# Sobakevitch — Dead Souls character guide

> Sobakevitch in Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** landowner Sobakevitch, villain Sobakevitch

**First appearance:** 0005-part-i-iii

## Snapshot

A bear of a landowner with a peasant's appetite and a merchant's grip, who sells Chichikov his dead souls without ever asking why.

## Who they are

Sobakevitch receives guests the way a wall receives a thrown stone — heavily, and without much interest in the conversation. He distrusts everyone, praises no one, and prices his dead peasants as if they were still standing in his fields. In a book full of men who talk too much, he matters because he simply bargains: his bluntness exposes how ordinary Chichikov's monstrous errand really is.

## In the story

### [Dead Souls Part I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dead_souls_se/chapters/dead-souls)

A gruff and shrewd landowner who negotiates a high price for his dead souls.

### [Chapter I: The Arrival of Paul Ivanovitch Chichikov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dead_souls_se/chapters/part-i-i)

A landowner of uncouth exterior who treads on Chichikov's toes and then begs his pardon at the party.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dead_souls_se/chapters/part-i-iv)

Mentioned by the landlady as a landowner who consumes entire dishes; Chichikov originally intended to visit him.

### [Chapter V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dead_souls_se/chapters/part-i-v)

The gruff and shrewd landowner who drives a hard bargain, selling his dead souls at three roubles each.

### [Chapter VI: Plushkin's Hoard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dead_souls_se/chapters/part-i-vi)

Mentioned by Chichikov as the host of a meal with pastry and stuffed shoulder of mutton.

### [Chapter VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dead_souls_se/chapters/part-i-vii)

Attends the feast, consumes most of a large sturgeon, and whispers to Chichikov about the purchase from Plushkin.

### [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dead_souls_se/chapters/part-i-ix)

Describes Chichikov as an excellent fellow and confirms the souls sold were 'alive' at the time, deflecting responsibility for future issues.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dead_souls_se/characters/sobakevitch
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dead_souls_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dead_souls_se/characters