HV_VLFC_036 DEAD SOULS / SUUR PLUSS _ NIKOLAI GOGOL / KUMARI VAIM
MEEZ _ 30 _092025
3 h
·
Dead Souls is a darkly comic and deeply satirical Russian novel published in 1842, written by Nikolai Gogol. It follows the strange and morally ambiguous journey of a man named Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, who travels through rural Russia buying up the names of dead serfs (known as “souls”) from landowners.
At that time in Russia, landowners were taxed based on the number of serfs they owned. However, official records were not frequently updated, so even after serfs died, their names would remain on the tax rolls until the next census. Chichikov takes advantage of this loophole. He buys the names of dead peasants to make it appear as though he owns a large estate filled with living workers—hoping to use this illusion of wealth and status to gain social standing and secure loans.
As he travels from estate to estate, meeting a variety of eccentric and corrupt characters, the novel paints a biting portrait of Russian society—its greed, vanity, bureaucracy, and moral decay. Gogol’s characters are exaggerated, grotesque, and often tragic, representing the hollow and soulless state of a country stuck in a decaying system.
Though incomplete (Gogol burned the manuscript of the second part), Dead Souls remains one of the greatest works of Russian literature. It's not just a satire of 19th-century Russia—it’s a reflection on identity, morality, and the emptiness that can come from chasing material success without meaning or conscience.
This novel is haunting, absurd, and unforgettable—just like its title. S Kuva vähem
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