Revenant

Author: Gogol (Russia)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Gogol's masterpiece, Dead Souls, is a cornerstone of the development of Russian critical realism and the pinnacle of Gogol's realist creative achievements. Belinsky highly praised it as a "landmark work in Russian literature" and a work that "stands above all other works of Russian literature past and present," both "national" and "highly artistic." The novel depicts the story of a speculator and con artist—Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, a sixth-class official—buying dead souls. Chichikov arrives in a certain city and spends more than a week cultivating connections with officials from the governor down to the chief engineer. Then, he goes to the suburbs to buy serfs who have died but have not yet had their records canceled, intending to use them as living collateral for the supervisory committee to obtain a large sum of deposit money. He visits one after another, engaging in fierce haggling, and manages to buy a large batch of dead souls. When he cheerfully completes the legal transaction with the help of his well-established connections, his criminal activities are exposed, and the inspector is even rumored to have died of the scandal. Chichikov is forced to flee in a hurry. The publication of Dead Souls shook the entire Russia. With the sharp pen of the author, the terrible reality of various greedy and ignorant landlords, corrupt and decadent officials, and the miserable plight of the serfs are exposed in full. Thus, with its profound ideological content, clear critical tendency, and immense artistic power, it became a foundational masterpiece of Russian critical realism and a model of satirical works in both Russian and world literature.