Gogol's play “The Inspector General” made a kind of revolution in Russian drama: in compositional and content terms. Its successful study in literature lessons in the 8th grade will be helped by a detailed analysis of the work according to the plan that you will find in the article. The history of the creation of the comedy, its first production, the problems and artistic features of the play are discussed below. In “The Inspector General,” analysis involves knowledge of the historical and social conditions of the era being described. Gogol always believed in the future of Russia, so he tried to “heal” society through art.
Brief Analysis
Year of writing- 1835, N.V. Gogol made the last changes to the play in 1842 - this is the final version.
History of creation- the idea for a satirical play was given to Gogol by A. S. Pushkin, who told the story of P. P. Svinin (publisher of the magazine “Otechestvennye zapiski”), who was mistaken for a high-ranking official who came with an audit.
Subject- the vices of society, bureaucracy and its lawlessness, hypocrisy, spiritual poverty, universal human stupidity.
Composition– Ring structure, lack of exposition, “psychological” author’s remarks.
Genre- a comedy of social and satirical orientation.
Direction– realism (typical of the 19th century).
History of creation
In 1835, having interrupted work on “Dead Souls,” Nikolai Vasilyevich asked Pushkin for ideas for writing a satirical play that would ridicule social shortcomings and the life of higher ranks. Pushkin shares with Gogol the story of P. P. Svinin, which happened in Bessarabia. He also reports that he once found himself in a similar situation in Nizhny Novgorod, when he came to collect material about Pugachev. The situation is indeed comical: Gogol liked it, and during October-November 1835 he wrote a play.
During this period, similar themes appeared in several writers of Gogol’s contemporaries; this upset him and he lost interest in the idea. In his letters to Pushkin, he talks about his desire to quit his job, but Alexander Sergeevich convinces him not to stop, to finish his work. Finally, the comedy was read by the author while visiting V. Zhukovsky, where famous writers and writers gathered. Those present received it with delight, but the essence of the comedy eluded the audience, which upset the author.
“The Inspector General” was considered an ordinary classic play with typical characters and, standing out from its peers, only thanks to the author’s sense of humor. The stage did not find the play right away (the first production was in 1836 at the Alexandria Theater); Zhukovsky himself persuaded the emperor to allow the production of the work, assuring him of the reliability of the plot and idea. The dramatic action itself had a double impression on the ruler, but he liked the play.
Subject
Gogol's realism placed a typical personality in typical circumstances, but the result that the playwright wanted to achieve was to convey to the audience something more than a play about vices. The author made several attempts in the hope of conveying to the actors and directors the main idea of the play, and wrote accompanying comments and recommendations for the production. Gogol wanted to reveal the conflict as fully as possible: to emphasize the comedy and absurdity of the situation.
The main theme of the play- problems and vices of society, stupidity and hypocrisy of officials, showing the moral and spiritual side of life of this class. The language of comedy is sharp, satirical, caustic. Each character has his own unique speech style, which characterizes and exposes him.
There are no positive characters among the heroes of the play, which is quite new for the genre and direction in which the author worked. The engine of the plot is a banal fear - high-ranking inspectors could decide the fate of anyone in such a way that he could lose his position in society and suffer serious punishment. Gogol wanted to reveal a huge layer of society’s vices, thereby curing it of them. The author planned to raise all the most vile, unfair and immoral things that are happening in modern society.
Idea, which is implemented by the author in the play - to show the lack of spirituality, vulgarity and baseness of the way of life of Russian officials. What the work teaches is on the surface: you can stop the situation if everyone starts with themselves. It is strange that the author wanted an adequate perception of the play from the audience, who were actually prototypes of his characters.
Composition
The peculiarity of the composition is that the play does not have an exposition, but begins with a beginning. The work has a circular structure: it begins and ends with the message that “the auditor has arrived.” Khlestakov finds himself in the center of events completely by accident, for some time not understanding why he is received so well in the city. Afterwards, he accepts the terms of the game, supporting the role that was imposed on him. For the first time in literature, the main character is a deceitful, unprincipled, low and disgustingly resourceful character. The work is well perceived in the form of a play when reading thanks to the author's remarks and comments that reveal the psychology of the characters and their inner world. Gogol created an amazing collection of images in one small play, many of them became household names in literature.
Main characters
Genre
Gogol can be called the founder of the satirical dramatic genre in Russian literature. It was he who deduced the main principles of comedy, which have become classic. He introduced the “silent scene” technique into dramaturgy, when the characters are silent. It was Nikolai Vasilyevich who introduced the satirical technique of the grotesque into comedy. The bureaucracy is depicted not just as stupid, but as monstrously limited. In the comedy there is not a single neutral or positive character; absolutely all the characters are mired in vices and their own stupidity. Genre of the work - social satirical comedy in the spirit of realism.
At the beginning of 1936, the play premiered in Moscow and St. Petersburg. However, Gogol continued to make adjustments to the text of the work until 1842, when the final edition was completed.
“The Inspector General” is a completely innovative play. Gogol was the first to create a social comedy without a love line. Khlestakov's courtship of Anna Andreevna and Maria Antonovna is rather a parody of high feelings. There is also not a single positive character in the comedy. When the writer was reproached for this, he replied that the main positive character of The Inspector General is laughter.
Unusual and composition play because it lacks traditional exposition. From the very first phrase of the Mayor it begins plot plot. The final silent scene also surprised theater critics a lot. No one had used such a technique in drama before.
The classic confusion with the main character takes on a completely different meaning in Gogol. Khlestakov did not intend to impersonate an auditor; for some time he himself could not understand what was happening. I just thought: the district authorities were ingratiating themselves with him only because he was from the capital and fashionably dressed. Osip finally opens the dandy’s eyes, persuading the master to leave before it’s too late. Khlestakov does not seek to deceive anyone. The officials are deceiving themselves and dragging the imaginary auditor into this action.
Plot The comedy is built on a closed principle: the play begins with the news about the arrival of the auditor and ends with the same message. Gogol's innovation was also evident in the fact that there were no secondary plot lines in the comedy. All characters are tied up in one dynamic conflict.
An undoubted innovation was the main character. For the first time he became a stupid, empty and insignificant person. The writer characterizes Khlestakov as follows: "without a king in my head". Character of the hero manifests itself most fully in scenes of lying. Khlestakov is so strongly inspired by his own imagination that he cannot stop. He piles up one absurdity after another, and does not even doubt the “truthfulness” of his lies. A gambler, a spendthrift, a lover of hitting on women and showing off, a “dummy” - this is the main character of the work.
In the play, Gogol touched upon a large-scale layer of Russian reality: state power, medicine, court, education, postal department, police, merchants. The writer raises and ridicules in “The Inspector General” many unsightly features of modern life. There is widespread bribery and neglect of one's duties, embezzlement and veneration of rank, vanity and passion for gossip, envy and gossip, boasting and stupidity, petty vindictiveness and stupidity... There is so much more! “The Inspector General” is a real mirror of Russian society.
The strength of the plot and its spring are also unusual for the play. This is fear. In Russia in the 19th century, audits were carried out by high-ranking officials. That is why the arrival of the “auditor” caused such panic in the district town. An important person from the capital, and even with "secret order", horrified local officials. Khlestakov, who in no way resembles the inspector, is easily mistaken for an important person. Anyone traveling from St. Petersburg is suspicious. And this one lives for two weeks and does not pay - this is exactly how, according to ordinary people, a high-ranking person should behave.
The first act discusses "sins" to all those present and orders are given for "cosmetic" measures. It becomes clear that none of the officials consider themselves to blame and are not going to change anything. Only for a while will clean caps be given to the sick and the streets will be swept.
In comedy Gogol created collective image of bureaucracy. Civil servants of all ranks are perceived as a single organism, since they are close in their desire for money-grubbing, confident in impunity and the correctness of their actions. But each character leads his own party.
The main one here, of course, is the mayor. Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky in service for thirty years. As a tenacious person, he does not miss the benefit that floats into his hands. But the city is in complete chaos. The streets are dirty, prisoners and the sick are fed disgustingly, the police are always drunk and lethargic. The mayor pulls the beards of merchants and celebrates name days twice a year in order to receive more gifts. The money allocated for the construction of the church disappeared.
The appearance of the auditor greatly frightens Anton Antonovich. What if the inspector doesn’t take bribes? Seeing that Khlestakov is taking the money, the mayor calms down and tries to please the important person by all means. The second time Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky gets scared is when Khlestakov boasts of his high position. Here he becomes afraid of falling out of favor. How much money should I give?
Funny image of judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin, who passionately loves hound hunting, takes bribes with greyhound puppies, sincerely believing that this "that's a completely different matter". There is complete chaos going on in the court reception area: the guards have brought in geese, there are hangings on the walls. "all sorts of rubbish", the assessor is constantly drunk. And Lyapkin-Tyapkin himself cannot understand a simple memo. In the city the judge is considered "freethinker", since he has read several books and always speaks pompously, although he speaks completely nonsense.
Postmaster I am sincerely perplexed as to why I can’t read other people’s letters. For him, his whole life consists of interesting stories from letters. The postmaster even keeps the correspondence he particularly likes and re-reads it.
The hospital of the trustee of Zemlyanika charitable institutions is also in chaos. The patients' underwear is not changed, and the German doctor does not understand anything in Russian. Strawberry is a sycophant and an informer, not averse to throwing mud at his comrades.
Comical couple of city gossips attracts attention Bobchinsky And Dobchinsky. To enhance the effect, Gogol makes them look similar in appearance and gives the same names; even the characters’ surnames differ by just one letter. These are completely empty and useless people. Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky are busy only collecting gossip. Thus, they manage to be the center of attention and feel important.
Having started writing The Inspector General, Gogol promised Pushkin: “I swear, it will be funnier than the devil.” Nikolai Vasilyevich kept his promise. Nicholas I, after watching the comedy, remarked: “Everyone got it. And most of all for me.”
Gogol chose the life of an official in Russia as the subject for the story in the comedy “The Inspector General.” The writer in every possible way subjects the morals inherent in this life to satire. Elements of comedy are present throughout the work, including the characters.
The insignificant image of Khlestakov keeps the entire city in fear, in which local officials have managed to accumulate sins for themselves. Khlestakov is a capable liar, he believes what he says and this makes others believe him. Khlestakov is not going to leave the city and is not afraid of the possible discovery of the deception. He is acting risky. And he dares to hit on people who attract his attention.
Anton Antonovich is a far from stupid hero, looking for his own benefit in everything. In everything he puts his interests above others. Not realizing that Khlestakov is lying, Anton is already dreaming of getting a job in St. Petersburg at the expense of him, but everything collapses at the last moment when a real auditor arrives in the city.
Osip is Khlestakov’s cunning servant who quickly navigates situations. He also gives advice to the owner to leave the city as soon as possible. Osip understands that the owner cannot exist without him and therefore allows himself to treat him familiarly.
Gogol’s work remains relevant to the present day in the existence of typical problems when the authorities at the top do nothing to help improve the lives of their people.
The writer points out the negative qualities of everyone. Rich women are vulgar, greedy and deceitful creatures. And in ordinary people the author ridicules the willingness to indulge the whims of masters.
It is no coincidence that Gogol chooses the line as the epigraph of the work: “You don’t need to blame the mirror if your face is crooked.” The work is full of topical images, but not everyone is able to accept and agree that this is present in his era.
Gogol calls for, before condemning, one should eradicate evil in oneself and thereby narrow this circle of evil and ignorance.
Option 2
Gogol's realistic social comedy tells about an unusual incident in the provincial town of N. Local officials mistakenly mistook a young man named Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov for an auditor. In an effort to impress him and hide all the shortcomings, they expose all the problems of the Russian bureaucratic apparatus of that time.
An interesting fact is that the story begins with a beginning: the mayor reading a letter about the imminent arrival of the auditor. This news stuns everyone present, because the situation in N. is far from ideal. By chance, at that moment Khlestakov arrives in town, having lost all his money at cards. He doesn’t even have money to pay for lunch, but local residents see in him the features of a metropolitan citizen, comparing this with a recent letter. Thus, they take him for the auditor who was reported in the letter to the mayor.
What follows is the development of the action associated with Khlestakov - the “auditor”. Driven by fear, officials cajole the imaginary “auditor” as best they can. For example, they pay the owner of the inn for Khlestakov’s dinner and accommodation and loan him money. Initially, they wanted to give him a bribe, but they thought that he was secretly receiving it through a loan. The characters' discussions about corruption are interesting. For example, the mayor is seriously considering whether it would be a crime for greyhound puppies to accept a bribe. The author's main technique is satire. The work grotesquely depicts the bureaucracy and the entire Russian society with its main vices. The comedy presents the conflict between the general population and the autocratic bureaucracy. The district town of N. is a collective image of all Rus'.
The ending of the comedy deserves special attention. The silent scene allows you to feel the depth of the officials' frustration, only at the very end they realize their ignorance.
Thus, the author in his work raises social problems that have not lost their relevance to this day: corruption, bureaucratic arbitrariness, ignorance. Khlestakov didn’t even have to lie to become an imaginary auditor. The local residents themselves were ready to feed him and provide him with everything he wanted.
Auditor - Analysis
The plot of “The Inspector General” by N.V. Gogol was based on the action proposed by A.S. Pushkin: the mayor receives a letter saying that an auditor may arrive in the city at any second. Residents of the city think that the inspector is the visiting Khlestakov. They begin to flatter the hero and please him. The whole situation reaches the point of absurd comedy.
The plot of the work is quite simple; what is more important is the images themselves, thanks to which the narrative is built.
The main character is Khlestakov, a petty official from St. Petersburg. Empty inside, he owed a huge amount of money. Khlestakov is mistaken for an auditor, and then he easily deceives the entire city of N. His lies are pure and naive to the extreme. Everyone listens to the hero, and this delights him. Therefore, Khlestakov’s deception increases its size. The hero himself believes in all the stories he comes up with. It is surprising that Khlestakov himself did not understand until recently why the residents had such an attitude towards him. He is ready to stay in the city, not realizing that the deception will soon be revealed. And only after he realized that the city residents were mistaking him for someone else, Khlestakov wrote a letter to the writer Tryapichkin so that through this story he would ridicule the mistake of these people.
The image of the main character is complemented by his servant Osip. Khlestakov cannot take care of himself, so his servant does this. Osip is cunning and much smarter than Khlestakov. Realizing that the hero is being taken for the wrong person, he advises the owner to leave the city.
Khlestakov is deception personified. Boasting and stupidity are inherent in this hero. Certain features of Khlestakovism can be found in any person.
City N is a collective image of all the provincial cities of Russia at that time. The officials are all the same, but they have their own individual traits.
Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky - mayor. He could have been a good manager if he had not cared about his financial situation. He wants to grab something and never misses his chance.
When the inspector arrives, the mayor is more frightened by the surprise than by the inspection itself. He thinks that he can successfully arrange a business here and even win something for himself here. The mayor dreams of a prominent position in St. Petersburg.
The mayor's wife and daughter are the main female characters of the comedy. They love when others are passionate about them. And Khlestakov appears at the wrong time. He brings news from the capital's high society, tells many amazing and entertaining stories, and most importantly, shows interest in both mother and daughter. Each is trying to gain the favor of the auditor.
The images of Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky are important for understanding. They are city landowners who look alike. These are lovers of idle talk and gossip. It is they who mistake Khlestakov for an auditor and start this rumor.
The secondary characters have bright features. Khlopov, the superintendent of schools, is timid and inconspicuous. Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin takes bribes with greyhound puppies. Strawberry is a trustee of charitable institutions, he does nothing for people, so residents often die. The name of doctor Gibner more than speaks for itself.
Shpekin, who works at the post office, loves to read other people's letters, and often takes home letters that he likes. Under the command of Ukhovertov, police officers - Derzhimorda, Svistunov, Pugovitsyn - themselves violate law and order.
Thus, in each hero of the comedy N.V. Gogol showed various vices of human society.
Sample 4
The comedy depicts a broad picture of the degradation of the bureaucratic community. Lawlessness reigns in the district town. The local head is the patron of corrupt officials. Funds allocated for organizing assistance to needy citizens are immediately embezzled. Hospitals are like morgues. Every official is a bribe-taker. They commit illegal acts without hiding.
The events described in the comedy take place in a fictional city, but they look typical for all of Russia. There are hundreds of such cities scattered throughout the country. They have courts, educational institutions, police stations, hospitals, and post offices. But the state of all these structures is deplorable. They don’t help the sick, the police don’t care about order, and they themselves commit outrages.
With his appearance, Khlestakov encourages officials to maintain external decency, which has always helped them show off. Administrative troubles look comical: embellishing the road along which the auditor has to travel. No one is thinking about useful changes. The city is preparing to welcome the inspector and send him off joyfully. Then society will again plunge into stupor, occasionally flinching from minor incidents.
The actions of the play characterize the inhabitants of the city as pompous and arrogant hypocrites. A city inhabited by a degenerating human race is losing hope for the future. A sad prospect. District officials fear retribution for the atrocities, but hope to get out by bribing the auditor.
To their delight, the St. Petersburg inspector looks like an accommodating soul: he accepts gifts, does not refuse friendly feasts, and flirts with ladies with pleasure. Boundless joy: now officials have nothing to fear; they can still harvest from the public field. However, they cannot avoid fair retribution this time. In the finale, a true auditor appears, sent to expose the criminal gang. I would like to believe that this social joke will end with a fair trial, which Russia has been waiting for for hundreds of years.
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If you are planning to write an essay on the comedy "The Inspector General", be sure to take into account the background of this work. Nikolai Gogol put pen to paper in 1835, marking the beginning of comedy. However, Gogol learned the plot of The Inspector General while communicating with Alexander Pushkin. It was he who gave the clue to the main idea. Although the premiere of The Inspector General had already taken place in 1836 - Moscow and St. Petersburg applauded the new creation of the famous Russian writer, Gogol corrected the text for a very long time. Only in 1942 the work was completely finished.
Let's make a brief analysis of the comedy "The Inspector General". This play became absolutely innovative, because Nikolai Gogol was the first to write a comedy where there was no love plot, but at the same time it was acutely social and topical. Of course, it is clear that Khlestakov is caring for women, who were Anna Andreevna and Maria Antonovna, but this is by no means a love line, but a parody of sublime feelings and romantic relationships. Be sure to take this into account when preparing your essay on The Inspector General.
Problems of the comedy "The Inspector General"
In any serious work there are problems, that is, the author identifies problems to which he wants to draw the reader’s attention and encourage them to think about their solution. The problem is clearly visible in classic works of Russian literature, such as the comedy “The Inspector General,” which we are now analyzing.
There are three main aspects worth emphasizing here:
- Reverence - officials, small and large, want recognition and veneration. And people are ready to give them this tribute in exchange for personal gain.
- Bribes to officials - both giving bribes and taking them - is immoral.
- Moral decline of society - morality is a measure of a person's moral state. What does a decline in morality in society entail?
Gogol reflects these problems especially clearly in his work. Include the issue in an essay on the comedy "The Inspector General."
Main analysis
Gogol decided to choose such vices of humanity as the theme of the play “The Inspector General”: hypocrisy, duplicity, vulgarity, envy, ignorance and bribery. This entire set of qualities can be united by the theme of bureaucracy. Indeed, people in power, to say the least, do not set an appropriate example of behavior. They behave viciously and see nothing wrong with it. Receiving a bribe has become the order of the day. However, as soon as a high-ranking official appears, they try to cover up their sins.
While analyzing the comedy "The Inspector General", we understood the main theme, and what became the main idea of the play? The idea can be traced that sooner or later a person will receive retribution for his crimes, and sometimes this retribution will be reflected in a spiritual sense, but this does not make it any more benign.
An essay on the comedy "The Inspector General" should reflect a terrible picture of society - most people are only interested in their own well-being and the opportunity to make money at the expense of others. The meaning of life has been lost, and vulgarity and greed have become the foundations of society. For example, the mayor. He believes that it is possible to do such things, because then I will go to church and atone for my sins. What a moral failure!
It is clear that internally the officials understand that they are corrupt and that it is bad to do such things. But it’s easier to persuade your conscience, to cover yourself so you don’t get caught, and continue to eat up your already thick cheeks. Let's consider Lyapkin-Tyapkin. He doesn't want to take bribes as usual. He takes them in the form of greyhound puppies, and reassures himself and others with the words that this, they say, is a different matter.
conclusions
An analysis of the comedy "The Inspector General" would be incomplete if we did not emphasize the idea of a cheap replacement of true human values with ideas about rank. What is meant? The superintendent of the schools, Khlopov, has this opinion: when I speak to someone of a higher rank, “there is no soul, my tongue gets stuck.” He reveres not the person, but the position, or “rank.” And all this influences the fact that officials believe in Khlestakov’s false words.
In his work, Gogol managed to reflect the life of the entire country. We read about the court, and about public education, and about hospitals, and about the post office and the police. Your essay on the comedy "The Inspector General" must certainly include conflicts. There are two conflicts in the play:
- The conflict is external - it is visible in relationships where Khlestakov is on one side and officials are on the other.
- The conflict is internal - the bureaucratic elite and the people.
It is interesting to note this fact about the comedy: when Gogol began working on it, he swore to Pushkin that it would turn out “funnier than the devil,” and so it happened. Emperor Nicholas I also watched the play performed. He expressed his opinion about her with the words: “Everyone got it. And I got it most of all.” You can also read the summary of “The Inspector General” on our website.
You have read the analysis of the comedy “The Inspector General” by Nikolai Gogol, let’s hope that it will help you in preparing your essay or simply thinking about it after reading the work.
Gogol “The Inspector General”, act 1 – summary
Phenomenon 1. Mayor Anton Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky gathers the city fathers and tells them the unpleasant news: “The auditor is coming to us.” The officials are amazed and scared. The mayor himself is most worried: there is a lot of disorder in the local economy. In the hallway of Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin, the guards keep geese and caterpillars, and the assessor constantly smells as if he had just left a distillery. The patients in the hospital are dirty and look like blacksmiths, and the teachers in the schools have a free-thinking expression on their faces.
Phenomenon 2. The postmaster joins the meeting at the mayor's. The mayor assumes that the auditor could have been sent as a result of some kind of denunciation, and wonders whether it is possible at the post office to print out the letters a little and “as a precaution” get acquainted with their contents. The postmaster says that he has been practicing this kind of printing for a long time out of curiosity. Some letters contain edifying passages, while others contain playful passages.
Gogol. Inspector. Performance 1982 Episode 1
Phenomenon 3. Two local landowners, Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, come running to the mayor, out of breath. Interrupting each other, they talk about a suspicious guest at a city hotel. This is a young man of 23-24 years old, who has been refusing to pay at the tavern for the second week, tries to dine without money, and lately has been going out to the snack bar and looking at all the plates. Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky assume that this strange stranger is the auditor.
Phenomenon 4. The mayor puts on his uniform and sword, hurriedly calls the policeman and orders him and the guards to immediately sweep the street that leads to the tavern.
Phenomenon 5. The mayor is going to go to the tavern, to the auditor.
Phenomenon 6. The mayor's wife and daughter, Anna Andreevna and Maria Antonovna, come running. Anna Andreevna complains that her husband left without telling the latest news, and sends Baba Avdotya to find out what kind of mustache and eyes the auditor has.
Gogol “The Inspector General”, act 2 – summary
Phenomenon 1. The man whom Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky mistook for an auditor is in fact Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov, a young rake, an official of the lowest rank, who has now also lost completely at cards. Khlestakov ended up in the city by chance, passing from St. Petersburg home to the Saratov province.
Khlestakov’s servant Osip, lying on his bed in the master’s absence, talks about how lightweight his master is. (See Osip's Monologue.) Khlestakov exists only on handouts sent by his father, which he immediately spends on revelry. Now he and Osip are sitting hungry: they don’t even have enough money to buy lunch.
Phenomenon 2. Khlestakov enters and drives Osip to the tavern to borrow lunch. Osip says that the owner is already refusing to feed without money. Khlestakov sends him to call the innkeeper.
Phenomenon 3. Osip leaves, and Khlestakov complains to himself: he’s terribly hungry, but there’s no money for lunch - in Penza he was completely robbed in a card game by an infantry captain.
Phenomenon 4. Osip returns with the tavern servant, who confirms: Khlestakov already owes the owner a lot, so they will no longer feed him for free. According to the servant, the innkeeper is already planning to report Khlestakov’s non-payments to the mayor. Khlestakov sends a servant to beg the owner.
Phenomenon 5. Left alone again, Khlestakov ponders: should he sell his pants? To drown out the pangs of hunger, he begins to dream. It would be nice to rent a carriage, dress Osip in livery, pretend to be a rich man and travel to the best houses... (See Khlestakov’s Monologue.)
Phenomenon 6. The tavern servant brings dinner, but warns that the owner gave it without money for the last time. Hungry Khlestakov rushes to the plates and begins to reprimand the servant for the fact that the dinner is bad: some feathers are floating in the soup instead of butter, and the beef in the roast is so tough that chewing it hurts the jaw.
Phenomenon 7. Osip informs Khlestakov: the mayor who arrived at the hotel is asking him. Khlestakov becomes terribly agitated. He believes that the mayor has arrived at the innkeeper’s complaint and will now drag him to debtor’s prison.
Phenomenon 8. The mayor comes to the imaginary auditor. Khlestakov, confident that he will now be taken to prison, stutters at first, but then shouts: I will complain to the minister. The mayor, without understanding the essence of the matter, believes: the “auditor” wants to complain about the bad management of the city. Khlestakov explains that he cannot leave the city, since he does not have a penny. The mayor takes this for extorting a bribe. He immediately hands the “auditor” 400 rubles and invites him to his home. The utterly amazed Khlestakov does not fully understand what is happening, but he becomes more and more encouraged and begins to behave a little condescendingly towards the mayor.
Phenomenon 9. At Khlestakov’s request, Osip brings the tavern servant. Having now money, Khlestakov is going to pay the owner through him. But the mayor orders the servant to get away.
Phenomenon 10. The mayor invites Khlestakov to take a tour of city institutions together. He sends a note to his wife with Dobchinsky, in which he orders him to prepare a good reception for the “auditor” at home.
Gogol “The Inspector General”, act 3 – summary
Phenomenon 1. The mayor's wife and daughter, seeing Dobchinsky through the window, urge him to tell him the news about the auditor.
Phenomenon 2. Dobchinsky gives Anna Andreevna a note from her husband and says that the auditor, although not a general, is not inferior to the general in education and the importance of his actions.
Phenomenon 3. Preparing to receive the auditor, the governor's daughter and wife argue about which dress will suit each of them best.
Phenomenon 4. The servant Osip brings a suitcase with Khlestakov’s things to the mayor’s house and demands to feed himself.
Phenomenon 5. Khlestakov and the city fathers return to the mayor’s house after breakfast and a trip to various institutions. Khlestakov praises the treat and asks if there is somewhere they can play cards. The mayor, seeing an insidious trick in such a question, replies that he never plays, because he does not want to waste time that could be spent for the benefit of the state.
Phenomenon 6. The mayor introduces Khlestakov’s wife and daughter. Khlestakov appears in front of them. He begins to talk about his life in St. Petersburg and, unnoticed by himself, lies more and more. Khlestakov assures that he is closely acquainted with Pushkin and himself wrote many works, for example, “The Marriage of Figaro” and “Yuri Miloslavsky.” He says that his house is the first in the capital, that princes and counts mill about in his reception room, buzzing like bumblebees. Since he supposedly ran the department, sending out 35 thousand couriers, and now he will soon be promoted to field marshal.
Phenomenon 7. Khlestakov goes to bed, and the guests leave the mayor, sharing their respectful impressions of the “auditor”.
Phenomenon 8. The mayor's wife and daughter argue about which of them Khlestakov paid more attention to.
Phenomenon 9. The mayor, having put Khlestakov to bed, leaves his room in servile excitement.
Phenomenon 10. The mayor, his wife and daughter are courting the “auditor’s” servant, Osip. Osip already understands that his master was mistaken for someone else, but decides to take advantage of the opportunity. He says: his master is very influential, strict and listens strongly to his, Osip’s, advice. Hurrying to appease the servant, the mayor hands him money “for tea and bagels.”
Phenomenon 11. Having called the quarterly guards Svistunov and Derzhimorda, the mayor orders them not to allow anyone outside to see the “auditor”, so that the townsfolk, especially merchants, do not bring him any complaints.
Gogol “The Inspector General”, act 4 – summary
Phenomenon 1. City officials, standing outside the sleeping Khlestakov’s room, are heatedly discussing how to give him a bribe and not come into conflict with the law. No one wants to be the first to offer money to the “auditor”; each pushes the other.
Phenomenon 2. Khlestakov wakes up in his room and recalls with satisfaction the past day.
Phenomenon 3. Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin enters Khlestakov with money in a clenched fist. Not knowing how best to insert them, the judge becomes so confused that he unclenches his hand and drops the bills. Khlestakov, seeing the money, is not at a loss and immediately asks to “loan” it. Lyapkin-Tyapkin happily agrees to give and quickly leaves.
Gogol. Inspector. Performance 1982 Episode 2
Phenomenon 4. Postmaster Shpekin enters Khlestakov’s room. The “auditor” no longer waits for him to drop the money, but asks for a loan himself. The postmaster happily “lends” three hundred rubles.
Phenomenon 5. In exactly the same way, Khlestakov “borrows” another 300 rubles from the superintendent of the schools, Khlopov.
Phenomenon 6. Another 400 rubles are given to him by the trustee of the charitable institution Zemlyanika (who at the same time also tries to snitch on the postmaster and the judge).
Phenomenon 7. Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky find only a much smaller amount for the “auditor”: only 65 rubles for two.
Phenomenon 8. Having collected money from everyone and being left alone, Khlestakov wonders what kind of fool is running this city. He decides to write about his funny adventures to his journalist acquaintance Tryapichkin in St. Petersburg: let him “click” this incident in some newspaper.
Phenomenon 9. Osip, who arrives, advises Khlestakov to get out of the city as soon as possible: he is clearly being mistaken for another person, and the mistake may be revealed any minute. Khlestakov agrees, but before leaving he instructs Osip to take a letter to the post office for Tryapichkin. Outside the window, the voices of merchants are suddenly heard, coming to the “auditor” with a petition. The police officer, Derzhimorda, tries to stop them at the gate, but Khlestakov, looking out the window, orders them to be let in.
Phenomenon 10. Merchants with offerings in their hands bring the “auditor” a complaint about the arbitrariness of the mayor. Khlestakov promises to put in a good word for them in the capital and gladly takes 500 rubles from the merchants.
Phenomenon 11. The locksmith comes to complain to the “auditor” that the mayor illegally turned her husband into a soldier, and the non-commissioned officer’s widow - that he ordered her to be flogged. Other petitioners also burst into Khlestakov’s room, but Osip, who is in a hurry to leave, pushes them out.
Phenomenon 12. Confronted with the mayor's daughter, Marya Antonovna, Khlestakov begins to give her ardent, immoderate compliments, then tries to kiss her on the shoulder - and finally falls to his knees in front of her with a declaration of love.
Phenomenon 13. In this position, they are caught by Maria Antonovna’s mother, Anna Andreevna. Under the reproaches of her mother, Marya Antonovna leaves in tears, and the flighty Khlestakov begins to declare his love to Anna Andreevna on his knees.
Phenomenon 14. This scene is seen by the returning Marya Antonovna. Khlestakov immediately grabs her hand and asks Anna Andreevna to bless him and Masha for a legal marriage.
Phenomenon 15. Having learned about the visit to the “auditor” of the merchants, the mayor comes running to say that they were all lying. But his wife stuns him with the news: Khlestakov asks for their daughter’s hand in marriage. Both parents bless the newlyweds.
Phenomenon 16. Having married Marya Andreevna, Khlestakov unexpectedly declares that now he needs to go for a day to his uncle living next door. He takes another 400 rubles from the mayor and quickly leaves with Osip.
Gogol “The Inspector General”, act 5 – summary
Phenomenon 1. The mayor and Anna Andreevna talk about the luck that helped them become related to almost a nobleman, and make plans for the future. The mayor expects to soon receive the rank of general, and his wife expects to build a brilliant house in the capital.
Phenomenon 2. The mayor scolds the merchants who decided to complain to the auditor about him, and informs them that this auditor will now be his son-in-law. The merchants persuade the mayor not to be angry and not to destroy them.
Phenomenon 3. Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin and respected townsman Rastakovsky congratulate the mayor’s family on their extraordinary happiness.
Phenomenon 4. The mayor is congratulated by influential townspeople Lyulyukov and Korobkin.
Phenomenon 5. Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky are in such a hurry to show respect to Anna Andreevna and Maria Antonovna that, kissing their hands, they even collide with their foreheads.
Phenomenon 6. The superintendent of the schools, Khlopov, and his wife come with congratulations.
Phenomenon 7. Congratulations now continue from the entire city community at once. Anna Andreevna announces to her fellow countrymen that she and her husband intend to move to St. Petersburg. Congratulators ask the mayor for protection for their children.
Phenomenon 8. In the midst of the general commotion, postmaster Shpekin runs in and announces that a man was mistaken for an auditor who was not one at all. Shpekin printed out the letter sent by Khlestakov to Tryapichkin and learned from there who its author really was. Those gathered read this letter with all the offensive characteristics that Khlestakov gave them there. The enraged mayor knocks his feet on the floor and says: “Why are you laughing? You’re laughing at yourself!” - threatens to grind all the paper-throwing writers into torment.
