The history of the creation of Gogol's "Inspector General"

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The great Russian classic, playwright, publicist, poet and critic Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (born Yanovsky) wrote many works in his life. Many of them are included in the compulsory school curriculum, and have also become the basis of magnificent performances, films, productions. One of the most striking works of Gogol is a comedy in 5 acts "The Government Inspector". The history of the creation of the "Inspector" is interesting and unusual. We invite the reader to get acquainted with the birth of the imperishable classics and plunge into the world of the brilliant writer Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol.

A bit of biography

The great classic of Russian literature was born on March 20, 1809 in Sorochintsy (Poltava district). Nikolai Vasilyevich's father, Vasily Afanasyevich, was a civil servant and combined his activities with dramaturgy and writing. His favorite pastime was writing scripts for home performances. It was his father who instilled in young Nikolai a love of literature, and in part the history of the creation of The Inspector General and other brilliant works of Gogol began precisely when Nikolai was a child.

Mother of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, Maria Ivanovna,was half her husband's age. The couple got married when the bride was only 14 years old. She was a very attractive lady who believed in mysticism and the occult.

There were 12 children in the family, six of them died either at birth or in infancy. The first two sons were stillborn, Gogol was the third, suffered and desired child - the first who was born he althy …

Steps of creativity

The young years of the classic were rebellious - he, like all creative people, had a fine mental organization and was looking for himself and a place in the sun. Such stories as “Sorochinsky Fair”, “May Night, or the Drowned Woman”, “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” are published. After a while, the collections "Arabesques" and "Mirgorod" are printed.

A significant meeting

The history of the comedy The Inspector General dates back to 1834. Gogol was sure that the comedy genre is the future of Russian literature. He decides to discuss this with Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, and he, in turn, tells him a story-an anecdote about a false auditor who arrived in the city of Ustyuzhna and famously robbed all its inhabitants. The history of the creation of Gogol's comedy "Inspector General" would not exist if it were not for that significant meeting.

Pushkin's story about a clever swindler impressed Nikolai Vasilyevich unusually, and he decided to write a work about this, which resulted in an action-packed comedy for 5 acts. By the way, the theme of the play at that time was unusually relevant - every now and then the news slipped through that in different parts of Russia, daring and enterprisingthe gentlemen, pretending to be auditors, robbed the people to the bone. By the way, the history of the creation of Gogol's "Inspector General" is reflected in our days. It is enough to draw parallels.

The pain of creativity and a happy ending

During the composition of the comedy, Gogol experienced all the facets of the pangs of creativity: the story of the creation of the "Inspector", described by literary scholars, claims that the writer even wanted to leave his work unfinished. Nikolai Vasilievich often wrote about his torments to Pushkin, but he persistently urged him to finish the play. Gogol heeded the advice of Alexander Sergeevich, and already in 1034, in the house of Vasily Zhukovsky, he read his creation to Pushkin, Vyazemsky, Turgenev and other writers. The play caused extraordinary delight among the audience and was subsequently staged. This is how the story of the creation of the comedy "The Inspector General" developed, the plot of which we will briefly describe in this article.

Participated in the play…

There are a lot of characters in the work. We will tell you about each of them.

• Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky Anton Antonovich. The mayor of the main county town N, who confidently consolidated his position in society and feels himself almost the master of life. He knows all the sins of local officials and manipulates this knowledge to his advantage. In addition, he allows himself various liberties - for example, he takes any product on the market for free, and also imposes high taxes on merchants and obliges him to bring treats on his name day. In a word, he feels very at ease. By the way, the history of the creation of the "Inspector"Gogol argues that the image of the mayor is a subtle allusion to the image of the state power of Russia.
• Anna Andreevna is the wife of Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky.
• Marya Antonovna is the mayor's daughter, a savvy and sharp-tongued young lady.
• Mishka is a servant of Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky.
• Khlopov Luka Lukic - superintendent of educational institutions.
• Lyapkin-Tyapkin Ammos Fedorovich - local judge.
• Strawberry Artemy Filippovich is a trustee of charitable institutions.
• Shpekin Ivan Kuzmich - postmaster.
• Bobchinsky Pyotr Ivanovich and Dobchinsky Pyotr Ivanovich are we althy landowners.
• Khlestkov Ivan Alexandrovich - St. Petersburg official.
• Osip is Khlestakov's servant.
• Gibner Khristian Ivanovich is a small-town doctor.
• Stepan Ivanovich Korobkin, Ivan Lazarevich Rastakovskiy and Fyodor Ivanovich Lyulyukov are retired officials, honorary persons of the city.
• Ukhovertov Stepan Ilyich - bailiff.
• Derzhimorda, Pugovitsyn and Svistunov are police representatives.
• Abdulin is a local merchant.
• Poshlepkina Fevronya Petrovna - locksmith.
• Tavern servant, petitioners, philistines, merchants and guests of the city N.

The history of the creation of the play "The Inspector General" lasted several years and resulted in five whole acts. Let's consider each of them in more detail.

Act One

Khlestakov Ivan Ivanovich with his faithful servant Osip is heading from St. Petersburg to Saratov and, passing by the county town N, decides to take a break from the road and play cards. As a resultthe unfortunate one loses and is left penniless.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the city, mired to the very ears in the theft of the treasury and bribes, is horrified by the arrival of a strict auditor. The mayor Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky learned about the arrival of an important person from a letter he received. Anton Antonovich arranges a meeting of officials in his house, reads out a letter and gives them instructions. The city rich men Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky, having learned by chance about the new guest of the hotel Khlestakov, come to the conclusion that he is the same auditor. In a panic, the landowners report him to Anton Antonovich. A form of turmoil begins. All those who have a "stigma in the cannon" begin to feverishly cover up their affairs, while the mayor himself, after much deliberation, decides to meet with the auditor personally.

By the way, the horror of officials is easy to understand - the story of the creation of the comedy "The Inspector General" by Gogol suggests that at the time of writing this work, everyone was very afraid of the auditors. This fear was ineradicable, and yet those in power and officials continued to sin and steal, thus being literally on a razor's edge. No wonder Gogol's characters panicked - no one wanted to be punished.

Act Two

At the same time, Khlestakov, starving and losing to the nines, settled in the economy room of the cheapest hotel, thinks about how and where to get hold of food. He managed to beg the tavern servant to serve him soup and roast, and, having eaten everything without a trace, he speaks rather unflatteringly about the quantity and quality of the dishes served. Suddenly forKhlestakov, an impressive figure of the mayor appears in his room. Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky is sure that Ivan Alexandrovich is that terrible auditor. And Khlestakov, in a panic, thinks that Anton Antonovich came to his soul for non-payment on a tip from the owner of the hotel.

The governor, meanwhile, is behaving very strangely: he is shy in front of Khlestakov and ingratiatingly gives him a bribe. Ivan Alexandrovich does not realize that he was mistaken for an inspector, and comes to the conclusion that the mayor is a good person with a good heart who lends him money. And Anton Antonovich is happy to heaven because he managed to foist a bribe on an intruder. The mayor decides to play the role of a naive fool in order to find out about the plans of the auditor. However, Khlestakov, not knowing the essence of things, behaves simply and directly, completely confusing the mayor.

Anton Antonovich comes to the conclusion that Khlestakov is a cunning and smart type with whom you need to keep your “ears on top”. To talk Ivan Alexandrovich, he invites him to visit charitable establishments in the hope that alcohol will untie the auditor's tongue.

The history of the comedy "The Government Inspector" takes us to an ordinary town of those times. In this work, Gogol reveals to us all the subtleties of city life. In addition, the writer describes the architecture, the customs of the inhabitants. Agree, after so many years, nothing has changed - except that the mayor is now called the mayor, the tavern is now called the hotel, and the charitable institution is the restaurant … The history of the creation of the "Auditor" began a long time ago, but the theme of the play is still relevant today.

Actthird

After a drinking bout, a pretty tipsy false auditor ends up in the mayor's house. Having met the wife and daughter of Anton Antonovich, Khlestakov tries to impress them by talking about what an important rank he occupies in St. Petersburg. Entering into a rage, Ivan Alexandrovich told that he writes operas under a pseudonym, gives receptions and balls with expensive treats, and also composes music. Clever Marya Antonovna frankly laughs at the guest's inventions and aptly catches him in a lie. However, Khlestakov does not even blush and goes to the sideline.

Act Four

The next morning, Khlestakov, who overslept, does not remember anything. In the meantime, a line of sinful representatives of the authorities, eager to give him a bribe, is lining up for him. Ivan Alexandrovich accepts money, being firmly convinced that he borrows it and will return everything to the penny upon arrival home. The naive Khlestakov understands what's what only when ordinary townspeople reached out to him with complaints about the mayor. He categorically refuses to accept offerings in the form of bribes, but his servant, Osip, shows remarkable perseverance and ingenuity and takes everything.

Having escorted the guests out, Khlestakov asks Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky to agree to the marriage with his daughter, Marya Antonovna. Naturally, the mayor happily agrees. On the same day, Khlestakov, together with Osip and all the good things, leaves the town.

Act Five

Anton Antonovich and other city officials breathed a sigh of relief. The mayor, anticipating a quick relationship with the auditor, representshimself living in St. Petersburg with the rank of general. He gathers guests in his house to publicly announce the engagement of his daughter with Khlestakov. However, suddenly the postmaster presents the mayor with an unpleasant surprise - a letter in which it turns out that Khlestakov is in fact just a petty official. The discouraged Anton Antonovich is trying to recover, but he is overtaken by a new blow - a real auditor has stopped at the hotel, who calls the mayor "on the carpet". The end of the play is a silent scene…

This is a brief history of the creation of the "Inspector General" together with the content.