Sergei Sergeevich Skalozub is a minor character in Griboyedov's comedy Woe from Wit. An uninitiated colonel who wants to become a general.
Pavel Afanasyevich refers Skalozub to the category of enviable Moscow suitors. According to Famusov, a wealthy officer who has weight and status in society is a good match for his daughter. Sophia herself did not like him.
In the work, the image of Skalozub is collected in separate phrases. Sergey Sergeevich joins Chatsky's speech with absurd reasoning. They betray his ignorance and lack of education.
Characteristics of the Skalozub
Skalozub entered the army, as was customary, at the age of 15. He connected his career and life with military affairs. In ten years he rose to the rank of colonel. Despite the great opportunities for career growth during the war years, he did not show much initiative, which is why he was awarded only one award. The authorities noted Skalozub for his exploits, but on the occasion of military celebrations.
Outwardly, the colonel is a tall and noticeable man with a hoarse voice. Neither young nor old, he is unpretentious in everyday life and is thinking about marriage. The presence of funds allows him to lead a secular lifestyle, play cards and appear at balls.
Sergey Sergeevich is scrupulous about his appearance. It is tied with belts to emphasize the chest, but at the same time wears simple things. He shows obvious dissatisfaction with the guardsmen in uniforms embroidered with gold. Negative feelings in him are evoked not so much by clothes as by the literacy and free-thinking of the representatives of the guard. It is to such young people that young ladies of that time gravitate.
The uneducated Skalozub contemptuously treats the literate and well-read, openly mocks his relative, who is fond of books. Talking and ranting a lot about military affairs and rejoicing at the prospect of organizing educational institutions on the principle of barracks, he is not an obvious defender of his homeland. A clear evidence of this is the service in the musketeer regiment, which did not belong to the advanced ones.
Satisfied with himself, but not quick-witted and slow Skalozub, Famusov's daughter does not like it.
The image of the hero in the work
In the comedy Woe from Wit, Griboedov demonstrated the manners of the 19th century and the confrontation between the nobility of the old way and the new progressive views that were actively promoted by young people in the image of Skalozub.
The Colonel is a classic representative of an old principle of thought. By the same standards, he is an enviable groom who has a rank and money. The younger generation does not consider these ideals as such. This is shown in Sophia's response, calling the colonel too stupid to make her a party.
In the image of Skalozub, the writer ridiculed the entire Arakcheev army, which demanded unquestioning obedience and despised any free thought.
Another characteristic point is the promotion that does not require effort and cost. It is obtained not by devoted service to the Motherland, but by the connections and "channels" that the colonel has.
The relative tragedy of the image lies in the fact that it is not a caricature of a soldier's life. This is a real description of a representative of the officer corps of that time.
In contrast to such characters, the writer introduced his brother Sergey Sergeevich into the work. Also having in the past related to military affairs, he left the service. Being progressive-minded, he could not stand the oppression of such as the colonel, and went to read books in the village. Similarly, while arranging a quiet life in the village, those who did not want to fawn over the authorities, who did not understand the coming changes, continued to live.
Skalozub has served in the army since 1809 (in his own words), but he doesn’t even mention the Patriotic War of 1812, except for his words about the fire of Moscow, which, in his judgment, “contributed to her a lot to decorate.” He "distinguished himself" in the thirteenth year, and on August 3, when he "sat down in the trench", he received the order. Professor Nechkina, in his book about Griboyedov and the Decembrists, says that at that time there were no hostilities, so Skalozub received his orders and awards not for military exploits, but due to the ability to use various "channels". Skalozub has the rank of colonel (“Colonels for a long time, but you serve recently,” Famusov notes with approval) and strives to become a general.
Puffer
Yes, in order to get ranks, there are many channels;
About them as a true philosopher I judge:
I just would get the axis in the generals, -
he himself admits, and it is clear that he does not neglect any of these
"channels". He, by his own admission, is lucky in the service:
I'm pretty happy in my comrades
Vacancies are just open:
Then the elders will be turned off by others,
Others, you see, are killed.
In his naivety and stupidity, he does not even understand what immoral things he says: after all, he sees his happiness in the fact that his comrades are killed, as this gives him the opportunity to advance in the service. In his striving for the ranks, Skalozub is similar to Famusov.
He is unanimous with Famusov in his views on education. At a ball at Famusov's, he announces:
I will make you happy: the general rumor,
That there is a project about lyceums, schools, gymnasiums;
There they will only teach in our way: one, two;
And the books will be kept like this: for big occasions.
When Repetilov calls him to go to a meeting of the smartest, in his opinion, people, Skalozub replies:
Deliver. Don't fool me with learning
Call others, and if you want,
I am Prince Gregory and you
Sergeant major in Voltaire ladies,
He will build you in three lines,
And squeal, it will instantly calm you down.
Skalozub puts the drill, the team, the front, the barracks, the shagistik, the ranks above all else, shows an exact knowledge of the difference between all the regiments in terms of piping, shoulder straps, buttonholes on uniforms (in a conversation with Khlestova), becomes animated and becomes talkative when the conversation comes up about this. He is not interested in anything else and cannot connect about anything.
talk, with the exception of secular gossip, which he willingly retells, adding "a hundred embellishments." So, with sincere pleasure, he tells gossip about the princess. Skalozub pours out military terms: distance, line, sergeant major, etc., and here the comic is achieved by the fact that Skalozub speaks about things that have nothing to do with military life in just such a language. When Famusov asks him how he gets Nastasya Nikolaevna, Skalozub replies:
I don't know, it's my fault
We did not serve together.
When it comes to Moscow and Muscovites, and Famusov utters a laudatory speech, and Chatsky a diatribe, Skalozub has only three words in praise of Moscow: "Distances of enormous size." He strives to be polite with Famusov, but in front of people with whom he does not stand on ceremony, he says ponderously and rudely: “Look how he cracked - in the chest or in the side?”. If Skalozub is similar to Famusov in his views on service, rank, enlightenment, then mentally he is much lower than Famusov, who is not stupid, and eloquent, and observant. Sofya says about Skalozub: “He didn’t utter a word of wisdom from his life,” and Lisa agrees with her, she only expresses it in her own way: “it’s not painfully cunning.” In conclusion, let us recall the reviews of Skalozub by two ideological enemies, representatives of opposite camps, Famusov and Chatsky.
Famous person, respectable,
And he picked up the darkness of differences;
Out of years, and an enviable rank,
Not today, tomorrow General, -
this is how Famusov respectfully evaluates Skalozub. Chatsky, on the other hand, gives him a brief pigrammatic description:
hoarse, strangled, bassoon,
A constellation of maneuvers and mazurkas!
"And the golden bag, and aims at the generals," - in these well-aimed words
Lisa is the whole Skalozub.
It was precisely such people - narcissistic, stupid, ignorant, unreasoning, admirers, shagists, barracks education, cane drill, enemies of free thought - who succeeded in the time of Arakcheev in the army. Real people, educated and thinking, in protest against Arakcheevism, resigned, as Skalozub's cousin, a participant in the Patriotic War of 1812, did.
Comedy "Woe from Wit", written by A.S. Griboyedov in 1824, denounces the morals of the nobles of the early 19th century. The play presents a situation when, after the war of 1812, at a turning point for Russia, people with progressive views on the structure of society began to appear in the noble society. The main theme of the work is the struggle between the "past century" and the "present century", the old against the new. The camp of the "age of the past" is represented in the play by many people of different types. Of great importance for understanding the problems of the work is the characterization of Skalozub in the comedy "Woe from Wit".
This hero is highly respected among the Famus society. From the first pages of the book, we learn that Famusov considers him the most desirable contender for the hand of his daughter Sophia. In the play "Woe from Wit", Skalozub fully corresponds to the ideals of the Moscow noble society: "And a golden bag, and aims for generals." Sophia, as a sane girl, does not at all want to marry Skalozub. She considers him very stupid: “He won’t utter a smart word from time to time - I don’t care what for him, what’s in the water.”
If Chatsky is not suitable for the role of Sophia's husband, because he "does not serve, that is, he does not find any benefit in that," then Skalozub is a colonel. A high rank is the main thing that is valued in Moscow. The image of this hero is a satire on the Russian army of the Arakcheev period, when any free thought was persecuted, and thoughtless submission was required. In this regard, many young nobles retired. Dumb military drill then reigned in the army. That is why in the Famus society they are so wary of Chatsky, who “would be glad to serve”, but does not want to “serve”, because this indicates his dissent. Skalozub is “with stars and ranks”, which means that everything is in order with him. In the Famus society, even rudeness is forgiven him, which is not forgiven to Chatsky.
As a typical representative of the “past century”, Skalozub serves to enrich himself, gain a solid weight in society, and not to take care of the security of his homeland. In the comedy Woe from Wit, the army rank of Skalozub is very attractive to Famus Moscow. In this regard, Chatsky gives an apt description of Skalozub: "A constellation of maneuvers and mazurkas."
Ways to achieve high ranks and awards for people like Skalozub do not matter. Most often, promotion in the nobility of that time was achieved through connections. Skalozub's character helps him to skillfully use these connections: "... To get ranks, there are many channels... I just wish I could become a general."
Even Skalozub received his order not for military merit, but on the occasion of military celebrations.
In the comedy Woe from Wit, the characterization of Skalozub would be incomplete if the work did not contrast this hero with other representatives of the military class - progressive-minded nobles who respect the human personality. It was these people who retired at that time. Such is Skalozub's cousin, who, despite the fact that "the rank followed him", left the military service and went to live in the village, where "he began to read books." Refusing another rank is unthinkable for Skalozub. Skalozub speaks of his brother with disdain also because he is also an opponent of learning and education. It is from the lips of this hero at the ball at Famusov that information comes about the reform of educational institutions according to the barracks type: “They will only teach in our way: one or two; and the books will be kept - like this: for big occasions.
"No less bright than the figure of Famusov. “A constellation of maneuvers and mazurkas,” says Chatsky about Skalozub. In the person of this hero, Griboyedov caricatured the type of military who pay attention mainly to the external part of military service, are interested in the form that distinguishes one regiment from another, are engaged in drill, “stepping”, as they said then, and are deprived of that real military spirit, which created the prowess of the Russian army. Skalozub embodies all the vulgarity, all the limitations of this kind of officers. His name testifies to the fact that he constantly "grins", jokes, tries to be witty; but his witticisms are not funny, but vulgar. Typical is his story about Princess Lasova, who, having fallen from a horse,
“... the other day I hurt myself in fluff:
The jockey did not support - he thought it was visible, flies.
And without that, she, as you can hear, is clumsy,
Now the rib is missing
So she is looking for a husband to support.
Typical is his answer to Famusov's question, what kind of relationship with him is Nastasya Nikolaevna:
“I don’t know, sir, it’s my fault:
We didn't serve together."
With this witticism Skalozub wants to show that he is not interested in anything outside of military service. What is it that occupies him? “In uniforms, edging, shoulder straps, buttonholes ...”, - a comparison of the guard with the army, in which the officers “everything is so fitted and the waist is so narrow” ...
Woe from the mind. Performance by the Maly Theatre, 1977
Skalozub strives only for ranks, awards, promotions. He himself is a colonel, but he is already "aiming for the generals." It is interesting to know how he reached the high rank; he himself quite frankly says that he received a promotion not for personal merit, but for a happy coincidence of circumstances:
“I am quite happy in my comrades, -
Vacancies are just open:
Then the elders will be turned off by others,
Others, you see, are killed.
The frankness with which Puffer speaks of his promotion testifies to his extreme stupidity:
"Speechy, but painfully not cunning",
- characterizes his maid Lisa. Just like Famusov, he is convinced of the dangers of science and wishes that in all lyceums and gymnasiums children would be taught to march.
I will make you happy: the general rumor,
That there is a project about lyceums, schools, gymnasiums;
There they will only teach in our way: one, two;
And the books will be kept like this: for big occasions.
That's what kind of son-in-law Famusov would like to have! But his daughter Sofya Skalozub is disgusted - and not only because she loves Molchalin. Sophia understands the emptiness and stupidity of Skalozub. When Chatsky, trying to find out Sophia's attitude towards a possible groom, mentions:
Here, for example, Colonel Skalozub:
And the golden bag, and marks the generals,
she answers:
Where is cute! and fun me fear
Hear about the front and rows;
He did not utter a clever word from birth, -
I don't care what's for him, what's in the water.
Comedy "Woe from Wit", written by A.S. Griboyedov in 1824, denounces the morals of the nobles of the early 19th century. The play presents a situation when, after the war of 1812, at a turning point for Russia, people with progressive views on the structure of society began to appear in the noble society. The main theme of the work is the struggle between the "past century" and the "present century", the old against the new. The camp of the "age of the past" is represented in the play by many people of different types. Of great importance for understanding the problems of the work is the characterization of Skalozub in the comedy "Woe from Wit".
This hero is highly respected among the Famus society. From the first pages of the book, we learn that Famusov considers him the most desirable contender for the hand of his daughter Sophia. In the play "Woe from Wit", Skalozub fully corresponds to the ideals of the Moscow noble society: "And a golden bag, and aims for generals." Sophia, as a sane girl, does not at all want to marry Skalozub. She considers him very stupid: “He won’t utter a smart word from time to time - I don’t care what for him, what’s in the water.”
If Chatsky is not suitable for the role of Sophia's husband, because he "does not serve, that is, he does not find any benefit in that," then Skalozub is a colonel. A high rank is the main thing that is valued in Moscow. The image of this hero is a satire on the Russian army of the Arakcheev period, when any free thought was persecuted, and thoughtless submission was required. In this regard, many young nobles retired. Dumb military drill then reigned in the army. That is why in the Famus society they are so wary of Chatsky, who “would be glad to serve”, but does not want to “serve”, because this indicates his dissent. Skalozub is “with stars and ranks”, which means that everything is in order with him. In the Famus society, even rudeness is forgiven him, which is not forgiven to Chatsky.
As a typical representative of the “past century”, Skalozub serves to enrich himself, gain a solid weight in society, and not to take care of the security of his homeland. In the comedy Woe from Wit, the army rank of Skalozub is very attractive to Famus Moscow. In this regard, Chatsky gives an apt description of Skalozub: "A constellation of maneuvers and mazurkas."
Ways to achieve high ranks and awards for people like Skalozub do not matter. Most often, promotion in the nobility of that time was achieved through connections. Skalozub's character helps him to skillfully use these connections: "... To get ranks, there are many channels... I just wish I could become a general."
Even Skalozub received his order not for military merit, but on the occasion of military celebrations.
In the comedy Woe from Wit, the characterization of Skalozub would be incomplete if the work did not contrast this hero with other representatives of the military class - progressive-minded nobles who respect the human personality. It was these people who retired at that time. Such is Skalozub's cousin, who, despite the fact that "the rank followed him", left the military service and went to live in the village, where "he began to read books." Refusing another rank is unthinkable for Skalozub. Skalozub speaks of his brother with disdain also because he is also an opponent of learning and education. It is from the lips of this hero at the ball at Famusov that information comes about the reform of educational institutions according to the barracks type: “They will only teach in our way: one or two; and the books will be kept - like this: for big occasions.