Nikolai crafts a lovable yet sinister character in his book Dead Souls.

Chichikov is a schemer who plans to purchase the dead souls of serfs from various landowners. His true motivations are not clearly defined, as he wishes to hide his purpose. On this quest, he fawns to several high standing officials to gain their favor while he treats rudely those he deems beneath him. The fawning manner in which he treats Manilov reveals his need to remain on the pleasant side of those he favors. His quick argument over allowing Manilov to enter the house shows that he acts almost like a dog in front of those with greater status. He consistently praises Manilov and is afraid to deny his any request for fear of alienating him. These obsequious actions establish Chichikov as someone who passively seeks out the praise of those with higher status. On the other hand, the incident between chichikov and madame presents a sharp contrast from his previous actions. Until now, the reader feels on Chichikovs side, as Nikolai constantly refers to him as our hero. This incident casts doubt on the gentle nature of CHichikov. Again, he only treats her kindly until he has gotten what he wanteda shelter for the night. After he has received the favor, he quickly turns his back on Madame. He begins brusquely asking for more, not even bothering to maintain his faade of kindness that he applied toward Manilov. Madame has not established herself as a respected community character; therefore, Chichikov feels no need to earn her respect. Even in his business dealings, which he previously conducted civilly with manilov, he does so in a rough manner with Madame. As she isnt completely receptive to his quest, his temper is quickly aroused and he begins to insult her, even going so far as to condemn her to the devil. Even after her kind hospitality, he doesnt feel indebted to her, rather, it seems as if he believes Madame to owe him a debt. This rudeness is also exemplified in his attitude toward Sefifan. When Sefifan takes a wrong turn and ends up trapping the group in raging weather, Chichikov decides, instead of focusing on finding a shelter, to berate Sefifan. Not only does he abuse him verbally, he even suggests whipping him. Chichikov regards Sefifan as merely a dog to do his bidding, one that can be whipped to force him back into line. It is surprising that Chichikov can maneuver social situations so well when his true nature is that of a tyrant. Already, Nikolai has created a two-sided character, one that we do not fully understand. The fact that Chichikovs purpose for buying the souls of serfs hasnt been revealed further contributes to this mysteriousness.

Chichikovs life ambitions Chichikovs ambitions seem to be merely to amass a great amount of wealth and live in luxury. He longs for luxury carriages and such, quite possibly because as a child his father couldnt provide for him and he wants to stay away from such poverty. Wealth allows himself to symbolically distance himself from his father and abandon his legacy, just as his father abandoned him. However, on a deeper level, Chichikovs endless ambition comes from the fact that he is always considering how would my children think of me? While this seems to be a noble ambition, chichikov tarnishes this motive through his means. Ironically, he takes detestable actions in order to procure such wealth, hardly a model example for his kids. In climbing up the ranks, he resorts to underhanded methods, such as wooing old mans daughter and brusquely casting her aside as soon as he has been promoted. Although he invites old man to tea and acts civil toward him, its merely a formality, as he no longer feels any bond between them. Hes exploited the old mans feelings and has no more need for him. His eyes are fixated on only money, and he disregards the means by which he achieves it. Befitting such an exploitative schemer, he is

confronted with a hostile new Director and loses everything he has. He cannot bear the burden of such cruel actions, so he ends up attempting to alleviate his guilt by using his future progeny as an excuse even though he has no family and doesnt seem the type of man to marry, as evidenced by his mean behavior toward single women. Chichikov cannot forge genuine deep bonds with anyone, so the seemingly jovial friendships he has with esteemed town officials are merely shallow ones for show. They have not much faith in him and hardly know him, as shown by the scene in which the whole town quickly turns on Chichikov after hearing a few rumors. At heart, CHichikov is a lonely soul with nobody to confide to, and he ends up releasing his isolated rage on his poor coachmen.