“A rather handsome, light traveling carriage on springs rolled into the gates of an inn in a certain provincial capital, the kind of carriage that is favoured by bachelors: retired lieutenant colonels, second captains, landowners possessing a hundred souls or so of serfs — in a word, all those who are called the fair-to-middlin’ sort.”

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol was born in Sorochyntsi, Poltava Province in Tsarist Russia, which would now be part of the Ukraine.  His earlier works included short stories such as The Overcoat, The Nose and The Diary of A Madman.  His later works, including Dead Souls, satirized the political corruption and laziness of government workers and how they abused their positions in Imperialist Russia.

In Russia in the 19th century, the word for serfs also meant souls.  While property was important, the number of souls a landowner possessed was in direct relation to how wealthy he was, and therefore, how much respect he earned.

While I originally took offence at the thought of someone owning souls, apparently the Russian establishment had an issue with the title of the novel, Dead Souls, in that the Russian church (and all churches, for that matter) believe that it is impossible for a soul to die.  Gogal thought of another title, Chichikov’s Journey, but, as you see, the original title remained.

1901. Н.В.Гоголь. Мертвые души. Издание А.Ф.Маркса
~ source Wikimedia Commons

In Dead Souls, we first meet our hereo, Chichikov, a very nondescript kind of gentleman who finds himself in the town of N____ as he makes a stop there in his carriage.  He proceeds to make himself very pleasing and amiable and is soon beloved by all the town and visitors.  Having now various acquaintances to visit on his journey, he sets out, but his travels are based on very specific criteria; the size of the person’s land and the number of souls that he owns.

Chichikov in the house of Madame Korobochka
~ source Wikipedia

Chichikov meets up with Manilov, jovial, polite, overbearing; an old woman and his hostess for one night, Madame Korobochka, where he stays to get out of the rain (she is somewhat obtuse) ; Nozdrev who is a nutcase and will not sell his dead souls because Chickikov will not buy other things as well (Chichikov literally had to escape for fear of his life!); and Sobakevich who runs a large orderly estate.  From each of these people, Chichikov attempts to buy their dead souls, much to the consternation, suspicion, and resistance of some, and an open acquiescence of others.

While there is certainly comedy from the beginning of the story, the comedy really intensifies when Chichikov’s intentions are discovered and gossiped about around town.  Some of the wild suppositions of his motives are indeed amusing. Part One ends with Chichikov hurriedly and furtively departing the town.

Dead Souls Illustration ~ Governor’s Ball (1915) Pyotr Sokolov
~ source Wikimedia Commons

Gogol had planned to model his novel on Dante’s Divine Comedy, with the first part being a parallel of Inferno, where Chichikov is entirely motivated by greed and is willing to do anything corrupt or underhanded to achieve his desires. Book 2 was supposed to be modelled on Purgatorio where Chichikov begins to realize his practical and spiritual failings and repents.  However, after a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1848, his conversations with an Ukranian spiritual elder appeared to influence Gogol to destroy some of his works and thus, on February 24, 1852, he burned some of his manuscripts including most of Part 2 of Dead Souls.

Chichikov and Nozdryov Illustration to Gogol’s “Dead Souls” by M. Dalkevich (1901)
~ source Wikimedia Commons

From the excepts of Part 2, which were salvaged and remain part of the novel, we meet a travelling Chichikov who stops to stay with a landowner named Tentetnikov. It appears that he’s still up to his devious bargaining for dead souls however, even attempting to buy land.  But suddenly his greed and corruption catch up to him and he is put on trial for forgery, only saved from prison time by a personal impassioned plea to change his ways.  It ends with a brilliant monologue:

“And art not thou, my Russia, soaring along even like a spirited, never-to-be-outdistanced troika?  The road actually smokes under thee, the bridges thunder, everything falls back and is left behind thee!  The witness of thy passing comes to a dead stop, dumfounded by this God’s wonder!  Is it not a streak of lightning cast down from heaven?  What signifies this onrush that inspires terror?  And what unknown power is contained in these steeds, whose like is not known in this world?  Ah, these steeds, these steeds, what steeds they are!  Are there whirlwinds perched upon your manes?  Is there a sensitive ear, alert as a flame, in your every fiber?  Ye have caught the familiar song, coming down to you from above, and all as one, and all at the same instant, ye have strained your brazen chests and, almost without touching earth with your hoofs, ye have become all transformed into straight lines cleaving the air, and the troika tears along, all-inspired by God! … Whither art thou soaring away to, then, Russia?  Give me thy answer!  But Russia gives none. With a wonderous ring does the jingle bell trill; the air, rent to shreds, thunders and turns to wind; all things on earth fly past, and eyeing it askance, all the other peoples and nations stand aside and give it the right of way.”

In this final “tribute”, Gogol used the old term for Russia, which had an almost spiritual connotation.  People would often quote this section to laud Russia, the motherland, however, there was only one problem …… they ironically missed the fact that inside this magnificent troika sat a petty swindler, liar and consummate thief called Chichkov.

Russian Stamp (2009)
~ source Wikimedia Commons

It’s not really fair to judge Part 2, is it, with so much of it missing?  However, the lightness of Part 1 seems to be mostly absent and Chichikov’s repentance is rather overdone. It rings of melodrama rather than a gradual realization of his crimes and a sincere transformation.

Yet even with the difficulties of a ravaged Part 2, the first part of the novel is brilliant in so many ways.  The story itself is so inventive, but the reader can also become mesmerized by Gogol’s portrayal of the common Russian peasant, landowner or government official, and the playful lampooning and eccentric representation of the many people who populate this novel. The characters are often more amusing than the tale itself.  And I haven’t even mentioned his highly diverting play on words with the naming of each character, from Manilov based on the Russian word “to beckon, lure, attract”, Sobakevich which is derived from dog, Nozdrev who appears to derive his name from nostril, etc. Name themes abound and Gogol’s attention to detail is really quite astounding.

Gogol burning the manuscript of the second part of Dead Souls (1909) Ilya Repin
~ source Wikipedia

And if you haven’t had enough of Gogol yet, here are a couple of other related links that you can explore:

Here is a dramatic representation of the novel:  Dead Souls

Other titles by Gogol: The Night Before Christmas