Dead Souls

Chichikov’s generally loyal personal servant is “thirty years old, a rather surly-looking fellow with a very thick nose and lips” (116). His defining characteristic, besides his unusual love of reading, is his distinctive body odor: “his own personal smell, which had something of a crowded room about it” (312). This odor buttresses some critics’ reading of Chichikov as a possible analog of Satan—Petrushka carries the stink of sulfur.

Chichikov’s drunken coachman has a poor sense of direction, though this is typical: “A Russian driver has a good sixth sense, even if he has no eyes, and that is why it often happens that he screws his eyes tight shut and hurtles on—sometimes at full speed—and always arrives somewhere or other” (748-50). Sometimes Selifan’s failures to recognize destinations mean Chichikov winds up in unexpected situations—for instance, Chichikov meets Korobochka when Selifan overturns the coach. The coach and its wild driver are explicitly linked to Russia—their out of control, directionless, dangerous careening through the countryside symbolizes the ways Russian society is floundering.

The first landowner Chichikov successfully convinces to sell his dead souls, Manilov is overly sweet and easily tantalized (as befits his name, which comes from the word manit, or entice. Manilov fantasizes about Chichikov becoming his lifelong friend with grandiose visions of “himself and Chichikov arriving in fine carriages at some assembly or other where they would enchant everybody with their manners, and that the Tsar, when he learnt of their friendship, would bestow a general’s rank on them” (678-80). Like all the landowners, Manilov is a caricature: He dreams of projects that he never completes and considers his children geniuses for extremely basic skills.

The landowner Nozdryov is in debt, fond of lying, gambling, and deceit. He boasts of his possessions while constantly hinting at the extent of his debts and asking for money. Fittingly since his name comes from the word nozdrya, or nostril, Nozdryov can smell a rat when it comes to Chichikov. When Chichikov tells him various stories to justify why he wants to purchase long dead peasants, Nozdryov counters, “I know you: you’re a real crook, let me tell you, as one friend to another. If I were your superior, I’d hang you from the nearest tree.” (1479-81). Nozdryov foils Chichikov’s scheme to buy dead peasants at the governor’s ball, though when the local officials seek out Nozdryov to explain matters. Nozdryov concocts increasingly elaborate stories, making himself out to be Chichikov’s partner in crime.

The landowner Sobakevich is large, strong, and forthright. His personal strength of character is visible in his estate, which is “well abutted, unshakable, clumsily made, but strong” (1773-74). Sobakevich resembles a bear, one of Russia’s national symbols, and he has a strangely deep attachment to his peasants, to the point that he refuses to sell the dead ones to Chichikov for less than they would have cost alive. He waxes sentimental about his dead peasants, showing a strong connection to his estate and his work. These animalistic, tenacious qualities go hand in hand with his name, which comes from the word sobaka, or dog.

Chichikov arrives at Korobochka’s entirely by accident, fleeing a storm after getting hopelessly lost. The widow of a civil servant, Korobochka—whose name literally means little box—does not trust Chichikov’s offer to purchase her dead souls. She worries about underpricing her serfs, has superstitious fears about the morality of the transaction, and refuses to sell. Chichikov (in another moment that plays with whether he is an avatar of Satan) persuades her to comply by playing on her fear of the devil and of the dead bodies being used like scarecrows; to get what he came after, he also threatens her by impersonating a high ranking government official. In the moment, she agrees to his terms, but his shenanigans catch up with him when Korobochka comes to town to complain about their recent transaction.

The ill-kempt landowner Plyushkin, a miser whose name ironically comes from the word plyush, or plush, is so fearful of spending money or wasting resources that he lets everything around him fall to ruin rather than repair or replace it. After the death of his wife and his owning of his two children, he has dedicated himself so avidly to hoarding that “Plyushkin was starting to forget how much he had and of what” (3371). Plyushkin is a cautionary tale: He has acquired a great deal, and is wealthy, as Chichikov aspires to be. But his wealth has isolated him so completely that he barely has any human connections left.

Tentetnikov, a young and dreamy landowner, cannot get past the loss of a favorite teacher when he was a young boy and a recent love affair he ended because the woman’s father addressed him too familiarly. Prickly and silly, Tentetnikov is a hybrid of Byronic Romanticism and overweening self-pride—a fitting combination, since his name evokes shadow, or ten, and pampering, or tetenkat. Fancying himself a great intellectual, he now spends every day daydreaming about a wildly overambitious project, “a composition that was meant to encompass all Russia from all points of view: civic, political, religious, philosophical, and to solve all the problematical conundrums and questions which had arisen over the course of time” (4701-03). Through Chichikov’s intervention, in parts of the text that are no longer preserved, Tentetnikov and his beloved Ulinka, General Betrishchev’s idealistic daughter, become engaged; however, Tentetnikov is sent to Siberia as a political subversive for his liberal views. It is possible that he could be released with Murazov’s help.

Tentetnikov’s neighbor Betrishchev, a brave and highly decorated war hero, resents those who have advanced ahead of him. He maintains an “authoritative” manner in retirement, which Chichikov respects (5189). Despite his aspirations to intellect, the general has a lowbrow sense of humor—something Chichikov intuits quickly and uses to him advantage. Betrishchev loves Chichikov’s scheme because Chichikov claims that he is buying dead souls to get one over on an unreasonable uncle. Betrishchev also propels the plot: He sends Chichikov out to bring news of Ulinka and Tentetnikov’s betrothal to various relatives.

The general’s daughter is described in glowing, almost ecstatic terms. When she appears, “it seemed that a ray of sunlight came in at the same time, as though the general’s frowning study had burst into laughter” (5238). Ulinka frequently argues with her father, defending Tentetnikov and upbraiding morally deficient neighbors. Chichikov’s tale of corrupt civil servants, which Betrishchev finds hilarious, upsets her because of its cynicism.

Another landowner Chichikov meets by accident, the corpulent gourmand Petukh (whose name is the word for rooster) invites Chichikov to feast for multiple days. An embodiment of gluttony, Petukh insists his guests eat and drink lavishly, as he does himself.

Platonov is distinguished by his flat affect and general disinterest in life, despite his levels of privilege and personal comfort, and his handsomeness. He agrees to travel with Chichikov as a possible cure for his ennui, serving as his guide for the remainder of his journey.

Platonov’s brother-in-law, Kostanzhoglo is a truly prosperous landowner. He is avidly devoted to farming, honest labor, and making good use of all of his resources. His estate is so well kept that “even the pigs looked like gentry” (5681). Kostanzhoglo disparages the Industrial Revolution-style manufacturing of consumer goods in favor of practical manufacturing and believes in accruing wealth through hard work and steady discipline. Under his influence, Chichikov almost has a change of heart from his conman ways.

The bureaucracy-obsessed Koshkaryov is a figure of near-universal mockery in his neighborhood. He has divided his estate and its peasant population into departments, complete with complex procedures and detailed forms. Not surprisingly, this has resulted in neither prosperity nor order; rather, the estate and its serfs are heavily mortgaged and thus can’t be sold. Koshkaryov imagines ludicrous lives for his serfs: He wants them to “follow the plough and at the same time read a book about Franklin’s lightning conductors or Virgil’s Georgics or the Chemical Analysis of Soils” (5785-87).

The self-dealing Khlobuyev sells his terribly kept estate to Chichikov to clear his overwhelming debts. Though his estate is in utter disrepair and his peasants starve, Khlobuyev and his family live a lavish lifestyle on borrowed money, indulging in luxuries like hiring “a music or dancing teacher” (6246). When Chichikov learns about Khlobuyev’s rich elderly aunt, he decides to forge a will to enrich himself, a crime that threatens to actually make Chichikov face consequences for his actions. In the novel’s final act, Khlobuyev resolves to reorient his life after a heart to heart talk with Murazov, who exhorts him to work for the church.