Dead Souls

Dead Souls (Russian: Мёртвые ду́ши, Myórtvyjye dúshi) is a novel by Nikolai Gogol, first published in 1842, and widely regarded as an exemplar of 19th-century Russian literature. The purpose of the novel was to demonstrate the flaws and faults of the Russian mentality and character. Gogol masterfully portrayed those defects through Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov (the main character) and the people whom he encounters in his endeavours. These people are typical of the Russian middle-class of the time. Gogol himself saw it as an "epic poem in prose", and within the book as a "novel in verse". Despite supposedly completing the trilogy's second part, Gogol destroyed it shortly before his death. Although the novel ends in mid-sentence (like Sterne's Sentimental Journey), it is usually regarded as complete in the extant form.

Title

The original title, as shown on the illustration (cover page), was "The Wanderings of Chichikov, or Dead Souls. Poema", which contracted to merely "Dead Souls". In the Russian Empire, before the emancipation of the serfs in 1861, landowners had the right to own serfs to farm their land. Serfs were for most purposes considered the property of the landowner, who could buy, sell or mortgage them, as any other chattel. To count serfs (and people in general), the measure word "soul" was used: e.g., "six souls of serfs". The plot of the novel relies on "dead souls" (i.e., "dead serfs") which are still accounted for in property registers. On another level, the title refers to the "dead souls" of Gogol's characters, all of which represent different aspects of poshlost (a Russian noun rendered as "commonplace, vulgarity", moral and spiritual, with overtones of middle-class pretentiousness, fake significance and philistinism).

Dead Souls (Rankin novel)

Dead Souls is a 1999 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the tenth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It was the third episode in the Rebus television series starring John Hannah, airing in 2001.

Plot summary

While investigating a poisoner at Edinburgh Zoo, Detective Inspector John Rebus sees a known paedophile photographing children. After a chase ending in the sea lion enclosure, Rebus decides to 'out' the man, in spite of assurances that he is trying to reform. As a campaign against the man starts, Rebus hears that the son of an ex-girlfriend has gone missing and starts investigating his disappearance from a nightclub with a mysterious blonde.

A convicted killer comes back from the U.S. having served his time in prison, with an agenda he wants to pursue. Rankin incorporated the novella Death Is Not the End as the missing person plot-line of this novel.

Title

The title refers to Joy Division's song "Dead Souls" and to the 1842 Nikolai Gogol novel Dead Souls, quotes from which appear at the beginnings of the two parts of the book.

Dead Souls (1984 film)

Dead Souls (Russian: Мёртвые души) is a 1984 Soviet television miniseries directed by Mikhail Shveytser, based on Nikolai Gogol's novel of the same name.

Cast

External links