Comedy heroes can be divided into several groups: main characters, secondary characters, masked characters and off-stage characters. All of them, in addition to the role assigned to them in the comedy, are also important as types that reflect certain characteristic features Russian society early XIX century.
The main characters of the play include Chatsky, Molchalin, Sophia and Famusov. The plot of the comedy is based on their relationship. The interaction of these characters with each other drives the play.
Minor characters- Liza, Skalozub, Khlestova, Gorichi and others also participate in the development of the action, but have no direct relation to the plot.
The images of masked heroes are extremely generalized. The author is not interested in their psychology; they interest him only as important “signs of the times” or as eternal human types. Their role is special, because they create a socio-political background for the development of the plot, emphasize and clarify something in the main characters. Their participation in comedy is based on the “distorting mirror” technique. Masked heroes include Repetilov, Zagoretsky, Messrs. N and D, and the Tugoukhovsky family. The author is not interested in the personality of each of the six princesses; they are important in the comedy only as a social type of “Moscow young lady”. These are truly masks: they all look the same, we cannot distinguish the remark of the first princess from the statement of the second or fifth:
3rd. What a charm my cousin gave me!
4th. Oh! yes, barezhevoy!
5th. Oh! lovely!
6th. Oh! how sweet!
These young ladies are funny to Chatsky, the author, and the readers. But they don’t seem funny to Sophia at all. For with all her merits, with all the complexities of her nature, she is from their world, in some ways Sophia and the “chirping” princesses are very, very close. In their society, Sophia is perceived naturally - and we see the heroine in a slightly different light.
Unlike the princesses, whom Griboyedov only numbered, without even considering it necessary to give them names in the poster, their father has both a first and patronymic: Prince Pyotr Ilyich Tugoukhovsky. But he is also faceless, and he is a mask. He doesn’t say anything except “uh-hmm”, “a-hmm” and “uh-hmm”, doesn’t hear anything, is not interested in anything, is completely devoid of his own opinion... In him the features of a “husband” are brought to the point of absurdity, to the point of absurdity. a boy, a husband-servant,” constituting “the high ideal of all Moscow husbands.” Prince Tugoukhovsky is the future of Chatsky’s friend, Plato. Mikhailovich Gorich. At the ball, gossip about Chatsky's madness is spread by Messrs. N and D. Again, no names or faces. The personification of gossip, living gossip. All the base traits are focused in these characters Famusov society: indifference to the truth, indifference to personality, passion for “washing bones,” hypocrisy, hypocrisy... This is not just a mask, it is rather a mask-symbol.
The masked heroes play the role of a mirror placed opposite " high society"And here it is important to emphasize that one of the author’s main tasks was not just to reflect the features of modern society in comedy, but to force society to recognize itself in the mirror.
This task is facilitated off-stage characters, that is, those whose names are mentioned, but the heroes themselves do not appear on stage and do not take part in the action. And if the main characters of “Woe from Wit” do not have any specific prototypes (except for Chatsky), then in the images of some minor characters and off-stage characters, the features of the author’s real contemporaries are completely recognizable. Thus, Repetilov describes to Chatsky one of those who “make noise” in the English Club:
You don’t need to name it, you’ll recognize it from the portrait:
Night robber, duelist,
He was exiled to Kamchatka, returned as an Aleut,
And he is firmly unclean in his hand.
And not only Chatsky, but also the majority of readers “recognized from the portrait” the colorful figure of that time: Fyodor Tolstoy - the American. It’s interesting, by the way, that Tolstoy himself, having read “Woe from Wit” in the list, recognized himself and, when meeting with Griboyedov, asked to change the last line as follows: “He’s dishonest when it comes to cards.” He corrected the line in this way with his own hand and added an explanation: “For the fidelity of the portrait, this amendment is necessary so that they do not think that he is stealing snuff boxes from the table.”
CHATSKY- hero of A.S. Griboedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit” (1824; in the first edition, the spelling of the surname is Chadsky). The probable prototypes of the image are PYa.Chaadaev (1796-1856) and V.K-Kuchelbecker (1797-1846). The nature of the hero's actions, his statements and relationships with other comedy personalities provide extensive material for revealing the theme stated in the title.
Alexander Andreevich Ch. is one of the first romantic heroes of Russian drama, and how romantic hero he, on the one hand, categorically does not accept the inert environment familiar to him from childhood, the ideas that this environment gives rise to and propagates; on the other hand, he deeply and emotionally “lives” the circumstances associated with his love for Sophia. Ch.’s relationship with the environment could have been suggested to Griboyedov by the comedy “The Misanthrope” by Moliere and its hero Alceste, but the lyrical element is revealed in the image so “excessively” that this This feature allows us to break the usual approaches to literary criticism and separate this character from the classicist tradition. The plot development itself proves that Ch. is a romantic hero:
the theme of wandering opens with his appearance in Famusov’s house, where the “mystery” of Sophia’s love awaits him, which he can only solve at the end of the play, when random circumstances allow him to see and understand the essence of what is happening. Ch.'s activity concerns primarily the sphere of “ideas” and almost does not extend to the specific movement of the plot. Much more active in achieving the results they desire, Sophia and Molchalin, the antagonists of Ch. inner life, which is characterized by “strangeness”, dissimilarity with the generally accepted norm.
With the appearance of Ch., a draft breaks into the closed atmosphere of the Famusovs’ Moscow mansion, which accompanied the hero on a long journey in a postal carriage. Griboyedov’s Moscow is surrounded by wide snow-covered expanses: from there Ch. came. The motif of a rapid journey develops already in the first words of Ch., spoken on stage: “I am forty-five hours, without squinting my eyes, // More than seven hundred versts have flown by.” Wind, storm; // And he was all confused...” The image of Ch. symbolizes the vast spaces from which he emerged. Another basis for Moscow life is “day after day, today as yesterday.” Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and the duties associated with them, successively marked in Famusov’s calendar, replace each other in the solemn rhythm of the stages assigned to everyone living according to the “Moscow” style.
Ch. differs sharply from the surrounding characters. This can be judged by how he behaves in the most conflict situations. In his reactions to events, Ch. is a little late, as if he does not keep up with the development of external action. This happens because the hero is obsessed with love for Sophia and is generally separated from what is happening next to him. The fatal misunderstanding of the meaning of events that are so closely related to his life, the awkwardness of numerous attempts to contact the “Famus” world through Sophia, her hostile reluctance to understand him give rise to nervous “madness”, “drunkenness of speech” (Goncharov), which is so noticeable in last scenes plays. Griboedov's hero goes through a painful path from ignorance to the tragic recognition of the truth. Ch. suddenly understood Sophia’s philosophy of life down to the subtleties, down to the smallest detail: “You will make peace with him after mature reflection...” In final scene Ch.’s play “chooses himself,” he excludes for himself any possibility of playing roles other than his own. There is no compromise. Hence the decision: “I’m running, I won’t look back, I’ll go look around the world...”. Griboyedov's hero leaves, taking with him the reputation of a madman, continuing his path, interrupted at the beginning of the plot.
- The great Woland said that manuscripts do not burn. Proof of this is the fate of Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov’s brilliant comedy “Woe from Wit” - one of the most controversial works in the history of Russian literature. A comedy with a political bent, continuing the traditions of such masters of satire as Krylov and Fonvizin, quickly became popular and served as a harbinger of the coming rise of Ostrovsky and Gorky. Although the comedy was written back in 1825, it was published only eight years later, having outlived its […]
- After reading A. S. Griboyedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit” and critics’ articles about this play, I also thought about: “What is he like, Chatsky?” The first impression of the hero is that he is perfect: smart, kind, cheerful, vulnerable, passionately in love, loyal, sensitive, knowing the answers to all questions. He rushes seven hundred miles to Moscow to meet Sophia after a three-year separation. But this opinion arose after the first reading. When in literature lessons we analyzed comedy and read the opinions of various critics about [...]
- The very name of the comedy "Woe from Wit" is significant. For educators, convinced of the omnipotence of knowledge, mind is a synonym for happiness. But the powers of the mind have faced serious tests in all eras. New advanced ideas are not always accepted by society, and the bearers of these ideas are often declared crazy. It is no coincidence that Griboedov also addresses the topic of the mind. His comedy is a story about progressive ideas and society's reaction to them. At first, the title of the play was “Woe to Wit,” which the writer later replaced with “Woe from Wit.” More […]
- The title of any work is the key to its understanding, since it almost always contains an indication - direct or indirect - of the main idea underlying the creation, of a number of problems comprehended by the author. The title of A. S. Griboyedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit” introduces an extremely important category into the conflict of the play, namely the category of the mind. The source of such a title, such an unusual name, which also originally sounded like “Woe to the Wit,” goes back to a Russian proverb in which the opposition between the smart and […]
- Hero Brief description Pavel Afanasyevich Famusov The surname “Famusov” comes from the Latin word “fama”, which means “rumor”: by this Griboedov wanted to emphasize that Famusov is afraid of rumors, public opinion, but on the other hand, there is a root in the root of the word “Famusov” from the Latin word "famosus" - a famous, well-known wealthy landowner and high official. He is a famous person among the Moscow nobility. A well-born nobleman: related to the nobleman Maxim Petrovich, closely acquainted […]
- A “social” comedy with a social clash between the “past century” and the “present century” is called the comedy of A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit". And it is structured in such a way that only Chatsky speaks about progressive ideas for transforming society, the desire for spirituality, and a new morality. Using his example, the author shows readers how difficult it is to introduce new ideas into the world that are not understood and accepted by a society that is ossified in its views. Anyone who starts doing this is doomed to loneliness. Alexander Andreevich […]
- A. A. Chatsky A. S. Molchalin Character A straightforward, sincere young man. An ardent temperament often interferes with the hero and deprives him of impartial judgment. Secretive, cautious, helpful person. The main goal is a career, position in society. Position in society Poor Moscow nobleman. Receives a warm welcome in local society due to his origin and old connections. Provincial tradesman by origin. The rank of collegiate assessor by law gives him the right to nobility. In light of […]
- In the comedy “Woe from Wit” A. S. Griboyedov portrayed noble Moscow of the 10-20s XIX century. In the society of that time, they worshiped uniform and rank and rejected books and enlightenment. A person was judged not by his personal qualities, but by the number of serf souls. Everyone sought to imitate Europe and worshiped foreign fashion, language and culture. The “past century,” presented vividly and fully in the work, is characterized by the power of women, their great influence on the formation of tastes and views of society. Moscow […]
- The famous comedy by AS.Griboyedov "Woe from Wit" was created in the first quarter of the XIX centuries. Literary life This period was determined by clear signs of the crisis of the autocratic-serf system and the maturation of the ideas of noble revolutionism. There was a process of gradual transition from the ideas of classicism, with its predilection for " high genres, to romanticism and realism. One of the brightest representatives and founders critical realism and became A.S. Griboyedov. In his comedy "Woe from Wit", which successfully combines [...]
- It’s rare, but it still happens in art that the creator of one “masterpiece” becomes a classic. This is exactly what happened with Alexander Sergeevich Griboedov. His only comedy "Woe from Wit" became national treasure Russia. Phrases from the work are included in our daily life in the form of proverbs and sayings; We don’t even think about who published them; we say: “Just by chance, keep an eye on you” or: “Friend. Is it possible to choose // a nook further away for a walk?” And such catchphrases in comedy […]
- The comedy by A. S. Griboyedov “Woe from Wit” consists of a number of small episodes-phenomena. They are combined into larger ones, such as, for example, the description of a ball in Famusov’s house. Analyzing this stage episode, we consider it as one of important stages permissions of the main dramatic conflict, which consists in the confrontation between the “present century” and the “past century”. Based on the principles of the writer’s attitude to the theater, it is worth noting that A. S. Griboyedov presented it in accordance with the traditions […]
- The very name of the comedy is paradoxical: “Woe from Wit.” Initially, the comedy was called “Woe to Wit,” which Griboyedov later abandoned. To some extent, the title of the play is a “reversal” of the Russian proverb: “fools have happiness.” But is Chatsky surrounded by only fools? Look, are there so many fools in the play? Here Famusov remembers his uncle Maxim Petrovich: A serious look, an arrogant disposition. When you need to help yourself, And he bent over... ...Huh? what do you think? in our opinion - smart. And myself [...]
- The famous Russian writer Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov said wonderful words about the work “Woe from Wit” - “Without Chatsky there would be no comedy, there would be a picture of morals.” And it seems to me that the writer is right about this. It is the image of the main character of Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit” that determines the conflict of the entire narrative. People like Chatsky always turned out to be misunderstood by society, they brought progressive ideas and views to society, but conservative society did not understand […]
- The comedy “Woe from Wit” was created in the early 20s. XIX century Main conflict, on which the comedy is based, is the confrontation between the “present century” and the “past century.” In the literature of that time, the classicism of the era of Catherine the Great still had power. But outdated canons limited the playwright’s freedom in describing real life, therefore, Griboyedov, taking classic comedy as a basis, neglected (as necessary) some of the laws of its construction. Any classic work (drama) should […]
- In the comedy "Woe from Wit" Sofya Pavlovna Famusova is the only character conceived and performed close to Chatsky. Griboyedov wrote about her: “The girl herself is not stupid, she prefers a fool smart person...". Griboyedov abandoned farce and satire in depicting the character of Sophia. He presented to the reader female character great depth and strength. Sophia was “unlucky” in criticism for quite a long time. Even Pushkin considered the author’s image of Famusova a failure; “Sophia is sketched unclearly.” And only in 1878 Goncharov, in his article […]
- Molchalin - characteristic features: desire for a career, hypocrisy, ability to curry favor, taciturnity, poverty of vocabulary. This is explained by his fear of expressing his judgment. He says mainly in short phrases and chooses words depending on who he is talking to. Not in the language foreign words and expressions. Molchalin chooses delicate words, adding a postive “-s”. To Famusov - respectfully, to Khlestova - flatteringly, insinuatingly, with Sophia - with special modesty, with Liza - he does not mince words. Especially […]
- Characteristics Present century Past century Attitude to wealth, to ranks “They found protection from court in friends, in kinship, building magnificent chambers where they indulge in feasts and extravagance, and where foreign clients of their past lives do not resurrect the meanest traits,” “And those whoever is higher, flattery, like weaving lace...” “Be inferior, but if you have enough, two thousand family souls, that’s the groom.” Attitude to service “I’d be glad to serve, it’s sickening to be waited on,” “Uniform! one uniform! He is in their former life [...]
- When you see a rich house, a hospitable owner, elegant guests, you involuntarily admire them. I would like to know what these people are like, what they talk about, what they are interested in, what is close to them, what is alien. Then you feel how the first impression gives way to bewilderment, then to contempt for both the owner of the house, one of the Moscow “aces” Famusov, and his entourage. There are other noble families, from them came heroes of the War of 1812, Decembrists, great masters of culture (and if great people came from such houses as we see in comedy, then […]
- The gallery of human characters successfully noted in the comedy “Woe from Wit” is still relevant today. At the beginning of the play, the author introduces the reader to two young people, in all opposite each other friend: Chatsky and Molchalin. Both characters are presented to us in such a way that we get a misleading first impression of them. We judge Molchalin, Famusov’s secretary, from Sonya’s words, as “the enemy of insolence” and a person who is “ready to forget himself for others.” Molchalin first appears before the reader and Sonya, who is in love with him […]
- The image of Chatsky caused numerous controversy in criticism. I. A. Goncharov considered the hero Griboyedov a “sincere and ardent figure” superior to Onegin and Pechorin. “...Chatsky is not only smarter than all other people, but also positively smart. His speech is full of intelligence and wit. He has a heart, and, moreover, he is impeccably honest,” the critic wrote. Apollo Grigoriev spoke about this image in approximately the same way, who considered Chatsky to be a real fighter, an honest, passionate and truthful person. Finally, I myself held a similar opinion [...]
Comedy heroes can be divided into several groups: main characters, secondary characters, masked characters and off-stage characters. All of them, in addition to the role assigned to them in the comedy, are also important as types that reflect certain characteristic features of Russian society at the beginning of the 19th century. The main characters of the play include Chatsky, Molchalin, Sophia and Famusov. The plot of the comedy is based on their relationship. The interaction of these characters with each other drives the play. The secondary characters - Lisa, Skalozub, Khlestova, Gorichi and others - also participate in the development of the action, but have no direct relation to the plot. The images of masked heroes are extremely generalized. The author is not interested in their psychology; they interest him only as important “signs of the times” or as eternal human types.
Their role is special, because they create a socio-political background for the development of the plot, emphasize and clarify something in the main characters. Their participation in comedy is based on the “distorting mirror” technique. Masked heroes include Repetilov, Zagoretsky, Messrs. N and the Tugoukhovsky family. The author is not interested in the personality of each of the six princesses; they are important in the comedy only as a social type of “Moscow young lady”. These are truly masks: they all look the same, we cannot distinguish the remark of the first princess from the statement of the second or fifth: 3rd. What an esharpe ousin gave me! 4th.
Oh! yes, barezhevoy! 5th.
Oh! lovely! 6th.
Oh! how sweet! These young ladies are funny to Chatsky, the author, and the readers. But they don’t seem funny to Sophia at all. For with all her merits, with all the complexities of her nature, she is from their world, in some ways Sophia and the “chirping” princesses are very, very close. In their society, Sophia is perceived naturally - and we see the heroine in a slightly different light. Unlike the princesses, whom Griboyedov only numbered, without even considering it necessary to give them names in the poster, their father has both a name and a patronymic: Prince Pyotr Ilyich Tugoukhovsky .
But he is also faceless, and he is a mask. He doesn’t say anything except “uh-hmm”, “a-hmm” and “uh-hmm”, doesn’t hear anything, is not interested in anything, is completely devoid of his own opinion...
It brings to the point of absurdity, to the point of absurdity, the traits of a “boy-husband, a servant-husband,” which constitute the “high ideal of all Moscow husbands.” Prince Tugoukhovsky is the future of Chatsky’s friend, Plato. Mikhailovich Gorich. At the ball, gossip about Chatsky's madness is spread by gentlemen N and. Again, no names, no faces.
The personification of gossip, living gossip. These characters focus all the base traits of Famus society: indifference to the truth, indifference to personality, passion for “washing bones,” hypocrisy, hypocrisy...
This is not just a mask, it is rather a mask-symbol. Mask heroes play the role of a mirror placed opposite the “high society”. And here it is important to emphasize that one of the author’s main tasks was not just to reflect the features of modern society, but make society recognize itself in the mirror.
This task is facilitated by off-stage characters, that is, those whose names are mentioned, but the characters themselves do not appear on stage and do not take part in the action. And if the main characters of “Woe from Wit” do not have any specific prototypes (except for Chatsky), then in the images of some minor characters and beyond stage characters The features of the author's real contemporaries are fully recognizable. Thus, Repetilov describes to Chatsky one of those who “make noise” in the English Club: You don’t need to name him, you’ll recognize him by the portrait: A night robber, a duelist, He was exiled to Kamchatka, returned as an Aleut, And his hands are firmly unclean. And not only Chatsky, but also the majority of readers “recognized from the portrait” the colorful figure of that time: Fyodor Tolstoy - the American. It’s interesting, by the way, that Tolstoy himself, having read “Woe from Wit” in the list, recognized himself and, when meeting with Griboedov, asked to change the last line as follows: “He’s dishonest when it comes to cards.”
He corrected the line in this way with his own hand and added an explanation: “For the fidelity of the portrait, this amendment is necessary so that they do not think that he is stealing snuff boxes from the table.” How to write this or that phrase correctly so as not to violate either the grammatical norms of the language or the correct usage of words? Answers to many questions are in the section
The comedy “Woe from Wit” by A. S. Griboedov is one of the outstanding examples of Russian drama in the first quarter of the 19th century. The comedy was created at a time when classicism dominated the stage in Russia, but the playwright sought to realistically depict contemporary Russian reality, that is, according to Goncharov, “to take it entirely from Moscow living rooms and transfer it to a book and to the stage.” This is the reason for Griboedov's innovation - in his comedy the leading principle of depicting life is realistic.
The militant revolutionary content, the sharpness of ideas, and the topicality of images determined the high political effectiveness of comedy. A deep ideological connection with the progressive movement of the era allowed the writer to raise in his work the most pressing political issues of the time.
The comedy reflected the era that came after Patriotic War 1812. This was the era of the birth and development of the Decembrist movement.
“Woe from Wit” is a socio-political comedy, although the play is based on a love conflict, which fades into the background as the action progresses, and the social conflict comes to the fore - the clash of the “present century” with the “past century”.
The former is presented in the comedy in the image of Chatsky, the latter in the images of Famusov, Molchalin, Skalozub and many other “Moscow” people. Moreover, all the characters in the play are typical characters. Distinctive Features representatives of Moscow society were embodied in the images of comedy so vividly that I. A. Goncharov compares them with a deck of cards. For example, Chatsky is a typical progressive nobleman who has broken away from his class environment and, as a “friend of humanity,” angrily denounces the vices of society: serfdom, veneration of rank, nepotism, the dominance of foreigners and much more. One of Chatsky’s main opponents is Molchalin, a typical little official who dreams of achieving a certain position in society. He wants to become the same as his patron Famusov. Molchalin firmly grasped his father’s commandments - “to please all people without exception,” and also “one should not dare to have one’s own judgment.”
The images of “Woe from Wit” are devoid of the schematic character that was inherent in the heroes of classic plays; they are convex and multifaceted, combining both positive and negative traits. So, Chatsky - a passionate and emotional nature - because of his ardent spontaneity, sometimes finds himself in a funny, or even stupid, position. For example, in the middle of another monologue, he notices that everyone is spinning in the waltz “with the greatest zeal.” The image of Molchalin is not limited to showing only his negative traits: sycophancy and the ability to “put on appearances.” He tries to win the favor of Lisa, the maid in Famusov’s house, by bribing with “interests”; in some cases, he is capable of accidentally pricking his interlocutor. So, he asks Chatsky: “Were you not given ranks? Failure in service?”
So, in the comedy “Woe from Wit” Griboyedov widely uses the realistic principle when creating characters.
It should be noted that the number of characters significantly exceeded the norms of dramaturgy of that time: five to eight characters. In Griboyedov’s comedy “25 fools for one sane person,” which increased the scale of the stage action.
In addition, the playwright introduced a large number of off-stage characters into his play, the number of which exceeded those on stage. They represent the same Moscow society and reflect the struggle of two eras in it. That is why among the off-stage characters there are like-minded people of Chatsky (Skalozub’s cousin, Prince Fyodor, “chemist and botanist”, professors of the Pedagogical Institute, “practicing in schisms and unbelief”), and representatives of Famus society (Moscow “aces” Maxim Petrovich and Kuzma Petrovich , serf owners exchanging their devoted servants for dogs or selling off their “Cupids” and “Zephyrs” one by one, Moscow ladies - “judges of everything, everywhere, there are no judges above them” and others).
Thus, off-stage characters contribute to expanding the display of reality in comedy, and most importantly, they take it beyond the scope of Famusovsky house.
Both Chatsky and his main opponent Famusov get “each his own “millions of torments”; the latter will probably never become an “ace,” and Chatsky is forced to go “search around the world where there is a corner for an offended feeling.” No one wins an unconditional victory on stage. Griboedov, as a realist, could not show the victory of the “present century” over the “past century,” although all his sympathies and the sympathies of the audience are on the side of the first.
The creator of “Woe from Wit” was an innovator in the field of language. First of all, the speech of comedy characters is individualized; it is one of the means of revealing characters. This is especially noticeable in the example of Chatsky’s speech. The logic and harmony of his monologues, their accusatory pathos reveal him as a person with a whole system of views and beliefs, with his own view of the world. Correct literary language Chatsky testifies to his education and erudition, and the abundance of exclamatory sentences and the passion of his speeches prove that before us is an internally rich, emotional and passionate nature. Chatsky’s speeches are imbued with high civic pathos, this speaks of his free-thinking, that he is characterized by “beautiful impulses of the soul”:
Thus, the passion of Chatsky’s speeches brings him closer to the romantic Decembrists.
As A. S. Pushkin predicted, many lines of the comedy “have become proverbs and sayings”: “The legend is fresh, but hard to believe,” “The houses are new, but the prejudices are old,” “Blessed is he who believes, he is warm in the world.” , “I would be glad to serve, but being served is sickening” and others.
Griboyedov replaced the venerable Alexandrian verse with free iambic, which made it possible to convey the natural intonations of human speech. It can be argued that with this “Woe from Wit” prepared the transition of Russian drama from poetry to prose (“The Inspector General” by Gogol).
“Woe from Wit” is the first realistic social comedy in Russian literature, in which the author managed to capture typical characters in typical circumstances and recreate Russian life in the first quarter of the 19th century in a broad and multifaceted way.
P>The play “Woe from Wit” was written at a time when romanticism and realism were developing in literature. Griboedov is a writer who laid the foundations of innovation in Russian dramaturgy XIX century.
Despite the strict requirements of the classic canons - the presence of 5-8 characters, in “Woe from Wit,” according to the author himself, “twenty-five fools for one sane person.”
The figurative system of comedy is based on the realistic principle of typification. Since realism is based on historicism, the play reflects the era that came after the War of 1812. This was the time of the birth and development of the Decembrist movement. It was at this time that two camps emerged in society: the camp of advanced noble youth and the conservative camp of serf owners.
The Moscow nobility is represented in the play by Famusov and his entourage, and the progressive nobility is represented by Alexander Andreevich Chatsky, a true exponent of Decembrist ideas and sentiments in the comedy. Thus, in “Woe from Wit” there is a social and psychological typification of the heroes.
No, despite the typicality, all the characters in the play are individual. For example, Famusov is not only a Moscow gentleman who defends patriarchal foundations, but also a loving father:
Didn't they care about yours?
About education! From the cradle!
In addition, Famusov is a rather frivolous gentleman, flirting with his daughter’s maid:
After all, what a naughty girl you are...
Oh! Potion, spoiled girl.
In addition, he has a sense of humor:
They were given my voice, and how well
Everyone hears and calls everyone until dawn!
His daughter Sophia is capable of deep feeling (“Molchalin! How my sanity remains intact! You know how dear your life is to me!”) and meanness. It is she who starts gossip about Chatsky’s madness: “He doesn’t
out of your mind!”
Thus, in addition to characters that are clearly positive or negative, there are heroes whose assessment is ambiguous (Famusov, Sophia, Platon Mikhailovich Gorich, who was once Chatsky’s friend from military service, but turned into a “husband-boy, husband-servant”). Classicism was characterized by a clear division of characters into positive and negative.
From a love affair point of view figurative system“Woe from Wit” basically corresponds to the classical system of roles. The plot of the comedy is based on a love triangle (Chatsky - Sophia - Molchalin). There is also the girl’s father, who has no idea about her love, and there is also a maid who helps arrange love dates for her mistress.
But there are also deviations from traditions. Chatsky is not exactly a hero-lover, since he fails in love:
Blind! In whom I sought the reward of all my labors!
I was in a hurry!.. flying!. trembled!
Happiness, I thought, was close.
Before whom I just now was so passionate and so low
He was a waste of tender words!
On the other hand, Chatsky is a hero-lover and a reasoner at the same time, because many of his statements express the opinion of the author himself: Ah! If we were born to adopt everything, At least from the Chinese we could borrow a little from their Wise ignorance of foreigners. Will we ever be resurrected from the alien power of fashion?
Chatsky’s rival Molchalin does not quite fit the definition of “second lover”, because he is successful in love, but at the same time he is not the first lover, since he is far from ideal and is depicted with a negative author’s assessment. Sophia is also not an ideal heroine.
Go beyond the role and minor characters. Liza, Sophia’s maid, is not only a soubrette, but also a kind of second reasoner: she gives apt characteristics acting persons, comments on the events taking place:
Like all Moscow people, your father is like this:
He would like a son-in-law with stars and ranks,
And under the stars, not everyone is rich, between us;
Well, of course, then
And money to live on, so he could give balls...
Famusov is not only a father who does not know about his daughter’s love, but also an ideologist of the “past century.”
Thus, the characters do not fit into the framework of traditional roles, they are broader.
In addition to the main one, there are also comic love triangles: Lisa - Molchalin - bartender Petrusha and Lisa - Famusov - Petrusha.
From the point of view of social conflict, the system of characters is built on the antithesis of the “present century” and the “past century.” Chatsky, the only stage character, is opposed to Famus society. The very appearance of Alexander Andreevich in this atmosphere of sycophancy, tyranny and servility makes his conflict with the “past century” inevitable. He denounces the vices and shortcomings of Famus society and is an ideologist of the “present century.”
A parody of Chatsky is Repetilov, a member of the “most secret union”, who claims to be the ideologist of his circle:
What's the ball? Brother, where are we all night until broad daylight?
We are shackled in decency, we will not break out of the yoke...
The image of Repetilov also correlates with the image of Molchaliv. Alexey Stepanovich tries to please everyone, he believes that at “his age he should not dare to have his own judgment.” Repetilov doesn’t trust his opinion either:
I often listen without opening my lips;
I can’t do it, brother, and I feel like I’m stupid.
A clear reflection of the image of Molchalin is the universal pleaser Zagoretsky:
Let me hand it to you, it would be in vain for anyone to take it
Another one to serve you...
Zagoretsky is a true bearer of such traits as servility and sycophancy.
From the point of view speech characteristics, all the heroes are divided into those who speak in monologues (Chatsky, Famusov, Repetilov), and those who speak in replicas (all the rest).
Those who pronounce monologues are ideologists (Famusov and Chatsky) or imitate them (Repetilov). Ideologists do not listen to each other, but the crowd does not hear them either.
During his monologue about the “Frenchman from Bordeaux,” Chatsky looks around and remarks: “everyone is spinning in the waltz with the greatest zeal. The old men scattered to the card tables.”
The guests at the ball form an independent group of images, without which the “gallery of types” of Famusov’s Moscow would be incomplete.
Famusov’s sister-in-law Khlestova is a typical Moscow lady, “a remnant of the Catherine century.” Six princesses and a countess-granddaughter represent a contingent of brides who are preoccupied with finding profitable suitors. Prince Tugoukhovsky and his wife are busy looking for matches for their daughters. Zagoretsky personifies the image of an obvious swindler. Platon Mikhailovich Gorich - “husband-boy, husband-servant”, aware of the absurdity of his position, speaks to his wife “coolly”, “eyes to the sky”, “with a sigh”.
Colonel Skalozub is a typical representative of the military, who dreams only of “getting promoted to general.” Mask characters Messrs. N. and V. are needed to spread gossip in society. All these images make up such a concept as Famusov’s Moscow.
Off-stage characters are introduced to typify the conflict. Among them there are representatives of the “present century” and the “past century” who share Famusov’s views. Their career serves as an argument in a dispute with the “present century”; they are an ideal for Famus society. This is the venerable chamberlain Kuzma Petrovich, famous for that “he had the key, and knew how to deliver the key to his son; rich and married to a rich woman.” These include Maxim Petrovich, who knew how to help himself in a timely manner, and Foma Fomich, who was “the head of a department under three ministers,” and Tatyana Yuryevna, who has useful friends and relatives. These people most clearly embody the morals and ideals of Famus society.
The comedy tells about the inhuman cruelty of serf owners, who deal with their serfs like dogs. This is a landowner-theater, who “is fat himself, his artists are skinny”, a landowner-balletomane, “Nestor of noble scoundrels”, Khlestova’s sister Praskovya.
The “past century” also includes foreigners who arrived in Russia “to pursue happiness and rank”: Madame Rosier, Sophia and Chatsky’s mentor, a Frenchman “blown by the wind,” “a Frenchman from Bordeaux.”
Off-stage female characters They are just as typical and individual as the stage ones, they complement the latter. This is Sophia’s aunt, “Catherine I’s maid of honor,” Praskovya Fedorovna, Tatyana Yuryevna, Pulkheria Andreevna, Irina Vlasevna, Lukerya Aleksevna.
The off-stage characters of the “present century” show that Chatsky is not alone and testify in favor of his future victories. Representatives of the Famusov society recall that among their loved ones there are people similar to Alexander Andreevich. These include Skalozub’s cousin, who “suddenly left his service” and “began reading books in the village,” Prince Fyodor, the nephew of Princess Tugoukhovskaya, who studied chemistry and botany, professors of the Pedagogical Institute, declared to be practicing “schisms and lack of faith.” In his monologue “Who are the judges?..” Chatsky speaks on behalf of an entire generation:
Now let one of us
Among the young people there will be an enemy of quest...
A parody of the “present century” are the members of the most secret union, about whom we learn from Repetilov’s monologue. This is Prince Grigory, Vorkulov Evdokim, Levoy and Borinka, Udushev Ippolit Markelych and their chairman, “a night robber, a duelist,” who is “strongly unclean.”
Introduction of such large quantity off-stage characters was an innovation. They play a big role in the development of social conflict and expand the space-time boundaries of comedy.
Revealing inner world characters, Griboyedov focuses not on their feelings, experiences, psychology, but on their public views, beliefs. All the characters in the play are prominent and multifaceted. These are living types of Russian people.