In what works of Russian literature are provincial landowners represented and in what ways can they be compared with Plyushkin? Creative works on literature List of used literature.

The hero of A. S. Pushkin’s story “Dubrovsky” Kirila Petrovich Troekurov does not live in the city, like Famusov, but on his estate and, therefore, has direct power over tens or even hundreds of people. He is not even a landowner, he is a real “Russian gentleman.” He doesn’t even care about those who don’t belong to him, and considers himself to have the right to control their destinies. This is how Troekurov disposes of his daughter. He does not honor the girl with fatherly love, she is property for him, and possession, power for Kirila Petrovich lies in the ability to prohibit, punish, and expose someone to ridicule.

Troekurov is very limited, his interests boil down to gluttony and the invention of new barbaric pastimes. He, raising bear cubs for his cruel entertainment, pits them against cats and dogs! This is his life. At the beginning of the story, Troekurov has positive features: he respects old comrade Dubrovsky. But the more disgusting is the essence of Kirila Petrovich in the subsequent persecution of his former friend. It should be noted that A.S. Pushkin portrayed the people surrounding the master as not just obedient, but indulging his whims. Remember how Troyekurov’s men cut down forest on neighboring estates and insult people poorer than the owner, hoping for his intercession. The entire provincial society surrounding Troekurov is trying to imitate his immoral actions. People themselves create tyrants, and that’s how Troekurov was created.

Only the old, and then the young Dubrovskys behaved with dignity towards him. They are also landowners, but, unlike Kirila Petrovich and his “friends,” they did not make money their idol. However, the author made them lose this fight. Society, as A.S. Pushkin showed, was hopelessly mired in money-grubbing, and therefore the emergence of such monsters as Troekurov became possible.

A. S. Pushkin draws more gently the landowner family of the Larins in the novel “Eugene Onegin”:

They kept in life the peaceful Habits of dear old times; At Shrovetide they had Russian pancakes; Twice a year they fasted; They loved Russian swings, Podblyudny songs, and round dances; On Trinity Day, when the people are yawning and listening to the prayer service, Touchingly at the ray of dawn, They shed three tears; They needed kvass like air, and at their table they brought dishes to their guests according to rank.

The life of the Larins is measured and monotonous, they adhere to ancient customs, honor people “by rank,” just like the Famusovs. Tatyana's mother found herself, her calling in “shaving foreheads,” beating maids, doing home bookkeeping, and pickling mushrooms for the winter. The Larins are local nobles, their lives are ordinary, they have done little bad, but they have not distinguished themselves in anything good.

Perhaps the most important expert on landowner psychology in the literature of the first half of the nineteenth century was N.V. Gogol. In just one poem " Dead Souls» a whole gallery of portraits is presented.

Manilov is unruly, absent-minded, unable to think or notice anything around him. His peasants are as careless, lazy and deceitful as he is. And he lives in an atmosphere of complete negligence: he has been reading a book for years on the same page, the furniture brought many years ago is still in its covers. On the table next to the expensive candelabra is a crooked candlestick. It is difficult to imagine such a person in reality; in the image of Manilov, one of the traits inherent in a certain type of people is deliberately exaggerated.

The box is a storage unit, even its name resembles the very little box where money is hidden. Her house looks like a chest of drawers, breathing darkness, old age (but not dilapidation) and bulkiness. The farm is far from in decline; the hand of the owner, a neat, careful, prudent woman, is visible in everything. Her thoughts are focused on money and farming. She won't lose in this. The position of the Korobochka peasants was also strong: the gates were not askew anywhere, the roofs were covered, there were new carts in the barns.

Nozdryov is a carouser, a liar, a boor, a player by nature. He “caught a hare by the hind legs” and bought a mare for ten thousand. He lies, swearing that he is telling the truth, but in reality he does not even care whether anyone believes him or not. He lives and plays with passion, be it cards, fighting or selling dead souls. What did Nozdryov offer to buy Chichikov in addition to them! It doesn’t matter what to sell or exchange, the main thing is to sell. Moreover, Nozdryov cheats constantly. Just like that, without a goal, in excitement. Even Nozdryov’s cook cheats: nowhere have Chichikov been treated to a dinner prepared so carelessly.

The main feature of Sobakevich is the desire for strength: all things, in his opinion, should meet their purpose, aesthetics are not important for him. And Mikhailo Semenovich himself is not distinguished by his pleasant appearance, and his furniture is bear-like. It’s amazing how soon N.V. Gogol gave him the middle name “Semenovich”, not “Potapovich”! Sobakevich is categorical in his judgments; everyone is a fraud in his eyes. Special mention should be made about the kitchen in his house. It’s hard to even imagine such a variety and number of dishes. Sobakevich is the only one of all the landowners who values his peasants, and also understands that the matter of buying dead souls is unclean. He is not used to taking people’s word for it: he asks Chichikov for a deposit.

The deepest bottom to which a person is capable of falling is personified in the poem by Plyushkin. The disorder and mismanagement in his house is shocking in comparison with the thirst for money-grubbing. He steals from his own peasants and puts the “goods” in piles. He himself destroyed his family and the best beginning in his soul. The pettiness and worthlessness of Plyushkin’s interests is shown by the fact that it was from him that Chichikov bought souls most cheaply. The image of Plyushkin is exaggerated in his mania for aimless collecting.

Writers see and portray the Russian landowner in different ways, but in all works the landowners are close in their inclinations to the Russian people as a whole. They are part of this people, and only among them could the most negative qualities of landowners be formed: laziness, drunkenness, tyranny, ignorance, stupidity, servility. The literature of the first half of the nineteenth century depicts two main types of landowners: misers to one degree or another and revelers. The main subject that determines their character in one direction or another is money. The only landowner worthy of respect, Dubrovsky, is poor. The external environment of the landowner's life, his people fully correspond to the essence of the owner. The people, thus, predetermine their own fate, becoming stagnant after the master.

Russian nobility landowner in the first literature half of the 19th century century

Read the passage below and complete activity C2.

Yes, do you need a register of all these parasites? Well, as I knew, I wrote them all down on a special piece of paper so that when I first submitted the revision, I could cross them all out.

Plyushkin put on his glasses and began rummaging through the papers. Untying all sorts of ties, he treated his guest to such dust that he sneezed. Finally he pulled out a piece of paper, all covered in writing. Peasant names covered her closely, like midges. There were all kinds of people there: Paramonov, and Pimenov, and Panteleimonov, and even some Grigory looked out; There were more than a hundred and twenty of them all. Chichikov smiled at the sight of such numbers. Having hidden it in his pocket, he noticed to Plyushkin that he would need to come to the city to complete the fortress.

In town? But how?.., but how to leave the house? After all, my people are either a thief or a swindler: they will steal so much in a day that they won’t have anything to hang their caftan on.

So don't you know anyone?

Who do you know? All my friends died or became separated. Ah, fathers! how not to have, I have! - he screamed. - After all, the chairman himself is familiar, he even came to see me in the old years, how could you not know! We were teammates and climbed fences together! how can you not be familiar? so familiar! So shouldn't I write to him?

And of course, to him.

Why, so familiar! I had friends at school.

And on this wooden face suddenly some kind of warm ray slid, it was not a feeling that was expressed, but some kind of pale reflection of a feeling, a phenomenon similar to the unexpected appearance of a drowning person on the surface of the waters, which produced a joyful cry in the crowd that surrounded the shore. But in vain, the overjoyed brothers and sisters throw a rope from the shore and wait to see if the back or arms tired from the struggle will flash again - this was the last appearance. Everything is silent, and after that the quiet surface of the unresponsive element becomes even more terrible and deserted. So Plyushkin’s face, following the feeling that instantly slid across it, became even more insensitive and even more vulgar.

“There was a quarter of blank paper lying on the table,” he said, “but I don’t know where it went: my people are so worthless!”

Then he began to look under and on the table, rummaged everywhere and finally shouted: “Mavra! and Mavra! A woman answered the call with a plate in her hands, on which lay a cracker, already familiar to the reader. And the following conversation took place between them:

Where are you going, robber, paper?

By God, master, haven’t you seen the small piece of cloth with which you deigned to cover the glass?

But I can see in my eyes that I’ve tinkered.

But what would I like? After all, I have no use with her; I don't know how to read and write.

You're lying, you demolished the sexton: he's messing around, so you demolished it for him.

Yes, the sexton, if he wants, can get himself papers. He hasn't seen your scrap!

Just wait a minute: at the Last Judgment the devils will punish you for this with iron slingshots! You'll see how they cook!

But why will they punish me if I didn’t even pick up a quarter? It’s more likely some other woman’s weakness, but no one has ever reproached me for theft.

But the devils will get you! They’ll say: “Here’s to you, swindler, for deceiving the master!”, and they’ll give you a hot roast!

And I’ll say: you’re welcome! By God, no way, I didn’t take it... Yes, there she is lying on the table. You always reproach unnecessarily!

Plyushkin saw, for sure, a four and stopped for a minute, chewed his lips and said: “Well, why did you disagree like that? What a pain in the ass! Tell her just one word, and she’ll answer with a dozen! Go and bring the light to seal the letter. Wait, you grab a tallow candle, tallow is a sticky business: it will burn - yes and no, only a loss; and bring me a splinter!”

Mavra left, and Plyushkin, sitting down in an armchair and taking a pen in his hand, spent a long time turning the four in all directions, wondering if it was possible to separate another eight from it, but finally became convinced that it was impossible; stuck the pen into an inkwell with some kind of moldy liquid and a lot of flies at the bottom and began to write, making letters that looked like musical notes, constantly holding his agility hand, which was jumping all over the paper, sparingly molding line after line, and not without regret, thinking about that there will still be a lot of blank space left.

N.V. Gogol, “Dead Souls”.

C2. In what works of Russian literature are provincial landowners represented and in what ways can these characters be compared with Plyushkin?

Along with N.V. Gogol, A.S. Pushkin, N.A. Nekrasov, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin and many other Russian writers, using various techniques of satirical depiction (for example, speaking names, vivid epithets and metaphors, hyperbole, speech and portrait characteristics), created images of provincial landowners in their works.

Provincial landowners are described by A. Pushkin in the novel “Eugene Onegin”. Let's remember Dmitry Larin, Tatyana's father. He was a “simple and kind fellow”, “he ate and drank in his dressing gown” and “died an hour before dinner.” Such is Onegin’s uncle: “for about forty years he scolded the housekeeper, looked out the window and crushed flies.” These good-natured lazy people lived without any purpose. Pushkin also shows the guests at Tatyana’s name day: fat Pustyakov, Gvozdin, “an excellent host, the owner of poor men,” arrived.

A number of landowners are depicted in the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” by N.A. Nekrasov. One of them is Obolt-Obolduev - “round,” “mustachioed,” “pot-bellied, with a cigar in his mouth.” This is exactly how the peasants see the landowner, and diminutive suffixes convey a contemptuous attitude towards the former owner of serf souls. Obolt-Obolduev does not realize the insignificance of his own existence and yearns for his unlimited power - to “execute” or “have mercy.”

Comparison of heroes from different works of art allows us to conclude: provincial landowners are distinguished by empty, worthless pastime, their interests are primitive and wretched.

Reva Tatyana, 11 A class of 2013

How is the principle of self-exposure of the character implemented in the presented fragment?

In this fragment, Obolt-Obolduev self-exposes himself and the landowner system through his monologue. He grieves over the loss of the serfdom paradise, when the landowners lived in luxury and “not for a day, not two, for a month” feasted and considered themselves the masters of Rus': “Not only the Russian people, Russian nature itself submitted to us.” Nekrasov ironically describes the landowner’s vision of the animals, who supposedly approve of his gluttony and riotous lifestyle: “Fat and fat before the time!”, “Walk and walk until the fall!” But in fact, the landowners acquired wealth at the expense of the quitrent peasants, and without them they are only capable of “spinning up” and “falling face down on the pillow.”

In what works of Russian literature are images of landowners presented and in what ways can they be compared with the character of Nekrasov’s work?

The images of landowners are presented in the comedy by D.

I. Fonvizin “Undergrown” and in N.V. Gogol’s novel “Dead Souls”.

Like Obolt-Obolduev, in conditions of complete impunity, Fonvizin’s hero, landowner Skotinin, became a tyrant. The willfulness in Obolt-Obolduev is expressed through his remarks: “Whom I want, I will have mercy, Whom I want, I will execute,” “The law is my desire, Kulak is my police!” Skotinin, a proud nobleman, believes that he is free to beat the servant whenever he wants.

Gogol's landowner Manilov, like Obolt-Obolduev, considers himself a bearer of spiritual culture. Manilov considers himself an educated person, although in his office for two years in a row there has been a book with a bookmark on page 14, and Greek name son, he adds the Latin ending “yus”. Obolt-Obolduev also considers himself a learned nobleman, but in reality, like Manilov, he is not one, and therefore the images of these two heroes are funny.

The author's attitude towards Grisha Dobrosklonov is undoubtedly positive. He calls his hero a messenger marked with the “seal of the gift of God” and foretells him a “glorious path, a loud name,” because Grisha is destined for the fate of the people's defender. Like the author, Dobrosklonov advocates for the liberation of the peasants from the oppression of the landowners and wants to see in the Russian people real citizens, thoughtful and useful to society. Drawing the image of Grisha, Nekrasov shows what a Russian person should be: selfless (Grisha is not afraid of either consumption or Siberia), believing in the future of Russia and serving for its benefit.

In what works of Russian writers do songs play an important role and in what ways can these works be compared with the work of N.A. Nekrasov “Who Lives Well in Rus'”?

Songs play an important role in such works as M. Yu. Lermontov’s poem “The Song of... the Merchant Kalashnikov” and L. N. Tolstoy’s epic novel “War and Peace.”

Like Dobrosklonov's song, the song of Lermontov's guslars expresses popular thought: if Grisha sings about change people's fate, then the guslars praise the image of a brave, truth-loving Russian person, embodied in the merchant Kalashnikov.

Natasha Rostova's song, like Grisha's, makes a strong impression on others. Brother Grisha, having heard the song written people's defender in order to lift the spirits of the peasants, to console them in grief, he exclaims: “Divine!”, and Nikolai Rostov, after Natasha’s singing, understands the triviality of his problems, realizes that he is happy here and now and gains faith in himself.

Updated: 2018-05-08

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Introduction

§1. The principle of constructing images of landowners in the poem

§2. Image of the Box

§3. Artistic detail as a means

character characteristics

§4. Korobochka and Chichikov.

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

The poem “Dead Souls” was created by N.V. Gogol for about 17 years. Its plot was suggested by A.S. Pushkin. Gogol began working on the poem in the fall of 1835, and on May 21, 1842, “Dead Souls” appeared in print. The publication of Gogol's poem caused fierce controversy: some admired it, others saw in it slander against modern Russia and “a special world of scoundrels.” Gogol worked on the continuation of the poem until the end of his life, writing the second volume (which was later burned) and planning to create a third volume.

According to the writer’s plan, the poem should have depicted not only contemporary Russia with all its problems and shortcomings (serfdom, bureaucratic system, loss of spirituality, illusory nature, etc.), but also the basis on which the country could be reborn in a new social -economic situation. The poem “Dead Souls” was supposed to be an artistic search for a “living soul” - the type of person who could become the owner new Russia.

Gogol based the composition of the poem on the architectonics of Dante’s “Divine Comedy” - the hero’s journey, accompanied by a guide (the poet Virgil), first through the circles of hell, then, through purgatory, through the spheres of heaven. On this journey lyrical hero poems I met the souls of people burdened with sins (in the circles of hell) and marked by grace (in heaven). Dante's poem was a gallery of types of people embodied in artistic images famous characters from mythology and history. Gogol also wanted to create a large-scale work that would reflect not only the present of Russia, but also its future. “...What a huge, original plot... All of Rus' will appear in it!..” - Gogol wrote to Zhukovsky. But for the writer it was important to depict not the external side of Russian life, but its “soul” - internal state human spirituality. Following Dante, he created a gallery of types of people from different segments of the population and classes (landowners, officials, peasants, metropolitan society), in which psychological, class, and spiritual traits were reflected in a generalized form. Each of the characters in the poem is both a typical and a clearly individualized character - with his own characteristics of behavior and speech, attitude to the world and moral values. Gogol's skill was manifested in the fact that his poem “Dead Souls” is not just a gallery of types of people, it is a collection of “souls”, among which the author is looking for a living one, capable of further development.

Gogol was going to write a work consisting of three volumes (in accordance with the architectonics of Dante’s “Divine Comedy”): “hell” of Russia, “purgatory” and “paradise” (future). When the first volume was published, the controversy that flared up around the work, especially negative assessments, shocked the writer, he went abroad and began work on the second volume. But the work was very difficult: Gogol’s views on life, art, and religion changed; he experienced a spiritual crisis; friendly ties with Belinsky were severed, who harshly criticized the writer’s ideological position expressed in “Selected Passages from Correspondence with Friends.” The second volume, practically written, was burned in a moment of mental crisis, then restored, and nine days before his death, the writer again set fire to the white manuscript of the poem. The third volume remained only in the form of an idea.

For Gogol, a deeply religious man and original writer- the most important thing was the spirituality of a person, his moral basis, and not just the external social circumstances in which contemporary Russia was located. He perceived both Rus' and its fate like a son, deeply experiencing everything that he observed in reality. Gogol saw Russia’s way out of the spiritual crisis not in economic and social transformations, but in the revival of morality, the cultivation true values, including Christian ones, in the souls of people. Therefore, the assessment that the work received in democratically minded criticism and which for a long time determined the perception of the first volume of the novel - a critical image of Russian reality, the “hell” of feudal Russia - does not exhaust the concept, plot, or poetics of the poem. Thus, the problem of the philosophical and spiritual content of the work and the definition of the main philosophical conflict in the images of “Dead Souls” arises.

The purpose of our work is to analyze one of the images of the poem from the point of view of the main philosophical conflict of the poem - the landowner Korobochka.

The main research method is literary analysis of the episode of Chichikov’s meeting with Korobochka. and analysis and interpretation of artistic details.

§1. The principle of constructing images of landowners in the poem

Home philosophical problem The poem “Dead Souls” is the problem of life and death in the human soul. This is indicated by the name itself - “dead souls”, which reflects not only the meaning of Chichikov’s adventure - the purchase of “dead”, i.e. peasants existing only on paper, in revision tales, but also, in a broader, generalized sense, the degree of deadness of the soul of each of the characters in the poem. The main conflict - life and death - is localized in the area of the internal, spiritual plane. And then the composition of the first volume of the poem is divided into three parts, which form a ring composition: Chichikov’s arrival in the district town and communication with officials - a journey from landowner to landowner “according to his own need” - return to the city, scandal and departure from the city. Thus, the central motif that organizes the entire work is the motif of travel. wanderings. Wandering as the plot basis of the work is characteristic of Russian literature and reflects the idea of searching for high meaning and truth, continuing the tradition of “walking” of Old Russian literature.

Chichikov travels through the Russian outback, through county towns and estates in search of “dead” souls, and the author accompanying the hero is in search of a “living” soul. Therefore, the gallery of landowners appearing before the reader in the first volume is a natural sequence of human types, among which the author is looking for someone who is capable of becoming the real master of the new Russia and reviving it economically, without destroying morality and spirituality. The sequence in which the landowners appear before us is built on two foundations: on the one hand, the degree of deadness of the soul (in other words, is the human soul alive) and sinfulness (let’s not forget about the “circles of hell”, where souls are located according to the severity of their sins) ; on the other, the opportunity to be reborn, to gain vitality, which Gogol understands as spirituality.

In the sequence of images of landowners, these two lines combine and create a double structure: each subsequent character is in a lower “circle”, the degree of his sin is heavier, death in his soul increasingly replaces life, and at the same time, each subsequent character is closer to rebirth, because According to Christian philosophy, the lower a person has fallen, the heavier his sin, the greater his suffering, the closer he is to salvation. The correctness of this interpretation is confirmed by the fact that, firstly, each subsequent landowner has a more and more detailed history of his previous life (and if a person has a past, then a future is possible), secondly, in excerpts from the burned second volume and sketches for the third, it is known that Gogol was preparing a revival for two characters - the scoundrel Chichikov and the “hole in humanity” Plyushkin, i.e. to those who are in the first volume at the very bottom of spiritual “hell”.

Therefore, we will consider the image of the landowner Korobochka from several positions:

How do life and death compare in the character’s soul?

What is Korobochka’s “sin”, and why is she between Manilov and Nozdryov?

How close is she to revival?

§2. Image of the Box

Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka is a landowner, the widow of a college secretary, a very thrifty and thrifty elderly woman. Her village is small, but everything in it is in good order, the farm is flourishing and, apparently, brings in a good income. Korobochka compares favorably with Manilov: she knows all her peasants (“... she didn’t keep any notes or lists, but knew almost everyone by heart”), speaks of them as good workers (“all are nice people, all workers.” Hereinafter quoted . according to the edition: Gogol N.V. Collected works in eight volumes. - (Library “Ogonyok”: domestic classics) - T.5. “Dead Souls” - M., 1984.), she is engaged in housekeeping. - “she fixed her eyes on the housekeeper,” “little by little she moved into economic life.” Judging by the fact that, when asking Chichikov who he is, she lists those people with whom she constantly communicates: the assessor, merchants, the archpriest, her social circle is small and is associated mainly with economic affairs - trade and the payment of state taxes.

Apparently, she rarely goes to the city and does not communicate with her neighbors, because when asked about Manilov, he answers that there is no such landowner, and names old noble families that are more appropriate in a classic comedy of the 18th century - Bobrov, Kanapatiev, Pleshakov, Kharpakin. In the same row is the surname Svinin, which draws a direct parallel with Fonvizin’s comedy “The Minor” (Mitrofanushka’s mother and uncle are Svinin).

Korobochka’s behavior, her address to the guest “father”, the desire to serve (Chichikov called himself a nobleman), to treat her, to arrange for an overnight stay as best as possible - all this character traits images of provincial landowners in the works of the 18th century. Mrs. Prostakova behaves the same way when she finds out that Starodum is a nobleman and has been accepted at court.

Korobochka, it would seem, is devout; in her speeches there are constantly sayings and expressions characteristic of a believer: “The power of the cross is with us!”, “Apparently, God sent him as a punishment,” but there is no special faith in her. When Chichikov persuades her to sell the dead peasants, promising profit, she agrees and begins to “calculate” the profit. Korobochka's confidant is the son of the archpriest, who serves in the city.

The landowner's only entertainment when she is not busy with her household is fortune-telling on cards - “I decided to make fortunes on cards at night after prayer...”. And she spends her evenings with the maid.

Korobochka's portrait is not as detailed as the portraits of other landowners and seems to be stretched out: first Chichikov hears the “hoarse woman's voice” of the old servant; then “again some woman, younger than before, but very similar to her”; when he was shown into the rooms and he had time to look around, a lady came in - “an elderly woman, in some kind of sleeping cap, put on hastily, with a flannel around her neck, ....” The author emphasizes Korobochka’s old age, then Chichikov directly calls her an old woman to himself. The housewife’s appearance in the morning does not change much - only the sleeping cap disappears: “She was dressed better than yesterday - in a dark dress ( widow!) and no longer in a sleeping cap ( but apparently there was still a cap on his head - a day cap), but there was still something tied around the neck" ( end fashionXVIIIcentury - fichu, i.e. a small scarf that partially covered the neckline and the ends of which were tucked into the necklineAtya See Kirsanova R.M. Russian costume artistic culture 18 - first half of the 20th centuries: Experience of an encyclopedia / Ed. T.G. Morozova, V.D. Sinyukova. - M., 1995. - P.115 ).

The author's description, which follows the portrait of the hostess, on the one hand emphasizes the typicality of the character, on the other hand, gives a comprehensive description: “one of those mothers, small landowners who cry when the harvest fails ( precisely with words about crop failure and bad times begins business conversation Korobochki and Chichikova), losses and keep your head somewhat to one side, and meanwhile they are gradually gaining a little money in motley Motley - fabric from the remnants of yarn of various kinds, homespun fabric (Kirsanova) bags placed in dresser drawers. All the rubles are taken into one bag, fifty rubles into another, quarters into the third, although in appearance it seems as if there is nothing in the chest of drawers except underwear, night blouses, skeins of thread, and a ripped salop Salop - outerwear made of fur and the rich fabrics that had gone out of fashion by 1830; the name “salopnitsa” has an additional connotation of “old-fashioned” (Kirsanova). Apparently, for this purpose Gogol mentions the cloak as an indispensable attribute of such landowners. , which will then turn into a dress if the old one somehow burns out during the baking of festive cakes with all sorts of yarn. Yarn is a filling that was laid out directly on the baking cake or pancake, in other words, baked. or it will disappear on its own. But the dress will not burn or fray on its own; thrifty old lady..." This is exactly what Korobochka is, so Chichikov immediately does not stand on ceremony and gets down to business.

An important role in understanding the image of the landowner is played by the description of the estate and the decoration of the rooms in the house. This is one of the characterization techniques that Gogol uses in “ Dead souls": the image of all landowners consists of the same set of descriptions and artistic details - the estate, rooms, interior details or significant objects, an indispensable feast (in one form or another - from a full dinner, like Sobakevich’s, to Plyushkin’s offer of Easter cake and wine), manners and the owner’s behavior during and after business negotiations, attitude towards an unusual transaction, etc.

Korobochka's estate is distinguished by its strength and contentment; it is immediately clear that she is a good housewife. The courtyard into which the room's windows overlook is filled with birds and “all kinds of domestic creatures”; further on you can see vegetable gardens with “household vegetables”; fruit trees are covered with bird nets, and stuffed animals on poles are also visible - “one of them was wearing the cap of the mistress herself.” Peasant huts also show the wealth of their inhabitants. In a word, Korobochka’s farm is clearly thriving and generating sufficient profit. And the village itself is not small - eighty souls.

The description of the estate is divided into two parts - at night, in the rain, and during the day. The first description is scanty, motivated by the fact that Chichikov drives up in the dark, during heavy rain. But in this part of the text there is also an artistic detail, which, in our opinion, is essential for the further narrative - a mention of the external villa of the house: “stopped<бричка>in front of a small house, which was difficult to see in the darkness. Only one half of it was illuminated by the light coming from the windows; a puddle was still visible in front of the house, which was directly hit by the same light.” Chichikov is also greeted by the barking of dogs, which indicates that “the village was decent.” The windows of a house are a kind of eyes, and eyes, as we know, are the mirror of the soul. Therefore, the fact that Chichikov drives up to the house in the dark, only one window is illuminated and the light from it falls into a puddle, speaks, most likely, about the poverty of inner life, about the focus on one side of it, about the mundane aspirations of the owners of this house.

The “daytime” description, as mentioned earlier, emphasizes precisely this one-sidedness of Korobochka’s inner life - the focus only on economic activity, thrift and thrift.

IN brief description The rooms are primarily noted for the antiquity of their decoration: “the room was hung with old striped wallpaper; paintings with some birds; between the windows there are old small mirrors with dark frames in the shape of curled leaves; Behind every mirror there was either a letter, or an old deck of cards, or a stocking; wall clock with painted flowers on the dial...” In this description, two features clearly stand out - linguistic and artistic. Firstly, the synonyms “old”, “antique” and “old” are used; secondly, the set of objects that catch Chichikov’s eye during a brief examination also indicates that the people living in such rooms are more drawn to the past than to the present. What is important is that flowers are mentioned several times (on the watch dial, leaves on the mirror frames) and birds. If we recall the history of the interior, we can find out that such a “design” is typical for the Rococo era, i.e. for the second half of the 18th century.

Later in the episode, the description of the room is supplemented by one more detail, which confirms the “antiqueness” of Korobochka’s life: Chichikov discovers in the morning two portraits on the wall - Kutuzov and “some old man with red cuffs on his uniform, as they were sewn on under Pavel Petrovich

In the conversation about the purchase of “dead” souls, the whole essence and character of Korobochka is revealed. At first, she cannot understand what Chichikov wants from her - dead peasants have no economic value, and therefore cannot be sold. When she realizes that the deal can be profitable for her, then bewilderment gives way to another - the desire to get the maximum benefit from the sale: after all, if someone wants to buy the dead, therefore, they are worth something and are the subject of bargaining. That is, dead souls become for her on a par with hemp, honey, flour and lard. But she has already sold everything else (as we know, quite profitably), and this is a new and unknown business for her. The desire not to undercut the price is triggered: “I started to be very afraid that this buyer would somehow cheat her,” “I was afraid at first, so as not to somehow incur a loss. Maybe you, my father, are deceiving me, but they are... they are somehow worth more”, “I’ll wait a little, maybe merchants will come, and I’ll adjust the prices”, “somehow they’ll be needed on the farm in case they’re needed...”. With her stubbornness, she infuriates Chichikov, who was counting on easy consent. This is where the epithet arises, which expresses the essence not only of Korobochka, but of the entire type of similar people - “club-headed”. The author explains that neither rank nor position in society is the reason for this property; “club-headedness” is a very common phenomenon: “someone is both respectable and even a statesman. but in reality it turns out to be a perfect Box. Once you've hacked something into your head, you can't overpower him with anything; No matter how much you present him with arguments as clear as day, everything bounces off him, like a rubber ball bounces off a wall.”

Korobochka agrees when Chichikov offers her another deal that she understands - government contracts, that is, a state supply order that paid well and was beneficial for the landowner due to its stability.

The author ends the bidding episode with a generalized discussion about the prevalence of this type of people: “Is Korobochka really standing so low on the endless ladder of human improvement? Is the abyss really that great that separates her from her sister, inaccessibly fenced by the walls of an aristocratic house with fragrant cast-iron staircases, shining copper, mahogany and carpets, yawning over an unread book in anticipation of a witty social visit, where she will have the opportunity to show off her mind and express her expressed thoughts? thoughts that, according to the laws of fashion, occupy the city for a whole week, thoughts not about what is happening in her house and on her estates, confused and upset thanks to ignorance of economic affairs, but about what political revolution is being prepared in France, what direction fashionable Catholicism has taken " The comparison of the thrifty, thrifty and practical Korobochka with the worthless society lady makes one wonder what is Korobochka’s “sin”, is it just her “club-headedness”?

Thus, we have several grounds for determining the meaning of the image of Korobochka - an indication of her “club-headedness,” i.e. getting stuck on one thought, inability and inability to consider the situation from different sides, limited thinking; comparison with the habitually established life of a society lady; the clear dominance of the past in everything related to the cultural components of human life, embodied in fashion, interior design, speech and rules of etiquette in relation to other people.

Is it a coincidence that Chichikov ends up with Korobochka after wandering along a dirty and dark road, at night, during the rain? It can be suggested that these details metaphorically reflect the nature of the image - the lack of spirituality (darkness, rare reflections of light from the window) and the aimlessness - in spiritual and moral terms - of her existence (the confusing road, by the way, the girl who accompanies Chichikov to the main road confuses right and left). Then the logical answer to the question about the landowner’s “sin” will be the absence of the life of the soul, the existence of which has collapsed to one point - the distant past, when the deceased husband was still alive, who loved to have his heels scratched before going to bed. The clock that hardly strikes the appointed hour, the flies that wake up Chichikov in the morning, the confusion of the roads to the estate, the lack of external contacts with the world - all this confirms our point of view.

Thus, Korobochka embodies a state of mind in which life is reduced to a single point and remains somewhere far behind, in the past. Therefore, the author emphasizes that Korobochka is an old woman. And no future is possible for her, therefore, it is impossible to be reborn, i.e. It is not destined to unfold life to the fullness of being.

The reason for this lies in the initially unspiritual life of a woman in Russia, in her traditional position, but not social, but psychological. The comparison with a society lady and the details about how Korobochka spends her “free time” (fortune telling on cards, housework) reflect the absence of any intellectual, cultural, spiritual life. Later in the poem, the reader will encounter an explanation of the reasons for this state of a woman and her soul in Chichikov’s monologue after meeting a beautiful stranger, when the hero discusses what happens to a pure and simple girl and how “rubbish” turns out of her.

Korobochka’s “club-headedness” also receives a precise meaning: it is not excessive practicality or commercialism, but a limited mind, which is determined by a single thought or belief and is a consequence of the general limitations of life. And it is the “club-headed” Korobochka, who never gave up the thought of a possible deception on the part of Chichikov and comes to the city to inquire “how much are dead souls these days,” becomes one of the reasons for the collapse of the hero’s adventure and his rapid flight from the city.

Why does Chichikov get to Korobochka after Manilov and before meeting Nozdryov? As was said earlier, the sequence of images of landowners is built along two lines. The first is descending: the degree of “sin” in each subsequent case becomes more severe, responsibility for the state of the soul increasingly lies with the person himself. The second is ascending: how possible is it for a character to revive his life and “resurrect” his soul?

Manilov lives quite openly - he appears in the city, is present at evenings and meetings, communicates, but his life is similar to a sentimental novel, and therefore illusory: he is very reminiscent in appearance, reasoning, and attitude towards people of the hero of sentimental and romantic works, fashionable in early XIX century. You can guess about his past - good education, short civil service, retirement, marriage and life with family on the estate. Manilov does not understand that his existence is not connected with reality, therefore he cannot realize that his life is not going as it should. If we draw a parallel with Dante's " Divine Comedy", then he is more reminiscent of sinners of the first circle, whose sin is that they are unbaptized infants or pagans. But the possibility of rebirth is closed to him for the same reason: his life is an illusion, and he does not realize it.

The box is too immersed in the material world. If Manilov is entirely in fantasy, then she is in the prose of life, and intellectual and spiritual life comes down to habitual prayers and the same habitual piety. The fixation on material things, on profit, the one-sidedness of her life is worse than Manilov’s fantasies.

Could Korobochka's life have turned out differently? Yes and no. The influence of the surrounding world, society, circumstances left their mark on her, made her inner world just the way he is. But there was still a way out - sincere faith in God. As we will see later, it is true Christian morality, from Gogol’s point of view, that is the saving force that keeps a person from spiritual fall and spiritual death. Therefore, the image of the Box cannot be considered satirical image- one-sidedness, “club-headedness” is no longer caused by laughter, but by sad reflections: “But why, among the unthinking, cheerful, carefree minutes, will another wonderful stream suddenly rush by itself: laughter has not yet had time to completely escape from the face, but has already become different among those same people, and the face was illuminated with a different light..."

A further meeting with Nozdryov - a scoundrel, a brawler and a rogue - shows that worse than the one-sidedness of life can be dishonor, a willingness to do nasty things to one’s neighbor, sometimes for no reason at all, and excessive activity that has no purpose. In this respect, Nozdryov is a kind of antipode to Korobochka: instead of one-sidedness of life - excessive scatteredness, instead of veneration of rank - contempt for any conventions, even to the point of violating the elementary norms of human relations and behavior. Gogol himself said: “...My heroes follow one after another, one more vulgar than the other.” Vulgarity is a spiritual fall, and the degree of vulgarity in life is the degree of triumph of death over life in the human soul.

So, the image of Korobochka reflects the widespread, from the author’s point of view, type of people who limit their lives to only one sphere, who “rest their foreheads” on one thing and do not see, and most importantly - do not want to see - anything that exists apart from the subject of their attention. Gogol chooses the material sphere - taking care of the household. The box reaches a level sufficient in this area for a woman, a widow, who has to manage a decent-sized estate. But her life is so concentrated on this that she does not and cannot have any other interests. That's why real life it remains in the past, and the present, and especially the future, is not life. but only existence.

§3. Artistic detail as a means of characterizing a character

In addition to the artistic details mentioned above, the episode contains references to objects that are also important for understanding the image of the Box.

An important detail is the clock: “... the wall clock began to want to strike. The hissing was immediately followed by wheezing, and finally, straining with all their might, they struck two o’clock with a sound as if someone were beating a broken pot with a stick, after which the pendulum began to calmly click again to the right and left.” A watch is always a symbol of time and the future. The lethargy, again a certain oldness of the clocks (and therefore the time) in Korobochka’s house, emphasizes the same lethargy of life.

In addition to the clock, time is also represented in Korobochka’s speech. It does not use calendar terms to designate dates, but is guided by church and folk holidays (Christmastide, Philip Fast), characteristic of popular speech. This testifies not so much to the closeness of the landowner’s way of life to the folk one, but to her lack of education.

There are two interesting artistic details that relate to parts of Korobochka's toilet: the cap on the scarecrow and the stocking behind the mirror. if the first characterizes it from the point of view of only practical orientation and the likeness of a person (after all, a scarecrow should depict a person), then the role of the second detail is unclear. It can be assumed, judging by the row “letter” - “old deck of cards” - “stocking”, that this is some kind of entertainment or girlish fortune-telling, which also confirms that Korobochka’s life is in the past.

The description of the yard and the description of the room begin with the mention of birds (chickens and turkeys in the yard, “some” birds in the paintings, “indirect clouds” of magpies and sparrows), and also additionally characterizes the essence of the mistress of the estate - her soul is down to earth, practicality is the main measure of values .

In Korobochka’s speech there are not only colloquial and folk expressions, but also words characteristic of the past era - “avantage”.

In general, we can say that the artistic detail in Gogol’s poem is a means of characterizing the character, adding nuances or implicitly indicating the essential features of the image.

§4. Korobochka and Chichikov

Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" is structured in such a way that upon careful, thoughtful reading you understand that the characters Chichikov meets - officials and landowners - are connected with the hero not only by the plot line. Firstly, the story of Chichikov himself is placed at the very end of the first volume, which means that he must also obey the laws of constructing the poem - ascending and descending lines. Secondly, Chichikov has amazing property- immediately choose exactly the manner of behavior and the motivation for the offer to sell “dead” souls that is most suitable for the interlocutor. Is this just a natural skill, a property of his character? As we see from Chichikov’s life story, this trait was inherent in him from the very beginning, almost from childhood - he always guessed a person’s weak point and the possibility of a “loophole into the soul.” In our opinion, this can be explained by: that the hero contains in concentrated form all these officials and landowners, whom he cleverly deceives, using them as a means of achieving personal goals. And this idea is most confirmed in the episode of the meeting with Korobochka.

Why exactly in this part of the poem, when agreement with the “club-headed” landowner has been reached, does the author give a detailed description of Chichikov’s traveling box, as if the reader is looking over his shoulder and seeing something hidden? After all, we meet with a description of the hero’s other things already in the first chapter.

If we imagine that this box is a kind of house (every character in the poem necessarily has a house, from which, in fact, the characterization begins), and Gogol’s house, its appearance and interior decoration symbolize the state of a person’s soul, his entire essence, then then Chichikov’s box characterizes him as a person with a double and even triple bottom.

The first tier is what everyone sees: an intelligent interlocutor, capable of supporting the desired topic, a respectable person, at the same time businesslike and able to have a varied and decent time. The same is in the box - in the top drawer, which can be removed, “in the very middle is a soap dish, behind the soap dish are six or seven narrow partitions for razors; then square nooks for a sandbox and an inkwell with a boat hollowed out between them for feathers, sealing wax and everything that is longer; then all sorts of partitions with lids and without lids for something shorter, filled with business cards, funeral tickets, theater tickets and others, which were folded up as souvenirs.”

The second layer of Chichikov’s personality is a businessman, a prudent and clever buyer of “dead souls”. And in the box - “there was a space occupied by stacks of sheets of paper.”

And finally, what is hidden in the very depths and unknown to most people who have dealt with the hero is the main goal of the hero’s life, his dream about money and what this money gives in life - prosperity, honor, respect: “then followed the secret a drawer for money that pulled out discreetly from the side of the box. He always pulled out so hastily and was moved back at the same moment by the owner that it’s probably impossible to say how much money was there.” Here it is, the true essence of the hero - benefit, income on which his future depends.

The fact that this description is located precisely in the chapter dedicated to Korobochka emphasizes an important idea: Chichikov is also a little Korobochka, as, indeed, are Manilov, and Nozdryov, and Sobakevich, and Plyushkin. That’s why he understands people so well, that’s why he knows how to adapt, adapt to another person, because he himself is a little bit of that person.

Conclusion

The image of Korobochka is one of the gallery of human types presented in Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”. The author uses various means of creating an image: direct characterization and generalization to a common type, artistic details included in the description of the estate, interior, appearance and the character's behavior. An important characteristic is the character’s reaction to Chichikov’s proposal to sell “dead” souls. The character's behavior reveals the true human essence, because the opportunity to make a profit without spending practically anything is important for landowners.

Korobochka appears before the reader as a limited, stupid old woman, whose interests relate only to farming and making a profit. There is nothing in her that leaves signs of spiritual life: no true faith, no interests, no aspirations. The only thing that worries her in a conversation with Chichikov is not to undercut the price, although the subject of the bargain is unusual and even at first frightens and bewilders her. But the reason for this is, for the most part, the education system itself and the position of women in society.

Thus, Korobochka is one of the types of landowners and human types that make up the image of Gogol’s contemporary Russia.

List of used literature

1. Gogol N.V. Collected Works in eight volumes. - (Library "Ogonyok": domestic classics) - T.5. "Dead Souls". Volume one. - M., 1984.

2. Kirsanova R.M. Costume in Russian artistic culture of the 18th - first half of the 20th centuries: Experience of an encyclopedia / Ed. T.G. Morozova, V.D. Sinyukova. - M., 1995. - P.115

3. Razumikhin A. “Dead Souls” Experience of modern reading // Literature (Appendix to “First of September”). - No. 13 (532). - April 1-7, 2004.

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In what works of Russian literature are provincial landowners represented and in what ways can they be compared with Plyushkin? Creative works on literature List of used literature.

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Read the passage below and complete activity C2.

C2. In what works of Russian literature are provincial landowners represented and in what ways can these characters be compared with Plyushkin?

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Makeup. Skin and hair care. Manicure

Other essays on the topic:

Read the passage below and complete activity C2.

C2. In what works of Russian literature are provincial landowners represented and in what ways can these characters be compared with Plyushkin?

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