“The Inspector General” is a comedy in five acts, written by N.V. Gogol in 1835. It tells how in a county town a random passer-by is mistaken for an inspector from the capital. There is a version according to which the plot of the comedy “The Government Inspector” was suggested to Gogol by Pushkin. There is also a story from Gogol’s friend, A.S. Danilevsky, about how they pretended to be auditors on the way to St. Petersburg, and were received with great honor everywhere.
In order to form your impression of the comedy, you can read “The Inspector General” in a summary of actions and phenomena on our website.
Main characters
Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov is an “official” (as city residents believe) from St. Petersburg. A nondescript young man of 23, dressed fashionably and somewhat rustic. He is interested in card games, loves a rich life and strives to “show himself.”
Osip is Khlestakov’s servant, already aged. A roguish man. He considers himself smarter than the master and loves to teach him.
The mayor is an elderly arrogant man, a bribe-taker.
Anna Andreevna is the mayor’s wife, a provincial coquette. Very curious and vain. He competes with his daughter for the attention of gentlemen.
Marya Antonovna is the daughter of the mayor, a naive provincial girl.
Scene VI
The same ones , Anna Andreevna and Marya Antonovna .
Mayor . I dare to introduce my family: my wife and daughter.
Khlestakov (bowing). How happy I am, madam, that I have the pleasure of seeing you.
Anna Andreevna . We are even more pleased to see such a person.
Khlestakov (showing off). For mercy, madam, it’s quite the opposite: it’s even more pleasant for me.
Anna Andreevna . How is it possible, sir! You say this like that as a compliment. Please humbly sit down.
Khlestakov . Standing next to you is already happiness; however, if you absolutely want it, I’ll sit down. How happy I am to finally be sitting next to you.
Anna Andreevna . For mercy, I don’t dare take it personally... I think after the capital the trip seemed very unpleasant to you.
Khlestakov . Extremely unpleasant. Accustomed to living, comprenez vous, in the world, and suddenly finding yourself on the road: dirty taverns, the darkness of ignorance... If only, I confess, it wasn’t such an opportunity that... (looks at Anna Andreevna and shows off in front of her) so rewarded me for everything...
Anna Andreevna . Really, how unpleasant it must be for you.
Khlestakov . However, madam, at this moment I am very pleased.
Anna Andreevna . How is it possible, sir! You do a lot of credit. I do not deserve this.
Khlestakov . Why don't you deserve it?
Anna Andreevna . I live in the village…
Khlestakov . Yes, the village, however, also has its hills, streams... Well, of course, who can compare it with St. Petersburg! Eh, Petersburg! what a life, really! You may think that I am only rewriting; no, the head of the department is on friendly terms with me. This way he will hit you on the shoulder: “Come, brother, for dinner!” I only go into the department for two minutes, just to say: “It’s like this, it’s like this!” And there was an official for writing, a kind of rat, with only a pen - tr, tr... he went to write. They even wanted to make me a collegiate assessor, yes, I think why. And the watchman is still flying on the stairs after me with a brush: “Allow me, Ivan Alexandrovich, I’ll clean your boots,” he says. (To the mayor.) Why are you, gentlemen, standing? Please sit down!
Together.
Mayor . The rank is such that you can still stand.
Artemy Filippovich . We'll stand.
Luka Lukic . Don't worry.
Khlestakov . Without rank, please sit down.
The mayor and everyone sit down.
Khlestakov . I don't like ceremonies. On the contrary, I even always try to slip through unnoticed. But there is no way to hide, no way! As soon as I go out somewhere, they say: “There, they say, Ivan Alexandrovich is coming!” And once I was even mistaken for the commander-in-chief: the soldiers jumped out of the guardhouse and pointed at me with a gun. Afterwards, an officer who is very familiar to me says to me: “Well, brother, we completely mistook you for the commander-in-chief.”
Anna Andreevna . Tell me how!
Khlestakov . I know pretty actresses. I, too, am a variety of vaudeville performers... I often see writers. On friendly terms with Pushkin. I used to often say to him: “Well, brother Pushkin?” “Yes, brother,” he would answer, “that’s how it’s all done…” Great original.
Anna Andreevna . Is that how you write? How pleasant this must be for a writer! You also publish them in magazines, right?
Khlestakov . Yes, I put them in magazines too. However, there are many of my works: “The Marriage of Figaro”, “Robert the Devil”, “Norma”. I don’t even remember the names. And it all happened: I didn’t want to write, but the theater management said: “Please, brother, write something.” I think to myself: “If you please, brother!” And then in one evening, it seems, I wrote everything, astonishing everyone. I have an extraordinary lightness in my thoughts. All this that was under the name of Baron Brambeus, “Frigate of Hope” and “Moscow Telegraph”... I wrote all this.
Anna Andreevna . Tell me, were you Brambeus?
Khlestakov . Well, I correct the articles for all of them. Smirdin gives me forty thousand for this.
Anna Andreevna . So, right, “Yuri Miloslavsky” is your composition?
Khlestakov . Yes, this is my essay.
Marya Antonovna . Oh, mamma, it says there that this is Mr. Zagoskin’s essay.
Anna Andreevna . Well, I knew that even here you would argue.
Khlestakov . Oh yes, it’s true, it’s definitely Zagoskina; but there is another “Yuri Miloslavsky”, so that one is mine.
Anna Andreevna . Well, that's right, I read yours. How well written!
Khlestakov . I admit, I exist by literature. This is my first house in St. Petersburg. It’s so well known: the house of Ivan Alexandrovich. (Addressing everyone.) Please, gentlemen, if you are in St. Petersburg, please, please come to me. I also give points.
Anna Andreevna . I think with what taste and splendor they give balls there!
Khlestakov . Just don't talk. On the table, for example, there is a watermelon - a watermelon costs seven hundred rubles. The soup in a saucepan arrived straight from Paris on the boat; open the lid - steam, the like of which cannot be found in nature. I'm at balls every day. There we had our own whist: the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the French envoy, the English, the German envoy and me. And you’ll be so tired of playing that it’s simply not like anything else. As you run up the stairs to your fourth floor, you just say to the cook: “Here, Mavrushka, overcoat...” Why am I lying - I forgot that I live in the mezzanine. I have only one staircase... And it’s curious to look into my hallway, when I haven’t woken up yet: counts and princes are milling around and buzzing there like bumblebees, all you can hear is: w... w... w... Sometimes the minister too...
The mayor and others timidly rise from their chairs.
They even write on the packages: “Your Excellency.” Once I even managed a department. And it’s strange: the director left, it’s unknown where he went. Well, naturally, rumors began: how, what, who should take the place? Many of the generals were hunters and took it, but it happened that they would approach - no, it was tricky. It seems easy to look at, but when you look at it, it’s just damn! After they see, there is nothing to do - come to me. And at that very moment there were couriers, couriers, couriers on the streets... can you imagine, thirty-five thousand couriers alone! What is the situation? - I'm asking. “Ivan Alexandrovich, go manage the department!” I admit, I was a little embarrassed, I came out in a dressing gown: I wanted to refuse, but I think: it will reach the sovereign, well, and the track record too... “If you please, gentlemen, I accept the position, I accept, I say, so be it, I say, I accept , only for me: no, no, no!.. My ears are on the alert! I’m sure…” And for sure: sometimes, when I was passing through the department, there was just an earthquake, everything was trembling and shaking like a leaf.
The mayor and others are shaking with fear. Khlestakov gets even more excited.
ABOUT! I don't like to joke. I gave them all a lesson. The State Council itself is afraid of me. What really? That's who I am! I don’t look at anyone... I tell everyone: “I know myself, myself.” I'm everywhere, everywhere. I go to the palace every day. Tomorrow I will be promoted to field marshal... (Slips and almost falls on the floor, but is respectfully supported by the officials.)
Mayor (approaching and shaking his whole body, trying to speak out). And wa-wa-wa... wa...
Khlestakov (in a quick, abrupt voice). What's happened?
Mayor . And wa-wa-wa... wa...
Khlestakov (in the same voice). I can’t understand anything, it’s all nonsense.
Mayor . Va-va-va... procession, Excellency, would you like to order me to rest?.. here is the room, and everything that is needed.
Khlestakov . Nonsense - rest. If you please, I'm ready to rest. Your breakfast, gentlemen, is good... I'm satisfied, I'm satisfied. (With recitation.) Labardan! Labardan! (He enters the side room, followed by the mayor.)
Other characters
Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky are two urban landowners extremely similar to each other, they talk a lot and always walk together.
Ammos Fedorovich Lyapkin-Tyapkin is a judge, considers himself enlightened, but in reality he has read only a few books.
Artemy Filippovich Strawberry is a trustee of charitable institutions, a swindler and a rogue.
Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin is a postmaster and is naively simple-minded.
Luka Lukich Khlopov – superintendent of schools.
Act four
Phenomenon 1
After consulting among themselves, the officials came to the conclusion that the only correct decision would be to bribe the auditor. However, there were no people willing to do this. Everyone was afraid of falling under the law. To be honest with each other, the officials decided to enter the room one at a time and conduct the conversation each on their own behalf.
Phenomenon 2
Khlestakov, in excellent spirits after a good sleep and a hearty dinner, leaves the room. He likes this kind of life. He is welcome everywhere, everyone walks on tiptoe in front of him. The mayor’s daughter is not bad-looking and clearly made it clear that she liked him. If you hit on her, then you can stay a little longer in the city, combining business with pleasure.
Phenomenon 3
Not everyone can pay a bribe. It was clear that the officials did not like this idea. There was a long line of them. The first was Judge Tyapkin-Lyapkin. The judge frantically clenched the money in his fist. He was noticeably nervous. His fist unclenched from excitement. Money falls out on the floor. Khlestakov is a good guy. I immediately saw through the situation. Seeing the fallen bills, he asks the judge to lend him money. Lyapkin-Tyapkin was glad to get rid of the money. Having allegedly lent money to Khlestakov, he hurries to quickly retreat from the room.
Phenomenon 4
The postmaster was second in line. Khlestakov immediately told him that he needed money. The amount of debt was 300 rubles.
Phenomenon 5
The superintendent of the schools, Khlopov, did not skimp. The amount of 300 rubles again replenished Khlestakov’s pocket.
Phenomenon 6
Strawberry surprised him with his generosity, lending the auditor 400 rubles.
Phenomenon 7
Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky turned out to be the most greedy for money. The sum of 65 rubles was handed over to Khlestakov in half, gritting his teeth.
Phenomenon 8
After the officials left, Khlestakov began to count the money. The catch was a success. He realized that he had been mistaken for someone else. He decides to share his fun adventure with a journalist friend. Let him ridicule these stupid people in his newspaper and tell in every detail who is at the helm of power and who has been entrusted to govern the city.
Phenomenon 9
Osip invites Khlestakov to run away before the truth comes out. Khlestakov agrees. Before leaving, he asks Osip to take a letter to the post office addressed to Tryapichkin. The merchants made noise outside the window and decided to pay a visit to the auditor. The police officer tried to detain them, but Khlestakov gave the order to let everyone into the house.
Phenomenon 10
The merchants turned out to be generous with gifts. All of them were brought by a complaint against the mayor. They asked Khlestakov to put in a good word for them in the capital on occasion. Khlestakov promises to take action. He does not refuse the money offered by the merchants.
Phenomenon 11
We were surprised by a visit from a mechanic and a non-commissioned officer. They also came with a complaint against the mayor. One of them had her husband illegally taken away to serve, and the second was flogged in front of the people. The crowd at the gate did not get smaller. Osip urged the master to leave here quickly. Khlestakov orders not to let anyone else in to see him.
Phenomenon 12
At the sight of the mayor’s daughter, Khlestakov fell to his knees, openly declaring that he was madly in love with her. Marya Antonovna did not expect such a turn, but in her heart she is incredibly happy.
Phenomenon 13
Anna Andreevna, seeing Khlestakov on his knees in front of her daughter, is beside herself with rage and drives Marya Antonovna away. The girl runs away in tears. Khlestakov turns his attention to the mayor's wife, assuring her of his feelings towards her.
Phenomenon 14
Marya Antonovna returns and sees Khlestakov kneeling in front of her mother. Realizing that he was in an awkward position, Khlestakov figured out on the fly how to get out of it. He grabs Marya’s hand and asks the girl’s mother to bless their union.
Phenomenon 15
The mayor, having learned about the purpose of the merchants’ visit to his house, convinces Khlestakov that they are slandering him. Anna Andreevna, interrupting her husband, stuns him with the news of the imminent wedding of the auditor and Maria.
Phenomenon 16
Osip reports that the horses are ready. It's time to hit the road. To the mayor, Khlestakov explained the purpose of his departure as a desire to visit his uncle, promising to return in a day. Having kissed Marya’s hand goodbye and grabbed some borrowed money from the mayor for the trip, Khlestakov and Osip leave in a hurry.
Summary
Act one
Happens in one of the rooms of the mayor's house
Phenomenon I
The mayor gathers officials and tells them “unpleasant news” - an auditor will soon arrive in the city with a “secret order”. Everyone is excited, Ammos Fedorovich even suggests that there will soon be a war, and an auditor has been sent to find out if there are traitors in the city. But the mayor rejects this assumption: from their city, “even if you ride for three years, you won’t reach any state,” what kind of treason is there? He gives orders, listing all the problem areas of the city - the sick need to be changed into clean clothes and it is advisable to reduce their number. Take the geese bred there by the guards from public places and remove the “hunting arap” from the papers. It can be returned when the auditor leaves.
The assessor always “smells of vodka,” and they also advise eliminating this, for example, by eating onions. Educational institutions whose teachers have “very strange actions, naturally inseparable from an academic title” also require attention: one makes faces at students, another breaks furniture... As for the “minor sins” of officials, the mayor has nothing against it: “that’s just the way it is.” arranged by God himself.” The judge is the calmest of all; he justifies himself by saying that he takes only “greyhound puppies,” and this is much better than rubles or a fur coat.
Phenomenon II
The postmaster enters. He, too, has already heard about the arrival of an auditor in the city, and is sure that all this is happening for a reason, but because the war with the Turks is approaching. “It’s the Frenchman who’s crap,” he says. The mayor convinces the postmaster that there will be no war, and then shares his experiences with him. He is “confused by the merchants and citizens,” who do not like him - if there were no denunciation against him. The mayor asks him to print out and read the letters he brings, he agrees, adding that he already reads other people’s letters - out of curiosity.
Scene III
Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky enter, out of breath. They had just seen the expected auditor at the hotel. This is a young man, “of good appearance, in a private dress,” he “walks around the room like that, and there’s a kind of reasoning in his face...”. This young man has been living in a tavern for two weeks now, does not pay money and does not move out. Everyone unanimously decides that this is none other than the auditor. The mayor was extremely excited - many unpleasant incidents occurred during these two weeks: “the non-commissioned officer’s wife was flogged! The prisoners were not given provisions! There is a tavern on the streets, uncleanness! He decides to urgently go to the hotel and demands a bailiff, the officials disperse to their institutions.
Phenomenon IV
The mayor remains alone in his room.
The mayor demands a droshky (a two-seater horse-drawn carriage), a new hat and a sword. Bobchinsky tags along behind him, he is ready to run after the droshky “cockerel, cockerel”, just to look “through the crack” at the inspector. The mayor orders the policeman to sweep clean the entire street leading to the tavern.
Phenomenon V
Finally a private bailiff appears. The mayor hurriedly gives out instructions for the improvement of the city: to put a tall policeman on the bridge for beauty, to sweep away (break) the old fence, because “the more destruction, the more it means the activity of the city governor.” And if anyone asks why the church was not built, the answer is that it began to be built, but burned down. Already at the door he gives the order not to let half-naked soldiers out into the street.
Scene VI
The mayor's wife and daughter run in and they quarrel. Anna Andreevna tells her daughter to immediately run after the droshky, take a peek, find out everything, and especially what color the inspector’s eyes are, and come back this very minute.
Act two
Small room in a hotel.
Phenomenon I
Osip lies on the master’s bed and is angry with the master, who “wasted” all the money in cards. And now for the second month they have not been able to get home from St. Petersburg. Osip wants to eat, but they won’t lend him money anymore. In general, he really liked St. Petersburg: everything is “delicate,” life is “subtle and political.” Only the master didn’t do business there either, but spent all the money from his father. “Really, it’s better in the village: at least there’s no publicity, and there’s less concern,” says Osip.
Phenomenon II
Khlestakov enters and scolds Osip for lying on the bed again. Then he hesitantly demands (almost asks) the servant to come downstairs for lunch. Osip refuses, saying that they will no longer be given a loan, but then agrees to go down and call the owner to Khlestakov.
Scene III
Khlestakov alone. He talks to himself about how he wants to eat. What kind of “bad town” has he found himself in? Here, even in the shops, they don’t give out loans. And it’s all the fault of the infantry captain, who robbed him at cards. And yet Khlestakov would like to fight him again.
Phenomenon IV
The tavern servant enters. Khlestakov curries favor with him, persuades him to bring lunch and “reason” with the owner: that guy may not eat for a day, but for Khlestakov, as a master, this is in no way possible.
Phenomenon V
Khlestakov ponders what he should do if they don’t bring lunch. "Ugh! I even feel sick, I’m so hungry.” Then he begins to dream of how he will return home in St. Petersburg clothes and introduce himself as an official from St. Petersburg.
Scene VI
Lunch is brought, it is not good and consists of only two courses. Khlestakov is dissatisfied, but eats everything. The servant tells him that this is the last time - the owner will not allow him to lend anymore.
Scene VII
Osip reports that the mayor wants to see Khlestakov. Khlestakov is scared: what if the innkeeper has already managed to complain and is now being taken to prison?
Scene VIII
The mayor and Dobchinsky enter. Khlestakov and the mayor look at each other in fear for some time. Then the mayor explains that he came to see how Khlestakov lives, because his duty is to make sure that those who come are happy. Khlestakov is scared, he makes an excuse that he will pay everything, “they will send it to him from the village.” Then he declares that the innkeeper himself is to blame, he feeds him poorly, and threatens to go to the minister. The mayor, in turn, is frightened, promises to sort it out and asks him not to destroy him - he has a wife and children. He calls Khlestakov to another, better apartment, but Khlestakov, thinking that they are going to take him to prison, refuses. The mayor offers him money to pay the innkeeper, Khlestakov willingly takes it, and the mayor manages to slip him four hundred rubles instead of the required two hundred. Khlestakov’s attitude towards the mayor changes: “I see you are a noble man.” He agrees to go live with the mayor. The mayor decides that the auditor wants to remain incognito, and that one needs to keep an eye out for him.
Scene IX
A tavern servant arrives with a bill, and the mayor throws him out, promising to send him money.
Event X
Khlestakov, the mayor and Dobchinsky are going to inspect city institutions, and Khlestakov categorically refuses to inspect prisons, but a charitable institution attracts his attention. The mayor sends Dobchinsky with a note to his wife so that she gets ready to receive the guest, and to Zemlyanika, who is in charge of charitable institutions. Dobchinsky opens the door from Khlestakov’s room, preparing to leave. Bobchinsky overhears from outside - he flies to the floor and breaks his nose. Osip, meanwhile, was ordered to take Khlestakov’s things to the mayor.
Act three
First Act Room
Phenomenon I
The mayor's wife and daughter are waiting for news standing at the window. Finally Dobchinsky appears.
Phenomenon II
Anna Andreevna reproaches Dobchinsky for coming so late and asks him about the auditor. Dobchinsky gives the note and emphasizes that he was the first (with Bobchinsky) to “discover” that this is a real auditor.
Scene III
The mayor's wife and daughter are preparing to receive the auditor and preening themselves. The rivalry between them is noticeable - each tries to ensure that the other wears a dress that does not suit her.
Phenomenon IV
Osip enters with a suitcase on his head. He is accompanied by the mayor's servant. Osip asks for food, but they do not give it to him, explaining that all the dishes are simple, and he, as the auditor’s servant, will not eat such a thing. Osip agrees to any food.
Phenomenon V
The guards open both sides of the doors. Khlestakov enters: followed by the mayor, then the trustee of charitable institutions, the superintendent of schools, Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky with a plaster on his nose.
Khlestakov talks with the mayor. He is very pleased with how everything is organized in the city - he was well fed and shown “good establishments.” This was not the case in other cities. The mayor replies that this is because in other cities city governors are more concerned about their own benefit, but here they care more about how to please their superiors. Khlestakov is interested in where he could play cards. The mayor swears that he himself does not even pick up cards, although just yesterday he “deposited” a hundred rubles from an official.
Scene VI
Anna Andreevna and Marya Antonovna enter. The mayor introduces them to Khlestakov.
Lunch begins. At dinner, Khlestakov boasts: in St. Petersburg he is the most important person, everyone knows him. He is “on friendly terms” with Pushkin himself, and he himself wrote many good things, for example, “Yuri Miloslavsky”. The mayor's daughter remembers that this work has a different author, but she is pulled back. Every day Khlestakov was in the palace and at balls, and once he even managed a department. “Your Excellency” is written on the packages, foreign ambassadors play whist with him, and a watermelon is served on the table for seven hundred rubles. In the hallway, waiting for his awakening, there are usually “counts and princes milling about”...
The mayor and others respectfully listen to Khlestakov’s boasts, and then accompany him to rest.
Scene VII
The rest discuss Khlestakov and agree that he is a very important person. Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky argue that Khlestakov is probably a general himself, or even a generalissimo. Then the officials disperse, and Zemlyanika tells Luk Lukich that for some reason he is scared. “Well, how can he sleep it off and let a report arrive in St. Petersburg?”
Scene VIII
The mayor's wife and daughter argue about who Khlestakov looked at more during breakfast.
Scene IX
The mayor enters on tiptoe. He is no longer glad that he gave the guest drink: even if half of what Khlestakov said is true, the mayor will not be happy. Anna Andreevna is sure that everything will be fine, because Khlestakov is “an educated, secular, person of the highest tone.” The mayor is surprised: how has Khlestakov already achieved so much in such years? “Everything has turned out wonderfully in the world now: even if the people were already prominent, otherwise they are thin, thin - how do you recognize them, who they are?”
Event X
Osip enters. Everyone runs to him, wondering if Khlestakov is sleeping. The mayor asks what the master pays most attention to. He gives Osip money for tea and bagels. The mayor’s wife and daughter are interested in “which eyes” Khlestakov likes best. Then everyone disperses, the mayor orders the quarterly guards not to let strangers into the house, especially with requests.
Act four
The same room in the mayor's house
Phenomenon I
Officials enter cautiously, almost on tiptoe, as well as Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky, in full dress and uniform. They all gathered to give Khlestakov a bribe, but they can’t figure out how best to arrange it. In the end, a decision is made to enter one by one and speak face to face: “You need to introduce yourself one by one, and between four eyes and that... as it should be - so that even the ears don’t hear. This is how things are done in a well-ordered society!”
Phenomenon II
Khlestakov comes out with sleepy eyes. He slept well and is happy with the way he is received here: he loves the hospitality. In addition, Khlestakov noted that the mayor’s daughter is “very pretty,” and her mother is such that “it would still be possible...”. He likes this life.
Apparitions III-VII
Ammos Fedorovich comes in, drops the money and is very frightened by this. Khlestakov, seeing the banknotes, asks to give him a loan. The judge willingly gives the money and leaves. Then the postmaster, Luka Lukic, and Zemlyanika enter in succession. Khlestakov asks everyone for a loan and receives certain amounts. The last to appear are Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, from whom Khlestakov directly demands money. They don’t have much: between them there are only sixty-five rubles. Khlestakov takes it, saying that “it’s all the same.” Dobchinsky has a request to the auditor: to recognize his son as legitimate. Khlestakov promises to help. Bobchinsky’s request is even simpler: that Khlestakov, when he goes to St. Petersburg, would tell everyone there, including the sovereign, that “Peter Ivanovich Bobchinsky lives in such and such a city.”
Scene VIII
Khlestakov alone. He begins to realize that he is being mistaken for a “statesman,” and writes a letter about this to his friend, a journalist, so that he can make fun of the officials.
Scene IX
Osip persuades Khlestakov to leave as soon as possible. He agrees. At this time, noise is heard from the street: the merchants came with petitions, but the policeman did not let them in. Khlestakov orders to receive everyone.
Event X
The merchants bring wine and sugar loaves to Khlestakov. They ask to intercede for them - the mayor really oppresses the merchants, deceives and robs. Khlestakov promises to sort it out and takes money from the merchants; He does not disdain the silver tray, and Osip takes the remaining gifts, right down to the rope: “and the rope will come in handy on the road.”
Scene XI
Women, a mechanic and a non-commissioned officer come to Khlestakov. They also complain about the mayor: he whipped the non-commissioned officer for no reason. “Go, I’ll give orders!” says Khlestakov, but the requests tire him, and he tells Osip not to let anyone in anymore.
Scene XII
Khlestakov talks to Marya Antonovna and kisses her. She fears that the visitor is simply laughing at her, a “provincial girl.” Khlestakov convinces that he has fallen in love with her and, to prove it, kneels.
Scene XIII
Anna Andreevna enters. Seeing Khlestakov on his knees, she becomes indignant and drives her daughter away. Khlestakov decides that “she is also very good” and again throws himself on his knees. He assures Anna Andreevna of eternal love and even goes so far as to ask for her hand, not paying attention to the fact that she is already married: “For love there is no difference... We will retire under the shadow of the streams... Your hand, I ask for your hand!”
Scene XIV
The mayor’s daughter runs in, seeing Khlestakov on his knees, and screams: “Oh, what a passage!” Khlestakov, in order to avoid a scandal, asks Anna Andreevna for her daughter’s hand in marriage.
Apparition XV
The out of breath mayor appears and begins to convince Khlestakov not to trust the merchants: they are deceiving the people, and the non-commissioned officer “flogged herself.” Anna Andreevna interrupts the mayor with good news. The mayor is beside himself with joy and blesses Khlestakov and Marya Antonovna.
Scene XVI
Osip reports that the horses are ready, and Khlestakov is in a hurry to leave. He tells the mayor that he is going to see a rich old man and promises to return back tomorrow. In parting, he kisses Marya Antonovna’s hand and once again asks the mayor for a loan.
Act five
Same room
Phenomenon I
Mayor, Anna Andreevna and Marya Antonovna.
The mayor's family rejoices, imagining a rich life in St. Petersburg. Anna Andreevna wants her “to have the first house in the capital and so that... there was such an aroma in the room, so that you couldn’t enter and you just had to close your eyes that way.”
Appearances II-VII
Everyone congratulates the mayor. He scolds the merchants for daring to complain. Now he has become an important person, and the merchants will not get off so easily - everyone must bring rich gifts to the wedding. The officials ask the mayor not to forget them in St. Petersburg, he promises, but Anna Andreevna is dissatisfied: there her husband will not have time to think about “all the small fry.”
Scene VIII
The postmaster appears with a printed letter in his hands. He tells amazing news - Khlestakov, who was mistaken for an auditor, was not one at all. The postmaster reads Khlestakov’s letter to a literary friend: “First of all, the mayor is stupid, like a gray gelding...”
Here the mayor interrupts the postmaster: this cannot be written there. The postmaster gives him the letter, then what is written goes from hand to hand, and everyone reads the unpleasant truth about themselves. The postmaster drinks bitter, Strawberry looks like a “pig in a yarmulke,” the superintendent of schools smells of onions, and the judge is “in the strongest degree bad manners.” “But by the way,” Khlestakov concludes the letter, “the people are hospitable and good-natured.”
Everyone is angry, especially the mayor, who is afraid that he will be placed in some kind of comedy. “What are you laughing at? You laugh at yourself,” he says. But Khlestakov can no longer be caught up: he was given the best horses. They begin to find out how it was possible to mistake “this helipad” for an auditor - it’s only because God took away his mind. Everyone blames Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, because it was they who brought the news about the auditor.
The last phenomenon
A gendarme enters: an official who has arrived from St. Petersburg is staying at the hotel and demands everyone to come to him.
Silent scene.
Act two
Events take place in one of the hotel rooms
Phenomenon 1
The auditor turned out to be not an auditor at all, but Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov. Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky mistakenly took him for him. Bewitch the rake too. Lover of card games. In the next game, I lost all my money. There is nothing to return home to. Osip, Khlestakov’s servant, is angry with the master. Hungry and angry that because of him you have to beg, looking for leftover food on the plates after the gentlemen. He got the owner. He doesn’t know how to do a damn thing, just burn through his father’s money. Although he liked it in St. Petersburg. Life there was in full swing, not like in the Saratov province.
Phenomenon 2
Osip receives a scolding from Khlestakov, who sees that he is again lying on the master’s bed. It's not good for servants to behave like that. He chases Osip out for lunch. My stomach is cramping from hunger. Osip refused, saying that the owner of the inn was tired of feeding them on credit. There will be money, then there will be food. Khlestakov demands the innkeeper to come to him.
Phenomenon 3
Khlestakov was left alone and indulged in reflection. What a strange city. They don't even give you a loan. Now what, die of hunger? And the infantry captain is to blame for everything. He stripped it to the skin, leaving not a penny behind. This time fortune turned away from him, but if fate gives him a chance to play a game with the captain again, he will not refuse. Maybe next time you'll have better luck.
Phenomenon 4
Osip managed to persuade the tavern servant to go up to the owner’s room with him. Khlestakov became frightened in front of him. There is something hunting. You have to pretend to be a sycophant. The servant remained adamant. They have accumulated a whole bunch of debts. The owner categorically refuses to feed them on credit. If this continues, he promised to inform the mayor about everything and, with his help, evict the guests onto the street. Khlestakov again sends Osip to the owner, in the hope that he will change his anger to mercy.
Phenomenon 5
Everybody left. Khlestakov, left alone, began to think again. I started to feel sick from hunger. To distract himself from the cramping attacks in his stomach, Khlestakov suddenly imagined himself as a rich man riding around in a carriage. Osipa mentally dressed him in livery, and a picture flashed before his eyes of them driving around the best houses of St. Petersburg and being welcome everywhere.
Phenomenon 6
Dreams Come True. Osip managed to persuade the owner about dinner. There were two dishes on the tray. The type of food left much to be desired, but you don’t have to choose. Hunger is not a thing. Having eaten everything to the last crumb, Khlestakov was still dissatisfied. The servant said that this was the last time. No one will do charity anymore. The owner was already too lenient towards them.
Phenomenon 7
Osip rushed into the room looking dumbfounded. The mayor wants to see the master. Khlestakov is in a panic. Did the innkeeper really manage to snitch on him? What will happen now? Is it really impossible to avoid prison and he is destined to spend the next ten years behind bars?
Phenomenon 8
The mayor, in the company of Dobchinsky, enters Khlestakov’s room. Khlestakov, who decided that he would now be taken to prison, screamed at the top of his lungs that he would complain to the minister. The mayor understood his statement in his own way. He decided that the auditor was not happy with the way he was running the city. Khlestakov makes it clear that he would have left St. Petersburg long ago, but they have no money. The mayor took his phrase as a hint of a bribe and put several hundred in his pocket. Khlestakov was surprised, but he was even more struck by the mayor’s offer to pay a visit to his family. They say that the wife and daughter will be incredibly happy about the visit of such a dear guest. Khlestakov does not understand the meaning of what is happening. Instead of the supposed prison, such honors, why suddenly, but he accepts the offer to stay. It looks like his fantasies are starting to come true. Feeling superior to the mayor, Khlestakov’s attitude towards him changes before his eyes.
Phenomenon 9
The tavern servant, at Osip’s request, went up to Khlestakov’s room again. Khlestakov intends to pay off the bills with the owner, but the mayor did not allow him to do this. He orders him to leave the premises along with the bill presented. He promised to send the money later.
Phenomenon 10
Khlestakov accepted the mayor’s offer to tour city institutions with joy. It was necessary to delay time and give the wife and daughter the opportunity to prepare the house for the arrival of the guest. They were sent a note informing them of an imminent visit from the auditor. Prisons did not attract Khlestakov’s attention. But the charitable establishments turned out to be a joy. Strawberry was warned in advance. It was he who was responsible for them in the city. Osip receives an order to deliver the owner’s things to the mayor’s house.
The plot of "The Inspector General" in 3 minutes with actions
The comedy takes place in the first half of the 19th century in a small provincial town N.
Act one
In the mayor's house in the city of N. The mayor gathers all the city officials and informs them that an auditor from St. Petersburg should come to them. He asks officials to keep their institutions in order in case of an audit. It immediately turns out that a gentleman who looks like an auditor lives in the city hotel. The mayor decides to go there and personally meet the possible auditor.
Act two
In a hotel in the city of N. A petty official, Khlestakov, has been living in his room for several weeks. A young man travels from St. Petersburg on vacation to his parents. He spent all his money and lives in a hotel on credit, not knowing how to pay. At this time, the mayor comes to Khlestakov. Khlestakov is afraid that they want to arrest him for debts to the hotel. The mayor talks with Khlestakov and decides that the young man is the auditor from St. Petersburg. The mayor takes upon himself to pay the debt for the hotel and invites Khlestakov to stay in his house. Khlestakov readily agrees, not suspecting what is going on.
Act three
In the mayor's house. The mayor’s wife and daughter are preparing to receive their dear guest, “auditor” Khlestakov. The mayor sends for expensive wine. Meanwhile, Khlestakov meets city officials and visits their institutions. The officials do not realize that this is not an auditor, but a minor employee from St. Petersburg. Khlestakov, in turn, does not suspect that he was mistaken for an auditor. Khlestakov settles in the mayor's house, where he meets his wife and daughter. In a conversation with officials, Khlestakov talks about his supposedly luxurious life in St. Petersburg. He lies that he is friends with ministers, Pushkin, etc. Officials willingly believe his lies. They are increasingly afraid of such a “respected person.”
Act four
At the mayor's house the next morning. Officials come to Khlestakov one by one. Khlestakov asks to borrow money from each of the officials. Officials perceive this as a good moment for a bribe. They give Khlestakov large sums prepared in advance, hoping to appease the “auditor”. Having collected a round sum from officials, Khlestakov finally realizes that he is being mistaken for an auditor. He writes a letter to his friend in St. Petersburg, talking about the stupidity of officials in the city of N. Having sent the letter, Khlestakov is going to leave the city to avoid exposure. Meanwhile, merchants and other residents come to Khlestakov’s windows and complain about the mayor. Khlestakov promises to help everyone. The merchants also give him money and gifts. Before leaving, Khlestakov manages to ask the mayor for the hand of his daughter Marya. The mayor blesses this marriage and rejoices that he is marrying his daughter to such an “influential person.” Khlestakov says goodbye to the mayor’s family and promises to return soon.
Act five
In the mayor's house. All city officials congratulate the mayor on the upcoming wedding of his daughter and the capital’s “auditor”. The mayor is making plans for his future luxurious life in St. Petersburg. Suddenly the postmaster comes running with Khlestakov’s letter to a friend, which he opened at the post office. The postmaster announces that Khlestakov is not an auditor at all. Officials are shocked by this news. A gendarme immediately comes and reports that a real auditor has arrived in the city. Officials are horrified by this news.
This is interesting: Gogol’s play “Marriage” was written in 1835. The work, which at one time caused a lot of talk and gossip, is considered the first Russian everyday comedy. With the help of heroes - petty officials and merchants - the writer reflected the way of life of St. Petersburg in the 30s of the 19th century.
