Dead Souls

Chichikov berates his servants for drunkenness, and the three of them debate Koshkaryov’s reputation for insanity and other rumors. They arrive in a low-lying area near water a lake where a large man is tangled in a fishing net, while peasants are dragging him and the fish to shore. Chichikov assumes from the man’s girth and absence of a tan that he must be Koshkaryov, but he actually turns out to be Pyotr Petrovich Petukh. Petukh insists they stay for dinner to feast on the fish.

Petukh’s sons wish to move to Saint Petersburg, and Petukh is planning to remortgage his estate. This dismays Chichikov—it may make a transaction in dead souls more difficult. He considers Petukh naive and foolish for contemplating a move to Moscow, as his country life is so prosperous. Petukh rebukes another guest, the young and handsome Platon Mikhailovich Platonov, for always being in a sober mood. Platonov assures Chichikov that he might be serious, but he is not poor, as “my brother’s a really fine landowner.” (5553-55).

The massive feast arrives, and Petukh insists his guests stuff themselves and drink abundantly. Chichikov and Platonov discuss possible cures for the Platonov’s ennui.