Gogol lived the last four years of his life in Moscow, in a house on Nikitsky Boulevard. It was there, according to legend, that he burned the second volume " Dead souls" The house belonged to Count A....

Gogol lived the last four years of his life in Moscow, in a house on Nikitsky Boulevard. It was there, according to legend, that he burned the second volume of Dead Souls. The house belonged to Count A.P. Tolstoy, who sheltered the eternally unsettled and lonely writer and did everything to make him feel free and comfortable.

Gogol was looked after like a child: lunches, breakfasts and dinners were served wherever and whenever he wanted, clothes were washed and even the laundry was laid out on chests of drawers. With him, in addition to the domestic servant, was a young Little Russian, Semyon, efficient and devoted. In the wing where the writer lived, there was always an extraordinary silence. He walked from corner to corner, sat, wrote or rolled bread balls, which, as he said, helped him concentrate and decide complex tasks. But, despite the favorable conditions for life and creativity, the last, strange drama in Gogol’s life broke out in the house on Nikitsky Boulevard.

Many of those who personally knew Nikolai Vasilyevich considered him a secretive and mysterious person. Even friends and admirers of his talent noted that he was prone to cunning, deception and hoaxes. And to Gogol’s own request to speak about him as a person, his devoted friend Pletnev responded: “A secretive, selfish, arrogant, distrustful creature who sacrifices everything for glory...”

Gogol lived by his creativity, for his sake he doomed himself to poverty. All his property was limited to “the smallest suitcase.” The second volume of "Dead Souls" main work The writer's life, the result of his religious quest, was soon to be completed. It was a work in which he put the whole truth about Russia, all his love for it. “My work is great, my feat is saving!” - Gogol said to his friends. However, a turning point came in the writer’s life...

It all started in January 1852, when E. Khomyakova, the wife of Gogol’s friend, died. He considered her most worthy woman. And after her death he confessed to his confessor, Archpriest Matthew (Konstantinovsky): “The fear of death came over me.” From that moment on, Nikolai Vasilyevich constantly thought about death and complained of loss of strength. The same Father Matthew demanded that he leave his literary works and, finally, think about his spiritual state, moderate his appetite and begin to fast. Nikolai Vasilyevich, listening to the advice of his confessor, began to fast, although he did not lose his usual appetite, so he suffered from lack of food, prayed at night, and slept little.

From the point of view modern psychiatry it can be assumed that Gogol had a psychoneurosis. Whether Khomyakova’s death had such a strong effect on him or whether there was some other reason for the development of neurosis in the writer is unknown. But it is known that in childhood Gogol had seizures, which were accompanied by melancholy and depression, so strong that he once said: “Hanging or drowning seemed to me like some kind of medicine and relief.” And in 1845, in a letter to N.M. Yazykov, Gogol wrote: “My health has become rather poor... Nervous anxiety and various signs of complete disintegration throughout my body frighten me.”

It is possible that exactly the same “unsticking” prompted Nikolai Vasilyevich to commit the strangest act in his biography. On the night of February 11-12, 1852, he called Semyon to him and ordered him to bring a briefcase in which notebooks with the continuation of “Dead Souls” were kept. Under the servant’s pleas not to destroy the manuscript, Gogol put the notebooks in the fireplace and set them on fire with a candle, and said to Semyon: “It’s none of your business! Pray!”

In the morning Gogol, apparently amazed by his own impulse, said to Count Tolstoy: “That’s what I did! I wanted to burn some things that had been prepared for a long time, but I burned everything. How strong the evil one is - this is what he has brought me to! And I understood and presented a lot of useful things there... I thought I would send out a notebook to my friends as a souvenir: let them do what they wanted. Now everything is gone."

Brother... - it seems it was male voice. Hoarse from something, perhaps from pain, perhaps moral. But the hoarseness does not spoil anything; on the contrary, it gives unprecedented subtlety to it, embodying the desire to destroy. Exactly. The owner of this timbre can see pain, so much so that anger is conveyed only in the voice. Because he can’t do it any other way. Because otherwise injustice will be done.

However, is this important? It must be so if deep in the soul, if there is one, it hurts so strongly and at the same time so quietly. Loki wouldn't call it pain, it's...it's more of a different feeling. He wouldn't like to admit it, but he didn't like his brother. However, he confessed. To myself. This is correct, but that feeling above still rages. What is this feeling? It's not pain. This can't be pain. Because pain is fueled by love. But Loki never loved either his brother or anyone else, he is honest with himself about this. He probably cannot love because of his nature. He accepted God's judgment and lived. He lived until he died. And having died he will live with humility.

Loki did not want to open his eyes, to illuminate Hel with his gaze. Hel, this haven of eternal torment, has been waiting for him for too long, and now she is burning to make up for every minute of fate’s plans with her calm. He diligently avoided this writings of God. He avoided, but still ended up where he was destined to be a thousand years ago. And he got out of Hel. But this time he's here forever. Loki will not open his eyes, thereby angering fate, and fate will join the list of fools. This is what he achieves. Although... who is he kidding? Why does he continue to lie? He's afraid. Loki is simply afraid, like the most ordinary person or jotun, he is ready to convulse. He doesn't know what will happen if he stays instead of running away. And this ignorance is scary.

And Loki is doubly afraid. This is amazing. He was always afraid of one thing. It doesn’t matter which one, but only one. There is no place in his soul for two all-consuming feelings. He was either afraid of falling into the eyes of his family, or he was afraid of death. When Loki was afraid of the first, he defeated the second with incentive. And when his family fell in his eyes, the second destroyed almost all feelings, be it happiness, anger, misunderstanding. But he died. It turns out that the fear of death is no longer dangerous. But fear of Hel... And fear of fear.

Loki used to hold fast to his feelings. Having admitted the absence of love, he did not admit to fear. His soul harbored fear, but he did not. Nowadays - yes. Loki is afraid of the very thought that he is afraid.

The eyelashes twitched, the eyelids dug strongly into eyeballs, cheeks and forehead frowned. This is called closing your eyes. Close your cute eyes, from which a trickle of blood flows. Because of Thanos? Yes... but partly it’s my own fault. I would have saved my own skin, as always, said something crazy and left. No. Loki is an idiot. Loki, you idiot! What was it? A burst of heroism? Why? Whose hero did you want to become? Loki would have answered these questions if he knew the answer. That's why he closes his eyes.

Where am I? Who are you? - a completely unfamiliar voice is heard.

But Loki also looks into the darkness.

If you get lost in Hel, then this is definitely Hel, boy,” he answered. He has nothing more to say.

But I must save... The world from Volan... - they interrupt him. And it is his interlocutor, lying in leucorrhoea, who does it.

Did you want to save? Didn't work out? Come on, if this is the way it has become, then it’s the will of fate,” the young man could hear despair. This reignited another fear in Loki. True, insignificant. However, it is enough for him to open his eyes.

The boy, that’s right, the boy looked sadly at his surroundings. He was simple, dark, with tousled dark hair, the curls of which spread unruly wherever possible. And the eyes, bottomless green, covered with iron shackles. I've lost my sight, apparently.
What's most unusual about him is his lightning-shaped scar. Lightning... sad memories that would be better not to remember.

But... I have to. I can't just die like that. This is simply impossible. I... don’t believe that... I’ve come all this way... - he was ready to pour out his soul, burst into tears. And if something happens, turn Loki into a vest.

I wouldn't believe it either, man. All my life I lied, I was lied to, and in the end I died trying not to lie to myself. But I couldn't. This is definitely Hel, and it is impossible to get out of here. And the fact that you died is just possible,” Loki sowed pathos. His words made sense. It’s either pain or joy from the fact that life is being torn apart here. In fact, he is alive, but he is alive in Hel.

The young man fell down.

I can't... no. I have to go back. Please help me! - his voice breaks.

Come on, leave me alone. I need it. I've never had one. Even after death, the words are true. Loki had no peace at birth, but then he got used to it.

Salty moisture gathered at the corners of the dark one’s eyes, his glasses fogged up, and he himself was trembling.

If you are going to cry, then do it away, - he will not be tolerant, - I do not want to see your appearance unbecoming a man.

Suddenly a scream reached their ears. Long and on top. Female. The lady screamed, and they watched as she soon came into contact with the ground. The young man was horrified, but Loki was not.

A-A! - and the roar is worse than before.

The young man looked blankly at the girl in a top and short skirt. She doesn't exactly look like a suicide bomber. There was no sign of anxiety or shock from the experience. But they should be if she is so young. She's even very beautiful. Red head of hair with an impressive long length, blue eyes full of misunderstanding. Blue eyes... Loki found similarities in them, yet the difference in shape is huge, but if you look closely at the eye, you can recognize the drunkenness. No, no, the girl is not drunk, but the one whom Loki recognized in those eyes. Thor does not leave him in Hel either. Cute.

A? Where am I? - she asked the expected question.

In Hel,” the young man narrowed his eyes, apparently having learned something interesting, “Ginny?..

Ginny, is that you? So you too?.. - he drooped. He stopped crying, but he became so depressed that it would have been better if he had cried. Loki knew this; many around him become like this. It’s like pain, as if an animal is scratching at your heart.

The girl shook her head negatively. While they were having a dialogue, God, the only one here, stood up and shook off the invisible dust that was not there. It becomes a habit.
You can get out of here, but why? Why would Loki get out of here? To experience fear once again? Oh no. Thoughts run into the deepest gorges of escape plans, but Loki will not turn them into reality. Let them stay there, he thinks, there is no point anymore. How many times has he run away from here? Five? Ten? He's had enough. Returning back, fear again consumes him headlong. It’s strange, the soul requires peace.

I am Bloom, Dragon Flame Fairy, Princess of Domino. I remember how they killed me... Who are you? What kind of place is this? - Her voice no longer trembled.

Fairy? Aren't they small? - the young man asked. Because Loki wouldn't be interested. He knows about the types of fairies.

This situation was strange. Definitely. The first experience after the death of two teenagers and, most likely, the last of God.

No no. These are small pixies. We are saving the world... I didn’t save him, - now she too has wilted. But she quickly woke up. “You said it was Hel.” What kind of Hel? World?

The place where you go after death, if you are not an Asgardian who died in battle. That’s right, a bonus to the rest,” Loki regained confidence. - Did you know that after rebirth, you can regain your virginity?

The young man blushed deeply. He lowered his head and timidly said:

That is... you can be reborn?

What is virginity? - Bloom didn’t understand.

Seriously... - God was interrupted.

No, answer my question! How to get out of here?! - he shouted.

Very heightened emotions. Loki's heart trembled, albeit from surprise. He won't tell. He will not do good.

Yes, I mean that as a joke. There's no way out of here.

There was silence. Long. No one dared to spoil it. Because it happened for the same reason for everyone. Loki's words touched each of them, including himself. The words struck like a mace. The words touched hope, trampled and killed. Yes, Bloom and this one are doomed to feel guilty. Well, Loki, looking at the distortion of the faces of those two, understood the scale of the pain caused. His words, of course, hurt him too, but not with pain. Something different, delicate.

Hands up, I'm an android sent from Cyberlife!

The man was showing off. What's more attractive is not him, but the gun in his hands. What is he going to do with it?

Are you going to kill us? Kill in Hel? This is... Kill in a square? - asked the more or less adequate God, ostentatiously raising his hands. The other two followed suit.

Where are we and who are you? We answer in order.

I am Bloom, Dragon Flame Fairy, Princess of Domino. If I'm not mistaken, this is the world after death, its name is... Hel.

Loki, son... Laufey. God of deceit and deceit. You must have died, since you’re already here,” he swallowed it all. He is Laufey's son. Not Odin at all.

I'm Harry. Harry Potter.

The Android threw the gun into oblivion, like everyone else here. However, unlike these drooping ones, the man continued to experience nothing. The circle on his temple lit up red - these are all the changes.

How do androids, aka artificial intelligence, end up in Hel? Are you Stark's creation? This awkward fairy-tale gnome? - Loki suggested.

Hel is not the sister of darkness, the bringer of darkness, the prototype of the mythological cave of devils. Hel is afterlife. Time has no control over this abode of souls, therefore torment is eternal in the case of a sinful life. There are no walls separating the space, no ceiling or ground. The soul is supported by Hel's forces from falling, like an android's weapon. The soul does not need food, water, sleep. The soul makes up the shell, according to the latter’s memories, and the entire organism. The soul wanders through a colorless, endless space. That's all. The result of such a pastime is nothing more than peace. And the soul that has found peace disappears.

Loki doesn’t know them, doesn’t know what they were like during life, what they did, who they honored, what sins they committed, what good deeds they did. In all the times he's been here, Loki has met many people. Tall, short, beautiful, ugly, sociable, silent, vampires, elves. He also got into dark side Hel, where eternal fire reigns and the brave smolder. He went through a lot in this life, not this life, the life before last. No more than Odin, he thought, but enough to start a career as a sage. The sage says: “peace, only peace is a vice of anything.”

I beg your pardon, sir. Are you unable to replicate your roots? - a man with a bob and a small mustache tore him from his thoughts.

The God of Deception arched his eyebrows.

Don't get me wrong. I'm watching. Did you say Lafie?

Loki opened his mouth for some sarcastic answer, but closed his lips again.

Uncle, we have a circle of revelations here. “You can join,” Bloom responded sadly.

To begin, provide us with your name while you were alive. I hope you know that you left that world? - the young man, his name Harry, supported her.

Nikolai. Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol. I will join if allowed. However, I will be with you for only one reason - I want to send you to the pages,” he languidly enlightened.

Are we already in the circle of depressed idiots? Great! And when did we create it? - Loki does not agree with such a sharp turn in the infamous fate.

I don't see a way out other than to talk.

Fine. If this is a circle of revelations, perhaps I’ll start, - Has Harry conquered his feelings?

Bloom nodded, sitting more comfortably in the lotus position. The Android also sat down, looking like an innocent puppy. Was there anything else left for Loki? Their new acquaintance elegantly spread out his robe and settled down on it.

My name is Harry Potter. And... damn, it's difficult! - He covered his face with his hands.

I saw you cry. So, everything is fine. I don’t think rumors will spread around Hel,” Loki reassured him. Who else? - Can you imagine the Alcoholics Anonymous club?

Okay... I'm Harry Potter. I turned seventeen years old, and I would have spent my whole life in a closet if I had not turned out to be a wizard. My parents are wizards who died because of Voldemort. He's evil. I studied at Hogwarts, the school for wizards, and year after year, with the help of friends and family, I defeated him. IN last battle I fell. Now I'm here.

Loki began clapping his hands. Four pairs of eyes stared at him in disbelief.

“We’re in Alcoholics Anonymous,” he explains. - Okay, Harry, if I didn't misspell your name, you can tell me how you feel.

Pain. I failed. I was the hope of many. Perhaps... - a tear rolled down his cheek, leaving a wet trail. - they are all dead... It's my fault. I couldn't. I turned out to be weak. It's all because of me... it's my fault!

Yes, it's your fault, Harry. He is absolutely to blame for everything that happened. We are a figment of your imagination that will soothe you in Hel,” Loki seemed to be telling the truth.

Harry's eyes widened.

And in this way you put pressure on a person who has experienced death. Marvelous! - With these words, Nikolai continued to scratch the scribbled paper on the sheet. Oh, that was his handwriting.

During the entire conversation, the android was silent.

Harry, it's not your fault. If it weren't for you, many would have died without being born, right? - Bloom patted her on the shoulder, walking along her back with a calming gesture.

The young man nodded, sniffling at the same time.

I have. slightly similar situation. I screwed up the convergence at the right moment, and everything went dark. Tritannus... - they interrupted.

Thanos?! - panic fought with all its might, preparing for what came next.

No, Tritannus, cousin Leila, my friend. He's a newt. In general, he was distraught that his brother, the younger, had earned the crown with his prudence. Formally and monarchically, he was supposed to be king. And yes, I feel guilty. I could change this. I could! But no, these Trix...

Loki experienced déjà vu. There was no more disgusting feeling in this world or any other. When you see your own mistakes in the actions of another, your soul is torn. And now he consists of one soul. He feels hatred for Bloom with his whole body, groundless, extravagant hatred. The lump inside shrinks. Loki is ready to go into convulsions. No, he rather restrains himself from doing this.

And, in that world, my loved ones remained... - and again interrupted by God.

There is no love.

Yes,” she frowned.

No, Loki has stood his ground for ten centuries. What's there?

Yes, - Harry appeared.

“This is a very strange feeling that I would like to feel,” the android said. - I'm Connor, nice to meet you.

Shut up, Connor,” the angry three said in unison, and Loki continued, “you won’t feel this feeling, because it doesn’t exist.”

For your information, the quarrel is not best choice for you, my friends, since you are in these parts,” Nikolai advised.

Yes, you're right, Gogol. I will not find peace forever by quarreling with you. And I realized something, all of them - Bloom, Harry... okay, not all of them, but these two - want to return old times. I'll get you out of here.

So you lied to me! - Harry exclaimed.

“I agree, I have to go back,” Bloom quickly stood up, approaching Loki.

I’m not sure that I’ll return you exactly to the right worlds, but at least I’ll get you out of Hel. Do you agree?

The two nodded.

With your permission, I will stay here,” Nikolai smiled reassuringly.

Android, are you with us? - asked Bloom.

Yes, brevity is the sister of talent.

Gogol lived the last four years of his life in Moscow, in a house on Nikitsky Boulevard. It was there, according to legend, that he burned the second volume of Dead Souls. The house belonged to Count A.P. Tolstoy, who sheltered the eternally unsettled and lonely writer and did everything to make him feel free and comfortable.

Gogol was looked after like a child: lunches, breakfasts and dinners were served wherever and whenever he wanted, clothes were washed and even the laundry was laid out on chests of drawers. With him, in addition to the domestic servant, was a young Little Russian, Semyon, efficient and devoted. In the wing where the writer lived, there was always an extraordinary silence. He walked from corner to corner, sat, wrote or rolled bread balls, which, as he said, helped him concentrate and solve complex problems. But, despite the favorable conditions for life and creativity, the last, strange drama in Gogol’s life broke out in the house on Nikitsky Boulevard.

Many of those who personally knew Nikolai Vasilyevich considered him a secretive and mysterious person. Even friends and admirers of his talent noted that he was prone to cunning, deception and hoaxes. And to Gogol’s own request to speak about him as a person, his devoted friend Pletnev replied: “A secretive, selfish, arrogant, distrustful creature who sacrifices everything for glory...”

Gogol lived by his creativity, for his sake he doomed himself to poverty. All his property was limited to “the smallest suitcase.” The second volume of Dead Souls, the main work of the writer’s life, the result of his religious quest, was soon to be completed. It was a work in which he put the whole truth about Russia, all his love for it. “My work is great, my feat is saving!” - Gogol said to his friends. However, a turning point came in the writer’s life...

It all started in January 1852, when E. Khomyakova, the wife of Gogol’s friend, died. He considered her a most worthy woman. And after her death he confessed to his confessor, Archpriest Matthew (Konstantinovsky): “The fear of death came over me.” From that moment on, Nikolai Vasilyevich constantly thought about death and complained of loss of strength. The same Father Matthew demanded that he leave his literary works and, finally, think about his spiritual state, moderate his appetite and begin to fast. Nikolai Vasilyevich, listening to the advice of his confessor, began to fast, although he did not lose his usual appetite, so he suffered from lack of food, prayed at night, and slept little.

From the point of view of modern psychiatry, it can be assumed that Gogol had psychoneurosis. Whether Khomyakova’s death had such a strong effect on him or whether there was some other reason for the development of neurosis in the writer is unknown. But it is known that in childhood Gogol had seizures, which were accompanied by melancholy and depression, so strong that he once said: “Hanging or drowning seemed to me like some kind of medicine and relief.” And in 1845, in a letter to N.M. Gogol wrote to Yazykov: “My health has become rather poor... Nervous anxiety and various signs of complete disintegration throughout my body frighten me.”

It is possible that exactly the same “unsticking” prompted Nikolai Vasilyevich to commit the strangest act in his biography. On the night of February 11-12, 1852, he called Semyon to him and ordered him to bring a briefcase in which notebooks with the continuation of “Dead Souls” were kept. Under the servant’s pleas not to destroy the manuscript, Gogol put the notebooks in the fireplace and set them on fire with a candle, and said to Semyon: “It’s none of your business! Pray!”

In the morning Gogol, apparently amazed by his own impulse, said to Count Tolstoy: “That’s what I did! I wanted to burn some things that had been prepared for a long time, but I burned everything. How strong the evil one is - this is what he has brought me to! And I understood and presented a lot of useful things there... I was thinking of sending out a notebook to my friends as a souvenir: let them do what they wanted. Now everything is gone." .

Editor's response

February 24, 1852 Nikolai Gogol burned the almost completed second volume of Dead Souls, on which he had been working for more than 10 years. The story itself was originally conceived by Gogol as a trilogy. In the first volume, the adventurer Chichikov, traveling around Russia, encountered exclusively human vices; in the second part, fate brought the protagonist together with some positive characters. In the third volume, which was never written, Chichikov had to go through exile in Siberia and finally take the path of moral purification.

AiF.ru tells why Gogol burned the second volume of Dead Souls and what adventures were supposed to happen to Chichikov in the continuation of the story.

Why did Gogol burn the second volume of Dead Souls?

Most likely, Gogol burned the second volume of Dead Souls by accident. IN recent years the writer felt constant weakness in the body, but instead of being treated, he continued to exhaust his body with strict observance of religious fasts and exhausting work. In one of the letters to poet Nikolai Yazykov Gogol wrote: “My health has become rather poor... Nervous anxiety and various signs of complete disintegration throughout my body frighten me.” It is possible that this “unsticking” prompted the writer to throw the manuscripts into the fireplace on the night of February 24 and then set them on fire with his own hands. A servant witnessed this scene Semyon, who persuaded the master to spare the papers. But he only rudely replied: “It’s none of your business! Pray!

In the morning next day Gogol, amazed by his action, lamented to his friend Count Alexander Tolstoy: “That's what I did! I wanted to burn some things that had been prepared for a long time, but I burned everything. How strong the evil one is - that’s what he brought me to! And I understood and presented a lot of useful things there... I was thinking of sending out a notebook to my friends as a souvenir: let them do what they wanted. Now everything is gone."

Gogol claimed that he wanted to burn only drafts and unnecessary papers, and the second volume of “Dead Souls” was sent to the fireplace due to his oversight. Nine days after this fatal mistake, the writer died.

What is the second volume of Dead Souls about?

Gogol's letters and remaining drafts make it possible to reconstruct the approximate contents of some parts of the burned manuscript. The second volume of “Dead Souls” begins with a description of the estate of Andrei Ivanovich Tentetnikov, whom the author calls “the smoker of the sky.” An educated and fair person, due to laziness and lack of willpower, drags out a meaningless existence in the village. Tentetnikov's fiancee Ulinka is the daughter of the neighboring general Betrishchev. It is she who becomes the “ray of light in dark kingdom" story: "If a transparent picture suddenly flashed in a dark room, illuminated from behind by a lamp, it would not have struck as much as this figurine shining with life, which seemed to appear then to illuminate the room... It was difficult to say what land she was born in . Such a pure, noble outline of a face could not be found anywhere, except perhaps on some ancient cameos,” this is how Gogol describes her. Tentetnikov, according to Gogol’s plan, should have been convicted of participation in an anti-government organization, and his beloved would have followed him to hard labor. Then, in the third volume of the trilogy, these heroes had to go through exile in Siberia along with Chichikov.

Further on, according to the plot of the second volume, Chichikov meets the bored landowner Platonov and, having encouraged him to travel together around Russia, goes to see the master Kostanzhoglo, who is married to Platonov’s sister. He talks about the methods of management with which he increased the income from the estate tens of times, which Chichikov is terribly inspired by. Soon after this, Chichikov, having borrowed money from Platonov and Kostanzhoglo, tries to buy the estate from the bankrupt landowner Khlobuev.

On the “border line” between good and evil in the second volume of the story, financier Afanasy Murazov unexpectedly appears. He wants to spend the 40 million rubles he earned not in the most honest way on “saving Russia,” but his ideas are more reminiscent of sectarian ones.

In the surviving drafts of the end of the manuscript, Chichikov is found in the city at a fair, where he buys fabric that is so dear to him, the lingonberry color with a sparkle. He encounters Khlobuev, whom, apparently, he “messed up”, either depriving, or almost depriving, his estate through forgery. Chichikov is saved from continuing the unpleasant conversation by Murazov, who convinces the bankrupt landowner of the need to work and directs him to collect funds for the church. Meanwhile, denunciations against Chichikov are discovered both about the forgery and about dead souls. However, the help of the corrupt official Samosvistov and the intercession of Murazov allow the hero to avoid prison.

Cameo is a piece of jewelry or decoration made using the bas-relief technique on precious or semi-precious stones.

February 24, 1852 Nikolai Gogol burned the almost completed second volume of Dead Souls, on which he had been working for more than 10 years. The story itself was originally conceived by Gogol as a trilogy. In the first volume, the adventurer Chichikov, traveling around Russia, encountered exclusively human vices, but in the second part, fate brought the protagonist together with some positive characters. In the third volume, which was never written, Chichikov had to go through exile in Siberia and finally take the path of moral purification.

AiF.ru tells why Gogol burned the second volume of Dead Souls and what adventures were supposed to happen to Chichikov in the continuation of the story.

Most likely, Gogol burned the second volume of Dead Souls by accident. In the last years of his life, the writer felt constant weakness in his body, but instead of receiving treatment, he continued to exhaust his body with strict observance of religious fasts and exhausting work. In one of the letters to poet Nikolai Yazykov Gogol wrote: “My health has become rather poor... Nervous anxiety and various signs of complete disintegration throughout my body frighten me.” It is possible that this “unsticking” prompted the writer to throw the manuscripts into the fireplace on the night of February 24 and then set them on fire with his own hands. A servant witnessed this scene Semyon, who persuaded the master to spare the papers. But he only rudely replied: “It’s none of your business! Pray!

The next morning, Gogol, amazed by his action, lamented to his friendCount Alexander Tolstoy: “That's what I did! I wanted to burn some things that had been prepared for a long time, but I burned everything. How strong the evil one is - that’s what he brought me to! And I understood and presented a lot of useful things there... I was thinking of sending out a notebook to my friends as a souvenir: let them do what they wanted. Now everything is gone."

Gogol claimed that he wanted to burn only drafts and unnecessary papers, and the second volume of “Dead Souls” was sent to the fireplace due to his oversight. Nine days after this fatal mistake, the writer died.

Gogol's letters and remaining drafts make it possible to reconstruct the approximate contents of some parts of the burned manuscript. The second volume of “Dead Souls” begins with a description of the estate of Andrei Ivanovich Tentetnikov, whom the author calls “the smoker of the sky.” An educated and fair person, due to laziness and lack of willpower, drags out a meaningless existence in the village. Tentetnikov's fiancee Ulinka is the daughter of the neighboring general Betrishchev. It is she who becomes the “ray of light in the dark kingdom” of the story: “If a transparent picture suddenly flashed in a dark room, illuminated from behind by a lamp, it would not have struck as much as this figure shining with life, which seemed to appear then to illuminate the room... It was difficult to say what land she was born in. Such a pure, noble outline of a face could not be found anywhere, except perhaps on some ancient cameos,” this is how Gogol describes her. Tentetnikov, according to Gogol’s plan, should have been convicted of participation in an anti-government organization, and his beloved would have followed him to hard labor. Then, in the third volume of the trilogy, these heroes had to go through exile in Siberia along with Chichikov.

Further on, according to the plot of the second volume, Chichikov meets the bored landowner Platonov and, having encouraged him to travel together around Russia, goes to see the master Kostanzhoglo, who is married to Platonov’s sister. He talks about the methods of management with which he increased the income from the estate tens of times, which Chichikov is terribly inspired by. Soon after this, Chichikov, having borrowed money from Platonov and Kostanzhoglo, tries to buy the estate from the bankrupt landowner Khlobuev.

On the “border line” between good and evil in the second volume of the story, financier Afanasy Murazov unexpectedly appears. He wants to spend the 40 million rubles he earned not in the most honest way on “saving Russia,” but his ideas are more reminiscent of sectarian ones.

In the surviving drafts of the end of the manuscript, Chichikov is found in the city at a fair, where he buys fabric that is so dear to him, the lingonberry color with a sparkle. He encounters Khlobuev, whom, apparently, he “messed up”, either depriving, or almost depriving, his estate through forgery. Chichikov is saved from continuing the unpleasant conversation by Murazov, who convinces the bankrupt landowner of the need to work and directs him to collect funds for the church. Meanwhile, denunciations against Chichikov are discovered both about the forgery and about dead souls. However, the help of the corrupt official Samosvistov and the intercession of Murazov allow the hero to avoid prison.