A complete retelling of Dead Souls chapter by chapter. Dead Souls
Chichikov stopped at a roadside tavern, ordered suckling pig with horseradish and sour cream, and was already finishing the last piece when he heard the sound of the wheels of an approaching carriage. Two men climbed out of the chaise that had stopped at the window. Both of them entered the tavern, and one of them, dark-haired, spreading his arms at the sight of Chichikov, suddenly shouted: “Ba, ba, ba! What destinies?"
Nozdryov excitedly said that he met dragoon revelers at the fair. With particular warmth he recalled Captain Potseluev, who simply called Bordeaux wine goosebumps, and Lieutenant Kuvshinnikov, who did not let a single lady through, calling this red tape: use it for strawberries. “Eh, Chichikov, you pig, such a cattle breeder! I know you, the beast, you wouldn’t have parted with Lieutenant Kuvshinnikov!” – concluded Nozdryov.
The Adventures of Chichikov (Nozdryov). An excerpt from a cartoon based on the plot of Gogol’s “Dead Souls”
Mizhuev soon asked to go home. After dinner, Nozdryov let him go, saying: go and have sex with your wife, fetyuk. Left alone with the owner, Chichikov started a conversation with him about dead souls.
But Nozdryov did not agree to either give or sell them until the guest told him why he needed them. “You’re a big swindler,” he told Chichikov. “If I were your boss, I would hang you from the first tree.” Finally, he promised to give up the dead souls if the guest won them from him at cards. In Nozdryov’s hand it was immediately unknown how the deck turned out to be, and Chichikov’s specks at first glance seemed suspicious.
Without agreeing on anything, they both went to bed. The next morning, Nozdryov said that at night he had a bad dream: as if Staff Captain Potseluev and Lieutenant Kuvshinnikov flogged him with rods. “It would be nice if they tore you off in reality,” Chichikov thought to himself.
Nozdryov now suggested: if Chichikov doesn’t want cards, you can play checkers under dead souls, where nothing depends on chance, but only on the skill of the player. Nozdryov promised to add another mediocre puppy to the dead. Chichikov, after thinking, agreed: he played checkers well.
“It’s been a while since I picked up checkers!” - Chichikov said, making the first move. “We know you, how bad you play!” - Nozdryov answered, speaking from his part of the board. After several moves, Chichikov suddenly noticed how Nozdryov, making a move with one checker, moved forward the other with the cuff of his sleeve. Right before his very nose, he saw a third who had come from nowhere and was already making his way into the queens. Chichikov indignantly demanded that Nozdryov besiege them back. However, he, blushing with anger, called him a “writer” and began to force him to finish the game.
At Nozdryov’s call, two of his hefty serfs came running: Porfiry and Pavlushka. “Beat him!” - Nozdryov shouted to them, pointing to Chichikov. They moved towards the guest with a threatening look. Chichikov was pretty shaken up, but at the decisive moment the reprisal was stopped by the sound of a troika approaching the porch.
The police captain entered and announced that Nozdryov was being summoned to trial in the case of inflicting an insult on the landowner Maximov while drunk with rods. Nozdryov began to object that he had never even seen the landowner Maximov. Taking advantage of the confusion, Chichikov slipped out of the room, jumped into his chaise and ordered the coachman Selifan to drive at full speed.
a chaise is driving in. She is met by men chatting about nothing. They look at the wheel and try to figure out how far it can go. The guest of the city turns out to be Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. He came to the city on business about which there is no exact information - “according to his needs.”
The young landowner has an interesting appearance:
- narrow short trousers made of white rosin fabric;
- fashionable tailcoat;
- pin in the shape of a bronze pistol.
The next day, the guest of the city devoted himself to visits. He managed to find a kind word for everyone, flattery penetrated the hearts of the officials. The city started talking about the pleasant man who visited them. Moreover, Chichikov managed to charm not only men, but also women. Pavel Ivanovich was invited by landowners who were in the city on business: Manilov and Sobakevich. At a dinner with the police chief, he met Nozdryov. The hero of the poem managed to make a pleasant impression on everyone, even those who rarely spoke positively about anyone.
Chapter 2
Pavel Ivanovich has been in the city for more than a week. He attended parties, dinners and balls. Chichikov decided to visit the landowners Manilov and Sobakevich. The reason for this decision was different. The master had two serfs: Petrushka and Selifan. The first silent reader. He read everything he could get his hands on, in any position. He liked unknown and incomprehensible words. His other passions: sleeping in clothes, preserving his scent. The coachman Selifan was completely different. In the morning we went to Manilov. They looked for the estate for a long time, it turned out to be more than 15 miles away, which the landowner spoke about. The master's house stood open to all winds. The architecture was in the English style, but only vaguely resembled it. Manilov broke into a smile as the guest approached. The owner's character is difficult to describe. The impression changes depending on how close a person gets to him. The landowner has an alluring smile, blond hair and blue eyes. The first impression is that he is a very pleasant man, then his opinion begins to change. They began to get tired of him because they did not hear a single living word. The economy went on by itself. The dreams were absurd and impossible: an underground passage, for example. He could read one page for several years in a row. There was not enough furniture. The relationship between wife and husband resembled voluptuous dishes. They kissed and created surprises for each other. They didn't care about anything else. The conversation begins with questions about the residents of the city. Manilov considers everyone to be pleasant people, sweet and kind. The intensifying particle pre- is constantly added to the characteristics: most amiable, most venerable, and others. The conversation turned into an exchange of compliments. The owner had two sons, the names surprised Chichikov: Themistoclus and Alcides. Slowly, but Chichikov decides to ask the owner about the dead on his estate. Manilov did not know how many people died; he ordered the clerk to write down everyone’s names. When the landowner heard about the desire to buy dead souls, he was simply dumbfounded. I couldn’t imagine how to draw up a bill of sale for those who were no longer among the living. Manilov transfers souls for free, even pays the costs of transferring them to Chichikov. The farewell was as sweet as the meeting. Manilov stood on the porch for a long time, following the guest with his gaze, then plunged into daydreaming, but the guest’s strange request did not fit into his head, he turned it over until dinner.Chapter 3
The hero, in excellent spirits, heads to Sobakevich. The weather turned bad. The rain made the road look like a field. Chichikov realized that they were lost. Just when it seemed that the situation was becoming unbearable, dogs were heard barking and a village appeared. Pavel Ivanovich asked to come into the house. He dreamed only of a warm night's sleep. The hostess did not know anyone whose names the guest mentioned. They straightened out the sofa for him, and he woke up only the next day, quite late. The clothes were cleaned and dried. Chichikov went out to the landlady, he communicated with her more freely than with the previous landowners. The hostess introduced herself as college secretary Korobochka. Pavel Ivanovich finds out if her peasants were dying. The box says there are eighteen people. Chichikov asks to sell them. The woman doesn’t understand, she imagines how the dead are dug out of the ground. The guest calms down and explains the benefits of the deal. The old woman doubts, she never sold the dead. All the arguments about the benefits were clear, but the essence of the deal itself was surprising. Chichikov silently called Korobochka a clubhead, but continued to convince. The old lady decided to wait, in case there were more buyers and prices were higher. The conversation did not work out, Pavel Ivanovich began to swear. He was so excited that sweat was rolling off him in three streams. The box liked the guest's chest, the paper. While the deal was being finalized, pies and other homemade food appeared on the table. Chichikov ate pancakes, ordered to lay the chaise and give him a guide. The box gave the girl, but asked not to take her away, otherwise the merchants had already taken one.Chapter 4
The hero stops at the tavern for lunch. The old woman of the house pleases him by eating pig with horseradish and sour cream. Chichikov asks the woman about her affairs, income, family. The old woman talks about all the local landowners, who eats what. During lunch, two people arrived at the tavern: a blond man and a black man. The blond man was the first to enter the room. The hero had almost begun his acquaintance when the second one appeared. It was Nozdryov. He gave out a ton of information in one minute. He argues with the blond man that he can handle 17 bottles of wine. But he does not agree to the bet. Nozdryov calls Pavel Ivanovich to his place. The servant brought the puppy into the tavern. The owner examined whether there were fleas and ordered to take it back. Chichikov hopes that the losing landowner will sell him the peasants cheaper. The author describes Nozdryov. The appearance of a broken fellow, of which there are many in Rus'. They quickly make friends and become familiar. Nozdryov could not sit at home, his wife quickly died, and a nanny looked after the children. The master constantly got into trouble, but after a while he reappeared in the company of those who beat him. All three carriages drove up to the estate. First, the owner showed the stable, half empty, then the wolf cub, and a pond. Blond doubted everything that Nozdryov said. We came to the kennel. Here the landowner was among his own. He knew each puppy's name. One of the dogs licked Chichikov and immediately spat out of disgust. Nozdryov composed at every step: you can catch hares in the field with your hands, he recently bought timber abroad. After inspecting the property, the men returned to the house. Lunch was not very successful: some things were burnt, others were undercooked. The owner leaned heavily on the wine. The blond son-in-law began to ask to go home. Nozdryov did not want to let him go, but Chichikov supported his desire to leave. The men went into the room, Pavel Ivanovich saw the card in the owner’s hands. He started a conversation about dead souls and asked to donate them. Nozdryov demanded to explain why he needed them, but the guest’s arguments did not satisfy him. Nozdryov called Pavel a fraudster, which greatly offended him. Chichikov proposed a deal, but Nozdryov offers a stallion, a mare and a gray horse. The guest didn’t need any of this. Nozdryov haggles further: dogs, barrel organ. He begins to offer an exchange for a chaise. Trade turns into dispute. The owner's violence frightens the hero; he refuses to drink or play. Nozdryov gets more and more excited, he insults Chichikov and calls him names. Pavel Ivanovich stayed overnight, but scolded himself for his carelessness. He should not have started a conversation with Nozdryov about the purpose of his visit. The morning starts again with a game. Nozdryov insists, Chichikov agrees to checkers. But during the game, the checkers seemed to move on their own. The argument almost turned into a fight. The guest turned white as a sheet when he saw Nozdryov swinging his hand. It is unknown how the visit to the estate would have ended if a stranger had not entered the house. It was the police captain who informed Nozdryov about the trial. He inflicted bodily injuries on the landowner with rods. Chichikov no longer waited for the conversation to end; he slipped out of the room, jumped into the chaise and ordered Selifan to rush at full speed away from this house. It was not possible to buy dead souls.Chapter 5
The hero was very frightened, rushed into the chaise and rushed quickly from the village of Nozdryov. His heart was beating so hard that nothing could calm it down. Chichikov was afraid to imagine what could have happened if the police officer had not appeared. Selifan was indignant that the horse was left unfed. Everyone's thoughts were stopped by a collision with six horses. The stranger's coachman scolded, Selifan tried to defend himself. There was confusion. The horses moved apart and then huddled together. While all this was happening, Chichikov was looking at the unfamiliar blonde. A pretty young girl caught his attention. He didn’t even notice how the chaises uncoupled and drove off in different directions. The beauty melted away like a vision. Pavel began to dream of a girl, especially if he had a large dowry. A village appeared ahead. The hero examines the village with interest. The houses are strong, but the order in which they were built was clumsy. The owner is Sobakevich. Outwardly similar to a bear. The clothes made the resemblance even more precise: a brown tailcoat, long sleeves, a clumsy gait. The master constantly stepped on his feet. The owner invited the guest into the house. The design was interesting: full-length paintings of Greek generals, a Greek heroine with strong, thick legs. The owner was a tall woman, resembling a palm tree. All the decoration of the room, the furniture spoke about the owner, about the resemblance to him. The conversation didn't go well at first. Everyone whom Chichikov tried to praise drew criticism from Sobakevich. The guest tried to praise the table from the city officials, but even here the owner interrupted him. All the food was bad. Sobakevich ate with an appetite that one can only dream of. He said that there is a landowner Plyushkin, whose people are dying like flies. They ate for a very long time, Chichikov felt that he had gained a whole pound of weight after lunch.Chichikov began talking about his business. He called dead souls non-existent. Sobakevich, to the surprise of the guest, calmly called things by their proper names. He offered to sell them even before Chichikov spoke about it. Then trading began. Moreover, Sobakevich raised the price because his men were strong, healthy peasants, not like others. He described each person who died. Chichikov was amazed and asked to return to the topic of the deal. But Sobakevich stood his ground: his dead were dear. They bargained for a long time and agreed on Chichikov's price. Sobakevich prepared a note with a list of sold peasants. It indicated in detail the craft, age, marital status, and in the margins there were additional notes about behavior and attitude towards drunkenness. The owner asked for a deposit for the paper. The line of transferring money in exchange for an inventory of peasants makes me smile. The exchange was carried out with distrust. Chichikov asked to leave the deal between them and not to disclose information about it. Chichikov leaves the estate. He wants to go to Plyushkin, whose men are dying like flies, but he doesn’t want Sobakevich to know about it. And he stands at the door of the house to see where the guest will turn.
Chapter 6
Chichikov, thinking about the nicknames that the men gave Plyushkin, drives up to his village. The large village greeted the guest with a log pavement. The logs rose like piano keys. It was a rare rider who could ride without a bump or bruise. All the buildings were dilapidated and old. Chichikov examines the village with signs of poverty: leaky houses, old stacks of bread, ribbed roofs, windows covered with rags. The owner's house looked even stranger: the long castle resembled a disabled person. All but two windows were closed or covered. The open windows did not look familiar. The strange-looking garden located behind the master's castle was corrected. Chichikov drove up to the house and noticed a figure whose gender was difficult to determine. Pavel Ivanovich decided that it was the housekeeper. He asked if the master was at home. The answer was negative. The housekeeper offered to go into the house. The house was as creepy as the outside. It was a dump of furniture, piles of papers, broken objects, rags. Chichikov saw a toothpick that had turned yellow as if it had lain there for centuries. Paintings hung on the walls, and a chandelier in a bag hung from the ceiling. It looked like a big cocoon of dust with a worm inside. There was a pile in the corner of the room; it would hardly have been possible to understand what was collected in it. Chichikov realized that he was mistaken in determining the gender of a person. More accurately, it was the key holder. The man had a strange beard, like an iron wire comb. The guest, after waiting for a long time in silence, decided to ask where the master was. The key keeper replied that it was him. Chichikov was taken aback. Plyushkin's appearance amazed him, his clothes amazed him. He looked like a beggar standing at the door of a church. There was nothing in common with the landowner. Plyushkin had more than a thousand souls, full pantries and barns of grain and flour. The house has a lot of wood products and dishes. Everything that Plyushkin had accumulated would have been enough for more than one village. But the landowner went out into the street and dragged into the house everything he found: an old sole, a rag, a nail, a broken piece of crockery. The found objects were placed in a pile, which was located in the room. He took into his hands what the women left behind. True, if he was caught in this, he didn’t argue, he returned it. He was just thrifty, but he became stingy. The character changed, first he cursed his daughter, who ran away with a military man, then his son, who lost at cards. The income was replenished, but Plyushkin was constantly cutting expenses, depriving even himself of small joys. The landowner's daughter visited him, but he held his grandchildren on his lap and gave them money.There are few such landowners in Rus'. Most people want to live beautifully and widely, but only a few can shrink like Plyushkin.
Chichikov could not start a conversation for a long time; there were no words in his head to explain his visit. In the end, Chichikov started talking about savings, which he wanted to see in person.
Plyushkin does not treat Pavel Ivanovich, explaining that he has a terrible kitchen. A conversation about souls begins. Plyushkin has more than a hundred dead souls. People are dying of hunger, of disease, some are simply running away. To the surprise of the stingy owner, Chichikov offers a deal. Plyushkin is indescribably happy, he considers the guest a stupid man dragging after the actresses. The deal was completed quickly. Plyushkin suggested washing the deal with liquor. But when he described that there were boogers and bugs in the wine, the guest refused. Having copied the dead on a piece of paper, the landowner asked if anyone needed the fugitives. Chichikov was delighted and after a small trade bought 78 fugitive souls from him. Pleased with the acquisition of more than 200 souls, Pavel Ivanovich returned to the city.
Chapter 7
Chichikov got enough sleep and went to the chambers to register ownership of the purchased peasants. To do this, he began to rewrite the papers received from the landowners. Korobochka's men had their own names. Plyushkin's inventory was brevity. Sobakevich painted each peasant with detail and qualities. Each one had a description of their father and mother. Behind the names and nicknames there were people; Chichikov tried to introduce them. So Pavel Ivanovich was busy with papers until 12 o’clock. On the street he met Manilov. The acquaintances froze in an embrace that lasted more than a quarter of an hour. The paper with the inventory of the peasants was rolled into a tube and tied with a pink ribbon. The list was beautifully designed with an ornate border. Hand in hand, the men went to the wards. In the chambers, Chichikov spent a long time looking for the table he needed, then carefully paid a bribe and went to the chairman for an order allowing him to complete the deal quickly. There he met Sobakevich. The chairman gave orders to gather all the people needed for the deal and gave orders for its rapid completion. The chairman asked why Chichikov needed peasants without land, but he himself answered the question. People gathered, the purchase was completed quickly and successfully. The Chairman proposed to celebrate the acquisition. Everyone headed to the police chief's house. The officials decided that they definitely needed to marry Chichikov. During the evening, he clinked glasses with everyone more than once, noticing that he had to go, Pavel Ivanovich left for the hotel. Selifan and Petrushka, as soon as the master fell asleep, went to the basement, where they stayed almost until the morning; when they returned, they lay down so that it was impossible to move them.Chapter 8
In the city everyone was talking about Chichikov's purchases. They tried to calculate his wealth and admitted that he was rich. Officials tried to calculate whether it was profitable to purchase peasants for resettlement, and what kind of peasants the landowner bought. The officials scolded the men and felt sorry for Chichikov, who had to transport such a lot of people. There were miscalculations about a possible riot. Some began to give Pavel Ivanovich advice, offering to escort the procession, but Chichikov reassured him, saying that he had bought men who were meek, calm and willing to leave. Chichikov aroused a special attitude among the ladies of the city of N. As soon as they calculated his millions, he became interesting to them. Pavel Ivanovich noticed a new extraordinary attention to himself. One day he found a letter from a lady on his desk. She called him to leave the city for the desert, and out of despair she ended the message with verses about the death of a bird. The letter was anonymous; Chichikov really wanted to figure out the author. The governor is having a ball. The hero of the story appears on it. The eyes of all the guests are turned to him. There was joy on everyone's faces. Chichikov tried to figure out who the messenger of the letter to him was. Ladies showed interest in him and looked for attractive features in him. Pavel was so carried away by conversations with the ladies that he forgot about the decency of approaching and introducing himself to the hostess of the ball. The governor's wife approached him herself. Chichikov turned to her and was already preparing to utter some phrase, when he stopped short. Two women stood in front of him. One of them is a blonde who charmed him on the road when he was returning from Nozdryov. Chichikov was embarrassed. The governor's wife introduced him to her daughter. Pavel Ivanovich tried to get out, but he wasn’t very successful. The ladies tried to distract him, but they didn't succeed. Chichikov tries to attract his daughter’s attention, but she is not interested in him. The women began to show that they were not happy with this behavior, but Chichikov could not help himself. He was trying to charm a beautiful blonde. At that moment Nozdryov appeared at the ball. He began to scream loudly and ask Chichikov about dead souls. Addressed a speech to the governor. His words left everyone confused. His speeches sounded crazy. The guests began to look at each other, Chichikov noticed evil lights in the eyes of the ladies. The embarrassment passed, and some people took Nozdryov’s words for lies, stupidity, and slander. Pavel decided to complain about his health. They calmed him down, saying that the brawler Nozdryov had already been taken out, but Chichikov did not feel calmer.At this time, an event occurred in the city that further increased the hero’s troubles. A carriage that looked like a watermelon drove in. The woman who got out of the cart is the landowner Korobochka. She was tormented for a long time by the thought that she had made a mistake in the deal, and decided to go to the city to find out at what price dead souls were sold here. The author does not convey her conversation, but what it led to is easy to find out from the next chapter.
The governor received two papers containing information about a fugitive robber and a counterfeiter. Two messages were combined into one, the Robber and counterfeiter was hiding in the image of Chichikov. First, we decided to ask those who communicated with him about him. Manilov spoke flatteringly about the landowner and vouched for him. Sobakevich recognized Pavel Ivanovich as a good person. The officials were overcome with fear and decided to get together and discuss the problem. The meeting place is with the police chief.
Chapter 10
The officials gathered together and first discussed changes in their appearance. Events led to them losing weight. The discussion was of no use. Everyone was talking about Chichikov. Some decided that he was a government money maker. Others suggested that he was an official from the Governor General's office. They tried to prove to themselves that he could not be a robber. The guest's appearance was very well-intentioned. The officials did not find any violent behavior that is typical of robbers. The postmaster interrupted their arguments with a startling cry. Chichikov - Captain Kopeikin. Many did not know about the captain. The postmaster tells them “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin.” The captain's arm and leg were torn off during the war, and no laws were passed regarding the wounded. He went to his father, who refused him shelter. He himself did not have enough for bread. Kopeikin went to the sovereign. I came to the capital and was confused. He was pointed to the commission. The captain got to her and waited for more than 4 hours. The room was packed with people like beans. The minister noticed Kopeikin and ordered him to come in a few days. Out of joy and hope, he went into the tavern and drank. The next day, Kopeikin received a refusal from the nobleman and an explanation that no orders had yet been issued regarding disabled people. The captain went to see the minister several times, but they stopped receiving him. Kopeikin waited for the nobleman to come out and asked for money, but he said that he could not help, there were many important things to do. He ordered the captain to look for food himself. But Kopeikin began to demand a resolution. He was thrown into a cart and taken by force out of the city. And after some time a gang of robbers appeared. Who was its leader? But the police chief did not have time to pronounce his name. He was interrupted. Chichikov had both an arm and a leg. How could he be Kopeikin? The officials decided that the police chief had gone too far in his fantasies. They came to the decision to call Nozdryov to talk with them. His testimony was completely confusing. Nozdryov made up a bunch of tall tales about Chichikov.The hero of their conversations and disputes at this time, suspecting nothing, was ill. He decided to lie down for three days. Chichikov gargled and applied herbal decoctions to the gumboil. As soon as he felt better, he went to the governor. The doorman said that he was not ordered to be received. Continuing his walk, he went to the chairman of the chamber, who was very embarrassed. Pavel Ivanovich was surprised: he was either not accepted, or was greeted very strangely. In the evening Nozdryov came to his hotel. He explained the incomprehensible behavior of city officials: false papers, the kidnapping of the governor's daughter. Chichikov realized that he needed to get out of the city as quickly as possible. He sent Nozdryov out, ordered him to pack his suitcase and prepare to leave. Petrushka and Selifan were not very happy with this decision, but there was nothing to do.
Chapter 11
Chichikov is getting ready to go on the road. But unforeseen problems arise that keep him in the city. They are quickly resolved, and the strange guest leaves. The road is blocked by a funeral procession. The prosecutor was buried. All the noble officials and residents of the city walked in the procession. She was absorbed in thoughts about the future governor-general, how to impress him so as not to lose what she had acquired and not change her position in society. The women thought about the upcoming balls and holidays regarding the appointment of a new person. Chichikov thought to himself that this was a good omen: meeting a dead person on the way was good luck. The author is distracted from describing the protagonist's trip. He reflects on Rus', songs and distances. Then his thoughts are interrupted by the government carriage, which almost collided with Chichikov’s chaise. Dreams go to the word road. The author describes where and how the main character came from. Chichikov's origins are very modest: he was born into a family of nobles, but took after neither his mother nor his father. Childhood in the village ended, and the father took the boy to a relative in the city. Here he began to go to classes and study. He quickly understood how to succeed, began to please the teachers and received a certificate and a book with gold embossing: “For exemplary diligence and trustworthy behavior.” After the death of his father, Pavel was left with an estate, which he sold, deciding to live in the city. I inherited my father’s instruction: “Take care and save a penny.” Chichikov began with zeal, then with sycophancy. Having made his way into the family of the police chief, he received a vacant position and changed his attitude towards the one who promoted him. The first meanness was the most difficult, then everything went easier. Pavel Ivanovich was a pious man, loved cleanliness, and did not use foul language. Chichikov dreamed of serving in customs. His zealous service did its job, the dream came true. But luck ran out, and the hero had to again look for ways to make money and create wealth. One of the instructions - to put the peasants on the Guardian Council - gave him an idea of how to change his condition. He decided to buy dead souls and then resell them for settlement underground. The strange idea is difficult for an ordinary person to understand; only cleverly intertwined schemes in Chichikov’s head could fit into the enrichment system. During the author's reasoning, the hero sleeps peacefully. The author compares Rus'“Dead Souls” is a complex work with multi-level text, where even experienced readers can get lost. Therefore, a brief retelling of Gogol’s poem chapter by chapter, as well as it, which will help students understand the author’s large-scale plans, will not harm anyone.
He asks you to send comments about the entire text or image of a particular class to him personally, for which he will be grateful.
Chapter first
The chaise of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov (here is his) - a collegiate adviser - accompanied by servants Selifan and Petrushka, drives into the city of NN. Chichikov's description is quite typical: he is not handsome, but not bad-looking, not thin, but not fat, not young, but not old.
Chichikov, showing masterful hypocrisy and the ability to find an approach to everyone, gets acquainted with all the important officials and makes a pleasant impression on them. At the governor's he meets the landowners Manilov and Sobakevich, and at the police chief he meets Nozdryov. He undertakes to pay a visit to everyone.
Chapter two
The author writes about Chichikov's servants: Petrushka and the drinking coachman Selifan. Pavel Ivanovich goes to see Manilov (here is him), in the village of Manilovka. Everything in the manners and portrait of the landowner was too sweet, he thinks only about abstract things, can’t finish reading one book and dreams of building a stone bridge, but only in words.
Manilov lives here with his wife and two children, whose names are Alcides and Themistoclus. Chichikov says that he wants to purchase “dead souls” from him - dead peasants who are still on the audit lists. He refers to the desire to relieve his newfound friend from paying taxes. The landowner, after a short fright, happily agrees to give them to the guest for free. Pavel Ivanovich hastily leaves him and goes to Sobakevich, pleased with the successful start of his enterprise.
Chapter Three
On the way to Sobakevich's house, due to the inattention of the coachman Selifan, the chaise goes far from the right road and gets into an accident. Chichikov is forced to ask for an overnight stay with the landowner Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka (here is her).
The old woman is too thrifty, incredibly stupid, but very successful. Order reigns in her estate, she conducts trade business with many merchants. The widow keeps all her old things and receives the guest with suspicion. In the morning, Chichikov tried to talk about “dead souls,” but Nastasya Petrovna for a long time could not understand how one could trade in the dead. Finally, after a small scandal, the irritated official makes a deal and sets off on a repaired chaise.
Chapter Four
Chichikov enters the tavern, where he meets the landowner Nozdryov (here is him). He is an avid gambler, a fan of making up tall tales, a carouser and a talker.
Nozdryov calls Chichikov to his estate. Pavel Ivanovich asks him about “dead souls,” but the landowner inquires about the purpose of such an unusual purchase. He offers the hero to buy other expensive goods along with the souls, but it all ends in a quarrel.
The next morning, the gambling Nozdryov invites the guest to play checkers: the prize is “dead souls.” Chichikov notices the landowner's fraud, after which he escapes from the danger of a fight, thanks to the police captain who entered.
Chapter Five
Chichikov's britzka runs into the carriage, which causes a slight delay. A pretty girl, noticed by Pavel Ivanovich, would later turn out to be the governor’s daughter. The hero approaches the huge village of Sobakevich (here is his), everything in his house is of impressive size, like the owner himself, whom the author compares to a clumsy bear. A particularly characteristic detail is a massive, roughly hewn table that reflects the character of the owner.
The landowner speaks rudely about everyone Chichikov talks about, remembering Plyushkin, whose serfs endlessly die because of the owner’s stinginess. Sobakevich calmly sets a high price for the dead peasants and begins to talk about selling them. After much bargaining, Chichikov manages to buy several souls. The chaise goes to the landowner Plyushkin.
Chapter Six
The village of Plyushkina has a miserable appearance: the windows are without glass, the gardens are abandoned, the houses are overgrown with mold. Chichikov mistakes the owner for an old housekeeper. Plyushkin (here is him), looking like a beggar, leads the guest into the dusty house.
This is the only landowner whose past the author talks about. The master's wife and youngest daughter died, and the rest of his children left him. The house was empty, and Plyushkin gradually sank to such a pitiful state. He is happy to get rid of the dead peasants so as not to pay taxes for them, and happily sells them to Chichikov at a low price. Pavel Ivanovich leaves back to NN.
Chapter Seven
Along the way, Chichikov examines the collected records and notices the variety of names of deceased peasants. He meets Manilov and Sobakevich.
The chairman of the chamber quickly draws up the documents. Chichikov reports that he bought serfs for removal to the Kherson province. Officials celebrate Pavel Ivanovich's success.
Chapter Eight
Chichikov's huge acquisitions become known throughout the city. Various rumors are spreading. Pavel Ivanovich finds an anonymous letter of love.
At the governor's ball, he meets a girl whom he saw on the way to Sobakevich. He becomes interested in the governor's daughter, forgetting about other ladies.
The sudden appearance of a drunken Nozdryov almost disrupts Chichikov's plan: the landowner begins to tell everyone how the traveler bought dead peasants from him. He is taken out of the hall, after which Chichikov leaves the ball. At the same time, Korobochka goes to find out from her friends whether her guest has set the right price for the “dead souls.”
Chapter Nine
Friends Anna Grigorievna and Sofya Ivanovna gossip about the visiting official: they think that Chichikov is acquiring “dead souls” in order to please the governor’s daughter or kidnap her, in which Nozdryov may become his accomplice.
The landowners are afraid of punishment for the scam, so they keep the deal secret. Chichikov is not invited to dinners. Everyone in the city is busy with the news that somewhere in the province a counterfeiter and robber is hiding. Suspicion immediately falls on the buyer of dead souls.
Chapter Ten
The police chief is debating who Pavel Ivanovich is. Some people think he is Napoleon. The postmaster is sure that this is none other than Captain Kopeikin, and tells his story.
When Captain Kopeikin fought in 1812, he lost a leg and an arm. He came to St. Petersburg to ask for help from the governor, but the meeting was postponed several times. The soldier soon ran out of money. As a result, he is advised to return home and wait for the sovereign's help. Soon after his departure, robbers appeared in the Ryazan forests, whose ataman, by all indications, was Captain Kopeikin.
But Chichikov has all his arms and legs, so everyone understands that this version is wrong. The prosecutor dies due to excitement; Chichikov has had a cold for three days and does not leave the house. When he recovers, he is refused admission to the governor, and others treat him the same way. Nozdryov tells him about the rumors, praises him for the idea of kidnapping the governor’s daughter and offers his help. The hero understands that he urgently needs to escape from the city.
Chapter Eleven
In the morning, after slight delays in preparations, Chichikov sets off. He sees the prosecutor being buried. Pavel Ivanovich leaves the city.
The author talks about Chichikov's past. He was born into a noble family. His father often reminded his son to please everyone and save every penny. At school, Pavlusha already knew how to earn money, for example, by selling pies and showing performances of a trained mouse for a fee.
Then he began to serve in the government chamber. Pavel Ivanovich made his way to a high position by announcing to an old official that he was going to marry his daughter. In all positions, Chichikov took advantage of his official position, which is why he once found himself on trial for smuggling.
One day, Pavel Ivanovich got the idea of purchasing “dead souls” in order to ask for the Kherson province to house them. Then he could get a lot of money on the security of non-existent people and make a big fortune for himself.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!
Gogol begins this chapter with a sad memory of his irretrievably lost youth, but then returns to his hero. Having traveled along the path indicated by the peasant Sobakevich, Chichikov soon reached a large village, whose buildings were distinguished by their extraordinary dilapidation. Peasant huts had poor roofs. Their windows were without glass, others were simply covered with a rag or a zipun. In many places there were rows of huge treasures of the master's grain, stale and spoiled, which in some places was even overgrown with grass. The large manor house that soon appeared looked like a decrepit invalid with chipped plaster. Only two of its windows were open, while the others were covered with shutters or even boarded up. (See Description of the Plyushkin estate.)
Not far from the entrance, Chichikov noticed a strange figure, whose gender was difficult to recognize. She looked less like a man and more like a woman. Judging by the keys hanging from her belt, one could assume that she was an old housekeeper. (See Portrait of Plyushkin.)
When asked if the master was at home, the housekeeper first answered: no. But when she heard that Chichikov had something to do with the landowner, she said: “Go to the rooms!”
Chichikov was struck by the chaos reigning inside the house. Pieces of old and broken furniture were piled on top of each other. Paintings, yellowed by time, hung on the walls, and in the corner stood a pile of useless junk, covered with thick dust. It contained a fragment of a wooden shovel, an old boot sole and other similar debris. (See Interior of Plyushkin's house.)
The housekeeper came in next, and Chichikov now realized from the unshavenness of her chin that this was not a woman, but a man. Having asked where the owner was, he suddenly heard the answer: “What, father, are they blind, or what? And I’m the owner!”
Chichikov leaned back in surprise. A man looked at him with darting eyes like frightened mice, dressed in a tattered, oily robe - more like a beggar than a landowner. This was Plyushkin - the owner of more than a thousand serf souls.
Plyushkin. Drawing by Kukryniksy
In his younger years he was an active, thrifty owner. There were several factories on his estate, and every day there was tireless work, which Plyushkin skillfully directed, like a hardworking spider. But widowhood and old age changed his character. After the death of her mother, Plyushkin’s daughter fled from home with an officer, and her son, against his father’s will, joined the regiment. Loneliness made Plyushkin more and more stingy and distrustful over the years. He quarreled with the children and began to suspect that the serfs were not thinking about anything else but to rob him. Plyushkin began to save on everything, out of greed he quarreled with all the buyers, and closed the factories. Every year the main parts of the economy disappeared more and more from his sight, and the petty old man's gaze turned to the unnecessary rubbish that he collected while walking around the village, to the ridicule of his peasants. Serf dues, unused, were dumped in storerooms and there turned into rot and a hole. And Plyushkin himself finally turned into some kind of hole in humanity.
Having at first suspected Chichikov’s desire, under the guise of friendship, to dine with him for free, Plyushkin began to say that a pipe had collapsed in his kitchen, and nothing was being cooked there. Chichikov casually remarked to his interlocutor about the rumors about his thousand serfs. Plyushkin began to complain about this: the men were lazy, they didn’t want to work, and in recent years many had died of fever.
Chichikov, with noticeable animation, asked how high the number of deaths was. It turned out that there were at least one hundred and twenty people. Chichikov immediately volunteered to prove his respect to Plyushkin: he offered to take on the payment of taxes for these peasants, because for the pleasure of the owner he would not mind incurring a personal loss.
Plyushkin widened his eyes and searched his mind for a possible catch. However, Chichikov said that he was ready to immediately issue a deed of sale for these dead in order to then pay taxes for them as if they were his own.
Plyushkin was so delighted that he even ordered the servant to put out a samovar for Chichikov and bring an old cracker from the pantry as a treat for tea, which you just need to scrape off the mold from the top with a knife. Having unlocked the door of the old cabinet with the keys, the owner took out a dusty decanter with the remains of liquor, assuring that he himself had recently cleaned it of all the boogers that had adhered to it over many years. Chichikov hastened to abandon such hospitality and hurried Plyushkin to compile a list of dead souls.
Plyushkin, not without difficulty, found a piece of paper on the table and began to write down the names of the dead men there. He wrote them out in small handwriting so that they could all fit on one sheet and not have to use another. Plyushkin mentioned that another seven dozen of his peasants are on the run. Chichikov immediately expressed a desire to acquire them too, offering thirty kopecks for each dead soul. Plyushkin tearfully begged to add at least two more kopecks to this price. Chichikov agreed.
Having thus bought two hundred dead souls at once, Chichikov, on the way from the village of Plyushkin, was unusually cheerful, whistled, and even to the surprise of the coachman Selifan, he put his fist to his mouth, as if he were playing the trumpet. Late in the evening they returned to the provincial town of N. Having demanded the lightest dinner at the hotel, which consisted only of a pig, Chichikov fell asleep deeply, soundly, as only those lucky people sleep who do not know hemorrhoids, fleas, or too strong mental abilities.
Here is a summary of chapter 6 of the work “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol.
A very brief summary of “Dead Souls” can be found, and the one presented below is quite detailed.
General content by chapter:
Chapter 6 – summary.
Pretty soon Chichikov drove into the middle of a vast village with many huts and streets. Particular disrepair was noticeable in all the village buildings. Then the manor’s house appeared: “ this strange castle looked like some kind of decrepit invalid " When Pavel Ivanovich drove into the courtyard, he saw a strange figure near one of the buildings. This man scolded the man. Chichikov could not understand for a long time what gender this figure was:
The dress she was wearing was completely indefinite, very similar to a woman’s bonnet, and on her head was a cap, the kind worn by village courtyard women.
The guest decided that it was the housekeeper and asked her where he could find the master. The housekeeper led Chichikov into the rooms.
The house was in complete disorder: furniture was piled up, there was a lot of stuff on the tables, there was a bunch of things in the corner of the room. Chichikov was able to see a piece of a wooden shovel and the sole of an old boot. In the house, the guest saw that he was dealing with a man, and not a woman. This creature turned out to be Plyushkin.
Pavel Ivanovich was very surprised by such a beggarly appearance of a landowner who owned more than a thousand souls, full barns of all kinds of food, stocks of linen and cloth. Wood, dishes, etc. Not content with this, the master walked every day through the streets of his village and picked up everything he came across. Sometimes he even stole from peasants.
There was a time when Plyushkin was simply a thrifty owner. He had a wife, 2 daughters and a son. The landowner was known as an intelligent man; people came to him to learn how to manage a farm. Soon the wife died, the eldest daughter ran away with the officer. The landowner began to reveal stinginess. The son did not listen to his father and enlisted in the regiment, for which he was deprived of his inheritance, the youngest daughter died. Plyushkin was left alone and became more and more stingy every year. He himself forgot what riches he had. Gradually he turned into a sexless creature, which Chichikov found him to be.
Pavel Ivanovich could not start a conversation for a long time, attracted by such a picturesque appearance of the owner. Finally he started talking about peasants. Plyushkin had more than one hundred and twenty dead souls. The owner was delighted when he learned that the guest was undertaking to pay taxes for them, and would also settle the matter with the clerk himself. The conversation also turned to runaway peasants, of whom Plyushkin had more than seventy. Chichikov immediately decided to buy these peasants and offered twenty-five kopecks per head. After the auction, the new acquaintances agreed on thirty kopecks per head. To celebrate, Plyushkin wanted to treat Chichikov to liqueur, in which various boogers were stuffed, and last year's Easter cake. Pavel Ivanovich refused, which earned him even more favor from the owner. They immediately made a deed of sale, and the owner, reluctantly, allocated a quarter of old paper for the power of attorney. In addition, Pavel Ivanovich gave twenty-four rubles and ninety-six kopecks for the runaway peasants and forced Plyushkin to write a receipt.
Pleased with yourself. Chichikov said goodbye to the owner and ordered to return to the city. Arriving at the hotel. Pavel Ivanovich learned about the new lieutenant who had arrived, complained about the stale air in the room, ate the lightest dinner and climbed under the covers.
