Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov

Paul Ivanovitch Chichikov’s dealings in deceased serfs are not merely a private bargain: he works to convert names still carried on the revision list into a documented purchase, then hastens to complete the transfer through the municipal offices. The papers, signatures, and official connections give his scheme its practical form—and make its progress a source of anxious urgency.

The Proposed Transfer

Chichikov approaches a landowner with a request for serfs who have died but whose names have not yet been removed from the revision list. When asked why he wants them, he answers simply that he wants the landowner to make them over to him. The exchange lays out the scheme’s essential condition: the men are dead, but their names remain administratively active.

The transaction depends on turning this discrepancy into a sale that can be formally recorded. Chichikov’s purpose is therefore not satisfied by the landowner’s assent; the transfer must also be embodied in a deed and entered through the relevant offices.

Bargaining and Documentation

With Sobakevitch, the negotiation moves toward a visit to town and the signing of a purchase deed on the following day. Chichikov asks for a list of the peasants, and Sobakevitch agrees readily. He goes to his writing desk and begins compiling it, recording not only names but also the men’s former occupations. The list supplies the transaction with particulars that make the dead serfs legible as individual entries in a document.

This paperwork carries an irony central to the episode: the names refer to people who are no longer alive, yet the transaction proceeds through the orderly procedures of purchase. Chichikov’s enterprise depends on that administrative persistence, while the deed and list turn it into a matter that officials can process.

The Municipal Offices

Chichikov prepares to complete the transfer by changing out of his shirt-only Scottish costume into more formal, European clothing. He tightens his waistcoat, sprinkles himself with eau-de-Cologne, gathers his papers under his arm, takes his fur cap, and sets out for the municipal offices. His haste does not arise from fear of being kept waiting: the President of the Local Council is an intimate acquaintance, and Chichikov knows that the official can shorten or prolong an interview at will. He wants the business finished quickly because it has been anxious and difficult throughout.

Even the physical burden of the papers becomes part of his unease. Chichikov cannot rid himself of the sense that the souls he is transferring are unsubstantial things, and thinks his shoulders should be relieved of their load without delay. On the way, he collides with Manilov, who has come out to embrace him; their prolonged greeting briefly interrupts Chichikov’s urgent journey, and Manilov produces a roll of paper tied with red ribbon.

Registration and Departure

At the offices, the President reads a letter from Plushkin and agrees to act as his attorney. Chichikov asks for the purchase deeds to be registered immediately. He has brought both the indenture forms and his written application, and explains that he hopes to conclude the affair that day because he intends to leave town the next day.

The President agrees that the indentures will be completed that day, but refuses to let Chichikov depart so soon, saying he will issue the necessary orders. The exchange shows the transaction passing from private arrangements into official registration, while also placing Chichikov’s intended departure under the authorities’ control. What began as a request for names has become a documented proceeding whose completion—and the timing of his exit—depends on the municipal administration.