When in 1830 Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol was creating the poem Dead Souls, he suddenly wanted to write a comedy, where he could display the features of Russian reality with humor. On this occasion, he turned to Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, and the poet suggested an interesting story based on real events. Inspired by the idea, Gogol began to bring it to life. Under his pen, heroes came to life with their characters, habits, characteristics.
It is noteworthy that the work on the unique comedy took only two months - October and November 1835, and already in January 1936 the work was read at an evening with V. Zhukovsky. Of all the acting characters, a special place in the work is occupied by a mayor named Anton Antonovich.
Occupation of the mayor
For about fifty years Anton Antonovich has been serving as an official in a small town. “… I've been living in the service for thirty years…” - he tells about himself. The author characterizes him as an intelligent person who behaves solidly, serious, and every word he says has a meaning.
Mood swings are noticed in the character: from baseness to arrogance, from fear to joy. Anton Antonovich is irresponsible in his work and, like all managers, is afraid of checks. Without doing anything for the improvement of the city, he is only looking for benefits for himself, wishing to enrich himself at the expense of people.
It is not surprising that the mayor is very worried about the fact that from day to day an auditor should come to them in the province. Giving orders "to do everything decently in the city" in view of the arrival of the inspector, he does so only for appearance, because earlier Anton Antonovich did not keep order in the city.
The character of Anton Antonovich
The mayor cannot be attributed to the positive heroes. Although he is considered very intelligent among officials like himself, in fact it turns out that Anton Antonovich is a bum and is far from brilliant. Making empty promises, deceiving city residents, creating the appearance of work - these are the hallmarks of a mayor.
Dear Readers! We suggest you familiarize yourself with the poem "Dead Souls" by N. V. Gogol.
Perhaps Anton Antonovich was not bad at first, but, as you know, power spoils people. Another negative trait of the mayor is the ability to cheat and deceive. “… I have been living in the service for thirty years; no merchant or contractor could hold; he cheated swindlers on swindlers, rogues and rogues such that they are ready to rob the whole world, he cheated. He deceived three governors! .. "- he emphasizes when he learns how skillfully and mercilessly Ivan Khlestakov deceived him, and thereby reveals even greater stupidity. Anton Antonovich is a typical representative of a society mired in low vices, but does not notice how it is rolling into the abyss.
Mayor's family
Anton Antonovich has a beloved wife and children, to whom he treats very well. In addition to the eldest daughter Maria, there are also younger ones. The governor treats his wife tenderly, calling her "darling" and sharing his problems.
And she, in turn, gently denounces her husband, because he is a prominent person, and, in her opinion, should behave accordingly. “… Only I, really, am afraid for you: sometimes you will utter such a word that you will never hear in a good society…” - the spouse worries.
Governor and Khlestakov
Unfortunately, what Anton Antonovich was afraid of, that overtook him: an auditor arrived. But the mayor did not know that he was a pseudo-checker and a fraudster, and therefore he fell into the network of a deceiver. Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov turned out to be very cunning and so skillfully played the role of an auditor that it was difficult to doubt the plausibility of what was happening, and why, after all, I do not want to analyze seemingly obvious things. Therefore, Anton Antonovich tries his best to appear good, to show his work from the best side, in no case to hit his face in the dirt, to suck up, to pretend.
Dear Readers! Perhaps you will be interested in the work of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol "Taras Bulba". We suggest that you familiarize yourself with it.
Anton Antonovich knows how to sneak before the higher ranks, but if he really was what he presents himself. And Ivan Khlestakov turned out to be a great actor and, being a guest of the mayor, presented himself as a real official, so that none of his colleagues even thought of doubting. What a horror Anton Antonovich experienced when a real auditor appeared in the city, and Khlestakov's fraud was revealed. This once again confirms the well-known truth: there is nothing secret that would not become obvious.
Both Ivan Khlestakov and Anton Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky are shameless people who take bribes, greedy, arrogant and vain; They behave cowardly in the face of fear of being punished and become impudent at a time when nothing threatens them.
They reflect the society of the 19th century, ossified in vices.
The characterization of the mayor in Gogol's "The Inspector General" deserves special consideration, since Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky is the most illustrative example of a deceived person who trembles before any higher power and can see it even in an insignificant person. The mayor is not at all stupid, practical and reasoning chief. He does not see the disorderly management of the city as something outside the framework of Russian life. He never misses what “floats into his hands,” and every time he develops new mechanisms in order to better hide it.
The news of the arrival of the noble inspector from St. Petersburg helps to gradually reveal the character of the mayor in the "Inspector General". First, he calls on all the main officials of the city - the trustee of charitable institutions, the superintendent of schools, and so on - in order to give everyone the appropriate instructions: what measures should be taken so that a complaint from a visitor does not fly incognito to the capital. Put on white caps on patients, make their number less (of course, without any medicines, let the doctors recover with delight), sweep out the streets where the inspector can drive, take away poultry from the guards in institutions and send them to the kitchen, order the police officer Derzhimorda to hold his fists. All these manipulations seem to the mayor as salvation from the wrath of the inspector. It was also necessary to skillfully lie that the non-commissioned officer's widow "whipped herself", and the church, which was ordered to be built, burned down - and God forbid someone to let someone slip out that it "did not begin."
The description of the governor and his actions is given by the writer as a kind of personification of panic fear and, as a result, chaos in action - in the face of power that can destroy. It is fear that misleads the mayor about Khlestakov. All the initial confusion, cowardice, stories about lack of money and a stern father seem to Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky to be a calculated move on the part of the auditor. And the fact that he is an auditor is also suggested by Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky, who say: "He has been living for the second week and has not paid." This, in the mind of a county man in the street, is one of the first signs of a noble nobleman.
The mayor himself receives Khlestakov at his place, satisfyingly feeds this lover of picking "flowers of pleasure", constantly talks about his zeal for service and love for his superiors. He listens obsequiously to the monstrous lies of the young man, every now and then trying to get up from the chair. Nearby, Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, who have never been in the presence of such an important person, are cowardly with a “small shiver”. Of course, the mayor himself was seized with awe: no joke - his house honored an unusually important rank, which keeps the State Council in awe and gives balls every day!
The image of the mayor in the comedy "The Inspector General" undoubtedly complements his relationship with women - Anna Andreevna and Marya Antonovna. When he tries to find out from Osip the details of the character of his master, the ladies interrupt and rattle about Khlestakov's handsome nose and brilliant manners. The governor is angry, his fate depends on the most successful reception, so the free treatment of his wife with the inspector seems to him offensive and inappropriate. He knows that in the event of a catastrophe his head will fly in the first place, women will be "whipped, and that's all, but remember your husband what his name was", so he cannot recover from fear after the "opportunity."
Gogol gives a characterization of the mayor from the comedy "The Inspector General" not only with the help of fear, but also with quick wit, which, paradoxically, also helps to be deceived. All the actions of the mayor seem to be grasping, if you do not take into account one thing - the fictitiousness of the auditor. Sometimes he finds something on the mayor: he realizes that the guest has a little "lied" for a catchphrase, describing balls and watermelons, but does not suspect how much. In the understanding of Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky, the young man revealed himself due to inexperience and a good portion of intoxicating drinks, so you need to oil as much as possible so that he does not have time to recover.
If it were not for the postmaster's nasty habit of reading other people's letters, the truth would not have been revealed until the arrival of a genuine auditor. But Khlestakov's letter shows the degree of his personal emptiness, contentment, and the degree of deception with which the mayor allowed himself and his main subordinates to be fooled. The one who is "stupid as a gray gelding" (according to Khlestakov), could not understand how such a dummy, like this Khlestakov, managed to deceive him, who was wise by everyday experience of the boss, around his finger? Honor was elevated to a cult and did not allow Khlestakov's true face, that is, his facelessness, to manifest itself. In a rank, even invented, one could behave in any way, the greatness and beauty in you would be immediately recognized and no one would be allowed to doubt it. The entire bureaucracy, headed by the governor, lived according to this unwritten law, therefore, it could not resist the lie, and was subject to complete ridicule.
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The provincial town in which the action of Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General" unfolds is, in the full sense of the word, "a dark kingdom." Only Gogol's “laughter” cuts through the darkness in which the heroes of the comedy grovel like a bright ray. All these people are petty, vulgar, insignificant; not a single one even has a "spark of God" in their souls; they all live an unconscious, animal life. Gogol portrayed the heroes of The Inspector General both as members of the local administration and as private people, in their family life, in the circle of friends and acquaintances. These are not big criminals, not villains, but petty rogues, cowardly predators who live in eternal anxiety that the day of reckoning will come. (See the characteristics of these heroes through the mouth of Gogol himself in Notes for Messrs. Actors.)
Gogol. Auditor. Performance 1982 Series 1
Governor in Gogol's "Inspector General"
In the person of the mayor Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky, Gogol brought out an official who lives by covetousness and embezzlement. Of all his fellow officials, who also live on bribes and extortion, he is the most arrogant extortionist. "Such a governor, the merchants complain to Khlestakov, never before, sir, was there." Demanding gifts for himself and his family, he even celebrates his name day twice a year. This hero of "The Inspector General" not only takes advantage of the townsfolk, abusing the traditional "order" of life, he also rob the treasury, entering into fraudulent transactions with contractors, embezzling money allocated for the construction of the church. The circumstance mitigating the guilt of the mayor is that he vaguely understands the ugliness of his covetousness and embezzlement. Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky justifies himself 1) with a naive exclamation: “if I took something, then without any malice, 2) with a very common argument:“ everyone does this ”. “There is no person, he says, who does not have sins behind him. It is so arranged by God himself, and the Voltairians needlessly speak against it! "
In relation to the townsfolk, the mayor manifests unlimited autocracy and arbitrariness: he gives the wrong man to the soldiers, he cuts innocent people.
Uneducated and rude in handling (conversation with merchants), this hero of "The Inspector General" is distinguished, however, by a great practical sense, and this is his pride. The governor himself says that not a single swindler could cheat him, that he himself “faked them”. He understands the state of affairs more clearly than all other officials, and when those, explaining the reasons for sending an auditor to them, are entered, God knows where, he, as a practical man, speaks not about the reasons, but about the future consequences. The mayor better than all other city officials knows how to manage his affairs, because he perfectly understands the human soul, because he is resourceful, knows how to play on human weaknesses, which is why he maneuvers for a long time and with impunity among various virtuous governors and auditors.
Governor Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky. Artist Y. Korovin
The lack of education of this comedy hero is reflected not only in the lack of polish in manners, but is expressed even more clearly in his superstition, he very naively, in a pagan way, understands his relationship to God, considering himself a real Christian and a man of exemplary piety ("I am firm in the faith" he says). By religion, the governor understands only rituals, expressed in attending church on holidays, in observing fasts. He takes a "twofold" point of view, which allows the possibility of "bribing" his God with sacrifices, like a pood candle.
A bright trait of the mayor is his good nature. Considering himself, thanks to the matchmaking of the “inspector” Khlestakov, infinitely higher than everyone in the city, he does not appear as his empty wife, remains the same simple person, rudely cordial and simply hospitable.
The mayor's wife and daughter in the "Inspector General"
The governor's wife Anna Andreevna, a stupid and insignificant woman, who retained the manners of a young flirtatious flirt until old age, amazes with the endless emptiness of her soul. This heroine of "The Inspector General" is obsessed with "social life", with outfits, she imagines what else men can like, and competes with her daughter in acquiring admirers and courtiers. She lives with gossip and intrigues of the county town. A frivolous woman, Anna Andreevna easily believes everything. When the mayor's wife decided that she would move to St. Petersburg and play the role of a secular lioness there, she does not hide her contempt for all her recent friends and acquaintances. This trait, testifying to her spiritual baseness, puts her even lower than her husband. (See Anna Andreevna - characteristic with quotes.)
The heroes of Gogol's "Inspector General" are the mayor's wife and daughter, Anna Andreevna and Maria Antonovna. Artist K. Boklevsky
The mayor's daughter, Maria Antonovna, follows in her mother's footsteps, she also loves to dress up, she also loves to flirt, but she has not yet been spoiled like her mother by the lies and emptiness of this provincial life and has not yet learned to break down like her mother.
Khlestakov is the main character of "The Inspector General"
The image of the main character of The Inspector General, Khlestakov, is more complex. This is an empty idler, an insignificant little official, whose whole meaning of life is to "throw dust in someone's eyes" with his manners, cigars, fashionable suits, individual words ... He constantly brags to everyone and even to himself. His insignificant, meaningless life is pitiful, but Khlestakov himself does not notice this, he is always pleased with himself, always happy. Fantasy helps him especially to forget failures, which easily takes him out of the bounds of reality. In Khlestakov there is no bitterness of oppressed pride, like the hero of "Diary of a Madman" Poprischina... He has vanity, and he lies with enthusiasm, because this lie helps him to forget his worthlessness. Sick pride drove Poprishchina crazy, but the vanity of the empty, frivolous Khlestakov will not bring it to this. The protagonist of "The Inspector General" is not able to imagine himself as a "Spanish king", and therefore he will not end up in an insane asylum - at best he will be beaten for lying, or put in debt ward for debts.
In Khlestakov, Gogol brought out a useless, unnecessary person who cannot even control his thoughts and language: a submissive slave of his imagination, richly endowed with “extraordinary lightness in thought,” he lives day after day, not realizing what and why he is doing. That is why Khlestakov can equally easily do evil and good, and he will never be a conscious cheat: he does not invent any plans, but says and does what his frivolous fantasy tells him at the moment. That is why he can at once make an offer to both the governor's wife and his daughter, with full readiness to marry both of them, he can borrow money from officials, convinced that he will give them back, he can talk so stupidly that he immediately blurts out and starts talking to the point ... (See the full text of Khlestakov's most deceitful monologue.)
Khlestakov. Artist L. Konstantinovsky
The frightened imagination of the frightened officials, who were waiting for the inspector, created from Khlestakov's "icicle" the one they were waiting for. Psychologically, the mistake of officials is quite understandable, it is expressed in proverbs: "a frightened crow is afraid of a bush", "fear has big eyes." This "fright" and "conscience anxiety" carried even the clever and intelligent rogue governor into a fatal mistake for him.
Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin in "The Inspector General"
Other officials of the city are small varieties of the governor type. Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin is also a dishonest person, which he completely sincerely does not notice himself, does not do business, is absurdly stupid and, at the same time, is full of conceit only because he has the courage to speak about religious issues with such freedom that for believers "hair stands on end." But in practical matters, he amazes with his naivety.
Gogol. Auditor. Performance 1982 Series 2
Trustee of charitable institutions Strawberry
In the person of Strawberry, Gogol brought out not only the embezzler, but also a petty and vile intriguer who wants to put his foot down to his comrades in misfortune. (See Artemy Filippovich Strawberry - characteristic with quotes.)
Gogol formed the surname of the school superintendent Khlopov from the word "clap", "slave". This is an utterly cowardly person, whose tongue "gets stuck in the mud" in the presence of his superiors, and his hands tremble so that Luka Lukich is unable even to light the cigar offered to him by Khlestakov. (See Luka Lukich Khlopov - characteristic with quotes.)
Postmaster Shpekin
Postmaster Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin - in the words of Gogol, "a simple-minded person to the point of naivety." With frivolity, he will not yield to Khlestakov himself. Ivan Kuzmich calmly prints out letters arriving at his post office and reads them, finding in this occupation more interesting than reading newspapers. He keeps the letters he especially liked.
It is thanks to these inclinations of Shpekin that the true identity of the "inspector" is revealed for the rest of the officials. Ivan Kuzmich opens and reads Khlestakov's letter to his friend Tryapichkin, from which it is clear that Khlestakov was by no means an important official, but an ordinary young whip and helipad. (See Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin - characteristic with quotes.)
Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky in "The Inspector General"
Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky are the personification of the most hopeless vulgarity. These heroes of "The Inspector General" are absolutely not engaged in any business, are not interested in any religious, philosophical, political issues - even to the extent that is available to other characters of the comedy. Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky collect and spread only small local gossip, which feed their wretched curiosity and fill their idle life. (See Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky - characteristics with quotations.)
Servant of Khlestakov Osip
In the person of Osip, Gogol deduced the type of an old serf serf, spoiled by the idleness of a lackey's life. This comedy hero tasted the fruits of the civilization of Petersburg life, learned to ride cabbies for free, thanks to the through gates; he appreciates the "haberdashery treatment" of the capital's small shops and Apraksin's yard. Osip despises his master, the frivolous and empty Khlestakov, with all his soul, because he feels himself immeasurably smarter than him. Unfortunately, his mind is exceptionally roguish. If his master cheats out of naivety, then Osip is quite deliberate. (Cm.
\u003e Characteristics of the heroes Auditor
Characteristics of the hero Mayor
Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky is the second most important character in Nikolai Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General", the governor in the district town N. He is described as a man who has aged in the service, but at the same time rather intelligent and solid. His every word matters. For this reason, when at the beginning of the comedy he announces that the inspector is going to the city, everyone was seriously alarmed. In fact, the mayor acts as a collective image of the state power of Russia in the times of Gogol. Despite the fact that he is sinful, he regularly goes to church and tries to repent. At the same time, he will never refuse a bribe and everything that "floats into his hands."
Confident that Khlestakov is the very expected inspector, Anton Antonovich begins to subservience to him and believes even the most fantastic tales of a petty official. Nothing can dissuade him of his own righteousness, neither Khlestakov's frightened babble in the tavern, nor Khlestakov's complaint about the lack of money. Behind all this, the mayor sees a cunning trick and extortion of a bribe. Out of fear of fooling himself, he hands Khlestakov a double amount and calms down when he resignedly takes money, supposedly in debt. Having not really gotten anything from the "inspector", Anton Antonovich decides to give him a drink and try to find out how dangerous he is. When Khlestakov is a guest at his house, he lies about his position in St. Petersburg and begins to splurge, the mayor unconditionally believes in everything, since he believes that "what is on the mind of a sober person is on his tongue." At the same time, he does not notice the obvious inconsistencies in Khlestakov's story.
The servile character of the mayor is fully revealed when he learns that Khlestakov wooed his daughter Marya. He immediately begins to reflect on the benefits of being related to an "important person." The unexpected exposure of the false auditor becomes a real blow for him. This news does not just sober him up, but hurts him to the core. He cannot accept the fact that a man like him, who had deceived three governors in his time, was deceived. At the end of the comedy, the figure of the mayor becomes not comical, but tragic. When he finds out that a real inspector has arrived in the city, he only says: “Who are you laughing at? You are laughing at yourself! "
This piece includes five acts. From the first minutes of reading the play, one can see how negative the mayor's character is.
The image and characteristics of the Governor in the comedy "The Inspector General" is collective. This is a single portrait of all officials of that time, still relevant today. This comedy will serve as a good lesson for dishonest people who take advantage of their position in society and break the law.
The image of the Governor
“His facial features are coarse and tough, like anyone who has begun a heavy service from lower ranks. The transition from fear to joy, from baseness to arrogance is quite quick, as in a person with roughly developed inclinations of the soul "
Full name is Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky. Governor. In service for about 30 years. Approximate age 50. Married. Of the heirs, only the daughter. The appearance is solid. The hair is covered with gray. He constantly wears a uniform and boots decorated with spurs. The facial features are rough, as if carved with an ax. The mayor's speech is unhurried, calm and measured.
“The governor, who has already grown old in the service and is a very intelligent person in his own way. Although he is a bribe-taker, he behaves very respectably; rather serious; speaks neither loudly nor quietly, neither more nor less ... "
Characteristic
In the guise of the governor, universal human vices were intertwined. Among them are:
Duplicity. The mayor is a master of pretending in public to be a positive and pious citizen who loves work and family. He doesn't really care about work. He does not care about people, he squanders the city treasury to please himself, does not disdain bribes.
Passion for gambling. Anton Antonovich has a weakness for gambling. Gives preference to cards. Able to lose a large amount.
Stern and ruthless. This is evident in relation to merchants. In dealing with them, blackmail and threats can allow. The merchants had no strength left from such treatment.
"... We do not know what to do, even get into the noose ..."
Try to contradict, he will bring a whole regiment to your house to stand. And if anything, orders to lock the doors.
“I,” he says, “won't,” he says, “subject you to corporal punishment or torture — this, he says, is prohibited by law, but you are my dear, eat herring!”
Important, snobby. Pompous like a turkey. "He has importance, the evil one would not take him, enough ..."
Greedy, greedy. He will never miss the profit floating in his hands. Money, money and more money. This is the meaning of life. I am ready to buy everything in stores. It doesn't matter if he needs this product or not. Mired in bribes.
Loafer. All he knows how to do well is to speak beautifully. In his words, the city is flourishing, there are no problems. In fact, he didn’t touch his finger to put things in order in his domain. Everything fell into decay long ago, but the mayor prefers to turn a blind eye to this and do nothing.
Breaker of the law. Representing power in his person, he often uses powers and breaks the law. This can be seen in the recruitment of soldiers into the army. Takes everyone in a row, even those who are not supposed to go there.
Silly. Not far off. What else can you call a person who can be deceived by an ordinary impostor. “How am I - no, how am I, an old fool? A stupid ram out of his mind survived! Look, look, the whole world, all Christianity, everybody, look how the mayor is fooled! "
Liar. He dared to lie about the church for which the money was allocated, but no one started to build it. The governor came up with a story that the church burned down during a strong fire.
Thoughtful. Penetrating. I wanted to get general's shoulder straps at the expense of my daughter's successful marriage. Whether she will be happy with the chosen one or not, it did not matter. The main thing is to ensure a happy future for yourself and your wife, who dreams of a big house in St. Petersburg.
All life the mayor secretly was engaged in dark affairsterribly afraid of exposure. The essence of the governor was revealed to the maximum with the arrival of an auditor in the city, who turned out to be not an auditor at all, but an ordinary minor official who decided to take advantage of the situation and fool the local authorities.
