The names of officials from dead souls. Images of officials in the poem “Dead Souls”
Gogol, a contemporary of Pushkin, created his works in the historical conditions that developed in our country after the unsuccessful speech of the Decembrists in 1825. Thanks to the new socio-political situation, figures of literature and social thought were faced with tasks that were deeply reflected in the work of Nikolai Vasilyevich. Developing the principles in his work, this author became one of the most significant representatives of this trend in Russian literature. According to Belinsky, it was Gogol who for the first time managed to look directly and boldly at Russian reality.
In this article we will describe the image of officials in the poem "Dead Souls".
Collective image of officials
In Nikolai Vasilyevich’s notes relating to the first volume of the novel, there is the following remark: “The dead insensibility of life.” This, according to the author, is the collective image of officials in the poem. It should be noted the difference in the image of them and the landowners. The landowners in the work are individualized, but the officials, on the contrary, are impersonal. It is possible to create only a collective portrait of them, from which the postmaster, police chief, prosecutor and governor stand out slightly.
Names and surnames of officials
It should be noted that all the individuals who make up the collective image of officials in the poem “Dead Souls” do not have surnames, and their names are often named in grotesque and comic contexts, sometimes duplicated (Ivan Antonovich, Ivan Andreevich). Of these, some come to the fore only for a short time, after which they disappear in the crowd of others. The subject of Gogol's satire was not positions and personalities, but social vices, the social environment, which is the main object of depiction in the poem.
It should be noted the grotesque beginning in the image of Ivan Antonovich, his comic, rude nickname (Pitcher Snout), which simultaneously refers to the world of animals and inanimate things. The department is ironically described as a “temple of Themis.” This place is important for Gogol. The department is often depicted in St. Petersburg stories, in which it appears as an anti-world, a kind of hell in miniature.
The most important episodes in the depiction of officials
The image of officials in the poem “Dead Souls” can be traced through the following episodes. This is primarily the governor's "house party" described in the first chapter; then - a ball at the governor's (chapter eight), as well as breakfast at the police chief's (tenth). In general, in chapters 7-10, it is bureaucracy as a psychological and social phenomenon that comes to the fore.
Traditional motives in the depiction of officials
You can find many traditional motifs characteristic of Russian satirical comedies in the “bureaucratic” plots of Nikolai Vasilyevich. These techniques and motives go back to Griboyedov and Fonvizin. The officials of the provincial city are also very reminiscent of their “colleagues” from Abuse, arbitrariness, and inactivity. Bribery, veneration, bureaucracy are social evils that are traditionally ridiculed. It is enough to recall the story with a “significant person” described in “The Overcoat”, the fear of the auditor and the desire to bribe him in the work of the same name, and the bribe that is given to Ivan Antonovich in the 7th chapter of the poem “Dead Souls”. Very characteristic are the images of the police chief, the “philanthropist” and the “father” who visited the guest courtyard and shops as if they were his own storeroom; the chairman of the civil chamber, who not only exempted his friends from bribes, but also from the need to pay fees for processing documents; Ivan Antonovich, who did nothing without “gratitude.”
Compositional structure of the poem
The poem itself is based on the adventures of an official (Chichikov) who buys up dead souls. This image is impersonal: the author practically does not talk about Chichikov himself.
The 1st volume of the work, as conceived by Gogol, shows various negative aspects of the life of Russia at that time - both bureaucratic and landowner. The entire provincial society is part of the “dead world”.
The exposition is given in the first chapter, in which a portrait of one provincial city is drawn. There is desolation, disorder, and dirt everywhere, which emphasizes the indifference of local authorities to the needs of residents. Then, after Chichikov visited the landowners, chapters 7 to 10 describe a collective portrait of the bureaucracy of the Russia of that time. In several episodes, various images of officials are given in the poem "Dead Souls". Through the chapters you can see how the author characterizes this social class.
What do officials have in common with landowners?
However, the worst thing is that such officials are no exception. These are typical representatives of the bureaucracy system in Russia. Corruption and bureaucracy reign in their midst.
Registration of a bill of sale
Together with Chichikov, who has returned to the city, we are transported to the court chamber, where this hero will have to draw up a bill of sale (Chapter 7). The characterization of the images of officials in the poem “Dead Souls” is given in this episode in very detail. Gogol ironically uses a high symbol - a temple in which the “priests of Themis” serve, impartial and incorruptible. However, what is most striking is the desolation and dirt in this “temple”. Themis's "unattractive appearance" is explained by the fact that she receives visitors in a simple way, "in a dressing gown."
However, this simplicity actually turns into outright disregard for the laws. No one is going to take care of business, and the “priests of Themis” (officials) only care about how to take tribute, that is, bribes, from visitors. And they are really successful at it.
There is a lot of paperwork and fuss all around, but all this serves only one purpose - to confuse the applicants, so that they cannot do without help, kindly provided for a fee, of course. Chichikov, this rascal and expert in behind-the-scenes affairs, nevertheless had to use it to get into the presence.
He gained access to the necessary person only after he openly offered a bribe to Ivan Antonovich. We understand how much of an institutionalized phenomenon it has become in the life of Russian bureaucrats when the main character finally gets to the chairman of the chamber, who accepts him as his old acquaintance.
Conversation with the Chairman
The heroes, after polite phrases, get down to business, and here the chairman says that his friends “shouldn’t pay.” A bribe here, it turns out, is so obligatory that only close friends of officials can do without it.
Another remarkable detail from the life of city officials is revealed in a conversation with the chairman. Very interesting in this episode is the analysis of the image of an official in the poem “Dead Souls”. It turns out that even for such an unusual activity, which was described in the judicial chamber, not all representatives of this class consider it necessary to go to service. Like an “idle man,” the prosecutor sits at home. All cases are decided for him by a lawyer, who in the work is called “the first grabber.”
Governor's Ball
In the scene described by Gogol in (Chapter 8) we see a review of dead souls. Gossip and balls become a form of miserable mental and social life for people. The image of officials in the poem "Dead Souls", a brief description of which we are compiling, can be supplemented in this episode with the following details. At the level of discussing fashionable styles and colors of materials, officials have ideas about beauty, and respectability is determined by the way a person ties a tie and blows his nose. There is not and cannot be real culture or morality here, since norms of behavior depend entirely on ideas about how things should be. This is why Chichikov is initially received so warmly: he knows how to sensitively respond to the needs of this public.
This is, in brief, the image of officials in the poem “Dead Souls”. We did not describe the brief content of the work itself. We hope you remember him. The characteristics presented by us can be supplemented based on the content of the poem. The topic “The image of officials in the poem “Dead Souls”” is very interesting. Quotes from the work, which can be found in the text by referring to the chapters we indicated, will help you supplement this characteristic.
In “Dead Souls” the theme of serfdom is intertwined with the theme of bureaucracy, bureaucratic arbitrariness and lawlessness. The guardians of order in the poem are in many ways related to the landowners. Gogol draws the attention of readers to this already in the first chapter of Dead Souls. Talking about thin and fat gentlemen, the author of the poem comes to the conclusion: “Finally, the fat man, having served God and the sovereign, having earned universal respect, leaves the service... and becomes a landowner, a glorious Russian gentleman, a hospitable man, and lives and lives well...” This is evil satire on robber officials
And at the “hospitable” Russian bar.
Both the owners of the estates and the provincial officials are at the lowest level of culture and education. Manilov, as we remember, has had the same book open on page fourteen for two years now. The officials “were also more or less enlightened people: some read Karamzin, some Moskovskie Vedomosti, some didn’t even read anything at all.”
Landowners and officials do not burden themselves with concerns about state affairs. The concept of civic duty is alien to both. Both of them live idly.
In the notes to the first volume of Dead Souls, Gogol wrote: “The idea of the city. Emptiness that has arisen to the highest degree. Idle talk. Gossip that has gone beyond limits... All this arose from idleness and took on the expression of the most ridiculous..."
When registering the purchase of serfs, witnesses were required. “Send now to the prosecutor,” says Sobakevich, “he is an idle man and probably sits at home: the lawyer Zolotukha, the greatest grabber in the world, does everything for him. An inspector of the medical board, he is also an idle man and, probably, at home, if he has not gone somewhere to play cards ... "
In the society of officials, “meanness, completely disinterested, pure meanness” flourishes. The ladies quarrel, and their husbands quarrel: “Of course, there was no duel between them, because they were all civil officials, but one tried to harm the other wherever possible, which, as we know, is sometimes harder than any duel.”
The city’s leaders are unanimous only in their desire to live widely at the expense of “the sums of their dearly beloved fatherland.” Officials rob both the state and the petitioners. Embezzlement, bribery, robbery of the population are everyday and completely natural phenomena. The police chief “only has to blink when passing a fish row or a cellar” for balychki and excellent wines to appear on his table. No request is considered without a bribe. The chairman of the chamber warns Chichikov: “...don’t give anything to the officials... My friends shouldn’t pay.” The only exception is for friends (but Chichikov still, just in case, did not break the unwritten law and gave a bribe to Ivan Antonovich).
The police keep the city in constant fear. When society began to talk about a possible revolt of Chichikov’s men, the police chief noted that “in the disgust of it (the rebellion) there is the power of the police captain, that the police captain, although he did not go himself, but only sent his own cap to take his place, but one cap will drive the peasants to their very place of residence.”
There is no significant difference in the actions and views of officials, in their way of life. Gogol creates, as it were, a group portrait of people connected by mutual responsibility.
When Chichikov’s scam was revealed, the officials were confused, and everyone “suddenly found ... sins in themselves.” Hence their indecision: is Chichikov the kind of person “who needs to be detained and captured as ill-intentioned, or is he the kind of person who can himself seize and detain them all as ill-intentioned.” The tragic situation in which the “owners of the city” found themselves was created as a result of their criminal activities. Gogol laughs, laughs evilly and mercilessly. People in power help the fraudster in his dirty, criminal machinations and are afraid of him.
Arbitrariness and lawlessness are committed not only by the authorities of the provincial city, but also by senior officials and the government itself. With “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin,” Gogol also touched on this very dangerous topic.
The hero and invalid of the Patriotic War of 1812, Captain Kopeikin, goes to the capital to ask for help. He is struck by the luxury of St. Petersburg, the splendor of the chambers and the cold indifference of the dignitary to the estate of a disabled person. The captain's persistent, legitimate requests for help were unsuccessful. The angry nobleman expelled him from St. Petersburg.
With the image of a soulless dignitary depicted in “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin,” Gogol completes his characterization of the world of officials. All of them, starting from Ivan Antonovich “jug snout”, a minor official of a provincial town, and ending with a nobleman, reveal the same pattern: swindlers, soulless people are guarding the rule of law.
The ending of “The Tale…” is significant. Captain Kopeikin did not accept cruelty and insult. “A gang of robbers appeared in the Ryazan forests, and the ataman of this gang, my sir, was none other...”, like Captain Kopeikin.
With “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin,” Gogol reminded dignitaries of the anger of the oppressed people, of the possibility of open action against the authorities.
“Oh,” you say, after reading about the life of the city of NN, “don’t we ourselves know that there is a lot of despicable and stupid things in life! Why is the author showing us this again?” However, I think Gogol wanted to show this “despicable and stupid” not with the aim of irritating the reader. He wanted to correct a person, make life better. And he believed that only by reflecting, as in a mirror, all social and human vices can one fight them. I believe that the brilliant poem “Dead Souls” is the best confirmation of this.
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Collection of essays: Officials of the city of NN in N. V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”
The theme of bureaucracy, bureaucratic arbitrariness and lawlessness runs through the entire work of N.V. Gogol. Images of officials are found in the romantic stories “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, in the realistic works of “Mirgorod” and stories about St. Petersburg. The comedy "The Inspector General" is dedicated to bureaucracy.
In “Dead Souls” this theme is intertwined with the theme of serfdom. The guardians of order are in many ways related to the landowners. Gogol draws the attention of readers to this already in the first chapter of the work. Talking about thin and fat gentlemen, the author of the poem comes to the conclusion: “Finally the fat one, having served God and to the sovereign, having earned universal respect, he leaves his service... and becomes a landowner, a glorious Russian gentleman, a hospitable man, and lives and lives well...” The work gives an evil satire on robber officials and on the “hospitable” Russian bar.
So, the officials in the poem are shown satirically. For the author, they, like the landowners, are “dead souls.” The symbolic meaning of the title of the work also applies to officials. Talking about them, Gogol skillfully reflects the individual qualities of the governor, prosecutor, postmaster and others and at the same time creates a collective image of the bureaucracy.
While still in the city, before his trip to the noble estates, Chichikov pays visits to city officials. This allows the author to introduce officials to the reader and draw their expressive portraits. Here is one of them - a portrait of the governor: like Chichikov, he “was neither fat nor thin, had Anna on his neck, and it was even rumored that he had been introduced to a star; however, he was a great good-natured man and even sometimes embroidered on tulle himself...” Gogol combines “high” and “low” in his characterization: “star” and embroidery. It turns out that the governor was nominated for an award not for services to the Fatherland, but for his ability to embroider. With the help of subtle irony, the author exposes the idleness of one of the most important persons in the city.
Gogol uses the same technique of inconsistency when describing the postmaster, “a short man, but a wit and a philosopher.” The author deliberately violates logic: he combines the incompatible in the characterization of the hero. After all, “short” is a distinctive feature of a person’s appearance, and “philosopher” is an assessment of his mental abilities The adversative conjunction “but” in this phrase enhances the alogism: despite his short stature, the hero is a philosopher. Words in strange proximity take on a different meaning. The word “low” no longer denotes an external appearance, but refers to the inner life of a person. It is in this way that Gogol exposes the low demands of an official. The postmaster, it turns out, has only one strong passion in life. This is not service, but playing cards. Only at the playing table, a “grandiose” mental principle in the character is manifested: “... having taken the cards in his hands, he immediately expressed a thinking physiognomy on his face, covered his upper lip with his lower lip and maintained this position throughout the entire game.”
By visiting important persons of the city with Chichikov, the reader is convinced that they do not burden themselves with concerns about state affairs. Officials live idly, devoting all their time to dinner parties and playing cards. For example, Chichikov went “...to lunch with the police chief, where from three o’clock in the afternoon they sat down to whist and played until two o’clock in the morning.” When registering the purchase of serfs, witnesses were required. “Send now to the prosecutor,” says Sobakevich, “he is a man he’s idle and probably sits at home: the solicitor does everything for him.”
With irony, bordering on sarcasm, the author shows the level of culture and education of provincial officials. They were “... more or less enlightened people: some read Karamzin, some Moskovskie Vedomosti, some even read nothing at all.” The topic of conversation at social events is a clear indication of the spiritual poverty and narrow outlook of civil servants. They talk about horses, dogs, talk about playing billiards and “making hot wine.” Often at parties they gossip about the tricks of judges and “customs overseers and officials.”
In the society of officials, “meanness, completely disinterested, pure meanness” flourishes. Ladies quarrel, and their husbands quarrel. “There was no duel, of course, between them, because they were all civil officials, but on the other hand, each tried to harm the other wherever possible, which, as we know, is sometimes more difficult than any duel.”
Gogol shows the immorality of officials even through the description of the public places where they serve. “On the square there is a large three-story stone house, all white as chalk...” The author ironically explains: “... white as chalk, probably to depict the purity of the souls of the positions housed in it.” These “pure souls” want only one thing: to live widely at the expense of “the sums of their dearly beloved fatherland.”
Officials rob both the state and the petitioners. Embezzlement, bribery, robbery of the population are everyday and completely natural phenomena. The police chief “only has to blink when passing a fish row or a cellar,” as balyks and excellent wines appear on his table. Not a single request is considered without a bribe. The chairman of the chamber warns Chichikov: “... you don’t give anything to the officials... My friends should not to pay". Monstrous immorality is revealed in these words of a high-ranking official. He calls everything by its proper name, without even trying to hide his general corruption. All officials use their official position for personal interests. In bureaucratic Russia this has become an unwritten law.
There is no significant difference in the actions and views of officials, in their way of life. Gogol creates a group portrait of people connected by mutual responsibility. When Chichikov’s scam was revealed, the officials were confused and everyone “suddenly found ... sins in themselves.” Hence their indecision: is Chichikov the kind of person “who needs to be detained and captured as ill-intentioned, or is he the kind of person who can seize and detain them all himself?” as ill-intentioned." The tragicomic situation in which the “owners of the city” found themselves was created as a result of their criminal activities.
Gogol angrily and mercilessly ridicules officials. He cannot tolerate arbitrariness and lawlessness. By showing people in power as crooks, the author makes the reader horrified and think about true human destiny.
Characteristics of all officials in "Dead Souls"
- The theme of bureaucracy, bureaucratic arbitrariness and lawlessness runs through the entire work of N.V. Gogol.
In Dead Souls this theme is intertwined with the theme of serfdom. The guardians of order are in many ways akin to the landowners. The work provides a vicious satire on robber officials and hospitable Russians.So, the officials in the poem are shown satirically. For the author, like the landowners, they are dead souls. The symbolic meaning of the title of the work also applies to officials. Talking about them, Gogol skillfully displays the individual qualities of the governor, prosecutor, postmaster and others and at the same time creates a collective image of the bureaucracy.
While still in the city, before his trip to the noble estates, Chichikov pays visits to city officials. This allows the author to introduce officials to the reader and draw their expressive portraits.Here is one of them, a portrait of the governor: like Chichikov, he was neither fat nor thin, had Anna around his neck, and it was even rumored that he was presented to a star; however, he was a great good-natured person and even sometimes embroidered on tulle himself. Gogol combines the high and low in his characterization: the star and embroidery. It turns out that the governor was nominated for an award not for services to the Fatherland, but for his ability to embroider. With the help of subtle irony, the author exposes the idleness of one of the most important persons in the city.
Gogol uses the same technique of inconsistency when describing the postmaster, a short man, but a wit and a philosopher. The author deliberately violates logic: he connects the incompatible in the characterization of the hero. After all, being short is a distinctive feature of a person’s appearance, and being a philosopher is an assessment of his mental abilities. The postmaster, it turns out, has only one strong passion in his life. This is not a service, but a game of cards. Only at the playing table does the grandiose mental principle in the character manifest itself: having taken the cards in his hands, he immediately expressed a thinking physiognomy on his face, covered his upper lip with his lower lip and maintained this position throughout the entire game.
By visiting important persons of the city with Chichikov, the reader is convinced that they do not burden themselves with concerns about state affairs. Officials live idly, devoting all their time to dinner parties and playing cards. For example, Chichikov went to lunch with the police chief, where from three o’clock in the afternoon they started playing whist and played until two in the morning. When registering the purchase of serfs, witnesses were required. Send now to the prosecutor,” says Sobakevich, “he is an idle man and probably sits at home: the solicitor does everything for him.”With irony, bordering on sarcasm, the author shows the level of culture and education of provincial officials. They were more or less enlightened people: some read Karamzin, some Moskovskiye Vedomosti, some didn’t even read anything at all. The topic of conversation at social events is clear evidence of the spiritual poverty and narrow outlook of civil servants. They talk about horses and dogs, talk about playing billiards and making hot wine. Often at parties they gossip about the tricks of judges and customs guards and officials.
In the society of officials, meanness flourishes, completely disinterested, pure meanness. Ladies quarrel, and their husbands quarrel. Of course, there was no duel between them, because they were all civil officials, but one tried to harm the other wherever possible, which, as we know, is sometimes more difficult than any duel.
Gogol shows the immorality of officials even through the description of the public places where they serve. On the square there is a large three-story stone house, all white, like chalk. The author ironically explains: white, like chalk, probably to depict the purity of the souls of the positions located in it. These pure souls want only one thing: to live widely at the expense of the sums of their dearly beloved fatherland.http://www. Velib. com/text_sochin.php?id=1414
Relevance of images
In the artistic space of one of Gogol's most famous works, landowners and people in power are connected with each other. Lies, bribery and the desire for profit characterize each of the images of officials in Dead Souls. It’s amazing with what ease and ease the author draws essentially disgusting portraits, and so masterfully that you don’t doubt for a minute the authenticity of each character. Using the example of officials in the poem “Dead Souls,” the most pressing problems of the Russian Empire of the mid-19th century were shown. In addition to serfdom, which hampered natural progress, the real problem was the extensive bureaucratic apparatus, for the maintenance of which huge sums were allocated. People in whose hands power was concentrated worked only to accumulate their own capital and improve their well-being, robbing both the treasury and ordinary people. Many writers of that time addressed the topic of exposing officials: Gogol, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Dostoevsky.
Officials in "Dead Souls"
In “Dead Souls” there are no separately described images of civil servants, but nevertheless, the life and characters are shown very accurately. Images of city N officials appear from the first pages of the work. Chichikov, who decided to pay a visit to each of the powerful, gradually introduces the reader to the governor, vice-governor, prosecutor, chairman of the chamber, police chief, postmaster and many others. Chichikov flattered everyone, as a result of which he managed to win over every important person, and all this is shown as a matter of course. In the bureaucratic world, pomp reigned, bordering on vulgarity, inappropriate pathos and farce. Thus, during a regular dinner, the governor’s house was lit up as if for a ball, the decoration was blinding, and the ladies were dressed in their best dresses.
The officials in the provincial town were of two types: the first were subtle and followed the ladies everywhere, trying to charm them with bad French and greasy compliments. Officials of the second type, according to the author, resembled Chichikov himself: neither fat nor thin, with round pockmarked faces and slicked hair, they looked sideways, trying to find an interesting or profitable business for themselves. At the same time, everyone tried to harm each other, to do some kind of meanness, usually this happened because of the ladies, but no one was going to fight over such trifles. But at dinners they pretended that nothing was happening, discussed Moscow News, dogs, Karamzin, delicious dishes and gossiped about officials of other departments.
When characterizing the prosecutor, Gogol combines the high and the low: “he was neither fat nor thin, had Anna on his neck, and it was even rumored that he was introduced to a star; however, he was a great good-natured man and sometimes even embroidered on tulle himself...” Note that nothing is said here about why this man received the award - the Order of St. Anne is given to “those who love truth, piety and fidelity,” and is also awarded for military merit. But no battles or special episodes where piety and loyalty were mentioned are mentioned at all. The main thing is that the prosecutor is engaged in handicrafts, and not in his official duties. Sobakevich speaks unflatteringly about the prosecutor: the prosecutor, they say, is an idle person, so he sits at home, and the lawyer, a well-known grabber, works for him. There is nothing to talk about here - what kind of order can there be if a person who does not understand the issue at all is trying to solve it while an authorized person is embroidering on tulle.
A similar technique is used to describe the postmaster, a serious and silent man, short, but witty and philosopher. Only in this case, various qualitative characteristics are combined into one row: “short”, “but a philosopher”. That is, here growth becomes an allegory for the mental abilities of this person.
The reaction to worries and reforms is also shown very ironically: from new appointments and the number of papers, civil servants are losing weight (“And the chairman lost weight, and the inspector of the medical board lost weight, and the prosecutor lost weight, and some Semyon Ivanovich ... and he lost weight”), but there were and those who courageously kept themselves in their previous form. And meetings, according to Gogol, were only successful when they could go out for a treat or have lunch, but this, of course, is not the fault of the officials, but the mentality of the people.
Gogol in “Dead Souls” depicts officials only at dinners, playing whist or other card games. Only once does the reader see officials at the workplace, when Chichikov came to draw up a bill of sale for the peasants. The department unequivocally hints to Pavel Ivanovich that things will not be done without a bribe, and there is nothing to say about a quick resolution of the issue without a certain amount. This is confirmed by the police chief, who “only has to blink when passing a fish row or a cellar,” and balyks and good wines appear in his hands. No request is considered without a bribe.
Officials in “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin”
The most cruel story is about Captain Kopeikin. A disabled war veteran, in search of truth and help, travels from the Russian hinterland to the capital to ask for an audience with the Tsar himself. Kopeikin’s hopes are dashed by a terrible reality: while cities and villages are in poverty and lacking money, the capital is chic. Meetings with the king and high-ranking officials are constantly postponed. Completely desperate, Captain Kopeikin makes his way into the reception room of a high-ranking official, demanding that his question be immediately put forward for consideration, otherwise he, Kopeikin, will not leave the office. The official assures the veteran that now the assistant will take the latter to the emperor himself, and for a second the reader believes in a happy outcome - he rejoices along with Kopeikin, riding in the chaise, hopes and believes in the best. However, the story ends disappointingly: after this incident, no one met Kopeikin again. This episode is actually frightening, because human life turns out to be an insignificant trifle, the loss of which will not suffer at all to the entire system.
When Chichikov’s scam was revealed, they were in no hurry to arrest Pavel Ivanovich, because they could not understand whether he was the kind of person who needed to be detained, or the kind who would detain everyone and make them guilty. The characteristics of officials in “Dead Souls” can be the words of the author himself that these are people who sit quietly on the sidelines, accumulate capital and arrange their lives at the expense of others. Extravagance, bureaucracy, bribery, nepotism and meanness - this is what characterized the people in power in Russia in the 19th century.
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