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 whole life into refined speech formulations.
Characteristics and description of the portrait of the hero Manilov
The portrait of this character, like any other, consists of several parameters.
These include:
- 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 not able to plan his 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. 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. 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 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 called the eldest Themistoklos, the youngest 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 about the abilities of his youngest son, the landowner limits himself to a brief description: “...The younger one, Alcides, 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 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 into beautiful words - the landowner immediately calmed down and agreed.
The main character, in turn, cannot believe that Manilov and the clerk are not able to answer how many 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 only positive qualities in every person. According to the hero, all officials are 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.
Grandiose poem by N.V. Gogol's "" was created over the course of seven whole years. During this time, the author observed the people around him and laid out all his thoughts on this matter in writing. Only the first volume of the poem has survived in the original. It was in it that he mercilessly criticized lordly Russia, that is, the landowners who were triumphant at that time. One of them was the personality of Manilov.
The author shows us the image of Manilov as a spineless person who did not have his own opinion, who could not express his position. He always tried to adapt to his interlocutor and please him with his stupid and meaningless conversations.
The hero seems to me quite frivolous, because he is used to looking at all the events that happen through rose-colored glasses. He does not want to notice the surrounding problems and difficulties, therefore, he does not focus attention on them. His mind never once revived the idea that problems and difficulties can be overcome with a little effort. As a result of such thoughtlessness, his economy, his personality simply fades and slowly fades away.
It is worth noting that the landowner Manilov was an educated and well-read man. But these qualities do not help him get rid of his naivety. He continues to soar in the clouds of his dreams and does not run into life's difficulties.
Why did this hero choose this tactic of behavior? I think because he was incapable of any action. His ideas were covered with the same thick layer of dust as that book, which will remain forever laid down on its first pages.
I believe that Manilov should be classified as one of the negative heroes of the poem. He does not do any obvious harm to any of the other characters in the work. But his existence is useless and stupid. It does not bring any benefit and will not leave any trace behind. This means that this character lived his life in vain.
One of the characters in the poem “Dead Souls” by Nikolai Gogol is the landowner Manilov, a blond and blue-eyed retired officer. The image of Manilov is very interesting - he leads an idle and comfortable life, indulging in dreams from morning to evening. Manilov’s dreams are fruitless and absurd: to dig an underground passage or build such a high superstructure over the house so that one can see Moscow.
Speaking about Manilov’s characterization, it should be noted that during the idle dreams of the landowner, the master’s house is blown by all the winds, the pond is covered with greenery, and the serfs have become lazy and completely out of hand. But all sorts of everyday problems are of little concern to the landowner Manilov; all management of the household is entrusted to the clerk.
The clerk is also not particularly bothered, as evidenced by his plump face with eyes swollen from satiety. At 9 o'clock in the morning the clerk, having left his soft feather beds, just begins to drink tea. Life on an estate of 200 peasant huts flows somehow by itself.
The image of Manilov in the poem "Dead Souls"
Manilov is mostly silent, constantly smoking a pipe and reveling in his fantasies. His young wife, whose feelings for whom have not faded over 8 years of married life, is raising two sons with original names - Themistoclus and Alcides.
At the first meeting, Manilov makes a very favorable impression on everyone, since thanks to his good-natured disposition, he sees only the good in all people, and turns a blind eye to the shortcomings inherent in every person.
What is "Manilovism"? The image of Manilov gave birth to this concept, which means a complacent and dreamy attitude towards life, but it also combines idleness.
Manilov tends to become so immersed in his dreams that life around him seems to freeze. The same book has been lying on his desk for two years, on page 14.
The owner of the estate is characterized by unselfishness - when Chichikov visited Manilov with the aim of buying dead souls (dead, but listed as alive according to the audit tales of the peasants), Manilov suppresses the guest’s attempts to pay money for them. Although at first he is very surprised by this proposal, his pipe even falls out of his mouth and he is temporarily speechless.
Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, in turn, is surprised that Manilov and the clerk cannot immediately answer the question of how many peasants have died since the previous census. There is only one answer: “A lot.”
The image of Manilov is noteworthy in that he gave rise to such a concept as “Manilovism,” which means a complacent and dreamy attitude towards life, combined with idleness and inactivity.
The gallery of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls” opens with the image of Manilov. This is the first character to whom Chichikov turns with a request for dead souls. What determines Manilov’s “superiority”? Gogol’s famous statement is that his heroes are more vulgar than the other. It turns out that Manilov in the poem represents the first, least, degree of moral degradation. However, modern researchers interpret the order of appearance of landowners in “Dead Souls” in a different sense, equating the first volume of Gogol’s poem with the first part of Dante’s “Divine Comedy” (“Hell”).
In addition, as Yu. Mann notes, Manilov’s primacy is also determined by the hero’s personal traits. Manilov's dreaminess and romanticism already at the very beginning of the poem create a sharp contrast to Chichikov's immoral adventure.
There is another reason here. According to I.P. Zolotussky, “every time Chichikov meets one of the landowners, he examines his ideals. Manilov is family life, a woman, children...” This “part” of Chichikov’s ideal is exactly the best thing in the hero’s “roughly material” dream of contentment and comfort. Therefore, the story of Chichikov’s adventures begins with Manilov.
This image in the poem is static - no internal changes occur to the hero throughout the entire narrative. Manilov's main qualities are sentimentality, dreaminess, excessive complacency, courtesy and courtesy. This is what is visible, what lies on the surface. It is these features that are emphasized in the description of the hero’s appearance. Manilov “was a distinguished man, his facial features were not devoid of pleasantness, but this pleasantness seemed to have too much sugar in it; in his techniques and turns there was something ingratiating favor and acquaintance. He smiled enticingly, was blond, with blue eyes.”
However, Gogol then proceeds to describe Manilov’s inner world, and the reader’s first impression of the landowner’s “niceness” is removed. “In the first minute of a conversation with him, you can’t help but say: “What a pleasant and kind person!” The next minute you don’t say anything, and in the third you say: “The devil knows what it is!” - and 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 offends him.” With a bit of irony, the author lists the traditional “interests” of landowners: passion for greyhounds, music, gourmetism, career advancement. Manilov is not interested in anything in life, he has no “enthusiasm”. He says very little, he often thinks and reflects, but about what - “does God... know.” So several more characteristic properties of this landowner are clearly identified - uncertainty, indifference to everything, inertia and infantilism of life perception. “There is a kind of people,” writes Gogol, “known by the name: so-so people, neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan...” It is to this type of people that Manilov belongs.
The writer emphasizes the “lack of formality and vagueness” of the hero’s inner world with a characteristic landscape. Thus, the weather on the day when Chichikov came to Manilov was extremely uncertain: “The day was either clear or gloomy, but of some light gray color, which only happens on the old uniforms of garrison soldiers...”
In the description of the master's estate, new features of Manilov are revealed to us. Here we already see a person claiming to be “educated,” “cultured,” and “aristocratic,” but Gogol leaves readers no illusions on this score: all the hero’s attempts to seem like an educated and sophisticated aristocrat are vulgar and absurd. Thus, Manilov’s house stands “alone on the Jurassic, that is, on a hill open to all the winds,” but the mountain on which the estate stands is “clad with trimmed turf,” on it “are scattered, in English, two or three flower beds with lilac and yellow bushes.” acacias." Nearby you can see a gazebo “with wooden blue columns” and the inscription “Temple of Solitary Reflection.” And next to the “temple” there is an overgrown pond covered with greenery, along which, “picturesquely picking up their dresses and tucking in on all sides,” two women wander, dragging their tattered nonsense behind them. In these scenes one can discern Gogol's parody of sentimental stories and novels.
The same claims to “education” are discernible in the ancient Greek names that Manilov awarded his children - Alcides and Themistoclus. However, the superficial education of the landowner here turned into outright stupidity: even Chichikov, upon hearing these names, experienced some surprise, and it is easy to imagine the reaction of the local residents.
However, the ancient Greek names here are not only a striking characteristic of Manilov. “Alcides” and “Themistoclus” set the theme of history in the poem, the motive of heroism, which is present throughout the entire narrative. Thus, the name “Femi-stoklus” reminds us of Themistocles, a statesman and commander from Athens, who won brilliant victories in battles with the Persians. The life of the commander was very stormy, eventful, full of significant events (against the background of this heroic theme, Manilov’s inaction and passivity becomes even more noticeable).
Manilov’s “incompleteness of nature” (nature seemed to stop at the hero’s “pleasant” appearance, without “reporting” his character, temperament, and love of life) is also reflected in the description of his home environment.
In everything Manilov does, there is incompleteness that creates disharmony. A number of interior details testify to the hero’s inclination towards luxury and sophistication, but in this very inclination there is still the same incompleteness, the impossibility of finishing the job. In Manilov’s living room there is “wonderful furniture covered in smart silk fabric,” which is “very expensive,” but there is not enough for two armchairs, and the armchairs are “simply upholstered in matting.” In the evening, a “dandy candlestick made of dark bronze with three antique graces” is served on the table, and next to it is placed “a simple copper invalid, lame, curled to one side and covered in fat...”. For two years now, the hero has been reading the same book, reaching only the fourteenth page.
All the landowner's activities are meaningless and absurd, just like his dreams. So, having seen Chichikov off, he dreams of a huge house “with such a high belvedere that you can even see Moscow from there.” But the culmination of Manilov’s image is “slides of ash knocked out of a pipe, arranged, not without effort, in very beautiful rows.” Like all “noble gentlemen,” Manilov smokes a pipe. Therefore, in his office there is a kind of “cult of tobacco”, which is poured into caps, and in a tabashka, and “just in a heap on the table.” Thus, Gogol emphasizes that Manilov’s “passing of time” is completely worthless and meaningless. Moreover, this meaninglessness is noticeable even when comparing the hero with the rest of the landowners. It is difficult for us to imagine Sobakevich or Korobochka doing such an activity (placing piles of ash in beautiful rows).
The hero’s speech, “delicate”, florid, fully corresponds to his inner appearance. Discussing the sale of dead souls with Chichikov, he wonders “whether this negotiation will not be in accordance with civil regulations and future views of Russia.” However, Pavel Ivanovich, who added two or three book turns to the conversation, manages to convince him of the complete legality of this transaction - Manilov gives Chichikov the dead peasants and even takes over the registration of the deed of sale.
Thus, the portrait of the hero, his speech, landscape, interior, surroundings, everyday details reveal the essence of Manilov’s character. Upon closer examination, the illusory nature of his “positive” qualities - sensitivity and sentimentality - becomes noticeable. “His feeling is surprisingly small and insignificant, and no matter how much he squanders it, it makes no one feel warm or cold. His courtesy is at the service of everyone, as is his goodwill, but not because he really has such a loving soul, but because they cost him nothing - it’s just a manner... His feelings are not real, but only their fiction.” , wrote the pre-revolutionary Gogol researcher.
Thus, Manilov does not evaluate people from the point of view of the criteria of good and evil. Those around you simply fall into a general atmosphere of complacency and dreaminess. In essence, Manilov is indifferent to life itself.
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 “distinguished” 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 penchant for arguing, was passionate about 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 Manilov's inner world; 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 any limited person, Manilov finds himself in a complete stupor when he encounters something new. Interest in “affairs” 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.
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