The poem "Dead Souls" embodies the image of Russia of the past and future. Satirical grotesque reality with a hint of patriotism allows you to create a plot, the relevance of which is not lost over the years.
Nozdryov is an empty and absurd person, prone to deception and often lies, while considering his nature wide. Thanks to such a temperament, the hero quite often becomes a participant in ridiculous situations, and his behavior suggests that he is shameless and combines arrogance with weak will.
Characteristics of the hero
("Nozdrev", artist Alexander Agin, 1846-47)
Nozdrev becomes the third to be offered to sell dead Souls, he is a valiant landowner 35 years old. A scorcher, a reveler, a talker - all this is about Nozdryov, he is ready to bully everyone and everyone indiscriminately, constantly lies, and is also prone to excitement. This person can make a trick, even to his close friends, and at the same time no personal goals are pursued.
All the features of such a strategy of behavior are explained by the personality of the character: he combines briskness, briskness, one can say that his unrestraint is adjacent to unconsciousness. Nozdryov is not worth plans and strategies, therefore all his actions are improvisation, and Nozdryov has no sense of proportion at all.
The author portrayed Nozdrev as a broken guy, and this is precisely what his behavior indicates. Life for Nozdryov goes on today, but he does not think about the next days. This is clearly seen in the example of his game: he often exchanged everything he won for things that did not matter, and he could immediately lose what he had acquired. It was his energy that made him what he was and drove his behavior. You can learn a little about Nozdryov in the work, he was a card cheat, and first appeared to the reader in paragraph NN. In general, the hero can be called ridiculous, he is simply ridiculous, not attentive to statements and does not give a damn about their consequences.
Nozdryov is a bad owner, we do not learn about the life of his peasants, since the main interests of the hero are dogs and smoking pipes. It can be played one hundred percent, and in case of a win, it lowers everything to entertainment and revelry. Ego energy pushes to exploits, and leads to illogical purchases, in contrast to this behavior is the consistency during the agreements with Chichikov, who was able to see the trickery. The image of Nozdryov is formed and constant, he has an emotional speech, speaks loudly. The author did not tell the background of the character and left it unchanged for the entire duration of the poem.
The image of the hero in the work
Nozdryov intercepts Chichikov in a tavern and quarrels with him on the estate: Chichikov does not agree to play with dead souls and buy a stallion with souls as a bonus. By morning, Nozdryov already forgets about the disagreements, and offers a game for souls, this time in checkers, but gets caught cheating. The heated N. can only be appeased thanks to the appearance of the police captain, since Nozdryov gave the order to beat Chichikov.
The role of Nozdryov is important for the plot, since he almost killed Chichikov when he loudly shouted “he trades dead souls". This caused a lot of incredible rumors, and after calling the authorities, Nozdrev confirmed all the rumors. The hero himself goes to Chichikov, talks about rumors, and makes an offer about transporting the governor's daughter.
The confusion of the character also reflects his home furnishings, there are no books and papers in his office, and goats are located in the middle part of the dining room. The author showed his boundless lies as the other side of the young man's prowess. This is not to say that the hero is completely empty, his enormous energy is simply not directed in the right direction.
What should the image of Nozdryov show?
Nozdryov always participates in wild fun, drunken revelry and playing cards. He brings entertainment to society and creates scandals. The author called it historical man, since boasting, fiction and idle chatter are his favorite things and an integral part of his personality. Chichikov considers Nozdryov to be a mean person, because he is arrogant, cheeky and does nasty things to his neighbors. The character shows that a person with a noble appearance and a "star in the chest" can do nasty things as a "simple collegiate registrar".
The image of the landowner Korobochka in the poem "Dead Souls" The third chapter of the poem is devoted to the image of the Box, which Gogol refers to the number of those "small landowners who complain about crop failures, losses and hold their heads somewhat to one side, and meanwhile they are gaining a little money in motley bags placed in chests of drawers!" (or M. and Korobochka are in some way antipodes: Manilov’s vulgarity is hidden behind high phases, behind arguments about the good of the Motherland, while Korobochka’s spiritual scarcity appears in its natural form. The box does not pretend to high culture: in all its appearance, a very unpretentious simplicity is emphasized. This is emphasized by Gogol in the appearance of the heroine: he points to her shabby and unattractive appearance. This simplicity reveals itself in relationships with people. The main goal of her life is to consolidate her wealth, incessant accumulation. It is no coincidence that Chichikov sees traces of skillful management of her estate. This household reveals its inner insignificance. She, apart from the desire to acquire and benefit, has no feelings. Confirmation is the situation with the "dead strangles." Korobochka trades peasants with the same efficiency with which he sells other objects of his household. For her, there is no difference between an animate and an inanimate being. There is only one thing that scares her about Chichikov's proposal: the prospect of missing something, not taking what can be obtained for "dead souls." Korobochka is not going to give them to Chichikov on the cheap. Gogol awarded her with the epithet "cudgelhead".) These money are obtained from the sale of a wide variety of nat products. household Korobochka understood the benefits of trading and after much persuasion agrees to sell such an unusual product as dead souls. The image of the hoarder Korobochka is already devoid of those “attractive” features that distinguish Manilov. And again we have a type in front of us - “one of those mothers, small landowners who ... little by little collect money in motley bags placed in drawers of chests of drawers”. Korobochka's interests are entirely focused on the household. “Strong-headed” and “club-headed” Nastasya Petrovna is afraid to sell cheap by selling Chichikov dead souls. The “silent scene” that occurs in this chapter is curious. We find similar scenes in almost all chapters showing the conclusion of a deal between Chichikov and another landowner. This is a special artistic technique, a kind of temporary stoppage of the action: it allows us to show the spiritual emptiness of Pavel Ivanovich and his interlocutors with a special convexity. At the end of the third chapter, Gogol talks about the typical image of Korobochka, the insignificance of the difference between her and another aristocratic lady. The landowner Korobochka is thrifty, “gaining little by little money”, lives closed in her estate, as if in a box, and her thriftiness eventually develops into hoarding. Limitation and stupidity complete the character of the "cudgel-headed" landowner, who is distrustful of everything new in life. The qualities inherent in Korobochka are typical not only among the provincial nobility. She owns a subsistence economy and trades in everything that is available in it: lard, bird feathers, serfs. Everything in her house is arranged in the old fashioned way. She neatly stores her belongings and saves money by putting them in bags. Everything works for her. In the same chapter, the author great attention pays attention to Chichikov's behavior, focusing on the fact that Chichikov behaves with Korobochka in a simpler, more cheeky manner than with Manilov. This phenomenon is typical of Russian reality, and, proving this, the author gives lyrical digression about the transformation of Prometheus into a fly. The nature of the Box is especially clearly revealed in the scene of sale. She is very afraid of selling cheap and even makes an assumption, which she herself is afraid of: “what if the dead ones will come in handy for her on the farm?”, And again the author emphasizes the typicality of this image: “Another and respectable, and statesman, even a person, but in reality it turns out a perfect Box” . It turns out that Korobochka's stupidity, her "club-headedness" is not such a rare occurrence.
Nozdrev- the third landowner from whom Chichikov is trying to buy dead souls. This is a dashing 35-year-old "talker, reveler, reckless driver." N. constantly lies, bullies everyone indiscriminately; he is very passionate, ready to "shat" to the best friend without any purpose. All of N.'s behavior is explained by his dominant quality: "briskness and liveliness of character", i.e. recklessness, bordering on unconsciousness. N. does not think or plan anything; he just doesn't know how to do anything. On the way to Sobakevich, in a tavern, N. intercepts Chichikov and takes him to his estate. There he quarrels to death with Chichikov: he does not agree to play cards for dead souls, and also does not want to buy a stallion of "Arab blood" and get souls in addition. The next morning, forgetting about all the insults, N. persuades Chichikov to play checkers with him for dead souls. Convicted of cheating, N. orders Chichikov to be beaten, and only the appearance of the police captain reassures him. It is N. who will almost destroy Chichikov. Faced with him at the ball, N. shouts out loud: "He trades in dead souls!", which gives rise to a lot of the most incredible rumors. When the officials call on N. to figure everything out, the hero confirms all the rumors at once, not embarrassed by their inconsistency. Later, he comes to Chichikov and talks about all these rumors himself. Instantly forgetting about the offense inflicted on him, he sincerely offers to help Chichikov take away the governor's daughter. The home environment fully reflects the chaotic character of N. At home, everything is stupid: there are goats in the middle of the dining room, there are no books and papers in the office, etc. We can say that N.'s boundless lies are the flip side of Russian prowess, which N. endowed in abundance. N. is not completely empty, it's just that his unbridled energy does not find proper use for himself. With N. in the poem, a series of heroes begins who have retained something alive in themselves. Therefore, in the "hierarchy" of heroes, he occupies a relatively high - third - place.
Nozdryov, with whom another “accident” brings Chichikov, is the complete opposite of Korobochka, an example of unbelted, ugly broad Russian nature. Dostoevsky would later say of such people: "If there is no God, then everything is permitted." For Nozdryov, God is himself, his unlimited whims and desires. He is a prisoner of his own loose passions. The irrepressible energy, perpetual motion and anxiety of this person are the result of the absence in him of a moral center that holds the personality together. “At that very moment, he offered you to go anywhere, even to the ends of the world, to enter into whatever enterprise you want, to change everything that is, for whatever you want.”
“Nozdryov was in some respects a historical person. Not a single meeting he attended was without a story. Some kind of story was bound to happen: either the gendarmes would take him by the arms out of the gendarme hall, or they would be forced to push out their own friends. There are no boundaries for Nozdryov's desires: “Now I will take you to see,” he continued, turning to Chichikov, “the border where my land ends ...” “Here is the border! - said Nozdryov. - Everything that you see on this side is all mine, and even on the other side, all this forest that is turning blue over there, and everything beyond the forest is all mine ... "
The whole life of Nozdryov is an endless and limitless saturation of the lowest sensual instincts. human nature. Surrounded by his dogs, Nozdrev is "like a father among a family." Revelry and booze, cards and cheating in a gambling game - this is Nozdrev's element. Intoxication with lies brings him closer to Khlestakov. But, unlike him, the Nozdrevskaya lie is not harmless: there is always a vile desire in it "to spoil your neighbor, sometimes for no reason at all." When provincial officials, bewildered by the news of buying dead souls, they ask Nozdryov about Chichikov, he instantly composes one lie after another, so deftly that he himself believes in what he has composed. Confirming the gossip that Chichikov was going to take away the governor's daughter, Nozdryov writes up such details on this subject that it was impossible to refuse: even the village was named after the village where the parish church was located, in which it was supposed to get married, namely the village of Trukhmanchevka, Pop father Sidor, who took 75 rubles for the wedding, “even then would not have agreed if Nozdryov had not scared him.”
Running away from Nozdryov, who is making another "story", Chichikov cannot even take into his mind why he went to his estate, why "like a child, like a fool" trusted him. But he was seduced by Nozdryov not by chance: by nature, Chichikov is also an adventurer, and in order to achieve his selfish goals, he easily steps over moral laws. To deceive, to lie, and even to shed a tear, at the same time, Chichikov is much no worse than any Nozdryov. “Nozdryov will not be out of the world for a long time,” says Gogol. “He is everywhere between us and, perhaps, only walks in a different caftan; but people are frivolously impenetrable, and a person in a different caftan seems to them a different person.
True to his method of reification of a person, Gogol compares Nozdryov’s upset and depraved soul, and after him modern man in general, with a spoiled hurdy-gurdy: “The hurdy-gurdy played not without pleasantness, but in the middle of it, it seems that something happened, because the mazurka ended with the song: “Malburg went on a campaign,” and “Malburg went on a campaign” unexpectedly ended with some kind of long-familiar waltz. Nozdryov had long ceased to twirl, but there was only one pipe in the hurdy-gurdy, very lively, in no way wanting to calm down, and for a long time afterwards it whistled alone. Remarkable, of course, in the frustrated "hurdy-gurdy" of the crippled, bewildered souls of Gogol's heroes, are these "God's pipes", which sometimes whistle in them on their own and often confuse such well-thought-out, so logically and impeccably planned scams.
Tasks:
- the formation of ideas about the role of the landowner Nozdryov in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls";
- development of skills characterization of a literary character;
- development of figurative thinking.
Equipment:
- illustrations of paintings by B.Kustodiev “Merchant for tea”, “Tavern”, “Tavernkeeper”, “Fair”, “Still life with pheasants”;
- illustrations by P.M. Boklevsky (“Nozdrev”) for N. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”.
Hero Attribute Plan(offered to students before analyzing the topic as homework for the previous lesson):
1. Nozdryov. His role in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls":
a) portrait characteristics of the hero; the role of the portrait in understanding the essence of the hero;
b) Nozdryov's speech, examples of vivid words and expressions; the role of speech characteristics;
c) Nozdryov's estate, office interior;
d) what is the significance of the remark that “lunch, apparently, was not the main thing in Nozdryov's life; the dishes did not play a big role: some burned, some did not cook at all”;
e) Nozdryov's reaction to Chichikov's proposal to sell dead souls;
g) what is the purpose of introducing the character into the text of the poem.
2. What new features of Chichikov's nature appear before the reader? How does he reveal himself in communication with Nozdryov?
During the classes
I. Immersion in the topic.
Presentation of illustrations of paintings by B.Kustodiev “Merchant for tea”, “Still life with pheasants”, “Tavern”, “Tavernkeeper”, “Fair”.
- What associations do you have when perceiving these illustrations?
- Why are they presented at the beginning of the conversation about the landowner Nozdryov?
- What is the similarity of these illustrations with the content of the 4th chapter of the poem “Dead Souls”, which tells about Nozdryov?
In the paintings - the fullness of life, a riot of colors, bright colorful personalities, vanity, the transience of the moment, dynamics. The plots of the paintings in one way or another reflect distinctive features nature of Nozdryov. The illustrations help to penetrate the world of Nozdryov, the world of madness, “unusual lightness”, the world of impulsiveness, some kind of higher emotionality, the world of openness and “love” for everyone and everyone.
II. The study of the text in connection with the topic.
1. portrait characteristic the hero and the role of the portrait in understanding the essence of the character of the hero.
Chapter 4: He was of medium height, a very well-built fellow with full ruddy cheeks, with snow-white teeth and jet-black whiskers, he was fresh as blood with milk; health seemed to spurt from his face.
The main details of the portrait are rosy cheeks, freshness of the face, keyword portrait - health. The details reflect the essence of the hero's inner portrait, his broken character, his senseless actions. As health in him bursts over the edge, so emotionality goes beyond all boundaries.
2. The speech of the hero. Examples of the brightest and most typical words and expressions of the hero. The role of speech characteristics.
What a man is, such is his speech (Cicero):
And me brother...
Blown into fluff ...
Swelled, dropped everything ...
Kiss me soul, death love you...
Banchishka
Distortion of French words: burdashka, bonbon, rosette, bezeshka, superflu.
Nozdryov's speech is as sparkling as his nature. This speech cannot be called fearless, it is the speech of a person who is emotional, assertive, does not care about tomorrow. The main values of life are a candy bar, booze, dogs, and in general everything that is called the word “revel”. This is a man distinguished by "restless briskness and liveliness of character," in the words of Gogol. All this is reflected in the speech of the hero.
But can we see only the negative in the speech portrait of the hero?
We cannot say that Nozdryov is devoid of creativity. His speech is a game with generally accepted words, and not every person is capable of this game. Nozdryov is busy with speech creation. Note his experiments with French words.
3. Nozdreva's estate. His house. What is the significance of the interior for understanding the essence of Nozdryov's nature?
Stable: two horses, the rest of the stalls are empty.
A pond in which there was a fish of such size that two people could hardly pull it out.
Kennel: the most worthy sight in the Nozdreva estate.
Mill: “then they went to inspect the water mill, where there was a lack of fluff, into which the upper stone is fastened, rapidly rotating on a spindle -“ fluttering ”, in the wonderful expression of a Russian peasant.”
House of Nozdrev:
Cabinet. However, there were no noticeable traces of what happens in the offices, that is, books or paper; only sabers and two guns hung - one worth three hundred and the other eight hundred rubles.
The hurdy-gurdy: it played not without piety, but in the middle of it, it seems, something happened, because the mazurka ended with the song: “Mahlbrug went on a campaign”, and “Malbrug went on a campaign” unexpectedly ended with some long-familiar waltz. Nozdryov had long since ceased to twirl, but there was only one very lively pipe in the hurdy-gurdy, which in no way wanted to calm down, and for a long time afterwards it whistled alone.
Pipes: wood, earthenware, meerschaum, smoked and unsmoked, covered with suede and not covered, a recently won chibouk with an amber mouthpiece, a pouch embroidered by some countess, who, somewhere at the post station, fell head over heels in love with him, with handles in his words, were the most subdient superflue, a word that probably meant for him the highest point of perfection.
Nozdryov is a Russian landowner, but a landowner devoid of any spiritual life. Maybe he gives all his strength to the management of the estate and he has no time to immerse himself in reading? No, the estate has been abandoned for a long time, there is no rational management. Consequently, there is neither spiritual nor material life, but there is an emotional life that has absorbed everything. Constant lies, the desire to argue, excitement, the inability to suppress one's feelings - this is what constitutes the essence of Nozdryov. For a Russian landowner, hunting is one of the components of life, and for Nozdryov, the kennel replaced everything. He is a certain Troekurov, who has lost power and influence, having changed his rough, strong nature.
4. What is the significance of Gogol's remark that “lunch, apparently, was not the main thing in Nozdryov's life; the dishes did not play a big role: some burned, some did not cook at all”? Remember that both Manilov and Korobochka Chichikov are treated well, and the description of the dinner takes up enough space in the chapter.
Dinner, eating, abundance and variety of dishes are the symbolic designation of animal life in Gogol. Thus, the author emphasizes that the hero is deprived spirituality. Nozdryov is depicted extremely emotional person, in which there are living feelings, although distorted, therefore there is no description of eating food.
5. How does Nozdryov react to Chichikov's offer to sell dead souls? How to evaluate Nozdryov's behavior after Chichikov's refusal to continue playing checkers?
This broken fellow is devoid of any moral principles, social preferences, this is a kind of childishness, a kind of primitivism, a prehistoric existence of relationships.
III. The main conclusions of the lesson
1. What new features of Chichikov's nature appear before the reader? How does he reveal himself in communication with Nozdryov?
Chichikov is, of course, the antipode of Nozdryov. The conditions in which Pavel Ivanovich was formed made him hide his emotions and desires, made him think first, then act, made him prudent and enterprising. In Chichikov there is no emotionality, no recklessness, no stupidity, no “life over the edge”. The hero of the new capitalist era, the era of selfishness and calculation, is deprived strong emotions, which means that it is deprived of a sense of the fullness of life. These thoughts visit us precisely at the moment of reading the chapter on Nozdryov. Thus, the chapter represents the type of Russian landowner, but reveals a lot in the nature of the main character - Chichikov.
- Nozdryov at 35 was exactly the same as he was at eighteen and twenty: a go-getter;
- At home, he could not sit for more than a day;
- Had a passion for cards;
- He did not play quite sinlessly and cleanly;
- Nozdryov was in some respects a historical person;
- The closer someone got along with him, the more likely he was to piss everyone off: he spread a fable, more stupid than which it is difficult to invent, upset a wedding, a trade deal ...;
- Restless briskness and briskness of character;
- Nozdryov is a trash man.
home national trait Russian character - openness, "breadth of the soul." In Nozdryov, Gogol depicts how this feature is distorted if there is no spiritual life.
IV. Homework
A written answer to the question: “What kind of human type does Gogol portray when he represents the landowner Nozdryov?”
CHICHIKOV AT NOZDREV. ROLE OF THE EPISODE
Chichikov had already received as a gift from the beautiful-hearted Manilov the dead souls he needed so much, had already met the "club-headed" landowner Korobochka, and was on his way to Sobakevich's estate when he met Nozdryov in a tavern by the road. Chichikov was already familiar with this "very well-built fellow with full, ruddy cheeks, teeth as white as snow and sideburns as black as pitch" - they met at dinner at the prosecutor's.
Having received an invitation from Nozdryov to visit his estate on the way to Sobakevich, Chichikov, without hesitation, agrees. Apparently, he hoped to "question for nothing" dead souls from this hospitable gentleman as well.
The guest was shown a water mill, a smithy, a field, but horses and dogs were a special pride of Nozdryov's household. "When they entered the yard, they saw all sorts of dogs there. About ten of them put their paws on Nozdryov's shoulders." Chichikov, the dog Scold "licked his tongue in the very lips." For Pavel Ivanovich, an extremely neat man who carefully watched the neatness of his dress, this was extremely unpleasant. But I had to endure - for the sake of my "main subject" - the acquisition of dead souls.
After inspecting the household, the gentlemen went to the owner's office, where, "however, there was no noticeable trace of books or paper." But expensive guns, daggers, pipes and a hurdy-gurdy were demonstrated to the guests. Showing his treasures, Nozdryov boasted without restraint of their value and uniqueness. The dinner, which "did not constitute the main thing in Nozdryov's life," failed, "but the host leaned heavily on wine."
Realizing that he was dealing with an emotional and gambling person, Chichikov hurried to discuss his case as soon as possible. Nozdryov was not misled by Chichikov's statement that he needed souls to give weight in society. "I know you: after all, you are a big swindler, I would hang you on the first tree." He does not want to give the dead souls to Chichikov, or sell them - only to exchange or play checkers for these souls. But Nozdryov does not play with Chichikov - he is cheating, trying to fool his partner. The conflict develops into a quarrel, and Chichikov barely takes his legs off.
It is quite understandable that communication with Nozdryov left Chichikov in a very unpleasant mood. A man not stupid and versed in human natures, he understood that Nozdryov was a "rubbish man" and he should not have been initiated into such a delicate matter. But, apparently, the success of the enterprise turned Pavel Ivanovich's head.
The episode under consideration serves to reveal the image of Nozdrev. This is a man of all trades. He is carried away by drunken revelry, violent fun, card game. In the presence of Nozdryov, not a single society can do without scandalous stories, so the author ironically calls him a "historical man". Chatter, boasting, lies - the most typical features Nozdryova. According to Chichikov, Nozdrev is a "rubbish man", he behaves cheekily, arrogantly and has a "passion to spoil his neighbor."
And what do we learn from this episode about Mr. Chichikov? We see the ungracious and worldly Pavel Ivanovich, who recently visited Manilov. His speech and manners have noticeably changed, he is, of course, not as rude and insolent as Nozdryov, but harshness mixed with composure appeared in his words.
Explaining the idea of "Dead Souls", Gogol wrote that the images of the poem -
"not at all portraits with worthless people On the contrary, they contain the features of those who consider themselves better than others. "In the Gogol gallery of images of landowners, the portrait of Nozdryov" hangs on the third nail. "This hero is not as harmless as Manilov, and not at all stupid as Korobochka. But he went and deeply vicious, Nozdryov is the embodiment of Russian boorishness. Gogol wrote about Nozdryov: Nozdryov will not leave the world for a long time. He is everywhere between us and, perhaps, only walks in a different caftan. " It seems that Nikolai Vasilyevich was right - too often in today's life we meet nostrils in well-tailored jackets. But there are enough Chichikovs in our present - people are cunning, dodgy, "elusive, like a loach." Are the words of A.S. Pushkin "God, how sad is our Russia!" relevant even today?
CHICHIKOV AT THE BOX. ROLE OF THE EPISODE
N.V. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" was first published in 1842, almost twenty years before the abolition of serfdom in Russia, in the years when the first sprouts of a new, capitalist formation began to appear in the country.
The main theme in the poem is the image of landlord Russia. The main characters are landowners, the first estate Russian state, the basis of the foundations of autocracy, people on whom the economic and social status countries.
The central place in the first volume is occupied by five "portrait" chapters (from the second to the sixth). These chapters, built according to the same plan, show how, on the basis of serfdom, different types serfs and how serfdom in the 20-30s years XIX century, due to the growth of capitalist forces, led the landowning class to economic decline.
The plot of the poem "Dead Souls", prompted by A.S. Pushkin, is very simple. Gogol told in his work about the adventures of a certain adventurer who came up with a kind of enrichment plan: he bought dead peasants from the landlords in order to pledge them as living in the Board of Trustees.
And so Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, a man of "dark and modest origin", a rogue and a sly one, goes to the landowners' estates in searching for the dead shower. On his way main character faces very various representatives landowner's world.
Having received the dead souls he so much needed as a gift from the beautiful-hearted Manilov, Chichikov, in a good mood, goes to another landowner, Sobakevich. But on the way the coachman got lost, "the britzka hit the fence with shafts. There was absolutely nowhere to go."
So, by chance, Pavel Ivanovich ended up in the house of Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka. By no means a cordial welcome was given to travelers: only after hearing the word "nobleman", the hostess allowed them to enter.
"Already from one dog's barking," Chichikov realized that "the village was decent."
N.V. Gogol describes in detail the interior of the room into which the guest was escorted, as if anticipating the description of the hostess herself. "The room was hung with old striped wallpaper; pictures with some birds; between the windows there were small antique mirrors; behind every mirror there was either a letter, or an old deck of cards, or a stocking." But here in the room appears "the hostess alone of those mothers, small landowners who cry for crop failures and losses, and meanwhile they are gaining a little money in bags placed in drawers of chests of drawers." And her last name is appropriate - Korobochka.
In a short conversation, it turned out that Chichikov had traveled so far that the hostess had never heard of his familiar landowners. The visitor went to bed and woke up quite late in the morning. From the window he saw a courtyard with all kinds of living creatures, and behind the gardens peasant huts in a state that showed the contentment of the inhabitants.
Having found out from the hostess that "eighteen people" have died since the last revision, Chichikov proceeds to discuss his delicate matter. But Nastasya Petrovna does not even immediately understand the essence of her guest's proposal. Chichikov had to make a lot of efforts to "explain what was the matter." The old woman felt that "the business seems to be profitable, but E is too new and unprecedented."
But persuading Korobochka turned out to be a difficult task. Chichikov, already beginning to lose his patience, called her a "clubhead." And only the promise of government contracts had an effect on Nastasya Petrovna.
The meal at Korobochka's is wonderfully described by the author of the poem. "Egrybki, pies, quick thinkers, shanishkiE and who knows what was not" were also served. And then pies and pancakes arrived.
If, when describing the reception at Manilov, it is mainly the character of the owner that is revealed, then in the episode under consideration, not only the image of the Russian landowner is written out, but also new character traits of Chichikov appear.
Korobochka has no claims to high culture, like Manilov, she does not indulge in empty fantasies, all her thoughts and desires revolve around the economy. For her, as for all landowners, serfs are a commodity. Therefore, Korobochka does not see the difference between the souls of the living and the dead. Korobochka says to Chichikov: "Really, my father, it has never happened to me to sell the dead."
Chichikov's apt definition - club-headed - fully illuminates the psychology of the landowner, a typical representative of a noble serf society. It is noteworthy that "the landowner did not keep any notes or lists, but knew almost everyone by heart."
And what new can we say about Pavel Ivanovich? Gogol notes that "Chichikov, E spoke with more freedom than with Manilov, and did not stand on ceremony at all." Chichikov did not stand on ceremony even during the meal - he tasted everything that was only served on the table with great willingness and undisguised pleasure. Yes, this gentleman is well versed in the characters of his interlocutors, he subtly feels with whom and how he can behave, what kind of behavior he can afford.
Explaining the idea of "Dead Souls", Gogol wrote that the images of the poem "are not at all portraits of insignificant people, on the contrary, they contain the features of those who consider themselves better than others."
Of course, the features of the stubborn, but economic Korobochka were recognized by Gogol's contemporaries. They are recognizable today. But there are enough Chichikovs in our present - people are cunning, dodgy, "elusive, like a loach."
