Gogol's "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" and its sources

N.L.Stepanov

The Tale of Captain Kopeikin is an integral part of Dead Souls. The writer himself gave her especially great importance, rightly seeing her as one of the most important components of his poem. When "The Tale" to Captain Kopeikin "was banned by the censor A. Nikitenko (by the way, the only episode in" Dead Souls "not missed by the censor), Gogol fought with particular persistence for its restoration, not imagining his poem without this story. "Dead Souls", in which "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" was crossed out, Gogol indignantly informed N. Ya. Prokopovich: "They threw away from me a whole episode of Kopeikin, which is very necessary for me, more even than they think (i.e. censors. - N. S.). I made up my mind not to give it away in any way. I remade it now so that no censorship can find fault with it. Generalov threw everything away and I am sending him to Pletnev for transfer to the censor "(letter dated April 9, 1842). In a letter to P. A. Pletnev dated April 10, 1842, Gogol also speaks of the importance that he attaches to the episode with Kopeikin : "The destruction of Kopeikin confused me a lot! This is one of best places in the poem, and without it - a hole, which I am unable to pay and sew up. I'd rather decided to remake it than to lose it altogether. "

Thus, the episode with Captain Kopeikin for Gogol was especially significant for the composition and, above all, for the ideological sound of Dead Souls. He chose to rework this episode, weakening its satirical acuteness and political tendency in order to keep it in the composition of his poem.

Why did the writer attach such great importance to this plug-in novella, seemingly outwardly little connected with the entire content of Dead Souls? The fact is that "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" is, in a sense, the culmination of a satirical plan and one of the most daring and politically acute episodes of the denunciatory content of "Dead Souls". It is no coincidence that it follows in the text of the work the episodes in which it is said about the manifestation of popular discontent, about peasant actions against the authorities (the murder of assessor Drobyazhkin). The story of Captain Kopeikin is told by the postmaster to the officials at the moment of the greatest confusion of minds caused by rumors about Chichikov's purchases. The confusion that gripped the provincial town, conversations and stories about peasant unrest, fear of Chichikov's incomprehensible and disturbing public peace - all this perfectly portrays the inert and insignificant world of provincial bureaucratic-local society, most of all afraid of any upheavals and changes. Therefore, the story of Captain Kopeikip, who became a robber in the Ryazan forests, once again reminds of the unhappiness of the entire social order, of that latent boil that threatens to explode.

But the story of Captain Kopeikin itself, like "The Overcoat", contains a sharp criticism of the ruling regime, a protest against bureaucratic indifference to the fate of the common man. However, Captain Kopeikin differs from the timid and downtrodden Bashmachkin in that he tries to fight for his rights, protests against injustice, against bureaucratic arbitrariness. The story of Captain Kopeikin widely expands the framework of the provincial-feudal reality, which is shown in "Dead Souls", involving the capital and the highest bureaucratic spheres in the circle of depicting "all Russia". Condemnation of injustice and lawlessness in all state system, up to the tsar and the ministers, finds a vivid embodiment here.

Studying the story, we naturally turn to its original edition, since Gogol had to revise it for censorship reasons, against his will. "I threw out all the generals, Kopeikin's character meant more, so that now it is clear that he is the reason for everything and that they have done well with him," Gogol said in the already quoted letter to PA Pletnev. In the censored edition, Gogol was forced not only to remove the mention of the minister, who treated the fate of the captain with such bureaucratic indifference (we are talking about the "head of the commission"), but also to motivate Kopeikin's protest, his demand for a pension: this is now explained by Kopeikin's desire to "eat a cutlet and a bottle of French wine ", that is, the desire for a luxurious life - the fact that he is" fastidious ".

In the original edition (which is now included in all editions of Dead Souls), Captain Kopeikin is endowed with other features. This is a military officer whose arm and leg were torn off in the war of 1812. Deprived of his livelihood (even his father refuses to support him), he goes to Petersburg to ask for "royal favor." Gogol, although in the words of the postmaster, describes Petersburg as the focus of luxury, all kinds of temptations: “Semiramis, sir, and it's full! with your foot, so to speak, you trample on capital. Well, you just, that is, you walk down the street, and your nose just hears that it smells in the thousands; and my captain Kopeikin's entire bank note, you know, consists of some ten blues. " ... Here, as in the Petersburg stories, Petersburg appears as a place of concentration of wealth, "capital" owned by the lucky few, while the poor huddle in slums, in dirty corners. It is a city of sharp social contrasts, a city of bureaucratic aces and the rich. This is St. Petersburg "Overcoat", "Nevsky Prospect", "Nose".

Captain Kopeikin is confronted with indifference and bureaucratic mockery of the little man, not only by the "significant person", but also by the minister himself, who personifies and heads the entire administrative apparatus of tsarism. The minister seeks to get rid of Kopeikin with insignificant promises and promises: "A nobleman, as usual, comes out:" Why are you? Why do you? Ah! "He says when he sees Kopeikin: I have already announced to you that you must expect a decision." - "Have mercy, your Excellency, I don't have, so to speak, a piece of bread ..." - "What can I do? I can't do anything for you; try to help yourself, look for the means yourself." "As you can see, this scene is in many ways resembles the explanation of Akaki Akakievich with a significant face. It is no coincidence that "The Overcoat" was written at about the same time when the first volume of "Dead Souls" was ending. against the strong and wealthy masters of life, hence these elements of commonality between "The Overcoat" and "Dead Souls", the importance for Gogol of the episode with Captain Kopeikin.

But Captain Kopeikin is not the timid and humiliated Akaki Akakievich.

He, too, wants to penetrate the world of the lucky ones who dine in London, snack at Palkin's, and is excited by the temptations of luxury that is found at every turn. He dreams of living a well-to-do life with a pension. Therefore, the vague promises about "tomorrow", which the minister reassures him with, provoke his protest: "... you can imagine what his position is: here, on the one hand, so to speak, salmon and ar € uz, and on the other, he they all bring the same dish: "tomorrow."

In response to Kopeikin's "daring" statement that he will not leave his place until a resolution is imposed on his petition, the angry minister orders Kopeikin to be sent "at public expense" to his "place of residence." Sent out accompanied by a courier “to the place,” Kopeikin reasoned with himself: “When the general says that I should look for the means to help myself, it’s good, he says,“ I, ”he says,“ I’ll find the means. ”Where exactly Kopeikin was brought, by It is not known to the narrator, but less than two months later, a gang of robbers appeared in the Ryazan forests, the chieftain of which was Captain Kopeikin.

This is the story of Captain Kopeikin, conveyed by the postmaster. The version that Chichikov is Captain Kopeikin arose because officials suspected Chichikov of making counterfeit banknotes and that he was a "robber in disguise." Captain Kopeikin acts as an avenger for an unfair attitude towards him and in the heated minds of provincial officials appears as a threat to their well-being, as a terrible robber chieftain. Although the postmaster's message is in the style of a comic tale, the story of Captain Kopeikin bursts into the everyday philistine life of officials as "a reminder of a popular element that is hostile to them, seething, fraught with dangers and revolts.

Because of all this, the origin of the image of Captain Kopeikin is of particular interest. More recently, the Italian researcher of Gogol, Professor Leone Pacini Savoy, suggested that Gogol might have been familiar with the anecdote about "Captain Kopeknikov" preserved in the papers of the Allonville family and published in 1905 by French journalist Daria Marie in "Revue des etudes franco-russes ". This" anecdote ", as L. Pacini rightly points out, undoubtedly represents some kind of literary adaptation of the popular story about the" noble robber. " in particular, the basis for the novel by fellow countryman Gogol V. T. Narezhny "Garkusha", 1824.) The action in the "Russian military joke", published by D. Mari, takes place in Ukraine, and in general terms the beginning of this "joke" resembles the story of Captain Kopeikin It tells about the meeting of two veterans of the war of 1812 - a soldier and an officer, and the officer informs the soldier who saved his life that he was seriously wounded and, having recovered, returned he asked for a pension. In response to the request, he received a refusal from Count Arakcheev himself, who confirmed that the emperor could not give him anything. Further, it tells how an officer gathers a "gang" of robbers from local peasants, calling on them to take revenge, to fight for the restoration of justice.

This officer's speech to the peasants has all the characteristic features of the romantic style and ideology ("My friends, equally persecuted by fate, you and I have one goal - revenge on society"). This literary character of the "anecdote", its style, which is very far from folklore, further confirms the assumption of its literary, and not folk, folklore character.

However, it is quite possible that this literary adaptation, which is actually a rather voluminous "robber story" written in a sentimental-romantic manner, goes back, in turn, to truly folklore anecdotes and legends about the robber Kopeikin. This is all the more likely since the hero of the "joke" is named "Kopeknikov": here we are obviously dealing with the French transcription of the surname "Kopeikin". It is unlikely that Gogol knew directly this "Russian military anecdote", preserved in the papers of Marshal Munnich, published only in 1905, and most likely, which, in turn, is an independent author's processing of some real anecdote or legend.

Assuming the likelihood of Gogol's acquaintance with a genuine folk "anecdote" about Captain Kopeikin (of course, not in his literary treatment, as it was done in the publication of Daria Mari), one should take into account in its entirety the still unexplored folklore material associated with his name. It is very significant that the image of Captain Kopeikin undoubtedly goes back to folklore, to the robber's song about Kopeikin ("Kopeikin with Stepan on the Volga"). This song was recorded by P. Kireevsky in several versions from the words of Yazykov, Dahl and others. Here is a recording made by V. Dahl:

On the glorious at the mouth of the Chernostavsky

Gathering a brave collector:

A good fellow is going, the thief Kopeikin,

And with the little one with the named brother with Stepan.

In the evening the thief Kopeikin goes to bed later than everyone else,

In the morning he wakes up before everyone else,

From the grass - from the ant, he washes with dew,

Rubs off with azure scarlet flowers,

And for everything, for four sides, he himself prays to God,

He bowed to the Moscow wonderworker in the ground:

"Are you great, brothers, did you all sleep and spend the night?

I alone, good fellow, did not sleep well,

Didn't sleep well, got up unhappy:

As if I was walking along the end of the blue sea;

Everything stirred like a blue sea,

Everything is mixed with yellow sand.

I stumbled with my left leg,

He grabbed a strong tree with his hand,

For the very top:

The top of the buckthorn has broken off,

As if my wild little head fell into the sea.

Well, comrades-brothers, go, who knows where. "

This is how the robber Kopeikin is portrayed in folk songs. This image is far from the captain Kopeikin that the postmaster is talking about. But there is no doubt that it is the robber Kopeikin who appears to the frightened officials. His name and popular fame about him attracted the attention of the writer to this image, as evidenced by the authoritative testimony of the same P. Kireevsky. In the comments to the song just cited, which have not yet attracted the attention of researchers, he says: "The samples presented (ie, songs about Kopeikin. - N. S.) are extremely curious in the sense that, together with the legends, their people around (my detente - N. S.), gave birth under the pen of Gogol the famous story about the tricks of the extraordinary Kopeikin in "Dead Souls": the hero appears there without a leg precisely because, according to the songs, he stumbled with his foot (now with his left, now with his right) and damaged it; after failures in St. Petersburg he appeared ataman in the Ryazan forests; we remember personally heard live stories of Gogol at an evening with Dm. N. S-va ".

It is especially important to note the testimony of P. Kireevsky that the reference to folklore sources (songs and legends "surrounding them") came from Gogol himself. This indisputably solves the question of the source of the idea of ​​"The Tale of Captain Kopeikin". Incidentally, this explains the especially negative attitude of the censorship towards Kopeikin's name - not without reason; Gogol, in the quoted letter to Prokopovich, reported that if the name of the hero of the story presents an obstacle to censorship, he is ready "to replace him with Pyatkin or the first one to come across."

The publication by D. Marie and the message about her by L. Pacini do not contradict our statement about the folklore, folk source of the story of Captain Kopeikin. And the presence of a folklore source, in turn, is essential for understanding the role of this image in the entire artistic and ideological structure of Gogol's poem.

Bibliography

1. N. V. Gogol. Complete Works, USSR Academy of Sciences Publishing House, vol. XII, p. 53.

2. Ibid, p. 54.

3. See the message of L. Pacini at the 4th International Congress of Slavists. "A Story about Captain Kopeikin", Gogol Notes.

4. "Revue der etudes franco-russes", 1905, no. 2, "Le brigand caus le vouloir", pp. 48-63.

5. Thus, in the "Russian military joke" published by D. Marie, the adventures of the robber officer and his gang are described in detail in the spirit, as L. Pacini points out, of Pushkin's "Dubrovsky". Kopeknikov captures a wagon train with food from Podolia, makes a joke in the "magnificent castle of the Georgian" (that is, the Georgian Arakcheev), the "joke" contains a letter from Kopeknikov to the emperor, etc.

6. Songs collected by P. V. Kireevsky. M., 1874, issue. 10, p. 107.

7. Ibid. DN S-v - Dmitry Nikolaevich Sverbeev, close to the circle of Moscow Slavophiles, Gogol's acquaintance.

The story "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" by Gogol is an inserted episode in the poem Dead Souls. " It should be noted that this story is not related to the main storyline 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 battles with the Napoleonic army, an invalid, persistent and savvy man.

Other characters

Postmaster- a storyteller who tells the officials the story of Captain Kopeikin.

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 “it would be necessary to work, only his hand, you understand, 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 St. 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 a beautiful mansion, where the authorities receive petitioners, there are many "people - 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, and there are an incredible number of temptations in a big city. Every time he passes 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 a piece of bread for himself, 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 reading brief retelling“The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” we recommend that you read Gogol's work in full.

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Working on the poem "Dead Souls", N. Gogol planned to show all the dark sides of the life of Russian society, including the arbitrariness and complete indifference of the authorities to the fate ordinary people... The "Tale of Captain Kopeikin" plays a special role in the implementation of the author's ideological plan.

In which chapter is the above topic stated? It is safe to say that it permeates the entire first volume. A gallery of landowners and vivid images of provincial officials alternately pass before the eyes of the readers, tragic fates peasants who are still alive and long gone. And now, the purpose of Mr. Chichikov's visit to the city of N is no longer a secret to anyone, it is only incomprehensible who he really is and why he needs dead souls. It was at this moment that a story about a former participant in the war with the French appears on the pages of the poem, more reminiscent of the parable of the valiant robber.

Chapter history

The Tale of Captain Kopeikin had a difficult creative fate. In the plot of "Dead Souls", according to the author himself, she was very important place and therefore could not be excluded from the work in any way. Meanwhile, the censorship, at the very first acquaintance with the text of the poem, considered the publication of the chapter unacceptable. As a result, Gogol had to twice correct the content of the story about the captain, which emphasizes the importance of the story in the ideological content of the entire poem "Dead Souls". According to documentary sources, the author was ready to somewhat soften the general tone of the story about Kopeikin, but not allow him to be excluded from the work.

We offer for acquaintance the third version of the chapter, approved for publication by the censor - the original, by the way, became available to the reader only after 1917.

The history of the appearance of the chapter in "Dead Souls": a summary

"The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" is a postmaster's story, full of various phrases, decorations, repetitions, sometimes even seemingly superfluous. This conveys the narrator's attitude to the whole story: for him, it is nothing more than a funny incident that can become the basis for a story or novel. Why postmaster? In comparison with other city officials, he was more aware - he read a lot - and therefore tried to turn main riddle(who is Chichikov?) into some kind of entertainment. He suddenly decided that the buyer of dead souls and the main character of his story, an invalid without an arm and a leg, may well be the same person. Be that as it may, this story, evoked in the narrator's memory by the reflections of the city officials of N about the personality of Chichikov, turned into an almost independent work, which once again emphasizes their heartlessness - no one sympathized with the captain.

Acquaintance with the main character

According to the postmaster, everything happened shortly after the end of the national captain Kopeikin experienced a lot in that company, and most importantly, he received serious injuries, as a result of which he lost his leg and right hand... Since no measures to help people with disabilities have yet been carried out, the former soldier was left without a livelihood and began to think about what to do next. First, he went to his father, but he replied that he was in a tough time, not up to freeloaders. There was only one thing left - to try his luck with the officials in St. Petersburg, to ask for a well-deserved pension.

A special world

Having reached the capital, Captain Kopeikin was at first amazed at its magnificence. It seemed that pictures from Scheherazade's fairy tales appeared in front of him - everything was so unusual and rich. I tried to rent an apartment, but it was painfully expensive. I had to be content with a ruble inn, where they served cabbage soup with a piece of beef.

Having settled down, I began to find out where to turn. They explained that the bosses are all in France, therefore, you need to go to the temporary commission. And they pointed to a house on the embankment.

The first trip to the official: a summary

"The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" includes a description of the "man's hut" (the definition of the postmaster). Huge glasses and mirrors, marble and lacquer, shine so that it is scary to take. This picture alone aroused fear in a simple petitioner. The doorman on the porch also caught up with horror: with cambric collars and the countenance of a count ... The captain, who entered the waiting room, hid in a corner, fearing inadvertently breaking some vase. Since the official had just woken up, it was necessary to wait. About four hours later, he was finally informed that the boss was about to leave. There were a lot of people in the waiting room by this time. The official began to bypass the visitors and stopped in front of Kopeikin. Their dialogue was short-lived. Let's pass on its summary.

"The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" is the story of a Russian soldier-defender. The hero immediately said that during the war he became disabled and now cannot work, and therefore asks for some kind of pension for himself. The official did not argue and asked to come in a few days later.

Feast of the soul

This answer inspired the captain, who was convinced that his business had already been decided. Happy, he went into the tavern, where he ordered to serve a glass of vodka, a cutlet and then went to the theater, and on his return to the tavern he even tried to hit an Englishwoman passing on the sidewalk, and the bone leg reminded of her disability. As a result, almost half of the money he had was spent in a few hours. This is how Gogol ends his description of the day's happy one.

"The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" continues with the story of the official's second visit.

Disappointment

Two or three days later, the hero again went to the house on the embankment. He was sure that now he would be given a substantial amount of money - some thousandth pension. Therefore, he again began to tell how heroically he shed blood and was injured. But the official's answer was short and categorical: such a matter can be solved only by the minister, but he is not yet available. And he gave some money so that he could survive before taking any measures. The disappointed hero went to his inn. It seems that this is where the story of Captain Kopeikin should end.

Protest

However, the captain had already had time to taste the delights of life in the capital, and therefore such an outcome of the case did not suit him. He walks down the street, sad. On the one hand - salmon, cutlet with truffles, cherries, watermelon, and on the other - the promised "tomorrow". And he decides: it is necessary to go to the commission again and get what you want. Thus, "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" is continued.

The next day, the hero stood before the same official and said that he needed to eat well, drink wine, and visit the theater. In response, I heard that they had given him money for food before the release of a special resolution, and if he wants all kinds of excesses, then he must look for himself the means. But the offended Kopeikin got so bad that he cursed all the officials in the commission. To calm the noise, we had to apply strict measures to him: to escort him to his place of residence. The captain just thought: "Thank you for the fact that you don't have to pay for the run yourself." Then he began to reason: "Since I must look for the means for myself, then well, I will find it."

The "Tale of Captain Kopeikin" ends with the fact that the hero was delivered to his place of residence, after which all rumors about him disappeared into oblivion. A couple of months later, a bandit gang appeared in the forests of the Ryazan region, headed by "none other than ...". At this, the postmaster's story is interrupted.

in the narrative

In "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" N. Gogol skillfully uses For example, the portrait of the doorman speaks volumes. He is compared to a generalissimo and a fattened pug at the same time. Such a soulless person, looking down on those around him, is certainly not up to the problems of the captain and the like.

Gogol describes in detail the house on the embankment and the reception room, which visitors came to. What was one doorknob worth. Kopeikin, who saw her, came up with the idea that first you need to rub your hands with soap for two hours and only then take it up. And from the luxury and splendor, there was such a cold air that it became clear to everyone that there was nothing to expect help here.

It is also noteworthy that the official is not named by name, and it is difficult to judge his position. And the captain only has a surname. Such a generalization significantly pushes the boundaries of the narrative, turning a particular case into a typical one.

Features of the first version of the "Tale ..."

As already noted, the censorship allowed the publication of the third edition of the chapter. The essential difference between different versions of the story was in the ending. In the first version, Gogol emphasized what became of the hero after his return from St. Petersburg. Here is a summary.

"The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" told how the main character began to take revenge. He gathered a whole group of offended soldiers and settled with them in the woods. The gang hunted down everyone whose activities were related to the treasury. And she also appeared in the villages where the deadline for the payment of the rent was set and, having ordered the headman to hand over everything that had been demolished, she wrote out a receipt to the peasants that they had paid taxes. It is quite clear that this option could not suit the authorities, and in the end, in the "Tale ..." there was only one mention of the robbers, who were led by "no one else ...".

The story of the captain ended with unexpected news. Kopeikin left for America, from where he sent letters to the emperor asking him not to touch the people involved in the gang. And he also called to show mercy to everyone who was injured in the war. And the king really made a decision not to prosecute the guilty.

The difference between different versions of the "Tale ..." also concerned the arrangement actors and the phrases they utter. But there were no big changes here. In the official's final speech, the words were rearranged, which, by and large, did not change the ideological meaning. More importantly, the author slightly changed the image of Captain Kopeikin. He portrayed the hero as a person who wished to join the beautiful life of the capital, which was partly the reason for his troubles (meaning the demand for money for wine, delicious food, theaters).

The meaning of "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" is that N. Gogol draws the reader's attention to the relationship between the authorities and the people depending on their will. The main character, who did not receive help in the capital and was forced to look for ways to survive himself, rebelled against the oppression, cruelty and injustice that reign in feudal Russia. It is indicative that the robbers robbed only those who were related to the treasury, and did not touch the people who passed on their own. In this way, they tried to get what they were entitled to by right as defenders of the Fatherland. The described situation leads to the idea that the progressive forces of the country, albeit still spontaneously, are already preparing to fight the existing arbitrariness. This is also reminiscent of the popular uprisings led by S. Razin and E. Pugachev, who showed the strength and might of the people.

What is "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" about? While reflecting on this issue, one more point should be noted. N. Gogol, who skillfully portrayed a provincial town and its inhabitants in the story "Dead Souls", in this chapter transfers the action to the capital and creates a contradictory image of St. making ends meet. This allowed the author to present the life of Russia in its entirety and diversity.

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 the flight of K. K. 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 the 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 officials - about murder, about a "counterfeiter, about a fugitive 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 Leipzig (i.e., 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 regal 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, 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 devil" 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 they sent him out of the capital with the courier. 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 has both hands and feet 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 likes to come to visit. “A relative says:“ There is probably nothing at home, and so he staggers. ” But even earlier, Chichikov himself, leaving Nozdryov, mentally "trims" him, like a rogue coachman is trimmed by "some traveling, 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 the 9th chapter, "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 ober-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 KK, as in the focus, 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 revival of each person individually and humanity as a whole does not take place.

The image of Captain Kopeikin in this work causes a lot of controversy. Some believe that the story will not be interesting without him, while others, on the contrary, that his appearance does not play any role.

The captain, a former military officer, was injured in the war, losing an arm and a leg. He has no means of subsistence, he does not receive money from the state. With a request for a subsidy, Kopeikin goes to meet with the Tsar in St. Petersburg. Arriving in the city, he learned that there was a commission headed by the general to resolve such issues. The captain came there, but it turned out that he was not the only one with such a problem who wanted help from the state. Having received a promise from the general that the sovereign will accept him and give the due subsidies, the captain goes to a restaurant and spends most of his savings there. While he is waiting for the arrival of the Tsar, he completely runs out of money, he has to starve. Kopeikin again goes to the general to ask for a meeting with the sovereign. The general, angry, offers the captain money so that he can return home and not waste his time in Petersburg. He agrees, but disappears on the way home.

After some time, there were rumors that a certain gang of robbers, led by Captain Kopeikin himself, was engaged in robbery and theft.

Of course, Kopeikin was at first a simple citizen, honestly served for the good of his state. But, having become disabled, and having seriously undermined his health, he hoped that the state would not leave him, he would definitely help. In reality, everything turned out to be the opposite. And this led him to indignation and aggression against everyone and everything that surrounds him.

The writer reveals the captain at first on the one hand, decisive, and demanding the unquestioning execution of his request. He firmly stands his ground, constantly reminding about himself and about what he sacrificed for the sake of his sovereign. But on the other hand, from social injustice and humiliation, angry at everything around, he begins to engage in criminal activities, rob and steal. The captain believes that this is the right way to solve not only his problem, but society as a whole.

In fact, this does not in any way affect the world around and the attitude towards people with such a problem as Kopeikin's. It all depends on the person himself, his upbringing, ability to feel and compassion, to be responsive and fair.

Essay about Kopeikin

Captain Kopeikin is a character in the so-called plug-in novella in the story Dead Souls. This heroic officer fought in 1812 and lost an arm and a leg. The story, in which the reader gets acquainted with the image of Kopeikin, is inserted, and the reason for it was the situation in which a certain Chichikov is being discussed. The story is told by the character of "Dead Souls" Postmaster. This plug-in novel is a link between all the raised topics discussed by the officials. Murder, counterfeiter, fugitive. In a way, the story is the so-called key of "Dead Souls", a kind of clue to the text.

The captain was wounded near Leipzig, after which he was declared disabled. A father alone cannot support a disabled son. Kopeikin goes to Petersburg to ask the tsar's favor. But, in the city he was disappointed after a visit to the minister, Kopeikin only hopes, but the hope is false. After another visit, hoping to get help from the ministry, Kopeikin heard only the words - wait.

Initially, Kopeikin's image has a casual, inserted meaning. His rank of captain was equivalent to the rank of titular adviser. This is a kind of association of poor Kopeikin with some of the heroes of Gogol's story "Diary of a Madman." Kopeikin differs from many characters, namely military invalids, that he is a nobleman and an officer. Perhaps the hero of the novel is a robber, but he is full of nobility and this gives his image more tragedy.

Gogol presents Kopeikin to the reader from two sides. The ruthless government and cold Petersburg are going to trample the Captain, but Kopeikin does not give up, but on the contrary defends his rights. The hero does not behave passively, he needs to fulfill his claim as soon as possible. In order to show the state what he is worth, Kopeikin chooses a rebellion against him. Kopeikin begins to engage in robbery, it seems to him that this path will help solve the problem of social justice.

Captain Kopeikin is driven by anger at the state and a kind of envy. The hero may just eat a cucumber with bread or in a restaurant cutlets and truffles, a watermelon, and then looks for someone who could pay one hundred rubles. All this is a derivative of the hero's passion for a penny, and these passions ruined the Captain, ruined his soul.

Critics and specialists in the field of literature still do not understand why this story was so important, it is possible, it should have revealed some details of the continuation of Dead Souls, which Gogol never completed.

Several interesting compositions

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One of the secondary characters in the work is Anna Pavlovna Sherer, represented by the writer as the owner of a fashionable St. Petersburg salon in high society circles.

• Analysis of Garshina's fairy tale the Traveler Frog

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Many people live clearly trying to adhere to the voice of reason and common sense. They try to bypass risky ventures, restrain gambling manifestations in themselves. Their daily life is built on the observance of algorithms.