"Dead Souls" is about Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, who travels the provincial countryside buying up dead serfs from small landowners.
WSJ: Surveying the Surging Immensity of Life | Dead Souls | Nikolai Gogol | By Joseph Epstein
2.
When the rascal is caught out at his game, Chichikov garners our pity.
WSJ: Surveying the Surging Immensity of Life | Dead Souls | Nikolai Gogol | By Joseph Epstein
3.
One of life's "acquirers" for Gogol, a major sin Chichikov turns out to be an inept acquirer, which makes him quite as interesting as he is detestable.
WSJ: Surveying the Surging Immensity of Life | Dead Souls | Nikolai Gogol | By Joseph Epstein