Among the landowners visited by Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, Manilov stands apart.
The image and characteristics of Manilov in the poem “ Dead Souls" - the personification of living people who have lost their personality and individuality. Manilov is a soul that has lost the purpose of life, a “dead soul,” but it is worth nothing even for such a scoundrel as Chichikov.
The landowner is a dreamer
The reader learns quite a lot about the first resident of the suburb whom Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov visited. He is a retired officer who has been accustomed to smoking a pipe since his army service. He has been married to Lizonka for eight years, with whom he has two sons. Love between spouses resembles true happiness. They bring candy, apples, and nuts to each other, showing concern. They speak in gentle voices. Love, with its excessive sentimentality, resembles a parody. The sons have such names that one cannot help but dwell on them: Alcides and Themistoclus. Parents wanted to make their children stand out from the crowd at least with their names. Manilov presents himself as a Westerner, a man who builds his life in a European manner, but this results in absurdity and nonsense.The gullibility of the owner of the manor's house leads to deception. The peasants ask to be let go to earn money, but they themselves go for walks and get drunk. The master's naivety leads to destruction. The entire estate is lifeless and miserable. The reader is not surprised by the clerk on the estate - a drunkard and a lazy man. Life in the estate and around it flows according to some unknown laws of its own. The landowner became an association for an entire way of life - “Manilovism”. This is an idle, dreamy attitude towards life without business or action.
Character appearance
The landowner with the pleasant surname Manilov is not an elderly man, as the author of “middle aged” says. His face is remembered for its excessive sweetness. It reminds the author of sugary sweets and excess sugar.Character's appearance features:
- blue-eyed;
- blond;
- smiling pleasantly and temptingly.
The landowner's clothes are interesting:
- green “shalon” frock coat;
- warm cap with ears;
- bears in brown cloth.
Communication with Manilov
The character's surname was chosen by the author from the so-called “speaking” ones. The landowner “beckons” with his sweetness, flattery and sycophancy. People quickly get tired of communicating with the landowner. His smile, pleasant at first glance, becomes cloying and boring.- 1 minute – nice person;
- 2 minutes - you don’t know what to say;
- 3 minutes – “The devil knows what it is.”
Character of the hero
It would seem that the landowner’s character is built on his upbringing. He is educated and noble, but this character doesn't really have any character. At what point Manilov stopped developing is unclear. There is a book in the office that the owner has been reading for more than 2 years, and the reading is on one page. The gentleman is very hospitable. He welcomes everyone like a hospitable host. He sees only the good in everyone and simply turns a blind eye to the bad. It becomes more cheerful when the chaise with guests approaches the house, a smile spreads all over the face. More often than not, Manilov is not talkative. He indulges in dreams and talks to himself. Thoughts fly far away, and only God knows what he is thinking about. The most important thing is that thoughts and dreams do not require implementation. They are like smoke, fluttering and melting. A man is simply too lazy to say these thoughts. He likes to create slides of cigarette ash that collapse like sand castles.- indifference;
- laziness;
- lack of own opinion;
- verbiage.
Special qualities
The landowner has no name. Surprisingly, the author does not even give a hint. The children have unusual names, the wife’s name is Lizonka, but the hero has nothing but a last name. This is his first elusiveness. The author says that such people are known under the name: “neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan.” What else can be attributed to special features and characteristics:Projecting. Manilov dreams, makes plans that are not destined to come true. It’s hard to imagine them in anyone else’s head: an underground passage, a superstructure for viewing Moscow.
Sentimentality. Everything evokes tenderness in a man’s soul, and indiscriminately. He doesn't get to the heart of the event. He rejoices in everything he sees. This attitude is surprising. One cannot rejoice at bare forests and scattered houses. “Shchi from the bottom of my heart” makes the attentive reader grin. “May day is the name day of the heart” - it’s difficult to even understand the meaning of the enthusiastic feeling.
The man has many special qualities - beautiful handwriting, neatness, but they only emphasize that Manilov could have been a good person, but everything dissipated and died.
Things around the landowner
All objects surrounding the owner speak of his inability and isolation from reality.House. The building stands in the wind, on a hill without trees. There are liquid crowns of birch trees around, which the author calls tops. The symbol of Russia is losing its natural appeal.
Pond. The surface of the water is not visible. It is overgrown with duckweed and looks more like a swamp.
Alcove. The name of the master’s resting place is “Temple of Solitary Reflection.” It should be cozy here, but there is not a word about it. A neglected building.
There has been no furniture in one of the rooms for 8 years; the emptiness in the manor’s house is not due to lack of funds, but because of the laziness and mismanagement of the masters.
Landowner Manilov is the only one who did not sell, but gave away dead souls. It is so impractical that it takes on the costs of completing the purchase. But this is the whole essence of the landowner: senseless sycophancy before any person, even a criminal or a scoundrel.
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 does not know how to think about today and solve everyday 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 doesn't build certain 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, there are also good features in him - 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. Most of He spends 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. The 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 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 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. In the conversation, the hero's lively manners are revealed; Manilov's fast speech is similar to the chirping of a bird, 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 bottom of my 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 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 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’s the smaller one, Alcides, he’s 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 does not seek 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 on 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 only positive qualities in every person. According to the hero, all officials - wonderful people in all respects.
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.
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The image of the landowner Manilov, in comparison with most of the landowners described by Gogol, creates the most favorable and positive impression, although finding his negative features is not so difficult, however, in comparison with negative sides other landowners, this looks like the lesser of evils.
Manilov's appearance and age
Manilov's exact age is not indicated in the story, but it is known that he was not an old man. The reader’s acquaintance with Manilov most likely falls during the prime of his powers. His hair was blond and his eyes were blue. Manilov often smiled, sometimes to such an extent that his eyes were hidden and were not visible at all. He also had a habit of squinting.
His clothes were traditional and did not stand out in any way, just like Manilov himself in the context of society.
Personality characteristics
Manilov is a pleasant person. He does not have such a hot-tempered and unbalanced character as most of the landowners described by Gogol.
His goodwill and good nature endear him and create trusting relationships. At first glance, this state of affairs seems very profitable, but in essence, it is playing with Manilov cruel joke, turning him into a boring person.
The lack of enthusiasm and a clear position on this or that issue makes it impossible to communicate with him for a long time. Manilov was polite and kind. As a rule, he smoked a pipe, paying tribute to his habit during his army years. He was not involved in housekeeping at all - he was too lazy to do it. Manilov often made plans in his dreams to restore and develop his farm and improve his home, but these plans always remained dreams and never came to fruition real life. The reason for this was the same laziness of the landowner.
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Manilov is very upset by the fact that he did not receive a proper education. He cannot speak fluently, but he writes very competently and accurately - Chichikov was surprised to see his notes - there was no need to rewrite them, since everything was written clearly, calligraphically and without errors.
Manilov family
If in other respects Manilov can fail, then in relation to the family and his relationship with his family he is an example to follow. His family consists of a wife and two sons; to some extent, a teacher can be added to these people. In the story, Gogol gives him a significant role, but, apparently, Manilov perceived him as a member of the family.
Manilov's wife's name was Lisa, she had been a married woman for eight years. The husband was very kind to her. Tenderness and love prevailed in their relationship. It was not a game for the public - they really had tender feelings for each other.
Lisa was a beautiful and well-mannered woman, but she did absolutely nothing at home. There was no objective reason for this, other than laziness and her personal reluctance to delve into the essence of matters. The members of the household, in particular the husband, did not consider this something terrible and were calm about this state of affairs.
Manilov's eldest son was named Themistoclus. He was good boy 8 years old. According to Manilov himself, the boy was distinguished by unprecedented ingenuity and intelligence for his age. The name of the youngest son was no less unusual - Alcides. The youngest son was six. As for the youngest son, the head of the family believes that he is inferior in development to his brother, but, in general, the review of him was also favorable.
Manilov estate and village
Manilov has great potential to become rich and successful. He has a pond, a forest, and a village of 200 houses at his disposal, but the landowner’s laziness prevents him from fully developing his farm. It would be more correct to say that Manilov is not involved in housekeeping at all. The manager manages the main affairs, but Manilov has very successfully retreated and lives a measured life. Even occasional interventions in the course of the process do not arouse his interest.
On our website you can familiarize yourself with the characteristics of Chichikov in Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”
He undoubtedly agrees with his manager about the need for certain works or actions, but he does it so lazily and vaguely that it is sometimes difficult to determine his true attitude to the subject of discussion.
On the territory of the estate, several flower beds arranged in the English style and a gazebo stand out. The flower beds, like practically everything else on the Manilov estate, are in disrepair - neither the owner nor the mistress pays due attention to them.
Since Manilov loves to indulge in dreams and reflections, the gazebo becomes an important element in his life. He can stay there often and for a long time, indulging in fantasies and making mental plans.
Attitude towards peasants
The peasants of Manilov never suffer from the attacks of their landowner; the point here is not only Manilov’s calm disposition, but also his laziness. He never delves into the affairs of his peasants, because he has no interest in this matter. At first glance, such an attitude should have a favorable effect on the relationship in the landlord-serf projection, but this medal also has its own unsightly side. Manilov's indifference is manifested in complete indifference to the life of serfs. He does not in any way try to improve their working or living conditions.
By the way, he doesn’t even know the number of his serfs, since he doesn’t keep count of them. Some attempts to keep records were made by Manilov - he counted male peasants, but soon there was confusion with this and in the end everything was abandoned. Also, Manilov does not keep count of his “dead souls.” Manilov gives Chichikov his dead souls and even takes on the costs of their registration.
Manilov's house and office
Everything in the Manilov estate has a dual position. The house and, in particular, the office were no exception to the rule. Here, more than anywhere else, the inconstancy of the landowner and his family members can be seen better.
First of all, this is due to the comparison of the incomparable. In Manilov’s house you can see some good things, for example, the landowner’s sofa was covered with good fabric, but the rest of the furniture was in disrepair and was upholstered in cheap and already well-worn fabric. In some rooms there was no furniture at all and they stood empty. Chichikov was unpleasantly surprised when, during dinner, on the table next to him stood a very decent lamp and a completely unsightly-looking colleague who looked like a disabled person. However, only the guest noticed this fact - the rest took it for granted.
Manilov's office is not much different from everything else. At first glance, it was quite a nice room, the walls of which were painted in gray-blue tones, but when Chichikov began to carefully examine the furnishings of the office, he could notice that most of all in Manilov’s office there was tobacco. Tobacco was definitely everywhere - in a pile on the table, and he generously sprinkled all the documents that were in the office. There was also a book in Manilov’s office - the bookmark in it was at the very beginning - page fourteen, but this did not mean at all that Manilov had recently started reading it. This book has been quietly lying in this position for two years now.
Thus, Gogol in the story “Dead Souls” portrayed a completely pleasant person, the landowner Manilov, who, despite all his shortcomings, stands out noticeably positively against the background of the whole society. He has all the potential to become an exemplary person in all respects, but laziness, which the landowner is unable to overcome, becomes a serious obstacle to this.
Characteristics of Manilov in the poem “Dead Souls”: description of character and appearance
3.8 (75.56%) 18 votesManilov: 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 no deaths were registered in this city for a long time. According to statistics, people stopped dying. The authorities began an investigation, and it turned out that runaway peasants, who did not have papers, appropriated the names of the dead.
Gogol himself first mentions that he is working on Dead Souls in a letter to Pushkin in 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 welcoming 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 in the same circle as him; he is a typical rich gentleman of 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, has no 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.
