Creativity N.V. Gogol occupies a special place in Russian literature. No one else could describe the broad panorama of Russian life in such a lively and humorous manner. Of course, first of all, the artist is interested in shortcomings; he does not feel sorry for his homeland, but shows all its injuries, all the bad things that exist in everyday life. The satirist's pen serves to expose officials and landowners, and evilly ridicules their vices.
In his works Gogol does not devote special attention female images. The writer does not consider it necessary to depict separately the shortcomings of men and women, he only gives big picture desolation reigning in the cities and villages of Russia. However, on the other hand, they prompt the reader to think more deeply about the causes of desolation, adding color to the description and dynamics to the actions.
One of Gogol's most famous creations is the play "The Inspector General". This work seems to be a kind of prologue to the monumental poem “Dead Souls,” the writer’s life’s work. In "The Inspector General" the sting of satire is directed against the life and morals of a remote town, against the greed and arbitrariness of county officials.
\"Dead Souls\" is a work of a much larger scale. In it, all of Russia appeared before the reader's court. Gogol does not feel sorry for her, but caustically mocks her shortcomings, believing that this treatment will be beneficial, that in the future the homeland will definitely get rid of dirt and vulgarity. The idea of \"Dead Souls\" is a continuation of \"The Inspector General\". It doesn’t just show the life and morals of officials county town. Now Gogol exposes both landowners and officials; he castigates glaring shortcomings on a much larger scale. \"Dead\" souls of all Russia pass before the eyes of readers.
One of the main functions performed by female characters in both works is the formation of ideas about certain social and socio-psychological types. Most shining example This is the image of the landowner Korobochka. She is described by Gogol as a terrible person with her stinginess and stupidity, who is more like a machine than a person. Her characteristic- the desire to get as much as possible more money, and she is not interested in whether the buyer needs the product or not. Korobochka is stingy and thrifty; nothing goes to waste in her household, which, in general, is commendable. But the main feature of her character is hidden in her “talking” surname: she is an impenetrable, limited and stupid old woman. If some idea comes to her mind, then it is impossible to convince her; all reasonable arguments “bounce off her like a rubber ball from a wall.” Even the imperturbable Chichikov becomes furious, trying to prove to her the undoubted benefit of selling the peasants. But she firmly took it into her head that Chichikov wanted to deceive her, and cracking this nut, this box, was extremely difficult even for the hardened businessman Chichikov. In Korobochka, Gogol embodied all the limited thinking of Russian landowners; it became a symbol of the abyss in which the Russian landed nobility, having completely lost the ability to think sensibly.
In order to show the picture of life and the depth of the decline of morals in provincial town N. the author introduces images of city gossips. Their exaggerated and fictitious stories about Chichikov's adventures, mixed with discussions about fashion, do not evoke anything in the reader except a feeling of disgust. Vivid images just a pleasant lady and a lady pleasant in all respects characterize the city and province from a very unfavorable side, emphasizing the flatness of their thinking.
Because of the gossip started by these ladies, the shortcomings of dishonest officials were revealed. And this is not the only example of how female images help Gogol to show a real picture of life, a real situation.
Outwardly, there is nothing interesting about Anna Andreevna, the mayor’s wife in “The Inspector General”: she is a fussy, curious chatterbox, the reader immediately gets the impression that she has the wind in her head. However, it is worth taking a closer look at it. After all, the author in his “Notes for Gentlemen Actors” characterizes her as a woman who is smart in her own way and even has some power over her husband. This is an interesting representative of provincial society. Thanks to her, the image of the mayor becomes more prominent, acquires additional meaning, and the reader gets a clear idea of the lifestyle and problems of the county ladies.
Marya Antonovna is not very different from mother. She is very similar to her, but much less active; she is not a double of the energetic official, but only her shadow. Marya Antonovna tries with all her might to seem significant, but her behavior betrays her: outfits occupy the most space in a girl’s heart; she pays attention primarily to Khlestakov’s “suit,” and not to its owner. The image of Marya Antonovna characterizes the city from the bad side, because if young people are busy only with themselves and “suits,” then society has no future.
The images of the mayor's wife and daughter brilliantly reveal the author's intention and illustrate his idea: the bureaucracy and society of the district town are rotten through and through. Women's images help to reveal the author's intention in \"Dead Souls\". Mortification is manifested in Korobochka, who is always painstakingly collecting a penny and is afraid of making a mistake when making a deal, and in the wives of the landowners.
In addition, the wives of Manilov and Sobakevich help the author reveal male characters more fully and in detail, and emphasize any character traits. Each of them is, as it were, a copy of her spouse. For example, Sobakevich’s wife, upon entering the room, sat down and did not even think about starting a conversation, which confirms the rudeness and ignorance of the owner. Manilova is more interesting. Her manners and habits exactly repeat the manners and habits of her husband, we recognize in the expression of her face the same cloying, she, like Manilov himself, has not yet left the world of dreams. But at the same time, there are hints of her independence; Gogol recalls studying at the boarding school and her playing the piano. Thus, Manilova separates from her husband, acquires her own characteristics, the author hints that her fate could have turned out differently if she had not met Manilova. However, the images of the landowners' wives are not independent; they only enrich the images of the landowners themselves.
The image of the governor’s daughter is extremely important in this aspect. Although she does not utter a word throughout the entire poem, with her help the reader discovers the amazing character traits of Chichikov. A meeting with a charming girl awakens tender feelings in Chichikov’s soul; this rogue suddenly begins to think about love and marriage, about the future of youth. Despite the fact that this obsession will soon subside like a haze, this moment is very important; here the reader encounters a vague hint of the possible spiritual rebirth of the hero. Compared to the image of the mayor's daughter in "The Inspector General", the image of the governor's daughter carries a fundamentally different semantic load.
In principle, the female images of "The Inspector General" do not play an important role in understanding the main idea of the work. But their significance is also great. After all, women are not officials, which means Gogol’s satire is not aimed directly at them, their function is to emphasize the general degradation of the county town. Anna Andreevna and Marya Antonovna highlight the shortcomings of officials. Their stupidity and overly high self-esteem expose the same shortcomings of officials, hidden under the mask of integrity and diligence, under the blinding light of satire.
In \"Dead Souls\" the female characters, on the contrary, are versatile. They are much more complex, more developed than in "The Inspector General". None of them can be clearly characterized. But one thing is certain: female characters allow the reader to understand the work more deeply; their presence enlivens the story and often makes the reader smile.
In general, Gogol’s female images, although not the main ones, characterize in detail and accurately the morals of the bureaucracy. they show the life of landowners in an interesting and varied way, revealing more fully and deeply the most main image in the writer’s work - the image of his homeland, Russia. Through the description of such women, Gogol leads the reader to think about her fate, about the fate of his compatriots, and proves that Russia’s shortcomings are not her fault, but a misfortune.
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“Dead Souls” is one of the brightest works of Russian and world literature, the pinnacle of Gogol’s artistic mastery. Each of his characters is individual and unique. Here, in one work, Gogol manages to show all of Russia as it was at that time, although little has changed in people’s minds and many of the conclusions drawn from the poem are relevant to this day. The description of the female half of humanity also plays a significant role in the poem. Shown here are a “typical” very thrifty landowner, a young coquette, and two pleasant ladies who are ready to instantly turn any news into a city rumor, to see the truth in which it is almost impossible.
The third chapter of the poem is devoted to the image of Korobochka, which Gogol classifies as one of those “small landowners who complain about crop failures, losses and keep their heads somewhat to one side, and meanwhile little by little collect money in colorful bags placed in dresser drawers!” (or M. and Korobochka are in some way antipodes: Manilov’s vulgarity is hidden behind high phases, behind discussions about the good of the Motherland, and in Korobochka spiritual poverty appears in its natural form. Korobochka does not pretend to be a high culture: in its entire appearance a very unpretentious simplicity. This is emphasized by Gogol in the appearance of the heroine: he points out her shabby and unattractive appearance. This simplicity reveals itself in her relationships with people - the strengthening of her wealth, it is no coincidence that Chichikov sees traces of skillful management in her estate. This thriftiness reveals her inner insignificance. She has no feelings other than the desire to acquire and benefit. Korobochka trades with peasants with the same efficiency with which she sells other items of her household. For her, there is no difference between the animate and the living. an inanimate creature. Only one thing scares her in Chichikov’s proposal: the prospect of missing something, not taking what can be obtained for “dead souls.” Korobochka is not going to give them up to Chichikov on the cheap. (Gogol awarded her the epithet “club-headed.”) This money comes from the sale of a wide variety of products subsistence farming. Korobochka understood the benefits of trading and after much persuasion agrees to sell such unusual product like dead souls.
Even at the beginning of the poem, the Governor’s daughter appears, an approximate portrait of whom we, however, can only draw up after the governor’s ball. Here Chichikov is trying to start a conversation with her, but the prudent and intelligent swindler cannot match the ability to engage a lady in an interesting conversation with a Military officer and the conversation does not work out, from this we can conclude who made up the typical social circle of the young coquette and about her future fate. This is indirectly indicated by the fact that the first version of the “nice” ladies about the plans of Chichikov (who is possibly Napoleon) is the theft of the governor’s daughter, and the mention that eldest daughter Plyushkina ran away with the military man.
Gogol also did not forget to briefly mention the “secular” ladies typical of that time (and ours too), whose main occupation is to dissolve various gossip. They are the ones who become “pleasant ladies in all respects” and “simply pleasant ladies.” main reason Chichikov's collapse. It is the completely groundless rumors they spread, accepted by everyone as the truth, and giving rise to new, even more absurd hypotheses, that fundamentally undermine Chichikov’s authority. And the “nice” ladies did all this out of “nothing to do”, accidentally turning to this conversation after an argument about the pattern. In the poem they personify the “metropolitan” society ladies, who, although they differ in financial condition and position in society, but in terms of the desire to wash bones and spread rumors, they are absolutely in no way different from their provincial projections.
The poem “Dead Souls” is perhaps Gogol’s most mysterious work. An adventurous plot and realistic characters coexist with a constant feeling of the irrational, with a very special atmosphere. What is behind the characters in the poem, what themes and motifs do they introduce into the narrative, what is the symbolism of “Dead Souls”?
Let's try to figure this out by analyzing the work. First of all, the poem amazes with the mixture of two semantic plans, their interchangeability: the living is often described as dead, and vice versa. The plot center of “Dead Souls” is an adventure - Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov’s purchase of the souls of dead peasants in order to pawn them in a bank as living ones and receive for them a large sum money.
The movement in “Dead Souls” is moral self-improvement, the search for the right path in life. And this is precisely what determines the infinity of this movement: a person must tirelessly strive for virtue.
Thus, the true content of Gogol’s poem is the writer’s thoughts about the moral nature of man, his thoughts about the Russian soul, about the vain and the eternal.
Gogol in “Dead Souls,” as in “The Inspector General,” creates an absurd artistic world in which people lose their human essence and turn into a parody of the possibilities inherent in them by nature.
In an effort to detect signs of death and loss of spirituality (soul) in the characters, Gogol resorts to the use of everyday detail. Each landowner is surrounded by many objects that can characterize him.
In the history of Russian literature, it is difficult to find a work, the work on which would bring its creator so much mental anguish and suffering, but at the same time so much happiness and joy, as “Dead Souls” - Gogol’s central work, the work of his whole life. Of the 23 years devoted to creativity, 17 years - from 1835 to his death in 1852 - Gogol worked on his poem. Most of this time he lived abroad, mainly in Italy. But of the entire huge and grandiose trilogy about the life of Russia, only the first volume was published (1842), and the second was burned before his death; the writer never began work on the third volume.
The work on this book was not easy - many times Gogol changed the plan, rewrote parts that had already been corrected into pieces, achieving complete execution of the plan and artistic perfection. The discerning artist worked on the first volume alone for 6 years. In the fall of 1841, he brought the first volume ready for printing from Italy to Moscow, but here an unexpected blow awaited him: censorship opposed the publication of a work entitled “Dead Souls.” I had to send the manuscript to St. Petersburg, where his influential friends stood up for the writer, but even here everything was not settled right away. Finally, after long explanations regarding the misunderstanding with the title and making corrections, in particular regarding “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin,” the first volume of the poem was published in May 1842. Making concessions, the author changed the title: the book was published under the title “The Adventures of Chichikov, or Dead Souls.” Readers and critics greeted it favorably, but much in this unusual work immediately caused controversy, which developed into heated discussions.
In an effort to explain to the reader his new grandiose plan, Gogol actively begins to work on the continuation of the work, but it is very difficult, with long interruptions. During the creation of the poem, Gogol experienced several severe spiritual and physical crises. In 1840, he suffered from a dangerous illness, he was already ready to die, but unexpectedly healing came, which Gogol, a deeply religious man, perceived as a gift sent to him from above in the name of fulfilling his lofty plan. It was then that he finally formed the philosophy and moral idea of the second and third volumes of “Dead Souls” with the plot of human self-improvement and movement towards achieving a spiritual ideal. This can be felt already in the first volume, but such a plan should have been fully realized in the entire trilogy.
Starting work on the second volume in 1842, Gogol felt that the task he had set was very difficult: the utopia of some imaginary new Russia is in no way consistent with reality. So, in 1845, another crisis arose, as a result of which Gogol burned the already written second volume. He feels he needs tension internal work over himself - Gogol reads and studies spiritual literature, the Holy Scriptures, enters into correspondence with friends who are close in spirit. The result is the artistic and journalistic book “Selected Passages from Correspondence with Friends,” published in 1847 and causing the most fierce criticism. In this book, Gogol expressed a thought similar to that which underlies the idea of the trilogy “Dead Souls”: the path to the creation of a new Russia does not lie through scrapping state system or various political transformations, but through the moral self-improvement of each person. This idea, expressed in journalistic form, was not accepted by the writer’s contemporaries.
Then he decided to continue its development, but in the form work of art, and with this is connected his return to the interrupted work on the second volume of Dead Souls, which is being completed in Moscow. By 1852, the second volume was actually written in its entirety. But again the writer is overcome by doubts, he begins editing, and within a few months the white paper turns into a draft. And physical and nervous strength was already at its limit. On the night of February 11-12, 1852, Gogol burns the white manuscript, and on February 21 (March 4) he dies.
Literary criticism of the 19th century, starting with Belinsky, began to call Gogol the founder of a new period in the development of Russian realistic literature. If Pushkin was characterized by harmony and objectivity art world, then in Gogol’s work this is replaced by critical pathos, which determines the artist’s desire to reflect the real contradictions of reality, to penetrate into the most dark sides life and human soul. That is why, in the second half of the 19th century, supporters of the democratic camp sought to see in Gogol, first of all, a satirical writer, who marked the arrival of new themes, problems, “ideas and methods of them” in literature. artistic embodiment, which were picked up first by writers " natural school”, united around Belinsky, and then developed in the realistic literature of the “Gogol period” - this is how literature began to be called in contrast to Pushkin critical realism second half of the 19th century.
Now many scientists dispute this point of view and say that, along with critical pathos, Gogol's realism is distinguished by a striving for the ideal, which is genetically connected with the romantic worldview. The position of Gogol, who recognized himself as a missionary artist, called upon not only to show acute social problems and the depth of the moral decline of contemporary society and man, but also to point the way to spiritual revival and transformation of all aspects of life, was especially clearly manifested in the process of working on “Dead Souls” "
All this determined the originality of the genre specificity of the work. It is obvious that Gogol's poem is not traditional, it is a new artistic construction that has no analogues in world literature. It is not without reason that the debate about the genre of this work, which began immediately after the release of Dead Souls, has not subsided to this day. The writer himself did not immediately determine the genre of his work: it was the result of a complex creative process, changes ideological plan. At first, he thought of the work he was creating as a novel. In a letter to Pushkin dated October 7, 1835, Gogol notes: “In this novel I want to show at least one side of all of Rus'... The plot stretches out over a long novel and, it seems, will be very funny.” But already in a letter to Zhukovsky dated November 12, 1836, a new name appears - a poem.
This change corresponded to a new plan: “All of Rus' will appear in it.” The general features of the work are gradually becoming clearer, which, according to Gogol’s plan, should become similar to the ancient epic - the epic poems of Homer. He imagines the new work as a Russian “Odyssey”, only at the center of it was not the cunning Homeric traveler, but the “scoundrel-acquirer,” as Gogol called the central - “through” - hero of his poem, Chichikov.
At the same time, an analogy is formed with Dante’s poem “The Divine Comedy”, which is associated not only with the features of the general three-part structure, but also with the aspiration to the ideal - spiritual improvement. It was the ideal beginning in such a work that should have become decisive. But as a result, of this entire grandiose plan, only the first part was completed, to which, first of all, the words about depicting Rus' only “from one side” were related. Nevertheless, it was wrong It would be reasonable to assume that the first volume contains only satire. It is not for nothing that the writer saved it for him. genre definition poem. Indeed, here, in addition to depicting the real state of life, which causes the writer’s protest, there is an ideal beginning, revealed primarily in the lyrical part of the poem - lyrical digressions.
The composition and plot of the work also changed as the concept developed and deepened. According to Gogol himself, the plot of “Dead Souls” was given to him by Pushkin. But what was this “gifted” plot? According to researchers, it corresponded to the external intrigue - Chichikov’s purchase of Dead Souls. "Dead soul" is a phrase from 19th century bureaucratic jargon for a dead peasant. Around the scam with the serfs, who, despite the fact of death, continue to be listed as alive in the revision fairy tale and whom Chichikov wants to pledge at interest to the Guardian Council, a “mirage intrigue” revolves, the first storyline of the work.
But another story is more important - an internal one, showing the transformation of Russia and the revival of the people living in it. It did not appear immediately, but as a result of a change general plan poems. It is when the concept of “Dead Souls” begins to be associated with the grandiose poem “The Divine Comedy” by the great Italian writer of the early Renaissance, Dante Alighieri, that the whole artistic structure"Dead Souls". Dante's work consists of three parts (“Hell”, “Purgatory”, “Paradise”), creating a kind of poetic encyclopedia of life in medieval Italy. Focusing on it, Gogol dreams of creating a work in which the true Russian path would be found and Russia in the present and its movement towards the future would be shown.
In accordance with this new plan, the general composition of the poem “Dead Souls” was built, which was supposed to consist of three volumes, like Dante’s “Divine Comedy”. The first volume, which the author called “the porch to the house,” is a kind of “Hell” of Russian reality. It was he who turned out to be the only one of the writer’s vast plans that was fully realized. In the 2nd volume, similar to “Purgatory,” new, positive heroes were supposed to appear and, using the example of Chichikov, it was supposed to show the path of purification and resurrection of the human soul. Finally, in the 3rd volume - “Paradise” - a beautiful, ideal world and truly spiritualized heroes were to appear. In this plan, Chichikov was assigned a special compositional function: it was he who would have to go through the path of resurrection of the soul, and therefore could become a connecting hero who connects all the parts of the grandiose picture of life presented in the three volumes of the poem. But even in its 1st volume, this function of the hero is preserved: the story about Chichikov’s journey in search of sellers from whom he acquires “dead souls” helps the author to unite different storylines, it is easy to introduce new faces, events, pictures, which as a whole make up the broadest panorama of life in Russia in the 30s of the 19th century.
The composition of the first volume of “Dead Souls,” similar to “Hell,” is organized in such a way as to show as fully as possible the negative aspects of life in all components of modern Russia to the author. The first chapter is a general exposition, followed by five portrait chapters (chapters 2-6), in which landowner Russia is presented, chapters 7-10 give a collective image of bureaucracy, and the last, eleventh chapter is dedicated to Chichikov.
These are externally closed, but internally interconnected links. Outwardly, they are united by the plot of purchasing “dead souls.” Chapter 1 tells about Chichikov’s arrival in the provincial town, then a series of his meetings with landowners are shown sequentially, chapter 7 deals with the formalization of the purchase, and chapters 8-9 talk about the rumors associated with it, chapter 11 Chapter 1, along with Chichikov’s biography, reports on his departure from the city. Internal unity is created by the author’s reflections on contemporary Russia. This internal plot, the most important from an ideological point of view, allows us to organically fit into the composition of the 1st volume of the poem a large number of extra-plot elements (lyrical digressions, inserted episodes), as well as include a story that is completely unmotivated from the point of view of the plot buying dead shower insert “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin”.
In accordance with the main idea of the work - to show the path to achieving a spiritual ideal, on the basis of which the writer imagines the possibility of transforming both the state system of Russia, its social structure, and all social layers and each individual person - the main themes and problems posed in the poem are determined "Dead Souls". Being an opponent of any political and social upheavals, especially revolutionary ones, the Christian writer believes that the negative phenomena that characterize the state of contemporary Russia can be overcome through moral self-improvement not only of the Russian person himself, but also of the entire structure of society and the state. Moreover, such changes, from Gogol’s point of view, should not be external, but internal, that is, we are talking about the fact that all state and social structures, and especially their leaders, in their activities must be guided by moral laws and the postulates of Christian ethics. Thus, the eternal Russian problem - bad roads - can be overcome, according to Gogol, not by changing bosses or tightening laws and control over their implementation. To do this, it is necessary that each of the participants in this matter, first of all the leader, remember that he is responsible not to a higher official, but to God. Gogol called on every Russian person in his place, in his position, to do things as the highest - Heavenly - law commands.
That is why the themes and problems of Gogol’s poem turned out to be so broad and comprehensive. In its first volume, the emphasis is placed on all those negative phenomena in the life of the country that need to be corrected. But the main evil for the writer lies not in social problems as such, but in the reason for which they arise: the spiritual impoverishment of contemporary man. That is why the problem of the death of the soul becomes central in the 1st volume of the poem. All other themes and problems of the work are grouped around it. “Be not dead, but living souls!” - the writer calls, convincingly demonstrating the abyss into which one who has lost his living soul falls. But what is meant by this strange oxymoron - “dead soul”, which gives the title to the whole work? Of course, not only a purely bureaucratic term used in Russia in the 19th century. Often a “dead soul” is called a person who is mired in worries about vanity. The gallery of landowners and officials shown in the 1st volume of the poem reveals such “dead souls” to the reader, since they are all characterized by lack of spirituality, selfish interests, empty extravagance or soul-consuming stinginess. From this point of view, the “dead souls” shown in Volume 1 can only be resisted by “ alive soul"of the people, presented in the author's lyrical digressions. But, of course, the oxymoron “dead soul” is interpreted by the Christian writer in a religious and philosophical sense. The very word “soul” indicates the immortality of the individual in its Christian understanding. From this point of view, the symbolism of the definition “dead souls” contains the opposition of the dead (inert, frozen, spiritless) principle and the living (spiritualized, high, light). The uniqueness of Gogol's position lies in the fact that he not only contrasts these two principles, but points out the possibility of awakening the living in the dead. So the poem includes the theme of the resurrection of the soul, the theme of the path to its revival. It is known that Gogol intended to show the path of revival of two heroes from the 1st volume - Chichikov and Plyushkin. The author dreams that the “dead souls” of Russian reality will be reborn, turning into truly “living” souls.
But in the modern world, the death of the soul affected literally everyone and was reflected in the most diverse aspects of life. In the poem “Dead Souls” the writer continues and develops that general theme, which runs through all of his work: the belittlement and disintegration of man in the illusory and absurd world of Russian reality. But now it is enriched with an idea of what the true, high spirit of Russian life is, what it can and should be. This idea permeates the main theme of the poem: the writer’s reflection on Russia and its people. The present of Russia presents a terrifyingly powerful picture of decay and decay, which has affected all layers of society: landowners, officials, even the people.
Gogol demonstrates in an extremely concentrated form “the properties of our Russian breed.” Among them, he especially highlights the vices inherent in the Russian person. Thus, Plyushkin’s frugality turns into Manilov’s stinginess, daydreaming and cordiality - into an excuse for laziness and sweetness. Nozdryov's daring and energy are wonderful qualities, but here they are excessive and aimless, and therefore become a parody of Russian heroism. At the same time, by drawing extremely generalized types of Russian landowners, Gogol reveals the theme of landowner Rus', which correlates with the problems of relationships between landowners and peasants, the profitability of landowner farming, and the possibility of its improvement. At the same time, the writer does not condemn serfdom and not the landowners as a class, but how exactly they use their power over the peasants, the wealth of their lands, for the sake of which they engage in farming in general. And here the main theme remains the theme of impoverishment, which is associated not so much with economic or social problems, but with the process of death of the soul.
Gogol does not hide the spiritual misery of a forced person, humiliated, downtrodden and submissive. Such are Chichikov's coachman Selifan and footman Petrushka, the girl Pelageya, who does not know where is right and where is left, men thoughtfully discussing whether the wheel of Chichikov's chaise will reach Moscow or Kazan, Uncle Mityai and Uncle Minyai fussing around senselessly.
It is not for nothing that the “living soul” of a people is visible only in those who have already died, and in this the writer sees a terrible paradox of his contemporary reality. The writer shows how the wonderful qualities of the people's character turn into their opposite. Russian people love to philosophize, but often this results in idle talk. His leisureliness is similar to laziness, gullibility and naivety turn into stupidity, and empty vanity arises from efficiency. “Our land is perishing... from ourselves,” the writer addresses everyone.
Continuing the theme of exposing the bureaucratic system of a state mired in corruption and bribery, begun in The Inspector General, Gogol paints a kind of review of “dead souls” and bureaucratic Russia, which is characterized by idleness and emptiness of existence. The writer talks about the lack of true culture and morality in his contemporary society. Balls and gossip are the only things that fill people's lives here. All conversations revolve around trifles; these people are unaware of spiritual needs. Performance about beauty comes down to a discussion of the colors of the material and fashionable styles (“motley is not motley”), and a person is assessed, in addition to his property and class status, by the way he blows his nose and ties his tie.
That is why the immoral and dishonest rogue Chichikov so easily finds his way into this society. Along with this hero, the poem includes another important theme: Russia is embarking on the path of capitalist development and a new “hero of the time” appears in life, whom Gogol was the first to show and appreciate - “the scoundrel - the acquirer.” For such a person there are no moral barriers with regard to his main goal - his own benefit. At the same time, the writer sees that in comparison with the inert, deadened environment of landowners and officials, this hero looks much more energetic, capable of quick and decisive action, and unlike many of those with whom he encounters, Chichikov is endowed with common sense. But these good qualities cannot bring anything positive to Russian life if the soul of their bearer remains dead, like all the other characters in the poem. Practicality and determination in Chichikov turn into trickery. It contains the richest potential possibilities, but without a high goal, without a moral foundation, they cannot be realized, and therefore Chichikov’s soul is destroyed.
Why did this situation arise? Answering this question, Gogol returns to his constant theme: exposing the “vulgarity of a vulgar person.” “My heroes are not villains at all,” the writer claims, “but they are “all vulgar without exception.” Vulgarity, which turns into death of the soul, moral savagery, is the main danger for a person. It is not for nothing that Gogol attached such great importance to the insert “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin,” which shows the cruelty and inhumanity of the officials of the “highest commission” itself. “The Tale” is dedicated to the theme of the heroic year 1812 and creates a deep contrast to the soulless and petty world of officials. In this seemingly expanded episode, it is shown that the fate of the captain, who fought for his homeland, was crippled and deprived of the opportunity to feed himself, does not concern anyone. The highest officials in St. Petersburg are indifferent to him, which means that deadness has penetrated everywhere - from the society of district and provincial cities to the top of the state pyramid.
But in the 1st volume of the poem there is also something that opposes this terrible, soulless, vulgar life. This is the ideal beginning that must necessarily be in a work called a poem. “The untold wealth of the Russian spirit”, “a husband gifted with divine virtues”, “a wonderful Russian maiden... with all her wondrous beauty female soul“- all this is just being conceived and is expected to be implemented in subsequent volumes. But even in the first volume, the presence of the ideal is felt - through the author’s voice, sounding in lyrical digressions, thanks to which the poem includes a completely different range of topics and problems. The peculiarity of their production is that only the author can lead a conversation with the reader about literature, culture, art, and rise to the heights philosophical thought. After all, none of his “vulgar” heroes are interested in these topics; everything lofty and spiritual cannot touch them. Only sometimes does there seem to be a merging of the voices of the author and his hero Chichikov, who will have to be reborn, and therefore will have to address all these issues. But in the 1st volume of the poem this is only a kind of promise of the hero’s future development, a kind of “author’s hint” to him.
Along with the author's voice, the poem includes the most important themes that can be combined into several blocks. The first of them concerns issues related to literature: about writing and different types of literary artists, the tasks of the writer and his responsibilities; about literary heroes and methods of depicting them, among which the most important place is given to satire; about the possibility of a new positive hero. The second block covers questions of a philosophical nature - about life and death, youth and old age as different periods of the development of the soul; about the purpose and meaning of life, the purpose of man. The third block concerns the problem of the historical destinies of Russia and its people: it is connected with the theme of the path along which the country is moving, its future, which is conceived ambiguously; with the theme of the people, the way they can and should be; with the theme of the heroism of the Russian man and his limitless possibilities.
These large ideological and thematic layers of the work manifest themselves both in individual lyrical digressions and in cross-cutting motifs running through the entire work. The peculiarity of the poem also lies in the fact that, following Pushkin’s traditions, Gogol creates the image of the author in it. This is not just a conventional figure holding together individual elements, but a holistic personality, with his own openly expressed worldview. The author directly evaluates everything that he tells. At the same time, in lyrical digressions the author reveals himself in all the diversity of his personality. At the beginning of the sixth chapter there is a sad and elegiac reflection on passing youth and maturity, on the “loss of living movement” and impending old age. At the end of this digression, Gogol directly addresses the reader: “Take it with you on the journey, leaving the soft teenage years into stern, embittering courage, take with you all human movements, do not leave them on the road, you will not pick them up later! The old age coming ahead is terrible, terrible, and nothing gives back and back! This is how the theme of spiritual and moral improvement of man sounds again, but addressed not only to his contemporaries, but also to himself.
The author’s thoughts about the artist’s task in the modern world are also connected with this. lyrical digression at the beginning of Chapter VII, two types of writers are spoken of. The author is fighting for the establishment of realistic art and a demanding, sober view of life, not afraid to highlight all the “mud of little things” in which modern man is mired, even if this dooms the writer to not be accepted by his readers and causes their hostility. He speaks about the fate of such an “unrecognized writer”: “His field is harsh, and he will bitterly feel his loneliness.” A different fate awaits the writer who avoids pressing problems. Success and glory, honor among his compatriots await him. Comparing the fates of these two writers, the author speaks bitterly about the moral and aesthetic deafness of the “modern court,” which does not recognize that “high, enthusiastic laughter is worthy of standing next to the high lyrical movement.” Subsequently, this lyrical digression became the subject of fierce debate in the literary polemics that unfolded in the 1840-1850s.
These images of Russian heroes are not reality, but rather Gogol’s embodied faith in the Russian people. All of them are among the dead and fugitive “souls,” and although they live or lived in the same world as the other heroes of the poem, they do not belong to the reality in which the action takes place. Such folk images do not exist on their own, but are only outlined in Chichikov’s reflections on the list of peasants purchased from Sobakevich. But the entire style and character of this fragment of text indicates that we are looking at the thoughts of the author himself, rather than his hero. He continues here the theme of the heroism of the Russian people, their potential. Among those he writes about are talented craftsmen - Stepan Probka, a carpenter, “a hero who would be fit for the guard”; brickmaker Milushkin, shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov. The author speaks with admiration about the barge haulers replacing the “revelry peaceful life"to "labor and sweat"; about the reckless prowess of people like Abram Fyrov, a runaway peasant who, despite the danger, “walks noisily and cheerfully on the grain pier.” But in real life, which has deviated so greatly from the ideal, death awaits them all. And only the living language of the people testifies that their soul has not died, it can and must be reborn. Thinking about the truth in native language, Gogol notes in a lyrical digression related to the characterization of the nickname given to Plyushkin by a peasant: “There is no word that would be so sweeping, smart, so bursting out from under the very heart, so seething and vibrant, like an aptly spoken Russian word.”
The time when Gogol conceived and created his works - from 1831 ("Evenings on a farm near Dikanka") to 1842 (the first volume of "Dead Souls") - coincides with the period that in Russian history is usually called the "Nicholas reaction". This historical period came to replace the era of social upsurge of the 20s of the 19th century, which ended in 1825 with the heroic and tragic uprising of the Decembrists. The society of the period of the “Nikolaev reaction” is painfully searching for a new idea for its development. The most radical part of Russian society believes that it is necessary to continue the irreconcilable struggle against autocracy and serfdom. In literature, this mood was reflected in the works of A.I. Herzen. The other part of society behaves fundamentally apolitically, having become disillusioned with Decembrism, but not having had time to develop new positive ideals. This is the life position of the “lost generation”, it was wonderfully expressed in his work by M.Yu. Lermontov. The third part of Russian society is looking for a national idea in the spiritual development of Russia - in the moral improvement of the people, in getting closer to Christian truths. Expressing this public mood, Gogol creates the poem “Dead Souls”.
The idea of the poem was enormous - to comprehend the fate of Russia, its present and future. The theme of the first volume (only it was written from the planned trilogy) can be formulated as follows: an image of the spiritual state of Russian society in the 40s of the 19th century. The main attention in the first volume is paid to showing the past and present of Russia - the life of landowners and officials, who, by tradition, are considered the color of the nation and the support of the state, but in fact are “sky-smokers”, and nothing else. The people in the work are presented as dark and undeveloped: just remember Uncle Mitya and Uncle Minya and their stupid advice when separating crews, or mention the serf girl who did not know where right and left were. The primitive creatures are Chichikov's servants - the coachman Selifan and the footman Petrushka. The idea of the first volume of the poem is to reveal the terrifying lack of spirituality of modern society. Russia is represented as a sleepy, motionless country, but in its depths lurks a living soul, which Gogol wants to discover and express in the following volumes of the poem. The author is optimistic about the future of Russia and believes in the creative powers of the nation, which is clearly expressed in several lyrical digressions, especially in the last one about the bird-troika.
By genre, “Dead Souls” can be defined as a novel. On the one hand, this is a social novel, because it raises the question of the fate of Russia, its social development. On the other hand, this is an everyday novel: Gogol describes in detail the life of the heroes - Chichikov, landowners, officials. The reader learns not only the whole story of Pavel Ivanovich, but also the details of his life: what he eats at each postal station, how he dresses, what he carries in his suitcase. The author takes pleasure in painting the most expressive object belonging to the hero - a box with a secret. Chichikov's serfs are also represented - the imperturbable coachman Selifan, a lover of philosophy and alcohol, and the footman Petrushka, who had a strong natural smell and a craving for reading (and he often did not understand the meaning of words).
Gogol describes in great detail the structure of life on the estate of each of the five landowners. For example, although Chichikov gets to Korobochka at night, he manages to make out a low wooden manor house and a strong gate. In the room where Pavel Ivanovich was invited, he carefully examined the portraits and pictures, the clock and the mirror on the wall. The writer tells in detail what the breakfast consisted of, which Korobochka treated Chichikov to the next morning.
“Dead Souls” can be called a detective novel, because the mysterious activities of Chichikov, who buys such a strange product as dead souls, are explained only in last chapter, where the life story of the main character is located. Here only the reader understands Chichikov’s whole scam with the Guardian Council. The work has the features of a “rogue” novel (the clever rogue Chichikov achieves his goal by hook or by crook, his deception is revealed at first glance by pure chance). Simultaneously Gogol's work can be classified as an adventure (adventure) novel, since the hero travels around the Russian province, meets different people, gets into different troubles (drunk Selifan got lost and overturned the chaise with the owner into a puddle, Chichikov was almost beaten up at Nozdryov’s, etc.) . As you know, Gogol even named his novel (under pressure from censorship) in an adventurous taste: “Dead Souls, or The Adventures of Chichikov.”
The author himself determined the genre of his great prose work completely unexpectedly - a poem. The most important artistic feature“Dead Souls” is the presence of lyrical digressions in which the author directly expresses his thoughts about the characters, their behavior, talks about himself, remembers his childhood, talks about the fate of romantic and satirical writers, expresses his longing for his homeland, etc. These numerous lyrical digressions allow us to agree with the author’s definition of the “Dead Souls” genre. In addition, as literary historians note, in Gogol’s time a poem meant not only a lyric-epic work, but also a purely epic one, standing between the novel and the epic.
Some literary scholars classify Dead Souls as an epic. The fact is that the writer conceived a trilogy based on Dante’s “Divine Comedy”. The first volume of “Dead Souls” was supposed to correspond to Dante’s “Hell”, the second volume - “Purgatory”, the third volume - “Paradise”. However, Gogol rewrote the second volume several times and finally burned it just before his death. He never began writing the third volume; the intended contents of this volume in the most general terms can be reconstructed from the original sketches. Thus, the writer created only the first part of the planned trilogy, in which he depicted, by his own admission, Russia “from one side,” that is, he showed “a terrible picture of modern Russian reality” (“Hell”).
It seems that “Dead Souls” cannot be classified as an epic: the work lacks the most important features of this genre. Firstly, the time that Gogol describes does not make it possible to clearly and fully reveal Russian national character(usually in epics they depict historical events national significance - patriotic wars or other social disasters). Secondly, in “Dead Souls” there are no memorable heroes from the people, that is, Russian society is incompletely represented. Thirdly, Gogol wrote a novel about his contemporary life, and for an epic depiction, as experience shows, a historical retrospective is necessary, which allows one to evaluate the era quite objectively.
So, it is obvious that “Dead Souls” is an extremely complex work. Genre features make it possible to classify it as a social novel, a detective story, or a poem. The first definition seems to be the most preferable (it was used by Belinsky in his article on “Dead Souls”). This genre definition reflects the most important artistic features of the work - its social and philosophical significance and a remarkable depiction of reality.
The composition of “Dead Souls” brings the novel closer to a detective story, but to reduce the work to a detective or picaresque plot is completely wrong, because the main thing for the author is not Chichikov’s clever invention about dead souls, but a detailed depiction and understanding of contemporary Russian life.
Calling “Dead Souls” a poem, Gogol had in mind the future trilogy. If we talk about a real work, then even numerous lyrical digressions do not make “Dead Souls” a poem in the strict sense of the word, because lyrical digressions are possible in a novel (“Eugene Onegin” by A.S. Pushkin), and even in a drama (“ Irkutsk history" by A.N. Arbuzov). However, in the history of Russian literature it is customary to preserve author's definition genre (this applies not only to “Dead Souls”), specifically stipulating genre originality works.
In “Dead Souls” we will not find bright, poetic female characters like Pushkin’s Tatyana or Turgenev’s Liza Kalitina. Gogol's heroines, for the most part, contain elements of the comic and are objects of the author's satire, and not at all of the author's admiration.
The most significant female character in the poem is the landowner Korobochka. Gogol describes the heroine’s appearance in a very remarkable way. “A minute later the landlady entered, an elderly woman, in some kind of sleeping cap, put on hastily, with a flannel around her neck, one of those mothers, small landowners who cry about crop failures, losses and keep their heads somewhat to one side, and meanwhile they gain little by little. money in colorful bags placed in dresser drawers.”
V. Gippius notes in Korobochka the absence of “any appearance, any face: a flannel on the neck, a cap on the head.” By “depersonalizing” the landowner, Gogol emphasizes her typicality, the great prevalence of this type.
The main qualities of Korobochka are thriftiness, frugality, bordering on stinginess. Nothing goes missing in the landowner's household: neither night blouses, nor skeins of thread, nor a torn cloak. All this is destined to lie for a long time, and then go “according to a spiritual will to the niece of a grand-sister, along with all other rubbish.”
The box is simple and patriarchal, it lives in the old fashioned way. She calls Chichikov “my father,” “father,” and addresses him as “you.” The guest sleeps on huge feather beds from which feathers fly; there is an old wall clock in the house, the strange ringing of which reminds Chichikov of the hissing of snakes; Korobochka treats him to simple Russian dishes: pies, pancakes, shanezhki.
Simplicity and patriarchy coexist in the landowner with extraordinary stupidity, ignorance, timidity and timidity. Korobochka is extremely slow-witted, unlike Sobakevich; for a long time she cannot figure out what the essence of Chichikov’s request is, and even asks him if he is going to dig up the dead. “Cudgel-headed,” Pavel Ivanovich thinks about her, seeing that his “eloquence” is powerless here. With great difficulty, he manages to convince Nastasya Petrovna to sell him dead souls. However, Korobochka immediately tries to come to an agreement with Chichikov about contracts in order to sell him flour, lard, and bird feathers in the future.
As already noted, Gogol constantly emphasizes the recognition of Korobochka and the widespread occurrence of this type of people in life. “Is the abyss really that great separating her from her sister, inaccessibly fenced off by the walls of an aristocratic house, ... yawning over an unread book in anticipation of a witty social visit, where she will have the opportunity to show off her mind and express her thoughts ... not about what is happening in her estates, confused and upset, ... but about what political revolution is being prepared in France, what direction fashionable Catholicism has taken.”
In addition to Korobochka, Gogol introduces readers to the spouses of Manilov and Sobakevich, who are, as it were, a continuation of their husbands.
Manilova is a boarding school graduate. She is pretty, “dressed to suit”, and kind to others. She doesn’t do housework at all, although “there are many different requests that could be made”: “Why, for example, do you cook stupidly and uselessly in the kitchen? Why is the pantry pretty empty? Why is a housekeeper a thief? “But all these are low subjects, and Manilova was well brought up,” Gogol ironically remarks. Manilova is dreamy and sentimental, she is just as far from reality as her husband. The heroine has not a drop of common sense: she allows her husband to name the children ancient Greek names Themistoclus and Alcides, not realizing how comical these names are for Russian life.
Sobakevich's wife is “a very tall lady, wearing a cap, with ribbons repainted with homemade paint.” Feodulia Ivanovna somewhat resembles her clumsy, phlegmatic husband: she is calm and calm, her movements resemble those of actresses “representing queens.” She stands straight, “like a palm tree.” Sobakevich's wife is not as elegant as Manilova, but she is economical and practical, neat and homely. Like Korobochka, Feodulia Ivanovna is not concerned with “high matters”; the Sobakevichs live in the old way, rarely going into the city.
“City ladies” are most clearly represented in Gogol in two collective images - the “pleasant” lady (Sofia Ivanovna) and the “pleasant in all respects” lady (Anna Grigorievna).
Anna Grigorievna’s manners are simply “amazing”: “every movement” comes out “with taste”, she loves poetry, sometimes she even knows how to “dreamily... hold her head.” And this turns out to be enough for society to conclude that she is “like a pleasant lady in all respects.” Sofya Ivanovna does not have such elegant manners and therefore receives the definition of “simply pleasant.”
The description of these heroines is thoroughly imbued with the author's satire. These ladies observe “secular etiquette” and are concerned about the “impeccability of their own reputation,” but their conversations are primitive and vulgar. They talk about fashions, dresses, materials, as if they were significant objects. As N.L. Stepanov notes, “the very exaggeration and expansiveness with which ladies talk about insignificant things ... produces a comic impression.”
Both ladies love to gossip and slander. So, having discussed Chichikov’s purchase of dead peasants, Anna Grigorievna and Sofya Ivanovna come to the conclusion that, with the help of Nozdryov, he wants to take away the governor’s daughter. IN short term These ladies set almost the entire city in motion, managing to “throw such a fog into everyone’s eyes that everyone, and especially the officials, remained stunned for some time.”
Gogol emphasizes the stupidity and absurdity of both heroines, the vulgarity of their activities and lifestyle, their affectation and hypocrisy. Anna Grigorievna and Sofya Ivanovna are happy to slander the governor’s daughter, condemning her “mannerness” and “immoral behavior.” The life of city ladies, in essence, is as meaningless and vulgar as the life of the landowners represented by Gogol.
I would especially like to dwell on the image of the governor’s daughter, who awakened Chichikov’s poetic dreams. This image is to some extent contrasted with all the other heroines of the poem. This young girl was supposed to play her role in the spiritual revival of Chichikov. When Pavel Ivanovich meets her, he not only dreams about the future, but also “gets lost,” his usual insight betrays him (scene at the ball). The face of the governor's daughter looks like an Easter egg; in this face there is light opposing the darkness of life. Chichikov looks at this light, and his soul “strives to remember the true good, a hint of which is contained in the harmonious beauty of the governor’s daughter, but his spiritual resources are too insignificant for this.”
In one of his articles, Belinsky notes that “the author of Dead Souls does not speak himself anywhere, he only makes his heroes speak in accordance with their characters. He expresses sensitive Manilov in the language of a person educated in philistine taste, and Nozdryov in the language of a historical person. ..” The speech of Gogol’s heroes is psychologically motivated, determined by their characters, lifestyle, type of thinking, and situation.
Thus, in Manilov the dominant features are sentimentality, daydreaming, complacency, and excessive sensitivity. These qualities are conveyed in his speech, elegantly florid, courteous, “delicate”, “sugary-sweet”: “observe delicacy in your actions”, “magnetism of the soul”, “spiritual pleasure”, “such a guy”, “most respectable and most amiable man,” “I don’t have the high art of expressing myself,” “chance brought me happiness.”
Manilov gravitates toward bookish, sentimental phrases; in the speech of this character we feel Gogol’s parody of the language of sentimental stories: “Open your mouth, darling, I’ll put this piece in for you.” This is how he addresses his wife.
One of the main features of the landowner’s speech, according to V.V. Litvinov, is “its vagueness, confusion, uncertainty.” Starting a phrase, Manilov seems to be under the impression of his own words and cannot clearly finish it.
The hero’s speech style is also characteristic. Manilov speaks quietly, ingratiatingly, slowly, with a smile, sometimes closing his eyes, “like a cat whose ears have been lightly tickled with a finger.” At the same time, the expression on his face becomes “not only sweet, but even cloying, similar to that mixture that the clever secular doctor sweetened mercilessly.”
In Manilov’s speech, his claims to “education” and “culture” are also noticeable. Discussing with Pavel Ivanovich selling the dead shower, he asks him a pompous and florid question about the legality of this “enterprise.” Manilov is very concerned about “whether this negotiation will not be in accordance with civil regulations and future views of Russia.” At the same time, he shows “in all the features of his face and in his compressed lips such a deep expression, which, perhaps, has never been seen in human face, unless from some too smart minister, and then at the moment of the most puzzling matter.”
The speech of Korobochka, a simple, patriarchal landowner mother, is also characteristic in the poem. The box is completely uneducated and ignorant. In her speech, colloquialisms constantly slip through: “something”, “theirs”, “manenko”, “tea”, “so hot”, “you’re putting up a fight.”
The box is not only simple and patriarchal, but timid and stupid. All these qualities of the heroine are manifested in her dialogue with Chichikov. Fearing deception, some kind of catch, Korobochka is in no hurry to agree to the sale of dead souls, believing that they might “somehow be needed on the farm.” And only Chichikov’s lies about running government contracts had an effect on her.
Gogol also depicts Korobochka’s inner speech, which conveys the landowner’s everyday intelligence, the very trait that helps her collect “little by little money into colorful bags.” “It would be nice,” Korobochka thought to herself, “if he took flour and cattle from my treasury. We need to appease him: there is still some dough left from last night, so go tell Fetinya to make some pancakes...”
Nozdryov’s speech in “Dead Souls” is unusually colorful. As Belinsky noted, “Nozdryov speaks in the language of a historical man, a hero of fairs, taverns, drinking bouts, fights and gambling tricks.”
The hero's speech is very colorful and varied. It contains both “ugly Frenchized army-restaurant jargon” (“bezeshki”, “clique-matradura”, “burdashka”, “scandalous”), and expressions of card jargon (“banchishka”, “galbik”, “parole”, “break the bank”, “play with a doublet”), and dog breeding terms (“face”, “barrel ribs”, “busty”), and many swear expressions: “svintus”, scoundrel”, “you’ll get a bald devil”, “fetyuk” , “bestial”, “you’re such a cattle breeder”, “Jewish”, “scoundrel”, “death I don’t like such meltdowns”.
In his speeches, the hero is prone to “improvisation”: often he himself does not know what he can come up with in the next minute. So, he tells Chichikov that at dinner he drank “seventeen bottles of champagne.” Showing the guests the estate, he leads them to a pond where, according to him, there is a fish of such size that two people can hardly pull it out. Moreover, Nozdryov’s lie does not have any apparent reason. He lies “for the sake of words,” wanting to amaze those around him.
Nozdryov is characterized by familiarity: with any person he quickly switches to “you”, “affectionately” calling the interlocutor “sweetheart”, “cattle breeder”, “fetyuk”, “scoundrel”. The landowner is “straightforward”: in response to Chichikov’s request for dead souls, he tells him that he is a “big swindler” and should be hanged “on the first tree.” However, after this, Nozdryov, with the same “ardor and interest,” continues the “friendly conversation.”
Sobakevich’s speech is striking in its simplicity, brevity, and accuracy. The landowner lives alone and unsociable; he is skeptical in his own way, has a practical mind, and a sober view of things. Therefore, in his assessments of others, the landowner is often rude; in his speech there are swear words f expressions. Thus, characterizing city officials, he calls them “swindlers” and “Christ-sellers.” The governor, in his opinion, is “the first robber in the world”, the chairman is a “fool”, the prosecutor is a “pig”.
It is characteristic that Sobakevich is capable of a large, inspired speech if the subject of conversation is interesting to him. So, talking about gastronomy, he reveals knowledge of German and French diets, “hunger cure.” Sobakevich’s speech becomes emotional, figurative, and vivid when he talks about the merits of dead peasants. “Another swindler will deceive you, sell you rubbish, not souls; and I have a real nut”, “I’ll lay my head down if you can find such a guy anywhere”, “Maxim Telyatnikov, shoemaker: whatever pricks with an awl, then boots, whatever boots, then thank you.” Describing his “product”, the landowner himself is carried away by his own speech, acquires “trot” and “the gift of speech”.
Gogol also depicts Sobakevich’s inner speech and his thoughts. So, noting Chichikov’s “perseverance,” the landowner remarks to himself: “You can’t knock him down, he’s stubborn!”
The last of the landowners to appear in the poem is Plyushkin. This is an old curmudgeon, suspicious and wary, always dissatisfied with something. Chichikov's visit itself infuriates him. Not at all embarrassed by Pavel Ivanovich, Plyushkin tells him that “being a guest is of little use.” At the beginning of Chichikov's visit, the landowner talks to him warily and irritably. Plyushkin does not know what the guest’s intentions are, and just in case, he warns Chichikov’s “possible attempts”, remembering his beggar-nephew.
However, in the middle of the conversation the situation changes dramatically. Plyushkin understands the essence of Chichikov’s request and becomes indescribably delighted. All his intonations change. Irritation is replaced by outright joy, wariness - by confidential intonations. Plyushkin, who saw no use in visiting, calls Chichikov “father” and “benefactor.” Touched, the landowner remembers the “lords” and “saints”.
However, Plyushkin does not remain in such complacency for long. Unable to find clean paper to complete the deed of sale, he turns back into a grumpy, grumpy miser. He unleashes all his anger on the servants. Many swear expressions appear in his speech: “what a face”, “fool”, “fool”, “robber”, “swindler”, “rascal”, “the devils will get you”, “thieves”, “shameless parasites”. The landowner’s vocabulary also includes the following colloquialisms: “bayut”, “boogers”, “hefty jackpot”, “tea”, “ehva”, “stuffed up”, “already”.
Gogol also presents us with Plyushkin’s inner speech, revealing the landowner’s suspicion and mistrust. Chichikov’s generosity seems incredible to Plyushkin, and he thinks to himself: “The devil knows, maybe he’s just a braggart, like all these money-makers: he’ll lie, he’ll lie to talk and drink tea, and then he’ll leave!”
Chichikov's speech, like Manilov's, is unusually elegant, florid, full of bookish phrases: “an insignificant worm of this world,” “I had the honor to cover your deuce.” Pavel Ivanovich has “excellent manners”; he can support any conversation - about a horse farm, and about dogs, and about refereeing tricks, and about playing billiards, and about making hot wine. He talks especially well about virtue, “even with tears in his eyes.” Chichikov’s conversational style itself is also characteristic: “He spoke neither loudly nor quietly, but absolutely as he should.”
It is worth noting the hero’s special maneuverability and mobility of speech. When communicating with people, Pavel Ivanovich masterfully adapts to each of his interlocutors. With Manilov, he speaks floridly, significantly, uses “vague periphrases and sensitive maxims.” “And really, what didn’t I suffer? like a barge among the fierce waves... What persecution, what persecution I did not experience, what grief I did not taste, but for the fact that I observed the truth, that I was clear in my conscience, that I gave my hand to a helpless widow and a wretched orphan!.. - Here he even wiped away a tear that rolled out with a handkerchief.”
With Korobochka, Chichikov becomes a kind patriarchal landowner. “Everything is God’s will, mother!” - Pavel Ivanovich states thoughtfully in response to the landowner’s complaints about the numerous deaths among the peasants. However, having realized very soon how stupid and ignorant Korobochka is, he no longer stands on ceremony with her: “get lost and begone with your whole village,” “like some, not to say a bad word, mongrel lying in the hay: and She doesn’t eat it herself, and she doesn’t give it to others.”
In the chapter about Korobochka, Chichikov’s inner speech appears for the first time. Chichikov’s thoughts here convey his dissatisfaction with the situation, irritation, but at the same time the unceremoniousness and rudeness of the hero: “Well, the woman seems to be strong-headed!”, “Eck, what a club-head!... Go and have fun with her! she broke into a sweat, the damned old woman!”
Chichikov speaks simply and laconically with Nozdryov, “trying to get on familiar footing.” He understands perfectly well that there is no need for thoughtful phrases and colorful epithets here. However, the conversation with the landowner leads nowhere: instead of a successful deal, Chichikov finds himself drawn into a scandal, which ends only thanks to the appearance of the police captain.
With Sobakevich, Chichikov at first adheres to his usual manner of conversation. Then he somewhat reduces his “eloquence.” Moreover, in Pavel Ivanovich’s intonations, while observing all external decency, one can feel impatience and irritation. So, wanting to convince Sobakevich of the complete uselessness of the subject of bargaining, Chichikov declares: “It’s strange to me, right: it seems that some kind of thing is happening between us.” theatrical performance or a comedy, otherwise I can’t explain it to myself... You seem to be a pretty smart person, you have information about education.”
The same feeling of irritation is present in the hero’s thoughts. Here Pavel Ivanovich is no longer shy about “more definite” statements and outright abuse. “What is he, really,” Chichikov thought to himself, “does he take me for a fool?” Elsewhere we read: “Well, damn him,” Chichikov thought to himself, “I’ll give him half a dime, for the dog’s nuts!”
In a conversation with Plyushkin, Chichikov returns to his usual courtesy and pompous statements. Pavel Ivanovich declares to the landowner that “having heard about his economy and rare management of his estates, he considered it his duty to make his acquaintance and personally pay his respects.” He calls Plyushkin “a venerable, kind old man.” Pavel Ivanovich maintains this tone throughout his conversation with the landowner.
In his thoughts, Chichikov discards “all ceremonies”; his inner speech is far from bookish and quite primitive. Plyushkin is unfriendly and inhospitable towards Pavel Ivanovich. The landowner does not invite him to dinner, citing the fact that his kitchen is “low, very nasty, and the chimney has completely fallen apart, if you start heating it, you’ll start a fire.” “Look there it is! - Chichikov thought to himself. “It’s good that I grabbed a cheesecake and a piece of lamb side from Sobakevich.” Asking Plyushkin about the sale of runaway souls, Pavel Ivanovich first refers to his friend, although he buys them for himself. “No, we won’t even let our friend smell this,” Chichikov said to himself...” Here the hero’s joy from a successful “deal” is clearly felt.
Thus, the originality of the genre, this lyric-epic work, lies in the combination of the epic and lyrical (in lyrical digressions) beginnings, the features of a travel novel and a review novel (through-out hero). In addition, here we find the features of the genre that Gogol himself singled out in his work: “Training Book of Literature” and called it “a lesser kind of epic.” Unlike a novel, such works tell a story not about individual characters, but about the people or part of them, which is quite applicable to the poem; "Dead Souls". It is characterized by a truly epic - the breadth of scope and grandeur of the plan, which goes far beyond the history of the purchase of audit dead souls by a certain swindler.
The heroic people match the Russian landscapes of that land, “which does not like to joke, but has spread out smoothly across half the world, and go ahead and count the miles until it hits you in the face.” In the final, 11th chapter, a lyrical and philosophical reflection on Russia and the vocation of the writer, whose “head was overshadowed by a menacing cloud, heavy with future rains,” is replaced by the motif of the road, one of the central ones in the poem. It is connected with the main theme - the path intended for Russia and the people. In Gogol's system, movement, path, road are always interconnected concepts: this is evidence of life, development, opposing inertia and death. It is no coincidence that all the biographies of peasants, who personify the best that is in the people, are united by this very motif. “Tea, all the provinces left with an ax in their belt... Somewhere now yours are carrying you quick legs?.. It’s clear from their nickname that they are good runners.” It should be noted that the ability to move is also characteristic of Chichikov, a hero who, according to the author’s plan, was to be purified and transformed into a positive character.
That is why two of the most important themes of the author’s reflections - the theme of Russia and the theme of the road - merge in a lyrical digression that ends the first volume of the poem. “Rus'-troika,” “all inspired by God,” appears in it as the vision of the author, who seeks to understand the meaning of its movement; “Rus, where are you going? Give an answer. Doesn't give an answer." But in the high lyrical pathos that permeates these final lines, one can hear the writer’s faith that the answer will be found and the soul of the people will appear alive and beautiful.
There is not a single heroine in the poem who represents true virtue. The spirituality of the image of the governor's daughter was only outlined by Gogol. The rest of the heroines are described by the author satirically, with irony and sarcasm.
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In “Dead Souls” we will not find bright, poetic female characters like Pushkin’s Tatyana or Turgenev’s Liza Kalitina. Gogol's heroines, for the most part, contain elements of the comic, are objects of the author's satire, and not at all the author's passion
The most significant female character in the poem is the landowner Korobochka. Gogol portrays the heroine’s appearance very clearly. A minute later, the landlady entered, an elderly woman, wearing a sleeping cap, hastily put on, with a flannel around her neck, one of those mothers, small landowners who cry at a bad harvest, losses and keep their heads on one side, and meanwhile gain little “Little by little they put money into colorful little bags placed in dresser drawers.”
V. Gippius notes in Korobochka the absence of “any appearance, any face: a flannel on the neck, a chip on the head.” By “depersonalizing” the landowner, Gogol emphasizes its typicality, the great prevalence of this type
The main qualities of Korobochka are thriftiness, thriftiness, intermingling with miserliness. Nothing is wasted in the landowner's household: neither night jackets, nor skeins of thread, nor a ripped cloak. All this was destined to lie for a long time, and then be given “according to the spiritual will of the niece of his learned sister, along with all other rubbish.”
The box is simple and patriarchal, it is alive in the old way. She calls Chichikov “my father,” “father,” and addresses him as “you.” The guest sleeps on huge feather beds from which feathers fly; there is an old wall clock in the house, the strange ringing of which reminds Chichikov of the hissing of snakes; Korobochka treats him to simple Russian dishes: pies, pancakes, shanezhki.
Simplicity and patriarchy coexist in the landowner with extraordinary stupidity, ignorance, timidity and timidity. Korobochka is extremely stupid, unlike Sobakevich, for a long time she cannot figure out what the essence of Chichikov’s request is, and even asks him if he is going to dig up the dead. “Cudgel-headed,” Pavel Ivanovich thinks about her, seeing that his “eloquence” is powerless here. By force he manages to convince Nastasya Petrovna to sell him dead souls
However, Korobochka is here trying to come to an agreement with Chichikov regarding contracts in order to sell him flour, lard, bird feathers in the future
As we have already noted, Gogol constantly emphasizes Korobochka’s uniqueness and the wide prevalence of this type of people in life. Or “exactly such a large abyss that separates her from her sister, inaccessibly protected by the walls of an aristocratic house... that yawns behind an unread book in anticipation of a witty social visit, where she will have the opportunity to sparkle with her mind and express thoughts that will prove... about what is happening on her estates, confused and distressed...
And about what kind of political revolution is being prepared in France, which has taken the direction of fashionable Catholicism.”
In addition to Korobochka, Gogol introduces readers to the spouses of Manilov and Sobakevich, which is, as it were, a continuation of his own people.
Manilova is a boarding school graduate. She is pretty, “dressed to suit”, and kind to those around her. She doesn’t do housework at all, although “many different requests could be made”: “Why, for example, is the kitchen cooking absurdly and in vain? Why is the barn rather empty? Why is there a thief as a housekeeper?” “But all these are low subjects, and Manilova is well-educated,” Gogol ironically remarks. Manilova is dreamy and sentimental, she is as far from reality as her man
The heroine does not have an iota of healthy sense: she allows a man to name his children with the ancient Greek names Themistoclus and Alcides, not realizing how comical these names are for Russian life
Sobakevich's wife is "a very tall lady, wearing a cap, with ribbons repainted with house paint." Feoduliya Ivanovna with something warehouse equipment for rent resembles her clumsy, phlegmatic man: she is calm and imperturbable, her movements resemble those of actresses who “represent queens.” She stands straight, “like a palm tree.” Sobakevich’s wife is not as sophisticated as Manilova, but she is economical and practical, neat and homely. Like Korobochka, Feodulia Ivanovna is not absorbed in the worries of “high matters”; the Sobakevichs live in the old-fashioned way, rarely leaving the city
“City madams” are most vividly represented in Gogol in two combined images - Mrs. “pleasant” (Sofia Ivanovna) and Mrs. “pleasant in all respects” (Anna Grigorievna).
Anna Grigorievna's manners are simply "amazing": "every movement" comes out of her "with taste", she loves poetry, sometimes she even knows how to "dreamily... hold her head." And this turns out to be enough for society to conclude that she is “like a pleasant lady in all respects.” Sofya Ivanovna does not have such refined manners and therefore receives the definition of “simply pleasant.”
The description of these heroines is thoroughly permeated with the author's satire. These ladies observe “secular etiquette,” absorbed in concerns about “the impeccability of their own reputation,” but their conversations are primitive and vulgar. They talk about fashion, dresses, material, as if they were significant objects. As N.L. Stepanov notes, “the very exaggeration, the expansiveness with which the lady talks about worthless things... creates a comic impression.” Both mistresses deify spreading gossip and swearing
So, having discussed Chichikov’s purchase of peasants who died, Anna Grigorievna and Sofya Ivanovna will come to the conclusion that with the help of Nozdryov he wants to take the governor’s daughter. In a short time, these ladies set almost the entire city in motion, managing to “throw such a fog into everyone’s eyes that everyone, and especially the officials, remained stunned for some time.”
Gogol emphasizes the stupidity and meaninglessness of both heroines, the vulgarity of their occupation and lifestyle, their mannerisms and hypocrisy. Anna Grigorievna and Sofya Ivanovna spoke highly of the governor's daughter to the council, condemning her “mannerliness” and “immoral behavior.” The life of urban mistresses, in essence, is as meaningless and gone as the life of the landowners represented by Gogol
I would especially like to dwell on the insult of the governor’s daughter, who awakened Chichikov’s poetic dreams. This image is to some extent contrasted with all the other heroines of the poem. As E. A. Smirnova notes, this young girl was supposed to play her role in the spiritual revival of Chichikov. When Pavel Ivanovich meets her, he not only sees the future, but also “gets lost,” his usual insight betrays him (scene at the ball). The face of the governor's daughter looks like an Easter egg, in this face there is light opposite to the darkness of life
Chichikov looks at this light, and his soul “strives to remember the true good, a hint of which is contained in the harmonious beauty of the governor’s daughter, but his spiritual resources are too worthless for this.”
Thus, there is no heroine in the poem who represents true integrity. The spirituality of the image of the governor's daughter was only outlined by Gogol. Other heroines are depicted by the author satirically, with irony and sarcasm
Creativity N.V. Gogol occupies a special place in Russian literature. No one else could describe the broad panorama of Russian life in such a lively and humorous manner. Of course, first of all, the artist is interested in shortcomings; he does not feel sorry for his homeland, but shows all its injuries, all the bad things that exist in everyday life. The satirist's pen serves to expose officials and landowners, and evilly ridicules their vices.
In his works, Gogol does not pay special attention to female images. The writer does not consider it necessary to depict separately the shortcomings of men and women; he only gives a general picture of the desolation that reigns in the cities and villages of Russia. However, on the other hand, they prompt the reader to think more deeply about the causes of desolation, adding color to the description and dynamics to the actions.
One of Gogol's most famous creations is the play "The Inspector General". This work seems to be a kind of prologue to the monumental poem “Dead Souls,” the writer’s life’s work. In "The Inspector General" the sting of satire is directed against the life and morals of a remote town, against the greed and arbitrariness of county officials.
"Dead Souls" is a work of a much larger scale. In it, all of Russia appeared before the reader's court. Gogol does not feel sorry for her, but caustically mocks her shortcomings, believing that this treatment will be beneficial, that in the future the homeland will definitely get rid of dirt and vulgarity. The idea of "Dead Souls" is a continuation of "The Inspector General". It doesn’t just show the life and morals of officials of the county town. Now Gogol exposes both landowners and officials; he castigates glaring shortcomings on a much larger scale. The “dead” souls of all Russia pass before the eyes of readers.
One of the main functions performed by female characters in both works is the formation of ideas about certain social and socio-psychological types. The most striking example of this is the image of the landowner Korobochka. She is described by Gogol as a terrible person with her stinginess and stupidity, who is more like a machine than a person. Her characteristic feature is the desire to get as much money as possible, and she is not interested in whether the buyer needs the product or not. Korobochka is stingy and thrifty; nothing goes to waste in her household, which, in general, is commendable. But the main feature of her character is hidden in her “talking” surname: she is an impenetrable, limited and stupid old woman. If some idea comes to her mind, then it is impossible to convince her; all reasonable arguments “bounce off her like a rubber ball from a wall.” Even the imperturbable Chichikov becomes furious, trying to prove to her the undoubted benefit of selling the peasants. But she firmly took it into her head that Chichikov wanted to deceive her, and cracking this nut, this box, was extremely difficult even for the hardened businessman Chichikov. In Korobochka, Gogol embodied all the limited thinking of Russian landowners; it became a symbol of the abyss in which the Russian landed nobility finds itself, having completely lost the ability to think sensibly.
In order to show the picture of life and the depth of the decline of morals in the provincial city of N., the author introduces images of city gossips. Their exaggerated and fictitious stories about Chichikov's adventures, mixed with discussions about fashion, do not evoke anything in the reader except a feeling of disgust. Vivid images of a simply pleasant lady and a lady pleasant in all respects characterize the city and province from a very unfavorable side, emphasizing the flatness of their thinking.
Because of the gossip started by these ladies, the shortcomings of dishonest officials were revealed. And this is not the only example of how female images help Gogol to show a real picture of life, a real situation.
Outwardly, there is nothing interesting about Anna Andreevna, the mayor’s wife in “The Inspector General”: she is a fussy, curious chatterbox, the reader immediately gets the impression that she has the wind in her head. However, it is worth taking a closer look at it. After all, the author in his “Notes for Gentlemen Actors” characterizes her as a woman who is smart in her own way and even has some power over her husband. This is an interesting representative of provincial society. Thanks to her, the image of the mayor becomes more prominent, acquires additional meaning, and the reader gets a clear idea of the lifestyle and problems of the county ladies.
Marya Antonovna is not very different from mother. She is very similar to her, but much less active; she is not a double of the energetic official, but only her shadow. Marya Antonovna tries with all her might to seem significant, but her behavior betrays her: outfits occupy most of the space in a girl’s heart; she pays attention primarily to Khlestakov’s “suit,” and not to its owner. The image of Marya Antonovna characterizes the city from the bad side, because if young people are busy only with themselves and “suits,” then society has no future.
The images of the mayor's wife and daughter brilliantly reveal the author's intention and illustrate his idea: the bureaucracy and society of the district town are rotten through and through. Female images help to reveal the author's intention in Dead Souls. Mortification is manifested in Korobochka, who is always painstakingly collecting a penny and is afraid of making a mistake when making a deal, and in the wives of the landowners.
In addition, the wives of Manilov and Sobakevich help the author reveal male characters more fully and in detail, and emphasize any character traits. Each of them is, as it were, a copy of her spouse. For example, Sobakevich’s wife, upon entering the room, sat down and did not even think about starting a conversation, which confirms the rudeness and ignorance of the owner. Manilova is more interesting. Her manners and habits exactly repeat the manners and habits of her husband, we recognize in the expression of her face the same cloying, she, like Manilov himself, has not yet left the world of dreams. But at the same time, there are hints of her independence; Gogol recalls studying at the boarding school and her playing the piano. Thus, Manilova separates from her husband, acquires her own characteristics, the author hints that her fate could have turned out differently if she had not met Manilova. However, the images of the landowners' wives are not independent; they only enrich the images of the landowners themselves.
The image of the governor’s daughter is extremely important in this aspect. Although she does not utter a word throughout the entire poem, with her help the reader discovers the amazing character traits of Chichikov. A meeting with a charming girl awakens tender feelings in Chichikov’s soul; this rogue suddenly begins to think about love and marriage, about the future of youth. Despite the fact that this obsession will soon subside like a haze, this moment is very important; here the reader encounters a vague hint of the possible spiritual rebirth of the hero. Compared to the image of the mayor's daughter in The Inspector General, the image of the governor's daughter carries a fundamentally different semantic load.
In principle, the female images of The Inspector General do not play an important role in understanding the main idea of the work. But their significance is also great. After all, women are not officials, which means Gogol’s satire is not aimed directly at them, their function is to emphasize the general degradation of the county town. Anna Andreevna and Marya Antonovna highlight the shortcomings of officials. Their stupidity and overly high self-esteem expose the same shortcomings of officials, hidden under the mask of integrity and diligence, under the blinding light of satire.
In “Dead Souls,” the female characters, on the contrary, are versatile. They are much more complex, more developed than in The Inspector General. None of them can be clearly characterized. But one thing is certain: female characters allow the reader to understand the work more deeply; their presence enlivens the story and often makes the reader smile.
In general, Gogol’s female images, although not the main ones, characterize in detail and accurately the morals of the bureaucracy. They show the life of landowners in an interesting and varied way, revealing more fully and deeply the most important image in the writer’s work - the image of the homeland, Russia. Through the description of such women, Gogol leads the reader to think about her fate, about the fate of his compatriots, and proves that Russia’s shortcomings are not her fault, but a misfortune. And behind all this lies the author’s enormous love, hope for her moral revival.