What Chichikov remembered from early childhood. Chichikov's childhood, or why did he grow up to be a man with such a character? Typical talents of Chichikov

The poem “Dead Souls” includes three parts. The third of them is entirely devoted to the story about the childhood and life of the key character - P. I. Chichikov.

Biography of the main character of “Dead Souls”

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol begins the description of his character with a capacious characteristic: “So, let’s harness the scoundrel.” By this he clearly demonstrates his attitude towards him.

Childhood and youth of Pavel Chichikov

It should be noted that the boy’s first years are painted in dull colors: he has no friends, and at home he receives neither care nor warmth, listening only to reproaches and teachings.

Having reached the required age, Pavlusha is assigned to school.

Testaments of the hero's father

On the day of his departure, the father, “blessing” the boy for an independent life, gives him several parting words.

He instructs his son to always please teachers and bosses, saying that this is what will allow him to always be ahead.

Well, my father’s most important commandment is to “save a penny.” The parent tries to explain to the boy that money is the real friend in a person’s life.

These teachings main character remembers for life... They become his life credo. Perhaps because these are the only words the father said to his son in a warm, friendly conversation.

Be that as it may, the young man fulfills the commandments exactly: he curries favor with the teachers, always behaves obediently and exemplarily (even to the detriment of his classmates).

He also communicates exclusively with children of wealthy parents. And collects every penny. He tries to make money, and, admittedly, he succeeds.

Life and activities of P. Chichikov after graduation

After graduating from college, the hero “sets out on the civilian path.” He changes several jobs, pursuing one goal - enrichment. He manages to work in the treasury chamber, the commission for the construction of a state building, customs...

Whatever Chichikov does, he sees nothing reprehensible in breaking moral laws.

So, he is the only one who does not provide financial assistance to a sick teacher, lies to a girl about his love for the sake of a “grain place”, takes bribes, pulls off scams...

It cannot be said that fate is kind to Pavel Ivanovich. She often ruins his plans, leaving him with nothing. But Chichikov doesn’t even think about giving up. Time and time again he rises up and invents new ways to make money. His perseverance and self-belief deserve respect.

After a series of defeats, the man comes up with a kind of brilliant idea - selling dead souls.

The first volume of the poem is dedicated to this scam.

N.V. Gogol devotes one chapter to describing the social and psychological appearance of the main character.

He does this in order to better explain to readers who Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov really is.

And he is a businessman of a new format, an entrepreneur betting on capital. Chichikov is a “terrible and vile force.” He is completely different from the landowners (who are gradually becoming a thing of the past), but just like them, he does not want and is not able to contribute to the revival of his native country.

The origins of our hero are dark and humble. The parents were nobles, but whether they were official or private, God knows; his face did not resemble them: at least the relative who was present at his birth, a short, short woman, who are usually called Pigalits, took the child in her hands and cried out: “He didn’t come out at all like I thought!” He should have taken after his mother’s grandmother, which would have been better, but he was born simply, as the proverb says: neither his mother nor his father, but a passing young man.” At the beginning, life looked at him somehow sourly and unpleasantly, through some muddy, snow-covered window: no friend, no comrade in childhood! A small house with small windows that did not open either in winter or in summer, the father, a sick man, in a long frock coat with fleeces and knitted flappers worn on his bare feet, sighed incessantly as he walked around the room and spat in the sandbox standing in the corner , eternal sitting on a bench, with a pen in his hands, ink on his fingers and even on his lips, an eternal inscription before his eyes: “don’t lie, listen to your elders and carry virtue in your heart”; the eternal shuffling and shuffling of the clappers around the room, the familiar but always stern voice: “I fooled you again!”, which responded at the time when the child, bored with the monotony of work, attached some kind of quotation mark or tail to a letter; and the ever-familiar, always unpleasant feeling when, following these words, the edge of his ear was twisted very painfully by the nails of long fingers reaching behind him: here is a poor picture of his initial childhood, of which he barely retained a pale memory. But in life everything changes quickly and vividly: and one day, with the first spring sun and overflowing streams, the father, taking his son, rode out with him on a cart, which was pulled by a fly-tailed pinto horse, known among horse dealers as a magpie; it was ruled by a coachman, a little hunchbacked man, the founder of the only serf family that belonged to Chichikov’s father, who occupied almost all positions in the house. At forty they dragged themselves for more than a day and a half; We spent the night on the road, crossed the river, ate cold pie and fried lamb, and only on the third day in the morning did we reach the city. The city streets flashed before the boy with unexpected splendor, making him gape for several minutes. Then the magpie splashed along with the cart into the hole, which began a narrow alley, all sloping down and filled with mud; She worked there for a long time with all her might and kneaded with her feet, incited by both the hunchback and the master himself, and finally dragged them into a small courtyard that stood on a slope with two blossoming apple trees in front of an old house and a garden behind it, low, small, consisting only of rowan trees, elderberry and hidden in the depths of its wooden booth, covered with shingles, with a narrow frosted window. Here lived a relative of theirs, a flabby old woman, who still went to the market every morning and then dried her stockings by the samovar, who patted the boy on the cheek and admired his plumpness. Here he had to stay and go to classes at the city school every day. The father, having spent the night, set out on the road the next day. At parting, no tears were shed from the parents' eyes; half a copper was given for expenses and delicacies and, what is much more important, a smart instruction: “Look, Pavlusha, study, don’t be stupid and don’t hang around, but most of all please your teachers and bosses. If you please your boss, then, even though you don’t have time in science and God hasn’t given you talent, you will put everything into action and get ahead of everyone else. Don’t hang out with your comrades, they won’t teach you any good; and if it comes to that, then hang out with those who are richer, so that on occasion they can be useful to you. Don’t treat or treat anyone, but behave better so that you will be treated, and most of all, take care and save a penny: this thing is more reliable than anything in the world. A comrade or friend will deceive you and in trouble will be the first to betray you, but a penny will not betray you, no matter what trouble you are in. You will do everything and ruin everything in the world with a penny.” Having given such instructions, the father parted with his son and trudged home again on his magpie, and from then on he never saw him again, but the words and instructions sank deep into his soul.

Chichikov

Pavlusha started going to classes the next day. He did not appear to have any special abilities for any science; He distinguished himself more by his diligence and neatness; but on the other hand, he turned out to have a great mind on the other side, on the practical side. He suddenly realized and understood the matter and behaved towards his comrades in exactly the same way: they treated him, and he not only never, but sometimes even hid the received treat and then sold it to them. Even as a child, he already knew how to deny himself everything. Of the half-ruble given by his father, he didn’t spend a penny; on the contrary, that same year he already made additions to it, showing almost extraordinary resourcefulness: he molded a bullfinch out of wax, painted it and sold it very profitably. Then, for some time, he embarked on other speculations, namely this: having bought food at the market, he sat in the classroom next to those who were richer, and as soon as he noticed that a friend was starting to feel sick - a sign of approaching hunger - he stuck out his shirt to him. under the benches, as if by chance, a corner of a gingerbread or a bun and, having provoked him, he took the money, depending on his appetite. For two months he fussed around in his apartment without rest around a mouse, which he had put in a small wooden cage, and finally got it to the point where the mouse stood on its hind legs, lay down and stood up when ordered, and then sold it for a very profit. When he had enough money to reach five rubles, he sewed up the bag and began saving it in another.

In relation to his superiors, he behaved even smarter. No one knew how to sit on a bench so quietly. It should be noted that the teacher was a great lover of silence and good behavior and could not stand smart and sharp boys; it seemed to him that they must certainly laugh at him. It was enough for the one who was reprimanded for his wit, it was enough for him to just move or somehow inadvertently wink his eyebrow to suddenly fall under anger. He persecuted him and punished him mercilessly. “I, brother, will drive arrogance and disobedience out of you! - he said. “I know you through and through, just as you don’t know yourself.” Here you are standing on my knees! I’ll make you go hungry!” And the poor boy, without knowing why, rubbed his knees and went hungry for days. “Abilities and gifts? “It’s all nonsense,” he used to say, “I only look at behavior.” I will give full marks in all sciences to someone who doesn’t know the basics but behaves commendably; and in whom I see a bad spirit and mockery, I am zero to him, although he put Solon in his belt! So said the teacher, who did not love Krylov to death because he said: “For me, it’s better to drink, but understand the matter,” and always told with pleasure in his face and eyes, as in the school where he taught before, There was such silence that you could hear a fly flying; that none of the students during all year round did not cough or blow his nose in class and that until the bell rang it was impossible to know whether anyone was there or not. Chichikov suddenly understood the spirit of the boss and what behavior should consist of. He did not move an eye or an eyebrow during the entire class, no matter how much they pinched him from behind; as soon as the bell rang, he rushed headlong and gave the teacher his hat first (the teacher wore a hat); Having handed over his hat, he was the first to leave the class and tried to catch him three times on the road, constantly taking off his hat. The business was a complete success. During his entire stay at the school, he was in excellent standing and upon graduation received full honors in all sciences, a certificate and a book with golden letters for exemplary diligence and trustworthy behavior. Coming out of school, he found himself already a young man of rather attractive appearance, with a chin that required a razor. At this time his father died. The inheritance included four irretrievably worn sweatshirts, two old frock coats lined with sheepskin, and a small amount of money. The father, apparently, was only versed in the advice of saving a penny, but he saved a little of it himself. Chichikov immediately sold the dilapidated little yard with an insignificant plot of land for a thousand rubles, and transferred a family of people to the city, intending to settle there and engage in service. At the same time, a poor teacher, a lover of silence and praiseworthy behavior, was expelled from the school for stupidity or other guilt. The teacher began to drink out of grief; finally he had nothing left to drink; sick, without a piece of bread and help, he disappeared somewhere in an unheated, forgotten kennel. His former students, clever men and wits, in whom he constantly imagined disobedience and arrogant behavior, having learned about his pitiful situation, immediately collected money for him, even selling many things he needed; Only Pavlusha Chichikov made the excuse of not having anything and gave some silver nickel, which his comrades immediately threw to him, saying: “Oh, you lived!” The poor teacher covered his face with his hands when he heard about such an act of his former students; Tears poured like hail from the fading eyes, like those of a powerless child. “On his deathbed, God brought me to cry,” he said in a weak voice and sighed heavily when he heard about Chichikov, adding immediately: “Eh, Pavlusha! This is how a person changes! After all, he was so well-behaved, nothing violent, silk! I cheated, I cheated a lot..."

Let us remember Chichikov’s childhood: boredom, loneliness, monotonous work and the eternal reproaches of his sick father, “no friend, no comrade in childhood,” not a word was said about maternal affection. It is known that Gogol intended, by continuing “Dead Souls” (and a multi-volume epic was planned), to eventually lead his hero to a moral rebirth. You can see hints of such a course of events in the text of the first volume. The author saw “colossal images” ahead; it seemed to him that the entire narrative would later “take on a majestic lyrical flow.” And it is unlikely that this detail is not connected with these dreams, which to this day remains mysterious for readers and critics: after all, it is Chichikov who loves fast driving, like every Russian, and this is what Gogol goes over from the image of his troika, which harnesses Gnedoy, Chubary and Assessor to the image of the flying, unovertaken Russia-troika.

Ironizing his hero, mercilessly exposing his claims to nobility and decency, Gogol at the same time admires his practical intelligence and perseverance. “We must do justice to the irresistible force of his character,” Gogol says about Chichikov. “After all that would have been enough, if not to kill, then to cool and pacify a person forever, the incomprehensible passion in him did not go out”!

Gogol's hero loved one thing in his life passionately and sincerely - his face, and one thing truly touched his soul - his own well-being. As for others, he, like Sobakevich, will be guided by his own interests. Sentimental moods will not interfere with him. He needs it - and he goes to those “corners of our state that have suffered more than others from accidents, crop failures, deaths, and so on and so forth.” He goes, of course, not in order to sympathize and help, but in order to “buy the people in need more conveniently and cheaper.”

And this property of Chichikov is by no means only personal in nature.

Frightened officials suspected that Chichikov was Napoleon in disguise, and even discovered a similarity in appearance. This fiction has a meaning, and Gogol wanted the reader to guess it. After all, Napoleonism became an expression of the morality of a merchant society, according to which people are only means of achieving power, wealth, and success. The scales are different, but in essence Chichikov acts in the spirit of this morality, acts not with troops and diplomacy, but with the means of semi-legal commerce. Gogol continues Pushkin’s satirical denunciation of inhuman individualism:

We all look at Napoleons.

There are millions of two-legged creatures

For us there is only one weapon.

So, Chichikov is a figurative generalization of a very wide range of phenomena - from bribes to wars of conquest. With all the diversity of these phenomena, they have one essence - acquisition, that is, satisfaction by any means of selfish interests, covered by the most decent arguments and explanations.

Chichikov is not opposed, as is sometimes thought, to the district landowners and the bureaucrats. He is only singled out against the background of this environment as a hero of a new, capitalist formation. Chichikov represents those who can be called “first accumulators”. It was they who appreciated the power of capital, preferring large monetary transactions to natural farming. In the course of historical development, the Chichikovs come to replace the decaying class of nobles. Gogol emphasizes that the new type of acquirer is much more dangerous than the previous ones. The nobles ruin the peasants at home, within the district, while Chichikov strives for scale. He travels all over Russia, looking for “profit” everywhere. In addition, he is dexterous, evasive, acts with knowledge of the matter, covering his selfish thoughts with a guise of good manners and adapting to the situation. With Manilov, he pretended to be a “sensitive” person who had experienced a lot of “persecution” for “observing the truth,” “giving his hand to both a helpless widow and a miserable orphan.” He hinted to the governor that “you enter his province as if you were entering paradise, the roads are velvet everywhere.” He even endeared himself to Plyushkin by refusing the treat under the pretext that he “had already drunk and eaten.” Everywhere he carries himself with “dignity,” and among money-hungry officials he is also known as a “millionaire.”

Acquisitions develop into entrepreneurship for Chichikov. He stops at nothing to achieve selfish goals, basing his actions on skillfully veiled meanness. His last, most vile scam is the purchase of dead peasant souls in order to acquire capital. The scam failed. Chichikov is exposed, but exposed by accident, he leaves the city without suffering any punishment: From this it is clear that Chichikov is “an insider” in the noble-bureaucratic environment, and his “failure” is accidental. Elsewhere, other Chichikovs will achieve their goal. The socio-economic life of Russia and Western Europe developed in this direction in the 30-40s of the 19th century. Obviously, Gogol, foreseeing such a tendency, ultimately abandoned the intention to correct the “scoundrel-acquirer.” In any case, the author’s attempts to make Chichikov “ashamed” of his vices when meeting “virtuous” heroes in the second volume (Kostanzhoglo, Murazov, etc.) did not produce convincing artistic results. In the minds of the reader, Chichikov remains a typical representative of bourgeois predation, regardless of where and in what sphere it manifests itself. The global significance of Chichikov’s image was keenly noticed by Belinsky and Chernyshevsky, who wrote that the Chichikovs could be found in France and England, wherever bourgeois business was gaining strength.

Provincial Society

Painting a broad picture of the noble-landlord Russia of his time, Gogol, in addition to the local nobles, also depicts provincial officials. In the notes to the first volume of the poem, Gogol wrote: “The idea of a city is an emptiness that has arisen to the highest degree. Idle talk. Gossip that has gone beyond limits. How all this arose from idleness and took on the expression of the ridiculous in the highest degree, how intelligent people come to do completely stupid things.”

This is the life of provincial society and its representatives that Gogol shows. This is also the kingdom of “dead souls”, idleness and internal squalor. Provincial officials, in essence, are no different from the district officials previously depicted by Gogol in The Government Inspector. Like the mayor, the “miracle worker” - the chief of police “visited the shops and the living room as if he were visiting his own storeroom.” The “freethinker” Lyapkin-Tyapkin’s penchant for reading Masonic books was shared by the city’s postmaster, who “went more into philosophy and read very diligently, even at night,” the books of mystics. Khlopov’s timidity was inherited by the “Morgun” prosecutor, who “died in fright” from the rumors that spread in the city in connection with Chichikov’s purchase of dead souls. The appointment of a new governor-general frightened the provincial officials and deprived them of their reason just as much as the expected arrival of the district auditor. The same nepotism, the same corruption and the same arbitrariness reign here as in the district town; The same bribery is flourishing (what is Ivan Antonovich alone worth - the “jug’s snout”!), the same ignorance and vulgarity. Like the heroes of The Inspector General, the officials of the provincial city are disconnected from the people, from their needs and demands.

Chichikov's childhood and family in the poem "Dead Souls"

Chichikov is a poor nobleman by birth:

“... The origin of our hero is dark and modest. The parents were nobles, but whether they were official or personal, God knows...”

It is known that Chichikov’s father owned only one family of serfs:

“... a coachman, a little hunchback, the founder of the only serf family that belonged to Chichikov’s father, who occupied almost all positions in the house...”

Chichikov received almost nothing as an inheritance from his poor father:

“... The inheritance included four irretrievably worn sweatshirts, two old frock coats lined with sheepskin, and a small amount of money. The father, apparently, was only versed in the advice of saving a penny, but he saved a little of it himself. Chichikov immediately sold the dilapidated little yard with an insignificant piece of land for a thousand rubles, and transferred a family of people to the city, intending to settle there and engage in service...”

As a child, Pavel Chichikov had neither friends nor comrades:

“... At the beginning, life looked at him somehow sourly and unpleasantly, through some cloudy, snow-covered window: no friend, no comrade in childhood!...”

The Chichikov family lived in a peasant house, in a small upper room. This house does not look like the traditional housing of nobles:

“... A small house with small windows that did not open either in winter or in summer...”

Chichikov's father was sick all the time:

“... the father, a sick man, in a long frock coat with fleeces and knitted flappers worn on his bare feet, sighed incessantly as he walked around the room and spat in the sandbox that stood in the corner...”

It is known that the father was harsh towards little Pavlusha and did not show warm feelings towards him:

“... When parting, no tears were shed from the parents’ eyes...”

“... a familiar, but always stern voice: “He fooled me again!”, echoing at the time when the child, bored with the monotony of work, attached some kind of quotation mark or tail to a letter...”

When little Pavlusha Chichikov did something wrong, his father tore his ears:

“... the ever-familiar, always unpleasant feeling when, following these words, the edge of his ear was twisted very painfully by the nails of the long fingers reaching behind him...”

Chichikov remembers few details from his childhood:

“... here is a poor picture of his initial childhood, of which he barely retained a pale memory...”

Chichikov’s education Chichikov’s upbringing and education was carried out by his father, who seriously influenced his son’s worldview. When Chichikov grew up, his father took him to the city to visit an old relative. The city was three days' drive from the Chichikov village. In the city, little Chichikov entered school:

“... on the third day in the morning they reached the city [...] Their relative lived here, a flabby old woman [...] Here he had to stay and go to classes at the city school every day...”

At school, Pavlusha was not particularly intelligent. But he was a very diligent and neat student:

“... He did not have any special abilities for any science; He distinguished himself more by diligence and neatness [...] Even as a child, he already knew how to deny himself everything...”

While still at school, Chichikov learned to please his superiors:

“... In relation to his superiors, he behaved even smarter. No one knew how to sit on a bench so quietly...”

After college, Chichikov entered the service and began his career. Mr. Chichikov's career had ups and downs - mainly due to his cunning and desire to quickly and dishonestly earn a lot of capital.

The creation of the poem “Dead Souls” occurred precisely at a time when in Russia there was a change in the traditional, outdated foundations of society, reforms and changes in people’s thinking were brewing. Even then it was clear that the nobility, with its old traditions and views on life, was slowly dying out; it had to be replaced by a new type of person. Gogol's goal is to describe the hero of his time, declare him loudly, describe his positive qualities and explain what his activities will lead to, as well as how it will affect the destinies of other people.

The central character of the poem

Nikolai Vasilyevich made Chichikov the central character in the poem; he cannot be called the main character, but it is on him that the plot of the poem rests. Pavel Ivanovich's journey is the framework for the entire work. It’s not for nothing that the author placed the hero’s biography at the very end; the reader is not interested in Chichikov himself, he is curious about his actions, why he collects these dead souls and what this will lead to in the end. Gogol does not even try to reveal the character of the character, but he introduces the peculiarities of his thinking, thus giving a hint where to look for the essence of this act of Chichikov. Childhood is where the roots come from; even at a tender age, the hero formed his own worldview, vision of the situation and search for ways to solve problems.

Description of Chichikov

The childhood and youth of Pavel Ivanovich are unknown to the reader at the beginning of the poem. Gogol portrayed his character as faceless and voiceless: against the background of bright, colorful images of landowners with their quirks, the figure of Chichikov is lost, becomes small and insignificant. He has neither his own face nor the right to vote; the hero resembles a chameleon, skillfully adapting to his interlocutor. This is an excellent actor and psychologist, he knows how to behave in a given situation, instantly determines a person’s character and does everything to win him over, says only what they want to hear from him. Chichikov skillfully plays the role, pretends, hides his true feelings, tries to be one of the strangers, but he does all this in order to achieve the main goal - his own well-being.

The childhood of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov

A person’s worldview is formed at a young age, so many of his actions in adulthood can be explained by carefully studying his biography. What guided him, why he collected dead souls, what he wanted to achieve with this - all these questions are answered by The hero’s childhood cannot be called happy, he was constantly haunted by boredom and loneliness. In his youth, Pavlush knew neither friends nor entertainment; he did monotonous, tedious and completely uninteresting work, listened to the reproaches of his sick father. The author did not even hint about maternal affection. One conclusion can be drawn from this - Pavel Ivanovich wanted to make up for lost time, to receive all the benefits that were not available to him in childhood.

But you shouldn’t think that Chichikov is a soulless cracker, thinking only about his own enrichment. He was a kind, active and sensitive child, sensitive to the world. The fact that he often ran away from his nanny in order to explore previously unseen places indicates Chichikov's curiosity. Childhood shaped his character and taught him to achieve everything on his own. His father taught Pavel Ivanovich to save money and please bosses and rich people, and he put these instructions into practice.

Chichikov's childhood and studies were gray and uninteresting; he tried in every possible way to become a popular person. At first he pleased the teacher in order to become a favorite student, then he promised the boss to marry his daughter in order to get a promotion, working at customs, he convinces everyone of his honesty and impartiality, and he makes a huge fortune for himself through smuggling. But Pavel Ivanovich does all this not with malicious intent, but with the sole purpose of making his childhood dream of a big and bright house, a caring and loving wife, and a bunch of cheerful children come true.

Chichikov's communication with landowners

Pavel Ivanovich could find an approach to everyone, from the first minutes of communication he could understand what a person was like. For example, he did not stand on ceremony with Korobochka and spoke in a patriarchal-pious and even slightly patronizing tone. With the landowner, Chichikov felt relaxed, used colloquial, rude expressions, completely adapting to the woman. With Manilov, Pavel Ivanovich is pompous and amiable to the point of cloying. He flatters the landowner and uses flowery phrases in his speech. By refusing the offered treat, even Plyushkin was pleased by Chichikov. “Dead Souls” very well demonstrates the changeable nature of man, because Pavel Ivanovich adapted to the morals of almost all landowners.

What does Chichikov look like in the eyes of other people?

The activities of Pavel Ivanovich greatly frightened city officials and landowners. At first they compared him with the romantic robber Rinald Rinaldin, then they began to look for similarities with Napoleon, thinking that the great commander had fled from the island of Helena. In the end, Chichikov was recognized as the real Antichrist. Of course, such comparisons are absurd and even comical to some extent; Gogol ironically describes the fear of the narrow-minded landowners, their speculation about why Chichikov is actually collecting dead souls. The character's characterization hints that the heroes are no longer the same as they used to be. The people could be proud, take an example from the great commanders and defenders, but now there are no such people, they have been replaced by selfish Chichikovs.

Character's real self

One would think that Pavel Ivanovich is an excellent psychologist and actor, since he easily adapts to the people he needs and instantly guesses their character, but is this really so? The hero was never able to adapt to Nozdryov, because impudence, arrogance, and familiarity are alien to him. But even here he is trying to adapt, because the landowner is incredibly rich, hence the address to “you”, Chichikov’s boorish tone. Childhood taught Pavlusha to please to the right people, so he is ready to step over himself, forget about his principles.

At the same time, Pavel Ivanovich practically does not pretend to be with Sobakevich, because they are united by serving the “kopek”. And Chichikov has some similarities with Plyushkin. The character tore the poster from the pole, read it at home, folded it neatly and put it in a small chest in which all sorts of unnecessary things were stored. This behavior is very much reminiscent of Plyushkin, who is prone to hoarding various rubbish. That is, Pavel Ivanovich himself was not so far removed from the same landowners.

The main goal in the hero's life

And once again, money - this is precisely why Chichikov collected dead souls. The character's characteristics indicate that he invents various frauds not just for the sake of profit; there is no stinginess or miserliness in him. Pavel Ivanovich dreams that the time will come when he can finally use his savings, live a calm, prosperous life, without thinking about tomorrow.

The author's attitude towards the hero

There is an assumption that in subsequent volumes Gogol planned to re-educate Chichikov and make him repent of his actions. In the poem, Pavel Ivanovich is not opposed to landowners or officials; he is a hero of the capitalist formation, the “first accumulator” who replaced the nobility. Chichikov is a skilled businessman, an entrepreneur who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. The scam with dead souls was not a success, but Pavel Ivanovich did not suffer any punishment. The author hints that there are a huge number of such Chichikovs in the country, and no one wants to stop them.

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