In the third chapter of the poem "Dead Souls" N.V. Gogol introduces the reader to the landowner Nastasya Petrovna. The characteristic of the Box helps the author to gradually realize the idea of his work, moving from innocent images to more insignificant ones.
How Chichikov found out about the landowner
The protagonist went to another landowner - Sobakevich, but on the way at night his chaise got lost, and he accidentally falls into the possession of Korobochka.
portrait characteristic
Box - a woman in a "sleeping cap, put on hastily, with a flannel around her neck." The external description of the Box in the poem "Dead Souls" is laconic. The author does not give detailed characteristics, depriving the heroine of her face in order to show the typicality of this image.
Environment
Despite the fact that Chichikov calls Korobochka's possessions a "good village", he understands that he is in a "decent wilderness". The estate is located far from the city, there is not a single rich landowner nearby.
Korobochka is a good housewife, she pays great attention to housekeeping. She has a lot of household utensils, various fruits and varieties are grown in the garden. The houses of the peasants are in good conditions.
Lifestyle
However, such features of Korobochka's life lead the reader to the conclusion that she lives only at home, other things do not interest her. It is limited by handmade frames. Trying to accumulate as much as possible, she is ready to sell everything she has. This clearly shows the real character of the heroine. Everything connected with the image of the Box is the first stage of stinginess.
Deal with Chichikov
A special role is played by the episode of buying dead souls from Korobochka. The landowner, having learned that Chichikov is a "purchaser", begins to offer him various goods. It speaks of the desire for profit. She says with regret that she has already sold honey to other merchants, for which Chichikov, most likely, would have given more.
When the main character says what exactly he is ready to buy, Korobochka cannot understand for a long time: how can one sell already deceased souls? She is confused because she has never sold dead souls, so she does not know the price of them. Because of this, the heroine hesitates, fearing to sell too cheap, although she understands that the deal "seems to be profitable."
Because of the fear of making a mistake with the price, Korobochka spends a lot of time. She decides to “postpone” the sale, find out the prices of the deceased, and then sell them. However, Chichikov still manages to get her to conclude a deal in another way. Pavel Ivanovich, promising to buy from her the products grown by her peasants, gives 15 banknotes for the souls.
What does Chichikov think about the heroine
Long attempts to persuade Korobochka tire Chichikov, he feels that he is in sweat, "like in a river." The attitude of the protagonist to Korobochka is conveyed by the following quotes: “Well, the woman seems to be strong-browed!”, “Ek her, what a clubhead!”, “Go and deal with her! I've been sweating, you damned old woman!"
Chichikov compares the heroine with a mongrel, who does not eat hay herself, and does not allow others to do so.
The meaning of the image
So why did N.V. Gogol devote an entire chapter to the image of the Box? In his lyrical digressions, he proves the typicality of this character. He calls her one of those who "cry for crop failures", while they themselves "gain a little money."
Nastasya Petrovna is limited, she lives in a kind of "box", so the name of the heroine turns out to be speaking. She is fixated on making a profit, and it is for this purpose that she runs the household. The heroine is stupid and uneducated. As the author writes, if Korobochka hacked something on her nose, then this "cannot be overpowered by anything."
It is not for nothing that the writer gives such a brief description of the appearance of the heroine; it was important for him to emphasize the typicality of this image. He does this in lyrical digressions: "a different and respectable, and even a statesman, but in reality it turns out a perfect Box."
This article will help to write the essay “Characteristics of the Box” according to the plan, reveal ways to create this female image, show the meaning of the character in the work, as well as the author’s opinion about this type of people.
Artwork test
Summary of the lesson on the poem by N. V. Gogol "Dead Souls".
(grade 9)
Topic: “My heroes follow one after another…” Images of Korobochka and Nozdryov.
Target: analyze the images of Korobochka and Nozdrev.
Tasks:
to reveal the methods of describing the characters of the landlords, the internal logic of creating images;
to teach the ability to determine the principles of typification of social phenomena;
engage students in research work.
Lesson structure:
1 . organizational stage.
2. Checking homework.
3. Theme announcementand lesson objectives.
4. Repetition of the past.
5. Work in notebooks.
6. Summing up the lesson.
7. Homework.
During the classes
1. Organizational stage.
1. Preparing students for work in the classroom.
2. Mutual greetings between teacher and students.
3. Visual control of readiness for the lesson.
2. Checking homework.
3. Theme announcement and lesson objectives.
The theme of our lesson: "Images of the Box and Nozdryov." We continue to work on the analysis of literary images, we will try to understand the author's satirical position, which permeates the entire work.
4. Repetition of the past. (Chapter II, Manilov)
At the last lesson, we met the first landowner Chichikov visited - Manilov. We agreed that we would characterize the landowners according to a certain plan:
a) description of appearance (portrait);
b) the nature of the landowner;
in)features of behavior and speech;
G)relationships with others;
e)description of the estate;
f) the outcome of the transaction.
Do not forget that Gogol, drawing the life of contemporary Russia, goes through a careful study of the little things, shows them in close-up, exaggerates, as he sees in them an expression of the essence of the surrounding reality. This is the so-called artistic detail.
5. Work in notebooks.
Analysis of the literary image. Box.
In the chapter on Korobochka we shall see a different type of character, which, at first sight, differs from that of Manilov; after all, following our plan, we will not be able to immediately find in the text character traits, artistic details that would confirm the obvious satirical orientation.
But this is the peculiarity of a talented work: with the help of artistic research, we learn to be smart readers. So, let's turn to our tables.
( “The hostess came in, 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 over crop failures, losses and hold their heads a little to one side, and meanwhile they are gaining a little money in variegated pouches” (the portrait merges with the character). “She was dressed better than yesterday - in a dark dress and no longer in a sleeping cap, but everything was also tied around her neck.” The unexpected guest took Nastasya Petrovna by surprise, in the morning she appeared in a more decent form. The flannel around her neck speaks of her age, her secluded home lifestyle in the wilderness.)
b) the nature of the landowner.( Gogol does not hide the irony regarding her mental abilities: she thought, opened her mouth, looked almost with fear. "Well, the woman seems to be strong-browed!" A different and respectable, and even statesman man, but in reality it turns out perfect box . As he hacked something into his head, then nothing could overpower him; no matter how you present him with arguments, clear as day, everything bounces off him, like a rubber ball bounces off a wall. The essence of Korobochka's character is especially visible through the dialogic speech of the characters. The dialogue between Korobochka and Chichikov is a masterpiece of comedy art. This conversation can be called a dialogue of the deaf.)
in)(The box is “one of those mothers, small landowners who cry for crop failures, losses” (this is how she characterizes her), and this is perfectly reflected in her speech. “Yes, trouble, times are bad, so last year there was such a crop failure that God keep it." "What a pity, really, that I sold honey to merchants so cheaply."
Korobochka's speech reflects her stupidity and ignorance, fear of the new, unusual, fear of the offer to sell dead souls: "Really, I don't know, because I've never sold the dead;". “It has never happened to sell me the dead”; "Right, I'm afraid. At first, so as not to incur a loss somehow.
Sometimes Korobochka's speech reveals the extreme primitiveness of her thoughts, reaching some kind of childish naivete. “Do you want to dig them out of the ground?” she asks Chichikov about the dead. Or in another place: “Or maybe they’ll need it somehow on the farm for the occasion.” In Korobochka's speech there are many colloquial words and expressions: salty, theirs, twist, small fry, something, manenko, maybe, with which you sip some tea; I won’t take it for granted; apply to prices; I won’t clean up everything, what should I do, etc. It is known what a magical effect the word “nobleman” had on Korobochka, which made her unlock the gate even at a late hour and let in Chichikov, who had lost his way, to spend the night.)
G)relationships with others. (Korobochka, an old-fashioned feudal landowner living in a “decent wilderness”, keeps the elementary principles of landowner hospitality and shows in the scene with Chichikov the features of cordiality necessary for her environment. Hence her appeal to Chichikov: “my father”, “father”. She graciously turns to Chichikov with suggestions: “Would you like to drink tea, father?” “Here, sit down, father, on this sofa.” “Isn’t it necessary to rub your back with something?” “Is there anything else you need?” At night, she wishes the guest “good night”, in the morning she graciously greets: “Hello, father. How did you rest?" Korobochka knows all her peasants who have died since the last revision tale; knows who was what kind of master, laments that the people died all the artisan.)
e)description of the estate.( 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. In the morning ... now I noticed that not all of the paintings were birds: between them hung a portrait of Kutuzov and some old man painted in oils with red cuffs on his uniform, as they sewed under Pavel Petrovich. The narrow courtyard was full of birds and all sorts of domestic creatures. Turkeys and chickens were innumerable. The chicken coop was blocked by a wooden fence, behind which stretched spacious vegetable gardens with cabbage, onions, potatoes, light and other household vegetables. Apple trees and other fruit trees were scattered here and there in the garden. The village is a source of honey, bacon, hemp, which Korobochka sells. She also trades with peasants. )
e) the result of the transaction.( Stupidly, unshakably, with conviction, Korobochka does her job - sells, eats, sleeps, saves, saves, saves ... It is characteristic that the very trade in "dead souls" did not bother her: she is ready to trade in the dead, only she is afraid to sell too cheap. It is characterized by tedious slowness and caution. She went to the city to find out how much they sell "dead souls" these days. It turns out that landlord thrift can have the same inhuman meaning as mismanagement. )
Analysis of the literary image. Nozdrev.
The gallery of dead souls is continued in Nozdrev's poem.
a) description of appearance (portrait).( Like other landowners, he is internally empty, age does not concern him: “Nozdryov at thirty-five years old was the same perfect as he was at eighteen and twenty: a hunter for a walk.” Medium height, very well-built fellow with full ruddy cheeks, teeth as white as snow, and sideburns as black as pitch. He was fresh as blood and milk; health seemed to spurt from his face. Chichikov notices that one of Nozdryov's whiskers was smaller and not as thick as the other (the result of another fight).
b) the nature of the landowner.( Nozdryov is a rubbish man, Nozdryov can lie, add, dissolve the devil knows what, some more gossip will come out. Passion for lies and card games largely explains the fact that not a single meeting, where Nozdryov was present, could do without “history”.)
in)features of behavior and speech.( Almost all of his speech is empty chatter, sheer lies. "I alone drank seventeen bottles of champagne in the course of dinner." “In this field of the Rusaks, such a death that the earth is not visible; I myself caught one by the hind legs with my own hands. It is noted in the speech of Nozdryov, who rotates among the reveling officers, "echoes" of the "army" language: "how they drank"; "Bordeaux calls simply a burdashka"; "you will be cruelly taken aback"; "in the mouth.. . as if the squadron had spent the night. The following features are characteristic of Nozdryov’s speech: abrupt transitions from one feeling to another, for example, he says to Chichikov: “You are a pig for this, a kind of cattle breeder! Kiss me, soul, death loves you." Sketchy, unfinished sentences, showing that his words can't keep up with his flying thoughts.)
G)relationships with others.( Everyone had to meet a lot of such people. They are called broken fellows, they are known even in childhood and at school for good comrades, and for all that they are very painfully beaten. They soon get acquainted, and before you have time to look back, they already tell you "you". Friendship will start, it seems, forever: but it almost always happens that the one who makes friends will fight with them that same evening at a friendly feast. They are always talkers, revelers, reckless people, prominent people. His marriage did not change him at all, especially since wife soon went to the next world, leaving two children who he decidedly did not need. The children were looked after by a cute nanny. He could not sit at home for more than a day. The closer someone got along with him, the more likely he was to piss everyone off: he spread a fable, more stupid than which it is difficult to invent, upset a wedding, a trade deal, and did not at all consider himself your enemy; on the contrary, if chance brought him to meet with you again, he treated you again in a friendly manner and even said: “You are such a scoundrel, you will never come to me.”)
e)description of the estate. ( In the middle of the dining-room stood wooden goats, and two peasants, standing on them, whitewashed the walls, singing some endless song; the floor was all splattered with whitewash. The village of Nozdryova - in a little over two hours showed absolutely everything, so there was nothing left to show. First of all, they went to inspect the stable, where they saw two mares, one dappled gray, the other brown, then a bay stallion, unprepossessing in appearance, but for which Nozdryov swore that he had paid ten thousand. Empty stalls where there were also good horses before. A goat was seen in the same stable. A wolf cub, who was on a leash, whom Nozdryov feeds with raw meat so that he would be a perfect beast. A pond in which, according to Nozdryov, there were fish of such size that two people could hardly pull out a piece. There are all sorts of dogs in the yard, both thick-dogs and pure-dogs, of all possible colors and stripes. The field, which in many places consisted of tussocks. An office, in which, however, there were no noticeable traces of what happens in an office, that is, books or paper; only sabers and two guns hung - one worth three hundred and the other eight hundred rubles. Turkish daggers. Even lunch consists of dishes that are burnt or, on the contrary, not cooked. ) Chichikov left with nothing. But by no means because he was outraged by the illegality of the deal proposed by Chichikov. He just can't think about it, can't get out beyond the limits of his usual concepts . This expressively sets off the reception mechanical repetition of remarks: “buy a stallion from me”; “Well, then buy dogs”; “so buy a hurdy-gurdy”, etc. Himself the passion with which he offers To Chichikov, all sorts of ways to get "dead souls", from selling a britzka to playing checkers, eloquently convinces not only of Nozdryov's spiritual worthlessness and cynicism, but also of his complete indifference to the fate of his peasants, whether dead or alive - all the same. )
6. Summing up the lesson.
The inner world of Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka is empty and shallow. The soullessness of this landowner is reflected in her pettiness. The only thing that worries Korobochka is the price of hemp and honey. About her late husband, she can only remember that he loved to have a girl scratching his heels on his leg. This is especially manifested by her isolation from people, complete indifference
The third landowner from whom Chichikov is trying to buy dead souls is Nozdryov. This is a dashing 35-year-old "talker, reveler, reckless driver." Nozdryov constantly lies, bullies everyone indiscriminately. He is very reckless, ready to "shit" his best friend without any purpose. All the behavior of Nozdrev is explained by his dominant quality: "briskness and liveliness of character." This landowner does not conceive or plan anything, he simply does not know the measure in anything.
7. Homework
Prepare a characterization of Sobakevich and Plyushkin.
Introduction
§one. The principle of constructing images of landowners in the poem
§2. Box Image
§3. Artistic detail as a means
character characteristics
§four. Korobochka and Chichikov.
Conclusion
List of used literature
Introduction
The poem "Dead Souls" was created by N.V. Gogol for about 17 years. Its plot was suggested by A.S. Pushkin. Gogol began working on the poem in the autumn of 1835, and on May 21, 1842 Dead Souls appeared in print. The publication of Gogol's poem caused a fierce controversy: some admired it, others saw it as a slander on modern Russia and "a special world of scoundrels." Gogol worked on the continuation of the poem until the end of his life, writing the second volume (which was later burned) and planning to create a third volume.
As conceived by the writer, the poem should have depicted not only contemporary Russia with all its problems and shortcomings (serfdom, bureaucratic system, loss of spirituality, illusory nature, etc.), but also the basis on which the country could be reborn in a new social - economic situation. The poem "Dead Souls" was supposed to be an artistic search for a "living soul" - the type of person who could become the master of the new Russia.
Gogol based the composition of the poem on the architectonics of Dante's Divine Comedy - the hero's journey, accompanied by a guide (the poet Virgil), first through the circles of hell, then, through purgatory, through the spheres of paradise. In this journey, the lyrical hero of the poem met the souls of people burdened with sins (in the circles of hell) and marked with grace (in paradise). Dante's poem was a gallery of types of people embodied in the artistic images of famous characters in mythology and history. Gogol also wanted to create a large-scale work that would reflect not only the present of Russia, but also its future. “... What a huge, original plot ... All Russia will appear in it! ..” - Gogol wrote to Zhukovsky. But for the writer it was important to depict not the external side of the life of Russia, but its "soul" - the inner state of human spirituality. Following Dante, he created a gallery of types of people from different strata of the population and classes (landlords, officials, peasants, metropolitan society), in which both psychological, estate, and spiritual traits were reflected in a generalized form. Each of the characters in the poem is at the same time both a typical and a brightly individualized character, with their own peculiarities of behavior and speech, attitude to the world and moral values. Gogol's skill was manifested in the fact that his poem "Dead Souls" is not just a gallery of types of people, it is a collection of "souls", among which the author is looking for a living one capable of further development.
Gogol was going to write a work consisting of three volumes (in accordance with the architectonics of Dante's "Divine Comedy"): "hell" of Russia, "purgatory" and "paradise" (the future). When the first volume was published, the controversy that flared up around the work, especially negative assessments, shocked the writer, he went abroad and began work on the second volume. But the work was very hard: Gogol's views on life, art, religion changed; he experienced a spiritual crisis; friendly ties with Belinsky were severed, who in a sharp tone criticized the worldview position of the writer, expressed in Selected passages from correspondence with friends. The practically written second volume was burned in a moment of spiritual crisis, then restored, and nine days before his death, the writer again set fire to the white manuscript of the poem. The third volume remained only in the form of an idea.
For Gogol - a deeply religious person and an original writer - the most important thing was the spirituality of a person, his moral basis, and not just the external social circumstances in which Russia was contemporary to him. He perceived both Russia and its fate as a son, hard experiencing everything that he observed in reality. Gogol saw Russia's way out of the spiritual crisis not in economic and social transformations, but in the revival of morality, the cultivation of true values, including Christian ones, in the souls of people. Therefore, the assessment that the work received in democratically minded criticism and which for a long time determined the perception of the first volume of the novel - a critical image of Russian reality, the "hell" of serf-owning Russia - does not exhaust either the idea, the plot, or the poetics of the poem. Thus, the problem of the philosophical and spiritual content of the work and the definition of the main philosophical conflict in the images of "Dead Souls" arises.
The purpose of our work is to analyze one of the images of the poem from the point of view of the main philosophical conflict of the poem - the landowner Korobochka.
The main research method is a literary analysis of the episode of the meeting between Chichikov and Korobochka. as well as the analysis and interpretation of artistic details.
§one. The principle of constructing images of landowners in the poem
The main philosophical problem of the poem "Dead Souls" is the problem of life and death in the human soul. This is indicated by the very name - "dead souls", which reflects not only the meaning of Chichikov's adventure - the purchase of "dead", i.e. existing only on paper, in revision tales, peasants - but also, in a broader, generalized sense, the degree of deadness of the soul of each of the characters in the poem. The main conflict - life and death - is localized in the area of the inner, spiritual plane. And then the composition of the first volume of the poem is divided into three parts, which form a ring composition: Chichikov's arrival in the county town and communication with officials - a journey from landowner to landowner "of his own need" - return to the city, scandal and departure from the city. Thus, the central motive that organizes the entire work is the motive of travel. wanderings. Wandering as the plot basis of the work is characteristic of Russian literature and reflects the idea of searching for a high meaning, truth, continuing the tradition of “walking” in ancient Russian literature.
Chichikov travels through the Russian outback, through county towns and estates in search of "dead" souls, and the author accompanying the hero is in search of a "living" soul. Therefore, the gallery of landlords, presented to the reader in the first volume, is a regular series of human types, among which the author is looking for someone who is able to become the real master of the new Russia and revive it economically, without destroying morality and spirituality. The sequence in which the landowners appear before us is built on two grounds: on the one hand, the degree of deadness of the soul (in other words, is the soul of a person alive) and sinfulness (let's not forget about the "circles of hell", where souls are located according to the severity of their sins) ; on the other hand, the opportunity to be reborn, to acquire vitality, which is understood by Gogol as spirituality.
In the sequence of images of the landlords, these two lines are combined and create a double structure: each next character is in a lower "circle", the degree of his sin is heavier, death in his soul more and more replaces life, and at the same time - each next character is closer to rebirth, because , according to Christian philosophy, the lower a person fell, the heavier his sin, the greater his suffering, the closer he is to salvation. The correctness of this interpretation is confirmed by the fact that, firstly, each subsequent landowner has an increasingly detailed history of his previous life (and if a person has a past, then a future is also possible), and secondly, in excerpts from the burnt second volume and sketches for the third, it is known that Gogol was preparing a revival for two characters - the scoundrel Chichikov and Plyushkin, “a hole in humanity”, i.e. those who are in the first volume at the very bottom of the spiritual "hell".
Therefore, we will consider the image of the landowner Korobochka from several positions:
How do life and death relate in the soul of a character?
What is the “sin” of Korobochka, and why is it located between Manilov and Nozdryov?
How close is she to a revival?
§2. Box Image
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 nice people, all the workers”), 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), to 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.
"Dead Souls" is a classic of Russian literature, a play that the famous writer Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol conceived to display a 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 the landlords of those times. The author depicts the internal and external appearance of a strong landownership and venality, and there is also an overt ridicule of the harmful passions of the Russian bureaucracy.
The very title of the work clearly demonstrates its ambiguous meaning. "Dead souls" can be called not only the dead peasants, but also other, actually living characters of the poem. And it is precisely such definitions as miserable, insignificant, empty and, directly, “dead” little 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 greed, in essence, Nastasya Petrovna is a genuine crokhoborka, who sees potential customers-buyers in every passer-by. It was Chichikov who first drew attention to efficiency in trade and undisguised stupidity in life in the guise of this landowner. Despite the fact that Korobochka is not only an impeccable hostess, but also a craftswoman to benefit from everywhere, she did not consider the idea of buying “dead souls” at all strange. Moreover, she took the initiative to personally study the current prices for the dead peasants, if only not to sell too cheap and not be left with a nose. The quiet life of Korobochka is full of only anxiety about household chores, a “small” household. But who, no matter how Korobochka, is familiar with the prices of products like honey, lard, hemp, and all in order to resell them more profitably.
Korobochka herself knows the dead peasant souls belonging to her by heart. Nastasya Petrovna agreed to conclude the deal agreed with Chichikov only after his promise to purchase her household items.
The central idea of this character is to maximize and increase their already small wealth. 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 with special care protects and hides everything in bags and chests of drawers. And even taking into account a fair amount of prosperity and abundance in the home, she remains a lover to put pressure on pity and cry over losses. When asked by Chichikov about how things are progressing with neighboring landowners, mentioning both Manilov and even Sobakevich, Korobochka skillfully portrays absolute ignorance of the existence of such personalities, as if she had never even heard their names.
The box is too superstitious representative of the landlord. By the way, she will never doubt that what is hidden on the cards after the prayer has been said will certainly come true.
The image of the heroine in the work
("Chichikov at the Box", artist Alexander Agin, 1846-47)
Nastasya Petrovna can be called a primitive, "poor widow", whose ignorance is displayed in her behavior and manner of speech.
The question arises: perhaps Nastasya Petrovna is just an exceptional person who got lost in the wilderness of the province?
However, the author of the poem regretfully draws a negative answer to the conclusion. “No,” says Gogol, because the squalor inherent in Korobochka, her addiction to money, her desire to cash in on anything, overt self-interest, 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 on the lowest rung of the endless ladder of perfection of the human appearance, thus emphasizing the typical character of Korobochka's image.
We meet Korobochka in the 3rd chapter of Gogol's novel-poem Dead Souls. She is the second in a row to whom Chichikov pays a visit. In fact, Chichikov drove into her estate by accident - the coachman got drunk, "walked up", as the author himself characterizes this event, and lost his way. Therefore, instead of Sobakevich, the main character meets the landowner Korobochka.
Consider the image of the Box in detail
She is a woman of respectable years, a widow, in the past a "collegiate secretary." She lives alone on her estate and is completely absorbed in housekeeping. Most likely, she does not have her own children, since Gogol mentions in the description of the character that all her “trash” accumulated during her life will go to some great-niece.
It looks old-fashioned and a little ridiculous, “in a cap”, “flannel”, “something is imposed on the neck”.
Korobochka, unlike Manilov, successfully manages the household herself. Through the eyes of Chichikov, we see that the houses in her village are strong, the serfs are “heavy” (strong), there are many guard dogs, which indicates that this is a “decent village”. The yard is full of poultry, and vegetable gardens stretch behind the fence - cabbage, beets, onions, potatoes. There are also fruit trees, carefully covered with nets from voracious magpies and sparrows. For the same purpose, stuffed animals were also installed. Gogol ironically remarks that one of the effigies was wearing the cap of the hostess herself.
The houses of the peasants were maintained and updated - Chichikov saw a new board on the roofs, the gates stood straight everywhere, carts stood in some yards. That is, the master's care is visible everywhere. In total, Korobochka had 80 serfs, 18 died, about which the hostess greatly laments - they were good workers.
Korobochka does not allow serfs to be lazy - Chichikov's featherbed was fluffed up masterfully, in the morning, when he returns to the living room where he spent the night, everything is already tidied up; the table is bursting with baking.
The fact that the landowner is in order and everything is under her personal control, we see from the dialogue about the purchase of dead souls - she remembers all the dead peasants by their first and last names, she does not even keep any records.
Despite the fact that Korobochka is very fond of complaining about how bad things are, her estate also had surpluses that were sold to merchants and dealers. From the dialogue with Chichikov, we learn that the landowner sells honey, hemp, feathers, meat, flour, cereals, lard. She knows how to bargain, she sells a pood of honey at a very expensive price, as much as 12 rubles, which Chichikov is very surprised at.
Nastasya Petrovna is thrifty and even a little stingy. Despite the fact that things are going well on the estate, the situation in the house is very modest, the wallpaper is old, the clock is creaky. Despite the polite treatment and hospitality, Korobochka did not offer the guest to have dinner, referring to the late time. And in the morning he offers Chichikov only tea, albeit with fruit tincture. Only feeling the benefit - when Chichikov promised to buy "household products" from her - Korobochka decided to appease him and ordered him to bake a pie and pancakes. And also set the table with different pastries.
Gogol writes that her dress "will not burn down and will not be worn out by itself." Complaining about poverty and crop failures, she, nevertheless, saves money in "variegated bags" that she stuffs into chest of drawers. All coins are carefully sorted - "solid coins, fifty dollars, quarters" are laid out separately in bags. In everything, the old landowner is trying to find a benefit - noticing Chichikov's stamped paper, she asks him "to give a leaf."
The box is pious and superstitious. In a thunderstorm, he puts a candle in front of the icon and prays; gets scared when Chichikov mentions the devil in a conversation.
She is not too smart and a little suspicious, she is very afraid of miscalculating and selling too cheap. She doubts the deal with Chichikov and does not want to sell dead souls to him, even though she has to pay for them as if they were alive. He naively thinks that other merchants can come and offer a better price. This deal completely exhausted Chichikov, and in the process of negotiations, he calls Korobochka mentally and aloud "strong-headed", "cudgel-headed", "pooch in the hay" and "damned old woman".
The image of Korobochka is interesting in that it is a fairly common type in Russia during Gogol's time. Its main features - stubbornness, stupidity and narrow-mindedness, were also inherent in real personalities - some officials and civil servants. The author writes about such people that you seem to see a respectable and stately person, but in reality it turns out to be a “perfect box”. Arguments and arguments bounce off them like a "rubber" ball.
The description of the landowner ends with a reflection on the topic, is it possible to believe that Korobochka is at the very bottom of the "ladder of" human perfection "? Gogol compares her to an aristocratic sister who lives in a rich and refined house, who reads books, attends social events, and her thoughts are occupied by "fashionable Catholicism" and political upheavals in France, rather than economic affairs. The author does not give a specific answer to this question; the reader himself must answer it.
Let's summarize the main characteristics of the image of the Box
Household
Has business acumen
Practical
Thrifty
petty
hypocritical
suspicious
Limited
Only cares about his own benefit
Obsessed with hoarding
Religious but no real spirituality
superstitious
The symbolism of the surname of the landowner
Symbolism is an important artistic tool in the hands of a writer. In Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" all the names of the landowners are symbolic. Our heroine is no exception. A box is a diminutive derivative of the word "box", that is, an inanimate object. So in the image of the Box there are few living features, it is turned to the past, there is no real life in it, development - personal, spiritual. A real "dead soul".
People store various things in a box - just like the Box is absorbed in hoarding solely for the sake of money itself, it does not have any global goal for which this money can be spent. She just puts them in bags.
Well, the walls of the box are solid, like the mind of the Box. She is stupid and limited.
As for the diminutive suffix, the author, perhaps, wanted to show the harmlessness and some kind of comic character.