Many people have heard about the landowners in Dead Souls, whom Nikolai Gogol so vividly portrayed, but not everyone knows why these characters were created and how they can be characterized.
So, are the landowners in Dead Souls positive or negative characters? In the poem Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol depicted what Russian landowners are like with the help of five characters.
The image of the landowner Manilov in Dead Souls
The first person Chichikov turns to with his vague proposal to buy dead souls is the courteous Manilov. With sugary speeches, memorized over many years of empty existence, he endeared himself to his new acquaintance.
The insensitive Manilov loved to indulge in dreams that led nowhere. He lived in his own serene world, in a world without problems and passions.
The image of the landowner Korobochka in Dead Souls
Further, the road led Chichikov to Korobochka, a very thrifty elderly landowner. This is a very interesting character. She conducts business with intelligence and petty extravagance, so the village is in good condition. However, at the same time, Korobochka is slow to think, afraid of change: time in her house seems to have stood still.
All this did not give Chichikov the opportunity to immediately agree on a deal. The landowner Korobochka was terribly afraid of selling herself cheap, because she could not understand the purpose of buying dead souls.
The image of the landowner Nozdryov in Dead Souls
The next person who was offered to get rid of them was the landowner Nozdryov. This crazy man is full of energy and passion, but he directs his stormy flow in the wrong direction.
And again Nikolai Gogol makes the reader wonder at the worthlessness of the landowner’s life, because the lies and boasting of the landowner Nozdryov have neither limit nor meaning.
Although this and other landowners in Gogol's Dead Souls are very bright characters, they are united by one thing - spiritual emptiness.
The image of the landowner Sobakevich in Dead Souls
The image of the landowner Plyushkin in Dead Souls
Perhaps the most terrifying image in the poem is that of the landowner Plyushkin. A man who once led a bright, fulfilling life has turned into a fanatical collector, seeking to dominate everything that catches his eye. The surname Plyushkin speaks of an unhealthy passion to have every little thing, considering it a kind of bun, that is, useful.
Because of this blasphemous attitude, the peasants suffer greatly: they have to look at mountains of rotting grain when they themselves have nothing on their plate.
As a result, the landowners in Gogol's Dead Souls are very bright characters who cannot be confused. But they all have one thing in common - spiritual emptiness.
We also bring to your attention a brief summary of Gogol's poem
Almost half of the first volume of the poem “Dead Souls” (five chapters out of eleven) is devoted to characterizing various types of Russian landowners. N.V. Yogol created five different characters, five portraits, not similar to each other. But at the same time, in each of them the typical features of a Russian landowner appear, and all landowners are depicted satirically. Let's take a look at this unique portrait gallery.
From the first impression of Manilov one could say: “What a pleasant and kind person!” He is extremely kind to his friends, gentle to his wife, and kind to his serfs. But in this pleasantness “there was too much sugar”; Manilov was a man of “neither this nor that”; Next to him, one soon felt “deadly boredom.” He loved to think and dream; but under his good-naturedness and dreaminess there was an inner emptiness. Gogol ironically notes that in Manilov’s office there was a book open on page fourteen, which he had been reading for two years now.
The landowner never took care of the household, trusting the clerk in everything, and did not even know how many of his serfs died. His mismanagement was emphasized by the fact that his house stood in an inconvenient place, open to all winds, and the expensive furniture in the room was adjacent to the old one. Gogol's hero personifies a whole phenomenon - Manilovism, and his name has become a household name.
Gogol refers to the landowner Korobochka as one of “those small landowners who cry about crop failures and losses, and meanwhile, little by little they collect money in bags placed in dresser drawers.” This money is obtained from the sale of a wide variety of products: honey, flour, cereals, etc. “Cudgel-headed” Korobochka is ready to sell everything that is grown on her estate; agrees (though after much persuasion) to “give up” even such a “product” as dead souls, although at first it seemed too unusual to her, and she was afraid to sell herself short at first.
Nozdryov is a completely different type of people; Gogol ironically calls him a “historical man” because some “stories” constantly happened to him. His favorite pastime was playing cards; Moreover, he did not play entirely honestly, for which he was beaten by his own comrades. His remarkable energy was manifested in the fact that he was ready to go anywhere, with anyone and for anything. Nozdryov did not take care of his own farming; it went somehow on its own; the only decent place was the kennel; and among the dogs, Nozdryov felt like a father among children. Nozdryov constantly brags, invents, lies; moreover, his lie is outright and does not bring him any benefit; but he can no longer help but deceive, not cheat: he manages to cheat even when playing checkers with Chichikov. Nozdryov is depicted by Gogol not only with irony, like Manilov or Korobochka, but also with vivid satire.
Sobakevich is somewhat similar to Korobochka. This, according to Yogol’s precise definition, is a “fist”, a storage device. For him, practicality and profit are much more valuable than friendship, beauty, etc. He calls all the officials in the city “swindlers,” and when selling dead souls, he first set an unprecedentedly high price, and then bargained with Chichikov for a long time and at the same time managed to deceive him. Outwardly, he seemed to Chichikov to look like “a medium-sized bear.” And all the things in the house (even the blackbird in the cage) somehow resembled their owner: everything looked durable, but awkward and ugly.
Sobakevich loved and knew how to eat well, but he preferred not gourmet dishes, but simple food, but in large quantities. He could eat one huge sturgeon or a whole sheep. The image of Sobakevich is drawn by Gogol sarcastically.
The name Plyushkina became as common a name as the names Manilov or Korobochka. Gogol, as usual, begins the reader’s acquaintance with this hero with a description of the village and estate belonging to the landowner. He paints a terrible picture of the complete ruin of a once rich landowner's economy. The reason for this ruin was the painful stinginess, into which the owner’s reasonable frugality gradually turned. Gogol shows the gradual development of this disease, which led to the death of both the household and the soul of its owner. Plyushkin's economy fell into complete decline; the peasants are starving and fleeing from the landowner, and he himself has long lost any idea of the real side of life: in his barns flour spoils, cloth rots, and he walks around the village and picks up broken horseshoes, torn soles and other unnecessary things and puts them in his room in a special pile. He is suspicious of everyone, believing that everyone is stealing from him; he wears the keys to all the barns and chests on his belt, because of which (and also because of his strange clothes) Chichikov at first mistakes him for the housekeeper. Gogol writes with contempt about Plyushkin and calls him “a hole in humanity.”
Thus, the writer displays in the poem not just five images of landowners - he shows five stages of degradation and death of the human soul. The “dead souls” in the poem should not be considered the dead peasants bought by Chichikov, but the landowners themselves - the owners of the serfs. From Manilov to Plyushkin, a frightening picture of the gradual extinction of the human in man is revealed to the reader. This is the principle of the compositional sequence of images of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls”.
In this article we will describe the image of landowners created by Gogol in the poem “Dead Souls”. The table we have compiled will help you remember the information. We will sequentially talk about the five heroes presented by the author in this work.
The image of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol is briefly described in the following table.
| landowner | Characteristic | Attitude towards the request for the sale of dead souls |
| Manilov | Vulgar and empty. For two years, a book with a bookmark on one page has been lying in his office. His speech is sweet and cloying. | I was surprised. He thinks that this is illegal, but he cannot refuse such a pleasant person. Gives it to peasants for free. At the same time, he does not know how many souls he has. |
| Box | She knows the value of money, is practical and economical. Stingy, stupid, club-headed, hoarding landowner. | He wants to know what Chichikov’s souls are for. The number of deaths is known exactly (18 people). He looks at dead souls as if they were hemp or lard: they might come in handy on the farm. |
| Nozdryov | He is considered a good friend, but is always ready to play a trick on his friend. Kutila, card player, "broken fellow." When talking, he constantly jumps from subject to subject and uses swear words. | It would seem that it was easiest for Chichikov to get them from this landowner, but he was the only one who left him with nothing. |
| Sobakevich | Uncouth, clumsy, rude, unable to express feelings. A tough, evil serf owner who never misses a profit. | The smartest of all landowners. He immediately saw through the guest and made a deal to his advantage. |
| Plyushkin | Once upon a time he had a family, children, and he himself was a thrifty owner. But the death of the mistress turned this man into a miser. He became, like many widowers, stingy and suspicious. | I was amazed and delighted by his offer, since there would be income. He agreed to sell the souls for 30 kopecks (78 souls in total). |
Gogol's portrayal of landowners
In the works of Nikolai Vasilyevich, one of the main themes is the landowner class in Russia, as well as the ruling class (nobility), its role in the life of society and its fate.
The main method used by Gogol to portray various characters is satire. The process of gradual degeneration of the landowner class was reflected in the heroes created by his pen. Nikolai Vasilyevich reveals shortcomings and vices. Gogol's satire is colored by irony, which helped this writer speak directly about what was impossible to talk about openly under censorship conditions. At the same time, Nikolai Vasilyevich’s laughter seems good-natured to us, but he does not spare anyone. Each phrase has a subtext, a hidden, deep meaning. Irony is generally a characteristic element of Gogol's satire. It is present not only in the speech of the author himself, but also in the speech of the heroes.
Irony is one of the essential features of Gogol’s poetics; it adds greater realism to the narrative and becomes a means of analyzing the surrounding reality.
Compositional structure of the poem
The images of landowners in the poem, the largest work of this author, are presented in the most multifaceted and complete way. It is constructed as the story of the adventures of the official Chichikov, who buys up “dead souls.” The composition of the poem allowed the author to tell about different villages and the owners living in them. Almost half of the first volume (five out of eleven chapters) is devoted to the characteristics of different types of landowners in Russia. Nikolai Vasilyevich created five portraits that are not similar to each other, but each of them at the same time contains features that are typical of a Russian serf owner. Acquaintance with them begins with Manilov and ends with Plyushkin. This construction is not accidental. There is a logic to this sequence: the process of impoverishment of a person’s personality deepens from one image to another, it increasingly unfolds as a terrible picture of the collapse of serf society.
Meeting Manilov
Manilov - representing the image of landowners in the poem "Dead Souls". The table only briefly describes it. Let us introduce you closer to this hero. The character of Manilov, which is described in the first chapter, is already manifested in the surname itself. The story about this hero begins with an image of the village of Manilovka, which is capable of “luring” few people with its location. The author describes with irony the master's courtyard, created as an imitation with a pond, bushes and the inscription “Temple of Solitary Reflection.” External details help the writer create the image of the landowners in the poem "Dead Souls".
Manilov: character of the hero
The author, speaking about Manilov, exclaims that only God knows what kind of character this man had. By nature he is kind, courteous, polite, but all this takes on ugly, exaggerated forms in his image. sentimental and beautiful to the point of cloying. The relationships between people seem festive and idyllic to him. Various relationships, in general, are one of the details that create the image of the landowners in the poem “Dead Souls”. Manilov did not know life at all; reality was replaced by empty fantasy. This hero loved to dream and reflect, sometimes even about things useful to the peasants. However, his ideas were far from the needs of life. He did not know about the real needs of the serfs and never even thought about them. Manilov considers himself a bearer of culture. He was considered the most educated man in the army. Nikolai Vasilyevich speaks ironically about the house of this landowner, in which there was always “something missing,” as well as about his sugary relationship with his wife.
Chichikov's conversation with Manilov about buying dead souls
In an episode of a conversation about buying dead souls, Manilov is compared to an overly smart minister. Gogol's irony here intrudes, as if accidentally, into a forbidden area. Such a comparison means that the minister is not so different from Manilov, and “Manilovism” is a typical phenomenon of the vulgar bureaucratic world.
Box
Let us describe another image of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls”. The table has already briefly introduced you to Korobochka. We learn about her in the third chapter of the poem. Gogol classifies this heroine as one of the small landowners who complain about losses and crop failures and always keep their heads somewhat to one side, while collecting money little by little into bags placed in the chest of drawers. This money is obtained by selling a variety of subsistence products. Korobochka's interests and horizons are completely focused on her estate. Her entire life and economy are patriarchal in nature.
How did Korobochka react to Chichikov’s proposal?
The landowner realized that trading in dead souls was profitable, and after much persuasion she agreed to sell them. The author, describing the image of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls” (Korobochka and other heroes), is ironic. For a long time, the “club-headed” one cannot figure out what exactly is required of her, which infuriates Chichikov. After that, she bargains with him for a long time, afraid of making a mistake.
Nozdryov
In the image of Nozdryov in the fifth chapter, Gogol depicts a completely different form of decomposition of the nobility. This hero is a man of what is called a “jack of all trades.” In his very face there was something daring, direct, open. He is also characterized by a “breadth of nature.” According to the ironic remark of Nikolai Vasilyevich, Nozdryov is a “historical man”, since not a single meeting that he managed to attend was ever complete without stories. He loses a lot of money at cards with a light heart, beats a simpleton at a fair and immediately “squanders everything.” This hero is an utter liar and a reckless braggart, a true master of “casting bullets.” He behaves defiantly everywhere, if not aggressively. This character’s speech is replete with swear words, and he has a passion for “spoiling his neighbor.” Gogol created in Russian literature a new socio-psychological type of the so-called Nozdrevism. In many ways, the image of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls” is innovative. A brief image of the following heroes is described below.
Sobakevich
The author’s satire in the image of Sobakevich, whom we meet in the fifth chapter, takes on a more accusatory character. This character bears little resemblance to previous landowners. This is a tight-fisted, cunning tradesman, a “kulak landowner.” He is alien to the violent extravagance of Nozdryov, the dreamy complacency of Manilov, as well as the hoarding of Korobochka. Sobakevich has an iron grip, he is taciturn, he is on his own mind. There are few people who could deceive him. Everything about this landowner is strong and durable. In all the everyday objects surrounding him, Gogol finds a reflection of the character traits of this person. Everything surprisingly resembles the hero himself in his house. Each thing, as the author notes, seemed to say that she was “also Sobakevich.”
Nikolai Vasilyevich portrays a figure that amazes with its rudeness. This man seemed to Chichikov to look like a bear. Sobakevich is a cynic who is not ashamed of moral ugliness in others or in himself. He is far from enlightened. This is a die-hard serf owner who only cares about his own peasants. It is interesting that, except for this hero, no one understood the true essence of the “scoundrel” Chichikov, but Sobakevich perfectly understood the essence of the proposal, reflecting the spirit of the times: everything can be sold and bought, the maximum benefit should be obtained. This is the generalized image of the landowners in the poem of the work, however, it is not limited to the depiction of only these characters. We present to you the next landowner.
Plyushkin
The sixth chapter is dedicated to Plyushkin. On it, the characteristics of the landowners in the poem “Dead Souls” are completed. The name of this hero has become a household word, denoting moral degradation and stinginess. This image is the last degree of degeneration of the landowner class. Gogol begins his acquaintance with the character, as usual, with a description of the estate and village of the landowner. At the same time, a “particular disrepair” was noticeable on all buildings. Nikolai Vasilyevich describes a picture of the ruin of a once rich serf owner. Its cause is not idleness and extravagance, but the painful stinginess of the owner. Gogol calls this landowner “a hole in humanity.” Its very appearance is characteristic - it is a sexless creature resembling a housekeeper. This character no longer causes laughter, only bitter disappointment.
Conclusion
The image of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls” (the table is presented above) is revealed by the author in many ways. The five characters that Gogol created in the work depict the diverse state of this class. Plyushkin, Sobakevich, Nozdrev, Korobochka, Manilov are different forms of one phenomenon - spiritual, social and economic decline. The characteristics of landowners in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" prove this.
Gogol reveals the characters of people by depicting their words and actions.
The writer reveals the human essence of his heroes using the example of the landowners of the district town of N. It is there that the main character of the poem, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, comes to realize his plan - buying up dead audit souls.
Chichikov visits the landowners in a certain sequence. It is no coincidence that the first on his path is the landowner Manilov. There is nothing special about Manilov, he is, as they say, “neither fish nor fowl.” Everything about him is sterile, vague, even the features of his face lack concreteness.
The first impression of pleasantness that Manilov made on Chichikov turns out to be deceptive: “This pleasantness seemed to have too much sugar in it. In the first minute of a 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; If you don’t leave, you will feel mortal boredom.”
Things, interior, Manilov’s home, description of the estate characterize its owner. In words, this landowner loves his family and peasants, but in reality he does not care about them at all. Against the background of the general disorder of the estate, Manilov indulges in sweet dreams in the “temple of solitary reflection.” His pleasantness is nothing more than a mask that covers spiritual emptiness. Idle daydreaming with apparent culture allows us to classify Manilov as an “idle unshakable” who gives nothing to society.
Next on Chichikov's path is the collegiate secretary Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka. She is completely mired in petty interests in life and hoarding. Korobochka's indifference combined with stupidity looks funny and absurd. Even in the sale of dead souls, she is afraid of being deceived, of being cheap: “... I’d better wait a little, maybe the merchants will come, but I’ll adjust the prices.”
Everything in this landowner’s house is like a box. And the very name of the heroine - Korobochka - conveys her essence: limitations and narrow interests. In a word, this is the heroine - “club-headed,” as Chichikov himself called her.
In search of the landowner Sobakevich, Chichikov ends up in Nozdryov’s house. Nozdryov is the complete opposite of the stingy Korobochka. This is a reckless nature, a player, a reveler. He is endowed with an amazing ability to lie unnecessarily, cheat at cards, change for anything and lose everything. All his activities have no purpose, his whole life is pure revelry: “Nozdryov was in some respects a historical person. Not a single meeting where he attended was complete without a story.”
At first glance, Nozdryov may seem like a lively, active person, but in fact he turns out to be empty. But there is one feature in both him and Korobochka that unites these people, different in nature. Just as the old woman hoards her wealth senselessly and uselessly, Nozdryov squanders his fortune just as senselessly and uselessly.
Next Chichikov gets to Sobakevich. In contrast to Nozdryov, who is on friendly terms with everyone, Sobakevich seems to Chichikov to be like “a medium-sized bear” with a characteristic feature - to scold everyone and everything. Sobakevich is a strong master, a “kulak”, suspicious and gloomy, going ahead. He doesn't trust anyone. This is clearly evidenced by the episode in which Chichikov and Sobakevich transfer money and lists of dead souls into each other’s hands.
Everything that surrounded Sobakevich “was solid, clumsy to the highest degree and had some strange resemblance to the owner of the house himself... Every chair, every object seemed to say: “And I, too, Sobakevich!” It seems to me that, at his core, Sobakevich is a petty, insignificant, clumsy person with an inner desire to step on everyone’s toes.
And the last one on Chichikov’s path is the landowner Plyushkin, whose stinginess is taken to the extreme, to the last line of human degradation. He is “a hole in humanity”, representing the complete disintegration of personality. Having met Plyushkin, Chichikov could not even think that he had met the owner of the estate; at first he mistakes him for the housekeeper.
Plyushkin's once rich economy is completely falling apart. This hero has eight hundred souls, his storerooms and barns are bursting with goods, but because of greed and senseless accumulation, all this wealth turned to dust: “... the hay and bread rotted, the storehouses and stacks turned into pure manure, no matter what you spread on them.” cabbage, flour in the cellars turned into stone, and it was necessary to chop it; it was scary to touch cloth, linens and household materials: they turned to dust.”
Plyushkin’s peasants are “dying like flies”; dozens of them are on the run. But in the past he was known as a thrifty and enterprising landowner. But after the death of his wife, Plyushkin’s suspicion and stinginess intensified to the highest degree. The passion for hoarding even killed his love for children. As a result, having lost his human appearance, Plyushkin becomes like a beggar, a man without gender and without gender.
The images of landowners in “Dead Souls” show all the horror and absurdity of what is happening in Gogol’s contemporary Russia. After all, under serfdom, such Plyushkins, Manilovs, Sobakeviches receive all the rights to the same living people and do with them whatever they want.
In his poem, the writer considers all types of Russian landowners, but does not find one with whom the future of the country could be linked. In my opinion, Gogol in his poem very vividly described all the soullessness
not fully solved" (A. Blok)
The comedy "Woe from Wit" was written between 1815 and 1820. The content of the play is closely related to the historical events of that time in Russia. The work remains relevant in our time. At that time, society included defenders of serfdom and Decembrists, imbued with love for the Motherland and opposing violence against individuals.
The comedy describes the clash of two centuries: the “present century” with the “past century.” A striking example of the old times is the so-called Famus society. These are acquaintances and relatives of Pavel Afanasyevich Famusov, a wealthy Moscow gentleman, in whose house the play takes place. These are Khlestova, the Gorichi spouses, Skalozub, Molchalin and others. All these people are united by one point of view on life. They are all cruel serf owners; human trafficking is considered normal among them. The serfs save their lives and honor, serve sincerely, and they can exchange them for a pair of greyhounds. So at Famusov’s ball, Khlestova tells Sophia to give her a sop from dinner for her blackamoor - a girl and a dog. She doesn't see any difference between them. This remains relevant today. When a rich person with power and money can humiliate another person of lower level. The ideals for today's society are rich people in ranks. Famusov uses Kuzma Petrovich as an example to Chatsky, who was a venerable chamberlain, “with a key,” “rich and was married to a rich woman.” Pavel Afanasyevich wants a groom like Skalozub for his daughter, because he “has a golden bag and aspires to be a general.”
All representatives of Famus society are characterized by an indifferent attitude towards affairs. Famusov, a “manager in a government place,” deals with affairs only once; at Molchalin’s insistence, he signs the papers, despite the fact that they “contradict and contain many things.” He thinks: “It’s signed, off your shoulders.” The saddest thing is that these days people think exactly the same as Famusov. Almost everyone has an irresponsible attitude towards work. This is the unsurpassability of great comedy; it remains vital and relevant in the 20th century.
The main character of the play is Chatsky, through whom the author expresses his progressive ideas. He opposes the senseless imitation of everything foreign. He wants to punish those around him that they must love and respect Russian culture. Chatsky says that a Frenchman from Bordeaux, who came to Moscow, did not hear “a word of a Russian” and did not see “a Russian face” here. The comedy "Woe from Wit" is unique in world literature, since no one except Griboedov reveals the whole reality of the events taking place.
In the comedy, Chatsky is declared crazy because representatives of Famus society do not understand his ideas. He alone does not want to put up with the humiliation of people over people. Chatsky failed to correctly prove the correctness of his beliefs and still cannot reveal the secret. The comedy remains unsolved because humanity blindly follows life events without wanting to change anything.
