Characteristics of Manilov, one of the heroes of the poem “” (1842) by the Russian writer (1809 - 1852).
On behalf of this hero, the word ➤ baseless daydreaming, a passively complacent attitude towards reality entered the Russian language.
Manilov is married. Lives in Manilovka village. He has two boys - Themistoclus and Alcides.
Volume I, Chapter I
“He immediately met the very courteous and courteous landowner Manilov...”
“The landowner Manilov, not yet an old man at all, who had eyes as sweet as sugar, and squinted them every time he laughed, was crazy about him. He shook his hand for a very long time and asked him to earnestly honor him by coming to the village, to which, according to him, was only fifteen miles from the city outpost. To which Chichikov, with a very polite bow of his head and a sincere handshake, replied that he was not only very willing to do this, but would even consider it a sacred duty."
Volume I, Chapter II
Description of the village of Manilovka:
“We went to look for Manilovka. Having driven two miles, we came across a turn onto a country road, but two, three, and four miles had already gone, it seems, and the two-story stone house was still not visible. Then Chichikov remembered that if a friend invites you to a village fifteen miles away, which means that there are thirty faithful to it. The village of Manilovka could lure few people with its location. The manor’s house stood alone on the south, that is, on a hill, open to all the winds that the slope might blow; The mountain on which he stood was covered with trimmed turf. Two or three flower beds with bushes of lilacs and yellow acacias were scattered on it; five or six birch trees in small clumps raised their thin, small-leaved peaks here and there. Under two of them, one could see. there was a gazebo with a flat green dome, wooden blue columns and the inscription “temple of solitary reflection”; lower down there was a pond covered with greenery, which, however, was not unusual in the English gardens of Russian landowners. At the foot of this elevation, and partly along the slope itself, it was dark along the slope. and across the gray log huts, which our hero, for unknown reasons, at that very moment began to count and counted more than two hundred; nowhere between them is a growing tree or any greenery; There was only one log visible everywhere. The view was enlivened by two women who, having picked up their dresses picturesquely and tucked themselves in on all sides, were wandering knee-deep in the pond, dragging a tattered mess by two wooden nags, where two tangled crayfish were visible and the glistening roach they had caught; the women seemed to be quarreling among themselves and quarreling over something. At a distance, to the side, it darkened with some dull bluish color Pine forest. Even the weather itself was very useful: the day was either clear or gloomy, but of some light gray color, which only appears on the old uniforms of garrison soldiers, this, however, was a peaceful army, but partly drunk in Sundays. To complete the picture there was no shortage of a rooster, the harbinger of changeable weather, which, despite the fact that the head was hollowed out to the very brain by the noses of other roosters, famous cases red tape, bawled very loudly and even flapped his wings, which were torn like old matting. Approaching the yard, Chichikov noticed the owner himself on the porch, who stood in a green shallot frock coat, putting his hand to his forehead in the form of an umbrella over his eyes in order to get a better look at the approaching carriage. As the chaise approached the porch, his eyes became more cheerful and his smile widened more and more."
About Manilov and his wife:
“God alone could have said what Manilov’s character was like. There is a kind of people known by the name: so-so people, neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan, according to the proverb. Perhaps we should approach them Manilov also joined in. He was a distinguished man; his facial features were not without pleasantness, but this pleasantness seemed to convey too much sugar; He was blond, with blue eyes. In the first minute of conversation with him, you can’t help but say how pleasant and pleasant he is. a kind person! The next minute you won’t say anything, and the third you’ll say: the devil knows what it is! and you will move away; If you don’t leave, you will feel mortal boredom. You won’t get any lively or even arrogant words from him, which you can hear from almost anyone if you touch an object that bothers him. Everyone has their own enthusiasm: one of them turned his enthusiasm to greyhounds; to another it seems that he is a strong lover of music and amazingly feels all the deep places in it; the third master of a dashing lunch; the fourth to play a role at least one inch higher than the one assigned to him; the fifth, with a more limited desire, sleeps and dreams of going on a walk with the aide-de-camp, to show off to his friends, acquaintances and even strangers; the sixth is already gifted with a hand that feels a supernatural desire to bend the corner of some ace or deuce of diamonds, while the hand of the seventh is trying to create order somewhere, to get closer to the person stationmaster or coachmen - in a word, everyone has their own, but Manilov had nothing. At home he spoke very little and spent most of his time brooding and thinking, but what he was thinking about was also unknown to God. “It’s impossible to say that he was involved in farming, he never even went to the fields, farming somehow went on by itself.” When the clerk said: “It would be nice, master, to do this and that,” “yes, not bad,” he usually answered, smoking a pipe, which he had made a habit of smoking when he was still serving in the army, where he was considered the most modest, most delicate and educated officer: “yes.” “It’s not bad,” he repeated. When a man came to him and, scratching the back of his head with his hand, said, “Master, let me go away to work and earn some money,” “go,” he said, smoking a pipe, and it didn’t even occur to him that the man was going out to drink. Sometimes, looking from the porch at the yard and the pond, he talked about how nice it would be if suddenly an underground passage was built from the house or a stone bridge was built across the pond, on which there would be benches on both sides, and so that people could sit in them merchants sold various small goods needed by the peasants. “At the same time, his eyes became extremely sweet and his face took on the most contented expression, however, all these projects ended only in words. In his office there was always some kind of book, bookmarked on page 14, which he had been constantly reading for two years. There was always something missing in his house: in the living room there was beautiful furniture, upholstered in smart silk fabric, which was probably quite expensive; but there wasn’t enough for two chairs, and the chairs were simply upholstered in matting; However, for several years the owner always warned his guest with the words: “Don’t sit on these chairs, they are not ready yet.” In another room there was no furniture at all, although it was said in the first days after marriage: “Darling, tomorrow we will have to work hard to put furniture in this room, at least for a while.” In the evening, a very dandy candlestick made of dark bronze with three antique graces, with a dandy mother-of-pearl shield, was served on the table, and next to it was placed some simple copper invalid, lame, curled up to the side and covered in fat, although neither the owner nor mistress, no servant. His wife ... however, they were completely satisfied with each other. Despite the fact that more than eight years of their marriage had passed, each of them still brought the other either a piece of apple, or candy, or a nut and said in a touchingly gentle voice, expressing perfect love: “Open your mouth, darling, I’ll put it for you.” this piece." “It goes without saying that the mouth opened very gracefully on this occasion.” There were surprises prepared for the birthday: some kind of beaded case for a toothpick. And quite often, sitting on the sofa, suddenly, for absolutely unknown reasons, one leaving his pipe, and the other his work, if only she was holding it in his hands at that time, they imprinted on each other such a languid and long kiss that it could be continued It would be easy to smoke a small straw cigar. In a word, they were what they say happy. Of course, one could notice that there are many other things to do in the house besides long kisses and surprises, and many different requests could be made. Why, for example, do you cook stupidly and uselessly in the kitchen? Why is the pantry pretty empty? Why is a thief a housekeeper? Why are servants unclean and drunkards? Why do all the servants sleep mercilessly and hang out the rest of the time? But all these are low subjects, and Manilova was brought up well. And a good education, as you know, comes from boarding schools. And in boarding houses, as you know, three main subjects form the basis of human virtues: the French language, necessary for the happiness of family life, the piano, for bringing pleasant moments to the spouse, and, finally, the actual economic part: knitting wallets and other surprises. However, there are various improvements and changes in methods, especially at the present time; all this depends more on the prudence and abilities of the boarding house owners themselves. In other boarding houses it happens that first the piano, then the French language, and then the economic part. And sometimes it happens that before the economic part, i.e. knitting surprises, then French, and then piano. There are different methods. It doesn’t hurt to make another remark that Manilova ... but I admit, I’m very afraid to talk about ladies, and besides, it’s time for me to return to our heroes, who have been standing for several minutes in front of the doors of the living room, mutually begging each other to go forward.”
About Manilov's wife:
“Let me introduce you to my wife,” said Manilov. “Darling, Pavel Ivanovich!”
Chichikov, for sure, saw a lady whom he had not noticed at all, bowing at the door with Manilov. She was not bad-looking, and was dressed to her liking. A pale-colored silk cloth cape sat well on her; her thin small hand hurriedly threw something on the table and clutched a cambric handkerchief with embroidered corners. She rose from the sofa on which she was sitting; Chichikov, not without pleasure, approached her hand. Manilova said, even burbling somewhat, that he made them very happy with his arrival and that her husband did not go by a day without thinking about him.
Volume I, Chapter IV
Chichikov talks to the owner of the tavern:
"Oh! Do you know Sobakevich?" he asked and immediately heard that the old woman knew not only Sobakevich, but also Manilov, and that Manilov would be greater than Sobakevich: he would order the chicken to be cooked immediately, and he would ask for veal; if there was lamb liver, then he would ask for lamb liver, and would just try everything. , and Sobakevich will ask for one thing, but he will eat it all, and even demand a supplement for the same price."
The landowner Manilov is a bright hero in the gallery of characters in Gogol's poem. A direct characterization of Manilov from “Dead Souls” takes the author only one paragraph, but the house, furnishings and dialogues of the hero with Chichikov draw every line of the landowner’s character and nature with unsurpassed skill.
Manilov's appearance
When describing Manilov, the author uses a number of proverbs and skillfully veiled irony. He talks very delicately about the hero’s appearance, hinting that the character is “nothing” both externally and internally – “neither fish nor fowl.” His facial features are pleasant, he himself is a “prominent” person: blond, blue-eyed, smiling. Manilov is dressed well, giving the impression of a noble man with pleasant facial features. Hospitality that turns into mania is another of the qualities that is characteristic of the owner. Gogol honestly says that at the beginning of meeting such a person, one gets the impression that he is “extremely pleasant”, later the sweetness of speeches and excessive desire to please takes over, after some time the interlocutor thinks “the devil knows what” and tries to escape, so as not to die of boredom.
The character of the landowner
We learn about the character’s nature from the first lines: “God alone could tell what Manilov’s character was.” This man could not find himself in anything (and he did not look for it). The author does not give Manilov a name, unlike other characters, making it clear that his image is typical, general and completely impersonal. If someone had a tendency to argue, was carried away card games, hunting or something else, then Manilov did not know how to do anything well, and had no inclination towards anything at all.
The landowner could not formulate a single topic on which he liked to have conversations, only something sublime, abstract, which cannot be expressed and denoted in words. The author's manner of characterizing the character through his speech very harmoniously reveals inner world Manilov, excessive manners and sweetness of expressions recede into the background. Laziness, a monotonous lifestyle, and morbid daydreaming turned him into an empty, inactive type who could compete in the ability to waste his life with any tavern reveler. The result is the same: the chairs will sit for years and wait for new upholstery, the pond will turn into a swamp, and the gazebo for reflection will be overgrown with thistles. The inability to create, manage, and make decisions led to the fact that Manilov, a kind and enlightened owner, is robbed by his employees every day. The men lie to the landowner, get drunk and laugh at him. Household and yard workers steal in broad daylight, sleep until noon, and engage in work to the same extent as their master.
Life position
Like anyone limited person, Manilov finds himself in a complete stupor when he encounters something new. Interest in “business” is limited to the fact that he cares about the legality of any transactions. This happened when Pavel Ivanovich offered him a deal. The landowner does not think about how profitable it is; this is too base a topic for such an exalted, subtle nature like him. Our character happily gives the dead souls to Chichikov, literally believes the guest about the legality of such an operation, and rejoices because he has given pleasure to his interlocutor.
The attitude of the owner of the estate towards others is so monotonous that the ability to understand people is out of the question. The entire elite that runs the city along with their relatives, wives and children, in his opinion, are “the nicest people.” About whom do not ask: “most noble”, “most worthy”, “most decent”. Manilov is sincerely happy that he knows such wonderful people and admires their education, intelligence and talents.
In fact, provincial officials are thieves, swindlers, drunkards and revelers, but the illusory world in which our hero exists does not allow such concepts. The landowner does not see beyond his own nose; he lives by other people’s beliefs and opinions. The main problem of “Manilovism” is that the happiness of such people is unshakable, nothing interests them or upsets them, they exist in a separate reality and are quite happy with such a spiritually impoverished life.
Our article briefly describes and analyzes the image of the landowner Manilov with quotes. This material will be useful in preparing for lessons, writing essays, and test papers.
Work test
A brief description of Manilov from the poem “Dead Souls” boils down to the fact that this man is a representative of the landowner 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, and charm of this hero are so pleasant that they seem cloying and become literally repulsive.
Behind all this sugary appearance lies soullessness, callousness, and 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 doesn't know how to think about today and decide domestic issues. He tries to put his entire life into refined verbal 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:
- the hero's life attitudes;
- hobbies;
- description of home furnishings and workplace (if any);
- first impression of the character;
- speech and behavior.
Landowner's life goals
The hero does not make 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 a pond. As a result, not even a drop of what the landowner had imagined was accomplished.
The hero is unable to plan own life and make real decisions. Instead of real deeds, Manilov is engaged in verbiage.
However, it also contains 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 time 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, and comes up with impossible projects.
The hero also likes to sit in his office, think and, out of idleness, build piles of ash in “beautiful rows.” Constantly in his dreams, the landowner never goes to the fields.
Description of Manilov's office
The landowner's office, like his entire estate, very accurately characterizes the hero's personality. Interior decoration emphasizes the character’s character traits and habits. The office windows face the forest. Nearby lies a book, bookmarked on the same page for two whole years.
Overall, the room looks nice. The furniture in it is: a table with a book, four chairs, an armchair. The biggest thing in the office was tobacco—ashes from a tobacco pipe were scattered all around.
First impression of the hero
At first glance, the character seems 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 company becomes terribly boring for his interlocutor. The fact is that the hero does not have his own point of view, but only utters “honey” phrases and smiles sweetly.
There is no vital energy in him, no real desires that drive the personality and force him to act. Thus, Manilov is a dead soul, a gray, characterless person, without specific interests.
The behavior and speech of the landowner
Manilov behaves very hospitably. At the same time, the hero is so pleasant to talk to that sometimes it becomes excessive. The landowner's gaze seems to exude sugar, and his speech is cloying to the point of disgrace.
Manilov is a very boring interlocutor; it is never possible to hear criticism, indignation, or “arrogant words” from him. The hero’s lively manners are revealed in the conversation; Manilov’s fast speech is like a bird’s chirping, full of pleasantries.
The landowner is distinguished by delicacy and cordiality in communication. These qualities are manifested in bright and pompous forms of endless delight (“cabbage soup, but from the heart”).
Among the hero’s favorite expressions there are words such as “permit”, “dear”, “pleasant”, “pretty”, “dear”. In addition, Manilov’s conversation is full of pronouns, interjections and adverbs of indefinite form: this, that, some. These words emphasize Manilov’s vague attitude towards everything around him.
The hero's speech makes no sense, it is empty and fruitless. And yet Mr. Manilov is a taciturn person, and free time prefers to spend 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 younger he gave the name Alcides. The children were still small - 7 and 6 years old, respectively. The teacher is in charge of the sons' education.
Manilov predicts a great future for his eldest son - due to his incredible wit, the boy will have a career as a diplomat. Speaking of abilities youngest son, the landowner is limited brief description: “...Here is the smaller one, Alcides, he is not so fast...”.
Relationship between Manilov and Chichikov
Unlike other landowners, Manilov greets with great cordiality and hospitality, showing himself as a caring and attentive owner. He tries to please Chichikov in everything.
In the deal with the main character, Manilov is not looking for profit, refusing in every possible way to accept payment for dead Souls. He gives them freely, out of friendship.
At first, the landowner is perplexed by Chichikov’s unusual proposal, so much so that his pipe falls out of his mouth and he becomes speechless.
Manilov changed his attitude to the deal after Chichikov deftly formulated his request in beautiful words- The landowner immediately calmed down and agreed.
Main character, in turn, cannot believe that Manilov and the clerk are not able to answer how many of their peasants have died since the last census.
Attitude to Manilov's farm
The character, to put it mildly, is not practical, which is clearly shown in 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 is impoverished. Pitiful, lifeless views open before Chichikov. Decrepancy and desolation reign everywhere.
Manilov was not involved in farming, 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 himself completely avoided 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 running Manilov's household is a hopeless drunkard, and the servants do nothing but sleep and idle.
Manilov is the only one who did not sell dead souls, but decided to give them away for free. In addition, the landowner bears all the costs of preparing the deed of sale. This act clearly demonstrates the hero’s impracticality. The only thing that guides Manilov is senseless sycophancy before Chichikov, as well as before any other person.
Attitude towards others
Manilov treats all people equally kindly and, as noted earlier, sees in every person only positive traits. According to the hero, all officials - wonderful people in every way.
The landowner treats the peasants well, both his own and strangers. Manilov is very polite towards his children’s teacher, and he even addressed the coachman as “you” once. Manilov is so trusting and naive that he does not notice lies and deception.
The landowner behaves very hospitably and kindly with his guests. In addition, he exhibits ingratiating behavior towards those people who are of a certain interest to him (such as Chichikov).
Manilov's kindness, gullibility, and gentleness are greatly exaggerated and are 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 town house, a gazebo and flower beds. Manilov's farm is left to its own devices, and its peasants lead an idle lifestyle. The estate has a gazebo for reflection, where the landowner from time to time indulges in dreams and fantasies.
Why Manilov is a “dead soul”
The image of the landowner is the personification of a person who has lost his own personality and has no individuality.
Manilov has no goal in life, he 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 he also cannot be classified as positive. He is a man without a patronymic name who has no meaning for the world around him.
The hero can be characterized by a succinct quote from “Dead Souls” - “the devil knows what it is.” Manilov cannot count on rebirth, because inside him there 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 to nowhere.
Manilov: character story
A character from the prose poem “Dead Souls.” Landowner, inactive dreamer. Manilov has two sons and a wife, Lizonka.
History of creation
The idea of “Dead Souls” was suggested to Gogol, as follows from Gogol’s book “The Author’s Confession”. Pushkin himself intercepted this idea from a certain gentleman during his exile in Chisinau. Someone told Pushkin about a town in Bessarabia, where no one except the military has died for a long time.
IN early XIX century, many peasants fled to this town from the central Russian provinces. The police were looking for the fugitives, but they took the names of the dead, so it was impossible to find out who was who. As a result, it turned out that in this city for a long time no deaths were recorded. According to statistics, people stopped dying. The authorities began an investigation, and it turned out that runaway peasants who did not have papers took the names of the dead for themselves.
Gogol himself mentions for the first time that he is working on “ Dead souls", in a letter to Pushkin from 1835. A year later, Gogol travels to Switzerland, then to Paris and Italy, where he continues to work on the novel.
When meeting, Gogol read individual chapters from the still unfinished novel to Pushkin and his other acquaintances. In 1842, the work was first published. The novel is not finished. Incomplete drafts of several chapters of the second volume survive.
Biography
Manilov - a middle-aged man noble origin, landowner. The hero has blond hair, blue eyes and a winning smile. The hero is courteous and courteous, often laughs and smiles. At the same time, he squints or closes his eyes and becomes like a cat that has been “tickled behind the ears.” He gives the impression of a prominent and pleasant person at first glance, but Manilov’s appearance and manners are characterized by a certain sweetness, excessive “sugariness”.
Manilov was an officer, but now retired. Colleagues considered the hero an educated and delicate person. While still in the army, the hero developed the habit of smoking a pipe. The hero has been married for more than eight years, but is still happily married. Manilov and his wife Lizonka are happy with each other and communicate tenderly. The hero is raising two sons, six and seven years old, to whom he gave unusual names in the “Greek” manner.
Manilov differs little from people of the same circle as him; he is a typical rich gentleman noble blood. Despite his pleasant and kind character, Manilov is boring and not interesting to communicate with. The hero does not stand out in any way, is not able to captivate the conversation and looks like a characterless person, devoid of an inner core.
The hero does not argue and is not arrogant, does not have hobbies, his own opinions or views that he would consider necessary to defend. Manilov, in principle, is taciturn, more inclined to have his head in the clouds and think about abstract subjects. The hero can enter the room, sit in a chair and fall into prostration for several hours.
Manilov is unusually lazy. The hero has left the household to its own devices, and affairs in the estate are settled without the participation of the owner. Manilov has never seen his own fields in his life and does not keep records of dead peasants, which indicates the hero’s complete indifference to his own estate.
In the Manilovs' house, things are also going very badly, and the owners do not pay attention to it. The Manilovs' servants drink and don't take care of their own appearance and do not fulfill their duties, the housekeeper steals, the pantries are empty, and the cook wastes food senselessly. The owners themselves, like the servants, do not pay attention to what is happening in the house and in what conditions they live.
In 2005, the eight-episode series “The Case of” was released. Dead souls" The script was created based on several works by Nikolai Gogol - “Dead Souls”, “Notes of a Madman”, “The Inspector General”, etc. Pavel Chichikov here is a swindler who disappeared from prison.
Pavel Lyubimtsev The main character of the series, Ivan Schiller, a college registrar, is investigating the case of Chichikov’s disappearance and for this purpose arrives in a certain provincial town. Local officials are doing their best to prevent the visiting gentleman from investigating. Along the way, Schiller is forced to go through several strange encounters, and in the finale the hero himself turns into the swindler Chichikov. The role of Manilov in the series is played by actor Pavel Lyubimtsev.
