Summary
Chichikov visits the estate of Manilov, a landowner who embodies the art of saying much while meaning nothing. Manilov is all surface charm and empty gestures—his house is half-furnished, his projects never completed, his conversations full of sweet nothings. He and his wife perform an elaborate dance of artificial affection, calling each other pet names and feeding each other treats like children playing house. When Chichikov finally reveals his shocking request—to buy dead serfs who are still listed as alive on paper—Manilov is so confused he can barely process it. Yet his desperate need to please leads him to agree without understanding, even offering to pay the transaction costs himself. The chapter reveals how some people float through life without substance, filling their days with meaningless rituals and hollow pleasantries. Manilov represents those who mistake busyness for purpose and politeness for genuine connection. His willingness to agree to something he doesn't understand shows how people-pleasers can be easily manipulated. Gogol uses this encounter to expose the emptiness lurking beneath Russia's polite society, where form matters more than substance and appearance trumps reality. The chapter serves as a mirror for anyone who has ever wondered if their own social interactions have become mere performance, divorced from authentic human connection.
Coming Up in Chapter 3
Chichikov departs Manilov's estate with his first success, but his journey to the next landowner promises a very different challenge. Where Manilov was all sweetness and compliance, his next target may prove far more difficult to charm.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
For more than two weeks the visitor lived amid a round of evening parties and dinners; wherefore he spent (as the saying goes) a very pleasant time. Finally he decided to extend his visits beyond the urban boundaries by going and calling upon landowners Manilov and Sobakevitch, seeing that he had promised on his honour to do so. Yet what really incited him to this may have been a more essential cause, a matter of greater gravity, a purpose which stood nearer to his heart, than the motive which I have just given; and of that purpose the reader will learn if only he will have the patience to read this prefatory narrative (which, lengthy though it be, may yet develop and expand in proportion as we approach the denouement with which the present work is destined to be crowned). One evening, therefore, Selifan the coachman received orders to have the horses harnessed in good time next morning; while Petrushka received orders to remain behind, for the purpose of looking after the portmanteau and the room. In passing, the reader may care to become more fully acquainted with the two serving-men of whom I have spoken. Naturally, they were not persons of much note, but merely what folk call characters of secondary, or even of tertiary, importance. Yet, despite the fact that the springs and the thread of this romance will not DEPEND upon them, but only touch upon them, and occasionally include them, the author has a passion for circumstantiality, and, like the average Russian, such a desire for accuracy as even a German could not rival. To what the reader already knows concerning the personages in hand it is therefore necessary to add that Petrushka usually wore a cast-off brown jacket of a size too large for him, as also that he had (according to the custom of individuals of his calling) a pair of thick lips and a very prominent nose. In temperament he was taciturn rather than loquacious, and he cherished a yearning for self-education. That is to say, he loved to read books, even though their contents came alike to him whether they were books of heroic adventure or mere grammars or liturgical compendia. As I say, he perused every book with an equal amount of attention, and, had he been offered a work on chemistry, would have accepted that also. Not the words which he read, but the mere solace derived from the act of reading, was what especially pleased his mind; even though at any moment there might launch itself from the page some devil-sent word whereof he could make neither head nor tail. For the most part, his task of reading was performed in a recumbent position in the anteroom; which circumstance ended by causing his mattress to become as ragged and as thin as a wafer. In addition to his love of poring over books, he could boast of two habits which constituted two other essential features of his character--namely, a...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Empty Performance
The tendency to fill life with elaborate but meaningless activities and rituals to avoid confronting a lack of genuine purpose or direction.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches you to recognize when people substitute meaningless activity for genuine purpose, making them vulnerable to manipulation.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone talks a lot about their plans but never follows through, or when they agree to things they clearly don't understand—you're seeing Empty Performance in action.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Serfdom
A system where peasants were legally bound to work a landowner's estate and could be bought and sold like property. Serfs had no freedom to leave or choose their work, making them essentially slaves tied to the land.
Modern Usage:
We see similar power imbalances today in exploitative employment contracts or human trafficking situations where people can't leave their circumstances.
Dead Souls
Serfs who had died but were still counted as alive on official government records until the next census. Landowners had to pay taxes on these 'dead souls' as if they were still living workers.
Modern Usage:
Like phantom employees on company payrolls, or people still getting bills for services after canceling - bureaucratic systems that don't reflect reality.
Social Performance
The elaborate rituals of politeness and artificial behavior that people use to maintain their social status. It's all surface-level charm with no genuine substance underneath.
Modern Usage:
Think social media personas, networking events where everyone's 'performing' success, or workplace small talk that never gets real.
People-Pleasing
The compulsive need to agree with others and avoid conflict, even when it means going along with things you don't understand or that might harm you.
Modern Usage:
The person who says yes to everything at work, the friend who never expresses their real opinion, or anyone who agrees to things they later regret.
Empty Gestures
Actions that look meaningful on the surface but have no real substance or follow-through behind them. All show, no substance.
Modern Usage:
Corporate diversity statements with no real change, politicians' promises during election season, or saying 'let's do lunch' with no intention of following up.
Bureaucratic Loopholes
Gaps in official systems that can be exploited by those who understand how the paperwork works better than the spirit of the law.
Modern Usage:
Tax loopholes for the wealthy, insurance companies finding technicalities to deny claims, or any system where knowing the rules matters more than doing the right thing.
Characters in This Chapter
Chichikov
Protagonist/schemer
He visits Manilov's estate as part of his mysterious plan to buy dead serfs. His polite exterior hides his true manipulative nature, and he knows exactly how to play on people's weaknesses.
Modern Equivalent:
The smooth-talking salesman who makes you feel special while setting up the con
Manilov
Naive landowner
A landowner who lives in a fantasy of politeness and empty dreams. He's so focused on appearing refined that he never accomplishes anything real, and his desperate need to please makes him easy to manipulate.
Modern Equivalent:
The boss who's all talk and no action, always planning but never delivering
Manilov's wife
Social performer
She and her husband perform an elaborate show of marital bliss, complete with baby talk and theatrical affection. Their relationship is all surface performance with no genuine intimacy.
Modern Equivalent:
The couple who posts constantly about their 'perfect' relationship on social media
Selifan
Chichikov's coachman
Chichikov's servant who drives him around on his visits. Represents the working class who serve the schemes of their betters without understanding the bigger picture.
Modern Equivalent:
The driver or assistant who does the legwork for their boss's questionable deals
Key Quotes & Analysis
"What exactly are dead souls?"
Context: When Chichikov first explains his bizarre request to buy dead serfs
This question reveals how completely unprepared Manilov is for any real business discussion. He's so used to empty social pleasantries that he can't process an actual transaction, even a corrupt one.
In Today's Words:
Wait, what are you actually asking me to do here?
"I should be delighted to do you such a service"
Context: His response after agreeing to sell dead souls without understanding why
Shows how people-pleasers will agree to anything to avoid conflict or appear helpful, even when they don't understand what they're agreeing to. His need to be liked overrides his common sense.
In Today's Words:
Sure, whatever you need - I'm happy to help!
"The room was furnished with a certain pretension to elegance, but it had a cold, unfinished look"
Context: Describing Manilov's house when Chichikov arrives
This perfectly captures how Manilov approaches everything - he starts projects with grand intentions but never follows through. His whole life is half-finished gestures toward sophistication.
In Today's Words:
The place looked like someone tried to make it fancy but gave up halfway through
Thematic Threads
Social Performance
In This Chapter
Manilov and his wife perform elaborate displays of affection with pet names and theatrical gestures that ring hollow
Development
Builds on Chapter 1's introduction of social facades, now showing how performance can become a complete substitute for authentic living
In Your Life:
You might recognize this in your own tendency to say what people want to hear rather than what you actually think.
People-Pleasing
In This Chapter
Manilov agrees to Chichikov's incomprehensible request simply to avoid disappointing his guest
Development
Introduced here as a dangerous form of social compliance
In Your Life:
This appears when you agree to things you don't understand or want because saying no feels too uncomfortable.
Class Anxiety
In This Chapter
Manilov's desperate attempts to appear refined and important through his elaborate but incomplete projects and affected mannerisms
Development
Continues from Chapter 1's exploration of social positioning, now showing the exhausting effort required to maintain false status
In Your Life:
You see this when you spend money or time on things meant to impress others rather than satisfy yourself.
Avoidance
In This Chapter
Manilov's half-finished house and abandoned projects reveal someone who starts things but never faces the difficulty of completion
Development
Introduced here as a pattern of avoiding the hard work that real achievement requires
In Your Life:
This shows up in your life as the projects you start with enthusiasm but abandon when they require sustained effort.
Manipulation
In This Chapter
Chichikov easily exploits Manilov's people-pleasing nature to get what he wants without Manilov even understanding the transaction
Development
Builds on Chapter 1's hints at Chichikov's calculating nature, now showing how he reads and exploits character weaknesses
In Your Life:
You might recognize this pattern when someone asks favors of you in ways that make it hard to say no, even when something feels off.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific behaviors show that Manilov is all performance and no substance?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Manilov agree to Chichikov's bizarre request without really understanding it?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today performing busyness or politeness to avoid dealing with real issues?
application • medium - 4
How can you tell the difference between someone genuinely trying to help versus someone just performing helpfulness?
application • deep - 5
What drives people to choose elaborate performances over authentic but potentially uncomfortable truth?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Performance Audit
Think about your typical day and identify three activities you do regularly. For each one, write down whether you do it because it genuinely matters to you or because it looks good to others. Be brutally honest - no judgment, just observation. Then pick one 'performance' activity and brainstorm what you'd do instead if you only had to please yourself.
Consider:
- •Consider both work and personal activities - committee meetings, social media posting, volunteering, even how you talk to neighbors
- •Notice the difference between things that energize you versus things that drain you but look impressive
- •Pay attention to activities where you find yourself using buzzwords or phrases that don't sound like how you normally talk
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you caught yourself performing a role instead of being authentic. What were you afraid would happen if you dropped the performance? What actually happened when you tried being more genuine?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 3: The Art of the Deal
What lies ahead teaches us to recognize when someone is deliberately misunderstanding you, and shows us persistence and reframing arguments can overcome resistance. These patterns appear in literature and life alike.