Gogol the auditor complete. The Inspector General (collection) - Gogol Nikolai. The meaning of the epigraph and the “Silent Scene”

Notes for gentlemen actors

Everyone sits down around both Petrov Ivanovichs.

Well, what, what is it?

Everyone leaves.

Scene VI

Anna Andreevna and Marya Antonovna run onto the stage.

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Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol
Auditor

© Children's Literature Publishing House. Series design, 2003

© V. A. Voropaev. Introductory article, 2003

© I. A. Vinogradov, V. A. Voropaev. Comments, 2003

© V. Britvin. Illustrations, 2003

* * *

What did Gogol laugh at? On the spiritual meaning of the comedy “The Inspector General”

Be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deceiving yourselves. For whoever hears the word and does not do it is like a man looking at the natural features of his face in a mirror. He looked at himself, walked away, and immediately forgot what he was like.

Jacob 1, 22-24

My heart hurts when I see how people are mistaken. They talk about virtue, about God, and yet do nothing.

From Gogol's letter to his mother. 1833

“The Inspector General” is the best Russian comedy. Both in reading and in stage performance she is always interesting. Therefore, it is generally difficult to talk about any failure of The Inspector General. But, on the other hand, it is difficult to create a real Gogol performance, to make those sitting in the hall laugh with bitter Gogol laughter. As a rule, something fundamental, deep, on which the entire meaning of the play is based, eludes the actor or the viewer.

The premiere of the comedy took place on April 19, 1836 Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, according to contemporaries, had colossal success. The mayor was played by Ivan Sosnitsky, Khlestakov Nikolai Dur - best actors that time. “The general attention of the audience, applause, heartfelt and unanimous laughter, the author’s challenge<…>“,” recalled Prince Pyotr Andreevich Vyazemsky, “there was no shortage of anything.”

But this success almost immediately began to seem somehow strange. Incomprehensible feelings gripped both the artists and the audience. Characteristic is the confession of actor Pyotr Grigoriev, who played the role of judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin: “... this play is still like some kind of mystery for all of us. At the first performance they laughed loudly and a lot, they supported us strongly - we will have to wait to see how everyone will appreciate it over time, but for our brother, the actor, she is such a new work that we may not yet be able to appreciate it just once or twice "

Even Gogol's most ardent admirers did not fully understand the meaning and significance of the comedy; the majority of the public perceived it as a farce. Memoirist Pavel Vasilyevich Annenkov noticed the unusual reaction of the audience: “Even after the first act, bewilderment was written on all faces (the audience was select in the full sense of the word), as if no one knew how to think about the picture that had just been presented. This bewilderment then grew with each act. As if finding comfort in the mere assumption that a farce was being given, the majority of the audience, knocked out of all theatrical expectations and habits, settled on this assumption with unshakable determination. However, in this farce there were features and phenomena filled with such life truth that times two<…>there was general laughter. Something completely different happened in the fourth act: laughter still flew from time to time from one end of the hall to the other, but it was somehow a timid laughter that immediately disappeared; there was almost no applause; but intense attention, convulsive, intense following of all the shades of the play, sometimes dead silence showed that what was happening on stage passionately captured the hearts of the audience.”

The play was perceived by the public in different ways. Many saw it as a caricature of Russian bureaucracy, and its author as a rebel. According to Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov, there were people who hated Gogol from the very appearance of The Inspector General. Thus, Count Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy (nicknamed the American) said at a crowded meeting that Gogol was “an enemy of Russia and that he should be sent in chains to Siberia.” Censor Alexander Vasilyevich Nikitenko wrote in his diary on April 28, 1836: “Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General” caused a lot of noise. They give it incessantly - almost every day.<…>Many believe that the government is in vain in approving this play, in which it is so cruelly condemned.”

Meanwhile, it is reliably known that the comedy was allowed to be staged (and therefore published) due to highest resolution. Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich read the comedy in manuscript and approved; according to another version, “The Inspector General” was read to the king in the palace. On April 29, 1836, Gogol wrote to Mikhail Semenovich Shchepkin: “If it were not for the high intercession of the Sovereign, my play would never have been on stage, and there were already people trying to ban it.” The Emperor not only attended the premiere himself, but also ordered the ministers to watch The Inspector General. During the performance he clapped and laughed a lot, and when leaving the box he said: “Well, a play! Everyone got it, and I got it more than everyone else!”

Gogol hoped to meet the support of the tsar and was not mistaken. Soon after staging the comedy, he answered his ill-wishers in “Theatrical Travel”: “The magnanimous government has seen the light deeper than you high intelligence the purpose of the writer."

In striking contrast to the seemingly undoubted success of the play, Gogol’s bitter confession sounds: “The Inspector General” has been played - and my soul is so vague, so strange... I expected, I knew in advance how things would go, and for all that, the feeling is sad and annoying - a burden has enveloped me. My creation seemed disgusting to me, wild and as if not mine at all” (“Excerpt from a letter written by the author shortly after the first presentation of “The Inspector General” to a certain writer”).

Gogol's dissatisfaction with the premiere and the rumors around it (“everyone is against me”) was so great that, despite the persistent requests of Pushkin and Shchepkin, he refused his intended participation in the production of the play in Moscow and soon went abroad. Many years later, Gogol wrote to Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky: “The performance of The Inspector General made a painful impression on me. I was angry both at the audience, who did not understand me, and at myself, who was to blame for not understanding me. I wanted to get away from everything."

Comic in "The Inspector General"

Gogol was, it seems, the only one who perceived the first production of The Government Inspector as a failure. What is the matter here that did not satisfy the author? Partly, the discrepancy between the old vaudeville techniques in the design of the performance and the completely new spirit of the play, which did not fit into the framework of an ordinary comedy. Gogol persistently warns: “You need to be most careful not to fall into caricature. Nothing should be exaggerated or trivial even in latest roles” (“A warning for those who would like to play “The Inspector General” properly).

When creating the images of Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, Gogol imagined them “in the skin” (as he put it) of Shchepkin and Vasily Ryazantsev, famous comic actors of that era. In the play, in his words, “it was just a caricature.” “Already before the start of the performance,” he shares his impressions, “when I saw them in costume, I gasped. These two little men, in their essence quite neat, plump, with decently smoothed hair, found themselves wearing some kind of awkward, tall gray wigs, disheveled, unkempt, disheveled, with huge shirtfronts pulled out; but on stage they turned out to be such antics that it was simply unbearable.”

Meanwhile, Gogol’s main goal is the complete naturalness of the characters and the verisimilitude of what is happening on stage. “The less an actor thinks about making people laugh and being funny, the more funny the role he takes will be revealed. The funny will be revealed by itself precisely in the seriousness with which each of the characters depicted in the comedy is busy with his work.”

An example of such a “natural” manner of performance is the reading of “The Inspector General” by Gogol himself. Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, who once attended such a reading, says: “Gogol... struck me with his extreme simplicity and restraint of manner, with some important and at the same time naive sincerity, which seemed not to care whether there were listeners here and what they thought. It seemed that Gogol was only concerned with how to delve into the subject, which was new to him, and how to more accurately convey his own impression. The effect was extraordinary - especially in comic, humorous places; it was impossible not to laugh - a good, healthy laugh; and the creator of all this fun continued, not embarrassed by the general gaiety and, as if inwardly marveling at it, to immerse himself more and more in the matter itself - and only occasionally, on the lips and around the eyes, the master’s sly smile trembled slightly. With what bewilderment, with what amazement Gogol said famous phrase mayor about two rats (at the very beginning of the play): “They came, sniffed and went away!” He even looked around us slowly, as if asking for an explanation for such an amazing incident. It was only then that I realized how completely incorrect, superficial, and with what desire only to quickly make people laugh, “The Inspector General” is usually played on stage.

While working on the play, Gogol mercilessly expelled from it all elements of external comedy. According to Gogol, the funny is hidden everywhere, even in the most ordinary details of everyday life. Gogol's laughter is the contrast between what the hero says and how he says it. In the first act, Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky are arguing about which of them should start telling the news.

« Bobchinsky (interrupting). We arrive with Pyotr Ivanovich at the hotel...

Dobchinsky (interrupting). Eh, let me, Pyotr Ivanovich, I’ll tell you.

Bobchinsky. Eh, no, let me... let me, let me... you don’t even have such a syllable...

Dobchinsky. And you will get confused and not remember everything.

Bobchinsky. I remember, by God, I remember. Don't bother me, let me tell you, don't bother me! Tell me, gentlemen, please don’t let Pyotr Ivanovich interfere.”

This comic scene should not only make you laugh. It is very important for the heroes which of them will tell the story. Their whole life consists of spreading all kinds of gossip and rumors. And suddenly the two received the same news. This is a tragedy. They are arguing over a matter. Bobchinsky must be told everything, nothing should be missed. Otherwise, Dobchinsky will supplement.

« Bobchinsky. Excuse me, excuse me: I’ll take everything in order... So, as you can see, I ran to Korobkin. And not finding Korobkin at home, he turned to Rastakovsky, and not finding Rastakovsky, he went to Ivan Kuzmich to tell him the news you had received, and going from there, he met with Pyotr Ivanovich...

Dobchinsky (interrupting). Near the booth where pies are sold.”

This is a very important detail. And Bobchinsky agrees: “Near the booth where pies are sold.”

Why, let us ask again, was Gogol dissatisfied with the premiere? main reason was not even in the farcical nature of the performance - the desire to make the audience laugh - but in the fact that, with a caricatured manner of acting, those sitting in the hall perceived what was happening on stage without applying it to themselves, since the characters were exaggeratedly funny. Meanwhile, Gogol’s plan was designed for precisely the opposite perception: to involve the viewer in the performance, to make them feel that the city depicted in the comedy exists not just somewhere, but to one degree or another in any place in Russia, and the passions and vices of officials exist in the soul of each of us. Gogol appeals to everyone. This is the enormous social significance of The Inspector General. This is the meaning of the mayor’s famous remark: “Why are you laughing? You’re laughing at yourself!” – facing the hall (precisely the hall, since no one is laughing on stage at this time). The epigraph also indicates this: “There is no point in blaming the mirror if your face is crooked.” In a kind of theatrical commentary on the play - “Theatrical Travel” and “The Denouement of The Inspector General” - where the audience and actors discuss the comedy, Gogol seems to be striving to destroy the wall separating the stage and the auditorium.

In The Inspector General, Gogol made his contemporaries laugh at what they were accustomed to and what they had ceased to notice (emphasis mine. - V.V.). But most importantly, they are accustomed to carelessness in spiritual life. The audience laughs at the heroes who die spiritually. Let us turn to examples from the play that show such death.

The mayor sincerely believes that “there is no person who does not have some sins behind him. This is already arranged this way by God Himself, and the Voltaireans are in vain speaking against it.” To which Ammos Fedorovich Lyapkin-Tyapkin objects: “What do you think, Anton Antonovich, are sins? Sins and sins are different. I tell everyone openly that I take bribes, but with what bribes? Greyhound puppies. This is a completely different matter."

The judge is sure that bribes with greyhound puppies cannot be considered bribes, “but, for example, if someone’s fur coat costs five hundred rubles, and his wife’s shawl...”. Here the mayor, understanding the hint, retorts: “But you don’t believe in God; you never go to church; but at least I am firm in my faith and go to church every Sunday. And you... Oh, I know you: if you start talking about the creation of the world, your hair will just stand on end.” To which Ammos Fedorovich replies: “But I got there on my own, with my own mind.”

Gogol is the best commentator on his works. In “Forewarning...” he notes about the judge: “He is not even a hunter to do lies, but he has a great passion for hunting with dogs... He is busy with himself and his mind, and is an atheist only because in this field there is room for him to prove himself.”

The mayor believes that he is firm in his faith. The more sincerely he expresses this, the funnier it is. Going to Khlestakov, he gives orders to his subordinates: “Yes, if they ask why a church was not built at a charitable institution, for which the amount was allocated five years ago, then do not forget to say that it began to be built, but burned down. I submitted a report about this. Otherwise, perhaps someone, having forgotten himself, will foolishly say that it never began.”

Explaining the image of the mayor, Gogol says: “He feels that he is sinful; he goes to church, he even thinks that he is firm in his faith, he even thinks about repenting someday later. But the temptation of everything that floats into one’s hands is great, and the blessings of life are tempting, and to grab everything without missing anything has become, as it were, just a habit for him.”

And so, going to the imaginary auditor, the mayor laments: “I’m a sinner, a sinner in many ways... Just grant, God, that I get away with it as quickly as possible, and then I’ll put a candle like no one has ever put it before: I’ll put a merchant’s hand on every beast.” deliver three pounds of wax.” We see that the mayor has fallen, as it were, into a vicious circle of his sinfulness: in his repentant thoughts, the sprouts of new sins arise unnoticed by him (the merchants will pay for the candle, not he).

Just as the mayor does not feel the sinfulness of his actions, because he does everything according to an old habit, so do the other heroes of The Inspector General. For example, postmaster Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin opens other people's letters solely out of curiosity: “... I love to death to know what is new in the world. Let me tell you, this is a very interesting read. You will read another letter with pleasure - this is how various passages are described... and what edification... better than in the Moskovskie Vedomosti!

The judge remarks to him: “Look, you will get it someday for this.” Shpekin exclaims with childish naivety: “Oh, priests!” It doesn’t even occur to him that he is doing something illegal. Gogol explains: “The postmaster is a simple-minded person to the point of naivety, looking at life as a meeting interesting stories to pass the time, which he reads in printed letters. There’s nothing left for the actor to do except be as simple-minded as possible.”

Innocence, curiosity, the habitual doing of any untruth, the free-thinking of officials with the appearance of Khlestakov, that is, according to their concepts of an auditor, are suddenly replaced for a moment by an attack of fear inherent in criminals expecting severe retribution. The same inveterate freethinker Ammos Fedorovich, standing before Khlestakov, says to himself: “Lord God! I don't know where I'm sitting. Like hot coals beneath you.” And the mayor, in the same position, asks for mercy: “Do not destroy! Wife, small children... don’t make a person unhappy.” And further: “Because of inexperience, by God, because of inexperience. Insufficient wealth... Judge for yourself: the government salary is not enough even for tea and sugar.”

Gogol was especially dissatisfied with the way Khlestakov was played. " the main role disappeared,” he writes, “that’s what I thought.” Dur didn’t understand one bit what Khlestakov was.” Khlestakov is not just a dreamer. He himself does not know what he is saying and what he will say in the next moment. It’s as if someone sitting in him speaks for him, tempting through him all the characters in the play. Isn’t this the father of lies himself, that is, the devil?” It seems that Gogol had this exactly in mind. The heroes of the play, in response to these temptations, without noticing it themselves, reveal themselves in all their sinfulness.

Tempted by the evil one, Khlestakov himself seemed to acquire the features of a demon. On May 16 (New Style), 1844, Gogol wrote to S. T. Aksakov: “All this excitement and mental struggle of yours is nothing more than the work of our common friend, known to everyone, namely the devil. But don't lose sight of the fact that he is a clicker and is all about puffery.<…>You hit this beast in the face and don’t be embarrassed by anything. He is like a petty official who has entered the city as if for an investigation. It will throw dust at everyone, scatter it, and shout. All he has to do is become a little cowardly and move back - then he will start to show courage. And as soon as you step on him, he will tuck his tail between his legs. We ourselves make a giant out of him... A proverb is never in vain, but a proverb says: The devil boasted of taking over the whole world, but God did not give him power over even a pig.”1
This proverb refers to the Gospel episode when the Lord allowed the demons who had left the Gadarene demoniac to enter the herd of pigs (see: Mark 5:1-13).

This is how Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov is seen in this description.

The characters in the play feel a sense of fear more and more, as evidenced by the lines and the author’s remarks. (stretched out and trembling all over). This fear seems to spread to the hall. After all, in the hall sat those who were afraid of auditors, but only real ones - the sovereign's. Meanwhile, Gogol, knowing this, called on them, in general Christians, to the fear of God, to the cleansing of their conscience, which no auditor, not even the Last Judgment, would be afraid of. Officials, as if blinded by fear, cannot see Khlestakov’s real face. They always look at their feet, and not at the sky. In “The Rule of Living in the World,” Gogol explained the reason for such fear: “... everything is exaggerated in our eyes and frightens us. Because we keep our eyes down and don’t want to raise them up. For if they were raised up for a few minutes, they would see above all only God and the light emanating from Him, illuminating everything in its present form, and then they themselves would laugh at their own blindness.”

The meaning of the epigraph and the “Silent Scene”

Regarding the epigraph that appeared later, in the 1842 edition, let us say that this folk proverb By the mirror he means the Gospel, as Gogol’s contemporaries, who spiritually belonged to Orthodox Church, knew very well and could even reinforce the understanding of this proverb, for example, with Krylov’s famous fable “The Mirror and the Monkey.” Here the Monkey, looking in the mirror, addresses the Bear:

“Look,” he says, “my dear godfather!
What kind of face is that there?
What antics and jumps she has!
I would hang myself from boredom
If only she was even a little like her.
But, admit it, there is
Of my gossips, there are five or six such crooks;
I can even count them on my fingers.” -
“Why should a gossip consider working,
Isn’t it better to turn on yourself, godfather?” -
Mishka answered her.
But Mishenka’s advice was wasted.

Bishop Varnava (Belyaev), in his major work “Fundamentals of the Art of Holiness” (1920s), connects the meaning of this fable with attacks on the Gospel, and this is precisely the meaning (among others) that Krylov had. The spiritual idea of ​​the Gospel as a mirror has long and firmly existed in the Orthodox consciousness. So, for example, Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk, one of Gogol’s favorite writers, whose works he re-read more than once, says: “Christians! As a mirror is to the sons of this age, so may the Gospel and the immaculate life of Christ be for us. They look in the mirror and correct their bodies and cleanse the blemishes on their faces.<…>Let us, therefore, offer this pure mirror before our spiritual eyes and look into it: is our life consistent with the life of Christ?”

The holy righteous John of Kronstadt, in his diaries published under the title “My Life in Christ,” remarks to “those who do not read the Gospel”: “Are you pure, holy and perfect, without reading the Gospel, and you do not need to look into this mirror? Or are you very ugly mentally and are afraid of your ugliness?..”

In Gogol’s extracts from the holy fathers and teachers of the Church we find the following entry: “Those who want to cleanse and whiten their faces usually look in the mirror. Christian! Your mirror is the Lord's commandments; if you put them in front of you and look at them closely, they will reveal to you all the spots, all the blackness, all the ugliness of your soul.”

It is noteworthy that Gogol also addressed this image in his letters. So, on December 20 (New Style), 1844, he wrote to Mikhail Petrovich Pogodin from Frankfurt: “... always keep a book on your table that would serve as a spiritual mirror for you”; and a week later - to Alexandra Osipovna Smirnova: “Look also at yourself. For this, have a spiritual mirror on the table, that is, some book that your soul can look into...”

As you know, a Christian will be judged according to the gospel law. In “The Inspector General’s Denouement,” Gogol puts into the mouth of the First Comic Actor the idea that on the day Last Judgment we will all find ourselves with “crooked faces”: “... let us look at ourselves at least somewhat through the eyes of the One who will call all the people to a confrontation, before whom even the best of us, do not forget this, will lower their eyes to the ground in shame, and Let's see if any of us will have the courage to ask: “Is my face crooked?” 2
Here Gogol, in particular, responds to the writer M. N. Zagoskin (his historical novel Khlestakov presents “Yuri Miloslavsky, or the Russians in 1612” as his own work), who was especially indignant against the epigraph, saying: “Where is my crooked face?”

It is known that Gogol never parted with the Gospel. “You can’t invent anything higher than what is already in the Gospel,” he said. “How many times has humanity recoiled from it and how many times has it turned back?”

It is impossible, of course, to create any other “mirror” similar to the Gospel. But just as every Christian is obliged to live according to the Gospel commandments, imitating Christ (to the best of his human strength), so Gogol the playwright, according to his talent, arranges his mirror on the stage. Any of the spectators could turn out to be Krylov's Monkey. However, it turned out that this viewer saw “five or six gossips,” but not himself. Gogol later spoke about the same thing in his address to readers in “ Dead souls": "You will even laugh heartily at Chichikov, maybe even praise the author... And you will add: “But I must agree, there are strange and funny people in some provinces, and quite a few scoundrels at that!” And which of you, full of Christian humility... will deepen this difficult question into your own soul: “Isn’t there some part of Chichikov in me too?” Yes, no matter how it is!”

The mayor’s response: “Why are you laughing? You’re laughing at yourself!” - which, like the epigraph, appeared in 1842, also has its parallel in “Dead Souls”. In the tenth chapter, reflecting on the mistakes and delusions of all mankind, the author notes: “The current generation now sees everything clearly, marvels at the errors, laughs at the foolishness of its ancestors, not in vain that... a piercing finger is directed from everywhere at it, at the current generation; but the current generation laughs and arrogantly, proudly begins a series of new errors, which posterity will also laugh at later.”

The main idea of ​​“The Inspector General” is the idea of ​​inevitable spiritual retribution, which every person should expect. Gogol, dissatisfied with the way “The Inspector General” was staged and how the audience perceived it, tried to reveal this idea in “The Denouement of The Inspector General.”

“Take a close look at this city that is depicted in the play! - says Gogol through the mouth of the First Comic Actor. – Everyone agrees that there is no such city in all of Russia...<…>Well, what if this is our spiritual city and it sits with each of us?<…>Whatever you say, the inspector who waits for us at the door of the coffin is terrible. As if you don’t know who this auditor is? Why pretend? This auditor is our awakened conscience, which will force us to suddenly and at once look at ourselves with all our eyes. Nothing can be hidden from this inspector, because he was sent by the Named Supreme Command and will be announced when it is no longer possible to take a step back. Suddenly, such a monster will be revealed to you, within you, that your hair will stand up in horror. It’s better to revise everything that is in us at the beginning of life, and not at the end of it.”

We are talking here about the Last Judgment. And now it becomes clear final scene"Inspector". It is a symbolic picture of the Last Judgment. The appearance of the gendarme, announcing the arrival from St. Petersburg “by personal order” of the current inspector, has a stunning effect on the heroes of the play. Gogol's remark: “The spoken words strike everyone like thunder. The sound of amazement unanimously emanates from the ladies' lips; the whole group, suddenly changing position, remains petrified" ( italics mine. – V.V.).

Gogol attached exceptional importance to this “silent scene”. He defines its duration as one and a half minutes, and in “Excerpt from a Letter...” he even talks about two or three minutes of “petrification” of the heroes. Each of the characters, with their whole figure, seems to show that he can no longer change anything in his fate, even lift a finger - he is in front of the Judge. According to Gogol’s plan, at this moment there should be silence in the hall of general reflection.

In “Dénouement,” Gogol did not offer a new interpretation of “The Inspector General,” as is sometimes thought, but only exposed it main idea. On November 2 (NS), 1846, he wrote to Ivan Sosnitsky from Nice: “Pay your attention to the last scene of The Inspector General.” Think about it, think about it again. From the final play, “The Denouement of The Inspector General,” you will understand why I am so concerned about this last scene and why it is so important to me that it has its full effect. I am sure that you will look at The Inspector General with different eyes after this conclusion, which, for many reasons, could not be given to me then and is only possible now.”

From these words it follows that “Dénouement” did not give new meaning to the “silent scene”, but only clarified its meaning. Indeed, at the time of the creation of “The Inspector General” in “Petersburg Notes of 1836”, Gogol’s lines appear that directly precede “Dénouement”: “Calm and menacing Lent. A voice seems to be heard: “Stop, Christian; look back at your life.”

However, the interpretation given by Gogol county town as a “spiritual city”, and its officials as the embodiment of the passions rampant in it, done in the spirit of the patristic tradition, came as a surprise to contemporaries and caused rejection. Shchepkin, who was destined for the role of the First Comic Actor, read new play, refused to play in it. On May 22, 1847, he wrote to Gogol: “... until now I have studied all the heroes of The Inspector General as living people... Don’t give me any hints that these are not officials, but our passions; no, I don’t want such a remake: these are people, real living people, among whom I grew up and almost grew old.<…>You have gathered several people from the whole world into one gathering place, into one group, with these people at the age of ten I became completely related, and you want to take them away from me.”

Meanwhile, Gogol’s intention did not at all imply the goal of making “living people” - full-blooded artistic images- some kind of allegory. The author only revealed the main idea of ​​the comedy, without which it looks like a simple denunciation of morals. “The Inspector General” is “The Inspector General,” Gogol answered Shchepkin around July 10 (New Style), 1847, “and application to oneself is an indispensable thing that every viewer must do from everything, even not “The Inspector General,” but which it would be more appropriate for him to do about “The Inspector General.”

In the second edition of the ending of “Dénouement,” Gogol clarifies his thought. Here the First Comic Actor (Michal Mihalcz), in response to the doubts of one of the characters that his proposed interpretation of the play corresponds to the author’s intention, says: “The author, even if he had this idea, would have acted badly if he had revealed it clearly . The comedy would then turn into an allegory, and some pale moralizing sermon could emerge from it. No, his job was simply to depict the horror of material unrest, not ideal city, but in the one on earth...<…>His job is to portray this darkness so strongly that everyone feels that they need to fight with it, so that it makes the viewer tremble - and the horror of the riots penetrates him through and through. That's what he should have done. And this is our job to give a moral lesson. We, thank God, are not children. I thought about what kind of moral lesson I could draw for myself, and I attacked the one that I have now told you.”

And further, to the questions of those around him, why was he the only one who brought out such a distant moral teaching, according to their concepts, Michal Mihalch answers: “First of all, why do you know that I was the only one who brought out this moral teaching? And secondly, why do you consider it distant? I think, on the contrary, our own soul is closest to us. I had my soul in my mind then, I was thinking about myself, and that’s why I came up with this moral teaching. If others had thought about this before themselves, they would probably have drawn the same moral teaching that I have drawn. But does each of us approach a writer’s work, like a bee to a flower, in order to extract from it what we need? No, we are looking for moral teaching in everything. others, and not for yourself. We are ready to advocate and protect the entire society, carefully valuing the morality of others and forgetting about our own. After all, we love to laugh at others, not at ourselves..."

It is impossible not to notice that these reflections of the main actor“Denominations” not only do not contradict the content of “The Inspector General,” but correspond exactly to it. Moreover, the thoughts expressed here are organic to Gogol’s entire work.

The idea of ​​the Last Judgment should have been developed in “Dead Souls,” since it really follows from the content of the poem. One of the rough sketches (obviously for the third volume) directly paints a picture of the Last Judgment: “Why didn’t you remember Me, that I look at you, that I am yours? Why did you expect rewards and attention and encouragement from people, and not from Me? What business would it then be for you to pay attention to how an earthly landowner will spend your money when you have a Heavenly Landowner? Who knows what would have ended if you had reached the end without being afraid? You would surprise with the greatness of your character, you would finally gain the upper hand and force amazement; would you leave the name like eternal monument valor, and they would shed streams of tears, streams of tears for you, and like a whirlwind you would scatter the flame of goodness in the hearts.” The manager lowered his head, ashamed, and did not know where to go. And many officials and nobles followed him, wonderful people those who began to serve and then abandoned the field hung their heads sadly.” Note that the theme of the Last Judgment permeates all of Gogol’s work. 3
Let us remember, for example, that in the story “The Night Before Christmas” the demon harbored a grudge against the blacksmith Vakula because he depicted St. Peter in the church on the day of the Last Judgment, expelling an evil spirit from hell.

And this corresponded to his spiritual life, his desire for monasticism. And a monk is a person who has left the world, preparing himself to answer at the judgment of Christ. Gogol remained a writer and, as it were, a monk in the world. In his writings he shows that it is not man who is bad, but the sin operating within him. Orthodox monasticism has always maintained the same thing. Gogol believed in strength artistic word, which can point the way to moral revival. It was with this faith that he created The Inspector General.

The existence of bribery and hypocrisy towards high-ranking officials has long been known to everyone. This was the case many years ago, as evidenced by literary sources. Moreover, earlier this even had less hidden forms, and some considered giving a bribe obligatory. However, there are other features in the character of a Russian person that also evoke mixed feelings. N.V. Gogol shows these traits well in the comedy “The Inspector General,” which became the pinnacle of his work as a playwright.

The play is about a petty official, Khlestakov, who does not stand out in anything special. He travels from St. Petersburg on business with his servant; they stop in one provincial town, where there was a rumor that an auditor would soon visit the city. Khlestakov, by chance and human indiscretion, is mistaken for an auditor who decided to remain incognito. From that moment on, all city officials are looking for an opportunity to remain in good standing, to give him a bribe so that nothing bad happens.

It is noteworthy that in the play each character is a reflection negative traits character. Positive heroes there is no. The writer uses the example of one town and several bright characters reflected all human nature in general, the way of life of all of Russia. He touched upon the problems of bribery, embezzlement, the desire to please officials, pettiness and emptiness of the human soul. This is a satire that sometimes causes not only a smile, but also laughter, but after a while you realize that it is too true to be funny. That is why this work remains popular already long years, because it is still relevant today.

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Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol

There is no point in blaming the mirror if your face is crooked.

Popular proverb

Comedy in five acts

Characters

Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky, mayor.

Anna Andreevna, his wife.

Marya Antonovna, his daughter.

Luka Lukich Khlopov, superintendent of schools.

Wife his.

Ammos Fedorovich Lyapkin-Tyapkin, judge.

Artemy Filippovich Strawberry, trustee of charitable institutions.

Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin, postmaster.

Petr Ivanovich Dobchinsky, city landowner.

Petr Ivanovich Bobchinsky, city landowner.

Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov, an official from St. Petersburg.

Osip, his servant.

Christian Ivanovich Gibner, district doctor.

Fedor Ivanovich Lyulyukov

Ivan Lazarevich Rastakovsky, retired official, honorary person in the city.

Stepan Ivanovich Korobkin, retired official, honorary person in the city.

Stepan Ilyich Ukhovertov, private bailiff.

Svistunov, police officer

Pugovitsyn, police officer

Derzhimorda, police officer

Abdulin, merchant.

Fevronya Petrovna Poshlepkina, locksmith.

Non-commissioned officer's wife.

bear, servant of the mayor.

Inn servant.

Guests and guests, merchants, townspeople, petitioners.

Characters and costumes

Notes for gentlemen actors

Mayor, already aged in the service and a very intelligent person in his own way. Although he is a bribe-taker, he behaves very respectably; quite serious; a few are even resonant; speaks neither loudly nor quietly, neither more nor less. His every word is significant. His facial features are coarse and hard, like those of anyone who began his service from the lower ranks. The transition from fear to joy, from rudeness to arrogance is quite rapid, as in a person with crudely developed inclinations of the soul. He is dressed, as usual, in his uniform with buttonholes and boots with spurs. His hair is cropped and streaked with gray.

Anna Andreevna, his wife, a provincial coquette, not yet quite old, brought up half on novels and albums, half on the chores in her pantry and maiden room. She is very curious and shows vanity on occasion. Sometimes she takes power over her husband simply because he is unable to answer her; but this power extends only to trifles and consists only of reprimands and ridicule. She changes into different dresses four times throughout the play.

Khlestakov, a young man of about twenty-three, thin, thin; somewhat stupid and, as they say, without a king in his head - one of those people whom in the offices they call empty-headed. He speaks and acts without any consideration. He is unable to stop constant attention on any thought. His speech is abrupt, and words fly out of his mouth completely unexpectedly. The more the person playing this role shows sincerity and simplicity, the more he will win. Dressed in fashion.

Osip, a servant, such as servants who are several years old usually are. He speaks seriously, looks somewhat downward, is a reasoner, and loves to read moral teachings to his master. His voice is always almost even, and in conversation with the master it takes on a stern, abrupt and even somewhat rude expression. He is smarter than his master and therefore guesses more quickly, but he does not like to talk much and is silently a rogue. His costume is a gray or shabby frock coat.

Bobchinsky And Dobchinsky, both short, short, very curious; extremely similar to each other; both with small bellies; Both speak quickly and are extremely helpful with gestures and hands. Dobchinsky is a little taller and more serious than Bobchinsky, but Bobchinsky is more cheeky and lively than Dobchinsky.

Lyapkin-Tyapkin, a judge, a man who has read five or six books and is therefore somewhat freethinking. The hunter is big on guesses, and therefore he gives weight to every word. The person representing him must always maintain a significant mien on his face. He speaks in a deep bass voice with an elongated drawl, a wheeze and a gulp - like an ancient clock that first hisses and then strikes.

Strawberries, a trustee of charitable institutions, a very fat, clumsy and clumsy man, but for all that a weasel and a rogue. Very helpful and fussy.

Postmaster, a simple-minded person to the point of naivety.

The other roles don't require much explanation. Their originals are almost always before your eyes.

Gentlemen actors should especially pay attention to the last scene. The last spoken word should produce an electric shock on everyone at once, suddenly. The entire group must change position in the blink of an eye. The sound of amazement should escape from all women at once, as if from one breast. If these notes are not observed, the entire effect may disappear.

Act one

Room in the mayor's house

Phenomenon I

Mayor, trustee of charitable institutions, superintendent of schools, judge, private bailiff, doctor, two quarterly.

Mayor. I invited you, gentlemen, in order to tell you some very unpleasant news: an auditor is coming to visit us.

Ammos Fedorovich. How's the auditor?

Artemy Filippovich. How's the auditor?

Mayor. Inspector from St. Petersburg, incognito. And with a secret order.

Ammos Fedorovich. Here you go!

Artemy Filippovich. There was no concern, so give it up!

Luka Lukic. Lord God! also with a secret prescription!

Mayor. It was as if I had a presentiment: today I dreamed all night about two extraordinary rats. Really, I’ve never seen anything like this: black, of unnatural size! They came, they smelled it, and they left. Here I will read to you a letter that I received from Andrei Ivanovich Chmykhov, whom you, Artemy Filippovich, know. This is what he writes: “Dear friend, godfather and benefactor (mutters in a low voice, quickly running his eyes)... and notify you." A! Here it is: “I hasten, by the way, to notify you that an official has arrived with orders to inspect the entire province and especially our district (thumbs up significantly). I learned this from the most reliable people, although he represents himself as a private person. Since I know that you, like everyone else, have sins, because you are a smart person and you don’t like to miss what’s in your hands...” (stopping), well, there are people here... “then I advise you to take precautions, because he can arrive at any hour, unless he has already arrived and lives somewhere incognito... Yesterday I...” Well, then family matters started to go: “... sister Anna Kirillovna came to us with her husband; Ivan Kirillovich has gained a lot of weight and keeps playing the violin...” - and so on and so forth. So this is the circumstance!

Ammos Fedorovich. Yes, this circumstance is... extraordinary, simply extraordinary. Something for nothing.

Luka Lukic. Why, Anton Antonovich, why is this? Why do we need an auditor?

Mayor. For what! So, apparently, it’s fate! (Sighing.) Until now, thank God, we have been approaching other cities; Now it's our turn.

Ammos Fedorovich. I think, Anton Antonovich, that there is a subtle and more political reason here. This means this: Russia... yes... wants to wage war, and the ministry, you see, sent an official to find out if there is any treason.

The people depicted by Gogol in the comedy “The Inspector General” with amazingly unprincipled views and ignorance of any reader amaze and seem completely fictitious. But in fact, these are not random images. These are faces typical of the Russian province of the thirties XIX century, which can be found even in historical documents.

In his comedy, Gogol touches on several very important issues public. This is the attitude of officials to their duties and the implementation of the law. Oddly enough, the meaning of comedy is also relevant in modern realities.

The history of writing "The Inspector General"

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol describes in his works rather exaggerated images of Russian reality of that time. At the moment the idea of ​​a new comedy appeared, the writer was actively working on the poem “Dead Souls”.

In 1835, he turned to Pushkin regarding an idea for a comedy, expressing a request for help in a letter. The poet responds to requests and tells a story when the publisher of one of the magazines in one of the southern cities was mistaken for a visiting official. A similar situation, oddly enough, happened with Pushkin himself at the time when he was collecting materials to describe the Pugachev rebellion in Nizhny Novgorod. He was also mistaken for the capital's auditor. The idea seemed interesting to Gogol, and the very desire to write a comedy captured him so much that work on the play lasted only 2 months.

During October and November 1835, Gogol wrote the comedy in its entirety and a few months later read it out to other writers. Colleagues were delighted.

Gogol himself wrote that he wanted to collect everything bad that is in Russia into a single pile and laugh at it. He saw his play as a cleansing satire and a weapon in the fight against the injustice that existed in society at that time. By the way, the play based on Gogol’s works was allowed to be staged only after Zhukovsky personally made a request to the emperor.

Analysis of the work

Description of the work

The events described in the comedy “The Inspector General” take place in the first half of the 19th century, in one of the provincial towns, which Gogol simply refers to as “N”.

The mayor informs all city officials that he has received news of the arrival of the capital's auditor. Officials are afraid of inspections because they all take bribes, do poor work, and there is chaos in the institutions under their subordination.

Almost immediately after the news, a second one appears. They realize that a well-dressed man who looks like an auditor is staying at a local hotel. In fact, the unknown person is a minor official, Khlestakov. Young, flighty and stupid. The mayor personally showed up at his hotel to meet him and offer to move to his home, in much better conditions than the hotel. Khlestakov happily agrees. He likes this kind of hospitality. At this stage, he does not suspect that he has been mistaken for who he is.

Khlestakov is also introduced to other officials, each of whom hands him a large sum money, supposedly borrowed. They do everything so that the check is not so thorough. At this moment, Khlestakov understands who he was mistaken for and, having received a round sum, keeps silent that this is a mistake.

Afterwards, he decides to leave the city of N, having previously proposed to the daughter of the Mayor himself. Joyfully blessing the future marriage, the official rejoices at such a relationship and calmly says goodbye to Khlestakov, who is leaving the city and, naturally, is not going to return to it anymore.

Before that main character writes a letter to his friend in St. Petersburg, in which he talks about the embarrassment that occurred. The postmaster, who opens all letters at the post office, also reads Khlestakov’s message. The deception is revealed and everyone who gave bribes learns with horror that the money will not be returned to them, and there has been no verification yet. At the same moment, a real auditor arrives in town. Officials are horrified by the news.

Comedy heroes

Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov

Khlestakov's age is 23 - 24 years. A hereditary nobleman and landowner, he is thin, thin and stupid. Acts without thinking about the consequences, has abrupt speech.

Khlestakov works as a registrar. In those days, this was the lowest-ranking official. He is rarely present at work, increasingly plays cards for money and takes walks, so his career is not moving forward. Khlestakov lives in St. Petersburg, in a modest apartment, and his parents, who live in one of the villages in the Saratov province, regularly send him money. Khlestakov does not know how to save money; he spends it on all kinds of pleasures, without denying himself anything.

He is very cowardly, loves to brag and lie. Khlestakov is not averse to hitting on women, especially pretty ones, but only stupid provincial ladies succumb to his charm.

Mayor

Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky. An official who has grown old in the service, in his own way, is not stupid, making a completely respectable impression.

He speaks carefully and in moderation. His mood changes quickly, his facial features are hard and rough. He performs his duties poorly and is a swindler with extensive experience. The mayor makes money wherever possible, and is in good standing among the same bribe-takers.

He is greedy and insatiable. He steals money, including from the treasury, and unprincipledly violates all laws. He doesn’t even shun blackmail. Master of Promises and more greater master their failure to comply.

The mayor dreams of being a general. Despite the mass of his sins, he attends church weekly. A passionate card player, he loves his wife and treats her very tenderly. He also has a daughter, who at the end of the comedy, with his blessing, becomes the bride of the nosy Khlestakov.

Postmaster Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin

It is this character, responsible for sending letters, who opens Khlestakov’s letter and discovers the deception. However, he opens letters and parcels on a regular basis. He does this not out of precaution, but solely for the sake of curiosity and his own collection of interesting stories.

Sometimes he doesn’t just read letters that he particularly likes, Shpekin keeps them for himself. In addition to forwarding letters, his duties include managing postal stations, caretakers, horses, etc. But this is not what he does. It does almost nothing at all and therefore the local post office works extremely poorly.

Anna Andreevna Skvoznik-Dmukhanovskaya

Mayor's wife. A provincial coquette whose soul is inspired by novels. She is curious, vain, loves to get the better of her husband, but in reality this only happens in small things.

An appetizing and attractive lady, impatient, stupid and capable of talking only about trifles and the weather. At the same time, he loves to chat incessantly. She is arrogant and dreams of a luxurious life in St. Petersburg. The mother is not important because she competes with her daughter and boasts that Khlestakov paid more attention to her than to Marya. One of the entertainments for the Governor's wife is fortune-telling on cards.

Mayor's daughter is 18 years old. Attractive in appearance, cutesy and flirtatious. She is very flighty. It is she who at the end of the comedy becomes Khlestakov’s abandoned bride.

Composition and plot analysis

The basis of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol’s play “The Inspector General” is an everyday joke, which was quite common in those days. All the comedy images are exaggerated and, at the same time, believable. The play is interesting because all its characters are interconnected and each of them, in fact, acts as a hero.

The plot of the comedy is the arrival of the inspector expected by the officials and their haste in drawing conclusions, because of which Khlestakov is recognized as the inspector.

What is interesting about the composition of the comedy is the absence of love intrigue and love line, as such. Here vices are simply ridiculed, which, according to the classical literary genre receive punishment. Partly they are already orders for the frivolous Khlestakov, but the reader understands at the end of the play that even greater punishment awaits them ahead, with the arrival of a real inspector from St. Petersburg.

Through simple comedy with exaggerated images, Gogol teaches his reader honesty, kindness and responsibility. The fact that you need to respect your own service and comply with the laws. Through the images of heroes, each reader can see his own shortcomings, if among them are stupidity, greed, hypocrisy and selfishness.