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 as those "small landowners who complain of crop failures, losses and keep their heads a little to one side, and meanwhile collect a little bit of money in variegated bags placed on the drawers of the chest of drawers!" (or M. and Korobochka are in some way antipodes: Manilov's vulgarity is hidden behind high phases, behind reflections on the welfare of the Motherland, while Korobochka's spiritual scarcity appears in its natural form. 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 relationships with people. The main goal of her life is to strengthen her wealth, continuous hoarding. It is no coincidence that Chichikov sees traces of skillful management on the estate. the household reveals its inner insignificance. She, besides the desire to buy and benefit, has no feelings. Confirmation is the situation with the “dead souls.” Korobochka sells peasants with such efficiency, with which he sells other items of his household. For her, there is no difference between an animate and an unanimated being. In Chichikov's proposal, she is only afraid of about one thing: the prospect of missing something, not taking what can be bailed out for "dead souls." The box is not going to yield them to Chichikov on the cheap. Gogol awarded her with the epithet "clubhead.") This money is obtained from the sale of a wide variety of products. households. Korobochka understood the benefits of trade and, after much persuasion, agrees to sell such an unusual product as dead souls. The image of Korobochka's accumulator is already devoid of those “attractive” features that distinguish Manilov. And again we have a type - "one of those mothers, small landowners who ... are collecting a little money in motley bags placed on the drawers of the dressers." Korobochka's interests are entirely focused on the economy. The "strong-minded" and "club-headed" Nastasya Petrovna is afraid to sell out dead souls to Chichikov. The "silent scene" that arises in this chapter is curious. We find similar scenes in almost all the chapters showing the conclusion of Chichikov's deal with another landowner. This is a special artistic device, a kind of temporary stop of the action: it allows to show with special convexity the spiritual emptiness of Pavel Ivanovich and his interlocutors. In the finale of the third chapter, Gogol speaks of the typical character of Korobochka, the insignificance of the difference between her and another aristocratic lady. The landowner Korobochka is thrifty, “is gaining a little bit of money,” she lives secluded in her estate, like in a box, and her thriftiness eventually develops into hoarding. Limitation and stupidity complete the character of the "club-headed" landowner, who treats with distrust 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 in it: lard, bird feathers, serfs. Everything in her house is arranged in the old fashioned way. She keeps her belongings neatly and saves money by putting them in bags. Everything goes into business for her. In the same chapter, the author pays great attention to the behavior of Chichikov, 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 Korobochka is especially vividly revealed in the buying and selling scene. She is very afraid to sell too cheap and even makes an assumption, which she herself is frightened of: "What if the dead will come in handy for her herself?" ... 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 brave 35-year-old "talker, revelry, reckless driver." N. is constantly lying, bullying everyone indiscriminately; he is very reckless, ready to "screw up" his best friend without any purpose. All N.'s behavior is explained by his dominant quality: "briskness and agility of character", that is. unrestrained, bordering on unconsciousness. N. does not conceive or plan anything; he simply does not know the measure of anything. On the way to Sobakevich, in the tavern, N. intercepts Chichikov and takes him to his estate. There he quarrels to death with Chichikov: he does not agree to play cards for dead souls, and also does not want to buy a stallion of "Arab blood" and get souls in the bargain. The next morning, forgetting about all the grievances, N. persuades Chichikov to play checkers with him for dead souls. Caught up in cheating, N. orders to beat Chichikov, and only the appearance of the police captain calms him down. It was N. who almost killed Chichikov. Faced with him at the ball, N. shouts out loudly: “he sells dead souls!”, Which gives rise to a lot of the most incredible rumors. When officials call on N. to sort things out, the hero confirms all the rumors at once, without being embarrassed by their inconsistency. Later he comes to Chichikov and himself tells about all these rumors. Having instantly forgotten about the offense he had inflicted, he sincerely offers to help Chichikov take away the governor's daughter. The home environment fully reflects N.'s chaotic character. At home everything is stupid: in the middle of the dining room there are goats, there are no books and papers in the office, etc. We can say that N.'s boundless lies are the other side of Russian prowess, which N. endowed in abundance. N. is not completely empty, it is just that his unrestrained energy does not find its proper application. With N. in the poem begins a series of heroes who have retained something alive. Therefore, in the "hierarchy" of heroes, he occupies a relatively high - third - place.

Dead Souls is a classic of Russian literature, a play that the famous writer Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol conceived to display the grandiose panorama of the Russian society of officials and landowners, including all its moments, features and paradoxes. The central problem of this work is the inevitable death of the spiritual "component" of people and the flourishing of those very main representatives of the Russian estates of landowners of those times. The author depicts the internal and external appearance of a solid landowner and venality, and there is also an open ridicule of the pernicious passions of the Russian bureaucracy.

The title of the work clearly demonstrates its ambiguous meaning. "Dead souls" can be called not only dead peasants, but also other, in fact, living characters of the poem. And it is precisely such definitions as miserable, insignificant, empty and, directly, "dead" souls that N.V. himself gives them. Gogol.

Characteristics of the heroine

Nastasya Petrovna, aka Korobochka, is one of the key characters in Gogol's Dead Souls. She is endowed with the fate of a landowner who has lost her husband; is the second "saleswoman" of the peasants. Her nature is full of self-interest, in essence Nastasya Petrovna is a genuine little man who sees potential customers-buyers in every passer-by. It was Chichikov who first drew attention to the efficiency in trade and the undisguised stupidity of life in the guise of this landowner. Despite the fact that Korobochka is not only an impeccable hostess, but also a skill to benefit from everywhere, she did not find the idea of ​​buying "dead souls" strange at all. Moreover, she took the initiative to personally study the current prices for dead peasants, so as not to be too cheap and not to be left out. Korobochka's calm life is full of only concern about household chores, "small" household. But who, no matter how Korobochka, is familiar with the prices of products like honey, bacon, hemp, and all in order to resell them more profitably.

Korobochka herself knows the dead peasant souls belonging to her by heart. The deal, negotiated with Chichikov, Nastasya Petrovna agreed to conclude only after his promise to acquire her household items.

The central idea of ​​this character is to accumulate and increase your already small wealth as much as possible. Actually, that's why it is called the Box. Nastasya Petrovna has about eighty peasant souls at her disposal, and her life seems to be limited by a thin shell that delimits her small personal world from the real outside world. All the property accumulated by her, the hostess carefully protects and hides everything in bags and in dressers. And even given a fair amount of wealth and abundance in the dwelling, she remains a lover to put pressure on pity and cry over losses. To Chichikov's question about how things are progressing with neighboring landowners, mentioning both Manilov and even Sobakevich, Korobochka skillfully portrays absolute ignorance about the existence of such personalities, as if she had never heard their names.

The box is an overly superstitious representative of a landowner. By the way, she will never doubt that what was conceived on the cards after the uttered prayer will certainly come true.

The image of the heroine in the work

("Chichikov at the Korobochka", artist Alexander Agin, 1846-47)

Nastasya Petrovna can be called a primitive, “poor widow,” whose ignorance is reflected in her behavior and manner of speech.

The question arises: maybe Nastasya Petrovna is just an exceptional person, lost in the wilderness of the province?

However, the author of the poem regretfully concludes with a negative answer. “No,” says Gogol, because the squalor inherent in Korobochka, her addiction to money, her desire to cash in on whatever she has to, sheer selfishness, stupidity and ignorance are key qualities that are not unique to Korobochka, they also correspond to various layers of the ruling classes, their top.

Ultimately, N.V. Gogol writes about Korobochka as a heroine who finds herself at the lowest rung of the endless ladder of improving the human appearance, thereby emphasizing the typicality of Korobochka's image.

An elderly landowner living in the vicinity of the city of N is a colorful and recognizable character. The life goals of the widow, who manages her own estate, is to get as much money as possible in all possible ways. Therefore, the old woman sells dead souls without hesitation. The only thing that the lady cares about is whether she has made a bargain.

History of creation

For the first time the landowner Korobochka appears in the work "Dead Souls" in the third chapter. The old woman does not take center stage in the work, while the author put a lot of contempt into the resulting image.

However, with a negative attitude towards the character, Gogol recognized the household talents of the landowner:

“The collegiate registrar Korobochka, who had not read any books, except the book of hours, and even then with half a sin, having not learned any fine arts, except perhaps fortune-telling on cards, knew how, however, to fill trunks and boxes with rubles.”

The late analysis of Dead Souls, where Nastasya Korobochka appears in all its splendor, encouraged writers to build various theories. For example, he claims that Gogol's work is related to the creation of the Odyssey.

In this version, the old landowner is an analogue of the ancient Greek character Circe. The Greek woman poisoned her husband and established strict order in her own domain. The same behavior is characteristic of Nastasya Korobochka, who for all her outward stupidity is shown as a real skillful hostess. However, no confirmation of such conclusions by Bykov has been found.

First published in 1842, the work still does not lose its relevance. Based on the novel-poem, films are regularly shot, performances are staged and operas are created.

"Dead Souls"

Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka is a landowner who leads a relatively secluded life. The biography of an elderly lady is not filled with bright events. Nastasya Petrovna early married a collegiate secretary and after many years of a stable marriage became a widow. A woman runs a household located between the estates and.

In the work of Gogol, Nastasya Petrovna appears at the moment when Chichikov, the main character of the novel, goes astray and is forced to look for a place to sleep. The active Nastasya Petrovna, despite a stable income, is worried about her own financial condition, so she tries to sell a variety of products to guests.

The internal state of a woman is reflected in her appearance. The bustling landowner does not pay attention and time to her wardrobe. At the first meeting with Chichikov, the heroine does not seek to make a good impression. Doesn't waste time on clothes Box and after:

“She was dressed better than yesterday — in a dark dress and no longer wearing a sleeping cap, but there was still something tied around her neck.”

The main activity of Nastasya Petrovna is her own farm. Despite constant complaints, the landowner skillfully leads the peasants. The woman grows a variety of vegetables and fruits, the yard is full of poultry. The life of Korobochka's peasants is subject to a strict routine. People either work in the fields or sell their own hand-made goods to neighboring estates: honey, flour, meat, feathers.

A caring hostess takes care of the smallest details. In the fields of the landowner, there are stuffed animals that scare off crows, and spare carts are hidden in the sheds so that the harvest does not stop even in an emergency.

Korobochka's house, like the household, is kept in strict order. A small estate is guarded by a pack of dogs, every breakdown is immediately corrected. However, the petty Korobochka looks after both his own estate and the village. Unlike the neighbors, the landowner takes care of the peasant huts.

With such a correct and thoughtful approach to housekeeping, Nastasya Petrovna does not differ in mental abilities. An elderly woman is petty, selfish and fixated on thoughts of constant deception on the part of acquaintances and strangers. Such traits in character complicate communication with the landowner:

"... one of those mothers, small landowners who cry about crop failures, losses and keep their heads a little to one side, and meanwhile they are gaining a little money in variegated bags placed on the drawers of the dressers ..."

A woman's favorite pastime, in addition to calculating her own fortune, is fortune-telling on cards. At the same time, Korobochka believes in God and claims that she met the devil because of the cards.

After the first communication with Chichikov, the old woman worries about whether she has made too much of a bargain with the sale of dead souls. Such a thought does not leave the landowner, and she, abandoning her own affairs, goes to the city to find out how much the goods actually cost.

The questions of the old woman lead to the spread of rumors, which are overgrown with new incredible details and bring the situation to the point of absurdity.

Screen adaptations

In 1960, the 1932 theatrical production of Dead Souls was transferred to film. The film was directed by Leonid Trauberg. The artists of the Moscow Art Academic Theater named after V.I. ... The role of the Box went to the actress.

Eight years later, in 1968, director Alexander Belinsky turned to the classic plot. The film adaptation was aired as part of the Theater on the Screen project. The role of the colorful Korobochka was played by the actress Klavdiya Fadeeva.

In 1984, the series Dead Souls was released, based on the first volume of Gogol's work of the same name. The plot of the film is as close as possible to the original source. The role of the landowner was played by an actress.

In 2005, the NTV channel hosted the premiere of The Case of Dead Souls. The series also touches on the creation of the same name by Gogol, and several other works of the author. Critics did not appreciate the director's work and spoke negatively. The role of Korobochka got to the actress.

• The name of the heroine in the work of Gogol has a hidden meaning. Researchers of the writer's work argue that the character has become a kind of trap (or a box from which one cannot get out) for Chichikov.

Illustration for Gogol's book "Dead Souls"

• The main character bought 18 souls from the landowner for 15 rubles.
• Unlike the rest of the characters, the elderly landowner remembers the names of the dead peasants by heart.
• Gogol portrayed the lack of development of the heroine with the help of flies. Despite the cleanliness of the house, insects constantly fly around the characters, personifying stagnation and lack of development.
• Perhaps Korobochka suffers from a serious psychological illness. Nothing is lost in the landowner's household, not even the hissing clock and ancient unknown portraits. In psychologists, this phenomenon is called pathological hoarding.

Quotes

“My such an inexperienced widow's business! I'd better wait a little longer, maybe the merchants will come in large numbers, but I'll try on the prices. "

"By God, the product is so strange, completely unprecedented!"

“Last week my blacksmith was burned down, such a skilled blacksmith and locksmith's skill he knew.”

“Oh, so you are a buyer! What a pity, really, that I sold honey to the merchants so cheaply, but you, my father, probably bought it from me ”.

A poor landowner, "collegiate registrar" Korobochka lives quietly in her little house, and her whole life is filled only with worries about the economy. Korobochka’s narrow courtyard is full of birds and all kinds of other domestic creatures, and beyond the courtyard there are spacious vegetable gardens in which there are fruit trees “covered with nets to protect against magpies and sparrows”. Her village is “not small” and is kept in order. The box knows the prices for honey, bacon and hemp, and she knows very well when they can be sold at a better price.

The box is extremely limited. She knows how to keep forty fruit trees from sparrows, but she cannot figure out what it took
Chichikov "dead souls", especially since she sees no use in them. Chichikov rightly calls her "tough-headed" and "club-headed". Not understanding Chichikov's plans, she nevertheless understands perfectly well that it is unprofitable to pay to file for the dead, and in the end she makes a deal. Constantly complaining about crop failures and losses, Korobochka, meanwhile, is gaining a little bit of money in motley bags. In one of them she selects "rubles", in the other - "fifty rubles", in the third - "quarters" and hides them in a chest of drawers, in which, at first glance, there is nothing but linen and night jackets.
The little box is ignorant and extremely superstitious. For example, she has no doubts that "if you make a guess on the cards after prayer," then you will definitely dream of the "accursed" one with long "bull horns".

The primitiveness of this "poor widow" is reflected in her manner of speaking. With primitive simplicity, she declares to Chichikov: "Oh, my father, you have, like a hog, your back and side covered in mud!" When Chichikov, buying dead souls, could not bear it and began to raise his tone, she exclaimed in fear: "Oh, what kind of rejection you are asking!"
Patriarchy emanates from Korobochka's home environment. There are more and more antique items in her rooms: a portrait of an old man with red cuffs on his uniform, "which were sewn under Pavel Petrovich," old small mirrors with dark frames, an old clock with a hiss instead of a fight, an old deck of cards. There is not even a faint hint of living life and serious interests in anything.

But, perhaps, Korobochka with its limitations and ignorance is just a rare phenomenon of the provincial wilderness?
Gogol sadly concludes: no. The squalor inherent in Korobochka, a passion for money, a desire for profit, self-interest, stupidity and ignorance are features typical not only for Korobochka, but also for various strata of the ruling class in general, for its top. “Maybe,” Gogol writes, “you’ll even start thinking: yes, really, is Korobochka really standing so low on the endless ladder of human development? "Gogol thereby emphasizes the broad typicality of the Korobochka.

Among the landowners who were visited by the main character of Gogol's poem Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov in search of his unusual acquisition, there was one woman.

The image and characteristics of Korobochka in the poem "Dead Souls" make it possible to imagine how they lived in the deep, hidden territories of Russia of the past, way of life and traditions.

The image of the heroine

Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov came to the landowner Korobochka by accident. He lost his way when he tried to visit Sobakevich's estate. A terrible bad weather forced the traveler to ask for an overnight stay in an unfamiliar estate. The rank of the woman is the collegiate secretary. She is a widow living on her estate. There is a little autobiographical information about the woman. It is not known whether she has children, but it is certain that a sister lives in Moscow. Korobochka goes to her after Chichikov's departure. The old landowner maintains a small farm: about 80 souls of peasants. The author describes the hostess and the peasants living in the village.

What is special about the image of the heroine:

The ability to save. A small landowner puts money in bags, puts them in a chest of drawers.

Stealth. Nastasya Petrovna does not talk about her wealth. She is pitying, trying to evoke pity. But the purpose of this feeling is to raise the price of the product being offered.

Courage. The landowner confidently appeals to the court with requests to solve her problems.

The little box sells what her peasants are doing: honey, feathers, hemp, bacon. The woman is not surprised by the guest's desire to buy the souls of people who have gone to the afterlife. She is afraid to sell too cheap. Faith and unbelief were intertwined in the landowner. Moreover, the two opposite feelings are so tightly connected that it is difficult to determine where the line is. She believes in God and in the devil. The landowner after the prayer lays out the cards.

The farm of Nastasya Petrovna

A lonely woman is better at managing than men encountered in the poem. The description of the village is not frightening, like Plyushkin's, not surprising, like Manilov's. The house of the gentlemen is neat and tidy. It is small but sturdy. Barking dogs greet guests and warn the owners. The author describes the houses of the peasants:

• the huts are strong;
• lined up scattered;
• are constantly being repaired (the worn-out woodwork has been changed to a new one);
• strong gate;
• spare carts.

Korobochka watches over his house and peasants' huts. In the estate, everyone is busy with business, there are no those who wander between the houses. The landowner knows exactly when, for what holiday lard, hemp, flour or cereal will be ready. Despite her narrow-minded mind, the seeming stupidity of Nastasya Petrovna is businesslike and brisk, aimed at profit.

Peasants of the village

Chichikov examines the peasants with interest. These are strong lively men and women. There are several characters in the village. Each in a special way complements the image of the hostess.

The maid Fetinya skillfully beats the feather beds, making them so cozy that the guest sleeps longer than usual.

A peasant woman in the yard opened the gate at night, without fear of intruders. She has a hoarse voice and a strong figure hidden under an army jacket.

The courtyard girl Pelageya shows Chichikov the way back. She runs barefoot, which is why her feet are covered in mud and resemble boots. The girl is uneducated, and for her there is not even an understanding of right, left. She shows with her hands where the chaise is to go.

Dead Souls

The peasants who sell Korobochka have amazing nicknames. Some of them complement the characteristics of a person, others are simply invented by the people. All the nicknames are in the memory of the hostess, she sighs and regretfully lists them to the guest. The most unusual:

• Disrespect-Trough;
• Cow bricks;
• Wheel Ivan.

The little box takes pity on everyone. The skilful blacksmith burned out like coal from a drunkenness. All were glorious workers, it is difficult to add them to the list of Chichikov's unnamed purchase. Korobochka's dead souls are the most alive.

Character image

There are many typical features in the description of the Box. The author believes that there are many such women in Russia. They are not sympathetic. Gogol called the woman "club-headed", but she does not differ from prim, educated aristocrats. Korobochka's frugality does not cause affection, on the contrary, everything in her household is modest. Money settles in bags, but does not bring novelty to life. There are a lot of flies around the landowner. They personify stagnation in the soul of the mistress, in the world around her.

The landowner Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka cannot be changed. She chose the path of hoarding that does not make sense. The life of the estate takes place away from real feelings and events.