A summary of the story about kopeikin. Captain Kopeikin characterization and image of dead souls in the poem. Several interesting compositions
Censored Edition
"After the campaign of the twelfth year, you are my judge, - thus began
postmaster, in spite of the fact that not one sir, but whole
six, - after the twelfth campaign, was sent along with the wounded
and captain Kopeikin. The flying head, fastidious as the devil, also visited
in the guardhouse and under arrest, tasted everything. Whether under Red or under
Leipzig, you can imagine, his arm and leg were blown off. Well then
have not yet had time to make any, you know, such orders about the wounded;
this some kind of invalid capital was already started, you can imagine
myself, sort of after. Captain Kopeikin sees: it would be necessary to work,
only his left hand, you know. I was visiting my father's house, father
says: "I have nothing to feed you, I - you can imagine - myself barely
I take out bread. "So my captain Kopeikin decided to go, my sir, to
Petersburg, to bother with the authorities, will not there be some kind of help ...
Somehow there, you know, with wagons or state-owned wagons - in a word, my sir,
He somehow made his way to Petersburg. Well, you can imagine: such
some, that is, Captain Kopeikin, and suddenly found himself in the capital, which
there is no such thing, so to speak, in the world! Suddenly there is a light in front of him, relatively
say, a certain field of life, a fabulous Scheherazade, you know, such.
Suddenly, some sort of, you can imagine, Nevsky prospect, or
there, you know, some kind of Pea, damn it, or some kind of
some kind of Foundry; there is some sort of spitz in the air; bridges there
hang like a devil, you can imagine, without any, that is,
touch - in a word, Semiramis, sir, and full of it! I got used to
rent an apartment, but it all bites scary: curtains, curtains,
such devilry, you understand the carpets - Persia, my sir, is such ... in a word,
relatively so to speak, you trample capital with your foot. We are walking down the street, let alone the nose
hears that it smells like thousands; but Captain Kopeikin will wash the entire banknote
bank, you know, from some ten blue and silver a trifle. Well,
you can't buy villages with it, that is, you can buy it, maybe if you put in thousands
forty, but forty thousand must be borrowed from the French king. Well, somehow there
took refuge in a Revel's tavern for a ruble a day; lunch - cabbage soup, a piece of bat
beef ... Sees: there is nothing to heal. I asked where to go. Well,
where to go? Saying: there are no higher authorities in the capital now, all this,
in fact, in Paris, the troops did not return, but there is, they say, a temporary
commission. Try it, maybe there is something there. "I'll go to the commission,
- says Kopeikin, I will say: so and so, shed, in some way, blood,
relatively to say, he sacrificed his life. "
he scratched his beard with his left hand, because paying a barber is
will, in some way, account, dragged on a uniform and on a piece of wood
his, you can imagine, went to the commission. I asked where he lives
Chief. There, they say, is a house on the embankment: a hut, you know, a man's:
glass panes in the windows, you can imagine, half-satin mirrors,
marmoras, varnishes, my sir ... in a word, the mind is darkened! Metal handle
some at the door - the comfort of the first quality, so first,
you understand, you need to run into a shop, and buy soap for a penny, but about two hours,
in some way, rub his hands with them, but after that, how can you take it.
One doorman on the porch, with a mace: a kind of count's physiognomy, cambric
collars like a well-fed fat pug ... my Kopeikin
somehow got up with his piece of wood into the waiting room, snuggled there in the corner
yourself, so as not to push with your elbow, you can imagine some
America or India - a gilded, relatively to say, porcelain vase
such. Well, of course, he drank enough there, because he came
even at a time when the boss, in some way, barely got up from
bed and the valet brought him some silver tub for different
you understand, such washings. My Kopeikin is waiting for four hours, as he enters
the official on duty says: "The chief will be out now." And in the room already
an epaulette and an excelbant, to the people - like beans on a plate. Finally, my sir,
the chief comes out. Well ... you can imagine: the boss! in the face, so
say ... well, in accordance with the rank, you know ... with the rank ... and
expression, you know. In all the metropolitan behavior; goes to one, to
to another: "Why are you, why are you, what do you want, what is your business?" Finally,
my sir, to Kopeikin. Kopeikin: "So and so, he says, he shed blood,
lost, in some way, arms and legs, I can not work, I dare
ask if there will be some kind of assistance, some such
orders regarding, so to speak, remuneration, pension,
do you understand. "The boss sees: a man on a piece of wood and a right sleeve
empty strapped to the uniform. "Okay, he says, look around one of these days!"
My Kopeikin is delighted: well, he thinks it's done. In spirit, you can
imagine bouncing like this on the sidewalk; went to the Palkinsky tavern
drink a glass of vodka, dined, my sir, in London, ordered myself to serve
cutlet with capers, poulard with different finterleys, asked for a bottle of wine,
in the evening I went to the theater - in a word,
to tell. On the sidewalk, he sees a slender Englishwoman walking like a swan,
can you imagine that. My Kopeikin is blood, you know,
played out - he was running after her on his piece of wood: trick-trick followed, -
"yes pet, I thought, for a while to hell with red tape, even if after, when I get
pension, now I’ve got too different. ”And meanwhile he squandered,
please note, in one day almost half the money! In three or four days
is the op, you my judge, to the commission, to the chief. "He came, he says,
find out: so and so, for possessed diseases and for wounds ... spilled, in
in some way, blood ... "- and the like, you know, in the official
syllable. "And what, - says the chief, - first of all I have to tell you,
that in your case without the permission of the higher authorities we can do nothing
do. You can see for yourself what time it is now. Military action, relatively
so to speak, they are not yet completely over. Wait for the arrival of the lord
minister, be patient. Then be sure - you will not be abandoned. And if
you have nothing to live with, so here you are, he says, as long as I can ... "Well, you know, he gave
him, of course, a little, but with moderation he would reach out to
further there permissions. But my Kopeikin didn't want that. He already
I thought that tomorrow they would give him the thousandth jackpot:
to "you, my dear, drink and be merry; but instead wait. And already with him,
you understand, in the head and an Englishwoman, and souplets, and all sorts of cutlets. Here he is an owl
one came out of the porch like a poodle, which the cook poured with water, - and the tail of
between his legs, and his ears drooped. Petersburg life has already taken care of him,
he had already tried something. And here live the devil knows how, sweets,
you understand, no. Well, and the person is fresh, lively, the appetite is just wolfish.
Passes by some kind of restaurant: the cook is there, you can yourself
imagine a foreigner, a Frenchman with an open physiognomy, underwear on
it is Dutch, an apron, whiteness equal, in some way, to the snow,
works some kind of fepzeri, cutlets with truffles, - in a word,
Rasupe is a delicacy such that I would simply eat myself, that is, with my appetite.
Will it pass the Milyutin shops, look out of the window, in some
kind, a kind of salmon, cherries - five rubles each, a huge watermelon,
stagecoach sort of, leaned out of the window and, so to speak, looking for a fool who would
paid one hundred rubles - in a word, at every step there was a temptation, relatively so
say, drooling, and he wait. So imagine his position here, with
on the one hand, so to speak, salmon and watermelon, and on the other hand - to him
a bitter dish called "tomorrow" is served. "Well, he thinks how they are there
they want to themselves, but I will go, he says, I will raise the entire commission, all the bosses
I will say: as you want. "And in fact: an intrusive person,
there is no sense, you know, in my head, but there is a lot of lynx. He comes to the commission:
"Well, they say, why else? After all, you've already been told."
I can, he says, interrupt somehow. I need, he says, eat a cutlet,
a bottle of French wine, to entertain yourself too, to the theater, you know. "-" Well
already, - say the chief, - excuse me. On account of this there is, so it is in
some kind of patience. You have been given food for the time being, while
a resolution will be issued, and, without an opinion, you will be rewarded properly: for
there has not yet been an example of a person in Russia who brought
regarding, so to speak, services to the fatherland, was left without charity. But
if you want to treat yourself to cutlets now and go to the theater, you know, so
excuse me. In this case, look for your own means, try yourself
help yourself. "But my Kopeikin, you can imagine, and doesn’t blow his mustache.
These words to him are like peas against the wall. The noise raised such, fluffed everyone up! of all
there these secretaries, he began to split off and nail everyone: yes vm, he says, then,
is talking! yes you, he says, it, he says! yes you, he says, have your responsibilities
do not know! Yes, you, he says, law sellers, he says! Spanked everyone. There
some official, you know, turned up from some
foreign department - he, my judge, and his! A riot raised one like this. What
will you order me to do with such a devil? The boss sees: you need to resort,
relatively, so to speak, to the measures of severity. "Okay, says if you don't
want to be content with what they give you, and expect calmly, in some
kind, here in the capital of the decision of your fate, so I will escort you to the place
residence. Call, he says, the courier, escort him to the place
residence! "And the courier is already there, you know, outside the door and stands:
some three-arshin peasant, you can imagine his hand
arranged in kind for the coachmen - in a word, a dentist of a kind ... Here is his, a slave
God, into the cart and with the courier. Well, Kopeikin thinks, at least not
need to pay runs, thanks for that too. He rides, my sir, on
courier, yes, riding on a courier, in some way, so to speak,
thinks to himself: "Okay, he says, here you are, they say, say that I myself
I looked for funds and would help myself; well, he says, I, he says, I will find
funds! "Well, how was he taken to the place and where exactly they brought him,
none of this is known. So, you know, and the rumors about Captain Kopeikin
sank into the river of oblivion, into some kind of Lethe, as the poets call it. But
excuse me, gentlemen, this is where the thread of the tie begins, one might say
novel. So where Kopeikin went is unknown; but it didn’t pass, you can
imagine, two months, how a gang appeared in the Ryazan forests
robbers, and the chieftain of this gang was, my sir, no one else ... "
NOTES
"The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" has its own complex and not devoid of
dramatic creative story. Three editions of this story have survived,
very significantly different from each other. The most acute in ideological
relation was the first.
Finally preparing the poem for printing, Gogol foresaw the censors
difficulties somewhat softened the harshest bridges of the first edition of the story of
Kopeikin and withdrew from the final. It was about what I was doing here.
Kopeikin with a whole army of "fugitive soldiers" in the Ryazan forests. On the roads are not
there was nothing about riding, but "all this, in fact, so to speak, is directed
on only one state-owned. "People who traveled on their own, but
touched. But then everything that was connected with the treasury - "no descent!".
Little of. Kopeikin will barely hear that "the village is due to pay
state quitrent - he's already there. "
the account of state quitrent taxes and taxes and a receipt he writes to the peasants that, they say,
they have all paid the money on account of taxes. This is Captain Kopeikin.
This whole place about Kopeikin the avenger was censored
absolutely impassable. And Gogol decided to remove it, saving it in subsequent
the two editions are just a hint of this story. It says that in Ryazan
a gang of robbers appeared in the forests and that its chieftain was "no one else ..."
- the story ended with this ironic ejection.
Nevertheless, Gogol managed to retain one detail in the final, which in
to some extent made up for the autocensored note. Talking about what rumors
about Captain Kopeikin, after he was expelled from Petersburg,
Leto, the postmaster then adds an important, meaningful phrase: "But
excuse me, gentlemen, this is where the thread begins, one might say,
novel. "The minister, having expelled Kopeikin from the capital, thought - that would be the end
it was not so! The story is just beginning! Kopeikin will still show himself and
make you talk about yourself. Gogol could not openly under censored conditions
tell about the adventures of your hero in the Ryazan forests, but miraculously
the phrase about "the beginning of the novel" missed by the censor made it clear to the reader that
everything told so far about Kopeikin is just the beginning, and most importantly -
still to come.
Gogol's image of Kopeikin ascends, as established by modern
researchers, to a folklore source - a robber song ("Kopeikin
with Stepan on the Volga "), recorded by Pyotr Kireevsky in several versions
from the words of N. Yazykov. V. Dahl and others. Gogol knew these folk songs and, by
to the testimony of Kireevsky, once told about them at an evening with D.N.
Sverbeeva (see: E. Smirnova-Chikina. Commentary on Gogol's poem "The Dead
soul ". M., 1964, pp. 153-154; also: N. Stepanov. Gogolevskaya" The Tale of
captain Kopeikin "and its sources. -" Izvestia of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR ", OLYA, 1959, vol.
XVIII, no. 1, p. 40-44).
In the very original edition, the ending of the story was complicated by another
episode. Having saved up money, Captain Kopeikin suddenly went abroad, to
America. And from there he wrote a letter to the emperor, in which he asks not to persecute
remaining in his homeland of his comrades, innocent and personally involved in
known business. Kopeikin calls on the tsar to show royal mercy in
attitude of the wounded, so that henceforth nothing similar to what happened in
Ryazan forests did not happen again. And the king "to this paradise", as ironically
noticed by Gogol, showed unparalleled generosity, commanding "to stop
following the guilty ", for he saw" how an innocent can sometimes happen. "
The censoring difficulties that Gogol encountered turned out to be much
more serious than he expected. In a weakened form, even without the ending,
"The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" contained a very acute political
the sting. And this was correctly guessed by the St. Petersburg censorship, an ultimatum
which demanded from the author either to discard the entire "Tale ...", or to add to it
significant fixes. Gogol spared no effort to save "The Story ..."
But they were unsuccessful. April 1, 1842 A. Nikitenko reported
to the writer: "Kopeikin's episode turned out to be completely inappropriate for the pass -
no power could protect him from death, and you yourself, of course,
agree that I had nothing to do here "(" Russian antiquity ", 1889, Љ 8,
With. 385).
Gogol was very upset by this outcome of the case. On April 10 he wrote
Pletnev: "The destruction of Kopeikin confused me a lot! This is one of the best
places in the poem, and without it - a hole, which I am unable to pay and
sew up. " friendly relations with censor Nikitenko,
Gogol decided to speak frankly with him. The writer was convinced that without
Kopeikin cannot publish Dead Souls. The story is necessary
he explains in a letter to Nikitenko, "not for the connection of events, but in order to
to distract the reader for a moment, in order to replace one impression with another. "
remark is extremely important.
Gogol stressed that the entire episode with Kopeikin for him "is very
necessary, more even than they think, "censors. They, censors," thought "about
some parts of the story (and Gogol removed or softened them), and Gogol was
others, apparently, are especially important. These places will show up if we
compare all the options and highlight the idea in them, without which Gogol could not imagine
his own story and for the sake of which he wrote.
In all cases, the minister (general, chief) tells Kopeikin
the words that he repeats and in accordance with which he further acts:
"look for means to help yourself" (first option); "try for the time being
help yourself, look for your own means "(second option);" look for yourself
money, try to help yourself "(third option, skipped
censored). Gogol, as we can see, only slightly modifies the arrangement of those
the same words, carefully preserving their meaning. In exactly the same way, Kopeikin
all variants draws its own conclusions from these words: "Well, he says when you
he himself, he says, advised him to look for the means himself, well, he says, I,
says I will find the means "(first edition);" When the general says that I
I looked for the means to help myself - well, he says, I, he says, I will find
funds! "(second edition);" Well, he says, here you are, they say, you say,
so that I myself would look for funds and help, - well, he says, I, he says,
I'll find the means! "(third edition, missed by the censorship). Gogol even went
to make Kopeikin himself guilty of his bitter lot ("he
for all the reason himself "), but only in order to preserve the quoted words of the minister
and the captain's response to them. It’s not the captain’s personality that matters, or even his
revenge on the "treasury".
MV Petrashevsky felt this very well. In his "Pocket
the dictionary of foreign words "in the explanation of the words" order of knighthood "he ironically
notes that in "our dear fatherland" by the actions of the administration
are governed by "science, knowledge and dignity" ("Philosophical and
socio-political works of Petrashevists ", M., 1963, p. 354), and in
confirmation refers to "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" - the place where
the high chief admonishes the raging Kopeikin: "There has not been
example, so that we in Russia have a person who brought, relatively so
say, services to society, was left without charity. ”Following these
in completely parody-sounding words, this is exactly what the impudent advice follows
high chief: "Look for your own means, try to yourself
help ".
To save the story, they had to make a serious sacrifice:
her satirical accents. In a letter to Pletnev dated April 10, 1842, Gogol
also wrote about "Kopeikin": "I had better decided to remake it than to lose
at all. I threw out all the generals, Kopeikin's character meant stronger, so
that now it is clear that he himself was the cause of everything and that they did
good "(II. V. Gogol, vol. XII, p. 54).
Within a few days, the writer created a new, third version
"The Tale of Captain Kopeikin", "so," he wrote to Prokopovich, "
no censorship can find fault "(ibid., p. 53).
Thus, Gogol was forced to distort a very important episode in The Dead
souls. "In the first censored version of the story, Kopeikin's character is
larger, more prominent, sharply. Comparing both editions of the story, the censor
the committee noted that in the first of them "a wounded officer was presented,
who fought with honor for the fatherland, a simple but noble man,
arrived in St. Petersburg, to petition for a pension. Here first one of
important state people accepts him rather kindly, promises him
pension, etc. Finally, to the officer's complaints that he has nothing to eat, he replies:
"... so do your own business as you know." As a result, Kopeikin
becomes the chieftain of the bandit gang. Now the author, leaving the main event in
the very form as it was, changed the character of the protagonist
in his story: he portrays him as a restless, violent, greedy
to pleasures, who cares not so much about the means decently
exist, how much about the means to satisfy their passions, so that
the authorities are finally in need of expelling him from Petersburg.
The committee determined: "... this episode should be allowed to be published in such a form as
it is presented by the author "(MI Sukhomlinov. Research and articles on Russian
literature and education, vol. II. SPb., 1889, p. 318).
In a weakened form, the story of Kopeikin appeared in print. Only after
1917, its pre-censored text was restored.
Although after the second revision the story was ideologically
seriously weakened, but even in this form, Gogol treasured her. Let from
the original text was deleted by the minister, and then the general, and instead of them
a rather skinny abstraction of a certain "boss" appeared, even if the culprit
of all Kopeikin's misfortunes he himself became, but it was preserved in the story extremely
important for Gogol's painting of Petersburg with his characteristic social
contrasts between that part of society whose life resembled a "fabulous
Scheherazade ", and those whose" banknote bank "consists" of some
ten blue and silver little things. "
the compositional frame of "Dead Souls" was replenished, according to Gogol,
missing, very important link - important for the image "of the whole
Rus "has acquired the necessary completeness.
Captain Kopeikin - the hero of the inserted short story about an officer, a hero Patriotic War 1812, who lost a leg and an arm on it and fell into robbers from lack of money. The versions of the "Tale" assumed K. K.'s flight to America, from where he sent a letter to Alexander I about the fate of the wounded and received a gracious rescript from the sovereign. The novella (in his "fairy tale", co-I-mically verbose style) is narrated in the 10th chapter of the poem by the postmaster Ivan Andreevich.
The reason for the story is simple. City officials, puzzled by rumors about Chichikov, the buyer of dead souls, discuss who he might be. Suddenly, after everyone's long bickering, the Postmaster exclaims with inspiration: "This, gentlemen, are you my judge, none other than Captain Kopeikin!" - and invites you to listen to a story about him, which is, "in a way, a whole poem." Gogol's novel is also named a poem; so the Postmaster involuntarily parodies the author of Dead Souls himself, and his The Tale of Captain Kopeikin is a novel as a whole. But this is a special parody, funny and serious at the same time; it connects into a single literary knot all the topics discussed by the officials - about murder, about a "counterfeiter, about a runaway robber - and in many ways serves as a key to the entire text of Dead Souls."
It turns out that K.K. was wounded at Krasny or at Leipzig (that is, in one of the key battles great war) and became disabled until the post-war orders of Alexander I on the fate of the wounded. Father cannot feed KK; he goes to seek royal favor in St. Petersburg, which, in the description of the Postmaster, acquires half-fabulous features - "fabulous Scheherazade", "Semiramis". In the description of the royal luxury of St. Petersburg, shown through the eyes of a hero who saw it for the first time ("a noticeable vanity rushes through like some thin ether"), and especially in the description of the government building on the Palace Embankment, the image of St. Petersburg and the Palace is parodically repeated as Vakula the blacksmith sees them in the story "The Night Before Christmas". But if there the hero was accompanied by truly fabulous luck, then here a visit to the "minister or nobleman", in which the features of Count Arakcheev are easily guessed, gives KK only false hope.
To celebrate, having dined in a tavern, like "in London" (vodka, cutlets with capers, poulard) and having spent almost all the money, K.K. again appears at the Palace for the promised help - to hear what from now on he will hear every day: wait ... With one "cyanosis" in his pocket, desperate, humiliated, as only a beggar can be humiliated in the midst of universal luxury, KK "obsessively" breaks through to the Great Minister and impudently demands help. In response to this, “they seized him, the servant of God, you are my sir, and into the cart” - and with the courier they sent him out of the capital. Delivered to his distant province, KK, according to the Postmaster, exclaimed: "I will find the means!" - and sank into "a kind of oblivion." And two months later, a gang of robbers appeared in the Ryazan forests, whose chieftain was none other ... - and then the narrator is reminded that Chichikov's arms and legs are in place. The postmaster slaps his hand on the forehead, calls himself veal, tries unsuccessfully to wriggle out (in England such a perfect mechanic that wooden legs can do it) - all in vain. The story about K.K. seems to disappear into the sand, without clarifying anything in the question of who Chichikov is.
But the image of KK only seems accidental, "lawless", inserted, and the legend about him is in no way motivated by plot.
The theme of a beggar nobleman, a penniless captain, who "God knows where" came from, arises already in the 6th chapter, where the greedy Plyushkin complains to Chichikov about his neighbor-captain, who loves to come to visit. “A relative says:“ At home, there is probably nothing, and so he staggers. ” But even earlier, Chichikov himself, leaving Nozdryov, mentally "trims" him, like a rogue coachman is trimmed by "some rider, experienced captain." Later, in Chapter 10, during an illness, Chichikov will grow a beard, like KK, in Chapter 11, KK's name seems to accidentally “backfire” in the life order of Chichikov’s father: “save a penny”. As for the image of the "robber", even in Chapter 9, "just a pleasant lady" and "a lady, pleasant in all respects" suggest in Chichikov someone "like Rinald Ri-naldin", the famous hero of X. Vulpius's novel about robber.
The military rank of captain on the table of ranks corresponded to the civilian rank of a titular adviser, and this at the same time unites the unfortunate K.K. with other "humiliated and insulted" characters of Gogol's social science fiction stories, titular advisers Poprishchin ("Notes of a Madman") and Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin ("Overcoat"), and contrasts it with them. At least - "Bash-machkin. For in the civil service this rank did not give the nobility, and the military nobility was already provided with the first chief officer rank. The fact of the matter is that, in contrast to his folklore prototype, the hero songs about the "thief Kopeikin", and from numerous disabled characters of Russian post-war prose and poetry, and from their common literary predecessor - the Soldier from S. Gesner's idyll "Wooden Leg" - KK is a nobleman, an officer. This detail sharply enhances the tragedy of his story, it connects the image of K.K. with Pushkin's ideas of the novel about "Russian Pelam", about a gentleman-robber ("Dubrovsky"). the common denominator is all the many literary associations that surround the novel image of Chichikov.
In the story about K. K., as in a trick, there are overly varied rumors about Chichikov; but from it, new, even more incredible versions of what happened are radiating out from it. The officials are wondering if Chichikov is Napoleon, who was deliberately released by the British from the island of St. Helena in order to anger Russia. (Again, the Postmaster, who served in the 1812 campaign and “saw” the French emperor, assures his interlocutors that Napoleon’s height “is not taller than Chichikov” and does not differ in any way from him in the shape of his figure.) to the topic of Chichikov-Antichrist; the officials stop at this and, realizing that they were lying, send for Nozdrev.
And the more absurd their comparisons become, the more inconceivable their assumptions and "historical parallels", the clearer the author's key idea of the 1st volume of "Dead Souls" is exposed. The Napoleonic era was the time of the last triumph of romantic, powerful, impressive evil; the new, "monetary", "penny" evil of unrighteous acquisitions, the personification of which was the emphatically average, "no" person Chichikov, may ultimately turn out to be invisible to the crumbling world, and therefore a particularly dangerous phenomenon of the Antichrist of the bourgeois era. And this will happen without fail, if the moral rebirth of each person individually and of humanity as a whole does not take place.
You can't say better than Korolenko. In the second volume of the poem "Dead Souls" one can see "the folded wings of Gogol's laughter." But, reading attentively, peering into the preserved pages, as if emerging from the flame, you intensely think about the word of the great writer, now really quite different, unusual, in places painfully humble, in places to tears (isn't it to tears through laughter?) , sometimes to the point of intolerance from the point of view of today's literature, pretentious, and sometimes frankly, to almost insanity, impudent. But is it not impudent, perhaps with unheard-of denunciations, that the prince's speech, tragically ending the second volume, sounds like: “I know that by no means ... untruth can be eradicated: it is already too deeply rooted. The dishonorable business of taking bribes has become a necessity and a necessity ... The fact is that it has come for us to save our land; that our land is already perishing not from the invasion of twenty foreign languages, but from ourselves; that already past the legitimate government, another government has formed, much stronger than any legal ... ".
"The Tale of Captain Kopeikin", in all its editions, is just an open protest against that "other rule". It is obvious. However, the strong internal connection between the inserted novella and the second volume of the poem may have yet to be comprehended. The story about "some sort of, that is, Captain Kopeikin" was extremely important for Gogol not just as a separate episode interrupting the plot of the main action, but above all as part of a large-scale concept. “Whoever is an artist at heart,” wrote Gogol Nikitenko, sharing with him his thoughts about Captain Kopeikin, “he will understand that without him there is a strong gap.”
The image of a war invalid in the twelfth year, who dared to seek justice, but who found "a bitter dish called tomorrow," and, in addition, was escorted to his place of residence by a courier of three, of course, gives the entire poem a depth of historical perspective. Gogol creates a new hero for himself. “Captain Kopeikin is not a timid and humiliated Akaky Akakievich,” a deep connoisseur of NL Gogol's work authoritatively concludes. Stepanov.
I wonder if Kopeikin, about whom the reader learns from the words of the stammering and yet very sharp-tongued postmaster, would fit Kopeikin's desperately spacious sheepskin coat? Hard to say. However, Russian literature of that time was certainly not cramped until the gray cloth of Gogol's "Overcoat", and Chichikov's chaise, Chichikov's "sharper" (remember the sincere bewilderment of the Shukshin hero?), Still easily covered Russian roads and off-road. And here is what I would like to draw your attention to. Many "damned questions", invisibly hidden for everyone as a small grain in the soil of great doubts, were seen by Gogol as mighty, with a tree overgrown with a crown.
They walk inaudibly under it
foot
Shelves of centuries - and fall
powers,
And the tribes are replaced by a succession
In his blessed shadow
glory.
And the corpses of the kingdoms underneath
lie exhausted
And new ones grow for new ones
goals,
And a million mourned
graves,
And a million merry
cradles.
The brilliant poems of Stepan Shevyrev would definitely illustrate the visionary power of Gogol's gaze. Gogol always saw, or rather, had a presentiment of the outcome of any undertakings, their final line. However, even what lies beyond the line was revealed to Gogol, who, perhaps, was the only one among Russian writers. Who knows if this is why the continuation of the poem arose, was it not why it was destined to be on fire? "The very life of Gogol," wrote the cleverest critic Ivan Aksakov, shrewdly, "burned out ... from futile efforts to find the bright side he had promised."
So who is Captain Kopeikin? The hero of that same "bright side" or another shadow of Gogol's purgatory, the great rebel who dared to protest "in the very heart Russian empire", Or another brother of the undersized family? Compare at least the illustrations: what different Kopeikins the artists produced - right down to the figurine, as it were, merged with the gray St. Petersburg background, performed by S. Brodsky!
“Gogol's influence on Russian literature was enormous. Not only all young talents rushed to the path indicated to them, but some writers who had already gained fame followed the same path ... ”. It is difficult to argue with the classical assessment of Belinsky. Gogol has always been ahead of his followers. Take, for example, the problem of crime, which is destined to take one of the central places in the register of the most important problems of Russian novelism, but which is just beginning to be mastered in the forties of the 19th century. Raskolnikov's question about law was not even in the air, and the newspaper Golos, with its spread in the mid-sixties, would flash before Dostoevsky's eyes the "extremely sharp ax of Gerasim Chistov, impaled on a short handle", had not even begun to be published.
Nevertheless, it was Gogol who was one of the first in Russian literature to raise the issue of crime - with all its sharpness and tragedy. And how interesting it would be to compare the phenomenon of crime among the two great writers with high school students! It goes without saying that Nozdrev's boozing or Chichikov's cleverness has nothing to do with it, although, by the way, in the second volume of the poem Pavel Ivanovich will exclaim desperately: “Save me! lead to prison, to death! .. "No, of course, the ghost of the state house, which, together with Murazov's sermons, shook the protagonist so much that he almost embarked on the path of true correction, the problem outlined by the author is not exhausted.
Let's look (for the umpteenth time!) At Korobochka. And once again we note: a good hostess, caring, compassionate. The houses of the peasants are "well supported", she has no ulterior motive in conversation with Chichikov, the impression in the reader's memory is the most favorable, if not cheerful. But "cheerful," as Gogol writes, "will instantly turn into sad, if only you stagnate in front of him for a long time ...". So a slightly more attentive look at the Box leads to the fact that the hair begins to move with horror.
“But how? - the collegiate secretary cannot understand Chichikov's intentions regarding the dead peasants. - I really don't understand. Do you want to dig them out of the ground? " But these are not the most terrible words of Nastasya Petrovna. When Chichikov promises her fifteen rubles from above in case of consent, Korobochka even remarks with some coquetry: "I really don't know ... I have never sold the dead before." Awesome self-character, just killer! At that moment, a real monster peeps out from behind the stooped back of the harmless Box.
And yet Korobochka is not a monster at all. She is not a heartless, not cruel person, and even more so she does not look like a violator of any law - human or higher. She is, as they say, in her own right. She is extremely law-abiding, but the whole horror lies in the fact that the law that she obeys and by which she lives is fundamentally lawless. In other words, Gogol finds crime where no one was going to overstep the boundaries of the law, to break the legal framework. The very combination " serfdom»Presents its oxymoric sound in this context. The habit of selling people, for the time being, however, only alive, well, the trouble is the beginning (“How do you buy, for clean ones?” - Plyushkin inquired with an unnatural liveliness for himself), turns out to be just as natural and legal for landowners as the desire to wash in the morning or to talk about the improvement of some regular Manilovka.
And so, against such and such foundations, against such and such habits, against such and such laws that have determined the life of society for centuries, "some kind of ... Captain Kopeikin" dares to speak out. It is this circumstance that, quite possibly, explains the breadth of the social and historical context that inevitably arises during at least some detailed examination of one of the most mysterious Gogol images.
But the centrifugal orientation of the image gives rise to its centripetal gravity. An interesting formula is through which Yu.M. Lotman defined the essence of Chichikov: "the hero of a penny." (“Hero of a Penny” - the original theme for the composition is emerging!) That is, the connection is obvious, and the connection is reciprocal, between Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov and the rebellious captain. But what if the moral degeneration of Chichikov, fragmentarily reflected in the surviving chapters of the second volume of the poem, the complication of his psychological portrait, the well-known inconsistency of his thoughts and behavior, are latently associated with the desperate step of Captain Kopeikin, with his small and yet great rebellion? Chichikov, in the end, also decides to rebel - against his former self, against himself, against his Chichikov nature!
“It seemed that nature with his dark instinct began to hear that there was some kind of duty that a person on earth had to fulfill… despite all the circumstances, turmoil and movements…”. And further. “I begin to feel, I hear what’s wrong, I’m going wrong and that I have stepped far away from the straight path ... My father kept repeating moral teachings to me ... and he himself stole the forest in front of me from the neighbors and forced me to help him. He struck up an unlawful lawsuit in front of me ... ". Isn't Gogol talking about the law again, isn't it about the right, only about the other - the legal law, and the other - the right, according to which every person must live?
In the second volume of the poem Dead Souls, Gogol almost openly sets up the pulpit for preaching. The speech of his characters is sometimes simply overflowing with the author's intention. Well, isn't Gogol saying, for example, through the mouth of Kostanzhoglo: “Yes, for me, it's just that if a carpenter is good at using an ax, I'm ready to stand in front of him for two hours: work amuses me so much. And if you also see that all this is happening for what purpose ... but I can't tell what is going on in you ... but how the ice breaks, let the rivers pass, let everything dry out and the earth goes to explode - a spade works in the gardens and gardens, fields of plow and harrow ... Do you understand? "
The intonation with which Gogol addresses the reader almost directly contradicts the voice of the faltering postmaster talking about Captain Kopeikin. And yet we have before us a single artistic tonality.
The grain has already been thrown into the soil. The question has been raised. Gogol foresaw the answer to him, he heard the noise of the forest where there was a plain. But he also discerned blackened stumps in the future in the place of a rustling forest. And the teacher in the school class, together with the children, will not only have to guess what awaits us tomorrow, but also change it for the better tomorrow. The image of Captain Kopeikin appeals to conscience, to justice. It is especially relevant in our time, when between what is legal and what is fair, it is necessary to put an equal sign once and for all.
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A special role in the poem "Dead Souls" is played by the characterization of Captain Kopeikin, whose history stands apart from the whole narrative, but it is subordinated to the general idea of N. V. Gogol, who wanted to show the "mortification of souls."
Captain Kopeikin, who lost an arm and a leg in the war of 1812, is trying to arrange material assistance for himself. The hero had to spend a lot of time to achieve the final result. However, he did not receive cash payments, the nobleman simply drove him out. The story ends with Captain Kopeikin rumored to have led a band of robbers.
Main idea
N. V. Gogol, placing the story about Captain Kopeikin, assigns a special role to the eternal expectation of a decision. The hero has to stand in line for a long time in order to achieve an audience. The employees only promise to help him, but they do nothing for this. They don't care common people who defended the country in wartime. For higher people, it is not at all important human life... They only care about money and those who own it.
The writer showed how indifference on the part of the government forces an honest person to become a robber.
Captain Kopeikin is a small man who is forced to stand up against the state system. Never again theme little man was not revealed in the same way as the theme of the story by N.V. Gogol was revealed. Kopeikin is the image of a little man who was not afraid to fight the authorities. The hero became a kind of "noble robber" who took revenge only on those in power.
Narrative features
The story is devoid detailed descriptions Kopeikin doesn't even have a portrait, he doesn't even have a name. The author does this deliberately, the hero is virtually devoid of a face. This is done in order to show the typicality of the situation and the typicality of the image, which found itself in a difficult situation due to the injustice of society. Moreover, the existence of people like Kopeikin was characteristic not only of the city of NN, in which the action of "Dead Souls" takes place, but of all of Russia as a whole.
The role of Captain Kopeikin in the poem "Dead Souls" is great, it is a generalized image of a common man who is exposed to all the injustices of the existing society.
N.V. Gogol, when describing the tragic fate of Captain Kopeikin, uses the technique of contrast. Kopeikin's poverty is contrasted with the luxury of the higher ranks. And all this is done with the help of a grotesque. The heroes are also shown in contrast. Kopeikin is an honest person who defended the country during the war. People of the highest position are insensitive and indifferent people, for whom the main thing is money and position in society. The objects also emphasize the contrast: Kopeikin's small room is compared to the house of a nobleman; the modest dinner that Kopeikin can afford is contrasted with the delicacies found in expensive restaurants.
A characteristic feature of the story is that the author put it in the mouth of the postmaster, who has a special manner of narration with introductory constructions and rhetorical exclamations. The author's position is expressed by the attitude of the narrator to everything said. For the postmaster, the story of Captain Kopeikin is a joke that can be told at the dinner table to people who would have done exactly the same as the nobleman. With this manner of narration, the author even more emphasized the whole soullessness of his contemporary society.
The place of the story in the poem and its meaning
"The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" stands in the narrative separately, which seems as if it is not connected with the main content of the poem. It has its own plot, its heroes. However, the story is told when they talk about who Chichikov really is. This connects the story of the captain with the main storyline... The story more clearly shows the indifference of the bureaucratic system, and also shows those dead souls that reigned at that time.
The meaning of the story about Captain Kopeikin lies in the fact that the author showed all the callousness of those in power who do not care about the life of an ordinary person.
This article, revealing the meaning of the story about Captain Kopeikin in the work of N. V. Gogol "Dead Souls", will help write the essay "Captain Kopeikin".
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The story "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" by Gogol is an inserted episode in the poem Dead Souls. " It is worth noting that this story is not connected with the main storyline of the poem, and is an independent work, thanks to which the author was able to reveal the soullessness of the bureaucratic apparatus.
For better preparation for the literature lesson, we recommend reading the online summary "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin". The retelling will also be useful for the reader's diary.
main characters
Captain Kopeikin- a brave soldier, a participant in the battles with the Napoleonic army, an invalid, persistent and savvy man.
Other characters
Postmaster Is a storyteller who tells the story of Captain Kopeikin to officials.
General-in-chief- the head of the temporary commission, a dry, business-like person.
City officials gather at the governor's house to decide at a meeting who Chichikov really is and why he needs dead souls. The postmaster puts forward an interesting hypothesis, according to which Chichikov is none other than Captain Kopeikin, and takes up a fascinating story about this man.
Captain Kopeikin had a chance to participate in the campaign of 1812, and in one of the battles he "had an arm and a leg blown off." He is well aware that “he would have to work, only his hand, you know, is left,” and it is also impossible to remain dependent on the old man-father - he himself is barely making ends meet.
The crippled soldier decides to go to Petersburg, "to bother with the authorities, if there will be any help." The city on the Neva impresses Kopeikin to the depths of his soul with its beauty, but it is very expensive to shoot a corner in the capital, and he understands that "there is nothing to heal."
The soldier learns that "the higher authorities are no longer in the capital," and he needs to turn to the temporary commission for help. In the beautiful mansion, where the authorities receive petitioners, many "people gather - like beans on a plate." After waiting four hours, Kopeikin finally gets the opportunity to tell the general-in-chief about his misfortune. He sees that "a man on a piece of wood and an empty right sleeve is fastened to his uniform" and offers to appear a few days later.
There is no limit to Kopeikin's joy - "well, he thinks it's done." In high spirits, he goes to have lunch and "drink a glass of vodka", and in the evening he goes to the theater - "in a word, he went to his full bladder."
A few days later, the soldier again comes to the chief in the commission. He reminds of his petition, but he cannot resolve his issue "without the permission of the higher authorities." It is necessary to wait for the arrival of the minister from abroad, since only then will the commission receive clear instructions regarding the wounded in the war. The chief gives a little money to the soldier so that he can hold out in the capital, but he was not counting on such a meager amount.
Kopeikin leaves the department in a depressed mood, feeling "like a poodle, which the cook poured with water." He is running out of money, there is nothing to live on, but temptations in big city an incredible variety. Every time, passing by a fashionable restaurant or a shop with delicacies, he experiences the strongest torment - "drooling, but he will wait."
Out of bitter despair, Kopeikin comes to the commission for the third time. He insistently demands a solution to his question, to which the general advises to wait for the arrival of the minister. The furious Kopeikin raises a real revolt in the department, and the chief is forced to "resort, so to speak, to measures of severity" - the soldier is sent to his place of residence.
Accompanied by a courier, Kopeikin was taken away in an unknown direction. On the way, the unfortunate cripple ponders how to earn his own piece of bread, since the sovereign and the fatherland no longer need it.
The news about Captain Kopeikin could have sunk into oblivion if, two months later, rumors about the appearance of a bandit gang, whose chieftain became the protagonist, had not spread in the district ...
Conclusion
In the center of Gogol's work is the relationship between the "little man" and the soulless bureaucratic machine, which crippled many destinies. Wanting to live honestly and receive a well-deserved pension, the hero is forced to embark on a criminal path so as not to die of hunger.
After getting acquainted with brief retelling"The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" we recommend that you read Gogol's work in full.
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