Dead Souls -

As Chichikov travels from estate to estate, Gogol introduces us to a hilarious and terrifying lineup of Russian landowners. They are not flat stereotypes, but neurotically individual caricatures:

: Enter our protagonist, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov . He travels the countryside offering to "buy" these dead souls on paper. Dead Souls

The premise of the novel hinges on a loophole in the Imperial Russian tax and legal system: As Chichikov travels from estate to estate, Gogol