Why does Gogol call laughter the most positive character? In the play The Inspector General. An essay on the topic: Why is Gogol's play named “The Inspector General”? Why Gogol called the auditor a comedy

The answer left Guru

Creating the comedy "The Inspector General", Gogol wanted not only to expose the bureaucracy with the help of laughter. He dreamed that the "Inspector General" would force the officials to change. It was for this purpose that Gogol portrayed all the officials in a comic form. The writer believed that ridicule negative traits characters should positively influence the reader and viewer of "The Inspector General". Having discovered these vices in himself, a person had to strive to correct them. Analyzing contemporary literature, Gogol came to the conclusion that a new type of comedy is needed. He was convinced that a comedy based on a love conflict had outlived its usefulness. In the 30s of the 19th century, a public comedy was needed, in which important social issues would be raised. Therefore, in the "Inspector" there are almost no love line... And therefore the "Inspector" does not goodie... Gogol believed that the positive hero would divert attention from the main thing and draw attention to himself. And therefore the writer called laughter the only positive hero of his work. He believed that laughter, In "The Inspector General" almost everything is comical. The very situation of the work is comical: the officials of the district town are terribly afraid of the auditor and take another person for him - Khlestakov. At the same time, they are trying to present their city in the best possible way, to hide the crimes and abuses committed. All these negative phenomena are revealed already in the first scenes of the comedy. The mayor Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky gives orders to officials. We read about uncleaned rubbish, about an unfinished church, about a quarter, hastily putting things in order in the city, about the fact that the judge Tyapkin-Lyapkin takes bribes with greyhound puppies, about drunken assessors. The postmaster reads other people's letters, the hospitals do not have enough medicines, the reception is given by a German who does not know Russian at all, etc. Therefore, fearing reprisals, all officials show miracles of ingenuity in comedy.
the funny has a cleansing function. In The Inspector General, almost everything is comical. The very situation of the work is comical: the officials of the district town are terribly afraid of the auditor and take another person for him - Khlestakov. At the same time, they are trying to present their city in the best possible way, to hide the crimes and abuses committed. All these negative phenomena are revealed already in the first scenes of the comedy. The mayor Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky gives orders to officials. We read about uncleaned rubbish, about an unfinished church, about a quarter, hastily putting things in order in the city, about the fact that the judge Tyapkin-Lyapkin takes bribes with greyhound puppies, about drunken assessors. The postmaster reads other people's letters, the hospitals do not have enough medicines, the reception is given by a German who does not know Russian at all, etc. Therefore, fearing reprisals, all officials show miracles of ingenuity in comedy. Gogol approached the development of the plot of his comedy in a new way. He attached particular importance in the work to the tie, which at once, in a single knot, was supposed to connect all the events. The comedy also ends in an unusual way - with a mute scene. This scene helps us understand ideological meaning works. For Gogol, the denouement does not end the comedy, but is at the same time a new plot. This means that the action is returning to normal, the rule of law in Russia is impossible. Although at the end of the comedy, a real auditor appears on the stage.

Gogol's innovation in "The Inspector General" was the fact that a "Note for Messrs. Actors" were written for him, which helped to understand the meaning of the characters in the comedy.
Gogol believed that comedy should be popular, touch on the problems of our time. The meaning of the "Inspector General" is clarified by its epigraph: "There is nothing to blame on the mirror, if the face is crooked." Gogol himself explains the idea of ​​the comedy as follows: "I wanted to collect all the bad things in one pile and laugh at everything at once." In his work, the writer managed, with the help of laughter, to expose bureaucratic arbitrariness, to touch upon the problems of state power, legal proceedings, education, medicine. No wonder Nicholas I, after watching his comedy, said: “Everyone got it. And me most of all. "

Answering this question, it must be said that although Khlestakov has nothing to do with the auditor, the officials take him for one throughout the play. Many researchers of Gogol's work tried to do this, and today there are a variety of answers to him. Some of them believe that Gogol thereby wanted to point to the “all-saving power of the inspector” sent by the tsar to restore order. Others disagree: “Such a statement is in stark contrast to the entire preceding development of action.

It is more untenable that the writer criticized in a comedy not individual abuses of officials in a distant uyezd town, but all the officials, the entire police, exposing the viciousness of the entire bureaucratic system. "

Gogol creates solid, deep images of representatives of city officials. And this can be seen in the example of Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky.

“I have forewarned you, gentlemen ...”; “In my part, I have made some orders ...”; “I presented a report about this…” “Look! I have an open ear! ”; "Look! you take it out of order! .. ”; “Where is the devil dragging you? ..”; "Here I am them, canals ..."; “… You see, you accursed Jewish people…”; “What, samovars, arshinniks, to complain? ..” “My duty as the mayor of the local city…”; “Rightly deigned to notice ...”; “Do I dare to ask permission to write in your presence ...” “Have mercy, do not destroy! Wife children…"; “Do not be so angry, your excellency ...” “On the road, you know, it doesn’t interfere with having an extra glass ...” “Shout to all the people, play on the bells”; “Now you can kill a big rank…” “I survived, you stupid ram, out of my mind! .. For thirty years I have been living in the service… I have deceived three governors… that the governors! ..”; “Look how the mayor is fooled!”; "Fool him, fool, old scoundrel!"

Gogol worked on the play a lot and thoroughly, striving to ensure that the action develops dynamically. VI Nemirovich-Danchenko, who staged The Inspector General, wrote: “With what force, with what simplicity, with what ingenious economy, the beginning of the play takes place! You know that, according to the theory of drama, the first action is devoted to the setting, the second - to development, the third - brings the play to its climax, the fourth - prepares the denouement, which consists in the fifth action.

The most remarkable masters of the theater could not start the play otherwise than in the first few scenes. In The Inspector General - one phrase, one first phrase ... And the play has already begun. The plot is given and its main impulse is given - fear ... "

Gogol worked persistently on the comedy, discarding ready-made, well-written scenes, since he believed that they burdened the development of the action. In the drafts, for example, there are scenes of Gibner and Rastakovsky's visit to Khlestakov after Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, which helped to deeper represent the essence of the stingy Gibner and Khlestakov, ready to take anything as an offering. However, they also slowed down the action, brought almost nothing new into its development. Later Gogol published them as an appendix to The Inspector General.

Belinsky wrote about this: “What could be better than two scenes that Gogol excluded from his comedy as slowing it down? Comparatively, they are not inferior in dignity to any of the other scenes of the comedy: why did he turn them off? - Because he possesses the tact of artistic measure to the highest degree and not only knows where to start and where to stop, but also knows how to develop the subject no less than Moreover, how much do you need".

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Answering this question, it must be said that although Khlestakov has nothing to do with the auditor, officials throughout the play take him for one. many researchers of Gogol's work tried to do this, and today there are a variety of answers to it. some of them believe that Gogol thereby wanted to point to the "all-saving power of the inspector" sent by the tsar to restore order. others disagree: “such a statement is in stark contrast to the entire preceding development of action. it is all the more untenable because the writer criticized in the comedy not individual abuses of officials in a distant uyezd town, but all the officials, the entire police, exposing the viciousness of the entire bureaucratic system. "

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Over the centuries, we have seen a lot of the Kremlin, cathedrals and a rampart. here the Tatar army was stationed, here the Nazis were breaking with a wall. and it often seemed to the invaders that he would no longer raise his head. but that ancient city rose again - the glorious Dmitrov, the same age as Moscow. Natalia Skegina

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wild boar and boar are representatives of the older generation. wild and boar are disgusting, there is not a single positive quality in them. they are cruel, hypocritical. they hide behind sanctimonious words, but in fact sow anger and hatred around themselves. wild is cruel even towards his relatives, who live in an atmosphere of fear and powerlessness. the boar is no different from him. she tends to interfere in the life of others, even in small things.

Wild boar and boar do not respect or fear anyone, and none of those around them dares to contradict them. tyrant merchants feel themselves in a patriarchal society as the real masters of life. Ostrovsky portrays a merchant environment, to put it mildly, deserving of condemnation. we feel genuine disgust, learning more and more details about the wild and boar, which are the epitome of the older generation of merchants. there is no doubt that everyone around them behaves in the same way. Ostrovsky says nothing about this, but it is easy to guess about it. It is no coincidence that one of the inhabitants of the city of Kalinov, Kudryash, says: "This is such an institution in our merchants." this confirms our hypothesis that the wild boar and the wild boar are typical representatives of the patriarchal merchant environment. Kabanova is pious and religious, patronizing the poor and wanderers. but what is hidden under the guise of such philanthropy? only hypocrisy and hypocrisy. boar does not give life to anyone: neither his son, nor daughter, nor daughter-in-law. but if the Tikhon and the barbarian can still adapt to her, they have learned to hide, to get out, then Katerina is not capable of lying. she suffers for the time being. and then he begins to protest. Wildly openly shows his attitude towards everyone around him, he deliberately insults everyone around him. boar does not openly offend anyone, she acts much more sophisticated. she subjugates everyone who gets in her way. the boar constantly reminds that everyone lives and acts incorrectly, no one knows who invented laws. boar is terrible in its despotism, it suppresses a weak-willed son, a timid daughter-in-law. the barbarian knows how to dodge, only for this reason she does not suffer so much from her domineering mother. the behavior of the wild and wild boar is the norm from the point of view of the inhabitants of the city of Kalinov. after all, in a provincial town, people all live in anger, drunkenness, envy, hatred, debauchery. and it doesn't matter that they hide behind "piety" and the observance of "old traditions." in fact, they commit crime after crime, ruining everything that is pure, light, sincere that can arise in the soul of someone around. the whole merchant town lives according to such laws that they might seem fanatical to an uninitiated person. however, it was so. but people far from the patriarchal merchants tried to communicate less with them. for example, Boris's mother, a noblewoman by birth, could not even spend several days with her husband's family. Boris's father, apparently, was significantly different from his wild brother, since he "married a noble one." but we do not know anything about him, he died long before the events described. so that, despite the prevalence of "wild boars" and "wild" in society, obviously, there were other representatives of the merchant class, more progressive and noble. however, we do not meet them in the city of Kalinov. they were in the minority, so the domineering and aggressive tyrant merchants nevertheless find themselves in an advantageous position.

For me, as for many schoolchildren, the work of N.V. Gogol is a mysterious and, as a result, an incomprehensible object for study. Either the absence of a love line in the plot of most of the works, or the exceptional number of negative heroes with their dead souls definitely scares away. Reading Gogol's works becomes an unconscious and routine matter, while the richness of his language and the originality of his style remain on the dusty pages of library books. “The younger generation does not at all want to reckon with the classics of literature, yawns from boredom while reading great novels,” parents and teachers will reproachfully say, but are they right? Gogol was not understood even in contemporary society. His works were full of innovation and amazed critics with an open satire on existing Russia... Plot - compositional construction of it dramatic works It was distinguished by strict adherence to the canons: the unity of time, place and action, but at the same time, it was absolutely different from the works of other classicists. One of such works is the comedy "The Inspector General".

The originality of the author was already in the fact that the exposition in the comedy follows the set. The plot of the play is the first phrase of the Governor: "An auditor is coming to us." And only after that we plunge into the atmosphere of the life of the district town, find out what orders are established there, what local officials do. In all corners, a fidgety flickering begins in anticipation of the mysterious inspector. The situation unfolding on the pages of a comedy looks more like an evil caricatured anecdote than real life. And yet, along with the exaggerated stupidity of officials and the incredible luck of Khlestakov, the author touches on the topical problems of Russia of that (and not only) time, denounces limited selfish businessmen and pitiful political bribes, to whom contemporaries turned a blind eye. But Gogol's most significant innovation was that he enriched the stereotyped classicist form with satirical content. He proved that a comedy can be not only a play of "low calm", but also a deep work with an important social connotation, which, of course, is "The Inspector General". Its important historical meaning fit into a narrow comic form, and thanks to seemingly frivolous, funny reading, we can learn about how things were in tsarist Russia. In addition to the problems characteristic only of his era, the author depicted the so-called eternal problems that are topical to this day. Because of this property, the play evokes a bitter grin.

In addition to new approaches and compositional solutions, Gogol was actively involved in word creation. His neologisms such as "rig up speech", "swell" or "barrel ribs" admired even his fellow writers. In particular, these examples are taken from an article by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, where he wrote: “His (Gogol’s) language is insanely wrong, enthralls me: a living body.” Let's take another look at our piggy bank and extract from it those “sweeping” words that we collected during the reading. You can cite the following options: zabranki zagina, spandor, skaldyrnik, more delicate, wriggle like coramora, such darkness, unavailable, twinned with honey, there is no need to bother, in all lost, submissive superflu, everything from monkey, etc. These words are bright author's neologisms and refer to colloquial vernacular vocabulary. The object of description in the poem is the vulgarity of life, the vocabulary of the work, it would seem, serves this basic idea - to reveal the mechanisms of everything base. " Few authors have had the courage to use such expressions and the talent to play with them like that. With their help, the text becomes a truly unique monument. folk language 19th century and authentic folk culture that period.

The final of the piece remains open, ring composition brings us back to the plot of the piece. Gogol's "silent scene" found various interpretations of critics. One of her interpretations: finally, a real inspector has arrived and the city is waiting for a just punishment. Another version: the arriving official is associated with heavenly punishment, which all the characters of the comedy fear. I think, "with a silent scene" Gogol wanted to appeal to the audience and readers: he argued that the idle life, bribery and lies will end sooner or later.

Thus, N.V. Gogol is an innovator in the development of dramatic techniques, in the outlining of the conflict. In his comedy, he almost completely abandoned the love affair. Love triangle Marya Antonovna - Khlestakov - Anna Andreevna demonstratively parodian. Gogol has no good characters in the play. According to the author himself, the only positive character comedy is laughter.

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N.V. Gogol is one of key figures v literary process the first half of the XIX v. The second half of the century is often referred to as the "age of prose". It was Gogol and Pushkin who became the "father" of Russian realistic prose. Gogol is a unique author's individuality. His works have always made a special impression on readers. Dramatic works play an important role in his work.

Gogol's predecessors in Russian drama are Fonvizin and Griboyedov. Griboyedov acted as an innovator, deviating in his work from the basic principles of constructing a comedy (pressed the love intrigue, introducing a social conflict developing in connection with it; filled the comedy negative characters and depicted only one positive person, etc.).

Gogol's innovation lies in the choice of the conflict, which is the basis of the work. Looking back at the works of his predecessors, Gogol comes to the conclusion that the love affair has already exhausted itself. Seeing that it became the basis of the dramatic conflict too often, Gogol decided to choose a different path. He finds a new plot, more relevant to our time: the plot of the auditor. The figure of the auditor has always been terrible for city officials who live in constant fear of audit. And it is precisely "the fear of anticipation, the very terror, the threat of the law going far away" (Gogol), which takes possession of the officials, that form the dramatic situation in "The Inspector General."

Gogol resorts to the method of compositional inversion: the tie appears before the exposure. The action in the comedy starts instantly, with the very first phrase of the mayor: "I invited you, gentlemen, in order to tell you the most unpleasant news. An auditor is coming to us." The tie includes almost everyone actors, which corresponds to Gogol's theoretical concept of composition public comedy: "The comedy should be knitted by itself, with its entire mass in one large, common knot. The tie should hug the whole face, and not one or two."

The exposition is the dialogues of officials in the first act, revealing the real state of affairs in the city and showing the internal contradiction in the minds of officials between their dishonest activities and a completely clear conscience. Considering that every person has "small sins", they also rank their activities in this category. Gogol shows a kind of psychology of urban bureaucracy: the whole world is divided for them into two parts - the surrounding real life based on the unwritten laws of bribery and lies. and life unknown to them according to written laws, which require taking care not of their own benefit, but of the public good. The horror in front of the visiting auditor is due to the uncertainty of the situation: to which world does the visiting auditor belong? But the fear of officials is combined with hope based on previous experience and a high opinion of themselves ("I deceived swindlers on swindlers ... I deceived three governors!").

All actions of the play are based on the behavior of the characters in an emergency situation of the arrival of the inspector, corresponding to the nature of each of them. Officials of the city represent a kind of integral system in the comedy, but at the same time the characters are sharply individualized. They are unique in their individual characteristics, which makes it interesting to receive their “one by one” report on the state of affairs in the entrusted institution, “alternate” presentation to Khlestakov, “alternate” reading of the ill-fated letter. In constructing a character system, Gogol resorts to yet another innovative technique: he refuses to portray a positive hero. If in the comedy of Griboyedov Chatsky was such a hero-ideologist, a partial hero-reasoner, then it is impossible to call Khlestakov a positive hero, this is an "icicle, a rag" with a paucity of thinking and narrow interests. Thus, the comedy renders absolutely no high hero... The author called laughter a positive hero.

The unusual construction of the character system increases the breadth of the generality of the depicted. Gogol, generalizing as much as possible. seeks to show the typicality of the described city and the officials living in it, the "speaking" surnames (private bailiff Ukhovert, police officer Derzhimord, judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin) serve not so much to characterize individuals, carriers of vices, as to a typified image of society as a whole. all city officials are characterized by illogical thinking. He, coupled with fear, leads them to self-deception. They take the "helper" for the auditor, and this fact is the basis for the emergence of the so-called "mirage" intrigue, which turns into nothing. At the first meeting of the mayor with Khlestakov, fear of the inspector makes him disbelieve his eyes ("But what a nondescript, short one, it seems, would press him with a fingernail"), disbelieve his ears: Khlestakov speaks the pure truth - the mayor admires his "cunning" ( "Oh, a delicate thing! Lies, lies and will not break off anywhere"). The main goal of the mayor becomes to force the auditor to let it slip, and Khlestakov, a minor official, fearing that he will be sent to prison for non-payment, suddenly turns into important person: "I would, I confess, would not demand anything else, as soon as you show me devotion and respect, respect and devotion." Khlestakov, as it were, accepts the conditions of the game proposed by the mayor.

The image of Khlestakov is the discovery of Gogol. This is a cheat, but a cheat in the situation. He did not want to deceive anyone, and only the fear and illogical thinking of officials turned him into an auditor. Khlestakov is simple-minded. And it is precisely for this reason that he appears in the eyes of the mayor as a real auditor, that he speaks from the heart, sincerely, and the mayor looks for tricks in his words. Innocence allows Khlestakov not to deceive anyone, but only to play the roles that officials impose on him. Khlestakov fully justifies the characterization given to him by Gogol: "He speaks and acts without any consideration." However, the mirage dissipates and two imaginary solutions follow (Khlestakov's departure and the reading of the letter). The departure of Khlestakov does not arouse suspicion in anyone, since he, having established himself as a decent person, will definitely return if he promised. But the reading of Khlestakov's letter that followed the departure puts everything in its place and lowers the officials from heaven to earth. It is noteworthy that when reading the letter, all the officials described in it from the negative side think only of the insult inflicted by Khlestakov. They do not understand that the danger that awaits them ahead and is already approaching them is much more terrible than "being ridiculed."

Following the reading of the letter, a true denouement occurs: a "silent scene" following the news of the arrival of a real auditor in the city. "Silent Scene" is a plastic way of expressing an author's idea. Gogol's comedy is not addressed to a narrow circle of a select few, enlightened readers, but to the entire mass of the reading public. This led to the refusal of Gogol from the principle of the "fourth wall". The line between the characters of the comedy and the audience in the hall is erased within a few minutes, during which the "petrified group" stands motionless on the stage. There is a feeling of unity between heroes and spectators. Heroes frozen in a moment of severe crisis. overshadowed by the idea of ​​inevitable retribution. Inspiring the reader with the idea of ​​this supreme court was Gogol's main task, which he expressed in the "silent scene."

The only "honest and noble person in the comedy is laughter" (Gogol). But laughter in a comedy is directed not at a specific person, an official, not at a specific county town, but at the vice itself. Gogol shows how terrible the fate of a person struck by him is. The play combines comicism and drama, which lies in the discrepancy between the initially high purpose of a person and his unfulfillment. exhaustion in pursuit of vital mirages. The final monologue of the mayor and the scene of Khlestakov's matchmaking are full of drama, but the culmination of the tragic, when the comic completely fades into the background, becomes the final "silent scene".

Gogol's comedy, in many ways developed the traditions of the public comedy of Griboyedov, continues to search for new expressive and pictorial means. Gogol's bold experiments led to the creation of a unique work that embodied many innovative features.

; font-family: "Times New Roman" "xml: lang =" ru-RU "lang =" ru-RU "> Gogol's innovation as a playwright

In “Theatrical passing,” Gogol writes: “Yes, if you accept the set in the sense that it is usually accepted, then it is definitely not there. But it seems it's time to stop leaning on this eternal tie<...>... Now the desire to get a profitable place, “to shine and overshadow, by all means, another, to celebrate for neglect, for ridicule,” is starting the drama more strongly. Do not now have electricity more rank, money-capital, a profitable marriage, than love? “So, Gogol abandons the traditional construction of the play. Nemirovich-Danchenko quite clearly expressed the new principles of constructing the play: “The most remarkable masters of the theater could not start a play otherwise than in the first few scenes. In The Inspector General there is one phrase: “I have invited you, gentlemen, in order to report the unpleasant news: an inspector is coming to us,” and the play has already begun. The denouement is similar. Gogol finds stage movement in surprises, which are manifested in the characters themselves, in the versatility human soul, no matter how primitive it is. The play is not driven by external events. The general thought, idea is immediately set: fear, which is the basis of the action. This allows Gogol to drastically change the genre at the end of the play: with the disclosure of Khlestakov's deception, comedy turns into tragedy. "

The innovation of the comedy N.V. Gogol "The Inspector General"

The dramatic conflict of the "Inspector General" testified to further development Russian comedy. In "Woe From Wit" by A. S. Griboyedov we saw a conflict between the progressive noble youth and the reactionary-serf majority of the noble-landowner class. The ideological basis here was the revolutionary spirit of the nobility. In the conflict of the "Inspector", deeper contradictions are revealed: between the bureaucratic apparatus of the monarchist-serf state and the broad democratic strata. This corresponded to the outlined movement of Russian literature after 1825 along the path of democratization.

The social nature of the conflict in The Inspector General also determined the construction of the plot. Before Gogol, the action of comedy usually developed around a love conflict (as in "The Marriage"). There is a love affair in The Inspector General. But it is given an insignificant place, it appears shortly before the comedy's denouement and unfolds with lightning speed. Khlestakov, unexpectedly and at an incredible pace, declares his love for the mayor's daughter, then his wife, then his daughter again and, without hesitation, proposes to her. In the parodic form of a love affair with its “twists and turns,” Gogol deliberately violates tradition based on the conditions of the time. He wrote in "Theatrical passing after the presentation of a new comedy": "Everything has changed long ago in the world. Now the striving to get a profitable place, to shine and overshadow, at all costs, another, to celebrate for neglect, for ridicule, is more intensely tying up the drama. Do not now have electricity more rank, money capital, profitable marriage, than love? " See: I.P. Zolotussky. Gogol - M., 1984. - P. 358 .. The very plot of the play thus acquires a social character, which, in turn, becomes a tradition for the subsequent Russian drama, which has learned to combine the personal and the public in the plot. Such, for example, are the plays of A. N. Ostrovsky.

Gogol's comedy was also of great importance for the development of the dramatic language. The task of the socio-psychological differentiation of dialogical speech was inextricably linked with the realistic tendencies that developed in Russian literature. Such predecessors of Gogol the playwright as D.I. Fonvizin and especially A.S. Griboyedov, strove, as opposed to the "classical" unity of style, to give the characters' speeches character. In Woe From Wit, the character's speech reflects the linguistic features inherent in this social character. Gogol achieves even more in this respect. The speech of each of his characters in The Inspector General is a complete stylistic system, in which, as in focus, the corresponding character is reflected See: Yu.V. Mann. Poetics of Gogol. - M., 1978. - P. 189 .. This is the realism of dialogical speech and its full development. At the same time, the manner of speech characteristic of a particular character varies depending on the specific situation, from the interlocutor. Let us recall how the Governor talks with officials, with the "inspector", with merchants. It is amazing Gogol's ability to show that in all these cases the speech of the same Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky sounds with different shades! After Gogol, the social and psychological characteristic of the characters' speech became the law of Russian drama.

Gogol's innovation in the comedy The Inspector General was reflected in the following:

He refuses to introduce the traditional image of a positive hero, which was the mouthpiece of the author's ideas.

The aesthetic ideal of the writer is expressed in a peculiar way, and Gogol emphasized this: “It is strange: I am sorry that no one noticed the honest face of the one who was in my play. Yes, there was one honest, noble person who acted in her throughout her entire continuation. This acting noble face was laughter. "

The special nature of laughter. It contains not only denial, but also a hidden sadness, drama combined with comic situations. "This is laughter visible to the world, through invisible, unknown to him tears." The transition of the comic to the serious and even tragic, laughter, combined with the author's bitter reflection on life, is characteristic feature comedy "The Inspector General".

The originality of the conflict. Gogol talks about the abuses of (typical) officials, everything is in complete collapse, everything is rotten. Residents suffer from official abuse prefabricated city N. The main conflict of the comedy "The Inspector General" is a conflict between the bureaucratic world of the city, personifying the state system of Russia and the deprived people. But, since the people are deprived of a voice, suppressed by the entire system of Russia, this conflict is not shown directly, and therefore Gogol introduces an otherworldly conflict, the essence of which is the anecdotal story of the relationship between city officials led by the mayor with an imaginary auditor. Here the contradictions are imaginary, because the mayor and Khlestakov are united in their aspirations. The development of this conflict allowed Gogol to show the anti-people essence of both local and St. Petersburg authorities. Is this anecdotal plot realistically motivated? Most likely, yes, because in Gogol he means a real situation, reliable.

Gogol's innovation as a playwright

In response to Aksakov's remark that modern Russian life does not provide material for comedy, Gogol said that this is not true, that comedy is hidden everywhere, that, living in the middle of it, we do not see it; but that "if the artist transfers it to art, to the stage, then we ourselves will roll over ourselves with laughter." It seems that this phrase is the general meaning of Gogol's innovation in drama: the main task is to transfer the comic Everyday life to the stage. As Grigoriev said in one of his articles, “it is obvious that a new ore was discovered by a great poet, an ore of analysis of everyday ordinary reality *. Such a choice of the subject of creativity dictated and artistic means... Gogol's plays are comedies, but comedies opposed classical works of this genre, firstly, according to the plot (in comparison with high comedy), and secondly, the types derived in Gogol's comedies are contrasted with the types of plays of that time. Instead of cunning lovers, intractable parents, lively, everyday national characters... Gogol expels murder, poison: in his plays, madness, death are the result of gossip, intrigue, eavesdropping. Gogol reinterprets the principle of “unity of action” as a unity of design and execution by the protagonist. In Gogol's plays, it is not the hero who controls the plot, but the plot that develops according to logic gambling, carries the hero. The goal of the hero is opposed by the final result, the approach to the goal turns out to be a distance from it “at a great distance” (“Vladimir of the third degree”).

Gogol creates an unusual situation for the play: instead of one personal or domestic intrigue, the life of an entire city is depicted, which significantly expands the social scale of the play and allows it to achieve the goal of writing the play: “to collect everything bad in Russia”. The city is extremely hierarchical, the development of all comedy is concentrated within it. Gogol creates an innovative situation when a city torn by internal contradictions becomes capable of a whole life, thanks to a general crisis, a general feeling of fear of higher powers. Gogol covers all sides public life management, but without "administrative details", in a "universal human guise." In "Theatrical passing" it is said: "the human is found everywhere." In his comedy, with a wide system of officials, a wide range of spiritual properties is deduced: from the good-natured naivety of the postmaster to the trickyness of Strawberry. Each character becomes a kind of symbol. But a certain psychological property does not correlate with the character as his main feature, but rather as a range of certain emotional movements (the postmaster, as Gogol himself says, is “just a naive person,” but with no less innocent malice he repeats three times when reading Khlestakov’s letter: “The governor is stupid like a gray gelding”). All the feelings of the heroes are transferred from the artificial to the sphere of their real manifestation, but with all this, human life is taken by the writer in all its depth. And when Bobchinsky says to Khlestakov: “I humbly ask you, as you go to Petersburg, tell all the different nobles there: senators and admirals, that, your Excellency, Pyotr Ivanovich Bobchinsky, lives in such and such a city. So say: Pyotr Ivanovich Bobchinsky lives. " Gogol shows in this request the desire to “signify his existence in the world,” the highest moment of his life.

In his play, Gogol tries to limit comic effects. The Inspector General is a comedy of characters. We laugh, according to Gogol, not at the “crooked nose” of the characters, but “at the crooked soul”. The comic in the play is subordinated to the outline of types, arises from the manifestation of their psychological and social properties.

In “Theatrical passing,” Gogol writes: “Yes, if you accept the set in the sense that it is usually accepted, then it is definitely not there. But, it seems, it is high time to stop relying on this eternal tie. Now the desire to get a profitable place, “to shine and overshadow, by all means, another, to celebrate for neglect, for ridicule,” is starting the drama more strongly. Do not now have electricity more rank, money-capital, a profitable marriage, than love? “So, Gogol abandons the traditional construction of the play. Nemirovich-Danchenko quite clearly expressed the new principles of constructing the play: “The most remarkable masters of the theater could not start a play otherwise than in the first few scenes. In The Inspector General there is one phrase: “I have invited you, gentlemen, in order to report the unpleasant news: an inspector is coming to us,” and the play has already begun. The denouement is similar. Gogol finds stage movement in surprises that are manifested in the characters themselves, in the versatility of the human soul, no matter how primitive it may be. The play is not driven by external events. The general thought, idea is immediately set: fear, which is the basis of the action. This allows Gogol to drastically change the genre at the end of the play: with the disclosure of Khlestakov's deception, comedy turns into tragedy. "

If in 1832 Gogol wrote to Pogodin: “Drama lives only on the stage. Without her, she is like a soul without a body, "then in 1842 Gogol prefaces his play with the epigraph" There is no need to blame the mirror, if the face is crooked ", clearly intended for the reader, which gave critics a reason to talk about the general non-stage comedy. And, although the comedy is really very difficult for stage implementation, and Gogol himself wrote about dissatisfaction with its performances, the comedy was nevertheless designed specifically for the viewer. The principle of the “fourth wall” is observed, and besides: “Why are you laughing? You are laughing at yourself! " there are no replicas in the hall. But Gogol for the first time in Russian comedy draws not a separate island of vice, into which virtue is about to pour over, but a part of a single whole. He has virtually no exposure, as in the comedy of classicism, the critical beginning of the play is that his model of the city can be expanded to an all-Russian scale. The broad vital significance of the “Inspector’s” situation is that it could arise almost everywhere. This is the vitality of the play.