The main idea of the work "Woe from Wit" is an illustration of meanness, ignorance and servility before the ranks and traditions, which were opposed by new ideas, genuine culture, freedom and reason. The main character Chatsky appeared in the play as a representative of the very democratic society of young people who threw down an open challenge to conservatives and serf-owners. All these subtleties that raged in social and political life, Griboyedov managed to reflect on the example of the classic comedic love triangle. It is noteworthy that the main part of the work described by the creator takes place within just one day, and the characters themselves by Griboyedov are displayed very vividly.
Many of the writer's contemporaries honored his manuscript with sincere praise and stood up to the tsar for permission to publish the comedy.
Comedy writing history
The idea of writing the comedy "Woe from Wit" visited Griboyedov during his stay in St. Petersburg. In 1816, he returned to the city from abroad and found himself at one of the secular receptions. He was deeply indignant at the craving of the Russian people for the foreign, after he noticed that the nobility of the city bows before one of the foreign guests. The writer could not restrain himself and showed his negative attitude. Meanwhile, one of the invitees, who did not share his beliefs, retorted that Griboyedov was crazy.
The events of that evening formed the basis of the comedy, and Griboyedov himself became the prototype of the main character, Chatsky. The writer began work on the work in 1821. He worked on comedy in Tiflis, where he served under General Ermolov, and in Moscow.
In 1823, work on the play was completed, and the writer began to read it in Moscow literary circles, receiving rave reviews along the way. The comedy was successfully sold in the form of lists among the reading population, but it was first published only in 1833, after the petition of Minister Uvarov to the tsar. The writer himself was no longer alive by that time.
Analysis of the work
The main plot of the comedy
The events described in the comedy take place at the beginning of the 19th century, in the house of the capital's official Famusov. His young daughter Sophia is in love with Famusov's secretary, Molchalin. He is a calculating person, not rich, occupying a small rank.
Knowing about Sophia's passions, he meets with her of convenience. One day, a young nobleman Chatsky, a family friend who has not been to Russia for three years, comes to the Famusovs' house. The purpose of his return is to marry Sophia, for whom he has feelings. Sophia herself hides her love for Molchalin from the main character of the comedy.
Sophia's father is a man of the old way and views. He subservience to the ranks and believes that the young should please the authorities in everything, not express their opinion and serve their superiors selflessly. Chatsky, in contrast, is a witty young man with a sense of pride and a good education. He condemns such views, considers them stupid, hypocritical and empty. There are heated disputes between Famusov and Chatsky.
On the day of Chatsky's arrival, the invited guests gather in Famusov's house. During the evening, Sophia spreads the rumor that Chatsky has gone mad. The guests, who also do not share his views, actively pick up this idea and unanimously recognize the hero as crazy.
Finding himself a black sheep at the evening, Chatsky is going to leave the Famusovs' house. While waiting for the carriage, he hears the secretary of Famusov confess his feelings to the servant of the masters. Sophia hears this and immediately drives Molchalin out of the house.
The denouement of the love scene ends with Chatsky's disappointment in Sophia and secular society. The hero leaves Moscow forever.
Heroes of the comedy "Woe from Wit"
This is the main character of Griboyedov's comedy. He is a hereditary nobleman, who owns 300 - 400 souls. Chatsky was left an orphan early, and since his father was a close friend of Famusov, from childhood he was brought up with Sophia in the Famusovs' house. Later he became bored with them, and at first he settled separately, and after that he left to wander the world altogether.
Since childhood, Chatsky and Sophia were friends, but he felt not only friendly feelings for her.
The main character in Griboyedov's comedy is not stupid, witty, eloquent. A lover of ridicule of the stupid, Chatsky was a liberal who did not want to bow before the authorities and serve the higher ranks. That is why he did not serve in the army and was not an official, which is a rarity for the era of that time and his genealogy.
Famusov is an aged man with gray hair at the temples, a nobleman. For his age, he is very cheerful and fresh. Pavel Afanasevich is a widower, of the children he has the only Sophia, 17 years old.
The official is in the civil service, he is rich, but at the same time windy. Famusov does not hesitate to stick to his own maids. His character is explosive, restless. Pavel Afanasevich is grumpy, but with the right people, he knows how to show due politeness. An example of this is his communication with the colonel, to whom Famusov wants to marry his daughter. For the sake of his goal, he is ready for anything. Submission, subservience to the ranks and servility are characteristic of him. He also values the opinion of society about himself and his family. The official does not like reading and does not consider education to be something very important.
Sophia is the daughter of a wealthy official. Nice and educated in the best rules of the Moscow nobility. Left early without a mother, but under the care of Madame Rosier's governess, she reads French books, dances and plays the piano. Sophia is a fickle girl, windy and easily carried away by young men. At the same time, she is gullible and very naive.
In the course of the play, it is clear that she does not notice that Molchalin does not love her and is with her because of her own benefits. Her father calls her a shameless woman, while Sophia herself considers herself an intelligent and not a cowardly young lady.
Famusov's secretary, who lives in their house, is a single young man from a very poor family. Molchalin received his title of nobility only during the service, which at that time was considered acceptable. For this, Famusov periodically calls him rootless.
The hero's surname, as well as possible, corresponds to his character and temperament. He doesn't like to talk. Molchalin is a narrow-minded and very stupid person. He behaves modestly and quietly, honors ranks and tries to please everyone who is around him. It does it solely for profit.
Alexey Stepanovich never expresses his opinion, due to which those around him consider him to be a quite nice young man. In fact, he is sneaky, unprincipled and cowardly. At the end of the comedy, it becomes clear that Molchalin is in love with the servant Lisa. Having confessed this to her, he receives a portion of righteous anger from Sophia, but his characteristic sycophancy allows him to remain in the service of her father further.
Skalozub is a minor character in the comedy, he is an inactive colonel who wants to become a general.
Pavel Afanasevich refers Skalozub to the category of enviable Moscow suitors. According to Famusov, a wealthy officer who has weight and status in society is a good game for his daughter. Sophia herself did not like him. In the work, the image of Skalozub is collected in separate phrases. Sergei Sergeevich joins Chatsky's speech with absurd reasoning. They betray his ignorance and ignorance.
The maid Lisa
Lizanka is an ordinary servant in the Famus house, but at the same time she occupies a rather high place among other literary characters, and she has been assigned a lot of different episodes and descriptions. The author describes in detail what Lisa does and what and how she speaks. She forces other characters in the play to confess their feelings, provokes them to certain actions, pushes them to various decisions that are important for their lives.
Mr. Repetilov appears in the fourth act of the piece. This is a minor, but vivid character of the comedy, invited to the ball to Famusov on the occasion of the birthday of his daughter Sophia. His image characterizes a person who chooses an easy path in life.
Zagoretsky
Anton Antonovich Zagoretsky is a secular revelry without ranks and honors, but who knows how, and loves to be invited to all receptions. At the expense of his gift - to be pleasing to the court.
In a hurry to visit the center of events, "as it were" from the outside, the secondary hero A.S. Griboyedov, Anton Antonovich, his own person, is invited to an evening at the Faustuvs' house. From the very first seconds of the action with his persona it becomes clear - Zagoretsky is still a "shot".
Madame Khlestova is also one of the minor characters in the comedy, but her role is still very colorful. This is a woman of advanced years. She is 65 years old. She has a Pomeranian dog and a dark-skinned maid - arap. Khlestova is aware of the latest gossip of the court and willingly shares her own stories from life, in which she easily talks about other characters in the work.
Comedy quotes
"Who are the judges?"Chatsky
« I would be glad to serve, to serve is sickening» Chatsky
"There is no need for another model, when the father's example is in the eyes"Famusov
"Yes, an intelligent person cannot but be a cheat"
Comedy composition and storylines
When writing the comedy "Woe from Wit" Griboyedov used a technique characteristic of this genre. Here we can see a classic storyline, where two men compete for the hand of one girl at once. Their images are also classic: one is modest and respectful, the second is educated, proud and confident in his own superiority. True, in the play, Griboyedov placed accents in the character of the heroes a little differently, making it cute for that society, namely Molchalin, and not Chatsky.
Over the course of several chapters of the play, there is a background description of life in the Famusovs' house, and only in the seventh phenomenon does the plot of a love story begin. A rather detailed long description in the course of the play tells only about one day. Long-term development of events is not described here.
Each of the images described by Griboyedov is multifaceted. Even Molchalin is interesting, to whom, already the reader has an unpleasant attitude, but he does not cause obvious disgust. It is interesting to watch him in various episodes.
There are two plot lines in the comedy. These are conflicts: love and social.
In the play, despite taking the fundamental constructions, there are certain deviations for building the plot, and it can be clearly seen that the comedy was written at the junction of three literary eras at once: flourishing romanticism, nascent realism and dying classicism.
Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from Wit" gained its popularity not only for the use of classical plotting techniques in a non-standard framework for them, it reflected the obvious changes in society, which were then just emerging and sprouting.
The work is also interesting in that it is strikingly different from all other works written by Griboyedov.
Briefly:
The idea of the comedy "Woe from Wit" dates back to 1816. During the life of the author, despite his efforts, the caesura did not permit the publication of this work. Only small excerpts from the comedy have appeared in print. Despite this, Woe From Wit was well known in the community because it was distributed in the lists. Only in 1831 did the censorship permit the printing of an incomplete text of the comedy. The most "unreliable" parts of it were excluded. In the same year, the play was staged in St. Petersburg, and then in Moscow.
The conflict in comedy is of a public nature; its main character is tormented not only by unrequited love, but also by the inability to live in this crazy society. Comedy carries the features of classicism - the unity of action, place and time, the heroes are endowed with characteristic names - Chatsky - from the word "children", Famusov - from the English word "famous", Molchalin - wordless, Repetilov - retelling the thoughts of others, etc. But behind these outward signs of classicism lies realism, which is expressed in the characters of the characters true to the truth of life, in their ambiguity inherent in living people. The deep realism of comedy is matched by its vivid, figurative language. Here, living people speak a living language. The language of each character characterizes the image; for example, the well-aimed and sharp language of the servant Lisa, the harmonious and logical speech of Chatsky. Repetilov's monologues have no core; he jumps from one topic to another all the time. Many expressions from comedy have become "winged", people still use them today, for example, "and the smoke of the fatherland is sweet and pleasant to us", "happy hours do not watch", etc. (For a detailed analysis of the characters of the comedy characters, see the article "I. And Goncharov ").
This work had a great influence on the further development of Russian literature. Almost fifty years after the comedy was written, I. A. Goncharov dedicated a critical essay to it, called "Million of Torments," written as if the comedy had recently been completed.
Source: A quick reference book of a student. Russian literature / Auth.-comp. I.N. Agekyan. - Minsk: Contemporary Writer, 2002
More details:
Woe from Wit (1824) became the first Russian realistic comedy, this work became a landmark for the establishment of realism in Russian drama. However, precisely because it was the first realistic work, it is possible to distinguish in it the influence of the aesthetics of romanticism (even the image of Chatsky, on the whole realistic, is very similar to the images of romantic heroes opposed to circumstances and other heroes), and even the influence of classicism - here is the observance the requirements of the "three unities", and the "speaking" surnames of the heroes. However, we can say that in the comedy "Woe from Wit" Griboyedov creatively reworked all the best that had been created in Russian literature before him, having managed to create a qualitatively new work on the basis of this, and this novelty is determined primarily by new principles of character creation, new an approach to understanding the essence of character images.
Griboyedov's heroes are heroes whose images are socially motivated, they are so because they belong to a certain time and certain strata of society, although this does not mean that they are schematic heroes. It's just that in each of them the main character traits are formed by the environment, each of them expresses this environment, while remaining an individual.
The language of the comedy "Woe from Wit"
The language of the comedy "Woe from Wit" has also become fundamentally new for Russian literature, the language characteristics of the heroes are presented to the reader of each of them in such a way that, for example, Sophia's speech cannot be confused with the speech of Princess Tugouhovskaya, and Molchalin and Skalozub differ in both characters and their speech ... The utmost individualization of the speech characteristics of the heroes, brilliant command of the Russian language, the aphoristic replicas of the heroes, the acuteness of polemics in dialogues and monologues - all this makes the language of Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from Wit" a unique phenomenon in Russian literature of the 20s of the XIX century, and the fact that many phrases from it became "winged", confirms that not only it belonged to its time.
Comedy Conflicts
Comedy conflicts are very interesting. The external conflict is obvious: this is the confrontation between the progressive man of his time (Chatsky) and the society living in the past and striving to keep this life unchanged. In other words, the conflict between the old and the new is, in general, a banal conflict. However, it is most closely connected with the internal conflict of comedy, with the contradiction of the image of Chatsky. How could he, the smartest person, not understand that Sophia loves another after she herself told him about it and gave the name of this person? Why does he with such fervor prove his point of view to people whose value he knows perfectly well, as well as knows that they will never agree with him, but even will not be able to understand him? Here it is, the internal conflict of the comedy "Woe from Wit" by Griboyedov. Chatsky deeply and sincerely loves Sophia, and this feeling makes him so incomprehensible and even funny - although can someone who loves be funny, no matter how funny he may seem? .. In some ways, the internal and external conflicts of comedy coincide, although love Sophia to Molchalin is not socially conditioned in terms of motivation, rather, on the contrary, but the romantic view of Famusov's daughter on the latter is also characteristic of the society in which they live.
Famusov's image
The world of Famusov is the world of the Moscow nobility, who lives according to the norms of the "Times of Ochakov and the conquest of the Crimea" and does not want to change anything in their lives. Famusov, "the manager in the official place," does business carelessly ("Signed, off your shoulders" ...), but he succeeds in organizing his life with all sorts of conveniences, not excluding "monastic behavior" ... He knows for sure that for his daughter "Who is poor is not a match for you", he is well versed in secular gossip and everything that concerns other people's estates, he can, on occasion, remind Molchalin to whom he owes his current position, and he is openly obsequious with Skalozub, seeing in him a profitable groom for his daughter ... In a conversation with Chatsky, not understanding even half of what the interlocutor says, he is terrified to death, believing that he is talking with a "carbonari" (that is, a rebel) who "wants to preach freedom" and "He does not recognize the authorities," demands: "I would strictly forbid these gentlemen to drive up to the capitals for a shot." He is not at all that stupid, Famusov, so he is ready by any means to fight for the preservation of his position and his way of life, he defends his right to see life like this and live like that. His danger is that he is ready for just that for everything, or maybe he is still very much, so far he and those like him are the true masters of life, and only one person opposes them - Chatsky, who is very lonely in this society, that no matter what they talk about "nephews" and others, supposedly professing different ideals, in the house of Famusov Chatsky is truly alone.
The image of Chatsky in the comedy "Woe from Wit"
The image of Chatsky was perceived by his contemporaries as the image of an advanced person defending the ideals of a new life, which was to replace the dominance of "famusism". He was seen as a representative of the younger generation, an intelligent, educated, decent person who ardently advocates the need to change life and, it seems, is taking some steps in this direction, although the author speaks about it in passing. It is only indisputable that Chatsky is a thinking and gifted person, his judgments about public service, about duty do not in vain scare Famusov so much, they express the ideas of a state structure that undermine the foundations of the existence of Famusov and those like him: "To serve the cause, not the persons ... "," I would be glad to serve, to serve sickeningly "," And for sure, the light began to grow stupid. "
There was a lot of debate about whether the image of Chatsky in Woe from Wit could be considered the image of the Decembrist in literature, but there is no doubt that the hero's ideas are close to the ideas of the Decembrists, to whom the author of the comedy had great sympathy. However, Chatsky is not just a spokesman for the ideas of his time, advanced in the opinion of the author of a comedy. This is a living person, he is sincere and deep in his feelings, his actions are determined by the feeling of great love that he feels for Sophia. He is in love, he remembers Sophia as a young girl who, judging by the fact that she makes excuses to Lisa, showed him unambiguous signs of attention, and now he wants to see the same Sophia in her, not wanting to see that dramatic changes have happened to her. Irritation and even a certain bitterness of Chatsky is caused by the fact that Sophia has changed her attitude towards him, and this prevents the hero from really perceiving the circumstances, seeing them as they are. The hero's mind and feelings are too much occupied with love for him to control himself, for him now the whole world is concentrated in Sophia, so everything else and everyone else just annoys him: annoys Famusov, whom he still shows a certain respect as Sophia's father; irritates Skalozub, in which he is ready to see Sophia's possible fiancé; annoying Molchalin, who, "with such a soul", cannot (as he believes!) be loved by the same Sophia.
Chatsky's persistent attempts to find out the truth about Sophia's attitude to himself border on pathology, and his stubborn reluctance to accept this truth might seem blind if it were not for love ... However, the scene, which he witnesses in the last act, gives him the final answer to The most important question for him now is that he receives irrefutable evidence that Sophia not only does not love, but also betrays him, so Chatsky's last monologue is the cry and pain of an offended soul and offended feelings, but here the Famus society is precisely described with a deadly accurate which took away from the hero the most precious thing in his life - love. Chatsky leaves Moscow, and his departure seems to indicate that he is defeated. True, there is a well-known idea of I.A. Goncharov that "Chatsky is broken by the amount of old power, inflicting a fatal blow on it with the quality of fresh power," but how can this undoubted victory of the hero help him when his heart is breaking with pain? that the ending of the comedy is close to a tragic one - for him, the "eternal denouncer", whom neither a brilliant mind, nor the ability to "laugh everyone" could help to find ordinary human happiness ...
Molchalin
The system of comedy images is built in such a way that the author gives us the opportunity to see Chatsky's "anti-doubles": these are the images of Molchalin and Repetilov. Molchalin is Chatsky's happy rival in love, in his own way he is a very strong personality who manages to achieve a lot in life. But at what cost? He faithfully observes the behest of his father: "My father bequeathed to me: First, to please all people without exception ...". He pleases, even with "our deplorable klya" (this is what Sophia calls) the nights "respectfully", because she is "the daughter of such a person"! Of course, we can say that for Molchalin such behavior is the only possible one from the point of view of achieving the "degrees of the known", but is it not at the cost of losing one's self-esteem to achieve them?
Repetilov
The image of Repetilov was perceived by his contemporaries as a clear parody of the Decembrists, which may seem strange - if we recall the attitude of the comedy author to them and their ideas. However, Repetilov is very similar to ... Chatsky, only Chatsky, deprived of his mind, his self-esteem, his ability to behave as his honor requires. The comic double of the protagonist helps to better understand the image of Chatsky in the comedy "Woe from Wit", to see his strengths and appreciate them, while remaining an original and distinctive artistic image, ridiculing those of the supporters of the Decembrists who preferred "words, words, words..."
Sophia
The image of Sophia in the comedy turned out to be complex and contradictory. She created a romantic image of Molchalin for herself and fell in love with her "creation", ready to defend her beloved from the unfair, as she is convinced, attacks of Chatsky and succeeded a lot in this (remember, it was from her "feed" that gossip from Chatsky's madness went for a walk!), Which became an involuntary witness of how the person she loves taunts her and her love - this is what the heroine of the comedy has to go through, and at the end of the work she cannot but evoke sympathy from the viewer. Sophia is both smart and knows people well - how brilliantly she gives a hint of Chatsky's imaginary madness to the secular gossip G.N., there is nothing to reproach her with on occasion! However, like Chatsky, she was blinded by love, and, bringing suffering to Chatsky, she herself suffers no less from the betrayal of the person whom she believed and for the sake of love for whom she made certain sacrifices.
"The theme of the mind"
The "theme of the mind" occupies a special place in the comedy. The "grief" brought to Chatsky by his undoubted intelligence is aggravated by the fact that in Famusov's world a different idea of "intelligence" dominates: here the one who knows how to achieve ranks and money is appreciated, therefore Uncle Famusov, endlessly falling before those who "ranks gives ", is revered as a model of wisdom, and the clever Chatsky is declared insane ... To be a thinking person in the circle of those who do not understand the difference between intelligence and cunning is Chatsky's lot.
Author's position
The image of the author, the author's position in the comedy "Woe from Wit" is manifested primarily in the creation of images-characters and the main conflict of the comedy. Chatsky is depicted with great sympathy, his moral superiority, his victory over the world of Famusov speaks about whose side the author is on. The satirical image of the world of old Moscow, its moral condemnation also indicate the author's position. Finally, the ending of the comedy, when it turns into a tragicomedy (as mentioned above), from the point of view of expressing the author's position, also unambiguously tells the viewer which side the author is on. In the comedy of Griboyedov, the author's beginning is expressed both in the remarks and in the speech characteristics of the images-characters, in everything the unique personality of the author of one of the greatest comedies in Russian literature is visible.
As already noted, the "catch phrases" from "Woe from Wit" have firmly entered both Russian literature and the Russian language. The work itself also took its place in Russian culture, which gives grounds to speak of the folk character of Griboyedov's comedy.
Gorichi
Young lady Natalya Dmitrievna and her husband Platon Mikhailovich. Both are old acquaintances of Chatsky, which becomes known in the 5th phenomenon of the third act. Griboyedov portrays Goriches with an ironic smile.
Chatsky
You are younger, fresher;
Fire, blush, laughter, play in all features.
Natalia Dmitrievna
I'm married.
Chatsky
How long ago would you say!
Tugoukhovskie
The Tugoukhovskys are among the first to come to Famusov's ball. They are married and came here mainly to find rich suitors for their daughters. Chatsky also falls into their field of vision, but since he is not rich, they quickly lose interest in Chatsky. Prince Tugoukhovsky, following the logic of the surname, is deaf. Almost all of his remarks are interjections. He is henpecked, in no way disobeys his wife. The princess is distinguished by an evil disposition and sarcasm.
Hryuminy
Countess Khryumina: grandmother and granddaughter. The granddaughter is a wicked old maid. Chatsky responds no less sharply to her caustic remarks. He compares her to French milliners.
Zagoretsky
A special place in the comedy is occupied by Repetilov and Zagoretsky. Critics classify them as secondary heroes, but they are not ardent defenders of it, they obviously do not do anything bad to Chatsky, but it is their "tacit consent" that decides important issues in the lives of other people. Zagoretsky is presented by the author as a frequenter of living rooms and dining rooms, "a liar, a gambler and a thief."
The Tugoukhovskys, Khryumins, Zagoretsky - a satire on the Moscow society of those times.
Repetilov
Repetilov appears in the fourth act in the comedy as a guest at Famusov's ball. Griboyedov in "Woe from Wit" gives speaking surnames to many characters, so in translation from French the surname Repetilov means "to repeat". So the author emphasizes that Repetilov is only able to repeat in words the lofty ideas of the Decembrists, without delving into their true meaning. He becomes the central figure in the fourth act. The guests leaving the ball stop near him, starting with Chatsky, and from the conversations of the guests with Repetilov, gossip about madness comes to him.
Speech characteristics of characters in Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from Wit"
MKOU "Mogilno-Poselskaya secondary school"
Russian language and literature teacher
Natalia Sobolkova
1.List of aphoristic expressions of the characters of the comedy
Chatsky
A little light - already on your feet! and I am at your feet.
-… And the smoke of the Fatherland is sweet and pleasant to us.
However, he will reach the degrees of the known,
After all, nowadays they love the dumb.
I wanted to go around the whole world
And he did not go around a hundredth.
I would be glad to serve, to serve is sickening.
The tradition is fresh, but hard to believe.
The houses are new, but the prejudices are old.
Rejoice, do not exterminate
Besides honesty, there are many joys:
They scold here and thank you there.
So! I sober up with a full,
Dreams out of sight - and the veil fell.
Get out of Moscow! here I am no longer a rider.
I’m running, I don’t look back, I’ll go looking around the world,
Where the offended one has a corner ...!
Carriage for me, carriage!
Empty, slavish, blind imitation.
Listen, lie, but know the measure;
- The women were shouting: hurray!
And they threw their caps into the air.
Mercy, we are not guys,
Why are the opinions of others only holy?
We got used to believe
That there is no salvation for us without the Germans.
Reason in spite of, in defiance of the elements.
It's good where we are not.
Mind and heart are out of tune.
Molchalin
Oh! evil tongues are more terrible than a pistol.
I dare not advise you.
You shouldn't dare in my years
Your judgment to have ...
Moderation and accuracy.
Sophia
Happy hours are not observed.
The hero is not my novel.
Lisa
Pass us more than all sorrows
And lordly anger and lordly love.
Well, people are on the side here!
She to him, and he to me ...
And the golden bag, and marks the generals. (About Skalozub)
Skalozub
You can't fool me with scholarship.
The distance is huge.
I don’t know, I’m to blame;
She and I did not serve together.
Famusov
There is no need for another model,
When the father's example is in the eyes.
The poor man is not your match.
Read not like a sexton.
And with feeling, with sense, with arrangement.
That's it, you are all proud!
Would you ask how the fathers did?
What honor is there for father and son.
Learning is the plague, learning is the reason.
Well, how not to please a dear little man.
If you stop evil:
Bah! all familiar faces.
Dreams are strange, but in reality they are stranger.
To the village, off the beaten track, to Saratov!
You, the current ones, well, tka!
All Moscow ones have a special imprint.
Well, how not to please a dear little man?
Signed, off your shoulders.
2. Life position of the hero
Famusov is a typical Moscow gentleman of the 19th century, with a characteristic mixture of tyranny and patriarchy. (That's what all of you are proud of! Would you ask how the fathers did?). His political ideals boil down to the glorification of everything old, established: he lives well, and he does not want any changes. The ideal person for Famusov is one who has made a profitable career; at the same time, it is not important for him by what means this is achieved. Subservience and meanness is also a good way for him, if only it leads to the desired result. Famusov, a careerist, does not even think about the fact that the service is not only “signed, off our shoulders,” but also care for the people and the state. It is in education that he sees the cause of the young man's madness, considers enlightenment to be evil and offers a radical means of ridding the country of this evil:
If you stop evil:
Take all the books and burn them.
Skalozub is all in the external, humanly insignificant, spiritless: noisy, pulled into a uniform, preoccupied only with military dance exercises. This is a typical Arakcheevsky officer: stupid and thoughtless, an opponent of any free thought and enlightenment. ("You can't fool me with scholarship").
Molchalin is a petty official, trying to please all people, spending his time with old people in order to be noticed and distinguished. He wants to be noble, rich, accepted in the "high society." The ideal of his life for him is as follows: "And take an award, and have fun." Therefore, Molchalin is engaged in sycophancy and hypocrisy that help him advance in the service. He already has awards and is an irreplaceable assistant to Famusov, although Molchalin, in his own words, has only two talents - moderation and accuracy.
Sophia is a typical Moscow young lady, intelligent, brought up on French novels. Having read sentimental novels, she dreams of a timid, quiet, tender lover, whom she will marry and make out of him a “boy-husband”, “a boy-servant”.
Chatsky is a true patriot, ready to give all his strength and talents to the happiness of his native country: ("And the smoke of the Fatherland is sweet and pleasant to us ..."). He returns to Russia with a desire to change the life of Russian society for the better, but sees that during his absence there have been no changes. The same conservative mores prevail in the country:
The houses are new, but the prejudices are old.
Rejoice, do not exterminate
Neither their years, nor fashion, nor fires.
Chatsky has a lot of merits, but he does not serve anywhere. The reason is the unwillingness to engage in hypocrisy and sycophancy, which is clearly indicated by the hero's words: "I would be glad to serve, it is sick to serve." Chatsky always defends his own opinion, he is the enemy of all authorities. Most of all he hates despotism and slavery, stupidity and dishonor, mental and moral deafness. ("Empty, slavish, blind imitation").
3.Community of the worldview of representatives of the Famus society
The images of the Moscow nobles in the comedy have many features in common. These are reactionary people, persecutors of everything that is advanced. The first characteristic of the representatives of the Famus society is given by the names of the heroes of the comedy. Continuing the traditions of Fonvizin, Griboyedov uses the technique of “speaking surnames”.
The people gathered in Famusov's house are staunch supporters of the autocratic serf system. The past, the "golden age" of the Russian nobility is dear to them:
Then not what it is now:
Served under the Empress Catherine.
This society is afraid of everything new. Famusov and his guests are liberal, they speak directly and proudly about their commitment to the "past century":
Not that novelties were introduced - never,
Save us God! No…
The personal qualities of a person, his soul are not of interest to these people. Here, everyone is judged by wealth and origin. Money, medals and the number of serfs determine everything:
Be inferior, but if you have enough
There are two thousand generic souls,
He and the groom.
Realizing that the number of serfs determines the place of a nobleman in society, Famusov's guests do not see people in the peasants. Serfs are sold, exchanged for dogs. Khlestova, for example, comes to the Famusovs with a dog and a "little arap girl" and asks the owner's daughter, Sophia:
Tell them to feed, my dear friend.
There was a handout from supper.
For this Moscow lady, a dog and a living person are equal. Famusov, angry with the servants, threatens:
Into the work of you! to the settlement!
The purpose of life of these gentlemen is career, honor, wealth. Maxim Petrovich, "a nobleman in the case" under Catherine, chamberlain Kuzma Petrovich - these are role models. Hypocritical, stupid, but rich and noble people. Famusov dreams of marrying his daughter to Skalozub only because he is "And the golden bag, and marks the generals." The Moscow nobles regard service as a source of income, a means of achieving ranks. Protection, nepotism is a common occurrence in the world of these people. The nobles care not about the interests of the country, but about their personal benefit.
The ignorant nobility is an ardent persecutor of science and education and is not ashamed of it. Such people were the mainstay of reaction in the struggle against reason.
The upbringing received by the Moscow barchuk makes them alien to their people. They do not know their native language, they worship everything foreign. The lordship is cut off from the people's soil.
4. Manifestation in aphorisms of Molchalin's social position, his dependence on influential representatives of lordly Moscow
Rootless Molchalin is obsequious and modest. He lives according to the behest of his father: "to please all people without exception", never to express his opinion:
You shouldn't dare in my years
Your judgment to have ...
Molchalin is sensitive to any changes and, although not far-sighted, is well-oriented in the social structure. He is very cunning, resourceful, always able to find the "key" to every influential person:
There the pug will stroke the pug in time,
Then he'll rub the card in good time ...
He considers his main talent to be "moderation and accuracy."
Molchalin's goal in life is to climb the career ladder, slowly but surely. He dreams of becoming rich and powerful. He is not even ashamed of the fact that he will humiliate himself a lot in order to achieve his goal.
5. How the conflict between the "present century" and the "past century" is reflected in the aphorisms of Chatsky and his ideological opponents
"The main role, of course, is the role of Chatsky, without whom there was no comedy, but, perhaps, there would be a picture of mores." IA Goncharov One cannot but agree with Goncharov that the figure of Chatsky determines the conflict of comedy - the conflict of two eras. It arises because people with new views, beliefs, and goals begin to appear in society. Such people do not lie, do not adapt, do not depend on public opinion. Therefore, in an atmosphere of servility and respect, the appearance of such people makes their collision with society inevitable. The problem of mutual understanding between the “present century” and the “past century” was relevant for the time when Griboyedov created the comedy “Woe from Wit”, and it is still relevant today. So, at the center of the comedy is the conflict between “one sane person” (according to Goncharov) and the “conservative majority”.
Chatsky perfectly understands his incompatibility with the world of the Famusovs and Molchalins. His aphorisms are harsh and firm: "I would be glad to serve, it is sickening to serve,"
“The houses are new, but the prejudices are old. Rejoice, neither their years, nor fashion, nor fires will destroy them ... ". These polished remarks by Chatsky seem to outline the border between him and the "past century", but not yet outlived, not dead.
Chatsky opposes the society of ignoramuses and serf-owners. He fights against noble villains and sycophants, swindlers, rogues and informers. In his famous monologue "Who are the judges ..." he tore off the mask from the vile and vulgar Famus world, in which the Russian people turned into an object of purchase and sale, where landowners changed serf people who saved "both honor and life ... more than once "on" three greyhounds ". Chatsky protects a real person, humanity and honesty, intelligence and culture. He protects the Russian people, his Russia from the bad, inert and backward. Chatsky wants to see Russia as literate and cultured. He defends this in disputes, conversations with all the characters of the comedy "Woe from Wit", directing his whole mind, wit, evil, irascibility and determination to this.
Chatsky's speech is somewhat bookish ("speaks as he writes"), which testifies to his great reading and education, but the fragile position of his ideas in this mundane society. In syntactic terms, Chatsky's speech is more complex than the speech of other characters. She has features of a journalistic style, especially in his accusatory monologues, written as angry satire. He uses a lot of exclamations and rhetorical questions, this is also explained by the fact that the hero is young and in love, his speech is ardent and passionate:
Who are the judges? ..
Where? show us, Fatherland fathers,
which should we take for samples? ..
All of a sudden
He exchanged three greyhounds for them !!!
That Nestor of the noble scoundrels ...
In science, he will stick a mind hungry for knowledge ...
Chatsky's speech is most characteristic of aphorism and wit:
BUT , however, he will reach the degrees known,
After all, nowadays they love the dumb ...
And the smoke of the Fatherland is sweet to us and pleasant!
6.How is the aphoristic style connected with the artistic method of the author and the poetic form of comedy
The author put all the power of his poetic talent into comedy, creating a play filled with deep content, but unusually easy to read, remember and perceive by the viewer. The comedy owes this property to the witty and lively Griboyedov language. The play reflects the era that followed the Patriotic War of 1812. Griboyedov portrays the Moscow nobility of this period. Both the language and the style of the play reflect this particular era and this society.
Features of the language of comedy are associated, firstly, with the innovation of the method and genre of comedy. Recall that comedy in the era of classicism was considered a low genre, in which spoken language reduced to roughness was allowed. Griboyedov partially retains and partially violates this tradition: the play was indeed written in a different colloquial language, but nevertheless literate and literary, harmoniously fitting into a poetic form; the language is not reduced to rudeness and is as close as possible to literary colloquial speech.
The language of the play is, as far as possible, freed from borrowed foreign words, as well as from archaisms, Church Slavisms, characteristic of the book speech of the past century, which noticeably “lightens” it, makes it accessible and easy to understand.
Griboyedov believed that a literary language should be based on a living folk speech. He fervently protested against the contamination of the Russian language with foreign words and expressions. He fulfilled these requirements in his comedy. The language of the play is simple, colloquial, abounding in well-aimed expressions.
Griboyedov proved to be a master of aphorisms. The word for him was a smashing weapon, and many expressions from the play, thanks to their accuracy and strength, became winged - passed from the pages of comedy into live speech and enriched it.
There are a lot of winged expressions. They serve as one of the means of characterizing the characters. Often in the mouth of one character, the author puts the characteristic of another: "And the golden bag, and marks the generals" (Liza about Skalozub).
Pushkin, having read "Woe from Wit", was delighted with the language and verse of the comedy. “I’m not talking about poetry: half should be part of the proverb,” he wrote to Bestuzhev.
Griboyedov adopted from Krylov the experience of using colloquial speech in poetry. The comedy is written in iambic six-foot, which is often interspersed with shorter lines. In the very first four verses of the comedy, we see this diversity:
Day is breaking! Oh! how soon the night passed! (five)
Yesterday I asked to sleep - refusal. (4)
"We are waiting for a friend." - You need an eye and an eye, (4)
Do not sleep until you roll off your chair. (6)
Elsewhere, iambic tetrameter is replaced by iambic tetrameter:
… Let me be sure;
Then..
This is the verse of the comedy, conveying the rhythm of living speech in all the variety of its shades.
Griboyedov also freely handles rhyme, using different methods and order of rhyme. All this gives the language of comedy a lively, colloquial character. This freedom and diversity is the charm of the free verse "Woe from Wit". “It is impossible to imagine,” Goncharov wrote in his article “A Million of Torments,” “that someday another, more natural, simpler speech, more taken from life, could appear. Rose and verse have merged into something inseparable, then, it seems, so that it would be easier to keep them in memory and put back into circulation all the mind, humor, joke and anger of the Russian mind and language gathered by the author ”.
Literature:
A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit"
I.A. Goncharov "Million of torment"
History of Russian literature of the XIX century. Bibliographer. index M - L. 1962.
Kichikova B.Ya. Genre originality of "Woe from Wit" by Griboyedov. // Russian Literature. - 1996.
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In Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from Wit", there are many characters. Most of them are used by the author as a background or confirmation of certain principles of a secular society.
The main characters of the comedy
Despite the large number of heroes, the main action in the comedy is centered around four characters - Chatsky, Famusov, Sophia, Molchalin.
Alexander Andreevich Chatsky
Alexander Chatsky
This is a young nobleman who was left an orphan at an early age. A family friend, Famusov, was involved in his upbringing. Having matured, Chatsky begins an independent life.
He spent three years abroad and after returning from a trip, he visits his teacher Famusov and his daughter Sonya, for whom he has tender feelings and with whom he hopes to marry.
We suggest that you familiarize yourself with “the image of Chatsky in the comedy“ Woe from Wit ”, which was written by Alexander Griboyedov.
However, the picture he saw was extremely discouraging - Famusov was far from that childhood memory of the teachers.
Thanks to a trip abroad, Chatsky was able to learn about the excellent relationships between people and their goals in life, so the corrupt aristocracy, mired in clichés and empty, meaningless actions, disgusts Chatsky. Attempts to explain his position and convince others of the opposite Chatsky do not lead to success - at the end of the work he leaves Moscow, because he sees no other way out.
Pavel Afanasevich Famusov
Famusov is the tutor of Alexander Chatsky. At the time of the story, he is the manager of a state institution. His wife died long ago, leaving him a daughter, Sophia. The image of Famusov is very contradictory, on the one hand, he is a person who is not devoid of positive qualities of character - for example, he takes Alexander up after the death of his parents and treats him like his son. On the other hand, he is a dishonest and hypocritical person. The main measure of a person's success and decency for him is financial security and a high position. Famusov is a bribe-taker and a deceiver, therefore he has a conflict with his pupil.
Sofia Famusova
Sophia is the daughter of Pavel Afanasevich Famusov. In the comedy, she is portrayed as an adult - a girl of marriageable age.
Despite the fact that she is not so mired in an aristocratic swamp, the girl is still a partially negative character - her disregard for true feelings repels her from this character.
The girl loves to be pleased, and she has little concern about the fact that such behavior looks demeaning.
Alexey Stepanovich Molchalin
Molchalin is Famusov's personal secretary, although officially he is an employee of the archive at the state institution in which Famusov works. Molchalin is a simple person by birth, therefore, for the sake of the title and the right to belong to high society, he is ready for anything. Molchalin pleases Famusov and his daughter in every possible way in order to make his dream come true. In fact, this is a hypocritical, stupid and dishonest person.
Minor characters
This category includes characters who have a significant influence on the formation of the plot of a comedy, but at the same time they are not active characters. In addition, this also includes heroes with too generalized and vague character traits, such as Lisa.
Repetilov
Repetilov is an old friend of Famusov. During his youth, he led a dissolute and turbulent life, giving himself up to balls and social events. Due to absent-mindedness and lack of focus, he could not ensure his career growth.
We suggest that you familiarize yourself with “the characteristics of the Famus society in the comedy“ Woe from Wit ”, written by Alexander Griboyedov.
Sergey Sergeevich Skalozub
Skalozub is a wealthy officer. By nature, he is a prominent person, but stupid and uninteresting. Skalozub is too fixated on military service and his career and does not see the point in anything else.
Lisa
Liza is a young girl, a servant in Famusov's house. She has an attractive appearance, which in her case turns out to be a negative trait - Famusov and Molchalin stick to her. Life in Famusov's house in Liza's case is further complicated by a complicated relationship with Sophia - Famusov's daughter from time to time draws Lisa into her love affairs, which may cause the latter to have serious problems.
Third-rate characters
The largest number of characters in comedy, whose action takes a fragmentary, episodic period of time. However, it cannot be said that their presence in the text is unjustified - in fact, they play a very important role. With their help, there is an image of the main types of personalities of an aristocratic society and the main negative qualities of representatives of this stratum.
Anton Antonovich Zagoretsky
Zagoretsky became famous in society as a rogue and a deceiver - he has an extraordinary passion for playing cards, but always plays in a dishonest way. In addition, Anton Antonovich prefers to lead an active social life - he is a permanent person in theaters, at balls and dinner parties.
Anfisa Nilovna Khlestova
Anfisa Nilovna is a relative of Famusov. At the time of the story, she is already an old woman. Khlestova was once a maid of honor, but now, in her old age, she has become useless to anyone.
Because of this dissatisfaction with life, the old woman has acquired a bad character and is an extremely unpleasant person.
Her house is full of young girls whom she brought up and dogs - such a company allows her to seem important and necessary and entertains the old woman in times of despondency.
Platon Mikhailovich Gorich
Not all representatives of the aristocracy are people with leveled qualities. Examples of people who have retained their moral character are Platon Mikhailovich Gorich. He is a kind and sincere person with a sound mind and the ability to think, but he has a too gentle character, which made him a confident henpecked.
Natalia Dmitrievna Gorich
Natalya Dmitrievna is Platon Mikhailovich's wife. A woman is much younger than her husband, and, in contrast to him, has a special love for social life, which is terribly burdensome for her husband, but Gorich cannot resist the wishes of his wife.
Pyotr Ilyich Tugoukhovsky
The surname of Pyotr Ilyich fully corresponds to his essence, or rather to a physical defect. The prince is terribly hard of hearing, which greatly complicates his life. Hearing problems became the reason that Pyotr Ilyich is rarely in public, and his wife became the commander of her husband and their life in general.
Marya Alekseevna Tugoukhovskaya
Marya Alekseevna is Peter Ilyich's wife. They had 6 daughters in their marriage. They are all unmarried girls at the time of the story. The prince and the princess are forced to constantly appear with their daughters in public, in order to successfully marry their daughters, but so far the hopes of these nobles have not been justified.
Countess Hryumina
The grandmother and granddaughter are hiding under the name of Countess Khryumin. The main emphasis in the comedy of the two of them is placed on the granddaughter, who remained an old maid, and therefore she is always angry and offended by the whole world.
The Countess-grandmother is a decrepit old woman who can no longer afford dinner parties and balls, but she still tries to attend them, apparently in order to find a husband for her granddaughter.
Parsley
The image of Petrushka, though in no way connected with aristocrats, since this character is a simple peasant by origin, but nevertheless, according to its importance in the comedy, Petrushka should be ranked among the third-rate characters.
Petrushka works as a barman in Famusov's house - he is a poor man, but a pure soul. The servant Liza is in love with him.
Thus, in Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from Wit" we can see a kaleidoscope of various characters. Basically, the author does not describe in detail their characters, but this does not interfere with the perception of comedy and understanding the essence of the work.