The history of the creation of the comedy "The Inspector General". Comedy characters. The creative history of the play "The Inspector General

Traditionally, it is believed that the plot was suggested to him by A.S. Pushkin. This is confirmed by the memoirs of the Russian writer Vladimir Sollogub: "Pushkin met Gogol and told him about an incident in the town of Ustyuzhna, Novgorod province - about a passing gentleman who pretended to be a ministry official and robbed all city residents."

There is also an assumption that it goes back to the stories about Pavel Svinin's business trip to Bessarabia c. A year before the debut of The Inspector General, AF Veltman's satirical novel Furious Roland was published on the same topic. Even earlier, the comedy "A Visitor from the Capital, or Turmoil in a District Town", written by GF Kvitka-Osnovyanenko in 1827, began to appear in manuscripts.

While working on the play, Gogol repeatedly wrote to Alexander Pushkin about the course of writing it, sometimes wanting to leave it, but Pushkin insistently asked him not to stop working on The Inspector General.

Pushkin and Zhukovsky were in complete admiration, but many did not see or did not want to see a public farce behind the classic screen of a typical plot of a "comedy of mistakes", in which all of Russia was designated outside the district town.

I. I. Panaev. "Literary Memories"

Gogol himself spoke about his work as follows:

In The Inspector General, I decided to gather together all the bad things in Russia that I knew then, all the injustices that are done in those places and in those cases where justice is most required of a person, and laugh at everything at once.

The stage fate of the play did not develop immediately. It was possible to obtain permission to stage it only after Zhukovsky was able to personally convince the emperor that "there is nothing unreliable in the comedy, that this is just a funny mockery of bad provincial officials," the play was allowed to be staged.

The second edition of the play dates back to 1842.

Characters

• Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky, mayor
• Anna Andreevna, his wife
• Marya Antonovna, his daughter
• Luka Lukich Khlopov, the superintendent of schools.
• Wife his.
• Ammos Fedorovich Lyapkin-Tyapkin, judge.
• Artemy Filippovich Strawberry, trustee of charitable institutions.
• Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin, postmaster.
• Pyotr Ivanovich Dobchinsky, Peter Ivanovich Bobchinsky- urban landowners.
• Ivan Alexandrovich Khlestakov, an official from St. Petersburg.
• Osip, his servant.
• Christian Ivanovich Gibner, the county doctor.
• Fedor Ivanovich Lyulyukov, Ivan Lazarevich Rastakovsky, Stepan Ivanovich Korobkin- retired officials, honorary persons in the city.
• Stepan Ilyich Ukhovertov, private bailiff.
• Svistunov, Pugovitsyn, Derzhimorda- police officers.
• Abdulin, merchant.
• Fevronya Petrovna Poshlepkina, locksmith.
• Non-commissioned officer's wife.
• bear, the mayor's servant.
• Servant tavern.
• Guests and guests, merchants, burghers, petitioners

Plot

Step 1

Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov, a low-ranking minor official (collegiate registrar, the lowest rank in the Table of Ranks), follows from Petersburg to Saratov with his servant Osip. He turns out to be passing through a small county town. Khlestakov is lost at cards and is left without money.

Just at this time, all the city administrations mired in bribes and embezzlement, starting with the mayor Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky, from the letter received by the mayor, he learns about the incognito arrival of the inspector from St. Petersburg, and in fear awaits his arrival. City landowners Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, accidentally learning about the appearance of the defaulter Khlestakov in the hotel, decide that this is the inspector, and report him to the governor. A commotion begins. All officials and officials fussily rush to cover up their sins, Anton Antonovich himself is at a loss for some time, but quickly comes to his senses and realizes that he needs to bow to the auditor himself.

Step 2

Meanwhile, the hungry Khlestakov, settled in the cheapest hotel room, ponders where to get food. He begs for a dinner of soup and stew from a tavern servant, and having received what he wants, he expresses displeasure with the quantity and quality of the dishes. The appearance of the mayor in Khlestakov's room is an unpleasant surprise for him. At first, he thinks that he, as an insolvent guest, was reported by the owner of the hotel. The governor himself is frankly shy, believing that he is talking with an important official in the capital, who has come with a secret mission to audit the state of affairs in the city. The mayor, thinking that Khlestakov is an auditor, offers him bribe... Khlestakov, thinking that the mayor is a kind-hearted and decent citizen, takes from him on loan... “I screwed him instead of two hundred and four hundred,” the mayor rejoices. Nevertheless, he decides to pretend to be a fool in order to get more information about Khlestakov. “He wants to be considered incognito,” the mayor thinks to himself. - "Okay, let us let the Turus go too, let's pretend we don't know at all what kind of person he is." But Khlestakov, with his inherent naivete, behaves so directly that the mayor is left with nothing, without losing his conviction, however, that Khlestakov is a "thin little thing" and "you need to keep your eye on him." Then the mayor has a plan to give Khlestakov a drink, and he proposes to inspect the charitable establishments of the city. Khlestakov agrees.

Step 3

Then the action continues in the mayor's house. Pretty drunk Khlestakov, seeing the ladies - Anna Andreevna and Marya Antonovna - decides to "show off". Drawing in front of them, he tells fables about his important position in St. Petersburg, and, what is most interesting, he himself believes in them. He attributes to himself literary and musical works, which, due to "extraordinary lightness in thoughts," supposedly, "in one evening, it seems, he wrote, amazed everyone." And he is not even embarrassed when Marya Antonovna practically accuses him of lying. But soon the language refuses to serve the decently drunken guest of the capital, and Khlestakov, with the help of the mayor, goes to "rest".

Step 4

The next day Khlestakov does not remember anything, he wakes up not as a "field marshal", but as a collegiate registrar. Meanwhile, city officials "on a military footing" line up in order to bribe Khlestakov, and he, thinking that he is taking a loan (and being sure that when he gets to his village, he will repay all the debts), accepts money from everyone, including Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, who, it would seem, have no reason to bribe the auditor. Khlestakov even begs for money himself, referring to a "strange case" that "he was completely spent on the road." Further, petitioners break through to Khlestakov, who "beat the governor with their foreheads" and want to pay him in kind (wine and sugar). Only then does Khlestakov realize that he was given bribes, and flatly refuses, but if he was offered a loan, he would take it. However, Khlestakov's servant Osip, being much smarter than his master, understands that nature and money are still bribes, and takes everything from merchants, motivating it by the fact that “the rope will come in handy on the road”. After seeing the last guest out, he manages to look after Anton Antonovich's wife and daughter. And, although they have known each other for only one day, he asks for the hand of the mayor's daughter and receives parental consent. Osip strongly recommends that Khlestakov get out of the city quickly before the deception is revealed. Khlestakov leaves, finally sending his friend Tryapichkin a letter from the local post office.

Step 5

The governor and his entourage take a deep breath. First of all, the mayor decides to "give pepper" to the merchants who went to complain about him to Khlestakov. He swaggers over them and calls them names last words, but as soon as the merchants promised a rich treat for the engagement (and later - for the wedding) of Marya Antonovna and Khlestakov, the mayor forgave them all. He gathers a full house of guests to publicly announce Khlestakov's engagement to Marya Antonovna. Anna Andreevna, convinced that she has become related to the big bosses of the capital, is delighted. But then the unexpected happens. Postmaster of the local office own initiative opened Khlestakov's letter and from it it is clear that incognito turned out to be a swindler and a thief. The deceived mayor has not yet had time to recover from such a blow when the next news arrives. An official from St. Petersburg who is staying at the hotel demands him to come to him. It all ends with a silent scene ...

Performances

The first performances were in the first edition of 1836. Professions theater director did not exist yet, the directorate of the Imperial Theaters, the author himself, was engaged in the performances, but the interpretation of the role nevertheless most of all depended on the performers.

Premieres

• April 19, 1836 - Alexandrinsky Theater: Governor- Sosnitsky, Anna Andreevna- Sosnitskaya, Marya Antonovna- Asenkova, Lyapkin-Tyapkin - Grigoriev 1st, Strawberry - Tolchenov, Bobchinsky- Martynov, Khlestakov- Dyur, Osip- Afanasyev, Poshlyopkina- Guseva.

See drawing: N. V. Gogol at the rehearsal of "The Inspector General" in Alexandrinsky Theater... Drawing by P. A. Karatygin. 1836 (1835 in the figure is indicated erroneously) - Art. Why are you laughing? ...

The St. Petersburg premiere was attended by Nicholas I himself. After the premiere of The Inspector General, the emperor said: “What a play! Everyone got it, but I got it more than anyone else! " Khlestakov was played by Nikolay Osipovich Dyur. The Emperor really liked the production, moreover, according to critics, the positive perception of the crowned special risky comedy subsequently had a beneficial effect on the censorship fate of Gogol's work. Gogol's comedy was initially banned, but after the appeal received the highest permission to be staged on the Russian stage.

From the diary of A.I. Khrapovitsky (inspector of the repertoire of the Russian drama troupe):

For the first time "The Inspector General". An original comedy in 5 acts by N. V. Gogol. The sovereign emperor and the heir suddenly deigned to be present and was extremely pleased, laughed heartily. The play is very funny, only an intolerable swear at nobles, officials and merchants. All the actors, especially Sosnitsky, played excellently. Sosnitsky and Dyur were summoned. ("Russian Antiquity", 1879, No. 2 and Shenrock's "Materials", III, p. 31.

Gogol was disappointed with the public discourse and the unsuccessful Petersburg production of the comedy and refused to take part in the preparation of the Moscow premiere. Especially the author was dissatisfied with the performer starring... After the premiere in St. Petersburg, Gogol wrote:

“Dyur didn’t even understand what Khlestakov was. Khlestakov has become something like ... a whole line of vaudeville rascals ... ".

• May 25, 1836 - Maly Theater (In Moscow, the first performance was supposed to take place at the Bolshoi Theater, but under the pretext of renovation, the performance was given the next day at the Maly Theater): Governor- Schepkin, Khlestakov- Lensky, Osip- Orlov, Shpekin- Potanchikov, Anna Andreevna- Lvov-Sinetskaya, Marya Antonovna- Samarina, Lyapkin-Tyapkin- P. Stepanov, Strawberry- M. Rumyanov, Dobchinsky- Shumsky and Bobchinsky- Nikiforov.

Before the Moscow premiere, Gogol wrote to Shchepkin:

Pb., May 10, 1836 I forgot to tell you, dear Mikhail Semyonovich, some preliminary remarks about the "Inspector". First, you must certainly, out of friendship with me, take upon yourself the whole business of staging it. I do not know any of your actors, what and what each of them is good at. But you may know this better than anyone else. You yourself, no doubt, must take on the role of the mayor, otherwise it will disappear without you. There is an even more difficult role in the whole play - the role of Khlestakov. I don't know if you will choose an artist for her. God forbid [if] she will be played with ordinary farces, like braggarts and theatrical rakes play. He is simply stupid, he talks only because he sees that they are disposed to listen to him; he is lying because he had a hearty breakfast and drank decent wine. He twirls only when he drives up to the ladies. The scene in which he lies should be given special attention. Each of his words, that is, a phrase or utterance, is an impromptu completely unexpected and therefore must be expressed abruptly. We must not lose sight of the fact that by the end of this scene, he is beginning to be taken apart little by little. But he shouldn't wobble in the chair at all; he should only blush and express himself even more unexpectedly and, as the time goes on, louder and louder. I am very afraid for this role. It was performed badly here too, because it needs decisive talent.

Despite the absence of the author and the complete indifference of the theater management to the premiere performance, the performance was a huge success. According to P. Kovalevsky, MS Shchepkin, playing the Governor, "was able to find one, two notes almost tragic in his role. So, the words:" Do not ruin, wife, children ... " an unhappy expression on his face ... And this rogue becomes pathetic for a minute. "

However, the Molva magazine described the Moscow premiere as follows:

"The play, showered with applause in places, did not arouse a word or sound as the curtain fell, as opposed to the Petersburg production."

Gogol wrote to MS Shchepkin after both premieres of the comedy: “The action she performed [the play The Inspector General] was big and noisy. Everything is against me. Elderly and venerable officials shout that there is nothing sacred for me when I dared to speak like that about serving people. The police are against me, the merchants are against me, the writers are against me ... Now I see what it means to be a comic writer. The slightest sign of the truth - and against you, and not one person, but entire estates are revolting ”(Sobr. Soch., Vol. 6, 1950, p. 232).

Performances in the Russian Empire

Renewals: until 1870 at the Alexandrinsky Theater and until 1882 at the Maly Theater, the play was shown in the original version, later - in the version in 1842. Among the performers of certain roles in different years:

April 14, 1860 - "The Inspector General" was staged by a circle of writers in St. Petersburg in favor of the "Society for aids to needy writers and scientists". This production is especially interesting because it was not professional actors who were involved in it, but professional writers. And the interpretation of the images in their performance certainly deserves a kind of interest. The theatrical encyclopedia partially names the performers: Governor - Pisemsky, Khlestakov - P. Veinberg, Shpekin - Dostoevsky, Abdulin - F. Koni (Ostrovsky was supposed to play, but due to illness, F.A.Kony was urgently introduced), honorary persons of the city and police officers - D. V. Grigorovich, N. A. Nekrasov, I. I. Panaev, I. S. Turgenev, etc.).

Unfortunately, information about this production has remained extremely scarce. But we managed to find something. Performer of the role of Khlestakov P. Weinberg recalled:

"... the quarterly agrees to play the just beginning writer Snitkin, who gained some fame in the light humorous press under the pseudonym Ammos Shishkin (and alas! He died a victim of this performance, because he caught a cold on it and caught a fever); Irina Semyonovna Koni (formerly Sandunova); all other roles are already distributed between persons from the public.<…>

• People's Theater at the Polytechnic Exhibition in Moscow (1872),
• Korsh Theater (1882, Gorodnichy - Pisarev, Khlestakov - Dalmatov) and others. Among the performers of multiple renewals in the Korsh Theater: Governor- V. N. Davydov, A. M. Yakovlev, B. S. Borisov, Khlestakov- N. V. Svetlov, L. M. Leonidov, N. M. Radin, A. I. Charin.

There are many performances on the provincial stage.

From the first foreign productions

• Paris - "Port-Saint-Martin" (1853), theater "Evre" (1898), theater "Rejean" (1907), Theater of the Champs Elysees (1925), theater "Atelier" (1948); Leipzig Theater (1857)
• Berlin - Court Theater (1895), "Schiller Theater" (1902, 1908), German. theater (1907, 1950, 1952);
• Prague - Provisional Theater (1865), National Theater (1937), Realistic Theater (1951)
• Belgrade - Theater Royal (1870, 1889), Krakow Theater (1870);
• Vienna - Burgtheater (1887, 1894), Josefstadttheater (1904), Free Theater (1907), Skala Theater (1951). Folkstheater (1957);
• Brussels - "Nouveau Theater" (1897), Royal Theater (1899);
• Dresden - Court Theater (1897), Swedish Theater, Helsingfors (1903);
• London - Stage Theater (1906), Barnes Theater (1926);
• Warsaw Philharmonic (1907)

• Leningrad Academic Drama Theater - 1918 ( Governor- Uralov, Khlestakov- Gorin-Goryainov and Vivien, Osip- Sudinin), 1920; 1927 (directed by N. Petrov; Governor- Malyutin), 1936 (directed by Sushkevich, artist Akimov; Khlestakov- Babochkin, Osip- Cherkasov), 1952 (directed by Vivien; Governor- Tolubeev, Khlestakov- Freundlich).

• Theater them. MGSPS (1924, directed by V.M.Bebutov; Gorodnichy - I.N. Pevtsov, Khlestakov - St. L. Kuznetsov);

• December 9 GosTiM - staged by Meyerhold, Khlestakov- Erast Garin and Sergey Martinson. In other roles: Governor- P. I. Starkovsky, Anna Andreevna- Z. N. Reich, Marya Antonovna- M. I. Babanova, Judge- M. V. Karabanov, Khlopov- A.V. Loginov, Strawberry- V.F. Zaichikov, Postmaster- M. G. Mukhin, Dobchinsky- N. K. Mologin, Bobchinsky- S. V. Kozikov, Gibner- A. A. Temerin, Osip- S. S. Fadeev, Locksmith- N.I. Tverdynskaya, Non-commissioned officer- M.F.Sukhanova, Khlopova- E. A. Tyapkina.

The performance was in many ways an extraordinary solution:

The inserts were borrowed not only from the original versions of the play, but also from other works by Gogol. So in the first monologue of Khlestakov, a story about card game from The Gamblers, and in the scene of lies to his story about the beauty of the countess who fell in love with him (taken from the early versions of the play) Kochkarev's remark from The Marriage was added: “And your nose! I don’t know what kind of nose! The whiteness of the face is simply dazzling. Alabaster! And not everyone compares to alabaster. So she has both ... and then ... A fair calico! ". This phrase was resolved in the performance as a bold compliment to the mayor. The image of the Visiting Officer was introduced - a certain constant companion-twin of Khlestakov, who accompanied her throughout the entire performance. The monologues of the characters were translated into stories addressed to the audience, not provided for by the text of the play. For example, a visiting officer listens to Khlestakov's monologues, and a gull scrubber in a hotel listens to Osip's stories about life in St. Petersburg. This scene, as conceived by the director, ended with the vocal duet "Young, handsome, busy with love ...". Other introductory characters included the "Blue Hussar" - Anna Andreevna's admirer, a cadet in love with Marya Antonovna, military and civilian admirers of the mayor, a detective, a courier, police Knut borrowed from the early editions of The Inspector General, the Pogonyaevs and the Matsapur couple. The images of Avdotya and Parashka - servants in the mayor's house - were expanded.

From the article “Why are you laughing? You are laughing at yourself ", author A. M. Voronov:

"The Inspector General" by V. E. Meyerhold, who saw the light in 1926 on the stage of GOSTIM, was completely resolved as an irrational-mystical spectacle (it is no coincidence that KS Stanislavsky, having watched the performance, noticed that Meyerhold "made Gogol Hoffmann"). First of all, this decision was associated with the interpretation central role... Erast Garin, like Mikhail Chekhov, played Khlestakov, first of all, as a genius actor who replaced many masks during the performance. However, behind these endless transformations there was not a face of its own, not the slightest sign of a living human soul- only one cold emptiness.<…>The governor with his retinue was overtaken not just by the news of the arrival of a real inspector, but by the blow of Doom, which flashed for a moment like lightning. So great was this horror in the face of the opening abyss that the heroes of Meyerhold's performance turned to stone in the truest sense of the word - in the final it was not the actors who appeared on the stage, but their dolls, made in life size" .

See photo: Scene from the play "The Inspector General" by GosTIM. Directed by V.E. Meyerhold. Photo by M. S. Nappelbaum. 1926 - Why are you laughing? ...

Such an extraordinary production served as a reason for jokes: for example, in the book "Funny Projects" Mikhail Zoshchenko wrote:

"Principle perpetual motion close to resolution. For this noble purpose, you can use the rotation of Gogol in his grave on the occasion of the production of his "Inspector General" by our genius contemporary. "

There is a clear allusion to Meyerhold's production in the film. 12 chairs Leonid Gaidai: The Columbus Theater staged the avant-garde "Inspector General", in which critics and spectators try to discern "deep meaning" (in the original novel Twelve Chairs the theater staged an avant-garde version of Gogol's play "The Marriage").

• The collective farm and state farm theater of the Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee (1934, directed by P. P. Gaideburov).

• Theater them. Vakhtangov (1939, director Zakhava, artist Williams; Governor- A. Goryunov, Khlestakov- R. Simonov, Anna Andreevna- E. G. Alekseeva, Marya Antonovna G. Pashkov.

• 1951 - Central Theater of the Soviet Army (directed by A. D. Popov, art. N. A. Shifrin; Governor- B. A. Sitko, Khlestakov- A. A. Popov, Osip- N. A. Konstantinov).

• - BDT them. G. A. Tovstonogov - production by Tovstonogov, Khlestakov- Oleg Basilashvili

• - Moscow Satire Theater - staged by Valentin Pluchek, Khlestakov- Andrey Mironov, mayor- Anatoly Papanov

• - Moscow theater "Sovremennik", staged by Valery Fokin, mayor- Valentin Gaft, Khlestakov- Vasily Mishchenko.

• - Studio Theater in the South-West, directed by Valery Belyakovich, Khlestakov- Victor Avilov, mayor- Sergey Belyakovich.

• 1985 - Maly Theater, production: Vitaly Solomin (he is in the role of Khlestakov) and Yevgeny Vesnik (he is in the role of the governor).

Performances in the Russian Federation

• - Theater on Pokrovka, director Artsybashev Sergey Nikolaevich
• - "Khlestakov" Moscow Drama Theater. KS Stanislavsky, director Vladimir Mirzoev, Khlestakov - Maxim Sukhanov.

The “county town” in Pavel Kaplevich's scenery turns out to be an ordinary prison with bunk beds covered with state-owned quilts. The spirit of extremism and criminality soars in all the characters of the play, finding its hypertrophied expression in Khlestakov, for whom the whole adventure in the district town is exactly the last stop on the way to the underworld. When the time comes to leave the "hospitable barracks", Khlestakov does not leave himself. He, at once limp and exhausted, is put on a garbage bag and taken away by Osip (Vladimir Korenev), thanks to a white robe and an oriental headdress evoking persistent associations with the Eternal Jew. The devil has done his job - the devil has no need to stay in this gray, filthy and spattered world, where nothing is sacred for a long time. "

• Theater them. Vakhtangov, staged by Rimas Tuminas, mayor- Sergey Makovetskiy, Khlestakov- Oleg Makarov.
• Alexandrinsky Theater, staged by Valery Fokin, Khlestakov- Alexey Devotchenko; based on Meyerhold's 1926 production.
• Maly Theater - production by Yu.M. Solomin, V.E. Fedorov, Governor- A.S. Potapov, Khlestakov- D. N. Solodovnik, S. V. Potapov.
• theater named after Mayakovsky, production by Sergei Artsibashev, mayor- Alexander Lazarev, Khlestakov- Sergei Udovik.
• Omsk State Puppet Theater, Actor, Mask "Harlequin" staged by Marina Glukhovskaya.

Everything modern productions comedy "The Inspector General" emphasize its relevance to the new time. Almost two centuries have passed since the composition of the play, but everything suggests that this Gogolian work about an ordinary incident in a Russian county town will not leave the stage of theaters in Russia for a long time, where everything that Gogol noticed still flourishes: embezzlement, bribery, and honor. , indifference, ruthlessness, filth, provincial boredom and increasing centralization - the pyramid of power, vertical, - when any passing metropolitan rogue is perceived as an almighty big boss. And the very image of Khlestakov always corresponds to the spirit of the times.

Screen adaptations

Artistic features

Before Gogol, in the tradition of Russian literature in those works that could be called the forerunner of Russian satire of the 19th century (for example, Fonvizin's "The Minor"), it was typical to depict both negative and goodies... In the comedy "The Inspector General", in fact, there are no positive characters. They are not even outside the stage and outside the plot.

The relief image of the image of city officials and, above all, the mayor, complements the satirical meaning of the comedy. The tradition of bribery and deception of an official is completely natural and inevitable. Both the lower strata and the top of the bureaucratic class of the city do not think of any other outcome but to bribe the inspector with a bribe. The county nameless town becomes a generalization of the whole of Russia, which, under the threat of revision, reveals the true side of the character of the main characters.

Critics also noted the peculiarities of Khlestakov's image. An upstart and dummy, a young man easily deceives an experienced governor. The famous writer Merezhkovsky traced the mystical origin in comedy. The inspector, like an otherworldly figure, comes for the soul of the mayor, repaying for sins. " Main power the devil - the ability to seem not what he is ", this explains the ability of Khlestakov to mislead about his true origin.

The struggle of the authorities against the satirical orientation of the play

The play was not officially banned. But Nicholas I decided to deal with comedy in his own way. Immediately after the premiere of Gogol's "The Inspector General", on the imperial initiative, a play was ordered to be written on the same plot but with a different ending: all state embezzlers should be punished, which would undoubtedly weaken the satirical sound of "The Inspector General." Who was chosen for the authorship of the new "real" "Inspector", long time was not advertised. Already on July 14, 1836 in St. Petersburg and on August 27 in Moscow (already at the opening of the 1836/1837 season!) Real auditor". The name of the author did not appear either on the posters or in the printed edition that was published in the same 1836. After a while, mentions appeared that the author was "a certain prince Tsitsianov." Only in 1985 was the book by R. S. Akhverdyan published, in which the authorship of D. I. Tsitsianov was proved on the basis of archival documents. In addition to these, no more mentions of the staging of Tsitsianov's play are known.

Cultural influence

Russian postage stamp dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of N.V. Gogol, 2009

Comedy has had a significant impact on Russian literature in general and drama in particular. Gogol's contemporaries noted her innovative style, depth of generalization and convexity of images. Pushkin, Belinsky, Annenkov, Herzen, Shchepkin admired Gogol's work immediately after the first readings and publications.

Some of us then also saw "The Inspector General" on stage. Everyone was delighted, like all the young people of that time. We repeated by heart [...] whole scenes, long conversations from there. At home or at a party, we often had to enter into heated debates with various elderly (and sometimes, to shame, not even elderly) people who were indignant at the new idol of youth and assured that Gogol had no nature, that these were all his own inventions. and cartoons that there are no such people in the world at all, and if there are, then there are much fewer of them in the whole city than he has here in one comedy. The contractions came out hot, prolonged, to sweat on the face and on the palms, to sparkling eyes and dully incipient hatred or contempt, but the old people could not change a single line in us, and our fanatical admiration for Gogol only grew more and more.

The first classic critical analysis of The Inspector General belongs to the pen of Vissarion Belinsky and was published in 1840. The critic noted the continuity of Gogol's satire taking its creativity in the works of Fonvizin and Moliere. The governor Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky and Khlestakov are not carriers of abstract vices, but a living embodiment moral decay Russian society generally.

In The Inspector General, there are no best scenes, because there are no worse ones, but all are excellent, as necessary parts, artistically forming a single whole, rounded by an internal content, not an external form, and therefore representing a special and closed world in itself.

The comedy phrases became winged, and the names of the heroes became common nouns in Russian.

The comedy "The Inspector General" was included in the literary school curriculum even in the days of the USSR and to this day remains key piece Russian classical literature XIX century, a must for study in school.

see also

Literature

• D. L. Talnikov. New revision of the "Inspector General": the experience of literary and stage study theatrical performance... M.-L., State Publishing House, 1927.
• Yu. V. Mann. Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General". M .: Art. lit., 1966
• Nazirov R. G. The plot of the "Inspector General" in the historical context // Belskie spaces. - 2005. - No. 3. - S. 110-117.

Links

• The auditor in the library of Maxim Moshkov

Notes (edit)

1. "Inspector" in the assessment of contemporaries link from November 1
2. V. V. Gippius, "Literary communication between Gogol and Pushkin." Scientific notes of Permsky state university, Department of Social Sciences, vol. 2, 1931, pp. 63-77 ref. November 1
3. Akutin Yu.M. Alexander Veltman and his novel "The Wanderer" // Veltman A. Stories and stories. - M .: Science, 1978. - (Literary monuments).
4. Akutin Yu.M. Prose by Alexander Veltman // Veltman A. Wanderer. - M .: Soviet Russia, 1979.
5. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol
6. Passion for the "Inspector"
7. "The Inspector General" is a satire on feudal Russia. link from November 1
8. School program
9. Nikolai I. Gogol. "The Inspector General" Anastasia Kasumova / Petersburg Literary Journal No. 32 2003 link from November 1
10. Theatrical encyclopedia
11. Gogol.ru
12. Theater encyclopedia
13. Veinberg Petr Isaevich. Literary performances. Comments (1)
14. Veinberg Petr Isaevich. Literary performances
15. Moscow Art Theater Chekhov
16. Adding news
17. Mikhail Chekhov - Khlestakov (Notes on the margins of the "Inspector General")
18. Meyerhold's "Inspector"
19. Why are you laughing? ..., by A. M. Voronov
20. M. Zoshchenko, N. Radlov - Fun Projects - Perpetuum Gogole
21. Why are you laughing? ...
22. Gli anni ruggenti (1962)
23. Yu. V. Mann “N. V. Gogol. Life and work "link from November 1

In 1935, he wrote to Pushkin: "Do mercy, give a plot, the spirit will be a comedy of five acts and, I swear, it will be funnier than the devil." The history of the creation of the comedy "The Inspector General" dates back to 1934. Gogol was convinced that the comedy genre was the future of Russian literature.

The idea to write a comedy based on a "purely Russian anecdote" came to Gogol while working on " Dead souls". Obviously, the work on Dead Souls influenced the direction in which Gogol began to develop the plot of the comedy. It took Gogol only two months to complete his creative plan (October – November 1835), but work on the comedy continued.

About Nikolai Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General"

The comedy premiered on April 19, 1836. The Emperor himself, Nicholas I, was present. Gogol was depressed by what he saw: the idea of ​​the comedy was not understood by either the actors or the audience. During the performance of the comedy, Gogol noticed that "the beginning of the fourth act is pale and bears a sign of some kind of fatigue." Gogol listened to the comment of one of the actors that "what is not so clever, that Khlestakov is the first to ask for a loan and what would be better if the officials themselves offered him."

The final version of the comedy dates back to 1842. "The Inspector General", staged on stage and published in the press, evoked numerous and contradictory responses. Gogol felt the need to explain the meaning of his comedy. In a word, it was the very "purely Russian anecdote" that Gogol needed to implement his plan.

The play was not allowed to be staged immediately, and only after V. Zhukovsky personally had to convince the emperor of the reliability of the comedy. Everybody got it, but I got it the most. " Even if these words were not actually spoken, it reflects well how the public perceived Gogol's bold creation.

As you can see, the history of the creation of the play "The Inspector General" testifies to the fact that the writing of this work was not so easy for the author, taking away from him a lot of both energy and time. Gogol began work on the play in the fall of 1835. Traditionally, it is believed that the plot was suggested to him by A.S. Pushkin. It seemed that Gogol only cared about how to penetrate into an object that was new to him, and how to more accurately convey his own impression. Gogol's hand drawing to last scene The auditor.

In the comedy "The Inspector General", in fact, there are no positive characters. They are not even outside the stage and outside the plot. The relief image of the image of city officials and, above all, the mayor, complements the satirical meaning of the comedy. But Nicholas I decided to deal with comedy in his own way. Gogol was disappointed with the public discourse and the unsuccessful Petersburg production of the comedy and refused to take part in the preparation of the Moscow premiere.

Perhaps for the first time in all those eight decades, which totals stage story"The Inspector General" - finally appeared on the Russian stage! The inserts were borrowed not only from the original versions of the play, but also from other works by Gogol.

The images of Avdotya and Parashka - servants in the mayor's house - were expanded. Comedy has had a significant impact on Russian literature in general and drama in particular. Gogol's contemporaries noted her innovative style, depth of generalization and convexity of images. Pushkin, Belinsky, Annenkov, Herzen, Shchepkin admired Gogol's work immediately after the first readings and publications. The history of the creation of this play is associated with the name of Pushkin. And, according to Gogol, Pushkin really suggested new plot, telling a story about a certain gentleman who in the provinces pretended to be an important St. Petersburg official.

But for all its typical and comical nature, the story with the imaginary auditor, in essence, did not contain anything remarkable. But under the pen of Gogol, it turned into the widest "laughing panorama" that covered almost the entire society of that time. One of literary critics of that time he wrote: “… those who think that this comedy is ridiculous, and nothing else, are mistaken. Despite the obvious success of the premiere of The Inspector General at the Alexandrinsky Theater, Gogol was dissatisfied with his play.

About when the writer began to work on the creation of a comedy, researchers cannot give an exact answer, as they do not agree in any opinion. We invite the reader to get acquainted with the birth of the imperishable classics and plunge into the world genius writer Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol.

It was the father who instilled young Nikolay love of literature, and partly the story of the creation of "The Inspector General" and other brilliant works of Gogol began exactly when Nikolai was a child. The mother of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, Maria Ivanovna, was twice her husband's age. He decides to discuss this with Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, and he, in turn, tells him a story-anecdote about a false auditor who arrived in the city of Ustyuzhna and famously robbed all of its inhabitants.

Significant changes to the text of the comedy were made in 1836, during the staging of The Inspector General at the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. From deep meaning that was put into the play, nothing was retrieved. The comedy was mistaken for an ordinary vaudeville2. During the preparation of the second edition of the comedy The Inspector General, the first four appearances of this act were reworked. Almost everyone present was delighted with the play. However, the story of The Inspector General was still far from over.

Perhaps that stories about the alleged auditors were known to Gogol from other sources. In any case, from the words of A.S. Danilevsky, a friend of Gogol at the gymnasium, V.I.Shenrok wrote that in 1835, returning from his summer travel through Kiev, Gogol, along with Pashchenko and Danilevsky on the way to St. Petersburg, played the Inspector General. “The original rehearsal of The Inspector General, which Gogol was busy with at the time, was played out here. Gogol wanted to thoroughly study the impression he would make on station keepers its revision with imaginary incognito.

For this purpose, he asked Pashchenko to go ahead and spread everywhere that an inspector was following him, carefully concealing the real purpose of his trip. Pashchenko left for several hours, wound and arranged so that at the stations everyone was already prepared for the arrival and for the meeting of the imaginary inspector. Thanks to this maneuver, which was remarkably successful, all three rolled with extraordinary speed, while at other times they often had to wait for the horses for several hours, etc. " ...

The fear of auditors and auditors lived in officials all the time. This fear forced to take for the inspector any not quite an ordinary traveler who found himself in this or that city. For example, the composer M.I. Glinka tells how he was once also mistaken for an auditor. He wrote about this to P.V.Kukolnik on June 19, 1838: “I will tell you the details of the trip orally, when meeting, in general it is boring and difficult, but there was something funny and amusing, and often brought Gogol to mind. In Pereyaslavl, I could play the role of an auditor - a governor-general was expected there, and they took me for him, the governor himself to me in full vestments, but I was content with the fact that I mercilessly robbed the bishop's choir ”2. MI Glinka told about this in his "Notes".

Researchers do not have a single opinion about the beginning of Gogol's work on The Inspector General.

Commentators of the complete collected works of Gogol V. V. Gippius and V. L. Komarovich write that, having returned to Petersburg on October 23, 1835, Pushkin, in one of his first meetings with Gogol, gave him the plot of The Inspector General. From that time, that is, from the end of October - the first days of November 1835, Gogol's work on the comedy began. The first draft of it was written very quickly: Gogol's letter to Pogodin of December 6, 1835 already speaks of the completion of not only this, but also the second draft of The Inspector General.

AS Dolinin doubts the possibility of such a quick completion of the first two draft editions of The Inspector General. Gogol, who, according to him, usually “honed” his works for a long time, could not write about thirteen printed sheets in a month and a half. Pushkin, Dolinin suggests, could have conveyed his plot to Gogol much earlier, even in the first years of his acquaintance. “The story remained in Gogol’s memory — at first — so to speak — without movement; resurrected when the thought of the last comedy came ... that is, back in the first half of 1835 "

It is likely that Pushkin could have conveyed the plot of The Inspector General to Gogol in 1835, but with regard to the “almost supernaturally fast” completion of the two rough drafts of the comedy, it should be noted that the rough sketches were almost always done very quickly by Gogol; a lot of time was spent on the subsequent "honing" of the work.

A.S.Dolinin is inclined to consider the letter to Pushkin dated October 7, 1835 as one of those letters of Gogol, in which it is not easy to establish the line between fiction and reality. Without insisting on his hypotheses, AS Dolinin assumes that Gogol had already prepared the first draft version of The Inspector General for his meeting with Pushkin (in late October - early November 1835). He believes that during this meeting the writers were talking

Pushkin recalled (or told Gogol for the first time) about the plot of the comedy about his Orenburg journey and about Buturlin's letter to Perovsky. This story changed Khlestakov's path: “instead of Tula - Penza, instead of Yekaterinoslavskaya - Saratov province. The handwritten editions are quite consistent with this: Khlestakov's path through Tula to the Yekaterinoslav province, that is, along the Svinin's route - in the first draft, written, in our opinion, before the October meeting with Pushkin. The second edition, which Gogol has in mind in his letter to Pogodin, was written after the meeting with Pushkin, and Khlestakov's route is already wavering: the province is still Ekaterinoslavskaya, immediately corrected in Saratovskaya, and he plays cards already in Penza, and not in Tula ... The comedy was not at all created by the "spirit": a month and a half ... it took not to create, but to revise the draft edition. "

The data of AS Danilevsky, cited above, confirm some of the considerations of AS Dolinin. OM Bodyansky also writes that Gogol associated the first thought about the "imaginary auditor" with the story of Svinin's trip to Bessarabia, which he heard from Pushkin. It is possible that this really caused the original route of Khlestakov. However, all this does not serve as proof of A. S. Dolinin's assumption that by the time he met Pushkin in the fall of 1835, Gogol had already written a draft version of The Inspector General.

Draft editions of the "Inspector"

gogol auditor comedy drama

As you know, Nikolai Vasilyevich painstakingly worked on the text of The Inspector General for about 17 years. Approximately one year before own death the writer read the proofs of volume IV Complete collection own compositions, where both preliminary editions of his comedy and printed versions of The Inspector General were printed, and, reaching one of the most final remarks fourth act this work, made some very significant changes.

The most recent revision of The Inspector General is considered to be the text published in the first collection of 1842, which included all the corrections that Gogol made after this edition. The final edition of Volume IV of Nikolai Gogol's Complete Works includes corrections that had not been read until that time. It also included corrections made by Gogol for the Second Collected Works, which was being prepared in 1851.

In total, Gogol wrote two inconclusive versions of the comedy, two editions - the first and the second. During Nikolai Gogol's lifetime, three editions of The Inspector General were published:

1. First edition. "Inspector". Comedy in Five Acts, Op. N.V. Gogol. SPb., 1836.

2. The second, corrected, with attachments. The Inspector General, a comedy in five acts, Op. N. Gogol. SPb., 1841.

3. Third edition. Op. Nikolai Gogol, vol. IV. SPb., 1842, p. 1-216, "The Inspector" and appendices. ...

The foundation of the text of the comedy and its supplements already in the fourth edition, which came out in 1855, were proofs corrected by the playwright himself in 1851.

As Voitolovskaya notes, it was especially hard for Gogol to work on the auditor at the end of 1835 and at the beginning of 1836. After half a year's hard work on the drafts, the text of the work was written, which was published in the first edition of the “Inspector”.

Creating a comedy that has not yet been in Russia, drawing what was of a topical character, Nikolai Vasilyevich without regret removes from The Inspector General everything that, in his opinion, prevents him from realizing a large and serious idea. The playwright preferred to build a comedy without unnecessary and banal love intrigue, without external and carefree comic. He strove to free comedy from theatrical stereotypes, from the usual tradition of a love story plot.

Thus, the following places were excluded from the Inspector General:

1. The mayor's dream about dogs "with inhuman muzzles." ...

2. Reflections of the mayor about the teacher who teaches rhetoric.

3. The place where Khlestakov talks about dragging along with the director of the school “after one pretty one”. ...

The first and second editions of "The Inspector General"

Gogol had to make several abbreviations in the stage and printed texts of the comedy. This was dictated by the requirements theatrical stage: limited time per play, as well as the gravitation to convey all the tension in the development of the plot.

On July 26, 1841, censorship was obtained for the second edition of the work. Already in the fall, as the author of The Inspector General himself wanted, the comedy went on sale. Gogol nevertheless made a number of amendments to the second edition, mainly related to the beginning of the fourth action of the "Inspector General". For example, in the first appearance of this action, the scene where Khlestakov is alone was replaced with the scene of a conversation between officials about how best to bribe Khlestakov. Without this lively, comic scene, where the characters of officials are portrayed so clearly and truthfully, it is very difficult to imagine a comedy.

After the first performance of The Inspector General, Gogol realized that there was still a lot to change. These same changes were included in the second edition. In "An excerpt from a letter ..." Nikolai Vasilyevich wrote: "Now, it seems, came out a little stronger, at least more natural and more goes to the point." ...

If we talk about the "Excerpt from a Letter ...", then NS Tikhonravov, one of the most prominent historians of Russian literature, casts doubt on the addressee of the letter, Pushkin, and the date of its writing, May 25, 1836. Archeographer Tikhonravov believes that the drafts of the "Fragment ..." were written by Gogol abroad, at the same time when the writer, in 1841, was preparing the second edition of the "Inspector General". In support of his version, he emphasizes that the "Excerpt ..." was written on paper with the London label. ... Tikhonravov also points out that from the drafts of the letter, some passages resemble Gogol's letter to Shchepkin, written on May 10, 1836, which means that they could have been written earlier than the rest.

V.V. Gippius and V.L. Komarovich believed that Tikhonravov was able to prove the dubiousness of the playwright's story about the reason and date of writing "Excerpt ...", and also managed to convince them that this letter was written, not otherwise than at the beginning 1841 in Italy, when Nikolai Vasilyevich wrote additions to the comedy.

A.G. Gukasova in her work "An excerpt from a letter written by the author shortly after the first presentation of the" Inspector "to a writer" expressed disagreement with the point of view of Tikhonravov in 1957. She believes that the historian's radical and incorrect evidence not only makes it possible to call Gogol an inventor, but also testifies to a “break in relations” between Gogol and Pushkin. ... Gukasova, after analyzing all of Gogol's letters to Alexander Sergeevich, as well as their statements about each other, came to the conclusion that in the most difficult moments the playwright addressed precisely to Pushkin, therefore the "Excerpt ..." is addressed to him. The letter was written on May 25, 1836, as Gogol pointed out, and in 1841 he only gave it the look that was necessary for publication.

Tikhonravov criticizes N. Ya. Pokopovich, editor of the Works of Nikolai Gogol, because, in his opinion, he changed the author's text, changed the language and style of the playwright. Here Tikhonravov is supported by V.V. Gippius and V.L.

EI Prokhorov justifies Prokopovich's work, citing a number of convincing arguments not in favor of Tikhonravov's point of view, considering the 1842 edition to be the main source of the text of The Inspector General. ...

The history of the creation of Gogol's "Inspector General" begins in the 1830s. During this period, the author worked on the poem "Dead Souls", and in the process of prescribing exaggerated features of Russian reality, he had the idea to display these features in a comedy; "The hand is shaking to write ... a comedy." Earlier, Gogol had already successfully debuted in this genre with the play "Marriage", in which the author's characteristic comic techniques, and the realistic orientation inherent in subsequent works. In 1835, he wrote to Pushkin: "Do mercy, give a plot, the spirit will be a comedy of five acts and, I swear, it will be funnier than the devil."

The plot suggested by Pushkin

The story that Pushkin proposed to Gogol as a plot actually happened with the publisher of the magazine “ Domestic notes”P. P. Svinyin in Bessarabia: in one of the county towns he was mistaken for a government official. There was a similar case with Pushkin himself: he was mistaken for an auditor in Nizhny Novgorod where he went to collect material about the Pugachev riot. In a word, it was the very "purely Russian anecdote" that Gogol needed to implement his plan.

The work on the play took only two months - October and November 1835. In January 1836, the author read the finished comedy at an evening with V. Zhukovsky in the presence of many famous writers, including the one who suggested the idea of ​​Pushkin. Almost everyone present was delighted with the play. However, the story of The Inspector General was still far from over.

"In" The Inspector General "I decided to collect in one pile everything that was bad in Russia, which I knew then, all the injustices that are done in those places and in those cases where justice is most required of a person, and at one time to laugh at everything" - this is how Gogol spoke about his play; this is exactly the purpose he saw for her - merciless mockery, purifying satire, a weapon in the fight against the abominations and injustices that reign in society. However, almost no one, even among his literary colleagues, saw in The Inspector General nothing more than a solid, high-quality “sitcom”. The play was not allowed to be staged immediately, and only after V. Zhukovsky personally had to convince the emperor of the reliability of the comedy.

The first premiere of "The Inspector General"

The first version of the play was premiered in 1836 at the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. Gogol was disappointed with the production: the actors either did not understand the satirical direction of the comedy, or were afraid to play in accordance with it; the performance turned out to be too vaudeville, primitive-comic. Only I.I. Sosnitsky, who played the role of the Governor, managed to convey author's intention, bring satirical notes to the image. However, performed even in such a form, very far from the author's desire, the comedy caused a stormy and ambiguous reaction. The "top" of society, denounced by Gogol, nevertheless felt ridicule; the comedy was declared "impossibility, slander and farce"; according to unconfirmed reports, Nicholas I himself, who was present at the premiere, said: “Well, and a piece!

Everybody got it, but I got it the most. " Even if these words were not actually spoken, it reflects well how the public perceived Gogol's bold creation.

And, nevertheless, the autocrat liked the play: the risky comedy was admitted to further productions. Taking into account his own observations of the game, as well as the comments of the actors, the author has repeatedly made edits to the text; the creation of the play "The Inspector General" by Gogol in its final version continued for many years after the first production. Last revised the play dates back to 1842 - this is the version that is known to the modern reader.

Author's commentary on the comedy

The long and complicated history of the creation of the comedy "The Inspector General" is inseparable from Gogol's numerous articles and comments on his play. The lack of understanding of the intention by the public and the actors forced him to write again and again in an attempt to explain his intention: in 1842, after staging the comedy in its final version, he published "A Notice for Those Who Would Like to Play The Inspector General," Then Theatrical Patrol after the presentation of a new comedy ", later, in 1856 -" The denouement of the "Inspector General".

Conclusion

As you can see, the history of the creation of the play "The Inspector General" testifies to the fact that the writing of this work was not so easy for the author, taking away from him a lot of both energy and time. And, nevertheless, the comedy found its connoisseurs among enlightened and thinking people. The Inspector General received very high marks from many leading critics; Thus, V. Belinsky writes in his article: "In The Inspector General there are no best scenes, because there are no worse ones, but all are excellent, as necessary parts, artistically forming a single whole ...". Many other representatives of the enlightened society adhered to a similar opinion, despite the stream of criticism against the comedy and the author himself. Today the play "The Inspector General" occupies a well-deserved place among the masterpieces of Russian classical literature and is a brilliant example of social satire.

Product test