subtle decencies, and especially observe fashion in the very last detail, then in this they were ahead of even the ladies of St. Petersburg and even Moscow... A calling card, whether it was written on a two of clubs or an ace of diamonds, was a very sacred thing... The ladies of the city of NN were distinguished by... extraordinary caution and decency in words and expressions. They never said: “I blew my nose,” “I sweated,” “I spat,” but they said: “I relieved my nose,” “I managed with a handkerchief.” In order to further refine the Russian language, almost half of the words were completely thrown out of the conversation, and therefore it was very often necessary to resort to the French language, but there, in French, it’s a different matter: there were words allowed that were much harsher than those mentioned.” The ladies of the city are delighted with Chichikov. One of them even sends him a cheesy love letter in a provincial way. Chichikov receives an invitation to the governor's ball. He spends an hour looking at himself in the mirror, taking various significant poses and facial expressions. At the ball, Chichikov finds himself in the center of attention, trying to determine which of the ladies wrote him a letter. The governor's wife introduces Chichikov to her daughter, a sixteen-year-old beautiful blonde whom Chichikov met when their chaises collided. Chichikov almost falls in love, but when talking to the girl, he only makes her bored (Chichikov is a respectable person, and his speech is very different from the speech of flighty military men who know how to captivate any lady with small talk). The rest of the ladies are outraged that Chichikov pays attention only to the blonde. Nozdryov appears. With his characteristic straightforwardness, he blabbed in front of the governor that Chichikov tried to buy dead souls from him. The ladies pick up the news, as if not believing it, since everyone knows Nozdryov’s scandalous reputation, but “no matter how stupid the words of a fool are, sometimes they are enough to confuse an intelligent person.” At night, Korobochka comes to the city and inquires about the prices of dead souls, fearing that she has sold too cheap.
Chapter 9
A visit from a “pleasant lady” to a “pleasant lady in all respects.” Since the first one is carrying the news she just heard, she can’t wait to quickly tell her friend, and the visit takes place earlier than the hour when visits usually begin in the city of NN. The guest says that Chichikov, disguised as a robber, demanded that Korobochka sell him dead peasants. The interlocutor decides that the dead souls are just a cover, an excuse, but in fact Chichikov wants to take away the governor’s daughter. The ladies discuss the girl's behavior and do not find her attractive in any way: she is too pale, wears makeup, behaves manneredly. The husband of “a lady pleasant in all respects” appears (prosecutor). The ladies vying with each other to inform him about Chichikov's trade deals, about his intention to take away the governor's daughter and completely confuse the prosecutor. Then the ladies spread this gossip around the city. The male half of the city's residents pay attention to the purchase of dead souls, the female half - to the abduction of the governor's daughter. The story acquires new details (Chichikov is a “millionaire”, he has a wife, the governor’s daughter had a secret relationship with Chichikov, etc.). They decide that Chichikov must have an accomplice, and suspicion falls on Nozdryov. Chichikov's story is retold with new details all over the city, including in houses where Chichikov has never been. Chichikov is credited with organizing a revolt of the peasants of the village of Borovka, who killed the assessor Drobyazhkin due to red tape for women and oppression of serfs. To top off the general turmoil, the governor receives two notices about a counterfeiter and an escaped robber with an order to detain both. The public suspects that one of those wanted is Chichikov. “They finally decided to have a final talk about this subject and decide at least what and how they should do, and what measures to take, and what exactly he is: is he the kind of person who needs to be detained and captured as ill-intentioned, or is he the kind of person , who can himself seize and detain them all as ill-intentioned.”
Chapter 10
All city officials are concerned about the situation with Chichikov, many are even losing weight from grief. They gather for a meeting with the police chief. A lyrical digression follows about the peculiarities of holding meetings or charity gatherings. “The goal will be wonderful, but for all that nothing will come of it... For example, having started some charitable society for the poor and donated significant sums, we immediately, in commemoration of such a commendable act, give a dinner to all the first dignitaries of the city, of course, half of all donated amounts; for the rest, a magnificent apartment is immediately rented for the committee, with heating and watchmen, and then the entire amount remains for the poor, five rubles and a half, and even here in the distribution of this amount not all members agree with each other, and everyone shoves in some of their own godfather." The postmaster decides that Chichikov is Captain Kopeikin in disguise, a hero of the War of 1812, an invalid without an arm and a leg. Kopeikin, who returned from the front, is refused help by his father, and the captain goes to St. Petersburg to the sovereign to seek the truth. The Tsar is not in the capital, and Captain Kopeikin goes to the nobleman, the head of the commission. Waits for a long time in the reception area. The general promises to help and asks to come over one of these days. At the next audience, the nobleman assures that he cannot do anything for the captain: he needs special permission from the king. Captain Kopeikin is running out of money. The doorman no longer allows him to see the general. Captain Kopeikin is starving and suffers many hardships. He breaks through to see the general and explains that he can’t wait any longer. The general rudely sends him away and then expels him from St. Petersburg at public expense. After some time, a gang of robbers led by Captain Kopeikin appears in the Ryazan forests.
The remaining officials nevertheless decide that the postmaster has gone too far and Chichikov is most likely not Captain Kopeikin, because his arm and leg are intact. There is an assumption that Chichikov is Napoleon in disguise, while the obvious difference in height between Chichikov and the French emperor does not bother those gathered at all. They decide to question Nozdryov again, despite the fact that he is a well-known liar. Nozdryov assures that he sold Chichikov dead souls worth several thousand rubles, that he studied with Chichikov at school and even then Chichikov was a spy and a counterfeiter, that Chichikov was really going to take away the governor’s daughter, and Nozdryov helped him, and goes into such detail that and he himself understands that he has gone too far.
Having frightened himself with insoluble problems, the prosecutor dies out of nowhere. Chichikov himself knows nothing about what is happening (he is sick, has a flux). Leaving home three days later, Chichikov discovers that he is not received anywhere or is received in some strange way. Nozdryov comes to him and tells him that in the city Chichikov is considered a counterfeiter who was going to kidnap the governor’s daughter. Nozdryov informs Chichikov that the prosecutor died through his fault. After Nozdryov leaves, Chichikov orders things to be packed.
Chapter 11
In the morning, Chichikov cannot leave the city (he overslept, the chaise was not laid, the horses were not shod). He leaves only in the evening, on the way he meets a funeral procession (the funeral of a prosecutor), all the officials follow the coffin, and everyone thinks about the new governor-general and their future relationship with him. The chaise leaves the city. A lyrical digression about Russia follows.
"Rus! Rus! I see you, from my wonderful, beautiful distance I see you: poor, scattered and uncomfortable in you; The daring divas of nature, crowned by the daring divas of art, will not amuse or frighten the eyes... Everything in you is open, deserted and even; like dots, like icons, your low cities stick out inconspicuously among the plains; nothing will seduce or enchant the eye. But what incomprehensible, secret force attracts you? Why is your melancholy song, rushing along your entire length and width, from sea to sea, heard and heard incessantly in your ears? What's in it, in this song? What calls and cries and grabs your heart? What sounds painfully kiss and strive into the soul and curl around my heart? Rus! what do you want from me? what incomprehensible connection is hidden between us?... What does this vast expanse prophesy? Isn’t it here, in you, that a boundless thought will be born, when you yourself are endless? Shouldn't a hero be here when there is a place for him to turn around and pass? and a mighty space envelops me menacingly, reflecting with terrible force in my depths; My eyes lit up with unnatural power: oh! what a sparkling, wonderful, unknown distance to the earth! Rus!.."
The author's discussion follows about the hero of the literary work (this is not a virtuous person) and about the origin of Chichikov. Chichikov's parents were nobles, their son does not look like them, “life looked at him... sourly and unpleasantly.” Pavlusha’s father took Pavlusha to the city to go to school with an old relative. The father's instructions boiled down to the fact that the boy should please his teachers and superiors, hang out only with rich friends, not share with anyone, but behave in such a way that he would be treated, and most of all, save a penny. Chichikov was never known to have any special abilities, but the boy had a “practical mind”, saved his own money, sold the treats offered to him, showed him a trained mouse for money, curried favor with teachers and as a result received a certificate with golden letters. Towards the end of school, Chichikov's father dies, his son sells the dilapidated house and enters the service. He betrays the teacher who was expelled from school, whom all his former comrades helped and who really counted on the support of his favorite student Chichikov. Chichikov serves, pleasing his boss in everything, takes care of his ugly daughter, hints that he would not mind getting married, seeks promotion and does not marry. He is a member of the commission for the construction of a government building, for which a lot of money has been allocated, but the building is being built “no higher than the foundation” (Chichikov’s austerity and abstinence have ended). The new boss, a military man, hated Chichikov at first sight, and the latter was forced to start his career from scratch. Chichikov enters the customs service, since from this place he can fuck a lot. Chichikov reveals a talent for searches and inspections. Chichikov is promoted, and he presents a project to capture smugglers. At this time he himself conspires with smugglers and receives a lot of money (400-500 thousand). He quarrels with the friend with whom he shared, and they are brought to justice. The resourceful Chichikov manages to save some of the money and starts all over again as an attorney. There he is struck by the idea of buying and reselling dead souls (he is going to put them in the bank under the guise of living ones, and having received a loan as collateral, he will hide).
Thinking about how readers will react to his hero, the author cites the parable of Kif Mokievich and Mokiya Kifovich, father and son. The existence of the father is turned into a speculative direction (a sample of reflection: “a beast is not born from an egg”), and the son is rowdy. In response to requests to appease his son, Kifa Mokievich does not want to interfere in anything, “if he remains a dog, then let them not find out about it from me, let it not be me who gave him away.”
At the end of the poem, the chaise is moving quickly along the road, the horses are rushing at full speed. “And what Russian doesn’t like driving fast?”
“Oh, three! bird-three, who invented you? You know, you could only have been born among a lively people, in that land that does not like to joke, but has spread out smoothly across half the world, and go ahead and count the miles until it hits your eyes. And not a cunning, it seems, road projectile, not grabbed by an iron screw, but hastily equipped and assembled alive by an efficient Yaroslavl man with only an ax and a chisel. The driver is not wearing German boots: he has a beard and mittens, and sits on God knows what; and he stood up and swung, and began to sing - the horses were like a whirlwind, the spokes in the wheels mixed into one smooth circle, only the road trembled, and a pedestrian who stopped screamed in fear - there it rushed, rushed, rushed!.. And you can already see in the distance how that It’s dusty and drills into the air.
Is it not so for you, Rus', that you are rushing along like a brisk, unstoppable troika? The road beneath you smokes, the bridges rattle, everything falls behind and is left behind. The contemplator, amazed by God's miracle, stopped: was this lightning thrown from the sky? What does this terrifying movement mean? and what kind of unknown power is contained in these horses, unknown to the light? Oh, horses, horses, what kind of horses! Are there whirlwinds in your manes? Is there a sensitive ear burning in every vein of yours? They heard a familiar song from above, together and at once tensed their copper chests and, almost without touching the ground with their hooves, turned into just elongated lines flying through the air, and all inspired by God rushes!.. Rus', where are you rushing? Give an answer. Doesn't give an answer. The bell rings with a wonderful ringing; The air, torn into pieces, thunders and becomes the wind; everything that is on earth flies past, and, looking askance, other peoples and states step aside and give way to it.
Systematized summary of the poem “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol should start with the fact that this is the work of the famous Ukrainian writer N.V. Gogol, which the author himself called a poem. It was conceived in the form of three volumes, but the author almost completely destroyed the second volume, refuting the saying “manuscripts do not burn.” Thus, only a couple of chapters in rough notes survive from the second volume. The third volume was only in Gogol’s plans and there is extremely little information about it. Here is a summary of Gogol - “Dead Souls”.
The plot of the first volume
A former official, now a schemer posing as a landowner, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, comes to the provincial town of N. Chichikov's first task is to gain the trust of local high-ranking residents. And the fraudster deftly copes with this task. Pavel Ivanovich quickly becomes a welcome guest at dinner parties and balls, gaining the trust of others. Chichikov’s main goal is to buy up “dead souls,” that is, dead peasants who, according to papers, are still listed as living people, and re-register them as living people. For what? It's simple. Then the “peasants” can be remortgaged and get good money. Why is this for Chichikov, an intelligent and resourceful person? The fact is that the main character has a dream: to become rich. He once served in customs, where he went broke, giving smugglers the opportunity to transport goods for money. Chichikov quarreled with an accomplice and he handed him over to the authorities. To avoid going to jail, he escapes, taking with him a couple of papers, shirts, and soap. He was unable to withdraw money from his bank account. However, like any big but fragile business, Chichikov’s scam could not tolerate unaccounted for little things. The gossip and rake landowner Nozdryov stood in the way of the swindler. The reveler hastened to tell the whole city of N about Chichikov’s affairs, and at the same time he dragged into everything the kidnapping of the governor’s daughter himself. Pavel Ivanovich instantly got his bearings and left the hospitable city, taking the purchased bills of sale with him. Gogol did not begin to summarize at the end of the first part. Instead, he turns to the reader with a philosophical question: “Isn’t he a scoundrel?” Accordingly, each reader gets the opportunity to think for a moment about his own soul, because Chichikov’s qualities are found in many.
Some heroes of Gogol's "Dead Souls"
It is better not to get to know the personalities described in this book in absentia. The author was able to do the impossible: he breathed life into However, a summary of Gogol’s “Dead Souls” cannot do without the characteristics of some of the characters. Since every person is made by his surroundings, let’s take another look at Chichikov and his retinue.
Chichikov Pavel Ivanovich. In addition to the details described above, one can note his dapper style and ability to look good even during a long journey. Selifan is Chichikov's short, rude coachman. A connoisseur of the characters of horses and a connoisseur of thoroughbred, tall girls. Petrushka is Chichikov’s big-nosed and big-lipped lackey, a lover of wine and tavern fun. He does not like to wash himself and smells of the aromas of an unwashed body in worn clothes from a master's shoulder. Braggart.
Let’s include in our summary of Gogol’s “Dead Souls” and the residents of the city N, because it was they who helped the author force Chichikov to demonstrate all his talents. The governor, the governor's wife and their daughter; lieutenant governor; chief of police; chairman of the chamber; prosecutor; postmaster; the landowner couple Manilovs with their sons Themistoclus and Alcides; Korobochka Nastasya Petrovna; landowner Nozdryov; landowner Mizhuev; the Sobakevich couple; landowner Stepan Plyushkin; uncles Mityai and Minyai; a pleasant lady in all respects and just a pleasant lady.
Some details of the second volume
The summary of Gogol's “Dead Souls” becomes even shorter in the second volume. The reason is the fragmentary information and drafts remaining after the author destroyed the manuscript. The optimal solution is to sketch the second volume with selected individuals. Tentetnikov Andrei Ivanovich, or otherwise Derpennikov, is a kind of prototype of Oblomov: he wakes up slowly and walks around in a dressing gown, rarely receives guests and rarely leaves the house. The character is strange. pushes into enmity with almost everyone around. Well-read, educated, ambitious. At one time he served in the capital, but after quarreling with his boss, he returned to the estate, where he tried to change the lives of his own peasants. They, however, did not understand him. Sometimes he draws and tries to write scientific work.
Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. The years have not changed the rogue; rather, they have strengthened his talents to ingratiate himself and communicate pleasantly on any topic. He did not abandon speculation with “dead souls,” but at this time most landowners were remortgaging their papers, so Chichikov was left with no destiny. He bought an estate, and at the end of the second part he was caught cheating, for which he almost ended up in prison. In the course of the poem, he does a good deed: he reconciles Tentetnikov and Betrishchev, which facilitates the wedding of the former with the general’s daughter.
Betrishchev. Landowner, general, neighbor of Tentetnikov. A kind of Roman patrician: mustachioed, important and stately. Petty tyrant. He has a kind heart and a habit of making fun of others.
Ulinka. The same daughter of the general, who became Tentetnikov’s wife during the course of the poem. Lively, active, noble and very beautiful. Although little is known about the girl’s character, Gogol’s affection for her is noticeable, and she became the heroine of the third volume, which says a lot. And many others.
I could go on, but why? The main points have already been described. We can only recommend reading the entire poem written by N.V. Gogol. “Dead Souls,” a summary of which was presented in the article, does not contain a description of the third volume, since it was not written, so we can only speculate. There is information that Tentetnikov and his wife end up in Siberia, most likely into exile. Chichikov also finds himself in the same area. Everything else is rumors and lies with little basis in real facts.
VOLUME ONE
The proposed history, as will become clear from what follows, took place somewhat shortly after the “glorious expulsion of the French.” A collegiate adviser arrives in the provincial town of NN Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov(he is neither old nor too young, neither fat nor thin, rather pleasant and somewhat round in appearance) and checks into a hotel. He makes a lot of questions to the tavern servant - both regarding the owner and income of the tavern, and also exposing his thoroughness: about city officials, the most significant landowners, asks about the state of the region and whether there were “any diseases in their province, epidemic fevers” and other similar things misfortunes.
Having gone on a visit, the visitor reveals extraordinary activity (having visited everyone, from the governor to the inspector of the medical board) and courtesy, for he knows how to say something nice to everyone. He speaks somewhat vaguely about himself (that he “has experienced a lot in his life, endured in the service for the truth, had many enemies who even attempted on his life,” and is now looking for a place to live). At the governor's house party, he manages to gain everyone's favor and, among other things, make acquaintance with the landowners Manilov and Sobakevich. In the following days, he dines with the police chief (where he meets the landowner Nozdryov), visits the chairman of the chamber and the vice-governor, the tax farmer and the prosecutor, and goes to Manilov’s estate (which, however, is preceded by a fair author’s digression, where, justifying himself with a love of thoroughness, the author attests in detail to Petrushka, the newcomer’s servant: his passion for “the process of reading itself” and the ability to carry with him a special smell, “resembling a somewhat residential peace”).
Having traveled, contrary to the promise, not fifteen, but all thirty miles, Chichikov ends up in Manilovka, in the arms of a kind owner. House Manilova, standing on the south, surrounded by several scattered English flower beds and a gazebo with the inscription “Temple of Solitary Reflection,” could characterize the owner, who was “neither this nor that,” not burdened by any passions, only overly cloying. After Manilov’s confession that Chichikov’s visit is “a May day, the name day of the heart,” and dinner in the company of the hostess and two sons, Themistoclus and Alcides, Chichikov discovers the reason for his visit: he would like to acquire peasants who have died, but have not yet been declared as such in the audit certificate, registering everything in a legal manner, as if for the living (“the law - I am dumb before the law”). The first fear and bewilderment are replaced by the perfect disposition of the kind owner, and, having completed the deal, Chichikov leaves for Sobakevich, and Manilov indulges in dreams about Chichikov’s life in the neighborhood across the river, about the construction of a bridge, about a house with such a gazebo that Moscow can be seen from there, and about their friendship, if the sovereign had known about it, he would have granted them generals. Chichikov's coachman Selifan, much favored by Manilov's servants, in conversations with his horses misses the necessary turn and, with the sound of a downpour, knocks the master over into the mud. In the darkness they find accommodation for the night with Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka, a somewhat timid landowner, with whom Chichikov also begins to trade in the morning dead souls. Having explained that he himself would now begin to pay the tax 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 was especially struck by Disrespect -Trough) and, having eaten unleavened egg pie, pancakes, pies and other things, departs, leaving the hostess in great concern as to whether she has sold too cheap.
Having reached the main road to the tavern, Chichikov stops to have a snack; the author provides a lengthy discussion about the properties of the appetite of middle-class gentlemen. Here Nozdryov meets him, returning from the fair in the chaise of his son-in-law Mizhuev, for he had lost everything on his horses and even his watch chain. Describing the delights of the fair, the drinking qualities of the dragoon officers, a certain Kuvshinnikov, a big fan of “taking advantage of strawberries” and, finally, presenting a puppy, “a real little face,” Nozdryov takes Chichikov (thinking of making money here too) to his home, taking his reluctant son-in-law as well. Having described Nozdryov, “in some respects a historical man” (for everywhere he went, there was history), his possessions, the unpretentiousness of the dinner with an abundance of, however, drinks of dubious quality, the author sends his dazed son-in-law to his wife (Nozdryov admonishes him with abuse and words “fetyuk”), and Chichikov is forced to turn to his subject; but he fails to either beg or buy a soul: Nozdryov offers to exchange them, take them in addition to the stallion, or make them a bet in a card game, finally scolds, quarrels, and they part for the night. In the morning, the persuasion resumes, and, having agreed to play checkers, Chichikov notices that Nozdryov is shamelessly cheating. Chichikov, whom the owner and the mongrels are already attempting to beat, manages to escape due to 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 come running to separate the tangled horses, Chichikov admires the sixteen-year-old young lady, indulges in speculation about her and dreams of family life. A visit to Sobakevich in his strong estate, like himself, 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 married to the guest of interest deal. Not at all frightened by the strangeness of the object, Sobakevich bargains, characterizes the advantageous qualities of each serf, provides Chichikov with a detailed list and forces him to give a deposit.
Path Chichikova to the neighboring landowner Plyushkin, mentioned by Sobakevich, is interrupted by a conversation with a man who gave Plyushkin an apt, but not very printed nickname, and the author’s lyrical reflection on his former love for unfamiliar places and the indifference that has now appeared. Chichikov at first takes Plyushkin, this “hole in humanity,” 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 pile piled up in the master's chambers. Having shown the profitability of his proposal (namely, that he will bear the taxes for the dead and runaway peasants), Chichikov is fully successful in his enterprise and, having refused tea and crackers, equipped with a letter to the chairman of the chamber, departs in the most cheerful mood.
While Chichikov sleeps in the hotel, the author sadly reflects on the baseness of the objects he paints. Meanwhile, a satisfied Chichikov, having woken up, composes merchant fortresses, studies the lists of acquired peasants, reflects on their expected fates and finally goes to the civil chamber in order to quickly conclude the deal. Met at the hotel gate, Manilov accompanies him. Then follows a description of the official place, Chichikov’s first ordeals and a bribe to a certain jug snout, until he enters the chairman’s apartment, where, by the way, he 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 the conclusion and to the Kherson province, having discussed the properties of the sold men (here the chairman remembered that the coachman Mikheev seemed to have died, but Sobakevich assured that he was still alive and “became healthier than before”), they finished with champagne and went to the police chief, “father and to a benefactor 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 create a sensation in the city, rumors spread that he is a millionaire. The ladies are crazy about him. Several times approaching to describe the ladies, the author becomes timid and retreats. On the eve of the ball, Chichikov even receives a love letter from the governor, although unsigned. Having, as usual, spent a lot of time on the toilet and being satisfied 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, for she is accompanied by her daughter (“Institute, just released”), 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 others. To top off the troubles, Nozdryov appears and loudly asks how many dead people Chichikov has traded. And although Nozdryov is obviously drunk and the embarrassed society is gradually distracted, Chichikov is not given either whist or the subsequent dinner, and he leaves upset.
About this time, a carriage enters the city with the landowner Korobochka, whose growing anxiety forced her to come in order to find out what the price was. dead Souls. The next morning, this news becomes the property of a certain pleasant lady, and she rushes to tell it to another, pleasant in all respects, the story acquires amazing details (Chichikov, armed to the teeth, bursts into Korobochka in the dead of midnight, demands the souls that have died, instills terrible fear - “ the whole village came running, the children were crying, everyone was screaming"). Her friend concludes that dead Souls It’s just a cover, and Chichikov wants to take away the governor’s daughter. Having discussed the details of this enterprise, Nozdryov’s undoubted participation in it and the qualities of the governor’s daughter, both ladies let the prosecutor know everything and set off to riot the city.
In a short time, the city is seething, adding news about the appointment of a new governor-general, as well as information about the papers received: about a counterfeit banknote maker who showed up in the province, and about a robber who fled from legal prosecution. Trying to understand who Chichikov was, they remember that he was certified very vaguely and even spoke about those who attempted to kill him. The postmaster's statement that Chichikov, in his opinion, is Captain Kopeikin, who took up arms against the injustices of the world and became a robber, is rejected, since from the postmaster's entertaining story it follows that the captain is missing an arm and a leg, but Chichikov is intact. The assumption arises whether Chichikov is Napoleon in disguise, and many begin to find a certain resemblance, especially in profile. Questions of Korobochka, Manilov and Sobakevich do not produce results, and Nozdryov only increases the confusion by declaring that Chichikov is definitely a spy, a maker of false 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 right down to the name the priest who took up the wedding). All this talk has an enormous effect on the prosecutor; he suffers a blow and dies.
Chichikov himself, sitting in a hotel with a slight cold, is surprised that none of the officials are visiting him. Having finally gone on a visit, he discovers that the governor does not receive him, and in other places they fearfully shun him. Nozdryov, having visited him at the hotel, amid the general noise he made, partly clarifies the situation, announcing that he agrees to facilitate the kidnapping of the governor’s daughter. The next day, Chichikov hurriedly leaves, but is stopped by the funeral procession and forced to contemplate the whole world of officialdom flowing behind the coffin of the prosecutor. The brichka leaves the city, and the opened spaces on both sides bring to the author sad and joyful thoughts about Russia, the road, and then only sad ones about his chosen hero. Having concluded that it is time to give the virtuous hero a rest, but, on the contrary, to hide the scoundrel, the author sets out the life story of Pavel Ivanovich, his childhood, training in classes, where he had already shown a practical mind, his relationships with his comrades and the teacher, his later service in the government chamber, some 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 integrity almost unnatural, he made a lot of money in an agreement with smugglers, he went bankrupt, but dodged a criminal trial, although he was forced to resign. He became an attorney and, during the troubles of pledging the peasants, he formed a plan in his head, began to travel around the expanses of Rus', so that, having bought dead souls and deposited them in the treasury as living ones, he would receive money, perhaps buy a village and provide for 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, by the similarity of the flying troika with rushing Russia and ends the first volume with the ringing of a bell.
VOLUME TWO
It opens with a description of the nature that makes up the estate of Andrei Ivanovich Tentetnikov, whom the author calls “the smoker of the sky.” The story of the stupidity of his pastime is followed by the story of a life inspired by hopes at the very beginning, overshadowed by the pettiness of his service and troubles later; he retires, intending to improve the estate, reads books, takes care of the man, but without experience, sometimes just human, this does not give the expected results, the man is idle, Tentetnikov gives up. He breaks off acquaintances with his neighbors, offended by General Betrishchev’s address, and stops visiting him, although he cannot forget his daughter Ulinka. In a word, without someone who would tell him an invigorating “go ahead!”, he completely turns sour.
Chichikov comes to him, apologizing for a breakdown in the carriage, curiosity and a desire to pay respects. Having won the favor of the owner with his amazing ability to adapt to anyone, Chichikov, having lived with him for a while, goes to the general, to whom he weaves a story about a quarrelsome uncle and, as usual, begs for the dead. The poem fails at the laughing general, and we find Chichikov heading to Colonel Koshkarev. Contrary to expectations, he ends up with Pyotr Petrovich Rooster, whom he finds at first completely naked, keen on hunting sturgeon. At Rooster's, not having anything to get hold of, for the estate is mortgaged, he only overeats terribly, meets the bored landowner Platonov and, having encouraged him to travel together across Rus', goes to Konstantin Fedorovich Kostanzhoglo, married to Platonov's sister. He talks about the methods of management with which he increased the income from the estate tenfold, and Chichikov is terribly inspired.
Very quickly he visits Colonel Koshkarev, who has divided his village into committees, expeditions and departments and has organized a perfect paper production in the mortgaged estate, as it turns out. Having returned, he listens to the curses of the bilious Kostanzhoglo against the factories and manufactories that corrupt the peasant, the peasant’s absurd desire to educate, and his neighbor Khlobuev, who has neglected a sizable estate and is now selling it for next to nothing. Having experienced tenderness and even a craving for honest work, having listened to the story of the tax farmer Murazov, who made forty million in an impeccable way, Chichikov the next day, accompanied by Kostanzhoglo and Platonov, goes to Khlobuev, observes the unrest and dissipation of his household in the neighborhood of a governess for children, dressed in fashion wife and other traces of absurd luxury. Having borrowed money from Kostanzhoglo and Platonov, he gives a deposit for the estate, intending to buy it, and goes to Platonov’s estate, where he meets his brother Vasily, who efficiently manages the estate. Then he suddenly appears at their neighbor Lenitsyn, clearly a rogue, wins his sympathy with his ability to skillfully tickle a child and receives dead souls.
After many seizures in the manuscript, Chichikov is found already in the city at a fair, where he buys fabric that is so dear to him, the lingonberry color with a sparkle. He runs into Khlobuev, whom, apparently, he spoiled, either depriving him, or almost depriving him of his inheritance through some kind of forgery. Khlobuev, who let him go, is taken away by Murazov, who convinces Khlobuev of the need to work and orders him to collect funds for the church. Meanwhile, denunciations against Chichikov are discovered both about the forgery and about dead souls. The tailor brings a new tailcoat. Suddenly a gendarme appears, dragging the smartly dressed Chichikov to the Governor-General, “angry as anger itself.” Here all his atrocities become clear, and he, kissing the general’s boot, is thrown into prison. In a dark closet, Murazov finds Chichikov, tearing his hair and tails of his coat, mourning the loss of a box of papers, with simple virtuous words awakens in him a desire to live honestly and sets off to soften the Governor-General. At that time, officials who want to spoil their wise superiors and get a bribe from Chichikov, deliver a box to him, kidnap an important witness and write many denunciations in order to completely confuse the matter. Unrest breaks out in the province itself, greatly worrying the Governor-General. However, Murazov knows how to feel the sensitive strings of his soul and give him the right advice, which the Governor-General, having released Chichikov, is about to use when “the manuscript breaks off.”
Chapter first
“A rather beautiful small spring britzka, in which bachelors ride, drove into the gates of the hotel in the provincial town of NN.” In the chaise sat a gentleman of pleasant appearance, not too fat, but not too thin, not handsome, but not bad-looking, you couldn’t say that he was old, but he wasn’t too young either. The chaise pulled up to the hotel. It was a very long two-story building with the lower floor unplastered and the upper floor painted in perpetual yellow paint. There were benches downstairs; in one of the windows there was a beater with a samovar made of red copper. The guest was greeted and taken to show his “peace”, usual for hotels of this kind, “where for two rubles a day travelers get... a room with cockroaches peeking out from everywhere, like prunes...” Following the master, his servants appear - coachman Selifan , a short man in a sheepskin coat, and the footman Petrushka, a young man of about thirty, with somewhat large lips and nose.
During dinner, the guest asks the inn servant various questions, starting with who previously owned this inn, and whether the new owner is a big scammer, and ending with other details. He asked the servant in detail about who was the chairman of the chamber in the city, who was the prosecutor, did not miss a single more or less significant person, and was also interested in the local landowners. Questions regarding the state of affairs in the region did not escape the attention of the visitor: were there any diseases, epidemics or other disasters? After dinner, the gentleman, at the request of the tavern servant, wrote his name and rank on a piece of paper to notify the police: “Collegiate Councilor Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov.” Pavel Ivanovich himself went to inspect the provincial town and was satisfied, since it was in no way inferior to other provincial towns. The same establishments as everywhere else, the same shops, the same park with thin trees that are still poorly established, but about which the local newspaper wrote that “our city has been decorated with a garden of branchy trees.” Chichikov questioned the guard in detail about the best way to get to the cathedral, to government offices, and to the governor. Then he returned to his hotel room and, having had dinner, went to bed.
The next day, Pavel Ivanovich went to pay visits to city officials: the governor, vice-governor, chairman of the chamber, police chief and other authorities. He even paid a visit to the inspector of the medical board and the city architect. I thought for a long time about who else I could pay my respects to, but there were no more significant people left in the city. And everywhere Chichikov behaved very skillfully, he was able to very subtly flatter everyone, which resulted in an invitation from each official for a shorter acquaintance at home. The collegiate adviser avoided talking much about himself and was content with general phrases.
Chapter two
After spending more than a week in the city, Pavel Ivanovich finally decided to pay visits to Manilov and Sobakevich. As soon as Chichikov left the city, accompanied by Selifan and Petrushka, the usual picture appeared: bumps, bad roads, burnt pine trunks, village houses covered with gray roofs, yawning men, women with fat faces, and so on.
Manilov, inviting Chichikov to his place, told him that his village was located fifteen miles from the city, but the sixteenth mile had already passed, and there was no village. Pavel Ivanovich was a smart man, and he remembered that if you are invited to a house fifteen miles away, it means you will have to travel all thirty.
But here is the village of Manilovka. She could lure few guests to her place. The master's house stood on the south, open to all winds; the hill on which he stood was covered with turf. Two or three flower beds with acacia, five or six sparse birch trees, a wooden gazebo and a pond completed this picture. Chichikov began to count and counted more than two hundred peasant huts. The owner had been standing on the porch of the manor house for a long time and, putting his hand to his eyes, tried to make out a man approaching in a carriage. As the chaise approached, Manilov’s face changed: his eyes became more and more cheerful, and his smile became wider. He was very happy to see Chichikov and took him to his place.
What kind of person was Manilov? It is quite difficult to characterize it. He was, as they say, neither this nor that - neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan. Manilov was a pleasant person, but this pleasantness was laced with too much sugar. When the conversation with him just began, at the first moment the interlocutor thought: “What a pleasant and kind person!”, but after a minute I wanted to say: “The devil knows what it is!” Manilov did not take care of the house, nor did he manage the farm; he never even went to the fields. Mostly he thought and reflected. About what? - no one knows. When the clerk came to him with proposals for managing the household, saying that this and that should be done, Manilov usually answered: “Yes, not bad.” If a man came to the master and asked to leave in order to earn rent, then Manilov would immediately let him go. It didn’t even occur to him that the man was going out to drink. Sometimes he came up with different projects, for example, he dreamed of building a stone bridge across a pond, on which there would be shops, merchants sitting in the shops and selling various goods. He had beautiful furniture in his house, but two armchairs were not upholstered in silk, and the owner had been telling guests for two years that they were not finished. In one room there was no furniture at all. On the table next to the dandy one stood a lame and greasy candlestick, but no one noticed this. Manilov was very pleased with his wife, because she was a match for him. During their rather long life together, the spouses did nothing but press long kisses on each other. A sensible guest might have many questions: why is the pantry empty and why is there so much cooking in the kitchen? Why does the housekeeper steal, and the servants are always drunk and unclean? Why does the mongrel sleep or openly idle? But these are all questions of a low nature, and the mistress of the house is well brought up and will never stoop to them. Over dinner, Manilov and the guest said compliments to each other, as well as various pleasant things about city officials. Manilov's children, Alcides and Themistoclus, demonstrated their knowledge of geography.
After lunch there was a conversation directly about the matter. Pavel Ivanovich informs Manilov that he wants to buy souls from him, which, according to the latest revision tale, are listed as living, but in fact have long since died. Manilov is at a loss, but Chichikov manages to persuade him to make a deal. Since the owner is a person trying to be pleasant, he takes upon himself the execution of the deed of sale. To register the deed of sale, Chichikov and Manilov agree to meet in the city, and Pavel Ivanovich finally leaves this house. Manilov sits in a chair and, smoking a pipe, ponders the events of today, rejoicing that fate brought him together with such a pleasant person. But Chichikov’s strange request to sell him dead souls interrupted his previous dreams. Thoughts about this request could not be digested in his head, and so he sat on the porch for a long time and smoked his pipe until dinner.
Chapter Three
Chichikov, meanwhile, was driving along the main road, hoping that Selifan would soon bring him to Sobakevich’s estate. Selifan was drunk and, therefore, did not watch the road. The first drops dripped from the sky, and soon a real long torrential rain began to fall. Chichikov's britzka completely lost its way, it got dark, and it was no longer clear what to do, when a dog was heard barking. Soon Selifan was already knocking on the gate of the house of a certain landowner, who allowed them to spend the night.
The inside of the rooms of the landowner's house were covered with old wallpaper, paintings with some birds and huge mirrors hung on the walls. Behind each such mirror was tucked either an old deck of cards, or a stocking, or a letter. The owner turned out to be an elderly woman, one of those landowner mothers who always cry about crop failures and lack of money, while they themselves little by little save money in little bundles and bags.
Chichikov stays overnight. Waking up, he looks through the window at the landowner’s farm and the village in which he finds himself. The window overlooks the chicken coop and fence. Behind the fence are spacious beds with vegetables. All the plantings in the garden are well thought out, here and there several apple trees grow to protect them from birds, and from them there are scarecrows with outstretched arms; one of these scarecrows was wearing the cap of the owner herself. The appearance of peasant houses showed the "contentment of their inhabitants." The fence on the roofs was new everywhere, no rickety gates were visible anywhere, and here and there Chichikov saw a new spare cart standing.
Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka (that was the name of the landowner) invited him to have breakfast. Chichikov behaved much more freely in conversation with her. He stated his request regarding the purchase of dead souls, but soon regretted it, since his request caused bewilderment of the hostess. Then Korobochka began to offer hemp, flax, and other things, even bird feathers, in addition to the dead souls. Finally, an agreement was reached, but the old woman was always afraid that she had sold herself short. For her, dead souls turned out to be the same commodity as everything produced on the farm. Then Chichikov was fed pies, crumpets and shanezhki, and a promise was made from him to also buy lard and bird feathers in the fall. Pavel Ivanovich hurried to leave this house - Nastasya Petrovna was very difficult in conversation. The landowner gave him a girl to accompany him, and she showed him how to get onto the main road. Having let the girl go, Chichikov decided to stop at a tavern that stood on the way.
Chapter Four
Just like the hotel, it was a regular tavern for all county roads. The traveler was served traditional pig with horseradish, and, as usual, the guest asked the hostess about everything in the world - from how long she had been running the tavern to questions about the condition of the landowners living nearby. During the conversation with the hostess, the sound of the wheels of an approaching carriage was heard. Two men came out of it: blond, tall, and shorter than him, dark-haired. First, the blond man appeared in the tavern, followed by his companion who entered, taking off his cap. He was a young man of average height, very well built, with full rosy cheeks, teeth as white as snow, jet-black sideburns, and as fresh as blood and milk. Chichikov recognized him as his new acquaintance Nozdryov.
The type of this person is probably known to everyone. People of this kind are considered good friends at school, but at the same time they often get beaten. Their face is clean, open, and before you have time to get to know each other, after a while they say “you” to you. They will make friends seemingly forever, but it happens that after a while they fight with a new friend at a party. They are always talkers, revelers, reckless drivers and, at the same time, desperate liars.
By the age of thirty, life had not changed Nozdryov at all; he remained the same as he was at eighteen and twenty years old. His marriage did not affect him in any way, especially since his wife soon went to the next world, leaving her husband with two children who he did not need at all. Nozdryov had a passion for playing cards, but, being dishonest and dishonest in the game, he often brought his partners to assault, leaving two sideburns with only one, liquid. However, after a while he met people who pestered him as if nothing had happened. And his friends, oddly enough, also behaved as if nothing had happened. Nozdryov was a historical man, i.e. he always and everywhere ended up in stories. There was no way you could get along with him on short terms, much less open your soul - he would spoil it, and invent such a tall tale about the person who trusted him that it would be difficult to prove otherwise. After some time, he would take this same person by the buttonhole in a friendly manner when they met and say: “You’re such a scoundrel, you’ll never come to see me.” Another passion of Nozdryov was barter - its subject was anything, from a horse to the smallest things. Nozdryov invites Chichikov to his village, and he agrees. While waiting for lunch, Nozdryov, accompanied by his son-in-law, gives his guest a tour of the village, while boasting to everyone right and left. His extraordinary stallion, for which he supposedly paid ten thousand, is in fact not worth even a thousand, the field that ends his domain turns out to be a swamp, and for some reason the Turkish dagger, which the guests are examining while waiting for dinner, has the inscription “Master Savely Sibiryakov.” Lunch leaves much to be desired - some things were not cooked, and some were burnt. The cook, apparently, was guided by inspiration and put in the first thing that came to hand. There was nothing to say about the wine - the mountain ash smelled like fusel, and the Madeira turned out to be diluted with rum.
After lunch, Chichikov nevertheless decided to present his request to Nozdryov regarding the purchase of dead souls. It ended with Chichikov and Nozdryov completely quarreling, after which the guest went to bed. He slept disgustingly, waking up and meeting his owner the next morning was just as unpleasant. Chichikov was already scolding himself for trusting Nozdryov. Now Pavel Ivanovich was offered to play checkers for dead souls: if he won, Chichikov would get the souls for free. The game of checkers was accompanied by Nozdryov's cheating and almost ended in a fight. Fate saved Chichikov from such a turn of events - a police captain came to Nozdryov to inform the brawler that he was on trial until the end of the investigation, because he had insulted the landowner Maximov while drunk. Chichikov, without waiting for the end of the conversation, ran out onto the porch and ordered Selifan to drive the horses at full speed.
Chapter Five
Thinking about everything that had happened, Chichikov rode in his carriage along the road. A collision with another stroller shook him up somewhat - a lovely young girl was sitting in it with an elderly woman accompanying her. After they parted, Chichikov thought for a long time about the stranger he had met. Finally the village of Sobakevich appeared. The traveler's thoughts turned to his constant subject.
The village was quite large, it was surrounded by two forests: pine and birch. In the middle one could see the manor's house: wooden, with a mezzanine, a red roof and gray, one might even say wild, walls. It was evident that during its construction the taste of the architect was constantly in conflict with the taste of the owner. The architect wanted beauty and symmetry, and the owner wanted convenience. The windows on one side were boarded up, and one window was checked in their place, apparently needed for a closet. The pediment was not in the middle of the house, since the owner ordered one column to be removed, of which there were not four, but three. The owner’s concerns about the strength of his buildings were felt throughout. Very strong logs were used for the stables, sheds and kitchens; the peasant huts were also cut down firmly, firmly and very carefully. Even the well was lined with very strong oak. Approaching the porch, Chichikov noticed faces looking out the window. The footman came out to meet him.
When looking at Sobakevich, it immediately suggested itself: a bear! perfect bear! And indeed, his appearance was similar to that of a bear. A big, strong man, he always walked at random, which is why he constantly stepped on someone’s feet. Even his tailcoat was bear-colored. To top it all off, the owner's name was Mikhail Semenovich. He hardly moved his neck, kept his head down rather than up, and rarely looked at his interlocutor, and if he managed to do this, then his gaze fell on the corner of the stove or on the door. Since Sobakevich himself was a healthy and strong man, he wanted to be surrounded by equally strong objects. His furniture was heavy and pot-bellied, and portraits of strong, big men hung on the walls. Even the blackbird in the cage was very similar to Sobakevich. In a word, it seemed that every object in the house said: “And I, too, look like Sobakevich.”
Before dinner, Chichikov tried to start a conversation by speaking flatteringly about local officials. Sobakevich replied that “these are all swindlers. The whole city there is like this: a swindler sits on a swindler and drives the swindler.” By chance, Chichikov learns about Sobakevich's neighbor - a certain Plyushkin, who has eight hundred peasants who are dying like flies.
After a hearty and plentiful lunch, Sobakevich and Chichikov relax. Chichikov decides to state his request regarding the purchase of dead souls. Sobakevich is not surprised by anything and listens carefully to his guest, who began the conversation from afar, gradually leading him to the subject of the conversation. Sobakevich understands that Chichikov needs dead souls for something, so the bargaining begins with a fabulous price - one hundred rubles apiece. Mikhailo Semenovich talks about the merits of dead peasants as if the peasants were alive. Chichikov is perplexed: what kind of conversation can there be about the merits of dead peasants? In the end, they agreed on two rubles and a half for one soul. Sobakevich receives a deposit, he and Chichikov agree to meet in the city to complete the deal, and Pavel Ivanovich leaves. Having reached the end of the village, Chichikov called a peasant and asked how to get to Plyushkin, who feeds people poorly (otherwise it was impossible to ask, because the peasant did not know the name of the neighbor's gentleman). "Ah, patched, patched!" - the peasant cried and pointed the way.
Chapter Six
Chichikov grinned all the way, remembering Plyushkin’s description, and soon he didn’t notice how he drove into a vast village, with many huts and streets. The jolt produced by the log pavement brought him back to reality. These logs looked like piano keys - they either rose up or fell down. A rider who did not protect himself or, like Chichikov, who did not pay attention to this feature of the pavement, risked getting either a bump on his forehead, or a bruise, and, even worse, biting off the tip of his own tongue. The traveler noticed on all the buildings the imprint of some kind of special disrepair: the logs were old, many of the roofs were see-through, like a sieve, and others were left with only a ridge at the top and with logs that looked like ribs. The windows were either without glass at all, or covered with a rag or zipun; in some huts, if there were balconies under the roofs, they had long since turned black. Between the huts stretched huge piles of grain, neglected, the color of old brick, in places overgrown with bushes and other rubbish. From behind these treasures and huts two churches could be seen, also neglected and dilapidated. In one place the huts ended and some kind of wasteland surrounded by a dilapidated fence began. It made the manor's house look like a decrepit invalid. This house was long, in some places two floors, in others one; peeling, having seen a lot of all sorts of bad weather. All the windows were either tightly shuttered or completely boarded up, and only two of them were open. But they were also blind: a blue triangle from sugar paper was glued to one of the windows. The only thing that enlivened this picture was the wild and magnificent garden in its desolation. When Chichikov drove up to the manor’s house, he saw that up close the picture was even sadder. The wooden gates and fence were already covered with green mold. From the nature of the buildings it was clear that once the economy here was carried out extensively and thoughtfully, but now everything around was empty, and nothing enlivened the picture of general desolation. The whole movement consisted of a man who arrived in a cart. Pavel Ivanovich noticed a figure in a completely incomprehensible attire, which immediately began to argue with the man. Chichikov tried for a long time to determine what gender this figure was - a man or a woman. This creature was dressed in something similar to a woman’s hood, and on its head was a cap worn by courtyard women. Chichikov was embarrassed only by the hoarse voice that could not belong to the woman. The creature scolded the arriving man with the last words; he had a bunch of keys on his belt. Based on these two signs, Chichikov decided that this was the housekeeper in front of him, and decided to take a closer look at her. The figure, in turn, looked very closely at the newcomer. It was clear that the arrival of a guest here was a novelty. The man examined Chichikov carefully, then his gaze turned to Petrushka and Selifan, and even the horse was not left without attention.
It turned out that this creature, either a woman or a man, was the local gentleman. Chichikov was dumbfounded. The face of Chichikov's interlocutor was similar to the faces of many old people, and only small eyes were constantly running around in the hope of finding something, but the outfit was out of the ordinary: the robe was completely greasy, cotton paper was coming out of it in shreds. The landowner had something between a stocking and a belly tied around his neck. If Pavel Ivanovich had met him somewhere near the church, he would certainly have given him alms. But it was not a beggar who stood before Chichikov, but a master who had a thousand souls, and it is unlikely that anyone else would have had such huge reserves of provisions, so many goods, dishes that had never been used, as Plyushkin had. All this would be enough for two estates, even such huge ones as this. All this seemed to Plyushkin not enough - every day he walked along the streets of his village, collecting various little things, from a nail to a feather, and putting them in a pile in his room.
But there was a time when the estate flourished! Plyushkin had a nice family: a wife, two daughters, a son. The son had a French teacher, and the daughters had a governess. The house was famous for its hospitality, and friends gladly came to the owner to dine, listen to smart speeches and learn how to run a household. But the good housewife died, and part of the keys and, accordingly, the worries passed to the head of the family. He became more restless, more suspicious and stingier, like all widowers. He could not rely on his eldest daughter Alexandra Stepanovna, and for good reason: she soon secretly married the captain and ran away with him, knowing that her father did not like officers. Her father cursed her, but did not pursue her. Madame, who looked after her daughters, was fired because she turned out to be guilty of kidnapping the eldest, and the French teacher was also released. The son decided to serve in the regiment without receiving a penny from his father for uniforms. The youngest daughter died, and Plyushkin’s lonely life provided satisfying food for stinginess. Plyushkin became more and more intractable in his relations with the buyers, who bargained and bargained with him, and even abandoned this business. Hay and bread rotted in the barns, it was scary to touch matter - it turned into dust, flour in the basements had long ago become stone. But the quitrent remained the same! And everything brought in became “rot and a hole,” and Plyushkin himself gradually turned into a “hole in humanity.” Once the eldest daughter came with her grandchildren, hoping to get something, but he did not give her a penny. The son had lost money at cards a long time ago and asked his father for money, but he refused him too. More and more, Plyushkin turned to his jars, carnations and feathers, forgetting how much stuff he had in his pantries, but remembering that in his closet there was a decanter with unfinished liqueur, and he needed to make a mark on it so that no one would sneak the liqueur. drank.
For some time Chichikov did not know what reason to come up with for his arrival. Then he said that he had heard a lot about Plyushkin’s ability to manage the estate in strict economy, so he decided to visit him, get to know him better and pay his respects. The landowner reported in response to Pavel Ivanovich’s questions that he had one hundred and twenty dead souls. In response to Chichikov's offer to buy them, Plyushkin thought that the guest was obviously stupid, but he could not hide his joy and even ordered the samovar to be installed. Chichikov received a list of one hundred and twenty dead souls and agreed to complete the deed of sale. Plyushkin complained about the presence of seventy fugitives, which Chichikov also bought at thirty-two kopecks per head. He hid the money he received in one of the many drawers. Chichikov refused the liqueur, cleared of flies, and the gingerbread that Alexandra Stepanovna had once brought and hurried to the hotel. There he fell asleep like a happy man, knowing neither hemorrhoids nor fleas.
Chapter Seven
The next day Chichikov woke up in an excellent mood, prepared all the lists of peasants for completing the deed of sale and went to the ward, where Manilov and Sobakevich were already waiting for him. All the necessary documents were drawn up, and the chairman of the chamber signed a bill of sale for Plyushkin, whom he asked in a letter to be his charge d'affaires. When asked by the chairman and officials of the chamber what the newly-minted landowner was going to do next with the purchased peasants, Chichikov replied that they had been destined for withdrawal to the Kherson province. The purchase had to be celebrated, and in the next room the guests were already waiting for a decently laid table with wines and snacks, of which a huge sturgeon stood out. Sobakevich immediately attached himself to this work of culinary art and left nothing of it. Toasts followed one after another, one of them was to the future wife of the newly minted Kherson landowner. This toast brought a pleasant smile from Pavel Ivanovich’s lips. For a long time, the guests complimented the man, who was pleasant in all respects, and persuaded him to stay in the city for at least two weeks. The result of the abundant feast was that Chichikov arrived at the hotel in a completely exhausted state, already in his thoughts a Kherson landowner. Everyone went to bed: Selifan and Petrushka, snoring with unprecedented intensity, and Chichikov, answering them from the room with a thin nasal whistle.
Chapter Eight
Chichikov's purchases became the number one topic of all conversations taking place in the city. Everyone argued that it was quite difficult to transport so many peasants overnight to the lands in Kherson, and gave their advice on preventing riots that might arise. To this Chichikov replied that the peasants he bought were of a calm disposition, and a convoy would not be needed to escort them to new lands. All these conversations, however, benefited Pavel Ivanovich, since the opinion was formed that he was a millionaire, and the residents of the city, who had fallen in love with Chichikov even before all these rumors, fell in love with him even more after the rumors about millions. The ladies were especially zealous. The merchants were surprised to discover that some of the fabrics they brought to the city and were not sold due to the high price were sold out like hot cakes. An anonymous letter with a declaration of love and amorous poems arrived at Chichikov’s hotel. But the most remarkable of all the mail that arrived in Pavel Ivanovich’s room these days was an invitation to a ball with the governor. The newly-minted landowner took a long time to get ready, spent a long time working on his toilet, and even did a ballet entrechat, causing the chest of drawers to tremble and a brush to fall from it.
Chichikov's appearance at the ball created an extraordinary sensation. Chichikov moved from embrace to embrace, carried on first one conversation, then another, constantly bowed, and in the end completely charmed everyone. He was surrounded by ladies, dressed and perfumed, and Chichikov tried to guess among them the writer of the letter. He became so dizzy that he forgot to fulfill the most important duty of politeness - to approach the hostess of the ball and pay his respects. A little later, in confusion, he approached the governor’s wife and was stunned. She was not standing alone, but with a young, pretty blonde who was riding in the same carriage that Chichikov’s crew had encountered on the road. The governor's wife introduced Pavel Ivanovich to her daughter, who had just graduated from the institute. Everything that was happening moved away somewhere and lost interest for Chichikov. He was even so discourteous towards the ladies' company that he withdrew from everyone and went to see where the governor's wife had gone with her daughter. The provincial ladies did not forgive this. One of them immediately touched the blonde with her dress, and used her scarf in such a way that he waved it right in her face. At the same time, a very caustic remark was made against Chichikov, and satirical poems were even attributed to him, written by someone in mockery of provincial society. And then fate prepared a very unpleasant surprise for Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov: Nozdryov appeared at the ball. He walked arm in arm with the prosecutor, who did not know how to get rid of his companion.
"Ah! Kherson landowner! How many dead people have you traded in?" - Nozdryov shouted, walking towards Chichikov. And he told everyone how he traded with him, Nozdryov, dead souls. Chichikov did not know where to go. Everyone was confused, and Nozdryov continued his half-drunk speech, after which he crawled towards Chichikov with kisses. This trick didn’t work for him, he was so pushed away that he flew to the ground, everyone abandoned him and didn’t listen anymore, but the words about buying dead souls were pronounced loudly and accompanied by such loud laughter that they attracted everyone’s attention. This incident upset Pavel Ivanovich so much that during the course of the ball he no longer felt so confident, made a number of mistakes in the card game, and was unable to maintain a conversation where at other times he felt like a duck to water. Without waiting for the end of dinner, Chichikov returned to the hotel room. Meanwhile, at the other end of the city, an event was being prepared that threatened to aggravate the hero’s troubles. The collegiate secretary Korobochka arrived in the city in her car.
Chapter Nine
The next morning, two ladies - simply pleasant and pleasant in every way - were discussing the latest news. The lady, who was simply pleasant, told the news: Chichikov, armed from head to toe, came to the landowner Korobochka and ordered the souls that had already died to be sold to him. The hostess, a pleasant lady in all respects, said that her husband heard about this from Nozdryov. Therefore, there is something in this news. And both ladies began to speculate on what this purchase of dead souls could mean. As a result, they came to the conclusion that Chichikov wants to kidnap the governor’s daughter, and the accomplice in this is none other than Nozdryov. While both ladies were deciding on such a successful explanation of events, the prosecutor entered the living room and was immediately told everything. Leaving the prosecutor completely confused, both ladies went to riot the city, each in their own direction. For a short time the city was in turmoil. At another time, under other circumstances, perhaps no one would have paid attention to this story, but the city had not received fuel for gossip for a long time. And here it is!.. Two parties were formed - women's and men's. The women's party was exclusively concerned with the kidnapping of the governor's daughter, and the men's party with dead souls. It got to the point that all the gossip was delivered to the governor’s own ears. She, as the first lady in the city and as a mother, interrogated the blonde with passion, and she sobbed and could not understand what she was accused of. The doorman was strictly ordered not to let Chichikov enter the door. And then, as luck would have it, several dark stories surfaced, into which Chichikov fit quite well. Who is Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov? No one could answer this question for sure: neither city officials, nor the landowners with whom he traded souls, nor the servants Selifan and Petrushka. In order to talk about this subject, everyone decided to gather with the police chief.
Chapter Ten
Having gathered with the police chief, the officials discussed for a long time who Chichikov was, but they never came to a consensus. One said that he was a maker of counterfeit notes, and then he himself added, “or maybe not a maker.” The second assumed that Chichikov was most likely an official of the Governor General’s Office, and immediately added “but, the devil knows, you can’t read it on his forehead.” The suggestion that he was a robber in disguise was brushed aside. And suddenly it dawned on the postmaster: “This, gentlemen! is none other than Captain Kopeikin!” And, since no one knew who Captain Kopeikin was, the postmaster began to tell “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin.”
“After the campaign of the twelfth year,” the postmaster began to tell, “a certain captain Kopeikin was sent with the wounded. Either near Krasny, or near Leipzig, his arm and leg were torn off, and he turned into a hopeless invalid. And then there were no orders about the wounded , and the disabled capital was established much later. Therefore, Kopeikin had to work somehow to feed himself, and, unfortunately, his remaining hand was his left one. Kopeikin decided to go to St. Petersburg to ask for the royal favor. Blood, they say , spilled, remained disabled... And here he is in St. Petersburg. Kopeikin tried to rent an apartment, but it turned out to be unusually expensive. In the end, he stayed in a tavern for a ruble a day. Kopeikin saw that there was nothing to live for. He asked where the commission was, which he should contact, and went to the reception. He waited for a long time, about four hours. At this time, people crowded into the reception room like beans on a plate. And more and more generals, officials of the fourth or fifth class.
Finally, the nobleman entered. It was Captain Kopeikin’s turn. The nobleman asks: “Why are you here? What is your business?” Kopeikin gathered his courage and answered: “So, yes, and so, Your Excellency, I shed blood, lost my arms and legs, I can’t work, I dare to ask for royal mercy.” The minister, seeing this situation, replies: “Okay, come see me one of these days.” Kopeikin left the audience in complete delight; he decided that in a few days everything would be decided and he would be granted a pension.
Three or four days later he appears to the minister again. He recognized him again, but now stated that Kopeikin’s fate was not decided, since he had to wait for the sovereign’s arrival in the capital. And the captain ran out of money a long time ago. He decided to take the minister's office by storm. This made the minister extremely angry. He called a courier, and Kopeikin was expelled from the capital at public expense. Where exactly the captain was taken, history is silent about this, but only two months later a gang of robbers appeared in the Ryazan forests, and their ataman was none other than..." The police chief, in response to this story, objected that Kopeikin had no legs, no arms, but Chichikov has everything in place. Others also rejected this version, but came to the conclusion that Chichikov is very similar to Napoleon.
After gossiping some more, the officials decided to invite Nozdryov. For some reason they thought that since Nozdryov was the first to announce this story with dead souls, he might know something for sure. Nozdryov, upon arriving, immediately listed Mr. Chichikov as a spy, maker of false papers and kidnappers of the governor’s daughter at the same time.
All these rumors and rumors had such an effect on the prosecutor that he died when he came home. Chichikov did not know any of this, sitting in his room with a cold and flu, and was very surprised why no one was coming to see him, because just a few days ago there were always someone’s droshky under the window of his room. Feeling better, he decided to pay visits to officials. Then it turned out that the governor had ordered him not to receive him, and other officials were avoiding meetings and conversations with him. Chichikov received an explanation for what was happening in the evening at the hotel, when Nozdryov came to visit him. It was then that Chichikov learned that he was a maker of counterfeit notes and a failed kidnapper of the governor’s daughter. And he is also the reason for the death of the prosecutor and the arrival of the new governor-general. Being very frightened, Chichikov quickly sent Nozdryov out, ordered Selifan and Petrushka to pack their things and prepare to leave at dawn tomorrow.
Chapter Eleven
It was not possible to leave quickly. Selifan came and said that the horses needed to be shoed. Finally everything was ready, the chaise left the city. On the way, they met a funeral procession, and Chichikov decided that this was fortunate.
And now a few words about Pavel Ivanovich himself. As a child, life looked at him sourly and unpleasantly. Chichikov's parents were nobles. Pavel Ivanovich's mother died early, his father was sick all the time. He forced little Pavlusha to study and often punished him. When the boy grew up, his father took him to the city, which amazed the boy with its splendor. Pavlusha was handed over to a relative in order to stay with her and attend classes at the city school. The father left on the second day, leaving his son an instruction instead of money: “Study, Pavlusha, don’t be stupid and don’t hang around, but please your teachers and bosses most of all. Don’t hang out with your comrades, and if you do hang out, then with those who are richer. Never.” "Don't treat anyone, but make sure that they treat you. And most of all, save a penny." And he added half a copper to his instructions.
Pavlusha remembered these tips well. Not only did he not take a penny from his father’s money, but, on the contrary, a year later he had already added half a penny to that. The boy showed no abilities or inclinations in his studies, he was distinguished most of all by his diligence and neatness and discovered a practical mind in himself. Not only did he never treat his comrades, but he made it so that he sold their treats to them. One day Pavlusha made a bullfinch from wax and then sold it very profitably. Then he trained a mouse for two months, which he later also sold at a profit. Teacher Pavlushi valued his students not for knowledge, but for exemplary behavior. Chichikov was an example of this. As a result, he graduated from college, receiving a certificate and, as a reward for exemplary diligence and trustworthy behavior, a book with golden letters.
When the school was completed, Chichikov's father died. Pavlusha inherited four frock coats, two sweatshirts and a small amount of money. Chichikov sold the dilapidated house for a thousand rubles, and transferred his only family of serfs to the city. At this time, the teacher, a lover of silence and good behavior, was kicked out of the gymnasium, he began to drink. All former students helped him in any way they could. Only Chichikov made the excuse of not having money, giving a nickel of silver, which was immediately thrown away by his comrades. The teacher cried for a long time when he learned about this.
After college, Chichikov eagerly took up the service, because he wanted to live richly, have a beautiful house, and carriages. But even in the outback, patronage is needed, so he got a seedy place, with a salary of thirty or forty rubles a year. But Chichikov worked day and night, and against the background of the sloppy officials of the chamber he always looked impeccable. His boss was an elderly military commander, an unapproachable man, with a complete absence of any emotion on his face. Trying to approach from different sides, Chichikov finally discovered the weak point of his boss - he had a mature daughter with an ugly, pockmarked face. At first he stood opposite her in church, then he was invited to tea, and soon he was already considered a groom in the boss’s house. A vacant position as a police officer soon appeared in the ward, and Chichikov decided to fill it. As soon as this happened, Chichikov secretly sent the supposed father-in-law out of the house with his belongings, ran away himself and stopped calling the police officer daddy. At the same time, he did not stop smiling affectionately at his former boss when they met and inviting him to visit, but each time he just turned his head and said that he had been masterfully deceived.
This was the most difficult threshold for Pavel Ivanovich, which he successfully overcame. At the next grain market, he successfully launched a fight against bribes, but in fact he himself turned out to be a major bribe-taker. Chichikov's next business was participation in the commission for the construction of some state-owned, very capital building, in which Pavel Ivanovich was one of the most active members. For six years, the construction of the building did not move beyond the foundation: either the soil interfered, or the climate. At this time, in other parts of the city, each member of the commission had a beautiful building of civil architecture - probably the soil there was better. Chichikov began to allow himself excesses in the form of material on his frock coat that no one had, thin Dutch shirts, and a pair of excellent trotters, not to mention other little things. Soon fate changed for Pavel Ivanovich. In place of the previous boss, a new one was sent, a military man, a terrible persecutor of all kinds of untruths and abuses. Chichikov's career in this city ended, and the houses of civil architecture were transferred to the treasury. Pavel Ivanovich moved to another city in order to start over. In a short time he was forced to change two or three low-level positions in an environment unacceptable to him. Having already begun to plump up, Chichikov even lost weight, but overcame all the troubles and decided to go to customs. His old dream came true, and he began his new service with extraordinary zeal. As his superiors put it, he was a devil, not a man: he looked for contraband in places where no one would think of going, and where only customs officials are allowed to go. It was a storm and despair for everyone. His honesty and integrity were almost unnatural. Such service zeal could not go unnoticed by the authorities, and soon Chichikov was promoted, and then he presented the authorities with a project on how to catch all the smugglers. This project was adopted, and Pavel Ivanovich received unlimited power in this area. At that time, “a strong society of smugglers had formed,” which wanted to bribe Chichikov, but he answered those sent: “It’s not the time yet.”
As soon as Chichikov received unlimited power into his hands, he immediately let this society know: “It’s time.” And then, during Chichikov’s service at customs, a story happened about the witty journey of Spanish sheep across the border, when under their double sheepskin coats they carried millions of Brabant laces. They say that Chichikov's fortune, after three or four such campaigns, amounted to about five hundred thousand, and his accomplices - about four hundred thousand rubles. However, Chichikov, in a drunken conversation, quarreled with another official who also participated in these frauds. As a result of the quarrel, all secret relations with the smugglers became obvious. The officials were put on trial and their property was confiscated. As a result, out of five hundred thousand, Chichikov had only ten thousand left, which partly had to be spent in order to get out of the criminal court. Again he started life from the bottom of his career. Being a chargé d'affaires, having previously earned the full favor of the owners, he was somehow engaged in pledging several hundred peasants to the guardianship council. And then they told him that, despite the fact that half of the peasants had died out, according to the audit fairy tale, they were listed as alive!.. Therefore, he had nothing to worry about, and the money would be there, regardless of whether these peasants were alive or given to God soul. And then it dawned on Chichikov. This is where the field for action is! Yes, if he bought dead peasants, who, according to the audit tale, are still listed as living, if he acquired at least a thousand of them, and the guardianship council would give two hundred rubles for each - that’s two hundred thousand capital for you!.. True, you can’t buy them without land, so it should be announced that the peasants are being bought to leave, for example, in the Kherson province.
And so he began to carry out his plans. He looked into those places of the state that suffered most from accidents, crop failures and deaths, in a word, those in which it was possible to buy the people Chichikov needed.
“So, here is our hero in full... Who is he in terms of moral qualities? A scoundrel? Why a scoundrel? Now we don’t have scoundrels, we have well-intentioned, pleasant people... It’s most fair to call him: master, acquirer... And which of you, not publicly, but in silence, alone, will deepen this difficult question into your own soul: “Isn’t there some part of Chichikov in me too?” Yes, as if not so!
Meanwhile, Chichikov's chaise rushes on. “Eh, troika! bird troika, who invented you?.. Isn’t it you too, Rus', that you’re rushing along like a brisk, unovertaking troika?.. Rus', where are you rushing? Give an answer. Doesn’t give an answer. The bell rings with a wonderful ringing; it rattles and the air becomes torn into pieces by the wind; everything that is on the earth flies past and, looking askance, other peoples and states step aside and make way for it.”
