Alexander Sergeevich Griboedov "Woe from Wit" brought worldwide fame. In this comedy, the morals of the Moscow nobility of the 19th century are presented in a satirical manner. The main conflict flares up between Chatsky, a representative of a new generation of nobles, and Famusov's society, in which it is customary to value not a person, but his rank and money. In addition, there is a love conflict in the play, the participants of which are three characters: Sophia, Chatsky and Molchalin. These storylines are closely intertwined and flow from one another. A summary of “Woe from Wit” by actions will help to understand the problems of the play in more detail.

main characters

Pavel Afanasyevich Famusov- Manager in a state-owned house, Sophia's father. For him, the main thing in a person is rank. He is very concerned about the opinion of the world about him. Famusov is afraid of educated people and enlightenment.

Sofia- Famusov's 17-year-old daughter. From the cradle she was brought up by her father, because her mother died. A smart and courageous girl who is ready to resist the opinion of society.

Alexey Molchalin- Famusov's secretary, who lives in his house. Silent and cowardly. He, a man of an humble family, was warmed by Famusov and given him the rank of assessor. Sophia is in love with him.

Alexander Chatsky- grew up with Sophia. Was in love with her. Then he went to wander the world for 3 years. Clever, eloquent. Prefers to serve the cause, not the people.

Other characters

Lizanka- The maid of the Famusovs, who helps Sophia keep secret meetings with Molchalin.

Colonel Puffer- stupid, but very wealthy man. Aiming for generals. He is tipped in his wife Sophia.

Action 1

The first act of the play "Woe from Wit" begins with a scene where Lizanka, a servant in the Famusovs' house, wakes up in an armchair complaining that she did not sleep well. The reason is that her mistress Sofya was expecting a friend, Molchalin, to visit. Liza had to make sure that their meeting remained a secret from the rest of the household.

Liza knocks on Sofya's room, from where the sounds of a flute and piano are heard, and informs the young mistress that morning has come, and it is time to say goodbye to Molchalin, so as not to be caught by her father. To speed up the process of saying goodbye to lovers, Lisa changes the clock. They start hitting.

Famusov, Sophia's father, catches Lisa doing this. During the conversation, Famusov is clearly flirting with the maid. Their conversation is interrupted by the voice of Sophia, who calls Lisa. Famusov hastily leaves.
Lisa begins to reproach Sophia for being careless. Sophia says goodbye to Molchalin. Famusov appears at the door. He wonders why his secretary Molchalin was here so early. Molchalin claims that he was returning from a walk and just went to Sofya. Famusov angrily scolds his daughter for finding her with a young man.

Lisa recommends Sophia to be careful and beware of unkind rumors. But Sophia is not afraid of them. However, Lisa believes that Sophia and Molchalin have no future, because Famusov will not allow his daughter to marry a poor and humble person. The most profitable party for Sophia, according to her father, is Colonel Skalozub, who has both rank and money. Sophia replies that it is better to drown herself than to marry Skalozub, because he is very stupid.

In a conversation about intelligence and stupidity, Lisa recalls the past story of the youthful tender love of Sophia and Alexander Andreevich Chatsky, who was distinguished by both gaiety and an extraordinary mind. But this is a thing of bygone years. Sophia believes that this could not be considered love. They just grew up with Chatsky. There was only childhood friendship between them.

A servant appears at the door and reports to Sophia that Chatsky has arrived.

Chatsky is delighted to meet Sophia, but surprised by the cold reception. Sophia assures him that she is glad to meet you. Chatsky begins to recall past years. Sophia calls their relationship childish. Chatsky asks if Sophia is in love with someone, because she is so embarrassed. But the girl says that she is embarrassed by the questions and views of Chatsky.

In a conversation with Famusov, Chatsky admires Sophia, says that he has never met anyone like her anywhere and never. Famusov fears that Chatsky would not woo his daughter.

After the departure of Chatsky, Famusov remains in thought about which of the two young people occupies Sophia's heart.

Action 2

In the second phenomenon of the second act, Chatsky asks Famusov what he would say if he asked Sophia in marriage. The father of Chatsky's beloved says that it would not be bad to serve the state and get a high rank. Chatsky utters the famous phrase: “I would be glad to serve, it’s sickening to serve.” Then Famusov calls Chatsky a proud man and cites as an example his uncle Maxim Petrovich, who served at court and was a very rich man. And all thanks to the fact that he knew how to "serve". Once at a reception with Catherine II, he stumbled and fell. The Empress laughed. Causing her smile, he decided to repeat his fall twice more, but on purpose, thereby bringing pleasure to the empress. But, thanks to his ability to turn such an incident to his own advantage, he was held in high esteem. The ability to "serve" Famusov considers it very important to achieve a high position in society.

Chatsky utters a monologue in which he compares the "current century" and "the past century." He accuses the Famusov generation of judging a person by rank and money and calls that time the age of "submission and fear." Chatsky would not want to be a jester even in front of the sovereign himself. He prefers to serve "the cause, not the persons."

Meanwhile, Colonel Skalozub comes to visit Famusov, which makes Famusov very happy. He warns Chatsky against expressing free thoughts in his presence.

The conversation between Famusov and Skalozub concerns the colonel's cousin, who, thanks to Skalozub, received many benefits in the service. However, on the eve of receiving a high rank, he suddenly left the service and left for the village, where he began to lead a measured life and read books. Puffer speaks of this with an evil sneer. Such a way of life is unacceptable for the "famus society".

Famusov admires Skalozub because he has been a colonel for a long time, although he has been serving quite recently. Skalozub dreams of the rank of general, and he wants not to deserve it, but to “get it”. Famusov wonders if Skalozub is going to get married.

Chatsky enters the conversation. Famusov condemns his free-thinking and unwillingness to serve. Chatsky answers with a monologue that it is not for Famusov to judge him. According to Chatsky, there are no role models in Famusov's society. Representatives of the Famus generation despise freedom, their judgments are outdated. Their morals are alien to Chatsky. Before this society, he will not bow his head. Chatsky is outraged that in the world everyone is afraid of people who are engaged in science or art, and not getting ranks. Only the uniform covers the lack of morality and intelligence in the Famus society.

Sophia comes running, frightened by the fact that Molchalin crashed, falling from his horse, and faints. While Lisa is trying to bring the girl to her senses, Chatsky sees healthy Molchalin through the window and realizes that Sophia worried about him in vain. Sophia, waking up, asks about Molchalin. Chatsky replies coldly that everything is in order. Sophia accuses him of indifference. Chatsky finally understands who Sophia's heart is occupied with, because she so carelessly betrayed her reverent attitude towards Molchalin.

Molchalin reproaches Sophia for expressing her feelings too frankly. Sophia doesn't care about other people's opinions. Molchalin is afraid of rumors, he is a coward. Lisa recommends that Sofya flirt with Chatsky in order to divert suspicion from Molchalin.

Alone with Lisa, Molchalin frankly flirts with her, compliments her, and offers gifts.

Action 3

At the beginning of the third act, Chatsky tries to find out from Sophia who is dear to her: Molchalin or Skalozub. Sophia avoids answering. Chatsky says he is "crazy" in love with her. In the conversation, it turns out that Sophia appreciates Molchalin for his meek disposition, modesty, quietness, but again avoids direct statements about her love for him.

In the evening, a ball is planned in the Famusovs' house. The servants hastily prepare to welcome the guests.

Guests are arriving. Among them are Prince Tugoukhovsky with his wife and six daughters, Countess Khryumina, grandmother and granddaughter, Zagoretsky, a gambler, a master of service to everyone, Khlestova, Sophia's aunt. All these are influential people in Moscow.

Molchalin descends to the point that he praises the smooth coat of Khlestova's Spitz in order to achieve her location. Chatsky noticed this and laughed at Molchalin's helpfulness.

Sophia reflects on Chatsky's pride and anger. In a conversation with a certain Mr. N, she casually says that Chatsky is "out of his mind."

The news of Chatsky's madness spreads among the guests. When Chatsky appears, everyone backs away from him. Famusov notices signs of insanity in him.

Chatsky says that his soul is overwhelmed with grief, he feels uncomfortable among these people. He is dissatisfied with Moscow. He was outraged by the meeting in the next room with a Frenchman who, going to Russia, was afraid that he would end up in the country of barbarians, he was afraid to go. And here he was greeted with affection, he did not hear Russian speech, did not see Russian faces. He seemed to be at home. Chatsky condemns the dominance of everything foreign in Russia. He is disgusted that everyone bows before France and imitates the French. While Chatsky finished his speech, all the guests dispersed from him, spun in a waltz or moved to the card tables.

Action 4

In the fourth act, the ball ends, and the guests begin to leave.

Chatsky hurries the footman to bring the carriage faster. This day dispelled his dreams and hopes. He wonders why everyone thinks he's crazy, who started this rumor that everyone picked up, does Sophia know about it. Chatsky has no idea that it was Sophia who first announced his madness.

When Sophia appears, Chatsky hides behind a column and becomes an unwitting witness to Lisa's conversation with Molchalin. It turns out that Molchalin is not only not going to marry Sophia, but also does not have any feelings for her. The maid Liza is much dearer to him, he directly declares this to her: “Why is she not you!” He pleases Sophia only because she is the daughter of Famusov, whom he serves. Sophia accidentally overhears this conversation. Molchalin falls on his knees and asks for forgiveness. But Sofya pushes him away and orders him to leave the house by morning, otherwise she will tell her father everything.

Chatsky appears. She reproaches Sophia that for the sake of Molchalin she betrayed their love. Sophia declares that she could not even think that Molchalin would turn out to be such a scoundrel.

Famusov comes running with a crowd of servants with candles. He did not expect to see his daughter with Chatsky, because she "she herself called him crazy." Now Chatsky understands who started the rumor about his madness.

Famusov is indignant, scolding the servants for not looking after his daughter. Liza is sent “to a hut”, “to go for birds”, and Sophia herself is threatened to be sent “to the village, to her aunt, to the wilderness, to Saratov”.

Chatsky delivers his last monologue that his hopes were not justified. He hurried to Sophia, dreamed of finding his happiness with her. She blames her for giving him false hope and not saying directly that their childhood crush means nothing to her. And he only lived with these feelings for all three years. But now he does not regret the breakup. He has no place in Famus society. He is going to leave Moscow forever.

After the departure of Chatsky, Famusov is only worried about one thing: “What will Princess Marya Aleksevna say!”

Conclusion

The comedy "Woe from Wit" has become a landmark in the history of Russian culture and literature. It presents the issues that worried society after the war of 1812, shows the split that has emerged in the nobility.

A brief retelling of "Woe from Wit" allows us to present the breadth of the themes and problems of this work and the features of the disclosure of storylines. However, he does not convey the linguistic richness of comedy, which is famous for the abundance of expressions that have become "winged". We recommend that you read Griboedov's "Woe from Wit" in full to enjoy the author's subtle irony and the famous lightness of the style of this play.

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Retelling rating

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CURRENT: Pavel Afanasyevich Famusov office manager Sofia Pavlovna, his daughter. Lizanka, maid. Alexey Stepanovich Molchalin, Famusov's secretary, who lives in his house. Alexander Andreevich Chatsky. Colonel Skalozub, Sergei Sergeevich. Natalya Dmitrievna, young lady, Platon Mikhailovich, her husband, - gorichi. Prince Tugoukhovsky and Princess, his wife, with six daughters. Countess grandmother, Countess granddaughter, - Khryumina. Anton Antonovich Zagoretsky. Old woman Khlestova, Famusov's sister-in-law. G.N. G.D. Repetilov. Parsley and a few talking servants. Many guests of all sorts and their lackeys at the departure. Waiters Famusova.

Comedy action in verse "Woe from Wit"

• Action 1
• Action 2
• Action 3
• Action 4
• Notes

Action 1

Phenomenon 1

The living room, there is a large clock in it, on the right is the door to Sophia's bedroom, from where you can hear the piano and flute, which then fall silent. Lizanka sleeping in the middle of the room, hanging from the armchairs. (Morning, a little day breaks)

Lizanka(suddenly wakes up, gets up from the chair, looks around)

It's getting light!.. Ah! how soon the night passed! Yesterday I asked to sleep - refusal, "We are waiting for a friend." - We need an eye and an eye, Do not sleep until you roll off your chair. Now I've just taken a nap, It's already daytime! .. tell them ...

(He knocks on Sofia.)

Lord, Hey! Sofia Pavlovna, trouble. Your conversation went during the night; Are you deaf? - Alexei Stepanych! Madam! .. - And fear does not take them!

(Moves away from the door.)

Well, an uninvited guest, Perhaps the priest will come in! I ask you to serve the young lady in love!

(Back to the door)

What time is it now?

Lizanka

Everything in the house went up.

Sofia(from my room)

What time is it now?

Lizanka

Seventh, eighth, ninth.

Sofia(from there)

Not true.

Lizanka(away from the door)

Oh! cupid *damned! And they hear, do not want to understand, Well, what would they take away the shutters? I'll move the clock, even though I know: there will be a race, I'll make them play.

(Climbs onto a chair, moves the hand, the clock strikes and plays.)

Phenomenon 2

Lisa and Famusov.

Lisa

Oh! master!

Famusov

Barin, yes.

(stops hour music)

After all, what a minx you are, girl. I couldn't figure out what the problem was! Now a flute is heard, then like a pianoforte; Would it be too early for Sophia??

Lisa

No, sir, I ... just by chance ...

Famusov

Here's something by chance, notice you; Yes, yes, on purpose.

(Cuddles up to her and flirts)

Ouch! potion, * darling.

Lisa

You are a prankster, these faces suit you!

Famusov

Modest, but nothing but Leprosy and the wind on my mind.

Lisa

Let it go, anemones yourself, Come to your senses, you old people ...

Famusov

Lisa

Well, who will come, where are we with you?

Famusov

Who should come here? Is Sophia asleep?

Lisa

Now asleep.

Famusov

Now! What about the night?

Lisa

I read all night.

Famusov

Vish, whims what have got!

Lisa

All in French, aloud, reading locked up.

Famusov

Tell me that it's not good for her eyes to be spoiled, And in reading it's not great: She can't sleep from French books, And it hurts me to sleep from Russians.

Lisa

What will rise, I will report, If you please go, wake me up, I'm afraid.

Famusov

Why wake up? You wind up the clock yourself, you thunder the symphony for the whole quarter.

Lisa(as loud as possible)

Yes, completeness!

Famusov(covers her mouth)

Have mercy on how you scream. Are you crazy?

Lisa

I'm afraid it won't come out...

Famusov

Lisa

It's time, sir, for you to know you're not a child; In girls, the morning dream is so thin; You creak the door a little, you whisper a little: Everyone hears ...

Famusov

Famusov(hurriedly)

(Sneaks out of the room on tiptoe.)

Lisa(one)

Gone... Ah! away from the masters; They prepare troubles for themselves at every hour, Bypass us more than all sorrows And the lord's anger, and the lord's love.

Phenomenon 3

Lisa, Sofia with a candle behind her Molchalin.

Sofia

What, Lisa, attacked you? You make noise...

Lisa

Of course, it's hard for you to leave? Shutting yourself up to the light, and it seems that everything is not enough?

Sofia

Ah, it really is dawn!

(Extinguishes the candle.)

And light and sadness. How swift are the nights!

Lisa

Grieve, know that there is no urine from outside, Your father came here, I died; I twirled in front of him, I don’t remember that I was lying; Well, what have you become? bow, sir, weigh. Come on, the heart is not in the right place; Look at your watch, take a look out the window: People have been pouring down the streets for a long time; And in the house there is a knock, walking, sweeping and cleaning.

Sofia

Happy hours are not observed.

Lisa

Don't watch, your power; And that in return for you, of course, I get there.

Sofia(Molchalin)

Go; we'll be bored all day long.

Lisa

God is with you, sir; away take your hand.

(Puts them apart, Molchalin runs into Famusov at the door.)

Phenomenon 4

Sofia, Lisa, Molchalin, Famusov.

Famusov

What an opportunity! * Molchalin, you, brother?

Molchalin

Famusov

Why is it here? and at this hour? And Sophia! .. Hello, Sophia, that you got up so early! a? for what concern? And how did God bring you together at the wrong time?

Sofia

He has just now entered.

Molchalin

Now from a walk.

Famusov

Friend. Is it possible to choose a nook for walking Away? And you, madam, just jumped out of bed, With a man! with the young! - An occupation for the girl! All night reading fables, And here are the fruits of these books! And all the Kuznetsky Most, * and the eternal French, From there fashions come to us, and authors, and muses: Destroyers of pockets and hearts! When will the creator deliver us From their hats! bonnets! and studs! and pins! And bookstores and biscuit shops! ..

Sofia

Excuse me, father, my head is spinning; I can hardly take my breath from fright; You deigned to run in so quickly, I got confused ...

Famusov

Thank you humbly, I soon ran to them! I interfered! I scared! I, Sofya Pavlovna, am upset myself, the whole day there is no rest, I rush about as if mad. By position, by service, trouble, He sticks, the other, everyone cares about me! But did I expect new troubles? to be deceived...

Sofia

Whom, father?

Famusov

Here they will reproach me, That I always scold to no avail. Don't cry, I'm talking business: Haven't they cared about your upbringing! from the cradle! My mother is dead: I knew how to employ a second mother in Madame Rosier. He put the old woman-gold in supervision of you: She was smart, her temper was quiet, she had rare rules. One thing does not serve her to her credit: For an extra five hundred rubles a year She allowed herself to be seduced by others. Yes, there is no strength in Madame. There is no need for a different model, When the example of a father is in the eyes. Look at me: I do not brag about my constitution; However, he is cheerful and fresh, and lived to gray hair, Free, widow, I am my master ... Known for monastic behavior! ..

Lisa

I dare, sir...

Famusov

Be silent! Terrible age! Don't know what to start! All managed beyond their years. And more than daughters, but good-natured people themselves. We were given these languages! We take vagabonds, * both to the house and on tickets, * To teach our daughters everything, everything - And dancing! and foam! and tenderness! and sigh! As if we are preparing buffoons for their wives. * You, a visitor, what? you're here, sir, why? Rootless warmed and introduced into my family, Gave the rank of assessor * and took in the secretaries; Transferred to Moscow through my assistance; And if it wasn't for me, you would smoke in Tver.

Sofia

I will not explain your anger in any way. He lives in the house here, a great misfortune! Went to a room, got into another.

Famusov

Got it or wanted to get it? Why are you together? It can't be by accident.

Sofia

Here, however, is the whole case: How recently you and Liza were here, Your voice frightened me extremely, And I rushed here with all my might ...

Famusov

It will probably put all the turmoil on me. At the wrong time, my voice made them anxious!

Sofia

In a vague dream, a trifle disturbs; To tell you a dream: you will understand then.

Famusov

What's the story?

Sofia

tell you?

Famusov

(Sits down.)

Sofia

Let me ... see eh ... first Flowery Meadow; and I was looking for Some Grass, I don’t remember in reality. Suddenly a dear man, one of those whom we will See - as if we have known each other for a century, Appeared here with me; and insinuating, and smart, But timid... You know, who was born in poverty...

Famusov

Oh! mother, do not finish the blow! Who is poor, he is not a couple for you.

Sofia

Then everything was gone: meadows and skies. - We're in a dark room. To complete the miracle, The floor opened up - and you are from there, Pale as death, and a hair on end! Then with a thunder the doors were thrown open Some not people and not animals, We were apart - and tormented the one who was sitting with me. He seems to be dearer to me than all the treasures, I want to see him - you drag with you: We are escorted by a groan, a roar, laughter, a whistle of monsters! He screams after!.. - Woke up. - Someone says - Your voice was; what do you think, so early? I run here - and I find you both.

Famusov

Yes, a bad dream, as I see it. Everything is here, if there is no deceit: And devils and love, and fears and flowers. Well, my sir, and you?

Famusov

Molchalin

With papers.

Famusov

Yes! they were missing. Forgive me, that this zeal has suddenly fallen on written matters!

Well, Sonyushka, I will give you peace: There are strange dreams, but in reality it is stranger; You were looking for grass for yourself, You came across a friend sooner; Get the nonsense out of your head; Where there are miracles, there is little stock. - Come on, lie down, fall asleep again.

(Molchalin)

We're going to sort out the papers.

Molchalin

I only carried them for the report, That they cannot be put into use without information, without others, There are contradictions, and much is not efficient.

Famusov

I'm afraid, sir, I'm mortally alone, Lest a multitude of them accumulate; Give free rein to you, it would have settled down; And with me, what matters, what does not matter, My custom is this: Signed, so off my shoulders.

(Leaves with MOLCHALIN, at the door lets him go first.)

Phenomenon 5

Sofia, Lisa.

Lisa

Well, the holiday is here! Well, here's some fun for you! But no, now it’s no laughing matter; It is dark in the eyes, and the soul froze; Sin is not a problem, rumor is not good.

Sofia

What is my rumor? Whoever wants to, judges, Yes, the father will force you to think: Obese, restless, quick, Always like that, but from now on ... You can judge ...

Lisa

I judge, sir, not from stories; He will ban you - good is still with me; And then, God have mercy, just me, Molchalin and everyone out of the yard.

Sofia

Think how capricious happiness is! It happens worse, get away with it; When sad nothing comes to mind, Forgotten by the music, and time passed so smoothly; Fate seemed to take care of us; No anxiety, no doubt... And grief awaits from around the corner.

Lisa

Here's something, sir, you're my stupid judgment Never complain: But here's the trouble. What is the best prophet for you? I repeated: in love there will be no use in this Forever and ever. Like all Moscow ones, your father is like this: He would like a son-in-law with stars, but with ranks, And with the stars not everyone is rich, between us; Well, of course, to that And money to live, so that he could give balls; Here, for example, Colonel Skalozub: And a gold bag, and aims for generals.

Sofia

Where is cute! and fun to me fear To listen about the frunte * and ranks; He never uttered a clever word, - I don't care what's for him, what's in the water.

Lisa

Yes, sir, so to speak, eloquent, but painfully not cunning; But be a military man, be a civilian, * Who is so sensitive, and cheerful, and sharp, Like Alexander Andreyich Chatsky! Not to embarrass you; It's been a long time, don't turn back, But I remember ...

Sofia

What do you remember? He gloriously knows how to laugh at everyone; Chatting, joking, it's funny to me; You can share laughter with everyone.

Lisa

But only? as if? - I shed tears, I remember, poor he, how he parted with you. - Why, sir, are you crying? live laughing ... And he answered: “Not without reason, Liza, I cry: Who knows what I will find when I return? And how much, perhaps, I will lose! The poor thing seemed to know that in three years ...

Sofia

Listen, don't take too many liberties. I am very windy, perhaps, I acted, And I know, and I am guilty; but where did you change? To whom? so that they could reproach with infidelity. Yes, with Chatsky, it’s true, we were brought up, grew up: The habit of being together every day is inseparable Has tied us with childhood friendship; but then he moved out, he seemed bored with us, and rarely visited our house; Then again he pretended to be in love, demanding and distressed!!. He is sharp, smart, eloquent, Especially happy among friends, So he thought highly of himself ... The desire to wander attacked him, Ah! if someone loves whom, Why go crazy and search so far?

Lisa

Where is it worn? in what regions? He was treated, they say, on acidic waters, * Not from illness, tea, from boredom - more free.

Sofia

And, of course, happy where people are funnier. Whom I love is not like this: Molchalin, ready to forget himself for others, Enemy of insolence - always shy, timidly Whole night with whom you can spend like that! We sit, and the yard has long turned white, What do you think? what are you busy with?

Lisa

God knows, madam, is it my business?

Sofia

He takes his hand, presses it to his heart, He sighs from the depths of his soul, Not a free word, and so the whole night passes, Hand with hand, and his eyes do not take his eyes off me. - Laughing! is it possible! what a reason I gave you to such laughter!

Lisa

Me-with?. your aunt now came to mind, As a young Frenchman ran away from her house. Dove! I wanted to bury Her annoyance, but failed: I forgot to blacken my hair And after three days I turned gray.

(Continues to laugh.)

Sofia(with chagrin)

That's how they talk about me later.

Lisa

Excuse me, really, how holy God is, I wanted this foolish laugh to cheer you up a little.

Phenomenon 6

Sofia, Lisa, servant, behind him Chatsky.

Servant

To you Alexander Andreevich Chatsky.

Phenomenon 7

Sofia, Lisa, Chatsky.

Chatsky

A little light on my feet! and I am at your feet.

(He kisses his hand passionately.)

Well, kiss the same, did not wait? speak! Well, for? * Not? Look at my face. Surprised? but only? here's the welcome! As if a week had not passed; As if yesterday together We have no urine tired of each other; Not on the hair of love! how good! And meanwhile, I don’t remember, without a soul, I’ve been forty-five hours, without screwing up my eyes in an instant, More than seven hundred versts swept past, - the wind, the storm; And he was all confused, and how many times he fell - And here is a reward for feats!

Sofia

Oh! Chatsky, I am very glad to see you.

Chatsky

Are you for? at a good hour. However, sincerely who rejoices in such a way? It seems to me that in the end I chilled people and horses, I only amuse myself.

Lisa

Here, sir, if you were at the door, By God, there are no five minutes, How we remembered you here. Madam, tell yourself.

Sofia

Always, not just now. - You can't blame me. Who will flash, open the door, On the way, by chance, from a stranger, from afar - With a question I, at least be a sailor: Didn't I meet you somewhere in the mail coach?

Chatsky

Let's assume it is. Blessed is he who believes, he is warm in the world! - Ah! My God! I'm here again, In Moscow! you! how can you know! Where is the time? where is that innocent age, When it used to be a long evening We will appear with you, disappear here and there, We play and make noise on chairs and tables. And here is your father with madam, behind the picket; * We are in a dark corner, and it seems that in this! Do you remember? shudder that the table creaks, the door ...

Sofia

Childhood!

Chatsky

Yes, sir, and now, At seventeen you bloomed charmingly, Inimitable, and you know it, And therefore modest, do not look at the world. Are you in love? I ask you to give me an answer, Without thought, fullness to be embarrassed.

Sofia

Yes, at least someone will be confused Questions are quick and a curious look ...

Chatsky

Pardon, not you, why be surprised? What new will Moscow show me? Yesterday there was a ball, and tomorrow there will be two. He got married - he managed, but he gave a miss. All the same sense, * and the same verses in the albums.

Sofia

Persecution of Moscow. What does it mean to see the light! Where is better?

Chatsky

Where we are not. Well, what about your father? all of the English club An old, faithful member to the grave? Did your uncle jump back his eyelid? And this one, like him, is he a Turk or a Greek? That dark-haired one, on the legs of cranes, I don’t know what his name is, Wherever you go: right there, In dining rooms and living rooms. And three of the boulevard faces * Who have been young for half a century? They have a million relatives, and with the help of their sisters, they will intermarry with all of Europe. What about our sun? our treasure? On the forehead is written: Theater and Masquerade; * The house is painted with greenery in the form of a grove, He is fat, his artists are skinny. At the ball, remember, the two of us opened Behind the screens, in one of the more secret rooms, A man was hidden and clicked a nightingale, A singer in summer weather in winter. And that consumptive, kindred to you, the enemy of books, In the scientific committee * which settled And shouting demanded oaths, So that no one knew and did not learn to read and write? I am destined to see them again! You will get tired of living with them, and in whom can you not find spots? When you wander, you return home, And the smoke of the Fatherland is sweet and pleasant for us!

Sofia

Here I would bring you to my aunt, To count all my acquaintances.

Chatsky

And auntie? all girl, Minerva? * All the maid of honor * Catherine the First? Is the house full of pupils and moseks? Oh! Let's move on to education. What now, just as of old, Are they bothering to recruit regiments of teachers, More in number, at a cheaper price? Not that they are far in science; In Russia, under a heavy fine, We are ordered to recognize everyone as a Historian and a geographer! Our mentor, * remember his cap, robe, Finger * forefinger, all the signs of learning How our timid minds disturbed, How we used to believe from an early time, That there is no salvation for us without the Germans! And Guillaume, the Frenchman, knocked out by the breeze? Is he not married yet?

Sofia

Chatsky

At least on some princess Pulcheria Andreevna, for example?

Sofia

Dancemaster! is it possible!

Chatsky

Well, he is a cavalier. They will require us to be with a property and in rank, And Guillaume! .. - What is the tone here today At congresses, at large ones, on parish holidays? A mixture of languages ​​still predominates: French with Nizhny Novgorod?

Sofia

Mix of languages?

Chatsky

Yes, two, without this it is impossible.

Sofia

But it is tricky to tailor one of them, like yours.

Chatsky

At least not inflated. Here's the news! - I take advantage of the moment, Meeting with you is lively, And talkative; but aren't there times that I'm dumber than Molchalin? Where is he, by the way? Have you yet broken the silence of the press? There were songs where brand new notebooks He sees, sticks: please write off. And yet, he will reach the known levels, After all, now they love the dumb.

Sofia

Not a man, a snake!

(Loudly and forcefully.)

I want to ask you: Have you ever laughed? or in sadness? Mistake? did you say good things about someone? Though not now, but in childhood, maybe.

Chatsky

When everything is soft like that? both tender and immature? Why so long ago? Here's a good deed for you: Just rattling the bells And day and night through the snowy desert, I hasten to you, breaking my head. And how do I find you? in some strict order! I endure coldness for half an hour! The face of the most holy pilgrimage! .. - And yet I love you without memory.

(Momentary silence.)

Listen, are my words all the pegs? And tend to someone's harm? But if so: mind and heart are not in harmony. I'm eccentric to another miracle Once I laugh, then I'll forget: Tell me to go into the fire: I'll go as if for dinner.

Sofia

Yes, well - burn, if not?

Phenomenon 8

Sofia, Lisa, Chatsky, Famusov.

Famusov

Here's another one!

Sofia

Ah, father, sleep in hand.

Damn dream.

Phenomenon 9

Famusov, Chatsky(looks at the door Sofia went through)

Famusov

Well, you threw out a thing! Three years did not write two words! And suddenly it burst like from the clouds.

(They embrace.)

Great, friend, great, brother, great. Tell me, is your tea ready? A meeting of important news? Sit down, tell me quickly.

(They sit down.)

Chatsky(absently)

How beautiful Sofya Pavlovna has become!

Famusov

You, young people, have no other business, How to notice girlish beauty: She said something in passing, and you, I tea, were filled with hopes, bewitched.

Chatsky

Oh! No; I'm a little spoiled for hope.

Famusov

“Dream in hand” - she deigned to whisper to me, So you thought ...

Chatsky

I? - Not at all.

Famusov

What did she dream about? what?

Chatsky

I am not a dream reader.

Famusov

Don't trust her, everything is empty.

Chatsky

I believe my own eyes; I haven’t seen a century, a subscription of ladies, So that it would be at least a little like her!

Famusov

He's all his own. Yes, tell me in detail, Where were you? Roamed for so many years! From where now?

Chatsky

Now I'm up to it! I wanted to travel around the whole world, And did not travel a hundredth.

(Gets up hastily.)

Sorry; I was in a hurry to see you soon, I did not stop by home. Farewell! In an hour I'll appear, I won't forget the slightest detail; You first, then you tell everywhere.

(In the door.)

How good!

Event 10

Famusov(one) Which of the two? "Oh! father, sleep in hand! And he says it out loud to me! Well, guilty! What a hook I gave! Molchalin daviche put me in doubt. Now ... yes, half a fire from the fire: That beggar, this dandy friend; Notorious * wasted, tomboy, What a commission, * Creator, To be an adult daughter's father!

Action 2

Phenomenon 1

Famusov, servant.

Famusov

Parsley, you are always with a new thing, With a torn elbow. Get out the calendar; Do not read like a sexton, * But with feeling, with sense, with arrangement. Wait. - On a sheet, draw on a notebook, Against the next week: To Praskovya Feodorovna's house On Tuesday, I'm called for trout. How wonderful is the light! Philosophize - the mind will spin; Then you take care, then dinner: Eat three hours, and in three days it will not be cooked! Mark, on the same day... No, no. On Thursday I was called to the funeral. Oh, the human race! fell into oblivion, That everyone himself must climb there, Into that little chest, where neither stand nor sit. But someone intends to leave the memory by itself With a laudable life, here is an example: The deceased was a respectable chamberlain, With a key, and he knew how to deliver the key to his son; Rich, and was married to a rich woman; Married children, grandchildren; Died; everyone remembers him sadly. Kuzma Petrovich! Peace be upon him! - What kind of aces live and die in Moscow! - Write: on Thursday, one to one, Or maybe on Friday, or maybe on Saturday, I have to baptize at the widow's, at the doctor's. She did not give birth, but according to my calculation: she must give birth ...

Phenomenon 2

Famusov, servant, Chatsky.

Famusov

A! Alexander Andreich, please, sit down.

Chatsky

You're busy?

Famusov(servant)

(Servant leaves.)

Yes, we bring various things into the book as a keepsake, It will be forgotten, just look.

Chatsky

You have become something not cheerful; Tell me why? Is my arrival at the wrong time? Sofya Pavlovna, what kind of sadness has happened? There is vanity in your face, in your movements.

Famusov

Oh! Father, I found a riddle: I'm not cheerful!

Chatsky

Nobody invites you; I have just asked two words about Sofya Pavlovna: perhaps she is unwell?

Famusov

Ugh, God forgive me! Five thousand times Repeats the same thing! Either Sofya Pavlovna is not more beautiful in the world, Then Sofya Pavlovna is sick. Tell me, did you like her? Sprayed the light; don't you want to get married?

Chatsky

What do you need?

Famusov

It would not be bad for me to ask, After all, I am somewhat akin to her; At least from time immemorial * Father was not called for nothing.

Chatsky

Let me get married, what would you tell me?

Famusov

I would say, first of all: do not be blissful, Brother, do not manage by mistake, And, most importantly, go and serve.

Chatsky

I would be glad to serve, it is sickening to serve.

Famusov

That's it, you are all proud! Would you ask how the fathers did? They would learn from the elders looking: We, for example, or the deceased uncle, Maxim Petrovich: he is not on silver, He ate on gold; one hundred people at your service; All in orders; he drove forever in a train; * Century at the court, but at what court! Then, not like now, Under the Empress, he served Catherine. And in those days, everything is important! forty pounds ... Bow - dumb * do not nod. The nobleman in the case of * - even more so, Not like the other, and drank and ate differently. And uncle! what is your prince? what is Count? Serious look, haughty disposition. When it is necessary to serve, And he bent over backwards: On the kurtag * he happened to step in; He fell, so much so that he almost hit the back of his head; The old man groaned, voice hoarse; He was granted the highest smile; Were you to laugh; how is he? I got up, recovered, I wanted to bow, I suddenly fell in a row - on purpose, And the laughter is louder, it is the same for the third time. BUT? how do you think? in our opinion - smart. He fell painfully, got up great. But, it happened, in whist * who is more often invited? Who hears a friendly word at court? Maxim Petrovich! Who knew respect before everyone? Maxim Petrovich! Joke! Who gives ranks and gives pensions? Maxim Petrovich. Yes! You, the current ones, are a nootka!

Chatsky

And sure enough, the world began to grow stupid, You can say with a sigh; How to compare and see The current century and the past century: Fresh legend, but hard to believe, As he was famous for, whose neck often bent; As not in the war, but in the world they took it with their foreheads, They knocked on the floor without regret! Who needs: for those arrogance, they lie in the dust, And for those who are higher, flattery, like lace, was woven. Direct was the age of humility and fear, All under the guise of zeal for the king. I'm not talking about your uncle, I'm talking about yours; We will not stir up his ashes: But in the meantime, whom will the hunt take, Even in the most ardent servility, Now, in order to make the people laugh, Bravely sacrifice the back of the head? And the peer, and the old man Another, looking at that jump, And collapsing in shabby skin, Tea said: “Ax! if only for me too!” Although there are hunters to scoff everywhere, Yes, now laughter frightens and keeps shame in check; It is not for nothing that sovereigns favor them sparingly.

Famusov

Oh! My God! he's carbonari! *

Chatsky

No, today the world is not like that.

Famusov

A dangerous person!

Chatsky

Everyone breathes more freely And is in no hurry to fit into the regiment of jesters.

Famusov

What does he say! and speaks as he writes!

Chatsky

Have patrons yawn at the ceiling, Appear to be silent, shuffle, have lunch, Substitute a chair, pick up a handkerchief.

Famusov

He wants to preach!

Chatsky

Who travels, who lives in the village ...

Famusov

Yes, he does not recognize the authorities!

Chatsky

Who serves the cause, not the individuals ...

Famusov

I would strictly forbid these gentlemen To drive up to the capitals for a shot.

Chatsky

I will finally give you rest...

Famusov

Patience, no urine, annoying.

Chatsky

I scolded your age mercilessly, I give you

The most textbook Russian comedy, an inexhaustible source of proverbs and panopticon of immortal Russian types. Griboedov combines a love affair with a social conflict and creates a universal image of a prophet who is not understood in his own country.

comments: Varvara Babitskaya

What is this book about?

In the mid-1820s, Alexander Chatsky, a young witty nobleman and an ardent citizen, returned to Moscow after a three-year absence, where he grew up in the house of a major official Famusov, and hurried to his beloved girl, Famusov's daughter, Sofya. But the cultural distance turns out to be insurmountable: Sophia fell in love with the hypocrite and careerist Molchalin, and Chatsky himself is declared crazy for inappropriate sermons.

A few years after the victory in the Patriotic War and the Moscow fire, the patriotic upsurge is replaced by a murmur against the onset of reaction (“Arakcheevism”), and the patriarchal Moscow way of life goes into oblivion - and finally it turns out to be captured by a caustic Muscovite.

Ivan Kramskoy. Portrait of the writer Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov. 1875 State Tretyakov Gallery

When was it written?

Griboedov conceived his main play in 1820 in Persia, where he served on the diplomatic line (the evidence that the idea arose earlier is unreliable). Griboyedov wrote his first two actions in Tiflis, where he managed to transfer in the autumn of 1821 and where he subsequently made a career under General Yermolov. Leaving his service for a while in the spring of 1823 and collecting new material for comedy at Moscow balls, Griboedov writes Acts III and IV in the summer of 1823 in the village of Dmitrovsky, Tula province, where he is staying with his old friend Stepan Begichev Stepan Nikitich Begichev (1785-1859) - military man, memoirist. Begichev, like Griboedov, was an adjutant to General Andrei Kologrivov, rose to the rank of colonel and retired in 1825. In the 1820s, Odoevsky, Davydov, Kuchelbecker visited his house in Moscow, Griboyedov lived for a long time. Begichev wrote one of the first articles in defense of Woe from Wit, which he did not publish at Griboyedov's insistence. He was a member of the Decembrist Union of Welfare, but left the organization before the uprising and was not brought to trial. ⁠ . At the beginning of the summer of 1824, having gone to St. Petersburg to break through the censorship of the finished comedy, Griboedov on the road comes up with a new denouement and, already in St. Petersburg, heavily reworks the comedy. He asks Begichev not to read the manuscript that he has left to anyone, because since then Griboedov "has changed more than eighty verses, or, rather, rhymes, now it's smooth as glass." Work on the comedy continued for a long time - the last authorized version is the so-called Bulgarin list, which Griboedov handed over to his publisher and friend Faddey Bulgarin on June 5, 1828, on the eve of his return to the East.

The girl herself is not stupid, she prefers a fool to a smart person (not because the mind of us sinners was ordinary, no! And in my comedy there are 25 fools per sane person)

Alexander Griboyedov

How is it written?

spoken language and free iambic Typical examples of free iambic can be found in Krylov's fables. Here, for example, is the “Council of Mice”: “A sign among mice is that the one whose tail is longer / Always smarter / And quicker everywhere. / Is it smart, now we will not ask; / Moreover, we ourselves often judge the mind / By the dress or by the beard ... " ⁠ . Both in Russian comedy were an absolute innovation. Before Griboedov, free iambic, that is, iambic with alternating verses of different lengths, was used, as a rule, in small poetic forms, for example, in Krylov's fables, sometimes in poems with "frivolous content" - such as "Darling" Bogdanovich Ippolit Fedorovich Bogdanovich (1743-1803) - poet, translator. Bogdanovich was an official: he worked in the Foreign Collegium, the Russian embassy at the Saxon court, the State Archives. In 1783 he published the story in verse "Darling", a free adaptation of La Fontaine's novel "The Love of Psyche and Cupid". Thanks to "Darling" Bogdanovich became widely known, but his further compositions were not successful. ⁠ . This size allows the best use of both the attractiveness of poetic means (meter, rhyme), and the intonational freedom of prose. Lines of different lengths make the verse freer, closer to natural speech; the language of "Woe from Wit" with many irregularities, archaisms and vernacular reproduces the Moscow accent of the era even phonetically: for example, not "Aleksey Stepanovich", but "Aleksey Stepanoch". Thanks to the aphoristic syllable, the play went into proverbs immediately after its appearance.

Having finished the first version of the comedy, which was immediately banned by the censors, Griboyedov went to St. Petersburg in June 1824, hoping there, thanks to his connections, to get the play on stage and in print. Meanwhile, "Woe from Wit" was already widely circulating on the lists.

Having lost hope of publishing the comedy in its entirety, on December 15, 1824, the playwright published fragments (phenomena 7-10 of act I and all act III) in the Bulgarin almanac "Russian Thalia" The first theatrical almanac in Russian, published by Faddey Bulgarin in 1825 in St. Petersburg. In addition to Griboedov's Woe from Wit, Thalia published translations of Molière, Voltaire, texts by Shakhovsky, Katenin, Zhandre, Grech. ⁠ , where the text has been censored and abbreviated. The discussion in the press that followed the publication further stimulated reader interest and the circulation of handwritten copies. Andrey Zhandr ⁠ said that he “had a whole office at hand: she wrote off Woe from Wit and enriched herself because they demanded a lot lists" 2 Fomichev S. A. The author of "Woe from Wit" and readers of the comedy // A. S. Griboyedov: Creativity. Biography. Traditions. L., 1977. S. 6-10. ⁠ . A separate edition of the comedy was first published after the death of the author, in 1833 - in full, but with censored notes. Neither this edition, nor the subsequent one, in 1839, stopped the production of lists - Xenophon Field Xenophon Alekseevich Polevoy (1801-1867) - writer, critic, translator. From 1829 to 1834 he edited the Moscow Telegraph, the journal of his brother, the writer Nikolai Polevoy. In 1839 he published "Woe from Wit" with his introductory article. In the 1850s, Polevoy published in Severnaya Pchela, Otechestvennye Zapiski, and published The Picturesque Russian Library. He wrote critical texts about Pushkin, Delvig, Bogdanovich, and became the author of memoirs about Nikolai Polevoy. ⁠ wrote later: “How many examples can you find, so that the composition of sheets of twelve printed sheets was rewritten thousands of times, for where and who does not have a handwritten “Woe from Wit”? Have we ever had an even more striking example of a handwritten essay becoming the property of literature, so that it was judged as a work known to everyone, known by heart, cited as an example, referred to, and only in relation to it there was no need for Gutenberg's invention? »

Thus, "Woe from Wit" became the first work to be massively replicated in samizdat. Completely and without cuts, the comedy was printed only in 1862.

What influenced her?

In Woe from Wit, the influence of the French salon comedy that reigned on the stage at that time is obvious. Griboyedov, at the beginning of his literary career, paid tribute to this tradition himself - he parodied it in the play "The Young Spouses" and, together with Andrey Gendre Andrei Andreevich Zhandr (1789-1873) - playwright, translator. Gendre began his career as a civil servant as a clerk and graduated as a privy councilor with the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. In his free time, Gendre was engaged in translations from French: together with Griboedov he translated the comedy "Pretending Innocence" by Nicolas Bart, together with Shakhovsky - the opera "The Magic Lamp, or Cashmere Pies". Published in the almanac "Russian Thalia", the magazines "Son of the Fatherland" and "Northern Observer". ⁠ wrote the comedy Feigned Infidelity, a reworking of the play by Nicola Barthes. Griboedov was also influenced by the Russian verse comedy of the 1810s, in particular Alexander Shakhovskoy Alexander Alexandrovich Shakhovskoy (1777-1846) - playwright. In 1802, Shakhovskoy left military service and began working in the directorate of the Imperial Theaters. His first successful comedy was The New Stern, a few years later he staged the comedy Polubarskie tey, or Domashny Theatre, and in 1815, A Lesson for Coquettes, or Lipetsk Waters. In 1825, Shakhovskaya, compromised by his connections with the Decembrists, left the directorate of theaters, but continued writing - in total he wrote more than a hundred works. ⁠ , who developed the techniques of free verse back in "Lipetsk Waters" and in the comedy "It's not nice - don't listen, but don't interfere with lying", with which "Woe from Wit" in places coincides both verbally and plotly.

Contemporary criticism of Griboedov pointed to the plot similarity of Woe from Wit with Moliere's The Misanthrope and with Christophe Wieland's novel The History of the Abderites, in which the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus returns to his native city after wandering; stupid and ignorant fellow citizens of Democritus consider his natural science experiments witchcraft and declare him insane.

Griboyedov himself was largely guided by Renaissance dramaturgy - primarily by Shakespeare, whom (knowing English well) read in the original and appreciated for freedom from genre canons and restrictions: “Shakespeare wrote very simply: he thought a little about the plot, about intrigue and took the first plot, but handled it in his own way. In this work he was great" 1 Bestuzhev-Marlinsky A. My acquaintance with Griboedov // A. S. Griboedov in the memoirs of contemporaries. S. 190. ⁠ .

Griboyedov learned the art of plot construction from Beaumarchais. Finally, in the story of Sophia's love for Molchalin, researchers see a ballad plot - a kind of parody of Zhukovsky's ballad "Aeolian Harp"; apparently not unreasonably, because Zhukovsky was an important aesthetic opponent for Griboyedov.

The earliest comedy manuscript, 1823-1824. Belonged to Griboyedov's friend Stepan Begichev

How was it received?

Having barely finished the comedy in June 1824 in St. Petersburg, Griboedov read it in familiar houses - and, according to his own testimony, with invariable success: "There is no end to thunder, noise, admiration, curiosity." After the publication of excerpts from the comedy in Russkaya Thalia, the discussion moved to the press - all the important Russian magazines responded: "Son of the Fatherland" Literary magazine published from 1812 to 1852. The founder was Nikolai Grech. Until 1825, the magazine published the authors of the Decembrist circle: Delvig, Bestuzhev, Zhukovsky, Pushkin, Kuchelbeker, Vyazemsky, Griboyedov, Ryleev. After the defeat of the Decembrists, Faddey Bulgarin became the co-publisher of the journal, merging his Northern Archive with Son of the Fatherland. Later, the magazine was headed by Alexander Nikitenko, Nikolai Polevoy, Osip Senkovsky. ⁠ , "Moscow Telegraph" Encyclopedic magazine published by Nikolai Polev from 1825 to 1834. The magazine appealed to a wide range of readers and advocated "education of the middle classes". In the 1830s, the number of subscribers reached five thousand people, a record audience for those times. The magazine was closed by personal decree of Nicholas I because of a negative review of the play by Nestor Kukolnik, which the emperor liked. ⁠ , "Polar Star" Literary almanac of the Decembrists, published by Kondraty Ryleev and Alexander Bestuzhev from 1822 to 1825. It published poems by Pushkin, Vyazemsky, Baratynsky, Ryleev. After the Decembrist uprising, the almanac was banned, and the issue for 1825 was arrested. Since 1855, Alexander Herzen began to publish a magazine of the same name in London as a sign of respect for the Decembrists. ⁠ and so on. Here, along with praise for the lively picture of Moscow customs, fidelity of types and the new language of comedy, the first critical voices were heard. Disputes were caused, first of all, by the figure of Chatsky, who is criticized by such different scales as Alexander Pushkin and the now forgotten Mikhail Dmitriev Mikhail Alexandrovich Dmitriev (1796-1866) - poet, critic, translator. Dmitriev was an official for most of his life: he served at the archives of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, the Moscow Court of Appeals, and a department of the Senate. Thanks to his uncle, the poet Ivan Dmitriev, he got acquainted with the literary environment and began to engage in criticism - he published articles in Vestnik Evropy, Moskovsky Vestnik, and Moskvityanin. His polemics with Vyazemsky about the nature of romanticism and the dispute with Polevoy around Griboedov's "Woe from Wit" gained fame. In 1865, a collection of Dmitriev's poems was published. He translated Horace, Schiller, Goethe. ⁠ , reproached for lack of intelligence. The latter also made Griboyedov look at the unnatural development of the plot and the "hard, uneven and incorrect" language. Although Dmitriev's claims gave rise to many years of discussion, he himself became the subject of ridicule - for example, in the epigram of Pushkin's friend Sergei Sobolevsky Sergei Alexandrovich Sobolevsky (1803-1870) - poet. From 1822 he served in the archives of the College of Foreign Affairs. It was Sobolevsky who became the author of the expression "archival youth", meaning a young man from a wealthy family, engaged in easy work in the archive. Sobolevsky was known as a writer of especially caustic epigrams, communicated with Gogol, Lermontov, Turgenev, and was close friends with Pushkin. In the 1840-60s he was engaged in book publishing and collecting rare books. ⁠ : “Schoolchildren gathered, and soon / Mikh<айло>Dm<итриев>scribbled a review, / In which he clearly proved, / That "Woe from Wit" is not Mishenka's grief. Nadezhdin Nikolai Ivanovich Nadezhdin (1804-1856) was the founder of the Teleskop magazine and Belinsky's predecessor: largely under the influence of Nadezhdin, literary criticism in Russia acquires a conceptual basis. In 1836, Teleskop was closed for publishing Chaadaev's Philosophical Letter, and Nadezhdin himself was sent into exile. Returning, Nadezhdin leaves criticism, gets a job at the Ministry of the Interior and devotes himself to ethnography. ⁠ , who appreciated "Woe from Wit" highly, while noting that the play was devoid of action and was not written for the stage, and Pyotr Vyazemsky called the comedy "a slander on morals."

Griboedov's language surprised many of Griboyedov's contemporaries, but this surprise was most often joyful. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky praised the "unprecedented fluency and nature of the spoken Russian language in verse", Odoevsky called Griboyedov "the only writer who has comprehended the secret of translating our spoken language onto paper" and in whom "we find Russian flavor in the syllable alone."

In general, with the exception of one Belinsky, who in 1839 wrote a devastating criticism of Woe from Wit, no one else doubted the originality, talent and innovation of the comedy. As for the political background of Woe from Wit, for understandable censorship reasons, it was not directly discussed until the 1860s, when Chatsky increasingly began to be brought closer to the Decembrists - first Nikolai Ogaryov, followed by Apollon Grigoriev and, finally, Herzen; it was this interpretation of the image of Chatsky that subsequently reigned in Soviet literary criticism.

“I’m not talking about poetry, half of it should become a proverb,” Pushkin said immediately after the appearance of “Woe from Wit” and turned out to be right. In terms of citation frequency, Griboyedov was probably ahead of all Russian classics, including even the former champion Krylov. “Happy hours do not watch”, “The legend is fresh, but hard to believe” - it is pointless to multiply examples; even the line “And the smoke of the Fatherland is sweet and pleasant for us!” is now perceived as Griboedov's aphorism, although in this case Chatsky quotes Derzhavin.

The Famusov society has become a household name, as well as its individual representatives - "all these Famusovs, Molchalins, Skalozubs, Zagoretskys." In a certain sense, “Griboyedov’s Moscow” itself became a household name - this is how Mikhail Gershenzon titled the book, describing the typical Moscow aristocratic way of life using the example of a specific Rimsky-Korsakov family, and in all households he directly saw Griboedov’s characters, and backed up quotes from documents with quotes from comedy.

The classic Russian drama of the 19th century grew out of the Griboedov tradition: Lermontov's Masquerade, in whose disillusioned hero Arbenin it is easy to recognize Chatsky's traits, Gogol's Inspector General is a "public comedy", where the county town with a gallery of caricatures embodies the entire Russian society, Alexander's social drama Sukhovo-Kobylin and Alexander Ostrovsky. Since that time, the discussion of dramatic social conflicts by comic means, which once amazed Griboedov's contemporaries, has become a commonplace, and the genre boundaries have blurred. Moreover, the play set a kind of new canon. For a long time, theater troupes were recruited for "Woe from Wit": it was believed that the cast of actors, among whom Griboedov's roles were well distributed, could be played by the entire theater repertoire 3 Sukhikh I. Cool reading from Gorukhshcha to Gogol. Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov 1795 (1790) - 1829. // Neva. 2012. No. 8 ⁠ .

In moments of crisis in social thought, the Russian intelligentsia invariably returned to the image of Chatsky, who more and more merged in the cultural consciousness with Griboedov himself: from Yuri Tynyanov, who in 1928 explored in The Death of Vazir Mukhtar the eternal question of whether it is possible to serve in Russia " cause, not persons" and not turn from Chatsky into Molchalin - until Viktor Tsoi, who sang "Woe from Wit" ("Red-Yellow Days") in 1990.

Griboedov's house at the corner of Novinsky and Bolshoi Devyatinsky lanes. Moscow, XIX century

Grave of Griboyedov in Tiflis

How did "Woe from Wit" fight its way onto the stage?

The first attempt to stage a comedy was made in May 1825 by students of the St. Petersburg Theater School with the live participation of Griboyedov himself, who dreamed of seeing his impassable play “at least on the home stage” (comedy was not allowed on the big stage as “libel on Moscow”). However, on the eve of the performance, the performance was banned by the St. Petersburg Governor-General Count Miloradovich Count Mikhail Andreevich Miloradovich (1771-1825) - general, participant in the Russian-Swedish war, the Italian and Swiss campaigns of Suvorov, the Russian-Turkish war of 1806-1812. In 1810, Miloradovich was appointed military governor of Kyiv. In the Patriotic War of 1812 he participated in the battle of Borodino, the battle of Vyazma, the capture of Paris. After the war - the St. Petersburg military governor-general. During the uprising on December 14, he was killed by the Decembrists on Senate Square, before his death he bequeathed to release all his peasants. ⁠ , who considered that a play that was not approved by censorship should not be staged at a theater school.

The next attempt was made in October 1827 in Yerevan, in the building of the Sardar Palace, by officers of the Caucasian Corps, among whom were exiled Decembrists. The theatrical circle was soon strictly banned, since the craze for the theater distracted the officers from the service.

According to some information, amateur productions were staged in Tiflis with the participation of the author, and in 1830 several young people “traveled around St. there are separate scenes from comedy" 4 Gamazov M. The first performances of the comedy "Woe from Wit". 1827-1832. From the memoirs of a student // Bulletin of Europe. 1875. No. 7. pp. 319-332. Cit. by: Orlov Vl. Griboyedov. Essay on life and creativity. M .: State publishing house of fiction, 1954. S. 93. ⁠ .

Griboyedov during his lifetime never saw his comedy on the big stage, in a professional production. Beginning in 1829, when the excerpt was staged at the Bolshoi Theatre, the play gradually made its way into the theatre, at first as separate scenes played in an interlude-divertissement amid "declamations, singing and dancing." Completely (albeit with censorship notes) "Woe from Wit" was first presented in St. Petersburg, at the Alexandrinsky Theater, in 1831 - the first professional performer of the role of Chatsky was the tragic actor Vasily Andreevich Karatygin, brother of Pyotr Karatygin, on whose initiative the students The Petersburg Theater School had staged the play with enthusiasm five years earlier. Pyotr Karatygin himself, later a famous playwright, made his debut in literature in the same year with two vaudevilles - the second of them was called “Woe without a Mind”.

"Woe from Wit" at the Theater. Meyerhold, 1928. Staged by Vsevolod Meyerhold

Did the comedy characters have real prototypes?

The critic Katenin, in a letter to Griboyedov, noted that in his comedy “characters are portraits”, to which the playwright objected that although the heroes of the comedy had prototypes, their features are characteristic of “many other people, and others of the whole human race ... I hate caricatures, in my You won't find a single picture. Nevertheless, rumors and conjectures about who exactly was cast in this or that role began to spread already in the winter of 1823/24, as soon as Griboedov began to read the play that had not yet been completed in familiar houses. His sister was worried that Griboedov would make enemies for himself - and even more so for her, “because they will say that the evil Griboedova pointed her brother to originals" 5 ⁠ .

So, many consider Sofya Alekseevna Griboedova, the playwright's cousin, to be the prototype of Sofya Famusova, while her husband, Sergei Rimsky-Korsakov, was considered a possible prototype of Skalozub, and behind the house of her mother-in-law, Marya Ivanovna Rimskaya-Korsakova, in Moscow on Strastnaya Square, the name "Famusov's House", its front staircase was reproduced in a play based on Griboedov's play at the Maly Theater. Uncle Griboedov is called the prototype of Famusov himself, based on one passage from the playwright: “I leave it to the historian to explain why some mixture of vices and courtesy was developed everywhere in that generation; from the outside, chivalry in morals, and in the hearts the absence of any feeling.<...>Let us explain ourselves in a rounder way: everyone had dishonesty in his soul and deceit in his tongue. It seems that this is not the case today, and maybe it is; but my uncle belongs to that era. He fought like a lion with the Turks under Suvorov, then crouched in front of all random people in St. Petersburg, in retirement he lived on gossip. The image of his teachings: "I, brother! .."

Nothing explains or justifies the unbridled indignation with which Chatsky smashes this, perhaps funny, but not a criminal society.

Pyotr Vyazemsky

In the famous Tatyana Yuryevna, whom “Officials and officials - / All her friends and all relatives”, contemporaries recognized Praskovya Yuryevna Kologrivova, whose husband “asked at the ball by one tall person who he was, was so confused that he said that he was her husband Praskovya Yurievna, probably believing that this title is more important than all his titles. The old woman Khlestova deserves special mention - a portrait of Nastasya Dmitrievna Ofrosimova, the famous legislator of Moscow living rooms, who left a noticeable mark in Russian literature: Leo Tolstoy brought her in the person of the rude, but certainly pretty Marya Dmitrievna Akhrosimova in War and Peace.

In Chatsky's friend, Platon Mikhailovich Gorich, they often see the features of Stepan Begichev, a close friend of Griboyedov in the Irkutsk Hussars, as well as his brother Dmitry Begichev, once a member of the Welfare Union Organization of the Decembrists, created in 1818 to replace the Union of Salvation. It consisted of about two hundred people. The declared goals of the society are the dissemination of knowledge and assistance to the peasants. In 1821, the Welfare Union was dissolved due to mutual disagreements, and the Southern Society and the Northern Society arose on its basis. ⁠ , an officer, and by the time the comedy was created (which Griboyedov wrote directly on the Begichev estate) retired and happily married.

Such a multitude of prototypes for the most passing heroes of Woe from Wit can indeed be considered evidence of Griboedov's good intentions, who ridiculed not specific people, but typical features. Probably the only absolutely unmistakable character of Griboyedov is off-stage. In the “night robber, duelist”, whom, according to Repetilov, “you don’t need to name, you will recognize by the portrait”, everyone really immediately recognized Fyodor Tolstoy-American Count Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy, nicknamed the American (1782-1846) - military man, traveler. In 1803 he went on a circumnavigation with Captain Kruzenshtern, but due to hooligan antics he was landed on the shore in Kamchatka and had to return to St. Petersburg on his own. Traveling in Russian America - Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands - Tolstoy owes his nickname. Participated in the Russian-Swedish War, the Patriotic War of 1812, after the war he settled in Moscow. Tolstoy was known for his love of duels and card games, married a gypsy dancer, with whom he had twelve children (only one daughter survived him). In his old age, Tolstoy became devout and considered the death of his children as punishment for the eleven men he had killed in duels. ⁠ , who was not offended - only offered to make a few corrections. Nikolai Piksanov, a specialist in Griboedov’s work, studied in 1910 the list “Woe from Wit”, which once belonged to the Decembrist Prince Fyodor Shakhovsky, where the hand of Tolstoy-American, against the words “was exiled to Kamchatka, returned as an Aleut and firmly unclean” was proposed editing : “he carried the devil to Kamchatka” (“because he was never exiled”) and “is unclean in cards” (“for the fidelity of the portrait, this amendment is necessary so that they do not think that he is stealing snuff boxes from the table; at least I thought to guess intention author") 6 Piksanov N. K. Creative history of "Woe from Wit". M., L.: GIZ, 1928. C. 110. ⁠ .

Stepan Begichev. A close friend of Griboyedov and a possible prototype of Platon Mikhailovich Gorich

Dmitry Begichev. Another possible prototype of Gorich

Nastasya Ofrosimova. Prototype of the old woman Khlestova

Well, Chatsky, is it Chaadaev?

Contemporaries, of course, immediately thought so. In December 1823, Pushkin wrote to Vyazemsky from Odessa: “What is Griboyedov? I was told that he wrote a comedy based on Chedaev; under the present circumstances, this is extremely noble of him.” With this sarcasm, Pushkin hinted at the forced resignation and departure abroad of Chaadaev, who fell victim to slander; making fun of the victim of political persecution was not very nice. Probably, in the final version, Griboyedov renamed Chadsky to Chatsky, including then, in order to avoid such suspicion 7 Tynyanov Yu. The plot of "Woe from Wit" // Tynyanov Yu. N. Pushkin and his contemporaries. Moscow: Nauka, 1969. ⁠ It is curious that if Chatsky was indeed copied from Chaadaev, the comedy became a self-fulfilling prophecy: 12 years after the creation of the comedy, Pyotr Chaadaev was formally declared insane by order of the government after the publication of his first "Letters" From 1828 to 1830 Chaadaev wrote eight "philosophical letters". In them, he reflects on progressive Western values, the historical path of Russia and the meaning of religion. ⁠ In the magazine "Telescope" Educational magazine published by Nikolai Nadezhdin from 1831 to 1836. In 1834, Vissarion Belinsky became Nadezhdin's assistant. Pushkin, Tyutchev, Koltsov, Stankevich published in the journal. After Chaadaev's "Letter" was published, "Telescope" was closed, and Nadezhdin was sent into exile. ⁠ . The magazine was closed, its editor was exiled, and the Moscow police chief placed Chaadaev himself under house arrest and compulsory medical supervision, which was removed a year later on the condition that he write nothing more.

There are no less reasons to assert that in Chatsky Griboedov brought his friend, the Decembrist Wilhelm Kuchelbecker, who was slandered - namely, denounced as a madman in society - with the aim of political discredit. When the old woman Khlestova complains about "boarding houses, schools, lyceums ... Lankart mutual education" - this is a direct biography of Kuchelbecker, a graduate of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, a teacher Main Pedagogical Institute Founded in 1816 on the basis of the Pedagogical Institute. It trained teachers for gymnasiums and higher educational institutions. In 1819 it was transformed into St. Petersburg University, after almost ten years it was restored, but already in 1859 it was closed, and all students were transferred to St. Petersburg University. ⁠ and secretary of the Society for Mutual Teachings Lancaster system A peer-to-peer learning system in which older students teach younger ones. Invented in Great Britain in 1791 by Joseph Lancaster. The Russian "Society of Schools for Mutual Education" was founded in 1819. Many members of the secret societies were champions of the Lancastrian system; Thus, the Decembrist Vladimir Raevsky was in 1820 under investigation for "harmful propaganda among the soldiers" precisely in connection with his teaching activities. ⁠ .

However, another character also studied at the St. Petersburg Pedagogical Institute - the chemist and botanist Prince Fyodor, the nephew of Princess Tugoukhovskaya, who is indignant for no reason: “They practice in schisms and unbelief / Professors !!”

In 1821, several professors were accused of rejecting "the truths of Christianity" in their lectures and "calling for an attempt on legitimate authority", and teaching was forbidden; the case caused a great uproar and was used as an argument in favor of the dangers of higher education. So it would be more accurate to say that although Griboyedov used the features of real people, including his own, when creating his hero, Chatsky is a collective portrait of the progressive part of his generation.

Pyotr Chaadaev. Lithograph by Marie-Alexandre Alof. 1830s

Is Chatsky smart?

This seems to go without saying and is postulated in the title of the comedy, which Griboyedov originally wanted to call even more specifically: Woe to Wit. In a letter to Pavel Katenin, the playwright contrasted Chatsky with this principle to all other actors (except perhaps Sophia): “In my comedy, there are 25 fools per sane person.”

Contemporaries, however, disagreed on this point. Pushkin was the first to refuse Chatsky's mind, writing to Pyotr Vyazemsky: "Chatsky is not at all a smart person, but Griboyedov is very smart." This view was shared by many critics; Belinsky, for example, called Chatsky "a phrase-monger, an ideal jester, who at every step profanes everything sacred that he speaks of."

The accusation against Chatsky was built primarily on the discrepancy between his words and actions. “Everything he says is very clever,” Pushkin notes. But to whom does he say all this? Famusov? Puffer? At the ball for Moscow grandmothers? Molchalin? It's unforgivable. The first sign of an intelligent person is to know at a glance who you are dealing with, and not to cast pearls in front of the Repetilovs.

Between the masterful features of this charming comedy - Chatsky's incredulity in Sofia's love for Molchalin - is charming! — and how natural! That's what the whole comedy was supposed to spin

Alexander Pushkin

The injustice of this reproach is shown by a careful reading of the text. Beads in front of Repetilov, say, Chatsky does not throw at all - on the contrary, it is Repetilov who crumbles in front of him “about important mothers”, and Chatsky answers in monosyllables and rather rudely: “Yes, it’s full of nonsense to grind.” Chatsky speaks about a Frenchman from Bordeaux, even at a ball, but not at all to Moscow grandmothers, but to Sophia, whom he loves and considers his equal (and Griboyedov himself called “a girl not stupid”), in response to her question: “Tell me what makes you so angry ? Nevertheless, one cannot but admit that Chatsky finds himself in ridiculous and ridiculous situations that the “smart” hero does not seem to fit.

However, after all, Chatsky himself admits that his “mind and heart are not in harmony.” Ivan Goncharov finally cleared the reputation of the hero, noting in the article “A Million of Torments” that Chatsky is a living person experiencing a love drama, and this cannot be written off: “Every step of Chatsky, almost every word in the play is closely connected with the play of his feelings for Sophia" - and this internal struggle "served as a motive, a pretext for irritation, for that "million of torments", under the influence of which he could only play the role indicated to him by Griboyedov, a role of much greater, higher significance than unsuccessful love, in a word, a role, for which all comedy was born. According to the critic, Chatsky not only stands out from the background of other comedy heroes - he is “positively smart. His speech boils with intelligence, wit.<...>... Chatsky begins a new century - and this is all his significance and all "mind" 8 Goncharov I. A. Million of torments (Critical study) // Goncharov I. A. Collected works: In 8 volumes. T. 8. M .: GIHL, 1955. S. 7-40. ⁠ .

Even Pushkin, Chatsky's first accuser, paid tribute to the "thoughts, witticisms and satirical remarks" that Chatsky fed, according to the poet, from "a very intelligent person" - Griboyedov. The poet was only embarrassed by the inconsistency of the hero, who thinks so clearly about abstractions and acts so absurdly in practical circumstances. But he immediately noted that the blindness of Chatsky, who does not want to believe in the coldness of Sophia, is psychologically very reliable. In other words, if you do not try to squeeze Chatsky into the narrow role of a walking reasoner idea, in which he does not fit, there is no reason to doubt his mind: a romantic hero who has fallen into a comedy inevitably plays a comic role - but this position is not funny, but tragic.

Dmitry Kardovsky. Illustration for the comedy "Woe from Wit". 1912

Why did Pushkin call Sofya Famusova an unprintable word?

The famous unprintable expression of Pushkin from a letter to Bestuzhev - “Sophia is not clearly inscribed: it’s not<б....>, not that Moscow cousin According to Yuri Lotman, "the Moscow cousin is a stable satirical mask, a combination of provincial panache and mannerisms." ⁠ ”- today it seems too harsh, but the same bewilderment was shared by many contemporaries. In the first domestic and theatrical productions, six acts from the first act were usually omitted: the scenes of Sophia's meeting with Molchalin (as well as the flirtation of both Molchalin and Famusov with Lisa) seemed too shocking to be presented to the ladies, and amounted to almost a large amount for censorship. problem than the political overtones of a comedy.

Today, the image of Sophia seems somewhat more complicated and prettier than Pushkin's formula. In the famous article “A Million of Torments”, Ivan Goncharov stood up for the reputation of the girl Famusova, noting in her “strong inclinations of remarkable nature, a lively mind, passion and feminine gentleness” and comparing her with the heroine of “Eugene Onegin”: in his opinion, Sophia, although spoiled environment, but, like Tatyana, she is childishly sincere, simple-hearted and fearless in her love.

Neither Onegin nor Pechorin would have acted so stupidly in general, especially in the matter of love and matchmaking. But on the other hand, they have already turned pale and turned into stone statues for us, and Chatsky remains and will always remain alive for this “stupidity” of his.

Ivan Goncharov

This is an unfounded comparison. Pushkin got acquainted with "Woe from Wit" at the height of work on "Eugene Onegin"; traces of Griboedov's comedy can be seen in the comic gallery of guests at Tatiana's name day, and in her dream, varying Sophia's fictional dream; Pushkin directly compares Onegin with Chatsky, who got "from the ship to the ball." Tatyana, a kind of improved version of Sophia, a lover of novels, like her, endows a completely unsuitable candidate with the features of her favorite literary heroes - Werther or Grandison. Like Sophia, she shows a love initiative, indecent according to the concepts of her time - she composes a “letter for a dear hero”, who did not fail to scold her for this. But if Pushkin condemned Sofya Pavlovna's love recklessness, then he treats his heroine sympathetically in a similar situation. And when Tatyana marries a general without love, as Sophia could marry Skalozub, the poet took care to clarify that Tatyana’s husband was “mutilated in battles” - unlike Skalozub, who earns the rank of general through various channels, far from military prowess. As the theater critic Sergei Yablonovsky put it in 1909 in the article “In Defense of S. P. Famusova”, “Pushkin cries over dear Tanya and dissolves our hearts so that we better hide this ... sleeping girl and woman in it,” but Griboedov “does not wanted to bring Sophia closer to us.<...>She didn't even get the last word. defendant" 9 "The current century and the past century ..." A. S. Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from Wit" in Russian criticism and literary criticism. St. Petersburg: Azbuka-Klassika, 2002, p. 249 ⁠ .

Sophia was often perceived as a girl of dubious morality, a typical representative of a vicious Famus society, and Tatyana Larina as the ideal of a Russian woman. This happened largely because the author refused to sympathize with Sophia - this was required by the interests of the main character, Chatsky. Interestingly, in the first edition of the comedy, Griboedov did give Sophia the opportunity to justify herself:

What meanness! lie in wait!
Sneak up and then, of course, dishonor,
Well? did they think to attract me?
And fear, horror make you fall in love?
I owe the report to myself,
However, my deed to you
Why does it seem so angry and so insidious?
I wasn't hypocritical and I'm right all around.

And although in the final version the author took away this monologue from the heroine, exposing Chatsky in a bad light, he allowed her to maintain her dignity: “Reproaches, complaints, my tears // Don’t you dare wait, you don’t deserve them ...” - no one could say that *****, nor a Moscow cousin.

Powder dispenser. Germany, 18th–19th century

Powder box. France, 19th century

What do Griboedov's heroes' names mean?

Griboyedov, in the tradition of classic comedy, gives almost all of his characters talking surnames. Such surnames usually singled out the main property of the character, personified vice, virtue, or some other one-dimensional quality: for example, Fonvizin calls stupid landowners Prostakovs, the government official who puts things in order bears the surname Pravdin, and Tsyfirkin teaches arithmetic to underage Mitrofanushka. In Woe from Wit, everything is less straightforward: all speaking surnames somehow embody one idea - the idea of ​​verbal communication, mostly difficult. So, the surname Famusova is formed from the Latin fama - “rumor” (it’s not for nothing that his main sadness at the denouement is “What will Princess Marya Aleksevna say!”). The surname of Molchalin, "not daring to have his own opinion," speaks for itself. A double meaning can be seen in the surname of Repetilov (from the French répéter - “recite by heart”, “repeat after someone”): this character, on the one hand, silently listens to important conversations that the “juice of smart youth” leads, and then repeats to others , and on the other hand, it acts as a comic double of Chatsky, illustrating his spiritual impulses with his own physical clumsy movements. Prince Tugoukhovsky is deaf, Colonel Skalozub - “He is also much joking, because now who is not joking!” - master of barracks witticisms. In the surname of Khlyostova, one can see a hint of a biting word, which you can’t refuse her either - she, for example, was the only one in the whole comedy who laughed at the main wit Chatsky, who noted that Zagoretsky “would not be healthy from such praises.” Khlestova’s remark about Chatsky and Repetilov (the first one “will be treated, maybe cured”, the second one is “incurable, at least give it up”) anticipates the later observations of literary critics about the relationship between these two characters.

The surname of Chatsky himself (in the early version - Chadsky) was associated by various researchers with the word "chad" on the basis of his general ardor and analysis of his remarks ("Well, the day has passed, and with him / All the ghosts, all the children and smoke / Hopes that filled my soul" or maxims about the sweet and pleasant "smoke of the Fatherland"). But a more direct association, of course, with Chaadaev.

Dmitry Kardovsky. Illustration for the comedy "Woe from Wit". 1912

Chatsky - Decembrist?

The opinion that Chatsky, as Griboyedov wrote him, had a direct road to Senate Square was first expressed by Ogaryov, substantiated by Herzen, who argued that "Chatsky went a direct road to hard labor," and subsequently became firmly established in Soviet literary criticism - especially after as the book of Academician Militsa Nechkina “A. S. Griboyedov and the Decembrists” received the Stalin Prize in 1948. Today, however, the issue of Chatsky's Decembrism is no longer resolved so unambiguously.

The argument in this debate often revolves around another question: Was Griboedov himself a Decembrist?

The writer was friends with many Decembrists, was, like many of them, in the Masonic Lodge and at the beginning of 1826 spent four months in the guardhouse of the General Staff under investigation - he later described this experience in an epigram as follows:

- According to the spirit of the times and taste
He hated the word "slave"...
- That's why I got to the Headquarters
And was drawn to Jesus!

In the case of the Decembrists, Griboyedov, however, was acquitted, released "with a cleansing certificate" and an annual salary, and sent to his place of service in Persia, where a brilliant, although, unfortunately, short-lived career awaited him. And although his personal sympathies towards the Decembrists are beyond doubt, he himself was not a member of a secret society, as Bestuzhev and Ryleev showed during interrogations, and spoke skeptically about their program: “One hundred ensigns want to change the entire state life of Russia.” Moreover: there is one directly named member of the “secret union” in his comedy - the caricature Repetilov, over whom Chatsky is ironic: “Are you making noise? But only?"

To this, supporters of the “Decembrist” concept object that Repetilov, although crooked, is a mirror of Chatsky. Chatsky “writes and translates nicely” - Repetilov “sculpts a vaudeville act with six of them”, his quarrel with his father-in-law is a reflection of Chatsky’s connection and break with the ministers, at the first appearance on stage, Repetilov “falls with all his might” - just like Chatsky, who “fell how many times”, jumping from St. Petersburg to be at the feet of Sophia. Repetilov is like a circus clown who, in between the performances of trainers and tightrope walkers, repeats their heroic numbers in an absurd light. Therefore, it can be considered that the author put into his mouth all those speeches that Chatsky himself, as the mouthpiece of the author, could not utter for censorship reasons.

According to the spirit of the times and taste
I hated the word "slave"
I was called to the Headquarters
And pulled to Jesus

Alexander Griboyedov

Of course, “Woe from Wit” had a political subtext - this is evidenced by the long-term censorship ban and the fact that the Decembrists themselves recognized their own in Chatsky and in every possible way contributed to the spread of the play (for example, in the apartment of the Decembrist poet Alexander Odoevsky for several evenings, a whole the workshop rewrote "Woe from Wit" under general dictation from Griboedov's original manuscript, in order to later use it for propaganda purposes). But there is no reason to consider Chatsky a revolutionary, despite the civic pathos with which he criticizes the arbitrariness of the feudal lords, sycophancy and corruption.

"Carbonari" From Italian - "coal miner". Member of a secret Italian society that existed from 1807 to 1832. The Carbonari fought against the French and Austrian occupation, and then for the constitutional order of Italy. Complex ceremonies and rituals were practiced in society, one of them was the burning of charcoal, symbolizing spiritual purification. ⁠ , a “dangerous person” who “wants to preach liberty” and “does not recognize authorities,” calls Chatsky Famusov - plugging his ears and not hearing what Chatsky tells him, who at that time calls not for the overthrow of the system, but only for intellectual independence and meaningful activities for the benefit of the state. His spiritual brothers are the "physicist and botanist" Prince Fyodor, the nephew of Princess Tugoukhovskaya, and Skalozub's cousin, who "suddenly left the service, / In the village he began to read books." His, as we would say today, positive agenda is clearly stated in the play:

Now let one of us
Of the young people, there is an enemy of quests,
Not demanding either places or promotions,
In the sciences, he will stick the mind, hungry for knowledge;
Or in his soul God himself will excite the heat
To creative, lofty and beautiful arts…

Yuri Lotman in the article “Decembrist in Everyday Life” actually put an end to this dispute, considering “Decembristism” not as a system of political views or a type of activity, but as a worldview and behavioral style of a certain generation and circle, to which Chatsky definitely belonged: “ Contemporaries singled out not only the "talkativeness" of the Decembrists - they also emphasized the sharpness and directness of their judgments, the peremptory sentences, "indecent", from the point of view of secular norms ...<…>... a constant desire to express one's opinion without prejudice, not recognizing the ritual and hierarchy of secular speech behavior approved by custom. The Decembrist openly and "publicly calls a spade a spade," thunders "at the ball and in society, since it is in this naming that he sees the liberation of man and the beginning of the transformation of society." Thus, having resolved the issue of Chatsky's Decembrism, Lotman at the same time relieved him of suspicions of stupidity, once caused by critics of his "inappropriate" behavior.

Before Griboyedov, Russian comedy of the 1810s and 20s developed as usual count 10 Zorin A.L. “Woe from Wit” and Russian comedy of the 10-20s of the XIX century // Philology: Collection of works of students and graduate students of the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University. Issue. 5. M., 1977. S. 77, 79-80. ⁠ , in two directions: a pamphlet-satirical comedy of manners (outstanding representatives - Alexander Shakhovskoy and Mikhail Zagoskin) and a salon comedy of intrigue (primarily Nikolai Khmelnitsky Nikolai Ivanovich Khmelnitsky (1789-1845) - playwright. Khmelnitsky served in the Collegium of Foreign Affairs and was engaged in theater: he published theater reviews in the St. Petersburg Bulletin, translated plays. The success of Khmelnitsky was brought by the performances of the comedies "The Talker" and "Pranks of Lovers". It was in his house that the first reading of Griboyedov's "Woe from Wit" took place. After the war of 1812, Khmelnitsky served as a state councilor, was the governor of Smolensk, then Arkhangelsk. In 1838, he was imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress for embezzlement, but later found not guilty. ⁠ ). The comedy of intrigue was written mainly from French models, often being a directly adapted translation. Griboyedov paid tribute to this tradition in his early comedies. And he builds a love affair in Woe from Wit according to a seemingly familiar scheme: the despotic father of a pretty girl with the traditional name Sophia (meaning, we note, “Wisdom”) and two seekers - the hero-lover and his antagonist. In this classic scheme, as Andrei Zorin notes, the opponents were certainly endowed with a number of opposite qualities. The positive hero was distinguished by modesty, taciturnity, respectfulness, prudence, in general, "moderation and accuracy", the negative one was an evil-speaking braggart and an irreverent mocker (for example, in Khmelnitsky's comedy "The Talker" the positive and negative characters have the speaking surnames Modestov and Zvonov, respectively). In short, in the literary context of his time, Chatsky was recognized at first glance as a negative hero, a buffoonish lover — and his rightness, as well as the author’s obvious sympathy for him, caused cognitive dissonance among readers.

We add to this that before Griboyedov, love in comedy could not be wrong: the poverty of the seeker, the hostility of the girl's parents towards him was an obstacle in the path of lovers - but in the end these obstacles were happily resolved, often due to external interference ( deus ex machina "God from the Machine" A Latin expression meaning an unexpected resolution of a situation due to external intervention. Initially, a technique in ancient dramaturgy: one of the gods of Olympus descended onto the stage with the help of a mechanical device and easily solved all the problems of the heroes. ⁠ ), lovers were united, and the ridiculed vicious rival was expelled. Griboyedov, contrary to all comedic rules, completely deprived Woe from Wit of a happy ending: vice is not punished, virtue does not triumph, the reasoner is expelled as a jester. And this happens because the playwright excluded the latter from the classicist triad of unities of time, place and action: in his comedy there are two equal conflicts, love and social, which was impossible in a classicist play. Thus, in the words of Andrei Zorin, he blew up the entire comedy tradition, turning inside out both the usual plot and the role - sympathizing with yesterday's negative character and ridiculing former positive ones.

A Moscow young lady, a virgin with not high feelings, but with strong desires, barely restrained by social decency. As many believe, she cannot be a romantic girl: for in the most ardent frenzy of the imagination it is impossible to daydream before giving soul and heart to a doll. Molchalin».

However, if Sophia is just an empty Moscow young lady and she herself left not far from Molchalin, why does Chatsky himself, who knows her well, love her? It was not because of the vulgar Moscow young lady that for three years "the whole world seemed to be dust and vanity." This is a psychological contradiction - meanwhile, even Pushkin, among the merits of comedy, noted its psychological authenticity: “Chatsky's incredulity in Sofia's love for Molchalin is charming! - and how natural!

In trying to explain this discrepancy, many critics have had to engage in psychological speculation. Goncharov believed, for example, that Sophia was guided by a kind of maternal feeling - "the desire to patronize a loved one, a poor, modest one who does not dare to raise his eyes to her, to elevate him to himself, to his circle, to give him family rights."

Chatsky is broken by the amount of old power, inflicting a mortal blow on it with the quality of fresh power.

Ivan Goncharov

Another psychological motivation for Sophia's choice can be seen in the history of her relationship with Chatsky, which is described in some detail in the play.

They had once shared a tender childhood friendship; then Chatsky, as Sofya recalls, “moved out, he seemed bored with us, / And rarely visited our house; / Then he again pretended to be in love, / Demanding and distressed!!”

Then the hero went on a journey and "did not write two words for three years", while Sophia asked any visitor about him - "at least be a sailor"!

It is clear after that that Sophia has reason not to take Chatsky’s love seriously, who, among other things, “goes to women” and does not miss the opportunity to flirt with Natalya Dmitrievna, who is “more full than before, fear has become prettier” (just like Sophia “ blossomed beautifully, inimitably).

⁠ ) ​​- for popular plays at the beginning of the 19th century, this was a common practice, but the number and literary scale were unusual. Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin Mikhail Alekseevich Bestuzhev-Ryumin (1800-1832) - poet, journalist. He published the literary newspaper "Northern Mercury" and the almanacs "Garland", "Sirius", "May Leaf", "Northern Star". He published his poems and critical articles in them under the pseudonym of Aristarkh the Cherished. His attacks on Pushkin and a fierce polemic with the editor of the Literary Supplements to the Russian Invalid Alexander Voeikov, which ended with threats to expel the journalist from St. Petersburg, gained fame. ⁠ published in his almanac "Sirius" a short story in letters "The consequence of the comedy" Woe from Wit ", where Sophia, first sent by her father to the village, soon returns to Moscow, marries an elderly" ace "who, by servility, got himself ranks and rides in a train Zug - a team in which horses go in several pairs, tail to tail. Only very rich people could afford to ride in a train. ⁠ , and is looking for an opportunity to reconcile with Chatsky in order to instruct her husband's horns with him.

Dmitry Begichev, a friend of Griboedov, in whose estate the comedy was written and who was considered one of the prototypes of Platon Mikhailovich Gorich, in the novel "The Kholmsky Family" brought out Chatsky in his old age, poor, living "quieter than water below the grass" in his village with a grumpy wife, then there is quite repaid a friend for a caricature.

In 1868, Vladimir Odoevsky published his “Intercepted Letters” by Famusov to Princess Marya Aleksevna in Sovremennye Zapiski. Evdokia Rostopchina in the comedy "Chatsky's Return to Moscow, or the Meeting of Familiar Faces after a Twenty-Five Years' Separation" (written in 1856, published in 1865) ridiculed both political parties in Russian society of that time - Westerners and Slavophiles. The crowning achievement of this literary tradition was the cycle of satirical essays "Lord Molchalina", written in 1874-1876 by Saltykov-Shchedrin: there Chatsky descended, lost his former ideals, married Sophia and lives out his life as director of the department of "State insanity", where he attached him godfather Molchalin, a reactionary official, "who has reached the level of certain degrees." But the most odious future was painted for Chatsky at the beginning of the 20th century by Viktor Burenin in the play “Woe from Stupidity” - a satire on the revolution of 1905, where Chatsky, following the author, preaches Black Hundred ideas, stigmatizes not reactionaries, but revolutionaries, but instead of “Frenchman from Bordeaux” his target is "the blackest of the lawyers, the Jew."

bibliography

• A. S. Griboyedov in the memoirs of contemporaries: Collection. Introductory article by S. A. Fomichev. M.: Fiction, 1980.
• "The current century and the past century ..." A. S. Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from Wit" in Russian criticism and literary criticism. St. Petersburg: Azbuka-Klassika, 2002.
• Gershenzon M. O. Griboedovskaya Moscow // Gershenzon M. O. Griboedovskaya Moscow. P. Ya. Chaadaev. Sketches of the past. M .: Moskovsky worker, 1989.
• Lotman Yu. M. Decembrist in everyday life (everyday behavior as a historical and psychological category) // Literary heritage of the Decembrists: coll. / ed. V. G. Bazanova, V. E. Vatsuro. L.: Nauka, 1975. S. 25–74.

• Nechkina M. V. A. S. Griboyedov and the Decembrists. M.: GIHL, 1947.
• Orlov Vl. Griboyedov. Brief essay on life and work. M.: Art, 1952.
• Piksanov N.K. Chronicle of the life and work of A.S. Griboyedov. 1791–1829 M.: Heritage, 2000.
• Piksanov N. K. Creative history of "Woe from Wit". M., L.: GIZ, 1928.
• Slonimsky A. "Woe from Wit" and comedy of the Decembrist era (1815–1825) // A. S. Griboyedov, 1795–1829: Sat. Art. M.: Goslitmuzey, 1946. S. 39–73.
• Tynyanov Yu. N. The plot of "Woe from Wit" // Tynyanov Yu. N. Pushkin and his contemporaries. Moscow: Nauka, 1969.
• Fomichev S. A. Griboyedov: Encyclopedia. St. Petersburg: Nestor-History, 2007.
• Tsimbaeva E. Artistic Image in the Historical Context (Analysis of the Biographies of the Characters of "Woe from Wit") // Questions of Literature. 2003. No. 4. S. 98–139.

All bibliography

Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from Wit" has been known to us since childhood, as it has long been included in the school curriculum. In this article, we will talk in more detail about the genre of the work, its main themes and idea, consider the plot, the images of the main characters, and also give some of the most popular aphorisms.

About the work

We will consider the genre (“Woe from Wit”) below, but for now let's talk about the history of creation. It is known that Griboedov began writing the play in 1821. During these years, the writer served in Tiflis, but nevertheless found time to work. In 1823, Griboyedov returned to Moscow, where he completed work on the comedy. Here he first read the work in a circle of friends.

Genre

It is quite difficult to determine what its genre is. "Woe from Wit" is an innovative work and violates many of the canonical principles of classicism. Like any traditional play, "Woe from Wit" is basically a love affair, but the main thing is a social conflict that develops in parallel. In addition, the play combines everyday comedy, comedy of characters and social satire, which is unacceptable for classicism.

There are also doubts about whether the work can be called a comedy, as the author described it. After all, the main character is completely atypical and does not cause laughter. On the other hand, all the signs of the declared genre are present - satirical characters and situations.

As a result, modern critics called the work a high comedy, since Griboyedov raises serious social and moral problems in it. And the changes made to the genre by the author are due to the fact that the implementation of the idea required more opportunities than the classical tradition allowed.

What's new?

The genre (“Woe from Wit”) is not in vain considered innovative. Let's start with the fact that the author violated the unity of action in the work. That is, instead of one conflict, as was customary in classicism, Griboyedov depicts two - social and love. Also in classical comedy, vice is inevitably overcome by virtue, but this does not happen here either. Chatsky is outnumbered and forced to flee.

It also portrays the characters of the Griboyedovs in a different way. They are not divided into negative and positive, and are endowed with more realistic features: they have both impartial and positive qualities. For example, Sophia is experiencing a personal drama, despite the fact that it is difficult to call her a negative character. The girl was sincerely in love with Molchalin.

From the foregoing, we can conclude that the originality of the work lies in the fact that it includes several genres, of which the leading one is public comedy.

The meaning of the name

When analyzing the play, it is impossible not to reveal the meaning of the title. "Woe from Wit" - a title that helps the reader understand the main topic that the author wanted to reveal. Namely, he focused attention precisely on the categories of the mind. Let's start with the fact that the name refers us to a Russian folk proverb, which describes the clash of the smart and the stupid, ending in the victory of the latter. Thus, even before reading the text, we can already predict the denouement.

This conflict of stupidity and intelligence has always been important for classicism. But Griboyedov rethought it. No wonder contemporaries immediately had a question: who is smart in comedy? Critics agree that two are endowed with this quality - Molchalin and Chatsky. However, he helps the first to live, and destroys the second. The fact is that we have two types of mind. Molchalin's is moderate, worldly, while Chatsky's is ardent and unadapted to realities. Thus, the meaning of the name (“Woe from Wit”) takes on a slightly different meaning. We see that it is not just the mind that brings misfortune, but a certain type of mind.

The protagonist of the work is Alexander Andreevich Chatsky, a nobleman who, after a three-year journey, returns to his beloved Sophia. Thus, at first we see the usual love plot.

“Woe from Wit” begins with the awakening of Lizonka, who did not get enough sleep because of the nightly meetings of Sophia and Molchalin, because she had to keep the date a secret. On the same day, the girl recalls her old passion for Chatsky, calling him an intelligent and outstanding person. However, this was all just a childish hobby, and besides, he offended her with his unexpected departure. At this moment Chatsky's return is reported.

The young man is happy to meet and intends to marry Sophia, but she meets him very coldly. Famusov also does not want to give his daughter to a nobleman without a high rank. There is a dispute about "old" and "new" people.

Gradually, Chatsky begins to suspect that Sophia has another lover. He becomes cold, for which the girl is accused of insensitivity.

Left alone with Lisa, Molchalin flirting with her.

Acts 3 and 4: climax and denouement

Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from Wit" does not give the reader an ideal hero: even Chatsky is portrayed as an imperfect person with his own shortcomings.

So, the main character cannot understand who is nice to Sophia. He cannot consider Molchalin a candidate, since he is “the most miserable creature”, incapable of ardent feelings and selflessness. When it turns out that it was he who became Sophia's chosen ones, Chatsky is disappointed in his beloved.

The protagonist delivers an accusatory monologue about modern society. At the same time, a rumor spread by Sophia that Chatsky is insane is spreading in the world. As a result, the hero is forced to flee from Moscow.

"Woe from Wit": characters

First, let's list the main characters of the comedy.

• Let's start, of course, with Alexander Chatsky. He knew Sophia from childhood and was in love with her. But 3 years before the start of the comedy, he went to travel. It is with his return that the beginning of the play and the beginning of all conflicts are connected. Chatsky opposes himself to society with all the ardor of youth. But in the end, he is defeated and he has to flee from the house he has known since childhood.
• Sofia Famusova is a 17-year-old girl who grew up without a mother and was raised by her father. She is selflessly in love with Molchalin and is ready to defend him to the last. Sophia is not stupid, Griboyedov also endowed her with courage and the ability to resist the opinions of others.
• Alexei Molchalin - serves as Famusov's secretary and lives in his house. He is very cautious and prudent, he remembers his low origin. Molchalin knows that Sophia loves him. He does not reciprocate and is willing to pretend for the sake of a good relationship with his employer.
• And, finally, Famusov Pavel Afanasevich - Sophia's father, who serves as a manager in a state-owned house. Two things are important to him - rank and the opinion of the world. He is very afraid of enlightenment and educated people.

Minor Heroes

There are other characters in the play "Woe from Wit". The characters of the second plan, one might say, are divided into two groups - these are representatives of the local society and servants. The first are a reflection of social trends. From them one can judge what is going on in the minds of representatives of high society. Griboyedov portrays them as narrow-minded, ossified, stupid conservatives. These include Skalozub, Tugoukhovsky, Khryumins, Gorichi, and Famusov, the head of the house. The genre (“Woe from Wit”) suggests the presence of a comic beginning, which was embodied in this society.

Servants do not occupy such a significant place. They, as is customary in Russian literature, reflect the character of the people. Among this group, two stand out - Lizonka, Sophia's maid, who helps her secretly see Molchalin, and Petrushka, who plays the role of a mocker.

Themes of the work

The play has more than one theme. "Woe from Wit" has a wide range of problems. Griboyedov managed to touch on almost all the problems of his time. That is why the play was censored for a long time. So, let's list the main themes of the comedy: the education and upbringing of the nobles, the cruelty of the landlords, serfdom, senseless bureaucracy, the pursuit of ranks, the struggle between the "old" and the "new", Arakcheevism, Frenchmania, liberalism, love for everything foreign. The writer also addresses such eternal topics as love, marriage, family, relations between a woman and a man, etc.

Aphorisms from "Woe from Wit"

Quotes from the play have long been loved by readers and "gone to the people." Now we can’t always even understand that these are words from Griboyedov’s work, we are so used to these expressions.

Here are the most famous:

• “And the smoke of the Fatherland is sweet and pleasant for us!”
• "Happy hours are not observed."
• “A little light on my feet! And I'm at your feet."
• "Carriage for me, carriage!"

Aphorisms from "Woe from Wit" are so popular due to their accuracy and amazing topicality, which has survived to this day.

About comedy. The plot of Alexander Griboedov's comedy will take you to Moscow in the 19th century. The nobility is represented by various actors. The plot is built on the conflict of generations. On the one hand, conservative nobles who are becoming obsolete, on the other, new representatives of the emerging class of enlightened nobles. A summary of “Woe from Wit” by actions will help you to feel the peculiarities of an interesting, but already bygone century, a quick reading will allow you to understand the essence and meaning of the plot of a work of art.

Action 1

The plot develops in the house of the manager in the government place Pavel Afanasyevich Famusov. It all starts in the spacious living room. The maid Lizonka is dozing in an armchair, pleasant music is heard from the bedroom of the owner's daughter. Two instruments - a flute and a piano - help to understand that there are two people in the bedroom. The frightened maid wakes up and, seeing that day is approaching outside the window, begins to knock on the mistress. She hurries and frightens the hidden lovers with a meeting with their father, but they are deaf to her requests. Famusov appears at the noise in the room. He flirts with the maid, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from. Liza makes even more noise, and the owner leaves. The lovers leave the room. This is Sofia, Famusov's daughter, and Molchalin, a secretary who lives in his house. They didn't hear what was going on in the living room. Lisa tries to send Molchalin away, but she runs into Famusov at the door. The lovers are trying to get out. One says that he was here by accident, returning from a walk, and the daughter blames everything on her father, who with a loud voice woke her from a gentle dream. The girl tells her father about the dream that disturbed her. She dreamed of a poor lover, screaming and arguing with her father. In the dream there were monsters, laughter and roars. Famusov proceeds to interrogate Molchalin. He, it turns out, also hurried to the owner's voice in order to present him the papers early. The men leave, but the girls remain in the room. They continue to talk about men. The maid is trying to convey to the young lady that there will be no sense in meeting with Molchalin. The father will not allow to connect fate with the poor. The blinded girl hopes for a different outcome. Lisa invites her rich daughter to take a closer look at Colonel Skalozub.

Lisa explains to Sophia that her father wants a son-in-law with rank and stars. But the windy girl does not want to hear about military movements: the front and the ranks. With admiration, Lisa talks about Alexander Andreyevich Chatsky. He is cheerful, sensitive, sharp-tongued, reminiscent of the young man's love for Sophia. Famusov's daughter laughs at Chatsky, she loves Mochalin, who sits next to him all night, sighing without uttering a word. The maid becomes even more cheerful when she imagines this ridiculous picture.

The conversation of the girls is interrupted with the arrival of Chatsky. He hurries to see his beloved, to find out how she lives. In his speech, the young man tries to remind her of childhood pranks and fun, carefree days of games and hide and seek. In conversation, the young man begins to ridicule everyone he knew, asking if they have changed:

• Father;
• Uncle;
• Auntie;
• Three youthful faces with a huge number of relatives;
• Theatrical;
• A man hidden behind a screen, whistling like a nightingale.

Gradually Chatsky got to Molchalin. He wonders if the silent fool has changed. Sophia is angry, she is ready to send her former friend into the fire, just not to hear his mockery of her beloved.

The owner of the house, Famusov, appears. Sophia, taking advantage of this, hides in her room. Famusov starts a conversation with the guest. He is interested in where Chatsky was for 3 years, what he learned new, but the young man is busy with his own thoughts. The lover is amazed at how prettier Sofia has become, his feelings have flared up even more. He apologizes to Famusov, explains: he wanted to see Sophia so much that he did not stop by home. Alexander Andreevich says goodbye, promising to return in the evening.

Famusov remains alone in his doubts. He does not understand what his daughter is hinting at, saying that "a dream in the hand." He is not satisfied with either the morning guest - the beggar Molchalin, or Chatsky, whom he considers a fashionista and sharp-tongued.

Action 2

Famusov fills out a calendar of events for the week with a servant. The life of a nobleman is so full that every day is scheduled:

• dinner party with trout;
• burial;
• baptism.

It is impossible to listen to plans without a sarcastic smirk: “she did not give birth, but according to my calculation, she should give birth.”

Chatsky enters Famusov's office. An interesting dialogue between representatives of two generations of the nobility begins. The young man is interested in everything related to Sofia. In response, the father tries to find out his plans: have you thought of getting married? Chatsky finds out what Famusov would answer him for a matchmaking. He says that he would like to see in him a skillful leader of the estate. The main thing is that Famusov wants to send the young man to serve. Alexander Andreevich retorts him with a phrase that has become winged: “I would be glad to serve, it’s sickening to serve.”

Famusov cites the example of Maxim Petrovich, his late uncle. He earned respect and reverence through a ridiculous situation. Having stumbled once and amused noble people, he repeated the fall several times. He attracted attention and became a person who himself gives ranks, distributes pensions. Chatsky, after listening to the example, was simply amazed at how you can get a place at the expense of your own humiliation (“they knocked on the floor without sparing”), flattery (flattery was woven like lace). The ancestors hid all the meanness under the guise of admiration for the king, but in reality they only dreamed of their career growth and money. The speeches of the young man frighten Famusov. He sees in him a "carbonari" (secret political society of a revolutionary hue), a dangerous man. And the more Chatsky says, the more frightened Famusov is. The owner of the house no longer hears the end of the speech, he simply asks to let him go, not to argue and not to continue criticizing the events and people of his century.

The servant announces that Colonel Skalozub has arrived. Frightened Famusov shouts that Chatsky should be brought to justice. Only on the third time the servant was able to shout to the owner. He asks Chatsky to behave carefully and respectfully in the presence of Skalozub, not to argue and slanderous ideas. He talks about the possible desire of the colonel to marry Sophia. Famusov does not see an urgent need for this wedding, but does not exclude such a possibility.

Chatsky is left alone for several minutes. He reflects that an unknown number of suitors appeared around his beloved. Love, in his opinion, comes to an end, unable to withstand 3 years of separation.

Sergey Sergeevich Skalozub, Famusov and Alexander Andreyevich Chatsky are located in the same room, they start a conversation.

The Colonel's speech is one-sided. He thinks only in clear military terms. Therefore, it is ridiculous to hear his answer to the question of kinship with a woman: "We did not serve together." He only knows about his relatives, who served where and when, how he distinguished himself. Skalozub has a brother among his relatives, who, instead of receiving a rank, went to the village to read books. Skalozub is friends with those who open job vacancies for him. He envies the more fortunate, pities himself. He had to ride for the regiment for 2 years to get the next rank. Skalozub's dream is to become a general. Famusov is interested in his plans for marriage. The Colonel is not averse to getting married.

The characteristic of Moscow sounds interesting: the distances are huge, the fire contributed a lot to its decoration. The feeling of patriotism is even more original in Famusov's words. Girls cling to the military because they are patriots.

Chatsky joins the conversation when it comes to Moscow. His very first judgment frightens Famusov. The young man says that there are new houses in the capital, but old prejudices. The owner asks to remember what he asked at the beginning of the meeting. He has to introduce the young man to the colonel. There is a lot of negativity and criticism in his words:

• does not want to serve;
• did not become business;
• spends his mind in the wrong place.

Words turn on Chatsky. He answers all the arguments of the older generation. Another phrase that sounded in the lips of the young man: “And who are the judges?”, Began to walk, as an independent, immediately after the release of the book. The owner did not listen to the long speech of the representative of the new generation, he went into the office, calling the colonel with him. Puffer from the whole tirade heard only thoughts about the military.

Sophia runs into the room to Chatsky and Skalozub together with a maid. She rushes to the window and screams that someone has fallen and broken. Alexander Andreevich notices the girl's genuine fear. The skalozub imagines that the old master has “blundered”. Lisa explains to everyone in the room that misfortune happened to Molchalin, who was unable to get on the horse. The Colonel wonders how the miserable rider fell: chest or sideways.

Chatsky does not know how to help his beloved. Lisa asks for water to bring Sophia back to consciousness. Waking up, the girl scolds Alexander Andreevich that he is not helping Molchalin, but Liza brings her to the window to see: everything worked out, and there is no reason to panic.

Action 3

Chatsky is waiting for a meeting with Sophia, hoping to find out who the girl loves. He doubts among two admirers: Molchalin and Skalozub. But the young lady leaves the conversation, calls the lover strange. Chatsky admits that he is crazy about the girl. Sofia confesses her love for Molchalin. Her words sound so ridiculous that Alexander Andreevich doubts. He has no idea how you can love such a nonentity: "he is silent when he is scolded", he does not have his own opinion. About Skalozub, Sofia has a very short answer: "The hero is not of my novel."

Sophia, under the pretext of the arrival of a hairdresser, leaves to meet her beloved. Chatsky remains even more confused, the riddle remains completely tangled. Molchalin approaches him. Their conversation is just funny. Chatsky is trying to understand how such a person can be liked. Molchalin's talent is moderation and accuracy. Molchalin enviously talks about the gossip that spread about Chatsky. He enthusiastically talks about some Tatyana Yurievna, to whom you must definitely go. There are balls every day and an ongoing holiday. But Chatsky does not see attractiveness in balls. The longer the young man speaks with Molchalin, the more he becomes convinced of the impossibility of a relationship between him and Sofia.

The arrival of guests to Famusov's house begins: a dinner party is planned. Many of them are old acquaintances of Chatsky, there are descriptions of their meetings and conversations. Some of the guests are funny and ridiculous:

• deaf princes and princesses;
• girls busy with their skirts.

All of them appreciate Chatsky.

Sophia is dating Mr.N. She shares her opinion that Chatsky is out of his mind. The young lady, having uttered these words, understands that she said the wrong thing, but she begins to like the idea of ​​spreading such thoughts among the guests. She exposes a jester in love with herself and waits for the development of events.

The gossip is quickly gaining momentum. Everyone shares the news, adding from themselves. Zagoretsky speeds up the gossip: "they grabbed him, into the yellow house, and put him on a chain." No one doubts madness, everyone, on the contrary, finds signs of it in Alexander Andreevich's behavior. When a young man appears in the hall, everyone dances diligently, the old people play cards. No one listens to his speeches, everyone tries to stay away.

Action 4

The guests leave the ball.

Countess Khryumina and her granddaughter are dissatisfied with those who were invited: "freaks from the next world."

Gorina Natalya Dmitrievna was having fun, her husband was dozing or dancing at the behest of his wife.

Chatsky asks the footman to give him a carriage. There is no coachman on the spot, the footman leaves to look for him, Chatsky remains. Repetilov runs up to him. He begins to chaotically declare his love for Alexander Andreevich. He does not believe, says that this is a lie and nonsense. He warns that Repetilov is late and the ball is already over. Repetilov is full of boasting, he considers himself among the smart people who understand politics and books. He is a member of a secret club, calls a young man to them, promises to introduce him to interesting people. But all the listed names do not arouse interest in the interlocutor. The speech stops when the Puffer's carriage is announced. Repetilov tends to go there. And begins a declaration of love to the colonel. But he is evidently not the first time listening to such speeches. He frightens with the fact that all noisy meetings will be completed by building in ranks. Imperceptibly, Zagoretsky appears in the place of Skalozub. He begins to ask Repetilov about Chatsky. He wonders if he's okay with his head. Repetilov does not believe that Chatsky is insane.

The following guests appear: the princess with 6 daughters, the princess Khlestova. She is led by Molchalin. Zagoretsky asks everyone for confirmation of his words. It turns out that the news of madness is already outdated.

Molchalin accompanies Khlestova, who lets him into the room. Sarcasm is heard in the name of the secretary's place of residence - closet. Repetilov does not know where to go next, he asks the footman to take him somewhere.

Chatsky, who had been in the Swiss all this time, heard what they were saying about him. He is amazed. The absurdity of insanity is startling, he wants to know who spread such terrible rumors. His thoughts are interrupted by Sofia, who, with a candle in her hand, makes her way to Molchalin's room. He hides behind a pillar, hoping to wait and find out the secrets hidden in the house.

Lisa with a candle moves along another dark corridor. She needs to call Molchalin to Sofia.

Chatsky and Sofia hide in different places. Lisa knocks on Molchalin's room. She calls him to the young lady, scolds that he is sleeping and not preparing for the wedding. Molchalin's reciprocal speeches are frightened by blasphemy. He explains to Lisa that he is simply "wasting" time, afraid to offend the owner's daughter, does not want him to kick him out of the house after learning about his connection with Sophia. He begins to confess his love to the maid. Sophia perceives his words as meanness, and Chatsky as meanness. Lisa calls the deceiver to conscience. Molchalin tells the girl what the meaning of his life is in pleasing. He is ready to please everyone:

• owner;
• servant;
• boss;
• doorman;
• dog.

Molchalin asks Lisa to allow herself to be hugged in order to go share love with the deplorable young lady, but Sofia does not let him. She says she is ashamed of herself and her feelings. Molchalin crawls on her knees, but the girl remains adamant. She understands that his speeches are lies and deceit. The girl thanks Molchalin for being timid on dates. She is glad that she found out everything at night, and there are no witnesses to her shame. At this moment, Chatsky appears.

Molchalin runs away to his closet, Lisa drops the candle out of fear. The young man turns to Sophia, he is surprised for whom she exchanged his real feelings. Sofia is crying.

A crowd of servants runs into the corridor along with Famusov. He is outraged that Sophia, who declared Chatsky insane, is meeting with him in the dark. Chatsky, having learned to whom he owes his madness, is even more surprised. Famusov scolds the young man, asking him not to appear in his house until he improves. Alexander Andreevich laughs at himself and hurriedly leaves to look for a corner where he can retire and forget about the insults he received.