Dead Souls - Part 1 - Chapter 1 - To the door of an inn in the provincial town of N.

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Eliana

Dead Souls - Part 1 - Chapter 1 introduces a provincial town and the arrival of a “smart britchka” carrying a gentleman of the intermediate social category. The narration details the inn’s surroundings, its black-beetle-ridden rooms, and the tense curiosity of nearby residents who watch every new arrival. It then follows attendants and luggage—coachman Selifan and valet Petrushka—setting an observational, satirical tone that exposes manners, discomforts, and the social world that surrounds the stranger.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages287

Reading Time7 h 22 min

AccessFree to download

Part 1

Chapter 1

Dead Souls Nikolai Gogol (Translator: D. J. Hogarth) Published: 1842 Categorie(s): Fiction, Literary Source: Project Gutenberg About Gogol: Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (April 1, 1809 — March 4, 1852) was a Russian-language writer of Ukrainian origin. Although his early works were heavily influenced by his Ukrainian heritage and upbringing, he wrote in Russian and his works belong to the tradition of Russian literature. The novel Dead Souls (1842), the play Revizor (1836, 1842) , and the short story The Overcoat (1842) count among his masterpieces. Source: Wikipedia Also available on Feedbooks Gogol: Diary OfA Madman (1835) The Nose (1836) AMay Evening (1887) The Cloak (1835) Taras Bulba (1835) The Mysterious Portrait (1842) How the two Ivans quarrelled (1835) The Calash (1836) St. John's Eve (1831) Note: This book is brought to you by Feedbooks [http://www.feedbooks.com](http://www.feedbooks.com) Strictly for personal use, do not use this file for commercial purposes. Part 1 Cha ter 1 p To the door of an inn in the provincial town of N. there drew up a smart britchka—a light spring-carriage of the sort affected by bachelors, retired lieutenant-colonels, staff-captains, land-owners possessed of about a hundred souls, and, in short, all persons who rank as gentlemen of the intermediate category. In the britchka was seated such a gentleman—aman who, though not handsome, was not ill-favoured, not over-fat, and not over-thin. Also, though not over-elderly, he was not over-young. His arrival produced no stir in the town, and was accompanied by no particular incident, beyond that a couple of peasants who happened to be standing atthe door of a dramshop exchanged a few comments with reference to the equipage rather than to the individual who was seated in it. "Look at that carriage," one of them said to the other. "Think you it will be going as far as Moscow?" "I think it will," replied his companion. "But not as far as Kazan, eh?" "No, not as far as Kazan." With that the conversation ended. Presently, as the britchka was approaching the inn, it was met by a young man in a pair of very short, very tight breeches of white dimity, a quasifashionable frockcoat, and a dickey fastened with a pistol-shaped bronze tie-pin. The young man turned his head as he passed the britchka and eyed it attentively; after which he clapped his hand to his cap (which was in danger of being removed by the wind) and resumed his way. On the vehicle reaching the inn door, its occupant found standing there to welcome him the polevoi, or waiter, of the establishment—an individual of such nimble and brisk movement that even to distinguish the character of his face was impossible. Running out with a napkin in one hand and his lanky form clad in a tailcoat, reaching almost to the nape of his neck, he tossed back his locks, and escorted the gentleman upstairs, along a wooden gallery, and so to the bedchamber which God had prepared for the gentleman's reception. The said bedchamber was of quite ordinary appearance, since the inn belonged to the species to be found in all provincial towns—the species wherein, for two roubles a day, travellers may obtain a room swarming with black-beetles, and communicating by a doorway with the apartment adjoining. True, the doorway may be blocked up with a wardrobe; yet behind it, in all probability, there will be standing a silent, motionless neighbour whose ears are burning to learn every possible detail concerning the latest arrival. The inn's exterior corresponded with its interior. Long, and consisting only of two storeys, the building had its lower half destitute of stucco; with the result that the dark-red bricks, originally more or less dingy, had grown yet dingier under the influence of atmospheric changes. As for the upper half of the building, it was, of course, painted the usual tint of unfading yellow. Within, on the ground floor, there stood a number of benches he

FAQs

Who arrives in the provincial town at the start of Chapter 1?

A gentleman travels by britchka to the inn in the provincial town of N., and his arrival draws only limited attention from locals.

How is the inn described when the traveler reaches his room?

The inn is portrayed as typical of provincial towns: uncomfortable rooms, dark and worn spaces, and neighbors who are quietly eager to learn details about newcomers.

What roles do Selifan and Petrushka play after the gentleman’s arrival?

Selifan serves as the coachman and looks after the horses, while Petrushka is the valet who handles preparations inside the inn and settles into his assigned space.

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Eliana