Chichikov’s Obsession with Money and Prestige: The Search for Social Approval in the Context of Lacan’s “Big Other”

tarihinde gönderilmiş tarafından

This study psychoanalyzes the character Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov in Nikolai Gogol’s novel Dead Souls (1842) within the context of Jacques Lacan’s concept of the “Big Other.” Chichikov’s obsession with money and social prestige can be interpreted not as an individual ambition, but rather as a manifestation of his attempt to seek the approval of the “Big Other” in order to gain acceptance within the social order. In this context, Chichikov’s desire is a reflection of the “Other’s desire” rather than his own subjective desire (Lacan, 1966/2006).

Entrance

Gogol’s novel Dead Souls is an allegorical depiction of moral and social decay in 19th-century rural Russia. The character of Chichikov is both a product of the bureaucratic system and an early example of the alienation of the modern individual (Belinsky, 1842/1984). His primary drive is to acquire “respectability” rather than wealth. However, this respectability is measured by social approval rather than subjective meaning. This situation can be explained by Lacan’s concept of the “Big Other”: the individual’s desire is always shaped by the desire of the Other (Lacan, Écrits, 1966).

1. The “Big Other” and the Structure of Desire in Lacan

According to Lacan, the “Big Other” (le Grand Autre) is the representative of the symbolic order, that is, language, laws, and social norms (Evans, 1996). The subject gains meaning within this order; therefore, its desire is never a pure, individual wish. “Man’s desire is the desire of the Other” (Lacan, 1958/1998, p. 235). In other words, the subject defines its own desire only through the gaze of the Other.

From this perspective, the desire for “respect” and “worthiness” is essentially a process of seeking the approval of society (the Other). The subject clings to indicators such as money, status, or title in order to find a place in the symbolic order of the Other.

2. Chichikov’s Quest for Social Approval

At the heart of all of Chichikov’s actions is the desire to be a “respectable man” in the eyes of society. Throughout the novel, Chichikov attempts to construct a false status through the “dead souls” he buys. This aligns with what Lacan calls “symbolic capital,” the construction of identity based on linguistic and social signs (Žižek, 1989).

Chichikov’s accumulation of money carries not only economic but also symbolic meaning: money is the key to recognition (i.e., the approval of the Other) within the social value system. For him, wealth is not a narcissistic gratification, but a means of becoming a “legitimate subject” in the eyes of the Other. In this context, Chichikov’s desire is less an attempt to fulfill his own subjective interest and more an attempt to fulfill the desire of the Other (society).

3. “Dead Souls” and a Psychoanalytic Reading of Simulation

Chichikov’s purchase of “dead peasant souls” has symbolic value in terms of Lacan’s concept of the “signifier.” The “dead souls” don’t actually exist; yet Chichikov records them as if they did. This is an attempt to create a valid “signifier” within the order of the Other. That is, he obtains social legitimacy through “nothingness.”

At this point, Chichikov’s behavior can also be linked to Baudrillard’s (1981) concept of “simulacra”: reality gives way to signs, existence becomes a symbolic game. However, on the Lacanian level, this situation is an extension of the subject’s struggle for recognition in the realm of the Other.

4. Chichikov’s Desire: “To Respond to the Other’s Desire with Desire”

According to Lacan, the subject shapes their desire according to the “desire of the Other”: “I desire what I desire because I do not know what the Other desires of me” (Lacan, 1958/1998, p. 276). Chichikov’s entire plan revolves around playing the role of the “respectable citizen” that society expects of him. However, this role is not an identity of the subject’s own, but an illusion constructed in the gaze of the Other.

Therefore, Chichikov’s obsessive desire to “be respected” is not a narcissistic gratification, but rather a way of clinging to the desire of the Other. In Lacan’s words, “the subject cannot exist without seeing himself in the gaze of the Other” (Lacan, 1964/1973, The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis).

Conclusion

Chichikov’s obsession with money and prestige, while appearing on the surface as individual ambition, is, within the context of Lacan’s theory of the “Big Other,” an expression of the subject’s struggle for recognition in the symbolic order. The object of Chichikov’s desire is not money; money is a signifier symbolizing the approval of the Other. Gogol’s critique thus directs not only at individual morality but also at the socially constructed structure of desire.

Source

  • Baudrillard, J. (1981). Simulacres et Simulation. Paris: Galilee.
  • Belinsky, V.G. (1984). Criticisms on Gogol (Original work 1842). Moscow: Progress Publishers.
  • Evans, D. (1996). An Introductory Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis. London: Routledge.
  • Lacan, J. (1958/1998). “The Signification of the Phallus.” In Écrits: A Selection (A. Sheridan, Trans.). New York: W. W. Norton.
  • Lacan, J. (1964/1973). The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis (J.-A. Miller, Ed.). New York: W. W. Norton.
  • Lacan, J. (1966/2006). Écrits (B. Fink, Trans.). New York: W. W. Norton.
  • Žižek, S. (1989). The Sublime Object of Ideology. London: Verso.
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