Dead Souls: A Poem [Paperback]

Documentation that Gogol was working on Dead Souls comes in a letter to Pushkin, whom Gogol greatly admired, dated 7 October 1836. In this letter, Gogol informs Pushkin that, "I have begun to write Dead Souls. The plot has stretched out into a very long novel, and it will, I think, be extremely amusing. But now I've stopped it on the third chapter. I'm hunting for a good slanderer with whom one can become intimate. I want to show all Russia--at least from one side--in this novel." This is the first indication that Gogol was involved with something longer than his usual short stories, or as is the case with Taras Bulba, a novella.

Only the first part of Dead Souls was actually completed by Gogol. The second part (some chapters of which are published with the first) is a recreation of what Gogol might have done with the continuation of his work; he actually burned the second part only nine days before his death.

Dead Souls was originally published as The Adventures of Chichikov since religious censors at the time objected to the phrase "dead souls" as being theologically contradictory.

As Dead Souls opens, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov is traveling through the Russian countryside on business. He is, however, my no means, an idle wanderer.

The situation from which Dead Souls develops is based upon a scheme which was theoretically possible in the Russia of Gogol's time. The government had a policy of loaning money to landowners, however, lands owned were measured, not in acres, or hectares, but by the number of "souls," i.e., serfs, residing on them. The government would accept the serfs as collateral for a loan to the owner.

An individual possessed the number of "souls" recorded in the most recent census, with a new census being taken every ten years. In Dead Souls, Chichikov schemes to buy from the serf holders a number of "dead souls" who had, indeed, died, but were still counted as living until the next census. Once Chichikov had enough of these souls, he intended to apply for a loan and buy an actual country estate.

Chichikov's business dealings with the landowners, like every facet of the novel, serves as a measuring stick for his own observations of Russian life. No two business dealings are alike, however. One of Gogol's greatest artistic achievements is that a recurring topic or theme never becomes predictable or boring. Each business transaction is different and impossible to predict: with the character Manilov, it is easy; with Sobakievich, it is tough going; with Nozdryov, the quintessential Russian peasant, impossible.

Dead Souls is told by a narrator who is at times omniscient and at other times, not. The overall tone of the book is one of both humor and irony, although Gogol does become increasingly melancholic and lyrical near the end.

While the narrator outwardly shows the characters and their actions great respect, he still manages to illustrate their folly, their coarseness and, at times, their ugliness.

Gogol also revealed much about the characters in their names. This may or may not be apparent to the reader, depending on which translation he is reading, but the book can be enjoyed without knowing the irony behind Gogol's play on names.

A continuing leitmotif in Dead Souls is that of marriage. We see in the various landowners their attitudes towards marriage and family life, none of which is particularly complimentary, although it is, at times, hilariously funny. Even Chichikov, himself, is a contented middle-aged bachelor. "What makes women so repulsive?" he, at one point, asks the world at large. Yet, even this contented bachelor, as we soon see, is not immune to the charms of a pretty face.

Gogol introduces five landowners in the novel's first seven chapters, then moves away from the countryside back to town where Chichikov now plans to register the "deeds" he has purchased. His descriptions in this part of the novel are reminiscent of the situations and characters in The Overcoat and The Inspector General.

An unexpected, but logical twist, occurs at the end of volume one in Chichikov's wild troika ride, with bells tinkling, signifying the glorification of Russia's own fast ride in history.

Dead Souls is the epitome of what Gogol did best. It introduces a multitude of characters, varied settings, multitudinous detail and a scope grand enough to allow this amazing and very funny writer to elaborate on the very heart of Russian life to his own soul's content.