Gogol's work "Dead Souls" was written in the second half of the 19th century. The first volume was published in 1842, the second volume was almost completely destroyed by the author. The third volume was never written. The plot of the work was prompted by Gogol. The poem tells about a middle-aged gentleman, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, traveling around Russia in order to buy the so-called dead souls - peasants who are not alive, but who are still listed as living according to documents. Gogol wanted to show the whole of Russia, the whole Russian soul in its breadth and immensity.
Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" in a summary of the chapters can be read below. In the above version, the main characters are described, the most significant fragments are highlighted, with the help of which you can make a complete picture of the content of this poem. Reading Gogol's "Dead Souls" online will be useful and relevant for grade 9.
main characters
Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov - main character poems, middle-aged collegiate adviser. He travels around Russia in order to buy up dead souls, knows how to find an approach to each person, which he constantly uses.
Other characters
Manilov- landowner, no longer young. At first, you think only pleasant things about him, and after that you don’t know what to think. He does not care about domestic difficulties; lives with his wife and two sons, Themistoclus and Alkid.
box- an elderly woman, a widow. She lives in a small village, runs the household herself, sells products and furs. A stingy woman. She knew the names of all the peasants by heart, she did not keep written records.
Sobakevich- the landowner, in everything he is looking for profit. With its massiveness and clumsiness, it resembled a bear. Agrees to sell dead souls to Chichikov even before he spoke about it.
Nozdryov- a landowner who cannot sit at home for a single day. To love to revel and play cards: hundreds of times he lost to smithereens, but still continued to play; has always been the hero of a story, and he himself is a master of telling fables. His wife died, leaving a child, but Nozdryov did not care about family matters at all.
Plushkin- an unusual person appearance which is difficult to determine which class he belongs to. Chichikov at first mistook him for an old housekeeper. He lives alone, although earlier life was in full swing on his estate.
Selifan- coachman, Chichikov's servant. He drinks a lot, is often distracted from the road, likes to think about the eternal.
Volume 1
Chapter 1
A chaise with an ordinary, unremarkable cart enters the city of NN. He checked into a hotel, which, as often happens, was poor and dirty. The master's luggage was brought in by Selifan (a short man in a sheepskin coat) and Petrushka (a little 30 years old). The traveler almost immediately went to the inn to find out who held the leading positions in this city. At the same time, the gentleman tried not to talk about himself at all, nevertheless, everyone with whom the gentleman spoke managed to make the most pleasant characterization about him. Along with this, the author very often emphasizes the insignificance of the character.
During dinner, the guest finds out from the servant who is the chairman in the city, who is the governor, how many rich landowners, the visitor did not miss a single detail.
Chichikov meets Manilov and the clumsy Sobakevich, whom he quickly managed to charm with his manners and public demeanor: he could always keep up a conversation on any topic, was polite, attentive and courteous. People who knew him spoke only positively about Chichikov. At the card table, he behaved like an aristocrat and a gentleman, even arguing somehow especially pleasantly, for example, “you deigned to go.”
Chichikov hurried to pay visits to all the officials of this city in order to win them over and testify to his respect.
Chapter 2
Chichikov had been living in the city for more than a week, spending his time reveling and feasting. He made many useful acquaintances for him, was a welcome guest at various receptions. While Chichikov was spending time at the next dinner party, the author introduces the reader to his servants. Petrushka walked in a wide frock coat from the master's shoulder, had a large nose and lips. The character was silent. He loved to read, but he liked the process of reading much more than the subject of reading. Parsley always carried with him "his own special smell", ignoring Chichikov's requests to go to the bathhouse. The author did not describe the coachman Selifan, they say, he belonged to a too low class, and the reader prefers landowners and counts.
Chichikov went to the village to Manilov, who "could lure few with its location." Although Manilov said that the village was only 15 miles from the city, Chichikov had to travel almost twice as far. Manilov at first glance was a prominent man, his features were pleasant, but too sugary. You won’t get a single living word from him, Manilov seemed to live in an imaginary world. Manilov had nothing of his own, nothing of his own. He spoke little, most often thinking about lofty matters. When a peasant or a clerk asked the master about something, he answered: “Yes, not bad,” not caring about what would happen next.
In Manilov's office there was a book that the master had been reading for the second year already, and the bookmark, once left on page 14, remained in place. Not only Manilov, but the house itself suffered from a lack of something special. It was as if something was always missing in the house: the furniture was expensive, and there was not enough upholstery for two armchairs, in the other room there was no furniture at all, but they were always going to put it there. The owner spoke touchingly and tenderly to his wife. She was a match for her husband - a typical pupil of a boarding school for girls. She was taught French, dancing and piano to please and entertain her husband. Often they spoke softly and reverently, like young lovers. It seemed that the spouses did not care about household trifles.
Chichikov and Manilov stood at the door for several minutes, letting each other go forward: “Do yourself a favour, don’t worry like that for me, I’ll go through later”, “don’t bother, please don’t bother. Please come through." As a result, both passed at the same time, sideways, hitting each other. Chichikov agreed with Manilov in everything, who praised the governor, the chief of police, and others.
Chichikov was surprised by the children of Manilov, two sons of six and eight years old, Themistoclus and Alkid. Manilov wanted to show off his children, but Chichikov did not notice any special talents in them. After dinner, Chichikov decided to talk with Manilov about one very important matter - about dead peasants who, according to documents, are still considered alive - about dead souls. In order to “save Manilov from having to pay taxes,” Chichikov asks Manilov to sell him documents for peasants that no longer exist. Manilov was somewhat discouraged, but Chichikov convinced the landowner of the legitimacy of such a deal. Manilov decided to give away the "dead souls" for free, after which Chichikov hurriedly began to gather at Sobakevich's, pleased with his successful acquisition.
Chapter 3
Chichikov rode to Sobakevich in high spirits. Selifan, the coachman, was arguing with his horse, and, carried away by his thoughts, he stopped following the road. The travelers got lost.
The chaise drove off-road for a long time until it hit the fence and rolled over. Chichikov was forced to ask an old woman for lodging for the night, who let them in only after Chichikov spoke about his noble title.
The owner was an elderly woman. She can be called thrifty: there were a lot of old things in the house. The woman was dressed tastelessly, but with a claim to elegance. The lady's name was Korobochka Nastasya Petrovna. She did not know any Manilov, from which Chichikov concluded that they had been driven into a decent wilderness.
Chichikov woke up late. His linen had been dried and laundered by Korobochka's fussy worker. Pavel Ivanovich did not particularly stand on ceremony with Korobochka, allowing himself to be rude. Nastasya Filippovna was a collegiate secretary, her husband died long ago, so the whole household was on her. Chichikov did not miss the opportunity to ask about dead souls. He had to persuade Korobochka for a long time, who also bargained. Korobochka knew all the peasants by name, so she did not keep written records.
Chichikov was tired of a long conversation with the hostess, and was rather glad not that he had received less than twenty souls from her, but that this dialogue had ended. Nastasya Filippovna, delighted with the sale, decided to sell Chichikov flour, lard, straw, fluff and honey. To appease the guest, she ordered the maid to bake pancakes and pies, which Chichikov ate with pleasure, but politely refused other purchases.
Nastasya Filippovna sent a little girl with Chichikov to show the way. The chaise had already been repaired and Chichikov went on.
Chapter 4
The chaise drove up to the tavern. The author admits that Chichikov had an excellent appetite: the hero ordered chicken, veal and piglet with sour cream and horseradish. In the tavern, Chichikov asked about the owner, his sons, their wives, and at the same time found out where which landowner lives. In a tavern, Chichikov met Nozdryov, with whom he had previously dined together with the prosecutor. Nozdryov was cheerful and drunk: he again lost at cards. Nozdryov laughed at Chichikov's plans to go to Sobakevich, persuading Pavel Ivanovich to visit him first. Nozdryov was sociable, the soul of the company, a reveler and a talker. His wife died early, leaving two children, whom Nozdryov was absolutely not involved in raising. He could not sit at home for more than a day, his soul demanded feasts and adventures. Nozdryov had an amazing attitude towards acquaintances: the closer he got together with a person, the more stories he told. At the same time, Nozdryov managed not to quarrel with anyone after that.
Nozdryov was very fond of dogs and even kept a wolf. The landowner boasted so much of his possessions that Chichikov got tired of inspecting them, although Nozdryov attributed to his lands even a forest, which could not be his property. At the table, Nozdryov poured out wine for the guests, but added little to himself. In addition to Chichikov, Nozdryov was visited by his son-in-law, in whose presence Pavel Ivanovich did not dare to talk about the true motives of his visit. However, the son-in-law soon got ready to go home, and Chichikov was finally able to ask Nozdryov about the dead souls.
He asked Nozdryov to transfer the dead souls to himself, without revealing his true motives, but Nozdryov's interest from this only intensifies. Chichikov is forced to come up with various stories: allegedly dead souls are needed to gain weight in society or to successfully marry, but Nozdryov feels false, so he allows himself rude remarks about Chichikov. Nozdryov offers Pavel Ivanovich to buy from him a stallion, a mare or a dog, complete with which he will give his soul. Nozdryov did not want to give away dead souls just like that.
The next morning, Nozdryov behaved as if nothing had happened, offering Chichikov to play checkers. If Chichikov wins, then Nozdryov will transfer all the dead souls to him. Both played dishonestly, Chichikov was very exhausted by the game, but the police officer unexpectedly came to Nozdryov, saying that from now on Nozdryov was on trial for beating the landowner. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chichikov hurried to leave Nozdryov's estate.
Chapter 5
Chichikov was glad that he had left Nozdryov empty-handed. Chichikov was distracted from his thoughts by an accident: a horse harnessed to Pavel Ivanovich's britzka got mixed up with a horse from another harness. Chichikov was fascinated by the girl who was sitting in another wagon. He thought about the beautiful stranger for a long time.
The village of Sobakevich seemed huge to Chichikov: gardens, stables, sheds, peasant houses. Everything seems to have been made for centuries. Sobakevich himself seemed to Chichikov like a bear. Everything about Sobakevich was massive and clumsy. Each item was ridiculous, as if saying: "I also look like Sobakevich." Sobakevich spoke disrespectfully and rudely about other people. From him Chichikov learned about Plyushkin, whose peasants were dying like flies.
Sobakevich reacted calmly to the offer of dead souls, even offered to sell them before Chichikov himself spoke about it. The landowner behaved strangely, inflating the price, praising the already dead peasants. Chichikov was unhappy with the deal with Sobakevich. It seemed to Pavel Ivanovich that it was not he who was trying to deceive the landowner, but Sobakevich was trying to deceive him.
Chichikov went to Plyushkin.
Chapter 6
Immersed in his thoughts, Chichikov did not notice that he had entered the village. In the village of Plyushkina, the windows in the houses were without glass, the bread was damp and moldy, the gardens were abandoned. Nowhere was the result of human labor to be seen. Near Plyushkin's house there were many buildings overgrown with green mold.
Chichikov was met by the housekeeper. The master was not at home, the housekeeper invited Chichikov to the chambers. A lot of things were piled up in the rooms, in the heaps it was impossible to understand what exactly was there, everything was covered in dust. By the appearance of the room, it cannot be said that a living person lived here.
A bent-over man, unshaven, in a washed-out dressing gown, entered the chamber. The face was nothing special. If Chichikov met this man on the street, he would give him alms.
This man was the landowner himself. There was a time when Plyushkin was a thrifty owner, and his house was full of life. Now, strong feelings were not reflected in the eyes of the old man, but his forehead betrayed a remarkable mind. Plyushkin's wife died, his daughter ran away with the military, his son went to the city, and the youngest daughter died. The house became empty. Guests rarely dropped in on Plyushkin, and Plyushkin did not want to see the runaway daughter, who sometimes asked her father for money. The landowner himself started talking about the dead peasants, because he was glad to get rid of the dead souls, although after a while suspiciousness appeared in his eyes.
Chichikov refused treats, being under the impression of dirty dishes. Plyushkin decided to bargain, manipulating his plight. Chichikov bought 78 souls from him, forcing Plyushkin to write a receipt. After the deal, Chichikov, as before, hastened to leave. Plyushkin locked the gate behind the guest, walked around his possessions, pantries and kitchen, and then thought about how to thank Chichikov.
Chapter 7
Chichikov had already acquired 400 souls, so he wanted to finish things in this city faster. He reviewed and put in order all the necessary documents. All the peasants of Korobochka were distinguished by strange nicknames, Chichikov was unhappy that their names took up a lot of space on paper, Plyushkin's note was short, Sobakevich's notes were complete and detailed. Chichikov thought about how each person passed away, building guesses in his imagination and playing out entire scenarios.
Chichikov went to court to certify all the documents, but there he was given to understand that without a bribe things would go on for a long time, and Chichikov would still have to stay in the city for a while. Sobakevich, who accompanied Chichikov, convinced the chairman of the legitimacy of the deal, while Chichikov said that he had bought the peasants for withdrawal to the Kherson province.
The chief of police, officials and Chichikov decided to complete the paperwork with dinner and a game of whist. Chichikov was cheerful and told everyone about his lands near Kherson.
Chapter 8
The whole city is talking about Chichikov's purchases: why do Chichikov need peasants? Did the landlords sell so many good peasants to the newcomer, and not thieves and drunkards? Will the peasants change in the new land?
The more rumors there were about Chichikov's wealth, the more they loved him. The ladies of the city of NN considered Chichikov a very attractive person. In general, the ladies of the city of N themselves were presentable, dressed with taste, were strict in morals, and all their intrigues remained secret.
Chichikov found an anonymous love letter that interested him incredibly. At the reception, Pavel Ivanovich could not understand in any way which of the girls had written to him. The traveler was successful with the ladies, and was so carried away by secular talk that he forgot to approach the hostess. The governor was at a reception with her daughter, whose beauty Chichikov was captivated - not a single lady was interested in Chichikov anymore.
At the reception, Chichikov met Nozdryov, who, with his cheeky behavior and drunken conversations, put Chichikov in an uncomfortable position, so Chichikov was forced to leave the reception.
Chapter 9
The author introduces the reader to two ladies, friends, who met early in the morning. They talked about women's little things. Alla Grigorievna was partly a materialist, prone to denial and doubt. The ladies gossiped about the visitor. Sofya Ivanovna, the second woman, is unhappy with Chichikov, because he flirted with many ladies, and Korobochka even let slip about dead souls, adding to her story the story of how Chichikov deceived her by throwing 15 rubles in banknotes. Alla Grigoryevna suggested that, thanks to dead souls, Chichikov wants to impress the governor's daughter in order to steal her from her father's house. The ladies recorded Nozdryov as Chichikov's accomplices.
The city was buzzing: the question of dead souls worried everyone. The ladies discussed more the story of the kidnapping of the girl, supplementing it with all conceivable and inconceivable details, and the men discussed the economic side of the issue. All this led to the fact that Chichikov was not allowed on the threshold and was not invited to dinner anymore. Unfortunately, Chichikov was in the hotel all this time, because he was not lucky enough to get sick.
Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the city, in their assumptions, reached the point that they told the prosecutor about everything.
Chapter 10
Residents of the city gathered at the police chief. Everyone wondered who Chichikov was, where he came from and whether he was hiding from the law. The postmaster tells the story of Captain Kopeikin.
In this chapter, the story about Captain Kopeikin is included in the text of Dead Souls.
Captain Kopeikin had his arm and leg torn off during a military campaign in the 1920s. Kopeikin decided to ask the king for help. The man was amazed by the beauty of St. Petersburg and the high prices for food and housing. Kopeikin waited for the general's reception for about 4 hours, but he was asked to come later. The audience of Kopeikin and the governor was postponed several times, Kopeikin's faith in justice and the king each time became less and less. The man was running out of money for food, and the capital became disgusting because of pathos and spiritual emptiness. Captain Kopeikin decided to sneak into the reception room of the general in order to get an answer to his question for sure. He decided to stand there until the sovereign looked at him. The general instructed the courier to deliver Kopeikin to a new place, where he would be completely in the care of the state. Kopeikin, delighted, went with the courier, but no one else saw Kopeikin.
All those present admitted that Chichikov could not possibly be Captain Kopeikin, because Chichikov had all his limbs in place. Nozdryov told many different tales and, carried away, said that he personally came up with a plan to kidnap the governor's daughter.
Nozdryov went to visit Chichikov, who was still ill. The landowner told Pavel Ivanovich about the situation in the city and the rumors about Chichikov.
Chapter 11
In the morning, everything did not go according to plan: Chichikov woke up later than planned, the horses were not shod, the wheel was faulty. After a while, everything was ready.
On the way, Chichikov met a funeral procession - the prosecutor died. Further, the reader learns about Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov himself. Parents were nobles who had only one serf family. One day, the father took little Pavel with him to the city to send the child to a school. The father ordered his son to listen to teachers and please the bosses, not to make friends, save money. At the school, Chichikov was distinguished by diligence. From childhood, he understood how to increase money: he sold pies from the market to hungry classmates, trained a mouse to show tricks for a fee, sculpted wax figures.
Chichikov was in good standing. After some time, he moved his family to the city. Chichikov was attracted by a rich life, he actively tried to break into people, but with difficulty got into the state chamber. Chichikov did not hesitate to use people for his own purposes, he was not ashamed of such an attitude. After the incident with one old official, whose daughter Chichikov was even going to marry in order to get a position, Chichikov's career went up sharply. And that official talked for a long time about how Pavel Ivanovich deceived him.
He served in many departments, cunning and cheating everywhere, launched a whole campaign against corruption, although he himself was a bribe-taker. Chichikov took up construction, but a few years later the declared house was never built, but those who supervised the construction had new buildings. Chichikov engaged in smuggling, for which he was put on trial.
He started his career again from the lowest rung. He was engaged in handing over documents for peasants to the Board of Trustees, where he was paid for each peasant. But once Pavel Ivanovich was informed that even if the peasants died, but according to the record they are listed as alive, the money will still be paid. So Chichikov got the idea to buy up the dead in fact, but living according to the documents of the peasants, in order to sell their souls to the council of trustees.
Volume 2
The chapter begins with a description of nature and land belonging to Andrey Tentetnikov, a 33-year-old gentleman who mindlessly spends his time: he woke up late, washed himself for a long time, “he was not a bad person, he was just a smoker of the sky.” After a series of unsuccessful reforms aimed at improving the life of the peasants, he stopped communicating with others, completely dropped his hands, mired in the same infinity of everyday life.
Chichikov comes to Tentetnikov and, using his ability to find an approach to any person, stays with Andrei Ivanovich for a while. Chichikov was now more careful and delicate when it came to dead souls. Chichikov has not yet talked about this with Tentetnikov, but talking about marriage revived Andrei Ivanovich a little.
Chichikov goes to General Betrishchev, a man of majestic appearance, who combined many advantages and many shortcomings. Betrishchev introduces Chichikov to his daughter Ulenka, with whom Tentetnikov is in love. Chichikov joked a lot, with which he was able to achieve the location of the general. I take the opportunity, Chichikov composes a story about an old uncle who is obsessed with dead souls, but the general does not believe him, considering this to be another joke. Chichikov hurries to leave.
Pavel Ivanovich goes to Colonel Koshkarev, but ends up with Pyotr Petukh, who is caught completely naked while hunting for sturgeon. Upon learning that the estate was mortgaged, Chichikov wanted to leave, but here he meets the landowner Platonov, who talks about ways to increase wealth, which Chichikov is inspired by.
Colonel Koshkarev, who divided his lands into plots and manufactories, also had nothing to profit from, so Chichikov, accompanied by Platonov and Konstanzhoglo, goes to Kholobuev, who sells his estate for nothing. Chichikov gives a deposit for the estate, having borrowed the amount from Konstanzhglo and Platonov. In the house, Pavel Ivanovich expected to see empty rooms, but "he was struck by a mixture of poverty with the shiny trinkets of later luxury." Chichikov receives dead souls from his neighbor Leninsyn, having charmed him with the ability to tickle a child. The story is cut off.
It can be assumed that some time has passed since the purchase of the estate. Chichikov comes to the fair to buy fabric for a new suit. Chichikov meets Kholobuev. He is dissatisfied with the deception of Chichikov, because of which he almost lost his inheritance. Denunciations are found on Chichikov about the deception of Kholobuev and dead souls. Chichikov is arrested.
Murazov, a recent acquaintance of Pavel Ivanovich, a farmer who fraudulently amassed a million-dollar fortune, finds Pavel Ivanovich in the basement. Chichikov tears his hair and mourns the loss of the box with securities: Chichikov was not allowed to dispose of many personal things, including the box, where there was enough money to give a deposit for himself. Murazov motivates Chichikov to live honestly, not to break the law and not to deceive people. It seems that his words were able to touch certain strings in the soul of Pavel Ivanovich. Officials who expect to receive a bribe from Chichikov confuse the case. Chichikov is leaving town.
Conclusion
Dead Souls shows a broad and truthful picture of life in Russia in the second half of the 19th century. Along with beautiful nature, picturesque villages, in which the originality of a Russian person is felt, greed, stinginess and a never-ending desire for profit are shown against the backdrop of space and freedom. The arbitrariness of the landowners, the poverty and lack of rights of the peasants, the hedonistic understanding of life, bureaucracy and irresponsibility - all this is depicted in the text of the work, as in a mirror. Meanwhile, Gogol believes in a brighter future, because it was not for nothing that the second volume was conceived as "the moral purification of Chichikov." It is in this work that Gogol's manner of reflecting reality is most clearly visible.
You have read only a brief retelling of "Dead Souls", for a more complete understanding of the work, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the full version.
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Having approached the tavern, Chichikov ordered to stop in order to give the horses a rest and have a bite to eat himself. This is followed by a small author's lyrical digression about the uniqueness of the stomach of the gentleman of the middle hand. It is this category of people that causes envy even among gentlemen of a big hand, since they are able to absorb an incredible amount of food both in one sitting and during the day, and without harming their own body.
While Pavel Ivanovich dealt with the pig under sour cream and horseradish, he managed to ask the old woman who served it on the table in detail about who runs the tavern, about her family, and also about the condition of the local landowners. The old woman knew both Manilov and Sobakevich. She did not favor the latter, since he always ordered only one dish, ate it, and even demanded supplements for the same price.
When Chichikov was already finishing his pig, a light chaise drove up to the tavern. Two men got out of it. One lingered in the street, and the other entered the tavern, talking to the servant. It was a tall blond man with whom Pavel Ivanovich wanted to speak, but a second man followed. A black-haired fellow with full cheeks, seeing Chichikov, spread his arms and exclaimed: “Ba, ba, ba! What fates? It turned out to be Nozdryov, whom Pavel Ivanovich met at the home of one of the city officials. Without waiting for an answer, the fellow began to show off his tricks at the fair. His speech was noisy and erratic. Jumping from one subject to another, Nozdryov spoke about how he had completely lost at the fair. Immediately, without distracting himself from the conversation, he introduced Chichikov to his companion, Mizhuev, his son-in-law, whom he blamed for his loss, since he did not give him more money. Nozdryov began to recall that he had just drunk seventeen bottles of champagne. Such an outright lie surprised Mizhuev, who entered into an argument with his relative. A new acquaintance invited Chichikov to his home. Nozdryov immediately ordered a thoroughbred puppy to be dragged from the britzka and forced Chichikov to feel his ears and nose.
Nozdrev belonged to the category of people called broken fellows. A talker, a reveler, a reckless driver, he quickly converged with people, but, having made friends, he could fight that same evening. More than once Nozdryov was beaten for lies, slander or swindle, but the very next day he met with these people as if nothing had happened. Marriage did not settle this reveler, especially since his wife soon died, leaving him two children. The children were looked after by a cute nanny. Not a single meeting at which Nozdryov was present was complete without a story: either the gendarmes would lead him out under the arms, or his own friends would push him out of the room, or he would lie in such a way that he himself would be ashamed. Nozdryov sometimes lied for no reason, for example, that his horse had some kind of blue or pink wool. This man also liked to do nasty things, and to the one who converged with him most of all. Nozdryov spread the most stupid tales about his friend, but he also had frustrated trade deals and failed weddings. Nozdryov also had a passion for exchange. Everything was subject to change. It often happened that, arguing to the point of remaining in only a short frock coat, Nozdryov would go looking for some friend in order to take advantage of his carriage.
Arriving at his estate, Nozdryov began to brag to his companions about his village, dogs, stables and horses. Dinner was badly cooked. The cook was guided more by inspiration than recipes, but various strong drinks were in abundance. Chichikov noticed that Nozdryov, while pouring water for the guests, did not drink very much himself. Pavel Ivanovich also began secretly pouring wine into a plate. The dinner dragged on, Chichikov did not talk about the matter, waiting to be left alone with the owner. Finally Mizhuev left. When Nozdryov listened to Chichikov's request, he did not seem at all surprised. The owner began to ask why the guest needed this, calling him a swindler and a swindler. Finally, Nozdryov promised Pavel Ivanovich to simply give up his dead peasants on the condition that he buy a thoroughbred stallion from him. The guest began to refuse. Then the owner, in turn, began to offer other unnecessary things to Chichikov. Then Nozdrev invited Pavel Ivanovich to play for money and was again refused. This angered the owner. He called Chichikov rubbish and a fetuk.
Having dined in silence, the quarreling friends dispersed to their rooms. Chichikov scolded himself for talking to Nozdryov about his business. He was afraid that he would spread gossip about him. In the morning, the first thing Chichikov suggested was laying the britzka. In the courtyard he met Nozdryov, who spoke to the guest as if nothing had happened. At breakfast, the host again began to offer Chichikov to play cards, to which he refused. Agree on chess. Nozdryov began to cheat, the guest refused to finish the game. It almost came to physical assault, because the owner wanted to force the guest to continue the game. The situation was saved by the police captain, who came to Nozdryov to inform him that he was on trial. Chichikov, without waiting for the end of the conversation, grabbed his hat, got into the britzka, and ordered them to drive at full speed.
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- summary 4 heads of the dead souls
At the gates of the hotel in the provincial town of NN, a rather beautiful spring small britzka drove in, in which bachelors ride: retired lieutenant colonels, staff captains, landowners with about a hundred souls of peasants - in a word, all those who are called gentlemen of the middle hand. In the britzka sat a gentleman, not handsome, but not bad-looking either, neither too fat nor too thin; one cannot say that he is old, but it is not so that he is too young. His entry made absolutely no noise in the city and was not accompanied by anything special; only two Russian peasants, standing at the door of the tavern opposite the hotel, made some remarks, which, however, referred more to the carriage than to the person sitting in it. “You see,” one said to the other, “what a wheel! what do you think, will that wheel, if it happens, reach Moscow or not?” "He'll get there," replied the other. “But I don’t think he will reach Kazan?” “He won’t get to Kazan,” answered another. This conversation ended. Moreover, when the britzka drove up to the hotel, a young man met in white kanifas trousers, very narrow and short, in a tailcoat with attempts on fashion, from under which was visible a shirt-front, fastened with a Tula pin with a bronze pistol. The young man turned back, looked at the carriage, held his cap, which was almost blown off by the wind, and went on his way.
When the carriage drove into the yard, the gentleman was greeted by a tavern servant, or floor, as they are called in Russian taverns, lively and fidgety to such an extent that it was even impossible to see what kind of face he had. He ran out quickly, with a napkin in his hand, all long and in a long denim frock coat with a back almost at the very back of his head, shook his hair and quickly led the gentleman up the entire wooden gallery to show the peace God had sent him. The rest was of a certain kind, for the hotel was also of a certain kind, that is, just like hotels in provincial towns, where for two rubles a day travelers get a quiet room with cockroaches peeping out like prunes from all corners, and a door to the next door. a room, always cluttered with a chest of drawers, where a neighbor settles down, a silent and calm person, but extremely curious, interested in knowing all the details of the traveler. The outer facade of the hotel corresponded to its interior: it was very long, two stories high; the lower one was not chiselled and remained in dark red bricks, darkened even more by the dashing weather changes and already dirty in themselves; the upper one was painted with eternal yellow paint; below were benches with collars, ropes and bagels. In the coal of these shops, or, better, in the window, there was a sbitennik with a samovar made of red copper and a face as red as the samovar, so that from a distance one might think that there were two samovars in the window, if one samovar was not with jet-black beard.
While the visiting gentleman was inspecting his room, his belongings were brought in: first of all, a suitcase made of white leather, somewhat worn, showing that it was not the first time on the road. The suitcase was brought in by the coachman Selifan, a short man in a sheepskin coat, and the footman Petrushka, a fellow of about thirty, in a spacious second-hand frock coat, as can be seen from the master's shoulder, the fellow is a little stern in his eyes, with very large lips and nose. Following the suitcase was brought in a small mahogany chest lined with Karelian birch, shoe lasts, and a fried chicken wrapped in blue paper. When all this was brought in, the coachman Selifan went to the stable to mess about with the horses, and the footman Petrushka began to settle down in a small front, very dark kennel, where he had already managed to drag his overcoat and, along with it, some kind of his own smell, which was communicated to the brought followed by a sack with various footmen's toilets. In this kennel he fixed a narrow three-legged bed against the wall, covering it with a small semblance of a mattress, dead and flat as a pancake, and perhaps as greasy as a pancake, which he managed to extort from the innkeeper.
While the servants were managing and fussing, the master went to the common room. What are these common halls - every passing one knows very well: the same walls, painted with oil paint, darkened at the top from pipe smoke and greasy from below with the backs of various travelers, and even more native merchants, for merchants on trading days came here on their own - a pole and on their own -this is to drink their famous pair of tea; the same sooty ceiling; the same smoked chandelier with many hanging pieces of glass that jumped and tinkled every time the floorman ran over the worn oilcloths, waving smartly at the tray, on which sat the same abyss of teacups, like birds on the seashore; the same wall-to-wall paintings, painted with oil paints - in a word, everything is the same as everywhere else; the only difference is that in one picture there was a nymph with such huge breasts as the reader has probably never seen. A similar play of nature, however, happens in various historical paintings, it is not known at what time, from where and by whom they were brought to us in Russia, sometimes even by our nobles, art lovers, who bought them in Italy on the advice of the couriers who brought them. The gentleman threw off his cap and unwound from his neck a woolen scarf of rainbow colors, which the wife prepares with her own hands for the married, providing decent instructions on how to wrap up, and for the unmarried - I probably can’t say who makes them, God knows them, I never wore such scarves . Having unwound the scarf, the gentleman ordered dinner to be served. In the meantime, various dishes usual in taverns were served to him, such as: cabbage soup with a puff pastry, specially saved for passing through for several weeks, brains with peas, sausages with cabbage, fried poulard, pickled cucumber and eternal puff pastry, always ready for service. ; while all this was served to him, both warmed up and simply cold, he forced the servant, or sex, to tell all sorts of nonsense - about who ran the tavern before and who now, and how much income they give, and whether their owner is a big scoundrel; to which the sexual, as usual, answered: "Oh, big, sir, swindler." As in enlightened Europe, so in enlightened Russia there are now quite a lot of respectable people who, without that, cannot eat in a tavern, so as not to talk with a servant, and sometimes even play a funny joke on him. However, the newcomer did not ask all empty questions; he asked with extreme precision who was the governor in the city, who was the chairman of the chamber, who was the prosecutor - in a word, he did not miss a single significant official; but with even greater accuracy, if not even with participation, he asked about all the significant landowners: how many people have the souls of peasants, how far they live from the city, even what character and how often they come to the city; he asked carefully about the state of the region: were there any diseases in their province - epidemic fevers, any murderous fevers, smallpox, and the like, and everything was so detailed and with such accuracy that showed more than one simple curiosity. In his receptions, the gentleman had something solid and blew his nose extremely loudly. It is not known how he did it, but only his nose sounded like a pipe. This apparently completely innocent dignity, however, gained him a lot of respect from the tavern servant, so that every time he heard this sound, he tossed his hair, straightened himself more respectfully and, bending his head from on high, asked: it is not necessary what? After dinner, the gentleman drank a cup of coffee and sat down on the sofa, placing a pillow behind his back, which in Russian taverns is stuffed with something extremely similar to brick and cobblestone instead of elastic wool. Then he began to yawn and ordered to be taken to his room, where, lying down, he fell asleep for two hours. Having rested, he wrote on a piece of paper, at the request of the tavern servant, the rank, name and surname for the message to the right place, to the police. On a piece of paper, the floorman, going down the stairs, read the following from the warehouses: "College adviser Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, landowner, according to his needs." When the officer was still sorting through the note, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov himself went to see the city, which he seemed to be satisfied with, for he found that the city was in no way inferior to other provincial cities: the yellow paint on the stone houses was strongly striking in the eyes and the gray was modestly darkening. on wooden ones. The houses were one, two and one and a half stories high, with an eternal mezzanine, very beautiful, according to provincial architects. In places, these houses seemed lost among the wide, field-like streets and endless wooden fences; in some places they crowded together, and here there was noticeably more movement of the people and liveliness. There were signs almost washed away by the rain with pretzels and boots, in some places with painted blue trousers and the signature of some Arshavian tailor; where is the store with caps, caps and the inscription: "Foreigner Vasily Fedorov"; where a billiards table was drawn with two players in tailcoats, in which guests at our theaters dress when they enter the stage in the last act. The players were depicted with aiming cues, arms slightly turned back and oblique legs, which had just made an entreche in the air. Underneath it was written: "And here is the establishment." Here and there, just outside, there were tables with nuts, soap, and gingerbread that looked like soap; where is a tavern with a painted fat fish and a fork stuck in it. Most often, the darkened double-headed state eagles were noticeable, which have now been replaced by a laconic inscription: "Drinking House". The pavement was bad everywhere. He also looked into the city garden, which consisted of thin trees, badly taken, with props below, in the form of triangles, very beautifully painted with green oil paint. However, although these trees were no taller than reeds, it was said about them in the newspapers when describing the illumination, that “our city was decorated, thanks to the care of the civil ruler, with a garden consisting of shady, broad-branched trees, giving coolness on a hot day,” and that with In this "it was very touching to watch how the hearts of citizens trembled in abundance of gratitude and streamed tears in gratitude to the mayor." After asking the watchman in detail where he could go closer, if necessary, to the cathedral, to government offices, to the governor, he went to look at the river flowing in the middle of the city, on the way he tore off the poster nailed to the post, so that when he came home, he could read it carefully, looked intently at a lady of not bad appearance walking along the wooden sidewalk, followed by a boy in military livery, with a bundle in his hand, and, once again looking around everything with his eyes, as if in order to remember the position of the place well, he went home straight to his room, supported lightly on the stairs by a tavern servant. Having drunk his tea, he sat down in front of the table, ordered a candle to be brought to him, took a poster out of his pocket, brought it to the candle and began to read, screwing up his right eye a little. However, there was little remarkable in the poster: a drama was given by Mr. Kotzebue, in which Roll was played by Mr. Poplevin, Kora was Zyablov's maiden, other faces were even less remarkable; however, he read them all, even got to the price of the parterre and found out that the poster had been printed in the printing house of the provincial government, then he turned it over to the other side: to find out if there was anything there, but, finding nothing, he rubbed his eyes, folded neatly and put it in his chest, where he used to put everything that came across. The day seems to have ended with a portion of cold veal, a bottle of sour cabbage soup, and a sound sleep in the whole pump wrap, as they say in other places of the vast Russian state.
Chichikov - the main character of Gogol's "Dead Souls"
The whole next day was devoted to visits; the visitor went to pay visits to all the city dignitaries. He was respectfully seen by the governor, who, as it turned out, like Chichikov, was neither fat nor thin, had Anna around his neck, and it was even said that he had been introduced to a star; however, he was a very good-natured fellow and sometimes even embroidered tulle himself. Then he went to the vice-governor, then he was with the prosecutor, with the chairman of the chamber, with the police chief, with the farmer, with the head of state-owned factories ... it is a pity that it is somewhat difficult to remember all the mighty of this world; but suffice it to say that the newcomer showed extraordinary activity in regard to visits: he even came to pay his respects to the inspector of the medical board and the city architect. And then he sat in the britzka for a long time, thinking about who else to pay a visit to, and there were no more officials in the city. In conversations with these rulers, he very skillfully knew how to flatter everyone. He hinted to the governor somehow in passing that you enter his province like paradise, the roads are velvet everywhere, and that those governments that appoint wise dignitaries are worthy of great praise. He said something very flattering to the chief of police about the town watchmen; and in conversations with the vice-governor and the chairman of the chamber, who were still only state councilors, he even said by mistake twice: "your excellency", which they liked very much. The consequence of this was that the governor made him an invitation to come to him that day to a house party, other officials, too, for their part, some for dinner, some for a Boston party, some for a cup of tea.
The visitor, it seemed, avoided talking much about himself; if he spoke, then in some general places, with noticeable modesty, and his conversation in such cases took on somewhat bookish turns: that he was not a meaningful worm of this world and did not deserve to be taken care of a lot, that he experienced a lot in his lifetime , suffered in the service for the truth, had many enemies who even attempted on his life, and that now, wanting to calm down, he is finally looking for a place to live, and that, having arrived in this city, he considered it an indispensable duty to testify his respect to its first dignitaries. Here is everything that the city learned about this new face, who very soon did not fail to show himself at the governor's party. The preparation for this party took more than two hours, and here the newcomer showed such attentiveness to the toilet, which is not even seen everywhere. After a short afternoon nap, he ordered to be washed and rubbed both cheeks with soap for an extremely long time, propping them up from the inside with his tongue; then, taking a towel from the tavern servant's shoulder, he wiped his plump face from all sides with it, beginning from behind his ears and snorting first or twice into the tavern servant's very face. Then he put on his shirt-front in front of the mirror, plucked out two hairs that had come out of his nose, and immediately after that found himself in a lingonberry-colored tailcoat with a spark. Thus dressed, he rolled in his own carriage along the endlessly wide streets, illuminated by the meager illumination from the windows that flickered here and there. However, the governor's house was so lit up, even for a ball; a carriage with lanterns, two gendarmes in front of the entrance, postillion cries in the distance - in a word, everything is as it should be. On entering the hall, Chichikov had to shut his eyes for a minute, because the glare from the candles, lamps, and ladies' dresses was terrible. Everything was filled with light. Black tailcoats flickered and flitted apart and in heaps here and there, like flies on the white shining refined sugar during the hot July summer, when the old housekeeper cuts and divides it into sparkling fragments in front of the open window; the children all stare, gathered around, following with curiosity the movements of her hard hands raising the hammer, and the aerial squadrons of flies, lifted by the light air, fly in boldly, like complete masters, and, taking advantage of the old woman's short-sightedness and the sun that disturbs her eyes, sprinkle tidbits where smashed, where in thick heaps. Saturated with a rich summer, already at every step arranging delicious dishes, they flew in not at all to eat, but only to show themselves, to walk up and down the sugar heap, to rub their back or front legs against one another, or to scratch them. under your wings, or, stretching out both front paws, rub them over your head, turn around and fly away again, and fly back again with new tiresome squadrons. Before Chichikov had time to look around, he was already seized by the arm of the governor, who immediately introduced him to the governor's wife. The visiting guest did not drop himself here either: he said some kind of compliment, very decent for a middle-aged man who has a rank that is not too high and not too small. When the established pairs of dancers pressed everyone against the wall, he, laying his hands behind him, looked at them for about two minutes very carefully. Many ladies were well dressed and fashionable, others dressed in what God sent to the provincial town. The men here, as elsewhere, were of two kinds: some thin, who kept hovering around the ladies; some of them were of such a kind that it was difficult to distinguish them from St. and made the ladies laugh just as in St. Petersburg. Another kind of men were fat or the same as Chichikov, that is, not so fat, but not thin either. These, on the contrary, squinted and backed away from the ladies and looked only around to see if the governor's servant had set up a green table for whist somewhere. Their faces were full and round, some even had warts, some were pockmarked, they didn’t wear hair on their heads either in crap or curls, or in the manner of “damn me”, as the French say, hair they were either low-cut or slick, and their features were more rounded and strong. These were honorary officials in the city. Alas! fat people know how to handle their affairs better in this world than thin ones. The thin ones serve more on special assignments or are only registered and wag hither and thither; their existence is somehow too easy, airy and completely unreliable. Fat people never occupy indirect places, but all straight, and if they sit somewhere, they will sit securely and firmly, so that the place will soon crackle and bend under them, and they won’t fly off. They do not like external brilliance; on them the tailcoat is not so cleverly tailored as on thin ones, but in the caskets there is the grace of God. At the age of three, a thin man does not have a single soul left that is not pawned in a pawnshop; the fat one was calm, lo and behold - and somewhere at the end of the city a house bought in the name of his wife appeared, then at the other end another house, then a village near the city, then a village with all the land. Finally, the fat one, having served God and the sovereign, having earned universal respect, leaves the service, moves over and becomes a landowner, a glorious Russian master, a hospitable man, and lives, and lives well. And after him, again, thin heirs lower, according to Russian custom, all their father's goods on courier. It cannot be concealed that almost this kind of reflection occupied Chichikov at the time when he examined society, and the consequence of this was that he finally joined the fat ones, where he met almost all the familiar faces: the prosecutor with very black thick eyebrows and a somewhat winking left eye as if saying: “Let's go, brother, to another room, there I will tell you something,” a man, however, serious and silent; the postmaster, a short man, but a wit and a philosopher; chairman of the chamber, a very sensible and amiable person, who all greeted him as if they were an old acquaintance, to which Chichikov bowed somewhat sideways, however, not without pleasantness. Immediately he met the very courteous and courteous landowner Manilov and the somewhat clumsy-looking Sobakevich, who stepped on his foot the first time, saying: "I beg your pardon." Immediately he was given a whist card, which he accepted with the same polite bow. They sat down at the green table and did not get up until supper. All conversations ceased completely, as always happens when one finally indulges in a sensible occupation. Although the postmaster was very eloquent, he, having taken the cards in his hands, immediately expressed a thinking physiognomy on his face, covered his upper lip with his lower lip and maintained this position throughout the game. Leaving the figure, he struck the table firmly with his hand, saying, if there was a lady: “Go, old priest!”, If the king: “Go, Tambov peasant!” And the chairman would say: “And I'm on his mustache! And I'm on her mustache! Sometimes, when the cards hit the table, expressions came out: “Ah! was not, not from what, so with a tambourine! Or just exclamations: “Worms! worm-hole! picnic! or: “pickendras! pichurushu pichur!” and even simply: “pichuk!” - the names with which they crossed the suits in their society. At the end of the game they argued, as usual, rather loudly. Our visiting guest also argued, but somehow extremely skillfully, so that everyone saw that he was arguing, but meanwhile he was arguing pleasantly. He never said: “you went”, but: “you deigned to go”, “I had the honor to cover your deuce”, and the like. In order to further agree on something with his opponents, he each time offered them all his silver snuffbox with enamel, at the bottom of which they noticed two violets, put there for smell. The visitor's attention was especially occupied by the landowners Manilov and Sobakevich, who were mentioned above. He at once inquired about them, immediately calling a few in the direction of the chairman and the postmaster. A few questions made by him showed in the guest not only curiosity, but also thoroughness; for first of all he asked how many souls of peasants each of them had and in what condition their estates were, and then he inquired as to the name and patronymic. In a little while, he had completely charmed them. The landowner Manilov, not yet at all an elderly man, who had eyes as sweet as sugar, and screwed them up every time he laughed, was beyond memory of him. He shook his hand for a very long time and asked him convincingly to do him the honor of his arrival in the village, to which, according to him, was only fifteen miles from the city outpost. To which Chichikov, with a very polite inclination of his head and a sincere shake of the hand, replied that he was not only ready to fulfill this with great pleasure, but even honored it as a sacred duty. Sobakevich also said somewhat succinctly: “And I ask you,” shuffling his foot, shod in a boot of such a gigantic size, which is hardly anywhere to be found in response to the foot, especially at the present time, when heroes are beginning to appear in Russia.
The next day, Chichikov went to dinner and evening to the police chief, where from three o'clock in the afternoon they sat down to whist and played until two in the morning. There, by the way, he met the landowner Nozdrev, a man of about thirty, a broken fellow, who, after three or four words, began to say “you” to him. With the police chief and the prosecutor, Nozdryov was also on "you" and treated in a friendly way; but when they sat down to play a big game, the police chief and the prosecutor examined his bribes with extreme attention and watched almost every card with which he walked. The next day, Chichikov spent the evening with the chairman of the chamber, who received his guests in a dressing gown, somewhat greasy, including two ladies. Then he was at a party with the vice-governor, at a big dinner at the farmer's, at a small dinner at the prosecutor's, which, however, cost a lot; on an after-mass snack given by the mayor, which was also worth dinner. In a word, he did not have to stay at home for a single hour, and he came to the hotel only to fall asleep. The visitor somehow knew how to find himself in everything and showed himself an experienced secular person. Whatever the conversation was about, he always knew how to support it: if it was about a horse farm, he talked about a horse farm; whether they talked about good dogs, and here he reported very sensible remarks; whether they interpreted with regard to the investigation carried out by the Treasury, he showed that he was not unknown to judicial tricks; whether there was a discussion about the billiard game - and in the billiard game he did not miss; whether they talked about virtue, and he talked about virtue very well, even with tears in his eyes; about the manufacture of hot wine, and he knew the use of hot wine; about customs overseers and officials, and he judged them as if he himself were both an official and an overseer. But it is remarkable that he knew how to clothe all this with some degree, knew how to behave well. He spoke neither loudly nor softly, but exactly as he should. In a word, wherever you turn, he was a very decent person. All the officials were pleased with the arrival of the new face. The governor said of him that he was a well-intentioned man; the prosecutor - that he is a good person; the gendarmerie colonel said that he was a learned man; the chairman of the chamber - that he is a knowledgeable and respectable person; police chief - that he is a respectable and amiable person; the wife of the chief of police - that he is the most kind and courteous person. Even Sobakevich himself, who rarely spoke of anyone in a good way, having arrived rather late from the city and already completely undressed and lay down on the bed next to his thin wife, said to her: dined, and got acquainted with the collegiate adviser Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov: a pleasant man! ” To which the wife replied: “Hm!” and kicked him with her foot.
Such an opinion, very flattering to the guest, was formed about him in the city, and it was held until one strange property of the guest and an enterprise, or, as they say in the provinces, a passage, about which the reader will soon learn, did not lead to complete bewilderment almost the whole city.
At the gates of the hotel in the provincial town of NN, a rather beautiful britzka drove in, in which sat “gentleman, not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin; one cannot say that he is old, but it is not so that he is too young. His entry into the city was not marked by anything special. When the carriage drove into the yard, the gentleman was met by a tavern servant - a lively and fidgety young man. He nimbly escorted the visitor up the entire wooden "galdaree" to show "the peace sent down to him by God." This “peace” was common for all hotels in provincial cities, where for a moderate fee you can get a room with cockroaches “peeping out like prunes from all corners.”
While the visitor was looking around, his belongings were brought into the room: first of all, a noticeably “worn out” suitcase made of white leather, which had been on the road many times, as well as a small mahogany chest, shoe lasts and a chicken wrapped in paper. The suitcase was brought in by the coachman Selifan, a short man in a sheepskin coat, and the footman Petrushka, a young man of about thirty, a little stern at first glance. While the servants were busy, the master went to the common room and ordered him to serve dinner, which consisted of the usual dishes for all taverns: cabbage soup with puff pastry, which was specially saved for travelers for several weeks, brains with peas, sausage with cabbage, fried poulard, pickled cucumber and puff pastry.
While the food was being served, the master forced the servant to tell all sorts of nonsense about the inn and the innkeeper - who previously kept the inn, and who keeps it now, what income they receive, asked about the owner, etc. Then he turned the conversation to officials - he found out who was the governor in the city, who was the chairman of the chamber, who was the prosecutor, asked about all the important landowners, inquired about the "state of the region" - asked if it had happened in recent times any diseases that usually kill a lot of people. All questions were detailed and had a deep meaning. Listening to the tavern servant, the gentleman blew his nose loudly.
After dinner, the visitor drank a cup of coffee, sat down on the sofa, putting a pillow under his back, began to yawn and asked to be taken to his room, where he lay down and fell asleep for two hours. After resting, he wrote on a piece of paper, at the request of the tavern servant, information about himself, which newcomers to the city should send to the police: "Advisor Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, landowner, according to his needs." After that, he went to inspect the city, and was satisfied, because he found that the city was in no way inferior to other provincial cities. The stone houses were painted yellow, conspicuous, wooden houses- in grey. From time to time there were signs with pretzels and boots, more often - darkened double-headed state eagles, which have now been replaced by the inscription "Drinking House".
The visiting gentleman devoted the whole next day to visits - he testified his respect to all city dignitaries. He visited the governor, the vice-governor, the prosecutor, the chairman of the chamber, the police chief, the farmer, the head of state-owned factories, and even the inspector of the medical board and the city architect. In conversations with the rulers, he managed to very skillfully flatter everyone. He tried not to talk much about himself, and if he did, it was with noticeable modesty and book turns: “that he is an insignificant worm of this world and is not worthy of being cared for a lot, that he experienced a lot in his lifetime, suffered in the service for the truth, he had many enemies who even attempted on his life, and that now, wanting to calm down, he is finally looking to choose a place to live, and that, having arrived in this city, he considered it an indispensable duty to pay his respects to his first dignitaries.
Shortly thereafter, the gentleman "showed himself" at the governor's party. Going to the governor, he showed increased attention to his toilet - “he rubbed both cheeks with soap for a long time, propping them up from the inside with his tongue”, then carefully dried himself, pulled out two hairs from his nose and put on a lingonberry-colored tailcoat.
On entering the hall, Chichikov had to shut his eyes for a minute, because the glare from the candles, lamps, and ladies' dresses was terrible. Everything was filled with light. Black tailcoats flickered and rushed apart and in heaps here and there, like flies rush on a white shining refined sugar during the hot July summer ...
Before Chichikov had time to look around, he was already seized by the arm of the governor, who immediately introduced him to the governor's wife. The visiting guest did not drop himself here either: he said some kind of compliment, very decent for a middle-aged man who has a rank that is not too high and not too small. When the established pairs of dancers pressed everyone against the wall, he, laying his hands behind him, looked at them for about two minutes very carefully. Many ladies were well dressed and fashionable, others dressed in what God sent to the provincial town. The men here, as elsewhere, were of two kinds: some thin, who all hung around the ladies; some of them were of such a kind that it was difficult to distinguish them from St. and made the ladies laugh just as in St. Petersburg. Another kind of men were fat or the same as Chichikov, that is, not so fat, but not thin either. These, on the contrary, squinted and backed away from the ladies and looked only around to see if the governor's servant had set up a green table for whist somewhere. Their faces were full and round, some even had warts, some were pockmarked, they didn’t wear hair on their heads either in tufts or curls, or in the manner of “damn me”, as the French say, - their hair were either low cut or slick, and the features were more rounded and strong. They were honorary officials in the city...
After carefully examining those present, Chichikov joined the fat ones, where he met almost all the familiar faces: the prosecutor, a serious and silent man; the postmaster, a short man, but a wit and a philosopher; Chairman of the Chamber, a very reasonable and amiable person. They all greeted him like an old acquaintance, to which Chichikov bowed somewhat sideways, though not without pleasantness. He immediately made the acquaintance of the courteous landowner Manilov and the somewhat clumsy Sobakevich. Taking the chairman and postmaster aside, he asked them how many souls of peasants Manilov and Sobakevich had and the state of their estates, and then he inquired about their names and patronymics. After some time, he managed to charm the aforementioned landowners.
The landowner Manilov, not yet at all an elderly man, who had eyes as sweet as sugar, and screwed them up every time he laughed, was beyond memory of him. He shook his hand for a very long time and asked him convincingly to do him the honor of his arrival in the village, to which, according to him, was only fifteen miles from the city outpost. To which Chichikov, with a very polite inclination of his head and a sincere shake of the hand, replied that he was not only ready to fulfill this with great pleasure, but even honored it as a sacred duty. Sobakevich also said somewhat laconically: "And I ask you," - shuffling his foot, shod in a boot of such a gigantic size, which is unlikely to be found anywhere in response to the foot, especially at the present time, when heroes are beginning to appear in Russia.
The next day Chichikov went to dinner at the police chief's, where they played whist until two in the morning. There, by the way, he met the landowner Nozdrev, “a man of about thirty, a broken fellow, who, after three or four words, began to say “you” to him. With the police chief and the prosecutor, Nozdryov was also on "you" and treated in a friendly way; but when they sat down to play a big game, the police chief and the prosecutor examined his bribes with extreme attention and watched almost every card with which he walked.
For the next few days, Chichikov did not stay at the hotel for an hour and came here only to fall asleep. “He somehow knew how to find himself in everything and showed himself a secular person ... he knew how to behave well. He spoke neither loudly nor softly, but exactly as he should. In a word, wherever you turn, he was a very decent person. All the officials were pleased with the arrival of the new face.”
