The image of the landowner Korobochka in the poem "Dead Souls" The third chapter of the poem is devoted to the image of the Box, which Gogol refers to the number of those "small landowners who complain about crop failures, losses and hold their heads somewhat to one side, and meanwhile they are gaining a little money in motley bags placed in chests of drawers!" (or M. and Korobochka are in some way antipodes: Manilov’s vulgarity is hidden behind high phases, behind arguments about the good of the Motherland, while Korobochka’s spiritual scarcity appears in its natural form. The box does not pretend to be a high culture: in all its appearance, a very unpretentious simplicity. This is emphasized by Gogol in the appearance of the heroine: he points to her shabby and unattractive appearance. This simplicity reveals itself in relations with people. The main goal of her life is to consolidate her wealth, incessant accumulation. It is no coincidence that Chichikov sees traces of skillful management on her estate. This household reveals her inner insignificance. She has no feelings except for the desire to acquire and benefit. Confirmation is the situation with the "dead strangles." Korobochka trades peasants with the same efficiency with which she sells other items of her household. For her, there is no difference only one thing scares her in Chichikov's proposal: the prospect of missing something, not taking what can be obtained for "dead souls." Gogol awarded her with the epithet "cudgelhead".) These money are obtained from the sale of a wide variety of nat products. household Korobochka understood the benefits of trading and after much persuasion agrees to sell such an unusual product as dead souls. The image of the hoarder Korobochka is already devoid of those “attractive” features that distinguish Manilov. And again we have a type in front of us - “one of those mothers, small landowners who ... little by little collect money in motley bags placed in drawers of chests of drawers”. Korobochka's interests are entirely focused on the household. “Strong-headed” and “club-headed” Nastasya Petrovna is afraid to sell cheap by selling Chichikov dead souls. The “silent scene” that occurs in this chapter is curious. We find similar scenes in almost all chapters showing the conclusion of a deal between Chichikov and another landowner. This is a special artistic technique, a kind of temporary stoppage of the action: it allows with a special salience to show the spiritual emptiness of Pavel Ivanovich and his interlocutors. At the end of the third chapter, Gogol talks about the typical image of Korobochka, the insignificance of the difference between her and another aristocratic lady. The landowner Korobochka is thrifty, “gaining little by little money”, lives closed in her estate, as if in a box, and her thriftiness eventually develops into hoarding. Limitation and stupidity complete the character of the "cudgel-headed" landowner, who is distrustful of everything new in life. The qualities inherent in Korobochka are typical not only among the provincial nobility. She owns a subsistence economy and trades in everything that is available in it: lard, bird feathers, serfs. Everything in her house is arranged in the old fashioned way. She neatly stores her belongings and saves money by putting them in bags. Everything works for her. In the same chapter, the author pays great attention to Chichikov's behavior, focusing on the fact that Chichikov with Korobochka behaves more simply, more cheekily than with Manilov. This phenomenon is typical of Russian reality, and, proving this, the author gives lyrical digression about the transformation of Prometheus into a fly. The nature of the Box is especially clearly revealed in the scene of sale. She is very afraid of selling cheap and even makes an assumption, which she herself is afraid of: “what if the dead ones will come in handy for her on the farm?”, And again the author emphasizes the typicality of this image: “Another and respectable, and statesman, even a person, but in reality it turns out a perfect Box” . It turns out that Korobochka's stupidity, her "club-headedness" is not such a rare occurrence.
Nozdrev- the third landowner from whom Chichikov is trying to buy dead souls. This is a dashing 35-year-old "talker, reveler, reckless driver." N. constantly lies, bullies everyone indiscriminately; he is very passionate, ready to "shat" to the best friend without any purpose. All of N.'s behavior is explained by his dominant quality: "briskness and liveliness of character", i.e. recklessness, bordering on unconsciousness. N. does not think or plan anything; he just doesn't know how to do anything. On the way to Sobakevich, in a tavern, N. intercepts Chichikov and takes him to his estate. There he quarrels to death with Chichikov: he does not agree to play cards on dead souls, and also does not want to buy a stallion of "Arab blood" and get souls in addition. The next morning, forgetting about all the insults, N. persuades Chichikov to play checkers with him for dead souls. Convicted of cheating, N. orders Chichikov to be beaten, and only the appearance of the police captain reassures him. It is N. who will almost destroy Chichikov. Faced with him at the ball, N. shouts out loud: "He trades in dead souls!", which gives rise to a lot of the most incredible rumors. When the officials call on N. to figure everything out, the hero confirms all the rumors at once, not embarrassed by their inconsistency. Later, he comes to Chichikov and talks about all these rumors himself. Instantly forgetting about the offense inflicted on him, he sincerely offers to help Chichikov take away the governor's daughter. The home environment fully reflects the chaotic character of N. At home, everything is stupid: there are goats in the middle of the dining room, there are no books and papers in the office, etc. We can say that N.'s boundless lies are the flip side of Russian prowess, which N. endowed in abundance. N. is not completely empty, it's just that his unbridled energy does not find proper use for himself. With N. in the poem, a series of heroes begins who have retained something alive in themselves. Therefore, in the "hierarchy" of heroes, he occupies a relatively high - third - place.
In the third chapter of the poem Dead Souls» N. V. Gogol introduces the reader to the landowner Nastasya Petrovna. The characteristic of the Box helps the author to gradually realize the idea of his work, moving from innocent images to more insignificant ones.
How Chichikov found out about the landowner
The protagonist went to another landowner - Sobakevich, but on the way at night his chaise got lost, and he accidentally falls into the possession of Korobochka.
portrait characteristic
Box - a woman in a "sleeping cap, put on hastily, with a flannel around her neck." The external description of the Box in the poem "Dead Souls" is laconic. The author does not give detailed specifications, depriving the heroine of her face to show the typicality of this image.
Environment
Despite the fact that Chichikov calls Korobochka's possessions a "good village", he understands that he is in a "decent wilderness". The estate is located far from the city, there is not a single rich landowner nearby.
Korobochka is a good housewife, she pays great attention to housekeeping. She has a lot of household utensils, various fruits and varieties are grown in the garden. The houses of the peasants are in good conditions.
Lifestyle
However, such features of Korobochka's life lead the reader to the conclusion that she lives only at home, other things do not interest her. It is limited by handmade frames. Trying to accumulate as much as possible, she is ready to sell everything she has. This clearly shows the real character of the heroine. Everything connected with the image of the Box is the first stage of stinginess.
Deal with Chichikov
A special role is played by the episode of buying dead souls from Korobochka. The landowner, having learned that Chichikov is a "purchaser", begins to offer him various goods. It speaks of the desire for profit. She says with regret that she has already sold honey to other merchants, for which Chichikov, most likely, would have given more.
When main character says what exactly he is ready to buy, Korobochka cannot understand for a long time: how can one sell already deceased souls? She is confused because she has never sold dead souls, so she does not know the price of them. Because of this, the heroine hesitates, fearing to sell too cheap, although she understands that the deal "seems to be profitable."
Because of the fear of making a mistake with the price, Korobochka spends a lot of time. She decides to “postpone” the sale, find out the prices of the deceased, and then sell them. However, Chichikov still manages to get her to conclude a deal in another way. Pavel Ivanovich, promising to buy from her the products grown by her peasants, gives 15 banknotes for the souls.
What does Chichikov think about the heroine
Long attempts to persuade Korobochka tire Chichikov, he feels that he is in sweat, "like in a river." The attitude of the protagonist to Korobochka is conveyed by the following quotes: “Well, the woman seems to be strong-browed!”, “Ek her, what a clubhead!”, “Go and deal with her! I've been sweating, you damned old woman!"
Chichikov compares the heroine with a mongrel, who does not eat hay herself, and does not allow others to do so.
The meaning of the image
So why did N.V. Gogol devote an entire chapter to the image of the Box? In his lyrical digressions, he proves the typicality of this character. He calls her one of those who "cry for crop failures", while they themselves "gain a little money."
Nastasya Petrovna is limited, she lives in a kind of "box", so the name of the heroine turns out to be speaking. She is fixated on making a profit, and it is for this purpose that she runs the household. The heroine is stupid and uneducated. As the author writes, if Korobochka hacked something on her nose, then this "cannot be overpowered by anything."
It is not for nothing that the writer gives such a brief description of the appearance of the heroine; it was important for him to emphasize the typicality of this image. He does this in lyrical digressions: "a different and respectable, and even a statesman, but in reality it turns out a perfect Box."
This article will help write the essay “Characteristics of the Box” according to the plan, reveal how to create this female image, will show the meaning of the character in the work, as well as the author's opinion about this type of people.
Artwork test
The poem "Dead Souls" by N.V. Gogol invites its readers to plunge into a huge variety of completely different and unlike characters. One of the most striking and important characters is the landowner Korobochka, her image is revealed in the third chapter of the work.
The first meeting of the protagonist of the poem, Chichikov, and Korobochka happens quite by accident, when Pavel Ivanovich loses his way to Sobakevich due to bad weather. Chichikov arrives at Korobochka's estate, in a village away from the main road, and stays with her for the night, and this is how they get to know each other.
She was an elderly woman, in shabby clothes, completely devoting her life to the household that she runs on her estate. Despite the fact that she has only 80 peasant souls at her disposal, her estate boasts a good condition: strong and well-groomed houses, strong and healthy men.
Korobochka lives by selling products produced on her estate, such as honey and hemp. She earns quite a lot on this, she tries to profit from everything, she has enough for a comfortable life, nevertheless, the landowner likes to complain about life, show down and underestimate her wealth. The box is mercenary, greedy, stingy, because it did not feed the guest from the road., distrustful and shows excessive suspicion towards people. Nevertheless, Korobochka, in her prosperous household, shows hospitality when she gives Chichikov clean clothes, launders dirty ones, sends a girl to scratch his heel and fluff up a pillow.
The landowner Korobochka collects and stores rubbish, her whole life is a continuous hoarding, mustiness reigns in her estate. Also, the interior of her house seems to Chichikov quite old-fashioned, as if he had frozen somewhere in time. Nastasya Petrovna believes in both God and the devil, sometimes she guesses on cards. When Chichikov wakes up, he sees a lot of flies, which once again emphasizes old age. Little is known about Korobochka's family, that she is a widow and has no children. In the process of communicating with the landowner, Chichikov begins to lose his temper, he wants to leave her estate as soon as possible in order to get rid of her.
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol calls the landowner an oakhead, because after selling dead souls to Pavel Ivanovich, she goes to the city to find out the true price in order to find out if she was deceived.
In general, representing one of the most vivid images, Nastasya Petrovna is an ordinary and simple landowner.
Option 2
The poem is presented in the form of a trip of the main character across Russia, where she is shown with all her hardships and problems. The author showed motherland with all its hardships, revealed the cause of the plight of the Russian people and, with the help of satire, exposed the flaws of the existing system. We see how Chichikov, making a trip to the southern provinces, wants to cheaply buy up dead serfs in order to get rich fraudulently and not work.
He visits various landowners, among whom Korobochka stands out especially, who is a wealthy landowner, ready to trade in whatever her heart desires, including dead peasants.
The stupid Nastasya Petrovna thinks that she will need to dig up the dead from the graves, and this does not stop her. She intends to do everything in order to only receive a reward. Chichikov, from the first minute, understanding the nature of the woman, immediately began to talk with her more freely than with Manilov. He even yelled at her when Korobochka listened to him distractedly. After all, one thing revolves in her thoughts, so as not to give away the dead cheaply, and the rest did not bother at all.
Korobochka is a powerful lady, she lives by subsistence farming, and at the same time understands how money is obtained. The intellect of its development wishes to leave the best. She can tell how to protect trees with ripe fruits from birds, but why this had to be done, she cannot explain. Her whole appearance suggests that she is not only stupid, but also sloppy. In addition, it is full of superstitions. The box believes in fortune-telling and all the evil spirits that may appear in the house after midnight. Yes, and in her speech slip different words, human religious.
Her whole house is like a box in which there are many old things. When you look at her, you are surprised how greedy Nastasya Petrovna is. She does not have her own children, and there are no relatives to whom all affairs and property can be transferred, and who had to be introduced to society. And still, she wants more and more capital.
Box's useless hoarding is almost ominous. She saves money for their own sake, is not even afraid to put the dead on sale - just so as not to miscalculate. All her coins are laid out in different colorful bags, which she takes out and counts them every day. Her circle of interests is also small. Basically, she communicates only with those people with whom she consults on matters of conducting trade.
Slowly, Gogol will lead us to how the desire to get rich, the accumulation of capital by any means, the endless exploitation of the peasants kill the soul of the landowners. They lose their human form. In the image of Korobochka, he showed new features of capitalist society.
Composition about the landowner Korobochka
Gogol's poem can be read at various levels, the author has invested many different semantic layers in his creation. If you look at Korobochka superficially, then we have a satire on stupidity and a patriarchal way of life, a parody of the limited personality and excessive practicality, a heroine who surprises with her own simplicity.
Gogol emphasizes the simplicity of Korobochka in her speech, which is full of simple and even primitive expressions and, as it were, naively naked. Only children or poorly educated people can speak like that without any hesitation. The landowner is not distinguished by an exalted mind, but she has quite valuable practical knowledge, these details are also noted, for example, nets that preserve fruit trees.
Thus, Gogol describes the figure of a mundane people, a common people without romanticization. These people can actually be absurd and rude, sit and argue where the wheel will roll, know how to buy and sell more profitably. This people does not represent anything other than their own little world and is not going to get out of there, mired in the swamp of a banal and primitive existence.
If you look at Korobochka in the context of the symbolic series offered by the author, then this heroine appears as a kind of mystical figure that personifies such mystical heroes as Baba Yaga. A trip to Korobochka is associated for Chichikov with images of death and afterlife experience. Before his arrival, he falls into the ground (an image of a burial), when he wakes up, flies sit on his face (like on a corpse), and if you follow the text, Gogol gives similar hints in almost every phrase.
The box, like a magical old woman from Russian fairy tales, lives in the outskirts and is associated with otherworldly forces. In such a reading, lamentations, omens in which she believes (guessing on cards, for example) and interior details (for example, fortune-telling cards) receive a completely new reading and become peculiar attributes of a sorceress.
Also, Korobochka is the only female landowner and her figure stands out from the general outline of the landowners, making her image more interesting and unique.
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Work:
Dead Souls
Korobochka Nastasya Petrovna - a widow-landowner, the second "seller" of dead souls to Chichikov. Main feature her character is commercial efficiency. Each person for K. is only a potential buyer.
K.'s inner world reflects her economy. Everything in it is neat and strong: both the house and the yard. It's just that there are a lot of flies everywhere. This detail personifies the frozen, stopped world of the heroine. The hissing clock and the "outdated" portraits on the walls in K.
But such a "fading" is still better than the complete timelessness of Manilov's world. K. at least has a past (husband and everything connected with him). K. has a character: she begins to bargain furiously with Chichikov until she extracts a promise from him, in addition to souls, to buy much more. It is noteworthy that K. remembers all his dead peasants by heart. But K. is dumb: later she will come to the city to find out the price of dead souls, and thereby expose Chichikov. Even the location of the village of K. (away from the main road, away from real life) indicates the impossibility of its correction and revival. In this she is similar to Manilov and occupies one of the lowest places in the "hierarchy" of the heroes of the poem.
The image of the landowner Korobochka in the poem "Dead Souls"
The third chapter of the poem is devoted to the image of the Box, which Gogol refers to the number of those "small landowners who complain about crop failures, losses and hold their heads somewhat to one side, and meanwhile they are gaining a little money in motley bags placed in chests of drawers!" (or M. and Korobochka are in some way antipodes: Manilov’s vulgarity is hidden behind high phases, behind arguments about the good of the Motherland, while Korobochka’s spiritual scarcity appears in its natural form. The box does not pretend to be a high culture: in all its appearance, a very unpretentious simplicity. This is emphasized by Gogol in the appearance of the heroine: he points to her shabby and unattractive appearance. This simplicity reveals itself in relations with people. The main goal of her life is to consolidate her wealth, incessant accumulation. It is no coincidence that Chichikov sees traces of skillful management on her estate. This household reveals her inner insignificance. She has no feelings except for the desire to acquire and benefit. Confirmation is the situation with the "dead strangles." Korobochka trades peasants with the same efficiency with which she sells other items of her household. For her, there is no difference only one thing scares her in Chichikov's proposal: the prospect of missing something, not taking what can be obtained for "dead souls." Gogol awarded her with the epithet "cudgelhead".) These money are obtained from the sale of a wide variety of nat products. household Korobochka understood the benefits of trading and after much persuasion agrees to sell such an unusual product as dead souls.
The image of the hoarder Korobochka is already devoid of those “attractive” features that distinguish Manilov. And again we have a type in front of us - “one of those mothers, small landowners who ... little by little collect money in motley bags placed in drawers of chests of drawers”. Korobochka's interests are entirely focused on the household. “Strong-headed” and “club-headed” Nastasya Petrovna is afraid to sell cheap, selling dead souls to Chichikov. The “silent scene” that occurs in this chapter is curious. We find similar scenes in almost all chapters showing the conclusion of a deal between Chichikov and another landowner. It's special artistic technique, a kind of temporary stoppage of the action: it allows us to show with special convexity the spiritual emptiness of Pavel Ivanovich and his interlocutors. At the end of the third chapter, Gogol talks about the typical image of Korobochka, the insignificance of the difference between her and another aristocratic lady.
The landowner Korobochka is thrifty, “gaining little by little money”, lives closed in her estate, as if in a box, and her thriftiness eventually develops into hoarding. Limitation and stupidity complete the character of the "cudgel-headed" landowner, who is distrustful of everything new in life. The qualities inherent in Korobochka are typical not only among the provincial nobility.
She owns a subsistence economy and trades in everything that is available in it: lard, bird feathers, serfs. Everything in her house is arranged in the old fashioned way. She neatly stores her belongings and saves money by putting them in bags. Everything works for her. In the same chapter, the author pays great attention to Chichikov's behavior, focusing on the fact that Chichikov with Korobochka behaves more simply, more cheekily than with Manilov. This phenomenon is typical of Russian reality, and, proving this, the author gives a lyrical digression about the transformation of Prometheus into a fly. The nature of the Box is especially clearly revealed in the scene of sale. She is very afraid of selling cheap and even makes an assumption, which she herself is afraid of: “what if the dead ones will come in handy for her on the farm?”, And again the author emphasizes the typicality of this image: “Another and respectable, and statesman, even a person, but in reality it turns out a perfect Box” . It turns out that Korobochka's stupidity, her "club-headedness" is not such a rare occurrence.
Introduction
§1. The principle of constructing images of landowners in the poem
§2. Box Image
§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 autumn of 1835, and on May 21, 1842 Dead Souls appeared in print. The publication of Gogol's poem caused a fierce controversy: some admired it, others saw it as a slander on modern Russia and "a special world of rascals". 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.
As conceived by the writer, 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 master of the 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 paradise. In this journey, the lyrical hero of the poem met the souls of people burdened with sins (in the circles of hell) and marked with grace (in paradise). Dante's poem was a gallery of types of people embodied in artistic images famous characters of 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 Rus' will appear in it! ..” - Gogol wrote to Zhukovsky. But for the writer it was important to depict not the external side of the life of Russia, but its "soul" - internal state human spirituality. Following Dante, he created a gallery of types of people from different strata of the population and classes (landlords, officials, peasants, metropolitan society), in which both psychological, estate, and spiritual traits were reflected in a generalized form. Each of the characters in the poem is both a typical character and a brightly individualized one, with their own peculiarities 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" (the 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 hard: Gogol's views on life, art, religion changed; he experienced a spiritual crisis; friendly ties with Belinsky were severed, who in a sharp tone criticized the worldview position of the writer, expressed in Selected passages from correspondence with friends. The practically written second volume was burned in a moment of spiritual 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 person and an original writer - the most important thing was the spirituality of a person, his moral basis, and not just the external social circumstances in which Russia was contemporary to him. He perceived both Rus' and its fate as a son, hard 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 of 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 serf-owning Russia - does not exhaust either the idea, the plot, or the 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 a literary analysis of the episode of the meeting between Chichikov and Korobochka. as well as the analysis and interpretation of artistic details.
§1. The principle of constructing images of landowners in the poem
The main philosophical problem of the poem "Dead Souls" is the problem of life and death in the human soul. This is indicated by the very name - "dead souls", which reflects not only the meaning of Chichikov's adventure - the purchase of "dead", i.e. existing only on paper, in revision tales, peasants - 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 internal, spiritual plan. 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 county town and communication with officials - a journey from landowner to landowner "of his own need" - return to the city, scandal and departure from the city. Thus, the central motive that organizes the entire work is the motive of travel. wanderings. Wandering as the plot basis of the work is characteristic of Russian literature and reflects the idea of searching for a high meaning, truth, continuing the tradition of “walking” in ancient 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 landlords, presented to the reader in the first volume, is a regular series of human types, among which the author is looking for someone who is able to become the real master of the new Russia and revive it economically, without destroying morality and spirituality. The sequence in which the landowners appear before us is built on two grounds: on the one hand, the degree of deadness of the soul (in other words, is the soul of a person 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 hand, the opportunity to be reborn, to acquire vitality, which is understood by Gogol as spirituality.
In the sequence of images of the landlords, these two lines are combined and create a double structure: each next character is in a lower "circle", the degree of his sin is heavier, death in his soul more and more replaces life, and at the same time - each next character is closer to rebirth, because , according to Christian philosophy, the lower a person fell, 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 an increasingly detailed history of his previous life (and if a person has a past, then a future is also possible), and secondly, in excerpts from the burnt second volume and sketches for the third, it is known that Gogol was preparing a revival for two characters - the scoundrel Chichikov and Plyushkin, “a hole in humanity”, i.e. those who are in the first volume at the very bottom of the spiritual "hell".
Therefore, we will consider the image of the landowner Korobochka from several positions:
How do life and death relate in the soul of a character?
What is the “sin” of Korobochka, and why is it located between Manilov and Nozdryov?
How close is she to a revival?
§2. Box Image
Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka is a landowner, the widow of a collegiate secretary, a very economical and thrifty elderly woman. Her village is not large, but everything in it is in order, the economy is flourishing and, apparently, brings a good income. Korobochka compares favorably with Manilov: she knows all her peasants (“... she didn’t keep any notes or lists, but knew almost all of them by heart”), speaks of them as good workers (“all the nice people, all the workers”), she is engaged in housekeeping - “she fixed her eyes on the housekeeper”, “little by little she all moved into economic life”. Judging by the fact that when she asks Chichikov who he is, she lists those people with whom she constantly communicates: assessor, merchants, archpriest, her circle of contacts is small and is connected mainly with economic affairs - trade and payment of state taxes.
Apparently, she rarely travels to the city and does not communicate with her neighbors, because when asked about Manilov, he answers that there is no such landowner, and he names old noble families that are more appropriate in the 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 "Undergrowth" (mother and uncle of Mitrofanushka - Svinin).
Korobochka's behavior, her address to the guest as "father", the desire to serve (Chichikov called himself a nobleman), treat, arrange for the night as best as possible - all this character traits images of provincial landowners in the works of the 18th century. Mrs. Prostakova behaves in the same way when she finds out that Starodum is a nobleman and accepted at court.
Korobochka, it would seem, is pious, in her speeches there are constantly sayings and expressions characteristic of a believer: “The power of the cross is with us!”, “It is clear that God sent him as a punishment,” but there is no special faith in it. When Chichikov persuades her to sell dead peasants, promising a benefit, then she agrees and begins to "calculate" the benefit. The confidant of Korobochka is the son of the archpriest, who serves in the city.
The only entertainment of the landowner, when she is not busy with household chores, is fortune-telling on cards - “I thought it was for the night to guess on the cards after prayer ...”. And she spends her evenings with a maid.
The portrait of Korobochka is not as detailed as the portraits of other landowners and is, as it were, stretched out: at first, Chichikov hears the "hoarse woman's voice" of the old maid; then “again some woman, younger than the former, but very similar to her”; when he was escorted into the rooms and he had time to look around, the lady came in - "an elderly woman, in some kind of sleeping cap, put on hastily, with a flannel around her neck, ...". The author emphasizes the old age of Korobochka, then Chichikov to himself directly calls her an old woman. The appearance of the hostess 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 on the head, apparently, there was still a cap - daytime), but there was still something imposed on the neck "( end fashion XVIII century - fichu, i.e. a small scarf that partially covered the neckline and the ends of which were removed into the neckline of the dress).
The author's characterization, which follows the portrait of the hostess, on the one hand emphasizes the typical nature of the character, on the other hand, gives an exhaustive description: “one of those mothers, small landowners who cry for crop failures ( it is with words about crop failure and bad times that the business conversation between Korobochka and Chichikov begins), losses and keep his head a little to one side, but meanwhile they are gaining a little money in motley bags placed in drawers of chests of drawers. All the coins are taken into one bag, fifty dollars into another, quarters into the third, although it seems as if there is nothing in the chest of drawers except linen, and night blouses, and cotton hanks, and a ripped coat, which then turns into a dress, if the old will somehow burn out during the baking of holiday cakes with all sorts of spinners, or it will wear out by itself. But the dress will not burn and will not be worn out by itself; thrifty old woman ... ". Korobochka is exactly like that, 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 methods of characterization that Gogol uses in Dead Souls: the image of all landowners is made up 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, before Plyushkin’s offer of Easter cake and wine), the manners and behavior of the owner 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 hostess. The courtyard, on which the windows of the room look out, is filled with birds and "every domestic creature"; further on, vegetable gardens with “household vegetables” are visible; fruit trees are covered with nets from birds, stuffed animals on poles are also visible - “one of them was wearing the cap of the hostess herself”. Peasant huts also show the prosperity of their inhabitants. In a word, Korobochka's economy is clearly prosperous and brings 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 scarce, 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 further narration - the mention of the external villa of the house: “stopped<бричка>in front of a small house, which was difficult to see through the darkness. Only one half of it was illuminated by the light coming from the windows; there was still a puddle in front of the house, which was directly hit by the same light. Chichikova also encounters the barking of dogs, which indicates that "the village was decent." The windows of the house are a kind of eyes, and the eyes, as you know, are the mirror of the soul. Therefore, the fact that Chichikov drives up to the house in the dark, only one window is lit and the light from it falls into a puddle, most likely speaks of the scarcity of inner life, of focusing on one side of it, of the earthiness of the 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, prudence and thrift.
IN short description rooms, first of all, the antiquity of their decoration is noted: “the room was hung with old striped wallpaper; pictures with some birds; between the windows there are small antique mirrors with dark frames in the form of curled leaves; behind every mirror there was either a letter, or an old pack of cards, or a stocking; wall clock with painted flowers on the dial…”. In this description, two features are clearly distinguished - linguistic and artistic. First, the synonyms "old", "old" and "old" are used; secondly, the set of objects that catch Chichikov's eye during a brief inspection also indicates that the people living in such rooms are more turned to the past than to the present. It is important that flowers are mentioned here several times (on the clock face, leaves on the frames of the mirrors) and birds. If we recall the history of the interior, we can find out that such a “design” is typical of the Rococo era, i.e. for the second half of the 18th century.
Further in the episode, the description of the room is supplemented by one more detail that confirms the “old age” of Korobochka’s life: Chichikov discovers two portraits on the wall in the morning - Kutuzov and “some old man with red cuffs on his uniform, as they sewed under Pavel Petrovich
In a conversation about the purchase of "dead" souls, the whole essence and character of the Box is revealed. At first, she cannot understand what Chichikov wants from her - the dead peasants have no economic value, therefore they cannot be sold. When she realizes that the deal can be beneficial for her, then bewilderment is replaced by 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 business is new and unknown to her. The desire not to sell too cheap works: “I began to be very afraid that this bidder would somehow cheat on her”, “I am afraid at first, so as not to somehow incur a loss. Maybe you, my father, are deceiving me, but they… they are somehow worth more”, “I’ll wait a little, maybe merchants will come in large numbers, but I’ll apply to prices”, “somehow they will be needed on the farm in case ...”. With her obstinacy, she infuriates Chichikov, who was counting on an easy consent. This is where the epithet arises, which expresses the essence of not only Korobochka, but the whole type of such people - “club-headed”. The author explains that neither the rank nor the position in society are the cause of such a property, “clubhead” is a very common phenomenon: “a different and respectable, and even statesman man. but in fact it turns out a perfect box. As soon as you hack something into a baby's head, you can't overpower him with anything; no matter how many arguments you present to him, clear as day, everything bounces off him, like a rubber ball bounces off a wall.
Korobochka agrees when Chichikov offers her another deal that is understandable to her - government contracts, that is, a state supply order, which was well paid and was beneficial for the landowner with its stability.
The author ends the auction episode with a generalized discussion about the prevalence of this type of people: “Does Korobochka really stand so low on the endless ladder of human perfection? How great is the abyss that separates her from her sister, inaccessibly fenced by the walls of an aristocratic house with fragrant cast-iron stairs, shining copper, mahogany and carpets, yawning over an unfinished book in anticipation of a witty secular visit, where she will have a field to show off her mind and express her outspoken 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 due to ignorance of economic affairs, but about what political upheaval is being prepared in France, what direction fashionable Catholicism has taken ". A comparison of the economic, thrifty and practical Korobochka with a worthless secular lady makes one wonder what is the "sin" of the Korobochka, is it only her "clubhead"?
Thus, we have several grounds for determining the meaning of the image of the Box - an indication of its "club-headedness", i.e. stuck on one thought, inability and inability to consider the situation from different angles, limited thinking; comparison with the habitually confirmed life of a secular lady; the clear dominance of the past in everything related to the cultural components of human life, embodied in fashion, interior design, speech and etiquette in relation to other people.
Is it a coincidence that Chichikov gets to Korobochka after wandering along a dirty and dark road, at night, during the rain? It can be assumed that these details metaphorically reflect the nature of the image - the lack of spirituality (darkness, rare reflections of light from the window) and aimlessness - in spiritual and moral terms - of its existence (a confusing road, by the way, the girl who escorts Chichikov to the main road confuses right and left). Then the logical answer to the question about the "sin" of the landowner will be the absence of the life of the soul, the existence of which has collapsed to one point - the distant past, when the dead husband was still alive, who loved to scratch his heels before going to bed. The clock that hardly strikes the appointed hour, the flies that wake Chichikov in the morning, the intricacies of the roads to the estate, the absence of external contacts with the world - all this confirms our point of view.
Thus, the Box embodies such a state of mind in which life collapses 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 it, therefore, to be reborn, i.e. unfold life to the fullness of being, she is not destined.
The reason for this lies in the initially unspiritual life of a woman in Russia, in her traditional position, but not social, but psychological. Comparison with a secular lady and details that speak of how Korobochka spends " free time”(fortune-telling on cards, household chores) reflect the absence of any intellectual, cultural, spiritual life. Further in the poem, the reader will meet with an explanation of the reasons for this state of a woman and her soul in Chichikov’s monologue after meeting with a beautiful stranger, when the hero discusses what happens to a pure and simple girl and how “rubbish” turns out of her.
The “clubhead” of Korobochka also gets the exact meaning: it is not excessive practicality or commercialism, but the limitedness of the mind, which is determined by a single thought or belief and is a consequence of the general limitedness of life. And it is the “club-headed” Korobochka, who never left the thought of a possible deception on the part of Chichikov and who comes to the city to ask “how much the dead souls are now”, 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 Nozdrev? As mentioned earlier, the sequence of images of landowners is built along two lines. The first one is descending: the degree of “sin” in each subsequent case is becoming more and more difficult, the responsibility for the state of the soul increasingly lies with the person himself. The second is ascending: how possible is it for the character to resurrect life and “resurrect” the soul?
Manilov lives quite “openly - he appears in the city, attends evenings and meetings, communicates, but his life is like a sentimental novel, which means it is illusory: he is very similar in appearance, reasoning, and attitude towards people to the hero of sentimental and romantic works, trendy in early XIX century. One can guess about his past - a good education, short public service, retirement, marriage and life with the 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 the way it should. If we draw a parallel with Dante's Divine Comedy, then it is more like sinners of the first circle, whose sin is that they are unbaptized babies or pagans. But the possibility of rebirth is also 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 fantasies, then she is in the prose of life, and intellectual, spiritual life is reduced to habitual prayers and the same habitual piety. The fixation on the material, on the benefit, 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 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” no longer evokes laughter, but sad reflections: “But why, among unthinking, cheerful, carefree minutes, another wonderful stream will suddenly rush by itself: laughter has not yet had time to completely escape from her face, but has already become different among those same people, and already a different light lit up the face ... "
A further meeting with Nozdryov - a swindler, a brawler and a rogue - shows that dishonor, a readiness to do nasty things to one's neighbor, sometimes for no reason at all, and excessive activity that has no purpose can be worse than the one-sidedness of life. In this regard, Nozdrev is a kind of antipode of Korobochka: instead of the one-sidedness of life - excessive dispersion, instead of servility - contempt for any conventions, up to the violation of elementary norms of human relations and behavior. Gogol himself said: "... One after another, my heroes follow one more vulgar than the other." Vulgarity is a spiritual fall, and the degree of vulgarity in life is the degree of the triumph of death over life in the human soul.
So, the image of Korobochka reflects a common, from the point of view of the author, 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 economy. The box achieves in this area a sufficient level for a woman, a widow, who has to manage a decent-sized estate. But her life is so concentrated on this that she has no other interests and cannot have any. That's why real life it remains in the past, and the present, and even more so the future, is not life. but only existence.
§3. Artistic detail as a means of characterization
In addition to the above artistic details, in the episode there are indications of objects that are also important for understanding the image of the Box.
An important detail is the clock: “... the wall clock came to beat. The hissing was immediately followed by wheezing, and finally, straining with all their strength, they struck two hours with such a sound, as if someone were pounding a broken pot with a stick, after which the pendulum went again calmly clicking right and left. Watches are always a symbol of time and the future. Inhibition, again a certain old age of hours (and hence time) in Korobochka's house, emphasizes the same inhibition of life.
In addition to the clock, time is also represented in Korobochka's speech. She does not use calendar dates to designate dates, but is guided by church folk holidays (Christmas time, Philip's fast), characteristic of folk speech. This testifies not so much to the closeness of the landowner's way of life to the folk, but to her lack of education.
Two are interesting artistic details that touch the parts of Box'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 a 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 series "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 courtyard 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 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 - "advantageous".
On the whole, it can be said 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, with careful, thoughtful reading, you understand that those characters that Chichikov meets - officials and landowners, are connected with the hero not only storyline. Firstly, the history of Chichikov himself is placed at the very end of the first volume, which means that he must also obey the laws of the construction of the poem - ascending and descending lines. Secondly, Chichikov has an amazing property - to immediately choose exactly that manner of behavior and that motivation for the offer to sell "dead" souls that are most suitable for the interlocutor. Is it only a natural skill, a property of his character? As we can see from the life story of Chichikov, this feature was inherent in him from the very beginning, almost from childhood - he always guessed the weak point of a person and the possibility of a “loophole in the soul”. In our opinion, this is due to that in the hero in a concentrated form there are all these officials and landlords, whom he deftly deceives, using them as a means to achieve personal goals. And this idea is most confirmed in the episode of the meeting with Korobochka.
Why is it in this part of the poem, when agreement with the “club-headed” landowner is reached, the author cites detailed description Chichikov's travel box, and as if the reader is looking over his shoulder and seeing something secret? After all, we meet with a description of other things of the hero already in the first chapter.
If we imagine that this box is a kind of house (each character in the poem must have 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 whole essence, then then Chichikov's casket characterizes him as a man with a double and even a triple bottom.
The first tier is what everyone sees: a smart interlocutor who can support desired topic, a respectable person, at the same time businesslike and able to spend time in a diverse and decent way. The same is in the box - in the upper drawer, which is removed, “in the very middle there is a soap dish, behind the soap dish there 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 pens, sealing wax, and everything that is more authentic; then all sorts of partitions with lids and without lids for what is shorter, filled with business, funeral, theater and other tickets, which were folded as a keepsake.
The second layer of Chichikov's personality is a businessman, prudent and dexterous buyer of "dead souls". And in the box - "there was a space occupied by piles of papers in a sheet."
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 of money and what this money gives in life - well-being, honor, respect: “then followed a hidden a money box that slides out discreetly from the side of the box. He was always so hastily advanced and moved at the same moment by the owner that it is probably impossible to say how much money was there. Here it is, the true essence of the hero - profit, income, on which his future depends.
The fact that this description is located precisely in the chapter devoted to Korobochka emphasizes an important idea: Chichikov is also a little Korobochka, as, indeed, are Manilov, and Nozdrev, 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 that person.
Conclusion
The image of the Box 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 behavior of the character. An important characteristic is also the character's reaction to Chichikov's proposal to sell the "dead" souls. The character's behavior reveals the true human essence, because the opportunity to make a profit without spending almost anything is important for landlords.
The box appears to the reader as a limited, stupid old woman whose interests concern only the economy and making a profit. There is nothing in it 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 sell too cheap, although the subject of bargaining is unusual and even at first frightens and perplexes her. But the reason for this is for the most part the very system of education 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 Russia contemporary to Gogol.
List of used literature
1. Gogol N.V. Collected Works in eight volumes. - (Library "Spark": domestic classics) – T.5. "Dead Souls". Volume one. - M., 1984.
2. Kirsanova R.M. Suit in Russian artistic culture 18 - the first half of the 20 centuries: Encyclopedia experience / Ed. T.G. Morozova, V.D. Sinyukova. - M., 1995. - P.115
3. Razumikhin A. "Dead Souls" Experience of modern reading//Literature (Appendix to "The First of September"). - No. 13 (532). – April 1-7, 2004.
See Kirsanova R.M. Costume in Russian artistic culture of the 18th - first half of the 20th centuries: Experience of the encyclopedia / Ed. T.G. Morozova, V.D. Sinyukova. - M., 1995. - P.115
Motley - fabric from the remnants of yarn of various kinds, homespun cloth (Kirsanova)
Salop - outerwear made of fur and rich fabrics, out of fashion by 1830; the name "salopnitsa" has an additional connotation of "old-fashioned" (Kirsanova). Apparently, for this purpose, Gogol mentions the coat as an indispensable attribute of such landowners.
Pryazhetsy - a filling that was laid out directly on a baking cake or pancake, in a different way, baked.
