It is generally accepted that there is not a single positive character in The Inspector General. But what if, in fact, the officials are not bad, but simply turned to us with a negative side? What caused the lies of Khlestakov and the lie of the mayor? Why has the state not yet defeated corruption? Why did Gogol, in order to describe the problem of bribery, choose the genre of comedy and place the action in a small town? Get acquainted with the experience of carefully reading the play "The Government Inspector".

Relationships - corruption (see Fig. 2)

Rice. 2. Illustration for the "Inspector" ()

Humor (see fig. 3)

Rice. 3. Illustration for the "Inspector" ()

It is amazing that two people who seem to be opposites (the mayor and Khlestakov) turn out to be very similar upon closer examination.

Both are afraid of the authorities, each of his own. Both are always ready to humiliate the one who depends on them. This can be seen, for example, in Khlestakov's attitude to the servant in the tavern:

Khlestakov. How dare you, fool!

Osip. Yes so; anyway, even if I go, none of this will happen. The owner said he wouldn't let me dine again.

Khlestakov. How dare he not? Here's more nonsense!

Osip. “More, he says, and I’ll go to the mayor; the third week the master does not pay money. You de with the master, he says, are swindlers, and your master is a rogue. We, he says, have seen such scoundrels and scoundrels.

Khlestakov. And you are already glad, brute, now to retell all this to me.

N.V. Gogol. "Inspector"

Khlestakov's dreams also show how he treats people. Both of these characters are dreamy. Khlestakov sees this more clearly:

It’s a pity that Joachim didn’t rent a carriage, but it would be nice, damn it, to come home in a carriage, drive like a devil to some landowner neighbor under the porch, with lanterns, and Osip in the back, dress in livery. As if, I imagine, everyone was alarmed: “Who is this, what is this?” And the footman enters (stretching himself and introducing the footman): “Ivan Alexandrovich Khlestakov from Petersburg, would you like to receive it?”

N.V. Gogol. "Inspector"

And the mayor dreams of how he will go to St. Petersburg and become a high-ranking person there, that is, the reader sees an empty daydreaming:

Mayor. Well. In St. Petersburg; and it would be good here too. What, after all, I think, then the township is already to hell, eh, Anna Andreevna?

Anna Andreevna. Naturally, what a township!

Mayor. After all, what do you think, Anna Andreevna, now you can get a big rank, because he is a friend of all the ministers and goes to the palace, so he can do such a production that in time you will fit into the generals. What do you think, Anna Andreevna: is it possible to fit into the generals?

Anna Andreevna. Still would! Of course you can.

Mayor. A. Damn it, it's nice to be a general! The cavalry will be hung over your shoulder. And which cavalry is better, Anna Andreevna, red or blue?

Anna Andreevna. Of course blue is better.

N.V. Gogol. "Inspector"

Both characters are lying. In Russian, concepts "lie" And "lie" clearly demarcated . Khlestakov is lying. He does it selflessly, just to embellish his life, to show how wonderful he is, to create an interesting situation at a certain moment. He enjoys the very moment:

Khlestakov. I know pretty actresses. I'm also different vaudeville ... Writers often see. With Pushkin on a friendly footing. I used to often say to him: “Well, brother Pushkin?” - “Yes, brother,” he answers, it happened, “because somehow everything ...” Great original.

Anna Andreevna. Is that how you write? How pleasant it must be for a writer! You, right, and put in magazines?

Khlestakov . Yes, I put them in magazines. However, there are many of my works: "The Marriage of Figaro", "Robert the Devil", "Norma". I don't even remember the names. And all by chance: I didn’t want to write, but the theater management says: “Please, brother, write something.” I think to myself: “Perhaps, if you please, brother!” And then in one evening, it seems, he wrote everything, he amazed everyone. I have an unusual lightness in my thoughts. All this that was under the name of Baron Brambeus, "Frigate of Hope" and "Moscow Telegraph" ... I wrote all this.

N.V. Gogol. "Inspector"

But there is not so much negativity in this lie, the reader develops an attitude towards his lies as something composed. And to lie is to mislead on purpose, for some kind of benefit. This is the difference between concepts "lie" And "lie".

As an example, consider the poem by I.L. Selvinsky (see Fig. 4):

I can lie, but I can't lie.
I don't think lying is a crime...
Lies do not know loops and networks:
It is the lot of poets and children.
Quite another matter, brothers, lies,
Since ancient times, hated by all ...
Try to break it into pieces
She is cunning: “I am a worldview!”

I.L. Selvinsky. "Lie"

Another common feature of these two characters is the desire to belong to a certain group of people, that is, to seek their dignity in belonging to a certain group. Khlestakov, for example, is proud not of his knowledge and skills, but of the fact that he is a member of some group, even if all this is fictional.

People with such character traits often go to the service and thus achieve something in life. There is nothing wrong with this - such a character trait can be processed into both a positive and a negative part of nature (as fear can turn into courage, or maybe into cowardice). For example, such people can join a criminal gang, also become part of something. So, a person with a high feeling of another person (empathy) can become "Mother Teresa" and pity the disadvantaged, or can become a deceiver. At the same time, he will use the same deep property of nature.

The bottom line is that the property of belonging to something, the desire to be part of the system, which is observed in the characters of The Government Inspector, is neither negative nor positive. Without such people, society would not be stable. Any society is a composite, it has both creative people who want to be independent and have a certain freedom, and those who want to belong to some group, structure and perform some function in it with pleasure.

Composite - composite material, artificially created inhomogeneous solid material, consisting of two or more components with a clear interface between them.

Reading the dialogue between Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky and Khlestakov, the reader may wonder: how is such a situation even possible?

Khlestakov (at first he stutters a little, but by the end of the speech he speaks loudly). Yes, what to do? It's not my fault... I'll really cry... They'll send me from the village.

Bobchinskypeeking out the door.

He is more to blame: he gives me beef as hard as a log; and the soup - he the devil knows what he splashed there, I had to throw it out the window. He starves me for whole days ... The tea is so strange, it stinks of fish, not tea. Why am I... Here's the news!

mayor (timid). Sorry, I'm really not to blame. I always have good beef in the market. Kholmogory merchants bring them, sober people and good behavior. I don't know where he gets this from. And if something is wrong, then ... Let me suggest that you move with me to another apartment.

Khlestakov . No I do not want to! I know what it means to another apartment: that is, to prison. What right do you have? How dare you?.. Yes, here I am... I serve in St. Petersburg. (Invigorates.) I, I, I ...

N.V. Gogol. "Inspector"

Khlestakov is clearly afraid of something, but the mayor, an experienced person, cannot understand what is happening. Why is that? The mayor is seized by an idea that arose out of fear, and fear makes the brain concentrate on something in order to avoid the danger that he is afraid of. The mayor has an idea, one might say, a theory. And he adjusts all the information to this theory, and discards the superfluous, everything that does not fit this theory. Khlestakov clearly says that he is afraid that he will be sent to prison, that he will be taken away somewhere. He feels depressed, but the mayor does not notice all this, because he is already seized with the idea: the auditor has arrived.

The reader believes what is happening, although it all seems strange, because it is grotesque.

Grotesque - a kind of artistic imagery that comically or tragicomically generalizes and sharpens life relationships through a bizarre and contrasting combination of real and fantastic, plausibility and caricature, hyperbole and alogism.

The comicality of the whole situation lies precisely in the fact that this cannot be, like a city in which all officials are the same as Gogol presented us. Nevertheless, the reader believes what is depicted, because one can believe that, for example, a person can be seized by an idea and reject everything that convinces him otherwise. There are many such examples in the literature. The famous French writer said that there is no entry into the realm of the irrational to the rational: if a person is seized by some kind of emotion, it is very difficult for him to prove the opposite.

And then embraced by the idea of ​​Khlestakov. Although he is a stupid empty person, he knows how to feel the situation. He really starts to believe what he says. Such people are very capable deceivers. People feel deceit by facial expressions, by intonations, by expression, when they do not believe that a person himself believes in what he says. Khlestakov is an inertialess person. At first, he thinks how bad it will be for him without food, and when food is brought to him, he begins to resent that there are only two dishes:

Khlestakov (one). It is bad, however, if he does not give anything to eat. I want it like never before.

Khlestakov . Well, master, master... I don't give a damn about your master! What is there?

Servant . Soup and roast.

Khlestakov . Like, only two dishes?

Servant . Only with.

Khlestakov . What nonsense! I don't accept it. You tell him: what is it, in fact, it is! .. This is not enough.

N.V. Gogol. "Inspector"

Such lack of inertia can also be called shamelessness. He does not have an internal judge, so he almost believes that he will give this money back, he says that he borrows. And then it becomes easy for him. Of course, he understands that he will not give anything to anyone, but at that moment he accepted such a mask and easily plays the chosen role. Such people easily borrow, they are easily given, because it is difficult not to believe in their sincerity.

The theme of corruption and bribery runs through the whole work.

Critics who write about The Inspector General often say that this is a typical problem for Russia. But this phenomenon is not only in our country. It is present wherever a person in power encounters people who have money but do not have power. A person who has money thinks how to solve a problem for him. He is used to buying, paying for some things. And when he needs a favor, he thinks he can buy it too. And the official makes a decision from his foundations. When he sits in one place for a long time, connections arise, and then corruption. The phenomenon of corruption is everywhere, it is very difficult to eradicate it. It is difficult to create a model of a state in which such a phenomenon would not exist.

Imagine a small town where everything seems to be well thought out. There is a separation of powers: there is a mayor, there is a judge. It would seem that one could follow the other. But in a small town, everyone quickly gets to know each other, agrees, and all these branches of power “stick together”. It turns out that there is only one power in the city, the power is monopolized. Not by the state, but by the people. But they are a reflection, they are part of this state. And so far they have not figured out how to deal with it.

The main problem is that a person who remains in power for a long time changes, but at the same time he gains experience. Management experience. The comedy shows only funny, grotesque forms of management. But, for sure, if everyone is removed and new ones are installed, then after a while it will be possible to observe a similar situation. The problem lies in this, and not in the fact that there are officials who are bad, and if they are removed and others are installed, then everything will be fine. We need to look for other solutions than humanity is engaged in.

In Russia there was such a statesman A.D. Menshikov (see Fig. 5). Everyone, including Peter I, knew that he was taking bribes, but the tsar did not take any action against him, because he did a lot.

Some facts from the biography of A.D. Menshikov:

• Russian statesman and military figure, closest associate and favorite of Peter I, generalissimo, admiral, first St. Petersburg governor-general, president of the Military Collegium.
• After the death of Peter I, he contributed to the accession of Catherine I, became the de facto ruler of Russia (1725-1727).
• On September 8, 1727, he was disgraced, deprived of property, titles and awards, then exiled with his family to Siberia, where he died a year and a half later.

Another such example is Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838) (see Fig. 6). Napoleon was well aware that his minister was taking bribes, but at the same time he kept him in this post for a very long time. It was to Napoleon's advantage to keep this man, and Talleyrand knew it.

Rice. 6. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord ()

Check out the facts from his biography:

• Prince Beneventsky, French politician and diplomat, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under three regimes, starting with the Directory and ending with the government of Louis Philippe. famous master political intrigue.
• 1788-1791 - Bishop of Autun.
• 1790 - President of the National Assembly of France.
• 1799 - 1815 - Minister of Foreign Affairs of France.
• July 9 - September 26, 1815 - Prime Minister of France

Interestingly, Gogol chose just such a genre of work - comedy. Moreover, he even promised Pushkin that it would be funny "to hell" that laughter is the protagonist:

“Do me a favor, give some plot, at least some, funny or unfunny, but Russian is purely an anecdote. The hand trembles to write a comedy in the meantime. Do me a favor, give me a plot, the spirit will be a five-act comedy, and I swear it will be funnier than the devil. For God's sake. My mind and stomach are both starving."

From a letter from N.V. Gogol A.S. Pushkin

Nicholas I, after reading the play, said that everyone got it, especially him.

Laughter as a mechanism of human interaction is very irrational, but at the same time a group thing. You can smile alone, but you can only laugh in company. It is very important to distinguish between laughter and mockery.

People love to joke, but at the same time they are afraid to seem ridiculous. Ridicule lowers status, which is why it is so feared. Therefore, human leaders are usually serious and do not joke much. They may mock, but not joke, not cause laughter. Mocking humiliates, and laughter unites, although the form does not distinguish.

People really appreciate a sense of humor. Everyone wants to have friends with this feeling. With a person who has a sense of humor, it is easy to resolve conflicts. For example, two people of the same status reached for the last piece of cake and collided. They begin to smile and with the help of laughter get out of an awkward situation.

In the work, it becomes funny because the reader observes situations that seem to be impossible, but, while reading, begins to believe in them. So, for example, dad tries to scare in early childhood child, and he laughs or gets scared and immediately hugs dad, hiding from fear. This contradiction is present all the time. This is a mirror image of fear, and we resolve it with laughter. Gogol used this tool when writing The Government Inspector.

Note that permissible objects of laughter vary from culture to culture:

CM. Eisenstein (2002, pp. 427-429) wrote that what brought him to Mexico was mainly the ability of Mexicans - "bearers of living life" - to laugh about death. This country, according to him, knew how, in a childish way, to directly laugh at what brings aging, decaying countries and nations into convulsions of fear, not convinced of the vitality of their principles and the life-affirming inexhaustibility of the juices of their people's sources.

A. Kozintsev. "Man and Laughter"

This is a very interesting approach.

What is allowed to be laughed at now is not a permanent thing, it will continue to change.

It cannot be said that there is absolutely bad people. Sometimes people show us their negative side by getting into a certain situation. Gogol created just such a situation in which everyone is turned by their negative sides to the viewer.

It is necessary to distinguish between laughter and mockery. That's why Gogol said: "Who are you laughing at? Laugh at yourself" because laughing is cruel.

The text of The Inspector leaves room for speculation. The intonations of the heroes, who and how said something, where who stood - all this can be thought out. But this is typical for a story or a novel, and here a play was originally written. Therefore, it is necessary to watch the play, and then read it.

There is nothing to blame on the mirror if the face is crooked.

folk proverb

Characters

Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky, mayor.

Anna Andreevna, his wife.

Maria Antonovna, his daughter.

Luka Lukich Khlopov, superintendent of schools.

His wife.

Ammos Fedorovich Lyapkin-Tyapkin, judge.

Artemy Filippovich Strawberry, trustee of charitable institutions.

Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin, postmaster.

Pyotr Ivanovich Dobchinsky, Pyotr Ivanovich Bobchinsky, urban landowners.

Ivan Alexandrovich Khlestakov, an official from St. Petersburg.

Osip, his servant.

Christian Ivanovich Gibner, county physician.

Fedor Andreevich Lyulyukov, Ivan Lazarevich Rastakovskiy, Stepan Ivanovich Korobkin, retired officials, honorable people in the city.

Stepan Ilyich Ukhovertov, private bailiff.

Svistunov, Buttons, Derzhimorda, policemen.

Abdulin, merchant.

Fevronya Petrovna Poshlepkina, locksmith.

Non-commissioned officer's wife.

bear, servant of the mayor.

Servant of the tavern.

Guests and guests, merchants, petty bourgeois, petitioners.

Characters and costumes

Notes for gentlemen actors

mayor, already aged in the service and a very intelligent person in his own way. Although a bribe-taker, he behaves very respectably; quite serious; somewhat even reasoner; speaks neither loudly nor softly, neither more nor less. His every word is significant. His features are rough and hard, like those of anyone who has begun a hard service from the lower ranks. The transition from fear to joy, from baseness to arrogance is quite quick, like a person with a crudely developed inclination of the soul. He is dressed, as usual, in his uniform with buttonholes and boots with spurs. His hair is short, with grey.

Anna Andreevna, his wife, a provincial coquette, not yet quite old, brought up half on novels and albums, half on chores in her pantry and girl's. Very curious and on occasion shows vanity. Sometimes she takes power over her husband only because he does not find what to answer her; but this power extends only to trifles and consists in 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 who are called empty in the offices. He speaks and acts without any thought. He is unable to stop the constant focus on any thought. His speech is abrupt, and words fly out of his mouth quite unexpectedly. The more the person who plays this role shows sincerity and simplicity, the more he will benefit. Dressed in fashion.

Osip, a servant, such as servants of a few older years usually are. He speaks earnestly, looks somewhat downward, is a reasoner, and loves to lecture himself for his master. His voice is always almost even, 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 a rogue in silence. His costume is a gray or blue shabby frock coat.

Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, both short, short, very curious; extremely similar to each other; both with small bellies; both speak in a patter and help tremendously with gestures and hands. Dobchinsky is a little taller and more serious than Bobchinsky, but Bobchinsky is more cheeky and livelier than Dobchinsky.

Lyapkin-Tyapkin, a judge, a man who has read five or six books, and therefore somewhat freethinking. The hunter is great at guessing, and therefore he gives weight to his every word. The person representing him must always keep a significant mine in his face. He speaks in a bass with an oblong drawl, wheezing and glanders - like an old clock that hisses first and then strikes.

strawberries, trustee of charitable institutions, a very fat, clumsy and clumsy person, but with all that, a sly and a rogue. Very helpful and fussy.

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

Other roles do not require special explanation. Their originals are almost always in front of your eyes.

Gentlemen actors especially should pay attention to the last scene. The last spoken word should produce an electrical shock to everyone at once, all of a sudden. The whole group must change position in the blink of an eye. The sound of astonishment should break out from all women at once, as if from one breast. From non-observance of these remarks, the whole effect may disappear.

Act one

A room in the mayor's house.

Phenomenon I

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

Mayor. I have invited you, gentlemen, in order to inform you of the unpleasant news: an auditor is coming to visit us.

Ammos Fedorovich. How is the auditor?

Artemy Filippovich. How is the auditor?

Mayor. An auditor from St. Petersburg incognito. And with a secret order.

Ammos Fedorovich. Here are those on!

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

Luka Lukic. Lord God! even with a secret order!

Mayor. I seemed to have a presentiment: all night long I dreamed of two extraordinary rats. Really, I have never seen such things: black, unnatural size! came, sniffed - and went away. Here I will read you a letter that I received from Andrey Ivanovich Chmykhov, whom you, Artemy Filippovich, know. Here is what he writes: “Dear friend, godfather and benefactor (mumbles in an undertone, quickly running his eyes) ... and notify you. A! Here: “I hasten, by the way, to notify you that an official has arrived with an order to inspect the entire province and especially our district (significantly raises a finger up). I learned this from the most reliable people, although he presents himself as a private individual. Since I know that you, like everyone else, have sins, because you are a smart person and do not like to miss what floats in your hands ... " (stopping) well, here are your own ... "then I advise you to take precautions, because he can come at any hour, unless he has already arrived and lives somewhere incognito ... Yesterday I ... " Well, then family matters began: "... sister Anna Kirilovna came to us with her husband; Ivan Kirilovich has become very fat and is still playing the violin ... ”- and so on and so forth. So here is the circumstance!

Ammos Fedorovich. Yes, the circumstance is… extraordinary, simply extraordinary. Something out of the blue.

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

Mayor. For what! So, apparently, fate! (Sighing.) Until now, thanks be to God, they 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. This means this: Russia… yes… wants to wage war, and the ministry, you see, sent an official to find out if there was treason somewhere.

Mayor. Ek where enough! More clever man! Treason in the county town! What is he, borderline, or what? Yes, from here, even if you ride for three years, you will not reach any state.

Ammos Fedorovich. No, I'll tell you, you're not the one ... you're not ... The authorities have subtle views: for nothing it's far away, but it shakes its mustache.

Mayor. Winds or does not shake, but I warned you, gentlemen. Look, in my part I made some orders, I advise you too. Especially to you, Artemy Filippovich! Without a doubt, a passing official will want first of all to inspect the charitable institutions under your jurisdiction - and therefore you make sure that everything is decent: the caps are clean, and the sick do not look like blacksmiths, as they usually go around at home.

Artemy Filippovich. Well, that's nothing. Caps, perhaps, can be put on and clean.

Mayor. Yes, and also write in Latin or some other language above each bed ... that’s your part, Khristian Ivanovich, - any illness: when someone falls ill, on what day and date ... It’s not good that your patients smoke such strong tobacco, that you always sneeze when you enter. Yes, and it would be better if there were fewer of them: they would immediately attribute them to bad looking or to the lack of skill of a doctor.

Artemy Filippovich. ABOUT! As for healing, Christian Ivanovich and I took our own measures: the closer to nature, the better - we do not use expensive medicines. A simple man: if he dies, he will die anyway; if he recovers, then he will recover. Yes, and it would be difficult for Khristian Ivanovich to communicate with them: he does not know a word of Russian.

Khristian Ivanovich makes a sound, partly similar to the letter and And several on e.

Mayor. I would also advise you, Ammos Fyodorovich, to pay attention to government places. In your front hall, where petitioners usually go, the watchmen have brought domestic geese with little goslings, which dart around underfoot. It is, of course, commendable to anyone to start a household, and why shouldn’t I start a watchman? only, you know, it's indecent in such a place... I wanted to point this out to you before, but I somehow forgot everything.

Ammos Fedorovich. But today I will order them all to be taken to the kitchen. Would you like to come to dinner.

Mayor. Besides, it's bad that you have all sorts of rubbish drying up in your very presence and a hunting rapnik just above the cupboard with papers. I know you love hunting, but it’s better to accept him for a while, and then, as soon as the inspector passes by, perhaps you can hang him again. Also, your assessor... he is, of course, a knowledgeable person, but he smells like he just left the distillery, this is also not good. I wanted to tell you about this for a long time, but I was, I don’t remember, entertained by something. There is against this remedy, if it really is, as he says, it has a natural smell: you can advise him to eat onions, or garlic, or something else. In this case, Christian Ivanovich can help with various medications.

Christian Ivanovich makes the same sound.

Ammos Fedorovich. No, it is already impossible to drive him out: he says that his mother hurt him as a child, and since then he gives off a little vodka from him.

Mayor. Yes, I just noticed that. As for the internal order and what Andrei Ivanovich calls in his letter sins, I can’t say anything. Yes, and it is strange to say: there is no person who would not have some sins behind him. It is already so arranged by God himself, and the Voltairians speak against it in vain.

Ammos Fedorovich. What do you think, Anton Antonovich, sins? Sins to sins - discord. I tell everyone openly that I take bribes, but why bribes? Greyhound puppies. This is a completely different matter.

Mayor. Well, puppies or whatever - all bribes.

Ammos Fedorovich. No, Anton Antonovich. But, for example, if someone has a fur coat that costs five hundred rubles, and his wife has a shawl ...

Mayor. Well, what if you take bribes with greyhound puppies? But you don't believe in God; you never go to church; and at least I am firm in the 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.

Ammos Fedorovich. Why, he came by himself, by his own mind.

Mayor. Well, otherwise a lot of intelligence is worse than none at all. However, I only mentioned the county court in this way; and to tell the truth, it is unlikely that anyone will ever look there: it is such an enviable place, God himself patronizes it. But you, Luka Lukich, as the superintendent of educational institutions, you need to take special care about teachers. They are people, of course, scientists and were brought up in different boards, but they have very strange actions, naturally inseparable from the academic title. One of them, for example, this one, that has a fat face ... I don’t remember his last name, he can’t do without making a grimace when he ascends the pulpit, like that (makes a face) and then he will begin to iron his beard with his hand from under his tie. Of course, if he makes such a face to the student, then it’s still nothing: maybe it’s there and it’s needed so, I can’t judge about it; but you judge for yourself, if he does this to a visitor, it can be very bad: Mr. Inspector or someone else who can take it at his own expense. From this the devil knows what can happen.

Luka Lukic. What am I supposed to do with him? I've told him several times. Just the other day, when our leader came into the classroom, he cut a face like I've never seen before. He made it from good heart, and I reprimand: why are free-thinking thoughts inspired by youth.

Mayor. I must also remark to you about the teacher in the historical part. He is a learned head - this is evident, and he has picked up a lot of information, but he only explains with such fervor that he does not remember himself. I listened to him once: well, for the time being I was talking about the Assyrians and Babylonians - still nothing, but how I got to Alexander the Great, I cannot tell you what happened to him. I thought it was a fire, by golly! I ran away from the pulpit and that I have the strength to grab the chair on the floor. Of course, Alexander the Great is a hero, but why break the chairs? from this loss to the treasury.

Luka Lukic. Yes, he's hot! I already noticed this to him several times ... He says: "As you wish, for science, I will not spare my life."

Mayor. Yes, such is the inexplicable law of fate: a smart person is either a drunkard, or he will make such a face that at least endure the saints.

Luka Lukic. God forbid to serve in the scientific part! You are afraid of everything: everyone gets in the way, everyone wants to show that he is also an intelligent person.

Mayor. That would be nothing - damn incognito! Suddenly he looks: “Ah, you are here, my dear! And who, say, is the judge here? - Lyapkin-Tyapkin. - “And bring Lyapkin-Tyapkin here! And who is the trustee of charitable institutions? - "Strawberry". - “And bring Strawberries here!” That's what's bad!

Phenomenon II

The same postmaster.

Postmaster. Explain, gentlemen, what official is coming?

Mayor. Haven't you heard?

Postmaster. I heard from Petr Ivanovich Bobchinsky. I just had it at the post office.

Mayor. Well? How do you think about it?

Postmaster. What do I think? there will be a war with the Turks.

Ammos Fedorovich. In one word! I myself thought the same.

Mayor. Yes, they both hit the sky with their fingers!

Postmaster. Right, the war with the Turks. It's all French crap.

Mayor. What a war with the Turks! It will just be bad for us, not for the Turks. This is already known: I have a letter.

Postmaster. And if so, then there will be no war with the Turks.

Mayor. Well, how are you, Ivan Kuzmich?

Postmaster. What am I? How are you, Anton Antonovich?

Mayor. What am I? There is no fear, but just a little... Merchants and citizenship confuse me. They say that I fell in love with them, and I, by God, if I took it from someone else, then, right, without any hatred. I even think (takes his arm and pulls him aside) I even wonder if there was any denunciation against me. Why do we really need an auditor? Listen, Ivan Kuzmich, can you, for our common benefit, every letter that arrives at your post office, incoming and outgoing, you know, sort of print it out a little and read: whether it contains some kind of report or just correspondence. If not, then you can seal it again; however, you can even give a letter printed out like that.

Postmaster. I know, I know… Don’t teach this, I do it not so much as a precaution, but more out of curiosity: I love death to know what is new in the world. I can tell you that this is an interesting read. You will read another letter with pleasure - different passages are described in this way ... and what edification ... better than in Moskovskie Vedomosti!

Mayor. Well, tell me, have you read anything about some official from St. Petersburg?

Postmaster. No, there is nothing about St. Petersburg, but much is said about Kostroma and Saratov. It is a pity, however, that you do not read letters: there are wonderful places. Just recently, a lieutenant wrote to a friend and described the ball in the most playful ... very, very well: “My life, dear friend, flows, says, in the empyrean: there are many young ladies, music plays, the standard jumps ...” - with great, with great feeling described. I left it on purpose. Do you want me to read?

Mayor. Well, it's not up to that now. So do me a favor, Ivan Kuzmich: if by chance you come across a complaint or a report, then detain without any reasoning.

Postmaster. With great pleasure.

Ammos Fedorovich. See if you ever get it for it.

Postmaster. Ah, fathers!

Mayor. Nothing, nothing. It would be another matter if you made something public out of it, but this is a family affair.

Ammos Fedorovich. Yes, something bad has happened! And I, I confess, was going to you, Anton Antonovich, in order to regale you with a little dog. Sister to the male you know. After all, you heard that Cheptovich and Varkhovinsky started a lawsuit, and now I have the luxury of baiting hares on the lands of both.

Mayor. Fathers, your hares are not dear to me now: I have a cursed incognito sitting in my head. So you wait for the door to open and - shalt ...

Phenomenon III

The same ones, Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, both enter out of breath.

Bobchinsky. Emergency!

Dobchinsky. Unexpected news!

All. What, what is it?

Dobchinsky. Unforeseen business: we arrive at the hotel ...

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

Dobchinsky (interrupting). E, allow me, Pyotr Ivanovich, I will tell you.

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

Dobchinsky. And you will go astray and do not remember everything.

Bobchinsky. I remember, by God, I remember. Don't interfere, let me tell you, don't interfere! Tell me, gentlemen, do me a favor so that Pyotr Ivanovich does not interfere.

Mayor. Yes, for God's sake, what is it? My heart is out of place. Sit down, gentlemen! Take the chairs! Pyotr Ivanovich, here's a chair for you.

Everyone sits down around both Petrov Ivanovichs.

Well, what, what is it?

Bobchinsky. Let me, let me: I'm all right. As soon as I had the pleasure of leaving you, after you deigned to be embarrassed by the letter you received, yes, sir, I rushed in at the same time ... please don’t interrupt, Pyotr Ivanovich! I know everything, everything, everything, sir. So, if you please, I ran to Korobkin's. And not finding Korobkin at home, he turned to Rastakovsky, and not having found Rastakovsky, he went to Ivan Kuzmich to tell him the news you received, yes, going from there, I met with Pyotr Ivanovich ...

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

Bobchinsky. Near the booth where pies are sold. Yes, having met with Pyotr Ivanovich, and I say to him: “Have you heard about the news that Anton Antonovich received from a reliable letter?” But Pyotr Ivanovich already heard about this from your housekeeper Avdotya, who, I don’t know, was sent to Philip Antonovich Pochechuev for something.

Dobchinsky (interrupting). Behind the barrel for French vodka.

Bobchinsky (pulling his hands away). Behind the barrel for French vodka. So we went with Pyotr Ivanovich to Pochechuev ... You, Pyotr Ivanovich ... this ... don’t interrupt, please don’t interrupt! In my stomach… I haven’t eaten anything since morning, so gastric trembling…” – yes, sir, in Pyotr Ivanovich’s stomach… “But they’ve brought fresh salmon to the tavern,” he says, “so we’ll have a bite to eat.” . We had just arrived at the hotel, when suddenly a young man...

Dobchinsky (interrupting). Not bad appearance, in a particular dress.

Bobchinsky. Not bad-looking, in a particular dress, walks like that around the room, and in his face there is a kind of reasoning ... physiognomy ... actions, and here (wiggles hand around forehead) many, many things. It was as if I had a presentiment and I say to Pyotr Ivanovich: "There is something here for a reason, sir." Yes. And Pyotr Ivanovich already blinked his finger and called the innkeeper, sir, the innkeeper Vlas: his wife gave birth to him three weeks ago, and such a smart boy will, like his father, keep the inn. Calling Vlas, Pyotr Ivanovich, and ask him quietly: “Who says this young man?” - and Vlas answers this: “This,” he says ... Eh, don’t interrupt, Pyotr Ivanovich, please don’t interrupt; you won’t tell, by God you won’t tell: you whisper, you, I know, have one tooth in your mouth with a whistle ... “This, he says, is a young man, an official, yes, sir, traveling from St. he says, Ivan Alexandrovich Khlestakov, sir, but he goes, he says, to the Saratov province and, he says, he certifies himself in a strange way: he has been living for another week, he doesn’t go from the tavern, he takes everything to the account and doesn’t want to pay a penny. As he told me this, and so I was enlightened from above. "Eh!" - I say to Pyotr Ivanovich ...

Dobchinsky. No, Pyotr Ivanovich, it was I who said: “eh!”

Bobchinsky. First you said, and then I said. "Eh! - said Peter Ivanovich and I. “And why should he sit here when the road to him lies in the Saratov province?” Yes, sir. But he is the official.

Mayor. Who, what official?

Bobchinsky. The official about whom they deigned to receive a notification is the auditor.

Mayor (in fear). What are you, the Lord is with you! It's not him.

Dobchinsky. He! and does not pay money and does not go. Who would be if not him? And the road trip is registered in Saratov.

Bobchinsky. He, he, by God, he ... So observant: he looked at everything. I saw that Pyotr Ivanovich and I were eating salmon - more because Pyotr Ivanovich about his stomach ... yes, he looked into our plates. I was so terrified.

Mayor. Lord, have mercy on us sinners! Where does he live there?

Dobchinsky. In the fifth room, under the stairs.

Bobchinsky. In the same room where passing officers had a fight last year.

Mayor. And how long has he been here?

Dobchinsky. And two weeks already. Came to Basil the Egyptian.

Mayor. Two weeks! (To the side.) Fathers, matchmakers! Take it out, saints! In these two weeks, a non-commissioned officer's wife was whipped! The prisoners were not given provisions! There is a tavern on the streets, uncleanness! A shame! vilification! (Grabs his head.)

Artemy Filippovich. Well, Anton Antonovich? - to go by parade to the hotel.

Ammos Fedorovich. No no! Put your head forward, clergy, merchants; Here it is in the Acts of John Mason...

Mayor. No no; let me myself. There were difficult cases in life, they went, and even received thanks. Perhaps God will endure even now. (Turning to Bobchinsky.) You say he is a young man?

Bobchinsky. Young, about twenty-three or four years old.

Mayor. So much the better: you'll sniff out the young sooner. The trouble is, if the old devil, and the young one is all at the top. You, gentlemen, get ready for your part, and I will go myself, or at least with Pyotr Ivanovich, privately, for a walk, to see if the passing people are in trouble. Hey Svistunov!

Svistunov. Anything?

Mayor. Go now for a private bailiff; or not, I need you. Tell someone there to get a private bailiff to me as soon as possible, and come here.

The quarterly runs in a hurry.

Artemy Filippovich. Let's go, let's go, Ammos Fyodorovich! In fact, trouble can happen.

Ammos Fedorovich. What are you afraid of? He put clean caps on the sick, and the ends were in the water.

Artemy Filippovich. What hats! The sick are ordered to give habersup, but I have such cabbage in all the corridors that you only take care of your nose.

Ammos Fedorovich. And I am at peace with this. In fact, who will go to the county court? And if he looks into some paper, he will not be happy with life. I have been sitting on the judge's chair for fifteen years now, and when I look at the memorandum - ah! I just wave my hand. Solomon himself will not decide what is true and what is not true in it.

The judge, the trustee of charitable institutions, the superintendent of schools and the postmaster leave and at the door they encounter the returning quarter.

Comedy in five acts

There is nothing to blame on the mirror if the face is crooked.

folk proverb

Characters

Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky, mayor. Anna Andreevna, his wife. Marya Antonovna, his daughter. Luka Lukich Khlopov, superintendent of schools. His wife. Ammos Fedorovich Lyapkin-Tyapkin, judge. Artemy Filippovich Strawberry, trustee of charitable institutions. Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin, postmaster.

Petr Ivanovich Dobchinsky Petr Ivanovich Bobchinsky

urban landowners.

Ivan Alexandrovich Khlestakov, an official from St. Petersburg. Osip, his servant. Christian Ivanovich Gibner, county physician.

Fedor Andreevich Lyulyukov Ivan Lazarevich Rastakovskiy Stepan Ivanovich Korobkin

retired officials, honorary persons in the city.

Stepan Ilyich Ukhovertov, private bailiff.

Svistunov Buttons Derzhimorda

policemen.

Abdulin, merchant. Fevronya Petrovna Poshlepkina, locksmith. Non-commissioned officer's wife. Mishka, servant of the mayor. Servant of the tavern. Guests and guests, merchants, petty bourgeois, 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; somewhat even a reasoner; speaks neither loudly nor softly, neither more nor less. His every word is significant. His features are rough and hard, like those of anyone who has begun a hard service from the lower ranks. The transition from fear to joy, from baseness to arrogance is quite quick, like a person with a crudely developed inclination of the soul. He is dressed, as usual, in his uniform with buttonholes and boots with spurs. His hair is short, with grey. Anna Andreevna, his wife, a provincial coquette, not yet quite old, brought up half on novels and albums, half on chores in her pantry and girl's. Very curious and on occasion shows vanity. Sometimes she takes power over her husband only because he does not find what to answer her; but this power extends only to trifles and consists in 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 who are called empty in the offices. He speaks and acts without any thought. He is unable to stop the constant focus on any thought. His speech is abrupt, and words fly out of his mouth quite unexpectedly. The more the person who plays this role shows sincerity and simplicity, the more he will benefit. Dressed in fashion. Osip, the servant, is the way servants of a few older years usually are. He speaks earnestly, looks down a little, is a reasoner, and likes to lecture himself for his master. His voice is always almost even, 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 a rogue in silence. His suit is a gray or blue shabby frock coat. Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, both short, short, very curious; extremely similar to each other; both with small bellies; both speak in a patter and help tremendously with gestures and hands. Dobchinsky is a little taller and more serious than Bobchinsky, but Bobchinsky is bolder and livelier than Dobchinsky. Lyapkin-Tyapkin, a judge, a man who has read five or six books, and therefore somewhat freethinking. The hunter is great at guessing, and therefore he gives weight to his every word. The person representing him must always keep a significant mine in his face. He speaks in a bass with an oblong drawl, wheezing and glanders like an old clock that hisses first and then strikes. Strawberry, the trustee of charitable institutions, is a very fat, clumsy and clumsy person, but for all that he is a sly and a rogue. Very helpful and fussy. Postmaster, a simple-minded person to the point of naivety. Other roles do not require special explanation. Their originals are almost always in front of your eyes. Gentlemen actors especially should pay attention to the last scene. The last spoken word should produce an electrical shock on everyone at once, all of a sudden. The whole group must change position in the blink of an eye. The sound of astonishment should break out from all women at once, as if from one breast. From non-observance of these remarks, the whole effect may disappear.

Act one

A room in the mayor's house.

Phenomenon I

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

Mayor. I have invited you, gentlemen, in order to inform you of the unpleasant news: an auditor is coming to visit us. Ammos Fedorovich. How is the auditor? Artemy Filippovich. How is the auditor? Mayor. An auditor from St. Petersburg, incognito. And with a secret order. Ammos Fedorovich. Here are those on! Artemy Filippovich. There was no concern, so give it up! Luka Lukic. Lord God! even with a secret order! Mayor. I seemed to have a presentiment: all night long I dreamed of two extraordinary rats. Really, I've never seen anything like it: black, unnatural size! came, sniffed and went away. Here I will read you a letter that I received from Andrey Ivanovich Chmykhov, whom you, Artemy Filippovich, know. Here is what he writes: “Dear friend, godfather and benefactor (mumbles in an undertone, quickly running his eyes)...and notify you." A! Here: “I hasten, by the way, to notify you that an official has arrived with an order to inspect the entire province and especially our district (significantly raises a finger up). I learned this from the most reliable people, although he presents himself as a private individual. Since I know that you, like everyone else, have sins, because you are a smart person and do not like to let go of what floats into your hands ... "(stopping), well, here are your own ... "then I advise you take precautions, for he can arrive at any hour, unless he has already arrived and lives somewhere incognito... me and my husband; Ivan Kirilovich has become very fat and still plays the violin...” and so on and so forth. So here is the circumstance! Ammos Fedorovich. Yes, the circumstance is... extraordinary, simply extraordinary. Something out of the blue. Luka Lukic. Why, Anton Antonovich, why is this? Why do we need an auditor? Mayor. For what! So, apparently, fate! (Sighing.) So far, 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. This means this: Russia ... yes ... wants to wage war, and the ministry, you see, sent an official to find out if there was treason somewhere. Mayor. Ek where enough! Another smart person! Treason in the county town! What is he, borderline, or what? Yes, from here, even if you ride for three years, you will not reach any state. Ammos Fedorovich. No, I'll tell you, you're not the right one ... you're not ... The authorities have subtle views: for nothing it's far away, but it winds its mustache. Mayor. Winds or does not shake, but I warned you, gentlemen. Look, in my part I made some orders, I advise you too. Especially to you, Artemy Filippovich! Without a doubt, a passing official will want first of all to inspect the charitable establishments under your jurisdiction and therefore you will make sure that everything is decent: the caps would be clean, and the sick would not look like blacksmiths, as they usually go around at home. Artemy Filippovich. Well, that's nothing. Caps, perhaps, can be put on and clean. Mayor. Yes, and also inscribe above each bed in Latin or in some other language ... that’s in your line, Khristian Ivanovich, any illness: when someone fell ill, on what day and date ... It’s not good that you have such patients they smoke strong tobacco so that you always sneeze when you enter. Yes, and it would be better if there were fewer of them: they would immediately attribute them to bad looking or to the lack of skill of a doctor. Artemy Filippovich. ABOUT! As for healing, Christian Ivanovich and I took our measures: the closer to nature, the better, we do not use expensive medicines. A simple man: if he dies, he will die anyway; if he recovers, then he will recover. Yes, and it would be difficult for Khristian Ivanovich to communicate with them: he does not know a word of Russian.

Khristian Ivanovich makes a sound, partly similar to the letter And and a few on e.

Mayor. I would also advise you, Ammos Fedorovich, to pay attention to government places. In your front hall, where petitioners usually go, the watchmen have brought domestic geese with little goslings, which dart around underfoot. It is, of course, commendable to anyone to start a household, and why shouldn’t I start a watchman? only, you know, it's indecent in such a place... I wanted to point this out to you before, but somehow I forgot everything. Ammos Fedorovich. But today I will order them all to be taken to the kitchen. Would you like to come to dinner. Mayor. Besides, it's bad that you have all sorts of rubbish drying up in your very presence and a hunting rapnik just above the cupboard with papers. I know you love hunting, but it’s better to accept him for a while, and then, as soon as the inspector passes by, perhaps you can hang him again. Also your assessor ... he is, of course, a knowledgeable person, but he smells like he just left the distillery, this is also not good. I wanted to tell you about this for a long time, but I was, I don’t remember, entertained by something. There is against this remedy, if it is already real, as he says, it has a natural smell: you can advise him to eat onions, or garlic, or something else. In this case, Christian Ivanovich can help with various medications.

Christian Ivanovich makes the same sound.

Ammos Fedorovich. No, it’s impossible to drive him out anymore: he says that his mother hurt him as a child, and since then he gives off a little vodka from him. Mayor. Yes, I just noticed that. As for the internal order and what Andrei Ivanovich calls in his letter sins, I can’t say anything. Yes, and it is strange to say: there is no person who would not have some sins behind him. It is already so arranged by God Himself, and the Voltairians speak against it in vain. Ammos Fedorovich. What do you think, Anton Antonovich, sins? Sins to sins strife. I tell everyone openly that I take bribes, but why bribes? Greyhound puppies. This is a completely different matter. Mayor. Well, puppies or whatever all bribes. Ammos Fedorovich. No, Anton Antonovich. But, for example, if someone has a fur coat that costs five hundred rubles, and his wife has a shawl ... Mayor. Well, what if you take bribes with greyhound puppies? But you don't believe in God; you never go to church; but at least I am firm in the 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. Ammos Fedorovich. Why, he came by himself, by his own mind. Mayor. Well, otherwise a lot of intelligence is worse than none at all. However, I only mentioned the county court in this way; and to tell the truth, it is unlikely that anyone will ever look there: it is such an enviable place, God himself patronizes it. But you, Luka Lukich, as the superintendent of educational institutions, you need to take special care about teachers. They are people, of course, scientists and were brought up in different colleges, but they have very strange actions, naturally inseparable from the academic title. One of them, for example, this one, that has a fat face ... I don’t remember his last name, he can’t do without making a grimace, having ascended the pulpit, like this (makes a grimace), and then starts with his hand from - iron your beard under a tie. Of course, if he makes such a face to a student, then it’s still nothing: maybe it’s there and it’s needed so, I can’t judge about it; but you judge for yourself, if he does this to a visitor, it can be very bad: Mr. Auditor or another who can take it personally. From this the devil knows what can happen. Luka Lukic. What am I supposed to do with him? I've told him several times. Just the other day, when our leader came into the classroom, he cut a face like I've never seen before. He made it out of a good heart, and I reprimanded: why are free-thinking thoughts inspired in youth. Mayor. I must also remark to you about the teacher in the historical part. He is a learned head - this is evident, and he has picked up a lot of information, but he only explains with such fervor that he does not remember himself. I once listened to him: well, for the time being he was talking about the Assyrians and Babylonians nothing else, but how I got to Alexander the Great, I cannot tell you what happened to him. I thought it was a fire, by God! I ran away from the pulpit and that I have the strength to grab the chair on the floor. It is, of course, Alexander the Macedonian hero, but why break the chairs? from this loss to the treasury. Luka Lukic. Yes, he's hot! I have already noticed this to him several times ... He says: "As you wish, for science, I will not spare my life." Mayor. Yes, such is the already inexplicable law of fate: a smart person is either a drunkard, or he will build such a face that at least endure the saints. Luka Lukic. God forbid to serve in the scientific part! You are afraid of everything: everyone gets in the way, everyone wants to show that he is also an intelligent person. Mayor. That would be nothing, damn incognito! Suddenly he looks: “Ah, you are here, my dears! And who, say, is the judge here? Lyapkin-Tyapkin. “And bring Lyapkin-Tyapkin here! And who is the trustee of charitable institutions? "Strawberry". “And bring Strawberries here!” That's what's bad!

Phenomenon II

The same postmaster.

Postmaster. Explain, gentlemen, what official is coming? Mayor. Haven't you heard? Postmaster. I heard from Petr Ivanovich Bobchinsky. I just had it at the post office. Mayor. Well? How do you think about it? Postmaster. What do I think? there will be a war with the Turks. Ammos Fedorovich. In one word! I myself thought the same. Mayor. Yes, they both hit the sky with their fingers! Postmaster. Right, the war with the Turks. It's all French crap. Mayor. What a war with the Turks! It will just be bad for us, not for the Turks. This is already known: I have a letter. Postmaster. And if so, then there will be no war with the Turks. Mayor. Well, how are you, Ivan Kuzmich? Postmaster. What am I? How are you, Anton Antonovich? Mayor. What am I? There is no fear, but just a little... Merchants and citizenship confuse me. They say that I fell in love with them, and I, by God, if I took it from someone else, then, right, without any hatred. I even think (takes his arm and pulls him aside), I even think if there was any denunciation against me. Why do we really need an auditor? Listen, Ivan Kuzmich, can you, for our common benefit, every letter that arrives at your post office, incoming and outgoing, you know, sort of print it out a little and read: whether it contains some kind of report or just correspondence. If not, then you can seal it again; however, you can even give a letter printed out like that. Postmaster. I know, I know... Don't teach this, I do it not so much as a precaution, but more out of curiosity: I love death to know what's new in the world. I can tell you that this is an interesting read. You will read another letter with pleasure different passages are described in this way ... and what edification ... better than in Moskovskie Vedomosti! Mayor. Well, tell me, have you read anything about some official from St. Petersburg? Postmaster. No, there is nothing about St. Petersburg, but much is said about Kostroma and Saratov. It is a pity, however, that you do not read letters: there are wonderful places. Just recently, a lieutenant wrote to a friend and described the ball in the most playful ... very, very well: “My life, dear friend, flows, says, in the empyrean: there are many young ladies, music plays, the standard jumps ...” described with great feeling. I left it on purpose. Do you want me to read? Mayor. Well, it's not up to that now. So, do me a favor, Ivan Kuzmich: if a complaint or a report comes across by chance, then detain without any reasoning. Postmaster. With great pleasure. Ammos Fedorovich. See if you ever get it for it. Postmaster. Ah, fathers! Mayor. Nothing, nothing. It would be another matter if you made something public out of it, but this is a family affair. Ammos Fedorovich. Yes, something bad has happened! And I, I confess, was going to you, Anton Antonovich, in order to regale you with a little dog. Sister to the male you know. After all, you heard that Cheptovich and Varkhovinsky started a lawsuit, and now I have the luxury of baiting hares on the lands of both. Mayor. Fathers, your hares are not dear to me now: I have a cursed incognito sitting in my head. So you wait for the door to open and walk ...

Phenomenon III

The same ones, Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, both enter out of breath.

Bobchinsky. Emergency! Dobchinsky. Unexpected news! All . What, what is it? Dobchinsky. Unforeseen business: we arrive at the hotel ... Bobchinsky (interrupting). We arrive with Pyotr Ivanovich at the hotel ... Dobchinsky (interrupting). Eh, allow me, Pyotr Ivanovich, I'll tell you. Bobchinsky. Eh, no, let me... let me, let me... you don't even have such a style... Dobchinsky. And you will go astray and do not remember everything. Bobchinsky. I remember, by God, I remember. Don't interfere, let me tell you, don't interfere! Tell me, gentlemen, do me a favor so that Pyotr Ivanovich does not interfere. Mayor. Yes, for God's sake, what is it? My heart is out of place. Sit down, gentlemen! Take the chairs! Pyotr Ivanovich, here's a chair for you.

Everyone sits down around both Petrov Ivanovichs.

Well, what, what is it?

Bobchinsky. Let me, let me: I'm all right. As soon as I had the pleasure of leaving you after you deigned to be embarrassed by the letter you received, yes, so I ran in at the same time ... please don’t interrupt, Pyotr Ivanovich! I know everything, everything, everything, sir. So, if you please, I ran to Korobkin's. And not finding Korobkin at home, he turned to Rastakovsky, and not having found Rastakovsky, he went to Ivan Kuzmich to tell him the news you received, yes, going from there, I met with Pyotr Ivanovich ... Dobchinsky (interrupting). Near the booth where pies are sold. Bobchinsky. Near the booth where pies are sold. Yes, having met with Pyotr Ivanovich, and I say to him: “Have you heard about the news that Anton Antonovich received from a reliable letter?” But Pyotr Ivanovich already heard about this from your housekeeper Avdotya, who, I don’t know, was sent to Philip Antonovich Pochechuev for something. Dobchinsky (interrupting). Behind the barrel for French vodka. Bobchinsky (pulling his hands away). Behind the barrel for French vodka. So we went with Pyotr Ivanovich to Pochechuev ... You, Pyotr Ivanovich ... this ... do not interrupt, please do not interrupt! .. Let's go to Pochechuev, but on the road Pyotr Ivanovich says: , in a tavern. In my stomach ... I haven’t eaten anything since morning, so gastric trembling ... " yes, sir, in Pyotr Ivanovich's stomach ... "And now they brought fresh salmon to the tavern, so we'll eat." We had just arrived at the hotel, when suddenly a young man... Dobchinsky (interrupting). Good-looking, in particular dress... Bobchinsky. Not bad appearance, in a particular dress, walks around the room, and in the face there is a sort of reasoning ... physiognomy ... actions, and here (wiggles hand around forehead) many, many things. It was as if I had a presentiment and I say to Pyotr Ivanovich: "There is something here for a reason, sir." Yes. But Pyotr Ivanovich already blinked his finger and called the innkeeper, sir, the innkeeper Vlas: his wife gave birth to him three weeks ago, and such a smart boy, like his father, will keep the inn. Having called Vlas, Pyotr Ivanovich and ask him quietly: “Who says this young man?” and Vlas answers this: “This”, says ... Eh, do not interrupt, Pyotr Ivanovich, please do not interrupt; you won't tell, by God you won't tell: you whisper; you, I know, have one tooth in your mouth with a whistle ... “This, he says, is a young man, an official, yes, , traveling from Petersburg, and by last name, he says, Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov, sir, he says, to the Saratov province and, he says, he certifies himself in a strange way: he has been living for another week, he doesn’t go from the tavern, he takes everything to the account and does not want to pay a penny. As he told me this, and so I was enlightened from above. "Eh!" I say to Pyotr Ivanovich... Dobchinsky. No, Pyotr Ivanovich, it was I who said: "Eh!" Bobchinsky. First you said, and then I said. "Eh! said Petr Ivanovich and I. And why should he sit here when the road to him lies in the Saratov province? Yes, sir. But he is the official. Mayor. Who, what official? Bobchinsky. The official about whom they deigned to receive a notation is the auditor. Mayor (in fear). What are you, the Lord is with you! It's not him. Dobchinsky. He! and does not pay money and does not go. Who would be if not him? And the road trip is registered in Saratov. Bobchinsky. He, he, by God, he ... So observant: he looked at everything. I saw that Pyotr Ivanovich and I were eating salmon, more because Pyotr Ivanovich about his stomach ... yes, that's how he looked into our plates. I was so terrified. Mayor. Lord, have mercy on us sinners! Where does he live there? Dobchinsky. In the fifth room, under the stairs. Bobchinsky. In the same room where passing officers had a fight last year. Mayor. And how long has he been here? Dobchinsky. And two weeks already. Came to Basil the Egyptian. Mayor. Two weeks! (Aside.) Fathers, matchmakers! Take it out, saints! In these two weeks, a non-commissioned officer's wife was whipped! The prisoners were not given provisions! There is a tavern on the streets, uncleanness! A shame! vilification! (Grabs his head.) Artemy Filippovich. Well, Anton Antonovich? parade to the hotel. Ammos Fedorovich. No no! Let your head go forward, the clergy, the merchants; in the Acts of John Mason... Mayor. No no; let me myself. There were difficult cases in life, they went, and even received thanks. Perhaps God will endure even now. (Turning to Bobchinsky.) You say he is a young man? Bobchinsky. Young, about twenty-three or four years old. Mayor. So much the better: you'll sniff out the young sooner. The trouble is, if the old devil, and the young one is all at the top. You, gentlemen, get ready for your part, and I will go myself, or at least with Pyotr Ivanovich, privately, for a walk, to see if the passing people are in trouble. Hey Svistunov! Svistunov. Anything? Mayor. Go now for a private bailiff; or not, I need you. Tell someone there to get a private bailiff to me as soon as possible, and come here.

The quarterly runs in a hurry.

Artemy Filippovich. Let's go, let's go, Ammos Fedorovich! In fact, trouble can happen. Ammos Fedorovich. What are you afraid of? He put clean caps on the sick, and the ends were in the water. Artemy Filippovich. What hats! The sick are ordered to give habersup, but I have such cabbage in all the corridors that you only take care of your nose. Ammos Fedorovich. And I am at peace with this. In fact, who will go to the county court? And if he looks into some paper, he will not be happy with life. I've been sitting on the judge's chair for fifteen years, but when I look at the memorandum - ah! I just wave my hand. Solomon himself will not decide what is true and what is not true in it.

The judge, the trustee of charitable institutions, the superintendent of schools and the postmaster leave and at the door they encounter the returning quarter.

Event IV

Gorodnichiy, Bobchinsky, Dobchinsky and quarterly.

Mayor. What, the droshky are there? Quarterly. Are standing. Mayor. Go outside... or don't, wait! Go fetch... Where are the others? are you the only one? After all, I ordered that Prokhorov be here too. Where is Prokhorov? Quarterly. Prokhorov is in a private house, but he cannot be used for business. Mayor. How so? Quarterly. Yes, they brought him dead in the morning. Already two tubs of water have been poured out, I still have not sobered up. mayor (grabbing his head). Oh my God, my God! Go outside soon, or not run first to the room, listen! and fetch a sword and a new hat from there. Well, Pyotr Ivanovich, let's go! Bobchinsky. And I, and I ... let me, Anton Antonovich! Mayor. No, no, Pyotr Ivanovich, you can't, you can't! It’s embarrassing, and we won’t fit on the droshky. Bobchinsky. Nothing, nothing, I’m like this: like a cockerel, like a cockerel, I’ll run after the droshky. I would just like to see a little in the crack, in the door, to see how these actions are with him ... mayor (taking the sword, to the quarterly). Run now, take the tenths, and let each of them take ... Oh, how scratched the sword! The damned merchant Abdulin sees that the mayor has an old sword, he did not send a new one. Oh foolish people! And so, scammers, I think, they are already preparing requests from under the floor. Let everyone pick up down the street ... damn it, down the street on a broom! and swept the whole street that goes to the tavern, and swept clean ... Do you hear! Look, you! You! I know you: you are messing about there and stealing silver spoons in your boots, look, I have an open ear! .. What did you do with the merchant Chernyaev huh? He gave you two arshins of cloth for your uniform, and you pulled off the whole thing. Look! you do not take it according to order! Go!

Phenomenon V

The same and a private bailiff.

Mayor. Ah, Stepan Ilyich! Tell me, for God's sake: where did you disappear to? What does it look like? Private bailiff. I was right here outside the gate. Mayor. Well, listen, Stepan Ilyich! An official came from Petersburg. How did you manage there? Private bailiff. Yes, just as you ordered. I sent the quarterly Buttons with tenths to clean the sidewalk. Mayor. Where is Derzhimorda? Private bailiff. Derzhimorda rode the fire pipe. Mayor. Is Prokhorov drunk? Private bailiff. Drunk. Mayor. How did you let it happen like that? Private bailiff. Yes, God knows. Yesterday there was a fight outside the city, went there for order, and returned drunk. Mayor. Listen, you do this: quarterly Buttons ... he is tall, so let him stand on the bridge for landscaping. Yes, hastily sweep out the old fence, which is near the shoemaker, and put a straw milestone so that it looks like a layout. The more it breaks, the more it means the activities of the mayor. Oh my god! I forgot that there were forty cartloads of rubbish piled up next to that fence. What a nasty city this is! just put some kind of monument somewhere or just a fence the devil knows where they are and they will inflict all sorts of rubbish! (Sighs.) Yes, if a visiting official asks the service: are you satisfied? to say: “Everything is happy, your honor”; and whoever is dissatisfied, then after the ladies of such displeasure ... Oh, oh, ho, ho, x! sinful, in many ways sinful. (Takes a case instead of a hat.) God grant that I get away with it as soon as possible, and there I will put a candle like no one else has put: I will charge every merchant’s beast to deliver three poods of wax. Oh my God, my God! Let's go, Pyotr Ivanovich! (Instead of a hat, he wants to put on a paper case.) Private bailiff. Anton Antonovich, this is a box, not a hat. Mayor (throwing the box). A box is a box. Damn her! Yes, if they ask why the church was not built at a charitable institution, for which a sum was allocated five years ago, then do not forget to say that it began to be built, but burned down. I submitted a report on this. And then, perhaps, someone, having forgotten, will foolishly say that it never even started. Yes, tell Derzhimorda not to give free rein to his fists; for the sake of order, he puts lanterns under everyone's eyes to both the right and the guilty. Let's go, let's go, Pyotr Ivanovich! (Leaves and returns.) Yes, do not let the soldiers out into the street without anything: this wretched garrison will put on only a uniform over the shirt, and there is nothing below.

Everyone leaves.

Event VI

Anna Andreevna and Marya Antonovna run onto the stage.

Anna Andreevna. Where, where are they? Oh, my God! .. (Opening the door.) Husband! Antosha! Anton! (Speaks soon.) And all of you, and everything behind you. And she went to dig: "I'm a pin, I'm a scarf." (Running to the window and screaming.) Anton, where, where? What, arrived? auditor? with a mustache! what mustache? Mayor's voice. After, after, mother! Anna Andreevna. After? Here's the news after! I don't want to after... I only have one word: what is he, Colonel? A? (With disdain.) Gone! I will remember this! And all this: “Mother, mother, wait, I’ll pin a scarf behind; me now." Here you are now! You didn't know anything! And all the damned coquetry; heard that the postmaster is here, and let's pretend in front of the mirror; and from that side, and from this side it will do. He imagines that he is dragging after her, and he just makes a grimace at you when you turn away. Maria Antonovna. But what to do, mother? We'll find out in two hours anyway. Anna Andreevna. In two hours! thank you very much. Here is the answer! How did you not guess to say that in a month you can find out even better! (Looks out the window.) Hey Avdotya! A? What, Avdotya, did you hear, someone came there? .. Didn't you hear? What a stupid! Waving his hands? Let him wave, and you would still ask him. Couldn't find out! Nonsense in my head, all the suitors are sitting. A? They left soon! Yes, you would run after the droshky. Get on, get on now! Do you hear, run and ask where we went; Yes, ask carefully: what kind of visitor, what is he like, do you hear? Peep through the crack and find out everything, and what kind of eyes: black or not, and go back this very minute, do you hear? Hurry, Hurry, Hurry, Hurry! (Screams until the curtain falls. So the curtain closes both of them, standing at the window.)

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol

Auditor

There is nothing to blame on the mirror if the face is crooked.
folk 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.

His wife.

Ammos Fedorovich Lyapkin-Tyapkin, judge.

Artemy Filippovich Strawberry, trustee of charitable institutions.

Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin, postmaster.

Pyotr Ivanovich Dobchinsky, city landowner.

Pyotr Ivanovich Bobchinsky, city landowner.

Ivan Alexandrovich Khlestakov, an official from St. Petersburg.

Osip, his servant.

Christian Ivanovich Gibner, district physician.

Fyodor Ivanovich Lyulyukov, a retired official, an honorary person in the city.

Ivan Lazarevich Rastakovskiy, a retired official, a person of honor in the city.

Stepan Ivanovich Korobkin, a retired official, a person of honor in the city.

Stepan Ilyich Ukhovertov, private bailiff.

Svistunov, policeman

Pugovitsyn, policeman

Derzhimorda, policeman

Abdulin, merchant.

Fevronya Petrovna Poshlepkina, locksmith.

Non-commissioned officer's wife.

Mishka, servant of the mayor.

Servant of the tavern.

Guests and guests, merchants, petty bourgeois, petitioners.

Characters and costumes
Notes for gentlemen actors
The 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; somewhat even a reasoner; speaks neither loudly nor softly, neither more nor less. His every word is significant. His features are rough and hard, like those of anyone who has begun his service from the lower ranks. The transition from fear to joy, from rudeness to arrogance is quite quick, like a person with a roughly developed inclination of the soul. He is dressed, as usual, in his uniform with buttonholes and boots with spurs. His hair is short, with grey.

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

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

Osip, the servant, is the way servants of a few older years usually are. He speaks earnestly, looks down a little, is a reasoner, and likes to lecture himself for his master. His voice is always almost even, 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 a rogue in silence. His suit is a gray or worn frock coat.

Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, both short, short, very curious; extremely similar to each other; both with small bellies; both speak in a patter and help tremendously with gestures and hands. Dobchinsky is a little taller and more serious than Bobchinsky, but Bobchinsky is bolder and livelier than Dobchinsky.

Lyapkin-Tyapkin, a judge, a man who has read five or six books and is therefore somewhat freethinking. The hunter is great at guessing, and therefore he gives weight to his every word. The person representing him must always keep a significant mine in his face. He speaks in a bass with an oblong drawl, wheezing and glanders - like an old clock that hisses first and then strikes.

Strawberry, the trustee of charitable establishments, is a very fat, clumsy and clumsy person, but for all that he is a sly and a rogue. Very helpful and fussy.

The postmaster, a simple-minded man to the point of naivety.

Other roles do not require special explanation. Their originals are almost always in front of your eyes.

Gentlemen actors especially should pay attention to the last scene. The last spoken word should produce an electrical shock on everyone at once, all of a sudden. The whole group must change position in the blink of an eye. The sound of astonishment should break out from all women at once, as if from one breast. From non-observance of these remarks, the whole 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 have invited you, gentlemen, in order to tell you the unpleasant news: an auditor is coming to visit us.

Ammos Fedorovich. How is the auditor?

Artemy Filippovich. How is the auditor?

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

Ammos Fedorovich. Here are those on!

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

Luka Lukic. Lord God! even with a secret order!

Mayor. I seemed to have a presentiment: all night long I dreamed of two extraordinary rats. Really, I've never seen anything like it: black, unnatural size! came, sniffed - and went away. Here I will read you a letter that I received from Andrey Ivanovich Chmykhov, whom you, Artemy Filippovich, know. Here is what he writes: “Dear friend, godfather and benefactor (mumbles in an undertone, quickly running his eyes)… and notify you.” A! Here: “I hasten, by the way, to notify you that I have arrived

Few things can so subtly, accurately and sharply reflect the whole tragedy of unsightly reality better than its demonstration in a comedic light. Judging by the reaction that followed, in the play The Inspector General, Gogol succeeded perfectly. The author himself has repeatedly noticed that he sought to collect and generalize to convey all the possible vices characteristic of his contemporaries, especially in bureaucratic society, in order to laugh at them from the bottom of his heart. According to the surviving evidence, the writer had an almost physical need to create a vivid satirical comedy. For the sake of this, Gogol interrupted work on Dead Souls. It is believed that Pushkin suggested the plot for the work to the author. At the time, anecdotal stories of someone in various places being mistaken for an inspector were quite common. The first version of Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General" came out from the writer's pen literally two months later. In 1836 he presented the play to the public. The result was ambiguous. The writers accepted it quite enthusiastically, and the high society, having clearly felt the essence, irritatedly, declaring the story a pure fiction. But the production was not banned, and Gogol corrected it until 1842. This is the version currently available.

The Inspector General is a comedy that is clearly social, satirical, created in compliance with the basic canons of the genre. She captivates readers with an understandable sequential development of events, the comedy of which grows with each action, reaching its highest degree in the 8th phenomenon of the 5th act. The finale remains open and, at the same time, quite sufficient, implying a completely different story. The author interrupts his story about the extraordinary events that took place in one provincial town with a silent scene, which allows you to better feel the absurdity of everything that is happening. Of course, the actions and characters of the characters are somewhat exaggerated, but this is done deliberately. After all, the task assigned to the writer must be completed in full. And in the "Inspector General" the goal of demonstrating the vices and degradation of the personality has been definitely achieved. Unfortunately, the shortcomings ridiculed by Gogol have not outlived their usefulness to the present. Only a few acquired modern forms and names (for example, corruption). Therefore, the relevance of the work does not need proof.

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