Description of Nastasya Petrovna's box of dead souls. Portrait of Korobochka in the poem Dead Souls

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 glorious people, all the workers” Here and further cit. . according to the ed.: Gogol N.V. Collected works in eight volumes. - (Library "Ogonyok": domestic classics) - V.5. "Dead souls". Volume one. - M., 1984.), 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).

The behavior of Korobochka, 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 these are characteristic features of the 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 the dead peasants, promising a profit, she agrees and begins to "calculate" the profit. 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 the household, is fortune-telling on the 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 "( fashion of the end of the 18th 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 See Kirsanova R.M. Costume in Russian artistic culture of the 18th - first half of the 20th centuries: Encyclopedia Experience / Ed. T.G. Morozova, V.D. Sinyukova. - M., 1995. - P. 115).

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 your head a little to one side, but meanwhile they are gaining a little money in motley motley - a fabric from the remnants of yarn of various kinds, homespun cloth (Kirsanova) bags placed in drawers of chests of drawers. All the coins are taken into one bag, fifty dollars into another, and quarters into the third, although it seems as if there is nothing in the chest of drawers except linen, night blouses, cotton hanks, and a ripped overcoat 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, who later turn into a dress if the old one somehow burns out during the baking of holiday cakes with all sorts of pryazhets. - to another, bake. or poizotretsya 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 a brief description of the 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…”. Two features clearly stand out in this description - 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, which 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 about how Korobochka spends her “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 a 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 of the hero of sentimental and romantic works, fashionable at the beginning of the 19th century. One can guess about his past - a good education, a short public service, resignation, marriage and life with his 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 it 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 Korobochka cannot be considered a 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 sweep by itself: laughter has not yet had time to completely escape from the face , but already became different among the 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 author’s point of view, type of people who limit their lives to only one area, 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. Therefore, her real life remains in the past, and the present, and even more so the future, is not life. but only existence.

A poor landowner, a "collegiate registrar" Korobochka lives quietly in her small house, and her whole life is filled only with worries about the household. The narrow yard of Korobochka is full of birds and all sorts of other domestic creatures, and behind the yard are spacious 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 it knows well when it is possible to sell them more profitably.

The box is extremely limited. She knows how to save forty fruit trees from sparrows, but she can’t figure out what it took
Chichikov "dead souls", especially since she does not see any use in them. Chichikov rightly calls her "strong-headed" and "club-headed." Not understanding Chichikov's plans, she nevertheless perfectly understands that it is unprofitable to pay taxes for the dead, and in the end she makes a deal. Constantly complaining about crop failures and losses, Korobochka, meanwhile, is gaining a little money in motley bags. In one of them she selects "solid coins", in the other - "fifty dollars", in the third - "quarters" and hides them in a chest of drawers, in which, at first glance, there is nothing but linen and night blouses.
The box is ignorant and extremely superstitious. She, for example, has no doubt that "if you guess on the cards after a prayer," then you will definitely dream of a "cursed" 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, but you, like a boar, have mud all over your back and side!” When Chichikov, buying dead souls, could not stand it and began to raise his tone, she exclaimed in fear: “Oh, what zabranki you are doing!”
Patriarchy emanates from Korobochka's home environment. In her rooms there are more and more antique objects: a portrait of an old man with red cuffs on his uniform, “the ones they sewed under Pavel Petrovich”, small antique mirrors with dark frames, an old clock with a hiss instead of a strike, an old deck of cards. There is not even a faint hint of a living life and serious interests in anything.

But, perhaps, Korobochka, with its narrow-mindedness and ignorance, is only a rare occurrence in the provincial wilderness?
Gogol sadly concludes: no. Korobochka's wretchedness, passion for money, greed, greed, stupidity and ignorance are traits that are typical not only for Korobochka, but also for various strata of the ruling class in general, for its top. “Perhaps,” writes Gogol, “you will even begin to think: yes, it’s enough, does Korobochka really stand so low on the endless ladder of human perfection? » Gogol emphasizes by this the broad typicality of Korobochka.

Description of the presentation Korobochka Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka Nastasya Petrovna Portrait by slides

Portrait This is how she is described in the work: “... A minute later the hostess entered, an elderly woman, in some kind of sleeping cap, put on hastily, with a flannel around her neck, one of those mothers, small landowners who cry for crop failures, losses and hold their heads a little on one side, but meanwhile they are gradually gaining money in colorful bags placed in drawers of chests of drawers ... ”N.V. Gogol created five types, five portraits, among which only one is female - this is Korobochka. The folklore source of this image is Baba Yaga. Korobochka is a sedentary old woman - a landowner, a nondescript grandmother who wore every piece of her wardrobe to holes. The box does not pretend to be a high culture: in all its appearance, a very unpretentious simplicity is noticeable. This is emphasized by Gogol in the appearance of the heroine: he points to her shabby and unattractive appearance.

PORTRAIT OF A BOX IN THE POEM "DEAD SOULS" A landowner, a widow, a very economic and thrifty, elderly woman. She knows all her peasants, speaks well of them, and that is how she differed from Manilov. The portrait of Korobochka is not as detailed as the portraits of other landowners. The owner of 80 fortress souls.

Character Korobochka Nastasya Petrovna - a widow-landowner, the second "seller" of dead souls to Chichikov. The surname of the heroine metaphorically expresses the essence of her nature, thrifty, distrustful, fearful, dull-witted, stubborn, superstitious. Nastasya Petrovna sees nothing further than her nose, everything "new and unprecedented" frightens her. The image of the Box contains a type of a person who has become dead in his limitations. Even the main positive feature of the landowner, which has become her passion, works to belittle the image - business efficiency. The main goal of her life is the strengthening of her wealth, incessant accumulation. Each person for her is first of all a potential buyer. The box has a character: it begins to haggle furiously with Chichikov, until it draws out a promise from him, in addition to souls, to buy much more. It is noteworthy that Korobochka remembers all her dead peasants by heart. The image of the Box perfectly symbolizes the Nikolaev era, where the observance of the form was of great importance, but the content was not taken care of, where the living soul was suppressed for the sake of the impression of well-being.

Korobochka's Manor The Korobochka estate is distinguished by its strength and contentment, it is immediately clear that she is a good housewife. The courtyard, on which the windows of the room look out, is filled with birds and "every domestic creature"; further visible gardens with "household vegetables"; 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 village of Box's Inner World reflects its economy. She has a "pretty little village". Everything in it is neat and strong: both the house and the yard. The isolation of Korobochka, her narrow-mindedness and stubbornness, pettiness, animal limitation of interests exclusively by her own household are emphasized. Her neighbors Gogol gave the names Bobrov, Svinin. Even the location of the village of Korobochki (away from the main road, away from real life) indicates the impossibility of its correction and revival. On Korobochka's farm, "there were no number of turkeys and chickens." According to the folklore tradition, the birds mentioned in connection with the Box (turkeys, chickens, magpies, sparrows, pigeons) symbolize stupidity, senseless troubles.

House “... 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. . . » . Things in Korobochka's house, on the one hand, express her naive idea of ​​magnificent beauty, and on the other hand, her hoarding and a limited range of domestic entertainment (fortune-telling on cards, darning, embroidery and cooking). A small house and a large yard Korobochka symbolically reflects her inner world - neat, strong; and everywhere there are flies, which in Gogol always accompany the frozen, stopped, internally dead world. The hissing clock and the "outdated" portraits on the walls in Korobochka's house also speak of this.

BOX OFFICE Modest rooms, rather old, few paintings, old striped wallpaper, clocks on the wall, mirrors.

SPEECH OF THE BOX IN THE POEM "DEAD SOULS" The box was already old and did not always think quickly, in order to answer it, at first she thought for a long time.

Deal She, except for the desire to acquire and benefit, has no feelings. Korobochka sells peasants with the same efficiency with which he sells other items of his household. For her, there is no difference between an animate and an inanimate being. Doubts (did she sell too cheap?) force her to go to the city to find out the real price for such a strange product. Nastasya Petrovna is riding in a tarantass that looks like a watermelon. This is another analogue of her image, along with a chest of drawers, a jewelry box and pouches full of money. The "clubhead" Korobochka understood the benefits of trade and agrees, however, after much persuasion. She is afraid of making a cheap sale of dead souls, she is afraid that Chichikov will deceive her, she wants to wait, so as not to “incur a loss somehow”, maybe these souls will come in handy on the farm. After all, “the product is so strange, completely unprecedented” - at first she thinks that Chichikov intends to dig up the dead from the ground. The box is going to slip hemp or honey instead of dead souls to Chichikov. She knows the prices for these products.

THE ATTITUDE OF THE BOX TO THE SALE OF DEAD SOULS When Chichikov suggested that she sell her dead souls, at first she did not understand how they could be sold at all, they are dead. The box was just as surprised as Manilov, to whom Chichikov offered a deal.

The image of the Box in the poem "Dead Souls" contains a lot for understanding not only the semantic content, but also the main idea of ​​the poem.

It is no coincidence that he was assigned such an important compositional role - the arrival of a widow in the city brought disaster on the head of the Gogol businessman.

Characteristics and description of the Box in the poem "Dead Souls"

The reader meets the venerable lady in chapter three of the first volume of the great work. It is noteworthy that the charioteer Selifan literally “ran over” the fence of her estate, finally getting lost at night, during a stormy thunderstorm - drunk, on a hunch, closing his eyes.

In such cases, the people said, “The devil has beguiled!”. Indeed, there is a lot of diabolism in the symbolism of the episode with the Box.

Arriving at the estate at two o'clock in the morning, Chichikov curled up like a "pretzel" in downy featherbeds at about three in the morning - the hour of Satan, according to popular belief.

And the offer to "scratch your heels"? This part of the body in many legends is the place of greatest vulnerability for chthonic monsters - in the same artistic space, no one is going to crush evil, on the contrary, they cherish it. Chichikov, of course, is not a snake-like monster, but certainly evil spirits - the hostess herself immediately identified him with “her dead man” (deceased husband).

It is excusable for a newcomer who is tired from the road to fall into a dead sleep. But this detail in Gogol looks very symbolic, as well as numerous flies that have stuck around the resting person in the morning (in Christian culture, a fly is a sign of the presence of Satan).

The name of the collegiate secretary Nastasya is translated from Greek as “immortal”, “resurrecting”. Here she is, the messiah of dead souls, the messenger of eternal death on earth! Is that why there are so many birds in the interior surrounding Chichikov? These are portraits, and a myriad of chickens, ducks and turkeys inhabiting a cramped courtyard, clouds of crows. It is not only a matter of domestic isolation and laxity, stupidity and narrow-mindedness.

In fact, the image of a bird in folklore symbolizes spirituality, the connection of earth and sky, ever-reviving life and maternal protection. Only feathered laying hens are too mundane creatures: they don’t fly above their own heads - where are the higher spheres. “Every domestic creature” surrounding the landowner symbolizes the power of the earth, matter, objectivity, and therefore death. So, after the father, the lady is called Petrovna (from the Greek word for “stone”, “rock”) - and this is not a compliment to the spiritual stamina of the bearer of the name.

And how the devil is afraid of being mentioned! Because it is in this house that he is a true spiritual reality (one should not take his name in vain), even though in a thunderstorm the lamp in front of the icon is superstitiously lit. And after all, the widow was guessing three days before the arrival of unexpected visitors, and after all, in response to appeals about the future to his obedient servant, the horned one himself came. Didn't he warn about Chichikov? And more than once the wandering merchant, unable to restrain himself, mentioned the devil in negotiations with her.

Only in front of Nastasya Petrovna did Chichikov not rush to hide the holy of holies - his box. This container attracted the Box like a magnet: like attracts like! And in the Chichikov box - everything you need to conclude a contract for the soul with Satan: a pen, ink, paper, razors (according to legend, such agreements are written with blood), money and soap - to wash your hands after a bad deed, hiding visible traces.

Box's Appearance

An elderly woman appears in front of the reader in a sleeping cap that is somehow put on and a flannel wound around her neck.

Such petty landowners will cry to their heart's content on crop failures and losses, while they themselves methodically and lovingly accumulate money in drawers of chests of drawers among all sorts of clothing rubbish. It seems that the things themselves love such thrifty old women - they do not wear out and last forever.

At morning tea with Chichikov, the secretary again sits in a dark dress, without a cap, but with her neck wrapped around - a significant detail, given that the neck is associated in the body with mobility, flexibility of consciousness.

Favorite activities

Grandmother is a devout person, but she is not averse to telling fortunes after evening prayers. He likes to complain about life: in the morning he reports to Chichikov about insomnia and an ache in his leg, complains about crop failures, the loss of valuable workers, and flour that is “unavantageous” due to crop failure.

The whole household is entirely in the household: to hospitably shelter a nobleman, to sell something, to beg for stamped paper just in case, to treat a useful person deliciously - he uses any opportunity to increase wealth.

It is distinguished by a reverent attitude to things: small objects and papers are placed behind the frames of mirrors - so that the eye “sticks” on the walls. She sees and notices everything familiar and established, and "new and unprecedented" introduces her mind into a state of stupor.

Attitude towards others

Absent! Of the aunt's emotions - only fear of the unusual and hot "zabranki". Even about a possible profit, reflection is soulless, without intonation, rubbing hands.

The husband is a "dead man", neighbors - he knows only the closest and his wealth, serfs - the equivalent of money, hands - income. The children born among the peasants are not people, but "small fry": they do not work, they do not bring income - they are not even human children.

Description of the estate

At night, “something like a roof” appeared in front of the travelers: the house itself is perceived as a box, in which the lid is the first thing that catches the eye. The symbolism suggests itself the most gloomy.

The room where Chichikov spent the night is covered with old striped wallpaper, with mirrors and pictures of birds - a chicken kingdom, where there are only two roosters (two male portraits - Kutuzov and the owner of the uniform of Pavlovian times). A clock runs in it, hissing like a tangle of vipers and strainingly wheezing when it's time to beat.

All sorts of domestic animals swarm in the small courtyard of the estate, whole clouds of crows fly from one fruit tree to another. And this herd is pastured by several scarecrows with spread fingers (all to the landowner - as if they are striving to grab something, even the master's night cap is on one).

Peasant houses are scattered, without clear streets: the world of pagan chaos, inanimate matter spontaneously organizing itself. But Chichikov notices signs of material contentment: the old boarding on the roofs has been replaced with a new one, the houses are in order, the gates are strong, in some yards there are new carts.

Life goals

To save money and things, then to bequeath the ripped up coat to some relative. Even the souls of dead peasants, under the influence of the moment, begin to be kept in reserve: “Or maybe they’ll need something on the farm somehow for the occasion ...”.

In a conversation with a guest, a plan quickly emerged in Korobochka's head to agree on a contract for the supply of honey, hemp and lard, flour and cattle to the state treasury.

Why Box "dead soul"

There is no spiritual content in the landowner - not even imitation. All actions, thoughts and statements of the character are due to a commercial approach to everything and everyone.

The apotheosis of form: something is constantly being invested in the manor-casket, simply because the emptiness needs to be filled. The box is a gaping endless void that fills itself, pulling things and money into itself. The latter - the equivalent of human labor initially living its own life - are not spent, but buried in boxes, becoming rubbish.

Death to everything spiritual lives in this estate. It is no coincidence that Chichikov rested so freely here and ate richly. And pancakes with spicy were especially good - ritual food!

The first impression of the landowner

The visitor immediately recognized in her the "mother" landowner: the sovereign demiurge of the domestic world. The guest-nobleman is given a hospitable welcome: she persistently tries to give tea to drink, ordered to dry and clean the clothes, provided a luxurious downy feather bed, which you can’t climb without a chair.

Chichikov's attitude to Korobochka

He turns to the hostess in his own way, behaves with her confidently, patronizingly and calls her mother. Takes her hospitality for granted.

The deal for the sale of dead souls turned out to be unexpectedly difficult for the master. Baba turned out to be not just a "strong-headed" - "cudgel-headed" one.

Chichikov considers the "cursed old woman" so insignificant that he does not consider it necessary to restrain his true temperament - he swears, promises the devil to her, curses along with her village. In passing, he gives meaningless promises to conclude a work contract and does not refuse a “gastronomic” bribe.

Attitude towards the household

All-consuming and devoid of any emotions. Without a hitch, she reports that she has almost eighty people in the fortress. He remembers who died and when, dictates by heart the name of each deceased.

Having secured promises from Chichikov, she immediately began to observe household affairs on the porch: who and what carried where.

The box is a talking and moving object of its isolated world, living by natural production. The same garden scarecrow - only with a different function: to protect from external ruins and to attract things and money from the space outside the gates of the estate.

Conclusion

In short: the old landowner is the lady of Chichikov's heart, his female counterpart, Mother Goddess. Both are equally dead even for each other - they do not see each other point-blank behind commercial aspirations.

If the visiting businessman felt a kindred spirit for Korobochka, he could have foreseen the fateful act of the devil's grandmother for him. Fear of selling cheap will drive her to the city to find out the "set" prices for dead souls. So the adventure of Mr. Chichikov will be revealed.

PortraitN. V. Gogol created five types, five portraits, among which only
one female is the Box. The folklore source of this image is a woman
Yaga.Korobochka - a settled old woman - a landowner, a nondescript grandmother,
who wore every piece of her wardrobe to holes. The box is not
claims to be a high culture: in all its appearance, a very noticeable
unpretentious simplicity. This is emphasized by Gogol in the appearance of the heroine:
he points to her shabby and unattractive appearance.
This is how it is described in the work:
“... A minute later the hostess entered, a woman
old age, in some kind of sleeping cap,
put on hastily, with a flannel around her neck, one of those
mothers, small landowners who
crying for crop failures, losses and holding their heads
somewhat to one side, but meanwhile they are gaining
a little bit of money in colorful bags,
placed in the drawers of chests of drawers ... "

Portrait of the Box in the poem "Dead Souls"

PORTRAIT OF THE BOX IN THE POEM “THE DEAD
SOULS"
landowner, widow, very
economic and
frugal, elderly
woman. She knows everyone
his peasants, responds
good about them, so she and
different from Manilov.
Korochka's portrait is not so
detailed like portraits
other landlords.
Owner of 80 serfs
shower.

Character

Korobochka Nastasya Petrovna - a widow-landowner, the second "saleswoman"
dead souls to Chichikov. The heroine's surname metaphorically expresses
the essence of her nature, thrifty, distrustful, timid, dull-witted,
stubborn, superstitious. Nastasya Petrovna sees nothing further than her nose,
everything "new and unprecedented" frightens her. In the image of the Box there is a type
dead man in his limitations. To belittle the image
even the main positive feature of the landowner, which became her
passion, - business efficiency. The main goal of her life is strengthening
his wealth, incessant hoarding.
Every person for her is first of all
potential buyer. The box has
character: she begins to haggle furiously with
Chichikov, until he extracts a promise from him,
besides showers, buy a lot more. Remarkably,
that Korobochka remembers all her dead
peasants by heart. The image of the Box is great
symbolizes the Nicholas era, where it was given
the essential importance of compliance with the form, and about
they didn't care where they suppressed the live
soul for the impression of well-being.

Manor Boxes

MANOR BOX
Korobochki Manor is distinguished by its fortress and
satisfaction, it is immediately clear that she is good
hostess. Courtyard with windows
room, filled with birds and "every household
creature"; further visible vegetable gardens with
"household vegetable"; fruit trees
covered with nets from birds, stuffed animals are also visible on
poles - “one of them was wearing a cap
the mistress herself." Peasant huts too
show the prosperity of their inhabitants. In a word,
Korobochka's economy is clearly thriving and
brings enough profit. Yes, and myself
the village is not small - eighty souls.

Village

The inner world of the Box reflects her
economy. She has a "pretty little village."
Everything in it is neat and strong: both the house and the yard.
The closeness of the Box is emphasized, its
narrow-mindedness and stubbornness, pettiness,
animal limited interests
exclusively on their own. Her
Gogol gave the neighbors the names Bobrov,
Svinin. Even the location of the village
Boxes (away from the main road, in
away from real life) indicates
the impossibility of correcting it and
revival. On the farm
"turkeys and chickens were innumerable." By
folklore tradition birds mentioned
in connection with the Box (turkeys, chickens, magpies,
sparrows, doves), symbolize stupidity,
senseless hassle.

House

A small house and a large yard The boxes symbolically display
her inner world is neat, strong; and everywhere the flies that Gogol has
always accompany the frozen, stopped, internally dead
the world. The hissing clock and the "outdated" portraits on
walls in Korobochka's house.
“... The room was hung with old
striped wallpaper; pictures with some
birds; small old windows
mirrors with dark frames
curled leaves; behind every mirror
either a letter or an old deck was laid
cards, or stocking; wall clock with
painted flowers on the dial ... ".
Things in the house Boxes, with one
hand, express her naive idea of
magnificent beauty, and on the other - her hoarding and
limited range of home entertainment
(fortune-telling on cards, darning, embroidery and
cooking).

Cabinet Boxes

BOX CABINET
humble rooms,
quite old,
a few pictures
old
striped wallpaper,
clock on the wall
mirrors.

Korobochka's speech in the poem "Dead Souls"

THE SPEECH OF THE BOX IN THE POEM "DEAD SOULS"
The box was already old and not
always thinking fast
in order to answer her
I thought for a long time at first.

10. Deal

"Cudgelhead" Box understands the benefits of trading and agrees
True, after much persuasion. She's afraid to sell cheap when selling the dead
souls, she fears that Chichikov would deceive her, wants to wait, so that "somehow not incur a loss", maybe these showers will come in handy in the household.
After all, "the product is so strange, completely unprecedented" - at first she thinks that
Chichikov intends to dig the dead out of the ground. The box is going
slip hemp or honey instead of dead souls to Chichikov. The prices for these
she knows the products.
She, in addition to the desire to acquire and extract
favor, no feelings. Box sells
peasants with such efficiency, with which
sells other household items.
For her there is no difference between animated and
inanimate being. Doubts (not
did she sell out?) force her
go to the city to find out the real
the price of such a strange product. Nastasya is coming
Petrovna in a tarantass that looks like a watermelon. This
another analogue of her image, along with a chest of drawers,
casket and pouches full of money.

11. Box's attitude to selling dead souls

RELATIONSHIP OF THE BOX TO SALE
DEAD SOULS
When Chichikov
offered to sell her
their dead souls,
she didn't at first
understand how they can
sell at all
they are dead.
box as well
was surprised as
Manilov, who
Chichikov suggested
deal.