As Chichikov travels from estate to estate, Gogol introduces us to a hilarious and terrifying lineup of Russian landowners. They are not flat stereotypes, but neurotically individual caricatures:
: A compulsive liar, gambler, and bully who nearly ruins the entire scheme. Dead Souls
: Because censuses were conducted years apart, landowners kept paying taxes on serfs who had died in the interim. As Chichikov travels from estate to estate, Gogol
: A man so sweet and sentimental that his mindless daydreaming borders on toxic detachment from reality. : A man so sweet and sentimental that
: Landowners had to pay taxes on their male serfs (referred to officially as "souls") based on the latest census.
The premise of the novel hinges on a loophole in the Imperial Russian tax and legal system:
: A hoarder so consumed by miserliness that his estate is crumbling and his own family is starving. 🔥 Why You Should Read It Today Dead Souls - ...on the B.L.