A barque tossed by tempestuous waves

The image of a barque tossed by tempestuous waves is a metaphor Chichikov uses to present his life as a struggle against hostile forces. It appears first as a polished account of professional misfortune and returns at his moment of legal and emotional collapse, linking his public performance of victimhood to his private anguish over the destruction of his plans.

First Use as a Performance

When the General asks about his service, Chichikov traces his career through the Treasury, the Public Buildings Commission, the Customs Board, and other government offices. He describes its course as a barque tossed on the crests of treacherous billows, then claims that suffering has made him its very embodiment and that enemies have repeatedly sought his life. He presents himself as an aged man looking for a corner in which to spend what remains of his existence.

The scene makes the metaphor part of a practiced self-presentation. Chichikov gives an account of professional adversity while resting one hand on the arm of his chair and sitting off-center; the elevated image of a vessel battered by waves lends grandeur to his claim that circumstances, rather than his own choices, have driven his life. He concludes that he is enjoying the hospitality of a neighbor known to the General, turning the account of past hardship toward his immediate social purpose.

Return Before the Prince

The image returns when Chichikov begs the Prince for mercy. He appeals first to the Prince’s family role and then to an aged mother, although the Prince points out that Chichikov had previously invoked a wife and children he did not possess. Chichikov admits that he lied about having a family, but says that he had always desired one and wanted to fulfill the duties of a man and citizen and earn the respect of his peers and authorities.

He again describes his life as a barque driven at the mercy of winds, now insisting that wiles, temptations, enemies, and despoilers had left him struggling to earn a living by any means available. The metaphor thus accompanies an explicit mixture of confession and excuse: he acknowledges deception, yet frames his conduct as the product of circumstances beyond his control. His tears, collapse at the Prince’s feet, and repeated blows to his forehead give the appeal a physical intensity, but the Prince orders him removed.

The Wreck and Its Meaning

After Murazov urges him to think about making peace with God rather than dwelling on human judgment, Chichikov again invokes the storm-driven barque. He protests that he had not intended to rob anyone or cheat the Treasury, and says that his crooked methods had grown on him as he pursued the hope of living comfortably and supporting a future family. He contrasts his own taking from the rich with officials who, he says, despoil the poor while drawing thousands from the Treasury.

The metaphor now carries a precise account of loss. Chichikov says his capital had nearly reached three hundred thousand roubles, that a three-storied house was almost his, and that he could have bought a country estate twice over. He presents the sudden storm that wrecked his barque as a cruel interruption just as he was beginning to enjoy the results of his toil. The image binds together the promise of accumulated wealth and the violence of its collapse, while leaving his claim of undeserved misfortune in tension with his acknowledged use of devious methods.

Recurrence and Irony

Across the three speeches, the barque shifts from an ornament of professional self-description into an appeal for pardon and finally an expression of grief over lost wealth. Chichikov repeatedly casts himself as a passenger at the mercy of forces outside his control; the repeated image supplies continuity to his account even as the surrounding circumstances expose its self-serving elements. His language of shipwreck therefore does not erase responsibility: it dramatizes the story he tells himself and others about the consequences of his choices.