Manilov- "sweet" sentimental landowner; the first to whom Chichikov goes in the hope of acquiring dead souls (ch. 2). A character "assembled" from the wreckage of literary clichés; associated with the vaudeville-comedy type of sentimental "karamzinist"; with Moliere's type of "stupid nobleman", etc. Through the numerous literary masks in the image of M., a social mask shines through. In his portrait (blond hair, blue eyes), in the figure of his behavior (sweet daydreaming with complete inactivity), even at the age (about 50 years old), the features of the “sentimental”, soulful and empty sovereign Alexander I of the last years of his reign can be identified, led the country to disaster. In any case, this is the same social type. (The attempt to connect M. with Nicholas I was obviously erroneous.) The name of M.’s wife, a pleasant lady weaving lace purses, Lizanka, coincides both with the name of N. M. Karamzin’s sentimental heroine, and with the name of the wife of Alexander I.
The constructed image of M., its weaving from other people's shreds, the absence of any hint of a biography underline the hero's emptiness, "insignificance", covered with a sugary pleasantness of appearance, "magnificence" of behavior. (According to the narrator's recall, M. is neither one nor the other, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan; the devil knows what it is.)
The characters of the landowners depicted in the poem are reflected in the things that surround them. M.'s house stands in the south, open to all winds; the "slope of the mountain" is covered with trimmed turf; thin tops of birches are visible; the pavilion is sublimely named "The Temple of Solitary Reflection"; the pond is completely covered with duckweed; gray huts everywhere, 200 in number; there are no trees in the village; The "color" of the day - either clear, or gloomy, light gray - coincides with the color of M.'s office, covered with blue paint, like gray. All this points to the worthlessness, lifelessness of the hero, from whom you will not expect a single living word. Hidden "deadness" of M. corresponds to inactivity (he does not know how many people have died; a 40-year-old well-fed clerk knows everything), the immobility of his pastime (in a green chalon frock coat or in a dressing gown, with a chubuk in his hand). Hooked on any topic, M.'s thoughts slip away into nowhere, into thoughts about the well-being of a friendly life, about the bridge over the pond, about the belvedere, so high that from it you can watch Moscow over tea, which the wheel of the Chichikovskaya britzka can hardly reach. In the world of M., there is no time either: for two years some book has been laid on the same page (apparently, an issue of the magazine “Son of the Fatherland”); marriage lasts eight years - but M. and his Lizanka still behave like newlyweds. And action, and time, and the meaning of life are replaced by verbal formulas; having heard from Chichikov his strange request (“I wish to have the dead ...”), M. is shocked, remains for several minutes with his mouth open, and suspects the guest of insanity. But as soon as Chichikov chooses an exquisite verbal formulation for his wild request, M. completely calms down. And forever - even after "exposing" Chichikov, he will insist on his "good quality" and the high properties of Chichikov's soul.
M.'s world is a world of false everyday idyll, which is fraught with a false utopia of fantastic improvement (cf. the Greek names of his children - Themistoclus and Alkid, among other things, associated with the Greek origin of the idyll). The “falsity” of Manilov's utopia and Manilov's idyll is predetermined by the fact that M. has neither an idyllic past nor a utopian future, just as there is no present. It is not by chance that Chichikov's path to the lost Manilovka is depicted as a road to nowhere: even getting out of Manilovka without getting lost in the expanses of Russian off-road is difficult. (Intending to get to Sobakevich, Chichikov will first have to spend the night at Korobochka, and then turn to Nozdrev, that is, to those “unplanned” landowners who will eventually ruin his glorious reputation.) In accordance with the plot scheme 1- in the first volume, which "reverses" the scheme of Dante's "Hell", the image of M. in the portrait gallery of perished or perishing souls occupies both the highest and the lowest place; it is equally “registered” both in the upper circle, Limba, and in the last, 9th circle of the Russian “hell”, from where there is no chance to get out into the future Russian “paradise”. There is nothing negative in M.; he did not fall as low as Plyushkin, and still less Chichikov himself; he has done nothing reprehensible in this life, because he has done nothing at all. But there is nothing positive in it either; any inclinations in him have completely died. And therefore, M., unlike the rest of the "semi-negative" characters, cannot count on spiritual transformation and rebirth (the semantic perspective of the 2nd and 3rd volumes) - there is nothing to revive and transform in him.
A brief description of Manilov from the poem "Dead Souls" boils down to the fact that this person is a representative of the landed nobility, who is distinguished by a dreamy but inactive disposition.
The image of Manilov in the poem "Dead Souls"
Manilov is a businesslike, sentimental person. The behavior, appearance, including pleasant facial features, the charm of this hero are so pleasant that they seem cloying and become literally repulsive.
Behind all this sugary appearance is hidden soullessness, callousness, insignificance.
The hero's thoughts are chaotic and disorderly. Having touched on one topic, they can immediately disappear in an unknown direction, go far from reality.
He does not know how to think about today and solve everyday issues. All his life he tries to clothe in exquisite speech formulations.
Characteristics and description of the portrait of the hero Manilov
The portrait of this character, like any other, consists of several parameters.
These include:
- life attitudes of the hero;
- hobbies;
- description of home decoration and workplace (if any);
- first impression of the character;
- speech and behavior.
The life goals of the landowner
The hero does not build definite plans. All his dreams are extremely vague and far from reality - it is not possible to realize them.
One of the projects was the idea to build an underground tunnel and a bridge across the pond. As a result, not a drop of what the landowner fantasized was done.
The hero is not able to plan his own life and make real decisions. Instead of real deeds, Manilov is engaged in verbiage.
However, he also has good features - the landowner can be described as a good family man who sincerely loves his wife and his children, cares about their present and future.
Favorite activities
Manilov's leisure is not filled with anything. He spends most of his time in a gazebo with the inscription "Temple of Solitary Reflection". It is here that the hero indulges in his fantasies, dreams, comes up with unrealistic projects.
The hero also likes to sit in his office, meditate and, from idleness, build “beautiful rows” of ash slides. Constantly dwelling in his dreams, the landowner never leaves for the fields.
Description of Manilov's office
The landowner's office, like his entire estate, very accurately characterizes the hero's personality. The interior decoration emphasizes the features of the character and habits of the character. The windows of the study overlook the side of the forest. Nearby lies a book, bookmarked on the same page for two whole years.
In general, the room looks nice. Of the furniture in it: a table with a book, four chairs, an armchair. Most of all in the study was tobacco - the ashes from a tobacco pipe were scattered around.
The first impression of the hero
At first glance, the character appears to be a charming person. Thanks to his immense good nature, the hero sees the best in everyone, and does not detect shortcomings at all or turns a blind eye to them.
The first impression does not last long. Soon, Manilov's society becomes terribly boring for the interlocutor. The fact is that the hero does not have his own point of view, but only pronounces “honey” phrases and smiles sweetly.
It does not have vital energy, real desires that drive a person, force him to act. Thus, Manilov is a dead soul, a gray, spineless person, without definite interests.
Behavior and speech of the landowner
Manilov behaves very hospitably. At the same time, the hero is so pleasant in communication that sometimes it becomes excessive. The look of the landowner seems to exude sugar, and his speech is cloying to disgrace.
Manilov is a very boring interlocutor; it is never possible to hear criticism, indignation, "arrogant words" from him. In conversation, the hero’s lively manners are manifested, Manilov’s quick speech is similar to bird chirping, saturated with courtesies.
The landowner is distinguished by delicacy and cordiality in communication. These qualities are manifested in bright and pompous forms of endless delight (“schi, but from a pure heart”).
Among the favorite expressions of the hero there are such words as "let me", "amiable", "the most pleasant", "the most refined", "cute". In addition, Manilov's conversation is full of pronouns, interjections and adverbs of an indefinite form: such, such, some. These words emphasize Manilov's indefinite attitude to everything around him.
The speech of the hero has no meaning, it is empty and fruitless. Nevertheless, Mr. Manilov is a taciturn person, and prefers to spend his free time thinking rather than talking.
Children of Manilov
The landowner has two children - sons. Wanting to somehow stand out from the gray mass, the father gave the boys unusual names - he named the eldest Themistoklos, the youngest he gave the name Alkid. The children were still small - 7 and 6 years respectively. The teacher is responsible for the education of the sons.
Manilov predicts a great future for his eldest son - due to his incredible wit, the boy will have a career as a diplomat. Speaking about the abilities of the youngest son, the landowner is limited to a brief description: "... Here is the smaller one, Alkid, he is not so fast ...".
The relationship between Manilov and Chichikov
Unlike other landowners, Manilov meets with great cordiality and hospitality, showing himself as a caring and attentive host. He tries to please Chichikov in everything.
In a deal with the main character, Manilov does not seek profit, refusing in every possible way to accept payment for dead souls. He gives them away as a gift, out of friendship.
At first, the landowner is perplexed about Chichikov's unusual proposal, so much so that his pipe falls out of his mouth and the gift of speech disappears.
Manilov changed his attitude to the deal after Chichikov deftly framed his request in beautiful words - the landowner immediately calmed down and agreed.
The main character, in turn, cannot believe that Manilov and the clerk are not able to answer how many peasants have died since the last census.
Attitude towards the economy of Manilov
The character, to put it mildly, does not differ in practicality, which is vividly shown by the example of the description of his estate.
The hero's house stands in an open space accessible to all winds, the pond is overgrown with greenery, the village has become impoverished. Before Chichikov, miserable, lifeless views open up. Dilapidation and desolation reigns everywhere.
Manilov did not take care of the economy, he never went to the fields, he did not know about the number of serfs and how many of them were no longer alive. The landowner entrusted the management of affairs to the clerk, and he completely removed himself from solving pressing problems.
He can’t understand why Chichikov might need dead souls, but at the same time he is happy to indulge in fantasies about how great it would be to live next to him on the river bank. The clerk who manages Manilov's household is a hopeless drunkard, and the servants do nothing but sleep and do nothing.
Manilov is the only one who did not sell dead souls, but decided to give them away for nothing. In addition, the landlord bears all the costs of registration of the bill of sale. This act clearly demonstrates the impracticality of the hero. The only thing Manilov is guided by is senseless sycophancy in front of Chichikov, as well as in front of any other person.
Attitude towards others
Manilov treats all people equally benevolently and, as noted earlier, sees only positive qualities in each person. According to the hero, all officials are wonderful people in every respect.
The landowner treats the peasants well, both with his own and with strangers. Manilov is very polite towards the teacher of his children, and he even addressed the coachman once with “you”. Manilov is so trusting and naive that he does not notice lies and deceit.
With his guests, the landowner behaves very hospitably and kindly. In addition, he observes ingratiating behavior towards those people who are of particular interest to him (such as Chichikov).
Kindness, gullibility, gentleness in Manilov are greatly exaggerated and not balanced by a critical outlook on life.
Description of the Manilov estate
This is a large estate owned by a landowner. More than 200 peasant houses are assigned to it. There are fields, a forest, a pond, a city house, a gazebo and flower beds. Manilov's economy is left to itself, and his peasants lead an idle lifestyle. The estate has a gazebo for reflection, where the landowner indulges in dreams and fantasies from time to time.
Why Manilov is a "dead soul"
The image of the landowner is the personification of a person who has lost his own personality, who does not have individuality.
Manilov has no purpose in life, this is a "dead soul" that is worth nothing even in comparison with such a scoundrel as Chichikov.
Conclusion
In the work, the red line emphasizes the spiritual emptiness and insignificance of Manilov, hiding behind the sugar shell of the hero and his estate. This character cannot be called negative, but it cannot be classified as positive either. He is a man without a patronymic name, who has no meaning for the world around him.
The hero can be characterized by a capacious quote from "Dead Souls" - "the devil knows what it is." Manilov cannot count on rebirth, because inside him is an emptiness that cannot be reborn or transformed. The world of this hero consists of false fantasies and is, in fact, a barren idyll leading nowhere.
Manilov's appearance is not something outstanding, bright, memorable. On the contrary, the author openly declares that it is extremely difficult and unpleasant to describe people like the owner of the estate, since they do not stand out in any way. The character is simple, or rather empty, but the author talks about it delicately and with restraint, allowing the reader to understand the essence of the hero himself. The portrait of Manilov in the poem “Dead Souls” is a tool for revealing the inner world of the hero, despite its brevity, it plays an important role in the image of our character.
Portrait characteristic of Manilov
Several lines are given in the poem to describe the natural data of the landowner. He has a pleasant appearance, "blonde" hair, blue eyes. The author notes that the landowner is a prominent person, that is, he has a good figure and impressive growth. In addition, his officer background undoubtedly influenced his posture. That is why Chichikov, looking at the owner of the house, notes his pleasant appearance, tempting smile, kind face. A little later, the guest will realize that Manilov's smile, mannerisms and speeches are sweet to the point of impossibility.
Even at the beginning of the chapter, Gogol warns the reader that there are many manilovs, they all look alike, so it is extremely difficult to find something special, distinctive in such a person. Such is the appearance and character of the character - "neither this nor that." It has no thirst for life, fire, character. He is really not interested in anything but pipe smoking and empty dreams. But the character is a flatterer, talker and sloth. He is ridiculously aristocratic, overly polite, cloyingly caring and courteous. Manilov is dressed in a “green chalon frock coat”, the landowner, however, like his wife, dresses soundly, but without zest.
Manilov as husband and master
Chichikov's business conversation with the owner shows his helplessness in matters of managing the estate. The landowner does not know anything about how many souls he has, when was the last revision, how many peasants have died since then. According to many researchers of the work of N.V. Gogol, the author hints at Alexander I in the last years of his reign. The similarity of these images is indicated by his kindness, sincerity, sentimentality, global plans and complete inaction. Manilov is like everyone else and is faceless because of this, the author does not even give him a name, does not reveal his biography - as if it does not exist.
Time seems to have nothing to do with our hero: he is a man without age, living every day the same way, unable to change anything in himself and around him. That is why in the description of the estate there is a pond, overgrown, turning into a swamp. It is this that is the allegory of Manilov's whole life. There is no current in it, it is meaningless, but the swamp is capable of tightening, you can die in it. This is exactly what happened to Manilov: he is mired in this, and his family happily accepts this lifestyle. Many scenes very vividly characterize the way of the landowner's family. The reader is presented with a picture of Manilov cooing with his wife, as if they were going through a honeymoon. He opens his mouth in a mannered way, bites off a piece of an apple from his wife's hands, treats himself to nuts. Sweetness and sweetness overwhelm the image of the hero, the author calls it “hell knows what” and warns of the desire to escape from “mortal boredom”.
Inside view
The inner world of the hero is very in tune with the landscape that opens up to the guest at the entrance to the village: the house is southward, accessible to all winds, there is little vegetation, remoteness from the city. The weather also corresponds to the image of the character - not light, not overcast, something “light gray”. The same pine forest can be seen not far from the estate - "dull bluish" color. Everything: a long, confusing road to the Manilov estate (and the way back), the state of the weather, the surrounding landscapes, the description of the estate and the house - is aimed at preparing for a meeting with a new character: empty, boring, “gray”, “so-so”, “no in the town of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan.”
In his work, Gogol puts Manilov first in a series of landowners visited by Chichikov. The image of Manilov in the poem "Dead Souls" at first glance is simple and harmless, the landowner does not cause disgust, is not a vile and deceitful swindler. But “Manilovism” is empty talk, facelessness, daydreaming, laziness, inactivity. This phenomenon is as destructive as other vices “sung” by the author of the poem.
Description of appearance and manners of Manilov
The author gives a not very detailed description of Manilov's appearance. It is important to start with the fact that Gogol does not even mention the name of the landowner, focusing on the names of the members of the Manilov family. He is a middle-aged man, with a pleasant appearance: blond with blue eyes, with pleasant features - this is the first impression that is created when you see a character.
The author finds that it is very difficult to describe a person like Manilov, he is so ordinary and similar to everyone else that it is impossible to single out any special features. The landowner is well dressed, smiling, hospitable. He is romantic, very touching in his attitude towards his wife. The sentimentality of the character is cloying: he admires everything that comes to mind, rejoices for no reason, hovering in an illusory world. The hero is characterized by excessive politeness, daydreaming, many plans that will always be plans and no more.
Life position of the landowner
Manilov does not understand people at all. His delicacy, sweetness and tender spiritual nature does not tolerate the truth of life, the world of our hero is “beautiful”, “wonderful”, “delightful”. All those around are equally “worthy”, “most pleasant”, “most educated”, “extremely decent”. Apparently, he never takes off his rose-colored glasses, he sincerely believes that he is an enlightened owner, that his estate is flourishing.
In fact, the workers in the house rob the owners, carouse at their expense, deceive and lie mercilessly to them. The peasants have long understood that they are dealing with people far from real life, the peasants boldly ask Manilov for a day or two to simply get drunk. The mismanagement, laziness of the Manilovs shines through from the entire furnishings of the house: the furniture in the rooms has not been covered for years, what is of prime importance for the furnishings of the house has not been bought, the gazebo (built for thoughts and philosophizing) is abandoned, the garden is not well maintained, everything lacks completeness.
What does this image say?
People like Manilov are dangerous as a social phenomenon: life moves on without their participation, they do not know how to create, their destiny is the construction of castles in the air, languid reflections on the meaning of existence and complete inaction. Hospitality, joy from the appearance of a guest is nothing more than an opportunity to diversify your boring existence, to show another performance “family idyll”, which has been played more than once in front of other guests.
The life of the Manilovs is a swamp in which they slowly sink, such people at some point stopped at a certain stage, stopped developing. All that Manilov can do is verbiage and empty dreams, his soul has long ceased to work, it is also dead, like the souls of other landowners. The unwillingness to think, solve problems, move forward led to the fact that the landlord gives Chichikov the deceased peasants for free, he is ready to serve any “beautiful” person, without thinking about the causes and consequences. The landowner is trusting, like a child, he is sacredly faithful to the law and sincerely convinced of the decency of those around him.
Chichikov runs away from Manilov immediately after the conclusion of the deal, because deadly boredom, excessive sweetness, monotony, lack of interesting topics for communication drives him crazy. “Too sweet” - this quote describes the atmosphere in Manilov's house and serves as a characteristic of the image of the landowner himself.
Our article briefly describes the image of the landowner Manilov in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls". This material may be useful in preparing for an essay or other creative work on the topic.
Artwork test
Manilov is the first of the landowners visited by Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, the protagonist of Gogol's novel-poem Dead Souls. The order of visits is not accidental in this work - the descriptions of the landlords are arranged according to the degree of their degradation, from the least to the highest. Therefore, in the image of Manilov, we will see some positive features.
The surname of the landowner is also symbolic. It is formed from the word "beckon". His sweet speech, attractive appearance and manner attract people, create a pleasant environment for communication. It is like a bright candy wrapper, inside of which, however, there is nothing. This is also noted by Gogol himself: "... a person is so-so, neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan."
We analyze the image
The owner of Manilovka was distinguished by his pleasant appearance and amazing benevolence towards other people, whether it was a teacher of his children or a serf. For everyone, he found good and pleasant words, he tried to please and please everyone. It was not in his nature to criticize anyone.
Unlike Sobakevich, he did not consider the local governor a robber from the high road, but believed that he was "the most gracious person." The policeman, in Manilov's understanding, is not at all a swindler, but a very pleasant person. He never said a bad word about anyone. As we can see, the superficiality of this character's judgments does not allow him to objectively perceive other people.
Manilov served in the army, where army comrades characterized him as a delicate and educated officer.
After eight years of marriage, he continued to have tender feelings for his wife, affectionately called her Lizanka, and all the time tried to pamper her with something. He had two sons with more than strange names - Themistoclus and Alkid. As if with these pretentious names Manilov wants to stand out, to declare his exclusivity.
Most of the time, the owner of two hundred peasant households was in dreams and daydreams. For this "important" occupation, there was a special pavilion on the estate with the pompous name "Temple of Solitary Reflection." Manilov's rich imagination "boldly" transformed the surrounding reality. A bridge was mentally built across the pond, on which merchants briskly traded in all kinds of goods, or a belvedere was erected over the master's house of such a height that one could see Moscow, or an underground passage was dug (however, our dreamer does not specify the purpose of the underground passage).
Dreams brought Manilov to such a distance that real life turned out to be in the background. The whole household was entrusted to the clerk, but Manilov did not delve into anything, but only indulged in fantasies, smoked his pipe all the time and did nothing. Even the book in his office was bookmarked for two years on the same 14th page. The peasants, to match the master, also became lazy, the pond was overgrown with greenery, the housekeeper was stealing, the clerk became ill and did not get up before 9 o'clock in the morning. But nothing could disturb the measured flow of the comfortable and idle life of the good-natured landowner.
Manilov turned out to be such an impressionable person that, in response to Chichikov's request to sell dead souls, he dropped his pipe and froze in amazement with his mouth open. But in the end, he came to his senses and demonstrated a friendly disposition and disinterestedness - he gave away dead souls completely free of charge, which completely touched Chichikov. In a conversation with a friend, Manilov demonstrated complete detachment from economic affairs - he could not even name the number of dead peasants, not to mention their names and surnames.
Manilovshchina
The term "Manilovism" arose precisely on the basis of the features of this hero of the novel "Dead Souls". This is a way of life characterized by detachment from reality, idleness, frivolity, "hovering in the clouds", inaction. People like Manilov spend their time in empty dreams, which they are in no hurry to put into practice. They are grotesquely sugary, have no opinion of their own, strive to please everyone, think superficially and unrealistically.
They care more about the impression they make than about the actual development of the soul and character. Such individuals are pleasant in communication and complacent, but otherwise completely useless for society. Many literary critics believe that in the image of Manilov Gogol tried to portray Nicholas I.
Let's generalize the image by grouping the positive and negative features of Manilov
Positive traits
Compassionate and helpful
Hospitable
Polite
Educated
Positive
Selfless
Keeps with everyone on an equal footing, not arrogant
Sincerely loves his family - wife and children
Poetry perceives life
Negative qualities
Tendency to ignore problems
Idleness
Carelessness
Inner emptiness
Mismanagement
Lack of own opinion
Idle talk and ornate syllable
A penchant for empty fantasies
spinelessness
Indifference to other people's problems (the death rate of peasants is high on his estate)
Inaction
Excessive need for approval (desire to please everyone)
toadying
Insincerity
Superficiality of judgments
Excessive cloying, sweetness in communication
Excessive gullibility
Infantilism
Lack of leadership qualities and inner core
Lack of understanding of the purpose and meaning of one's life