In this blog post, I will carefully examine the dual meaning of the title and the intention of salvation in Gogol’s ‘Dead Souls’ by exploring the similarities and differences between Chichikov and Don Quixote.

Chichikov and Don Quixote — Similarities and Differences

Now that you’ve turned the final page of this work—which may feel somewhat unfamiliar compared to the works you’ve read so far—let me ask you: What did you feel about the protagonist, “Chichikov”? What kind of person is he, really?
Let me start by sharing my own thoughts. As I read Nikolai Gogol’s ‘Dead Souls’, Cervantes’ ‘Don Quixote’ kept coming to mind. Who is Don Quixote? He is a madman who mistakes himself for a wandering knight and sets out on adventures to achieve heroic deeds. He is a man completely immersed in an unrealistic dream, mistaking reality for fantasy and constantly committing absurd acts.
Chichikov resembles Don Quixote. His wanderings across Russia mirror Don Quixote’s travels, and by his side is Seliphan, a servant and coachman who resembles Sancho Panza.
Why does he roam all over Russia? To buy up the corpses of serfs. Regardless of his motives, his behavior—paying money to buy dead serfs who are utterly useless—is utterly absurd, and in that no one understands why he does such things, it is not much different from Don Quixote’s actions. Moreover, his dream of making a fortune by buying dead serfs is thwarted, at least in Part One. Thus, his dream can be seen as similar to Don Quixote’s “futile fantasy.”
If so, why did Gogol have Chichikov wander across Russia like Don Quixote? Don Quixote roamed the world to realize the ideals of chivalry, even if they were futile dreams. Chichikov, on the other hand, wanders solely to make money. Didn’t Chichikov himself say as much? “I saved every penny with truly heartbreaking patience. I didn’t steal from others, nor did I embezzle public funds. Why did I do that? To live out the rest of my life comfortably, to leave something behind for my children—and to serve the state.”
If Don Quixote is an idealistic figure intoxicated by impossible dreams, Chichikov is an extremely pragmatic one. In that sense, the two are completely different. However, in reality, they aren’t quite so different, and there are clearly points where they resemble each other. What does this mean?

The Meaning of ‘Dead Souls’ and Gogol’s Intention for Redemption

First, let’s examine the title. The original Russian title of this novel is ‘Mertvye Dushi’. We’ve translated this as ‘Dead Souls’, but during the era of Tsarist Russia, the word ‘dushi’ meant both “soul” and “serf.” Therefore, this title carries a complex blend of social and spiritual meanings.
Consequently, the meaning of “Dead Souls” is also dual. Literally, it refers to the dead serfs that Chichikov purchased, but it also signifies souls that have died. Whose souls have died? They are Chichikov’s own soul and, by extension, the soul of Russia.
Chichikov roams the world having purchased those dead souls as if they were “living souls.” If so, might his wanderings—much like those of Don Quixote—be the result of the author sending him out into the world to save that soul? This intention becomes relatively clear toward the end of the work. When the Prince asks Murazov why he is pleading for the release of Chichikov, who has been imprisoned, Murazov replies, “To save his soul.”
In fact, it is known that Gogol originally conceived ‘Dead Souls’ as a trilogy, similar to Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’. He intended for Part 1 to depict evil in all its thoroughness, like ‘Inferno’; Part 2 to portray souls undergoing atonement, like ‘Purgatorio’; and Part 3 to depict saved souls, like ‘Paradiso’. However, after writing the second part, he burned the manuscript twice and never even began the third part. All that remains today are some unburned fragments of the manuscript, along with sketches and notes. Reasons cited for why he burned the manuscript include religious remorse, critical attacks, frustration at being unable to realize his ideals in the work, or accidentally burning it along with other manuscripts.
In any case, through this work, Gogol sought to save both Chichikov’s soul and the soul of Russia. In that sense, this work—regarded as the origin of Russian Realism—is also romantic. Let us recall that the word “soul” always lies at the heart of the term “romantic.”
That said, this work is not exactly the same as Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’. The ‘Inferno’ in the ‘Divine Comedy’ is depicted, quite literally, as a chaotic hell with no possibility of salvation. The sinners there must groan in that hell forever until the Last Judgment.
In contrast, while Part 1 of Gogol’s ‘Dead Souls’ lays bare all manner of human ugliness, it also contains humor, affection, and compassion. Ask yourselves: while reading Part 1, did you shudder at the horror, or did you find yourself smiling without realizing it? Did you feel only anger or hatred toward those philistines, or did compassion arise first? You will hardly feel the spine-chilling horror and detached cruelty found in the “Inferno” of Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’. This is precisely what characterizes Gogol’s work and distinguishes it from other Russian works we have read before.
Let’s turn our attention back to Chichikov. To put it simply, he is a swindler. He was a corrupt bureaucrat who colluded with smuggling rings to make money while working at the customs office; he is the man who purchased dead serfs by passing them off as living ones to secure loans for his own gain; and he is also a scoundrel who forged wills to seize others’ inheritances. He is a criminal both morally and legally.
Yet what is interesting is that the author’s gaze is imbued with affection. Throughout the work, the author urges us not to adopt a hostile stance toward the protagonist and asks the reader: Some readers may demand a clear determination of his moral character. It is clear that he is not a perfectly good and noble person. So is he a despicable human being? Why must we call him despicable? Why must we hold others to such strict standards?
Gogol is lenient toward the wavering human soul. Look at Chichikov. He sways like a reed. After hearing Kostanzoglo’s words, he sheds tears as if he had returned to his hometown, only to instantly turn into a philistine, reluctant to part with his money. Moved by Murazov’s words, his soul seems to soar as he makes a promise, yet he succumbs to the temptation of a corrupt official who offers to get him out of prison in exchange for money. It is precisely through this wavering that Gogol seeks to understand human nature.
In light of the message conveyed by the above quotation, Chichikov’s behavior can be explained as follows: He acts this way not because he is an exceptionally bad person, but simply because he is human. His actions do not stem from within him; he is merely driven by some unknown force over which he has no control. Even if his actions are evil, they are not the product of his own will. Just as there is some unknown heavenly force hidden in this world that leads him toward good, there is also an unknown force hidden within that leads him toward evil.
Can you truly agree with this? Are all the vices that exist in this world—the vices present in human society—something we simply cannot avoid as long as we are human? As long as we live as human beings, are we inevitably destined to sin and be punished?
If we answer “yes” to that question, we may quickly become helpless. However, as we delve deeper into that question, we gain another insight. We become able to feel a sense of kinship and connection with others’ faults. We become capable of feeling compassion toward others, understanding them better, and showing them tolerance. We often translate the English word “compassion” as “sympathy” or “pity,” but its more precise meaning is “to share another’s emotions or passions.” Compassion is empathizing with the fact that, even if those emotions or passions lead to bad outcomes, we, too, possess them. It is then that people become more forgiving of the vices committed by others.
Becoming tolerant of evil does not mean blindly siding with it. If that were the case, the struggle itself would disappear, and evil would simply be left unchecked. That is not being tolerant of evil; it means leaving evil as it is without even reflecting on it. However, becoming tolerant of evil means not assuming that evil must be unconditionally defeated, but rather engaging in deeper reflection on what evil actually is and on the nature of evil itself. It means engaging in deeper reflection on the human condition, which is inevitably prone to committing evil.
It is easy to say, “You must not do evil.” It is also easy to resolve, “I must not do bad things.” Furthermore, it is easy to proclaim, “We must defeat evil.” And it is true that such powerful proclamations do have a role in guiding people toward goodness. However, such cries alone will not make evil disappear from this world. Moreover, there are many people in this world who think differently, and that is precisely what it means to be human. This is because the human soul is multifaceted.
At the core of the works by the Russian masters we will be reading—namely, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy—lies compassion for humanity and for the sins that humans are bound to commit. And the person who first introduced this Russian spirit to the world through literature was Gogol, and the work that best embodies that spirit is none other than ‘Dead Souls’. In that sense, Gogol is the quintessential Russian writer, and ‘Dead Souls’ is a quintessentially Russian work. Yet at the same time, ‘Dead Souls’ can be said to be a work that has attained universal significance. This is because every human being is a creature that yearns for the salvation of the soul.
But that’s not all. Since Gogol shows deep affection for the protagonist, Chichikov, let’s say a few more words to get to know him better. Don’t you feel a sense of kinship with Chichikov, who, having inherited neither a substantial fortune nor a privileged background from his parents, must navigate the trials and tribulations of the world solely through his own efforts? Isn’t this the story of someone born with so-called “silver spoons,” yet overcoming those adverse conditions through his own efforts? Even with nothing to his name, relying solely on his ability to read people’s hearts and persuade them with his eloquence to build a successful business—isn’t this a figure we still frequently see around us today? Moreover, what were the talents he relied on? Were they not “patience and passion”? Even though he may have taken a few wrong turns along the way, the patience and passion he possessed remain as invaluable to young people today as they ever were. In that sense, Chichikov is both a quintessentially Russian character created by Gogol and a universal figure.
Finally, let me ask one more question. Did reading this work make you want to travel to Russia? When you recall the passage where Gogol writes, “In Russia, hospitality is a kind of strict discipline,” doesn’t it make you want to see for yourself whether that tradition is still observed today?
Gogol was born in March 1809 in Poltava, in what is now Ukraine. At the age of 20, harboring lofty ambitions, he moved to St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia. There, he published poems but received harsh criticism, and he also failed an audition to become an actor at the Imperial Theater. Left with no other choice, he made a living as a low-ranking civil servant while continuing his creative work.
The most significant event in his literary career was meeting his long-admired idol, Pushkin, in 1832. He subsequently began teaching as a professor of history at the University of St. Petersburg. In 1835, following Pushkin’s advice, he began writing ‘A Dead Soul’, and in 1836, his play ‘The Inspector General’ was staged to great acclaim. However, unable to tolerate the misinterpretation of his creative intentions by fellow writers and the general public, he left Russia and devoted himself to his writing while living in Rome from 1836 to 1848.
‘Dead Souls’, which he published in 1842 while in Rome, caused a tremendous stir throughout Russia. However, some accused him of defaming Russia, while others criticized him for treating Russia as too sacred.
He immediately began writing the second part of ‘Dead Souls’. However, after completing it, he immediately burned the manuscript and finished the second part again about ten years later. For reasons unknown, he burned that manuscript as well and died about ten days later.
He was an outstanding writer who sought to explore the soul of Russia—and, by extension, the universal soul of humanity—through the soul of a single individual. His literary spirit was passed directly on to Dostoevsky, becoming the cornerstone of great Russian literature—a profound reflection on human nature.