Woe from Wit 1 action full content. "Woe from Wit": retelling by action

Here is the story of a very successful career of the "rootless" Molchalin:

Rootless warmed and introduced into my family,
He gave the rank of assessor and took him to the secretaries;
Transferred to Moscow through my assistance;
And if it wasn't for me, you would smoke in Tver.

Is an assessor good or not? Collegiate assessor Kovalev, the hero of Gogol's Nose, liked to call himself a major: “Kovalev was a Caucasian collegiate assessor. He had only been in this rank for two years, and therefore he could not forget him for a minute; and in order to give himself more nobility and weight, he never called himself a collegiate assessor, but always a major.. Griboedov himself, when he wrote Woe from Wit, was a titular councilor (IX class).

Alexander Yuzhin as Famusov in the play "Woe from Wit". Maly Theatre, Moscow, 1915

What is the secret of Molchalin's success? It can be assumed that partly precisely because he was born in Tver, and, for example, not in Tula or Kaluga. Tver is on the road connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg; Famusov, the manager in the state-owned place, probably passed through Tver more than once, and, perhaps, some quick local fellow (isn't it the son of the station master?) Was able to successfully render him some kind of service. And then, using the patronage of Famusov and Tatyana Yurievna, Molchalin quickly and very successfully began to move up the career ladder.

In social terms, Molchalin begins his journey precisely as a “little man”, who does not reconcile with his position, but strives with all his might to break into people. “This is a person who, in diapers, has known the onslaught of fate and therefore is ready to give himself into slavery to anyone and anywhere, ready to worship both the true god and an empty idol, having neither the ability nor the skill to penetrate into the essence of things.<…>Everything in the activities of these people is imprinted with ignorance and firm determination to retain that beggarly piece that fate threw them, ”wrote Saltykov-Shchedrin about Molchalin.

2. The secret of Sophia's sleep

Alexander Yuzhin as Famusov and Vera Pashennaya as Sophia in the play Woe from Wit. Maly Theatre, Moscow, 1915 Billy Rose Theater Collection / New York Public Library

Here Sophia tells Famusov a dream that she obviously came up with:

Here with a thunder the doors were flung open
Some not people and not animals,
We were separated - and they tortured the one who sat with me.
He seems to be dearer to me than all treasures,
I want to go to him - you drag with you:
We are escorted by groans, roars, laughter, whistles of monsters!
He screams after him!

What does all this mean? Sophia invented her dream for a reason, but based on literature, namely on a romantic ballad: the heroine finds herself in an otherworldly world inhabited by villains and monsters.

The object of parody for Griboyedov here is, first of all, Zhukovsky and his free translations of the ballad of the German poet Burger "Lenora" - "Lyud-mila" (1808) and "Svetlana" (1811), in which dead suitors appear to the heroines and take them to the afterlife world. It is unlikely that Famusov read Zhukovsky, but Griboyedov puts into his mouth a caustic maxim, very similar to the finale of the ballad "Svetlana": "Everything is there, if there is no deceit: / And devils and love, and fears and flowers." And here is Svetlana:

Smile my beauty
To my ballad
It has great wonders.
Very little stock.

In Sophia's dream, ballad cliches thicken: the innocent heroine and her lover are separated by a tormentor - a character from the underworld (it is no coincidence that in a dream Famusov appears from under the opening floor). In the first edition, Famusov was completely described as an infernal hero: "Death on the cheeks, and the hair on end."

However, not only Sophia's dream, but also her relationship with Molcha-lin resembles a ballad plot. Their love affair is modeled after Zhukovsky's ballad The Aeolian Harp (1814). Minvana, the daughter of a noble feudal lord, rejects the claims of eminent knights and gives her heart to the poor singer Arminius:

Young and beautiful
Like a fresh rose is the joy of the valleys,
Sweet singer...
But by birth not a noble, not a princely son:
Minwana forgot
About his dignity
And loved with my heart
Innocent, innocent heart in it.

Griboyedov parodies the picture of ideal love created by Zhukovsky. The poor singer Arminius seems to be replaced by the scoundrel Molchalin; the tragic exile of Arminius by Minvana's father is the finale of the comedy, when Sophia overhears Molchalin's conversation with Lisa and expels her unlucky lover.

This parody is not accidental. In the literary controversy between archaists and Archaists and innovators- supporters of opposite concepts of the development of Russian literature in the 1810s. The controversy between the two literary societies - "Conversation of lovers of the Russian word" and "Arzamas" - revolved around the system of genres, language and style of literary behavior. Griboedov adhered to the position of the younger archaists, who were very skeptical of Zhukovsky, and ridiculed the then fashionable daydreaming: “God be with them, with dreams,” he wrote in an analysis of translations of the Burger’s ballad “Lenora” in 1816, “now in no book You look, whatever you read, a song or a message, dreams are everywhere, and nature is not a hair's breadth. Molchalin is a parody of the sublime and quiet hero of sentimental stories and ballads.

3. The secret of Aunt Sophia and Chatsky's humor

Ridiculing Moscow, Chatsky sarcastically asks Sophia:

At conventions, at big ones, on parish holidays?
There is still a mixture of languages:
French with Nizhny Novgorod?

Why is the French language mixed with the Nizhny Novgorod dialect? The fact is that during the war of 1812 this became a reality: Moscow nobles were evacuated to Nizhny Novgorod Vasily Lvovich Pushkin (the poet's uncle and the poet himself), addressing the inhabitants of Nizhny Novgorod, wrote: "Take us under your protection, / Pets of the Volga shores.". At the same time, on a patriotic upsurge, the nobles tried to abandon French speech and speak Russian (Leo Tolstoy described this in War and Peace), which led to a comic effect - a mixture of French pronunciation with the Nizhny Novgorod sound.

No less amusing were the lexical incidents (and not only those from Nizhny Novgorod!). So, the Smolensk landowner Svistunova in one of her letters asked to buy her "English lace in the manner of drum (Brabantian), "little clar net (lorgnette) because I'm close with my eyes" (myopic), "serogi (earrings) writing-gram (filigree) works, fragrant alambre perfumes, and for the furnishings of the rooms - Talyan paintings (Italian) in the manner of Rykhvaleeva (Rafael) canvas work and a tray of cups, if possible, with peony flowers.

In addition, it is possible that Chatsky is simply quoting the famous publicistic text from the time of the Napoleonic Wars, written by Ivan Muravyov-vym-Apostol, the father of three future Decembrists. It is called "Letters from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod", and it contains a famous fragment about how the French language is ruthlessly treated in the Moscow Nobility Assembly:

“I stood in the middle of the hall; waves of people rustled around me, but alas! Rarely, rarely where did a Russian word pop up.<…>Out of a hundred of us (and this is the most moderate proportion), one speaks a fair amount of French, and ninety-nine Gascons; no less, everyone babbles in some kind of barbarian dialect, which is revered as French only because we call it speak in Frenchtsuzski. Ask them why? - because, they will say, that it was so introduced. - My God! - When will it be released?<…>Enter any society; funny mix of languages! Here you will hear the Norman, Gascon, Roussillon, Provencal, Geneva dialects; sometimes Russian --- in half with the above. - Ears wither!

4. Mystery August 3

Boasting about his successes, Skalozub mentions the battle, for participation in which he was awarded the order:

For the third of August; we sat down in a trench:
He was given with a bow, around my neck The lower orders, that is, III and IV degrees, were worn in a buttonhole, and the sash was tied with a bow, orders of higher degrees - around the neck. Skalozub emphasizes that he received an award of a higher level than his cousin, and that by that time he already had a staff officer rank..

The exact date is named for a reason. Among Griboyedov's contemporaries, who well remembered the Patriotic War of 1812 and the events that followed it, this phrase could not but cause laughter. The fact is that no battle took place that day.

Sergei Golovin as Skalozub in the play "Woe from Wit". Maly Theatre, Moscow, 1915 Billy Rose Theater Collection / New York Public Library

On June 4, 1813, the Plesvitsky truce was announced, which lasted until mid-August, and on August 3, a meeting of the Russian Emperor Alexander I with Franz II, Emperor of Austria took place in Prague Franz II- Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (1792-1806), who ruled as Emperor of Austria under the name of Franz I. which has received numerous awards. Skalozub had no need to "sit in the trench-neck".

Skalozub’s static character (“Wherever you order, if only to sit down”) sharply contradicts Chatsky’s dynamism (“More than seven hundred miles passed, the wind, the storm; / And he was all confused, and fell so many times ...”). However, in the conditions of military service in the last years of the reign of Alexander I, it is Skalozub's life strategy that is in demand. The fact is that the production to the next rank was carried out in the presence of vacancies; if the more active comrades of Skalozub died in battles or turned out to be “turned off” for political reasons, then he calmly and systematically moved to the rank of general:

I am quite happy in my comrades,
Vacancies are just open;
Then the elders will be turned off by others,
Others, you see, are killed.

5. Mystery of the Broken Rib

A scene from the play "Woe from Wit". Maly Theatre, Moscow, 1915 Billy Rose Theater Collection / New York Public Library

Here Skalozub tells a joke about Countess Lasova:

Let me tell you a message:
There is some kind of princess Lasova here,
Rider, widow, but no examples
So that many gentlemen went with her.
The other day I hurt myself in the fluff;
Joke did not support, he thought he could see flies. -
And without that, she, as you can hear, is clumsy,
Now the rib is missing
So for support looking for a husband.

The meaning of this anecdote is in an allusion to the biblical legend about the origin of Eve from the rib of Adam, that is, the secondary nature of a woman in relation to a man. In the Moscow world, everything happens exactly the opposite way: the primacy here always and in everything belongs to women. Mat-ri-ar-hat reigns in Griboedov's Moscow, the feminine principle consistently displaces the masculine. Sofya teaches Molchalin to music (“The flute is heard, then it’s like a piano”); Natalya Dmitrievna surrounds the quite healthy Platon Mikhailovich with petty care; Tugoukhovsky, like a puppet, moves according to the commands of his wife: “Prince, prince, here”, “Prince, prince! Back!" The feminine principle also prevails behind the scenes. Tatyana Yuryevna turns out to be the high patroness of Molcha-lin Her prototype was Praskovya Yuryevna Kologrivova, whose husband, according to the memoirs of the Decembrist Zavalishin, “asked at the ball by one tall person who he was, was so confused that he said that he was Praskovya Yuryevna’s husband, probably believing that it was title is more important than all his titles.. Famusov is trying to influence Skalozub through Nastasya Nikolaevna and recalls some unknown to the reader, but important to him, Irina Vlasyevna, Lukerya Alexevna and Pulcheria Andrevna; the final verdict on what happened in the Famusovs' house must be pronounced by Princess Marya Aleksevna.

“This female regime, to which the characters of Woe from Wit are subordinate, clarifies a lot,” writes Yury Tynyanov. - Autocracy was for many years female. Even Alexander I still considered the power of his mother. Griboedov knew, as a diplomat, what influence a woman had at the Persian court. "Women's power" and "male decline" become signs of the times: Griboyedov describes the turning point in Russian life, at which the masculine life of 1812 is a thing of the past, and gossip is more important than deeds. In this situation, slander against Chatsky arises.

6. Mystery of the yellow house

Mikhail Lenin as Chatsky in the play "Woe from Wit". Moscow Art Theatre, Moscow, 1911 Billy Rose Theater Collection / New York Public Library

Toward the end of the play, almost all the guests at the Famusovs' ball are sure that Chatsky has gone crazy:

His rogue uncle hid him in the insane;
They seized me, into a yellow house, and put me on a chain.

Why is it so scary? The fact is that gossip about the madness of the hero, acquiring more and more new details Gossip about Chatsky's madness develops like an avalanche. He himself is the first to say the words about madness (“I can beware of madness ...”), referring to his unhappy love; in the same sense, Sophia picks them up (“Here, reluctantly drove me crazy!”), And only on the third turn, infuriated by Chatsky’s attacks on Molchalin, Sophia says out of revenge: “He’s out of his mind” - giving an opportunity for Mr. N. to interpret these words in the literal sense. Further, the slander spreads anonymously through Messrs. N. and D., then acquires fantastic details in the remarks of Zagoretsky, who actually does not know Chatsky (“Which Chatsky is here? - A well-known surname. / With some Chatsky I used to know). Griboyedov was well aware of the practice of spreading gossip and their influence on the fate of people from his diplomatic activities. essentially turns into a political denunciation. About Chatsky it is reported that he is a “freemason” (that is, a freemason Freemasons- free masons; members of a secret religious charitable society that has spread throughout Europe since the 18th century. In 1822, by the highest command, all Masonic lodges in Russia were closed, Freemasonry became synonymous with freethinking.), "the accursed Voltairian", "in pusurman", brought to prison, given to the soldiers, "changed the law".

The accusation of insanity as a way to deal with a rival, objectionable person or political opponent was a well-known device. So, in January 1817, rumors spread about Byron's madness, and his wife and her relatives started them up. The slander and noise around the poet's personal life spread throughout almost all of Europe. Rumors of insanity also circulated around Griboedov himself. According to his biographer Mikhail Semevsky, one of Griboyedov's letters to Bulgarin contains the latter's postscript: "Griboedov in a moment of madness."

Twelve years after the creation of Woe from Wit, one of the prototypes of Chatsky, Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev, will be accused of insanity. After the publication of his first "Letter" in the "Teleskop" magazine, it was closed, and the Moscow police chief announced to Chaadaev that now, by order of the government, he was crazy. A doctor came to see him every day for examination, Chaadaev was considered under house arrest and could go for a walk only once a day. A year later, the doctor's supervision of the "sick" was removed - but only on the condition that he would no longer write anything.

7. The secret of Ippolit Markelitch

Vasily Luzhsky as Repetilov in the play "Woe from Wit". Moscow Art Theatre, Moscow, 1906 Billy Rose Theater Collection / New York Public Library

Repetilov tells Chatsky about a secret society reminiscent of the Decembrist:

But if you order a genius to name:
Udushiev Ippolit Markelych!!!
You are writing it
Did you read anything? Even a trifle?
Read, brother, but he does not write anything;
Here are some people to flog
And sentence: write, write, write;
In magazines you can, however, find
His snippet, look and something.
What do you mean something? - about everything;
He knows everything, we graze him for a rainy day.

And how does Chatsky himself feel about members of secret societies? a common place in the school study of "Woe from Wit".

In fact, Griboedov's attitude towards the Decembrists was very skeptical, and he ridicules the very mystery of societies. Repetilov immediately tells the first person he meets about the place and time of the meetings (“We have a society, and secret meetings / On Thursdays. The most secret union ...”), and then lists all its members: Prince Grigory, Evdokim Vorkulov, Levon and Borinka (“Wonderful guys! You don't know what to say about them") - and, finally, their head - the "genius" Ippolit Markelych.

The surname Udushyev given to the leader of the secret meeting clearly shows that Griboedov hardly harbored illusions about the Decembrist programs. Among the prototypes of Udushyev, they named the head of the Southern Society Pavel Pestel, the Decembrist Alexander Yakubovich and even the poet Pyotr Vyazemsky The hero, bearing the surname Udushyev, also appears in the novel by Griboyedov's friend Dmitry Begichev, The Kholmsky Family (1832). It is interesting that his prototype there is Fedor Tolstoy-American - an unnamed off-stage character in Woe from Wit, about whom Repetilov also talks: “A night robber, a duelist, / Was exiled to Kamchatka, he returned as an Aleut, / And unclean on his hand; / Yes, a smart person cannot but be a rogue.. In a word, the only member of the secret society among the heroes of Woe from Wit is Repetilov - and not Chatsky at all.

Sources

• Levchenko O. A. Griboedov and the Russian ballad of the 1820s (“Woe from Wit” and “Predators on Chegem”). Materials for the biography.
• Markovich V. M. Comedy in verse by A. S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit".

  Analysis of a dramatic work. L., 1988.

• Tynyanov Yu. N. The plot of "Woe from Wit".
• Fomichev S. A Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from Wit". A comment. The book for the teacher.
• "The current age and the past century ...".

  A. S. Griboedov's comedy "Woe from Wit" in Russian criticism and literary criticism.:: SPb., 2002.

An elderly widowed official, a manager in a state-owned place. To the right is the door to the bedroom of Famusov's daughter, Sophia. Today she has a date with her admirer, Famusov's secretary, Molchalin, who lives here. The maid Liza is ordered to guard her mistress's appointment from her father, but she fell asleep in the middle of the living room - and wakes up when it is already dawn. (See full text of "Woe from Wit".)

Lisa knocks on the door to Sofya and Molchalin, shouting that it's time to leave. But lovers are not in a hurry. To scare them, Lisa advances the clock and they play ahead of schedule.

Woe from the mind. Performance by the Maly Theatre, 1977

The owner of the house enters at the sound of the clock - Sophia's father, Famusov. The playful old man begins to playfully pester Lisa. She escapes from his arms. Famusov asks if Sophia is sleeping. Liza says that she has been reading all night, has only just recently fallen asleep, and can easily wake up.

Sophia's voice is heard calling Lisa. Fearing that his daughter will catch him harassing a maid, Famusov tiptoes out of the living room. Liza rejoices that she got rid of him, saying: "Bypass us more than all sorrows and master's anger, and master's love."

Sofia and Molchalin come out of the room on the right. Liza makes it look to them that it has long since dawned, and Sophia's father has already come into the living room. Sophia makes excuses: "Happy hours are not observed." Molchalin goes from the living room to himself, but at the door he runs into Famusov, who has entered again.

Surprised, Pavel Afanasyevich asks why his daughter and secretary ended up together so early in the morning - and right at Sophia's room. Molchalin tries to assure him that he accidentally passed here, returning from a walk, but Famusov demands: “is it possible to choose a nook for walks further away?”. He makes stern remarks to Sophia as well, citing his own monastic behavior after her mother's death as an example. (Liza tries to object at the same time, but Famusov shuts her mouth with a shout.) According to Pavel Afanasyevich, the current fashionable upbringing is to blame for the free behavior of young girls: "everyone is the Kuznetsk bridge, and the eternal French." Famusov also reproaches the rootless Molchalin, who was warmed by him and transferred from Tver to Moscow, and now he thanked the benefactor so badly.

Famusov, Sophia, Molchalin, Lisa. Illustration by D. Kardovsky for Griboedov's comedy "Woe from Wit"

Sophia is deliberately indignant at her father's hints. She explains her appearance in the living room as a terrible dream that made her jump out of bed early. Molchalin, on the other hand, keeps papers under his arm - he allegedly carried them to Famusov to sort them out. Famusov and Molchalin leave.

Lisa and Sophia, left alone, talk about matters of the heart. Lisa believes that Famusov will never marry his daughter to poor Molchalin. For the role of son-in-law, he has Colonel Skalozub in mind: "and a golden bag, and aims for generals." Sophia considers Skalozub to be a narrow-minded soldier who has never uttered a clever word. Lisa then reminds her of the young merry fellow and wit Alexander Andreyevich Chatsky. From childhood, he grew up with Sophia, in his youth he was clearly in love with her, but three years ago, succumbing to the desire to wander, he left for a long journey. Sophia, however, seems that Chatsky is too mocking and impudent. She prefers the shy Molchalin, who at love meetings only presses her hand to her heart and sighs without saying a word. Hearing about such languid tenderness, Lisa laughs.

Meanwhile, the servant who entered reports that Chatsky, who has come from afar, has paid a visit. Immediately, Alexander Andreevich himself runs in. Looking at Sophia with adoration, speaking incessantly, he asks her about life, Moscow events, about relatives and mutual friends. Chatsky’s speech is indeed very smart and sharp, but he mentions most of the people known to him and Sofya with fervent sarcasm, ridiculing the habits and life of Moscow society, its excessive craving for foreigners, slavish servility, currying favor with the lower before the higher. With contemptuous irony, he also speaks of Molchalin, remarking: he will go far, for now they love wordless. Sophie doesn't like this. She says to the side that Chatsky is “not a man, a snake!”, And he is surprised at her cold reception.

Sofya leaves, Famusov enters. He embraces Chatsky, who is well known to him. Chatsky, who briefly drove right off the road, hurries to his place, promising to return soon and tell in detail about his journey. Famusov, arguing with himself, expresses dissatisfaction with this new possible fiance of Sophia: Molchalin is a beggar, and Chatsky is a dandy, a spendthrift and a tomboy. “What a commission, Creator, to be a father to an adult daughter!” - Pavel Afanasyevich complains.

Characters

Pavel Afanasyevich Famusov, the manager in the government place.

Sofia Pavlovna, his daughter.

Lizanka, maid.

Alexey Stepanovich Molchalin, Famusov's secretary, who lives in his house.

Alexander Andreevich Chatsky.

Colonel Skalozub, Sergei Sergeevich.

Natalya Dmitrievna, young lady

Platon Mikhailovich, her husband

Prince Tugoukhovsky And

Princess, his wife, with six daughters.

Countess grandmother

Countess granddaughter

Anton Antonovi h Zagoretsky.

Old woman Khlestova, Famusov's sister-in-law.

Repetilov.

Parsley and a few talking servants.

Many guests of all sorts and their lackeys at the departure.

Waiters Famusova.

Action in Moscow in Famusov's house.

Act I

Phenomenon 1

The living room, there is a large clock in it, on the right is the door to Sophia's bedroom, from where you can hear the piano and flute, which then fall silent.

Lizanka sleeping in the middle of the room, hanging from the armchairs.

(Morning, a little day dawns.)

Lizanka (suddenly wakes up, gets up from her chair, looks around)

It's getting light!.. Ah! how soon the night passed!
Yesterday I asked to sleep - refusal.
"Waiting for a friend." - You need an eye and an eye,
Don't sleep until you roll off your chair.
Now I just took a nap
It's day!.. tell them...

(He knocks on Sofia.)

Lord
Hey! Sofia Pavlovna, trouble:
Your conversation has gone overnight;
Are you deaf? - Alexei Stepanych!
Madam! .. - And fear does not take them!

(Moves away from the door.)

Well, an uninvited guest,
Perhaps the father will come in!
I ask you to serve the young lady in love!

(Back to the door.)

Let go. Morning. What?

(Holo With Sofia)

Lizanka

Everything in the house went up.

Sofia (from her room)

Lizanka

Seventh, eighth, ninth.

Sofia (from there)

Lizanka (away from the door)

Oh! damn cupid!
And they hear, do not want to understand
Well, what would they take away the shutters?
I will translate the clock, even though I know: there will be a race,
I'll make them play.

(Climbs onto a chair, moves the hand, the clock strikes and plays.)

Phenomenon 2

Lisa And Famusov.

Lisa

Famusov

(Stops hourly music.)

After all, what a naughty girl you are.
I couldn't figure out what the problem was!
Now a flute is heard, then like a pianoforte;
Would it be too early for Sophia??..

Lisa

No, sir, I ... just by chance ...

Famusov

Here's something by chance, notice you;
So true with intent.

(Cuddles up to her and flirts.)

Oh! potion, bastard.

Lisa

You are a prankster, these faces suit you!

Famusov

Modest, but nothing else
Leprosy and the wind on my mind.

Lisa

Let go, windmills yourself,
Remember, old people...

Famusov

Lisa

Well, who will come, where are we with you?

Famusov

Who should come here?
Is Sophia asleep?

Lisa

Now asleep.

Famusov

Now! What about the night?

Lisa

I read all night.

Famusov

Vish, whims what have got!

Lisa

All in French, aloud, reading locked up.

Famusov

Tell me that it's not good for her eyes to spoil,
And in reading, the use is not great:
She has no sleep from French books,
And it hurts me to sleep from the Russians.

Lisa

What will rise, I will report
Feel free to go; wake up, I'm afraid.

Famusov

Why wake up? You wind the clock yourself
You thunder the symphony for the whole quarter.

Lisa (as loud as possible)

FAMUSOV (holds her mouth)

Have mercy on how you scream.
Are you crazy?

Lisa

I'm afraid it won't come out...

Famusov

Lisa

It's time, sir, for you to know you're not a child;
In girls, the morning dream is so thin;
You creak the door a little, you whisper a little:
Everyone hears...

Famusov (hurriedly)

(Sneaks out of the room on tiptoe.)

Lisa (one)

Gone. Oh! away from the masters;
Prepare troubles for themselves at every hour,
Pass us beyond all sorrows
And the lord's anger, and the lord's love.

Phenomenon 3

Lisa, Sofia with a candle behind her Molchalin.

Sofia

What, Lisa, attacked you?
You make noise...

Lisa

Of course, it's hard for you to leave?
Closed up to the light, and it seems that everything is not enough?

Sofia

Ah, it really is dawn!

(Extinguishes the candle.)

And light and sadness. How swift are the nights!

Lisa

Grieve, know that there is no urine from the side,
Your father came here, I died;
I twirled in front of him, I don’t remember that I was lying;
Well, what have you become? bow, sir, weigh.
Come on, the heart is not in the right place;
Look at the clock, look out the window:
The people have been pouring down the streets for a long time;
And in the house there is a knock, walking, sweeping and cleaning.

Sofia

Happy hours are not observed.

Lisa

Don't watch, your power;
And that in return for you, of course, I get there.

Sofia (Molchalin)

Go; we'll be bored all day long.

Lisa

God is with you, sir; away take your hand.

(Puts them apart, Molchalin runs into Famusov at the door.)

Phenomenon 4

Sofia, Lisa, Molchalin, Famusov.

Famusov

What an opportunity! Molchalin, you, brother?

Molchalin

Famusov

Why is it here? and at this hour?
And Sophia! .. Hello, Sophia, what are you
Got up so early! A? for what concern?
And how did God bring you together at the wrong time?

Sofia

He has just now entered.

Molchalin

Now from a walk.

Famusov

Friend. Is it possible for walking
Away to choose a nook?
And you, madam, just jumped out of bed,
With a man! with the young! "A job for a girl!"
All night reading fables,
And here are the fruits of these books!
And all the Kuznetsk bridge, and the eternal French,
From there, fashion to us, and authors, and muses:
Destroyers of pockets and hearts!
When the Creator delivers us
From their hats! bonnets! and studs! and pins!
And bookstores and biscuit shops! -

Sofia

Excuse me, father, my head is spinning;
I hardly take a breath from fright;
You deigned to run in so quickly,
I got confused.

Famusov

Thank you humbly
I ran into them soon!
I interfered! I scared!
I, Sofya Pavlovna, am upset myself, the whole day
No rest, rushing around like crazy.
By position, by service, trouble,
That sticks, the other, everyone cares about me!
But did I expect new troubles? to be deceived...

Sofia (through tears)

Famusov

Here they will reproach me,
Which I always scold to no avail.
Don't cry, I'm talking
Didn't they care about yours
About education! from the cradle!
Mother died: I knew how to accept
Madame Rosier has a second mother.
He put the old woman-gold in supervision of you:
She was smart, had a quiet disposition, rare rules.
One thing does not serve her well:
For extra five hundred rubles a year
She allowed herself to be seduced by others.
Yes, there is no strength in Madame.
No other pattern needed
When in the eyes of an example of a father.
Look at me: I do not brag about the addition,
However, cheerful and fresh, and lived to gray hair,
Free, widows, I am my master ...
Known for monastic behavior! ..

Lisa

I dare, sir...

Famusov

Be silent!
Terrible age! Don't know what to start!
Everyone managed beyond their years,
And more than daughters, but good-natured people themselves.
We were given these languages!
We take vagabonds, both to the house and by tickets,
To teach our daughters everything, everything -
And dancing! and foam! and tenderness! and sigh!
As if we are preparing buffoons for their wives.
What are you, a visitor? you're here, sir, why?
Rootless warmed and introduced into my family,
He gave the rank of assessor and took him to the secretaries;
Transferred to Moscow through my assistance;
And if it wasn't for me, you would smoke in Tver.

Sofia

I will not explain your anger in any way.
He lives in the house here, a great misfortune!
Went to a room, got into another.

Famusov

Got it or wanted to get it?
Why are you together? It can't be by accident.

Sofia

Here is the whole case, however:
How the other day you and Liza were here,
Your voice frightened me extremely,
And I rushed here with all my legs.

Famusov

It will probably put all the turmoil on me.
At the wrong time, my voice made them anxious!

Sofia

In a vague dream, a trifle disturbs;

To tell you a dream: you will understand then.

Famusov

What's the story?

Sofia

tell you?

Famusov

(Sits down.)

Sofia

Let me ... you see ... first
flowery meadow; and i was looking for
Grass
Some, I don't remember.
Suddenly a nice person, one of those we
We will see - as if we have known each other for a century,
Came here with me; and insinuating, and smart,
But timid... You know who was born in poverty...

Famusov

Oh! mother, do not finish the blow!
Who is poor, he is not a couple for you.

Sofia

Then everything was gone: meadows and skies. -
We are in a dark room. To complete the miracle
The floor opened up - and you are from there,
Pale as death, and hair on end!
Here with a thunder the doors were flung open
Some not people and not animals,
We were separated - and they tortured the one who was sitting with me.
He seems to be dearer to me than all treasures,
I want to go to him - you drag with you:
We are escorted by groans, roars, laughter, whistles of monsters!
He screams after! .. -
Awoke. - Someone is talking. -
Your voice was; What do you think, so early?
I run here - and I find you both.

Famusov

Yes, bad dream; as I look
Everything is there, if there is no deception:
And devils and love, and fears and flowers.
Well, my sir, and you?

Molchalin

I heard your voice.

Famusov

It's funny.
My voice was given to them, and how well
Everyone hears, and calls everyone before dawn!
He was in a hurry to my voice, why? - speak.

Molchalin

Famusov

Yes! they were missing.
Pardon that it suddenly fell
Diligence in writing!

(Rises.)

Well, Sonyushka, I will give you peace:
There are strange dreams, but in reality it is stranger;
You were looking for herbs
I came across a friend rather;
Get the nonsense out of your head;
Where there are miracles, there is little storage. -
Come on, lie down, sleep again.

(Molchalin.)

We're going to sort out the papers.

Molchalin

I only carried them for the report,
What can not be used without certificates, without others,
There are contradictions, and much is not efficient.

Famusov

I'm afraid, sir, I'm deadly alone,
So that a multitude does not accumulate them;
Give free rein to you, it would have settled down;
And I have what's the matter, what's not the case,
My custom is this:
Signed, so off your shoulders.

(Leaves with MOLCHALIN, at the door lets him go first.)

Phenomenon 5

Sofia, Lisa.

Lisa

Well, the holiday is here! Well, here's some fun for you!
But no, now it’s no laughing matter;
It is dark in the eyes, and the soul froze;
Sin is not a problem, rumor is not good.

Sofia

What is a rumor to me? Who wants to judge
Yes, the father will force you to think:
Obese, restless, quick,
It's always been like this, but ever since...
You can judge...

Lisa

I judge, sir, not from stories;
He will ban you; - good is still with me;
And then, God have mercy, as time
Me, Molchalin and everyone out of the yard.

Sofia

Think how capricious happiness is!
It happens worse, get away with it;
When sad nothing comes to mind,
Forgotten by the music, and time passed so smoothly;
Fate seemed to take care of us;
No worry, no doubt...
And grief awaits around the corner.

Lisa

That's it, sir, you are my stupid judgment
Never complain:
But here's the trouble.
What is the best prophet for you?
I repeated: in love there will be no use in this
Not forever.
Like all Moscow ones, your father is like this:
He would like a son-in-law with stars, but with ranks,
And under the stars, not everyone is rich, between us;
Well, of course, besides
And money to live, so that he could give balls;
Here, for example, Colonel Skalozub:
And the golden bag, and marks the generals.

Sofia

Where is cute! and fun me fear
Hear about the front and rows;
He didn’t utter a smart word,
I don't care what's for him, what's in the water.

Lisa

Yes, sir, so to speak, eloquent, but painfully not cunning;
But be a military man, be a civilian,
Who is so sensitive, and cheerful, and sharp,
Like Alexander Andreevich Chatsky!
Not to embarrass you;
It's been a long time, don't turn back
And remember...

Sofia

What do you remember? He's nice
He knows how to laugh at everyone;
Chatting, joking, it's funny to me;
You can share laughter with everyone.

Lisa

But only? as if? - Shedding tears
I remember, poor he, how he parted with you. -
Why, sir, are you crying? live laughing...
And he answered: “No wonder, Liza, I’m crying,
Who knows what I will find when I return?
And how much, perhaps, I will lose! -
The poor thing seemed to know that in three years ...

Sofia

Listen, don't take too many liberties.
I'm very windy, maybe I did,
And I know, and I'm sorry; but where did you change?
To whom? so that they could reproach with infidelity.
Yes, with Chatsky, it’s true, we were brought up, we grew up;
The habit of being together every day is inseparable
She connected us with childhood friendship; but after
He moved out, he seemed bored with us,
And rarely visited our house;
Then he pretended to be in love again,
Demanding and distressed!!..
Sharp, smart, eloquent,
Especially happy with friends.
Here he thought highly of himself -
The desire to wander attacked him.
Oh! if someone loves someone
Why look for the mind and drive so far?

Lisa

Where is it worn? in what regions?
He was treated, they say, on acidic waters,
Not from illness, tea, from boredom - more freely.

Sofia

And, of course, happy where people are funnier.
Who I love is not like this:
Molchalin is ready to forget himself for others,
The enemy of insolence - always shyly, timidly
A whole night with whom you can spend like this!
We sit, and the yard has long turned white,
What do you think? what are you busy with?

Lisa

God knows
Ma'am, is it my business?

Sofia

He takes his hand, shakes his heart,
Breathe from the depths of your soul
Not a free word, and so the whole night passes,
Hand in hand, and the eye does not take my eyes off me. -
Laugh! is it possible! gave a reason
To you I to such laughter!

Lisa

Me, sir? .. your aunt has now come to mind,
How a young Frenchman ran away from her house.
Dove! wanted to bury
I failed my annoyance:
Forgot to dye my hair
And three days later she turned gray.

(Continues to laugh.)

Sofia (angrily)

That's how they talk about me later.

Lisa

Excuse me, right, how holy is God,
I wanted this stupid laugh
Helped to cheer you up a bit.



A.S. Griboyedov, portrait in the manuscript "Woe from Wit",
transferred to F. Bulgarin

“Griboedov is “a man of one book,” V.F. Khodasevich remarked. “If it weren’t for Woe from Wit, Griboyedov would have no place at all in Russian literature.”

Indeed, at the time of Griboedov, there were no professional writers, poets, writers of entire "series" of ladies' novels and low-grade detective stories, the content of which cannot be retained in the memory of even the most attentive reader for a long time. The occupation of literature at the beginning of the 19th century was not perceived by the Russian educated society as something special. Everyone wrote something - for themselves, for friends, for reading with their families and in secular literary salons. In the conditions of the almost complete absence of literary criticism, the main advantage of a work of art was not following any established rules or requirements of publishers, but its perception by the reader or viewer.

A.S. Griboedov, a Russian diplomat, a highly educated secular person, from time to time "dabbled" in literature, was not constrained either in terms, or in means, or in ways of expressing his thoughts on paper. Perhaps, due to precisely these circumstances, he managed to abandon the canons of classicism accepted in the literature and dramaturgy of that time. Griboedov managed to create a truly immortal, outstanding work, which produced the effect of a "bombshell" in society and, by and large, determined all the further development of Russian literature of the 19th century.

The creative history of writing the comedy "Woe from Wit" is extremely complex, and the author's interpretation of the images is so ambiguous that for almost two centuries it continues to cause lively discussions among literary critics and new generations of readers.

The history of the creation of "Woe from Wit"

The idea of ​​a “stage poem” (as A.I. Griboyedov himself defined the genre of the conceived work) arose in the second half of 1816 (according to S.N. Begichev) or in 1818-1819 (according to the memoirs of D.O. Bebutov) .

According to one of the versions very common in literature, Griboedov once attended a social evening in St. Petersburg and was amazed at how the entire audience bows to foreigners. That evening, she surrounded the attention and care of some excessively talkative Frenchman. Griboyedov could not stand it and made a fiery diatribe. While he was speaking, someone in the audience announced that Griboedov was crazy, and thus spread the word all over Petersburg. Griboyedov, in order to take revenge on secular society, conceived the idea of ​​writing a comedy about this.

However, the writer began to work on the text of the comedy, apparently, only in the early 1820s, when, according to one of his first biographers F. Bulganin, he saw a "prophetic dream."

In this dream, Griboyedov allegedly had a close friend who asked if he had written anything for him? Since the poet replied that he had long since deviated from all writings, the friend shook his head sadly: "Give me a promise that you will write." - "What do you want?" - "You know yourself." “When should it be ready?” - "In a year, certainly." - "I undertake," - answered Griboedov.

One of the close friends of A.S. Griboyedov S.N. Begichev in his famous “Note on Griboyedov” completely rejects the version of the “Persian dream”, stating that he had never heard anything like this from the author of “Woe from Wit” himself.

Most likely, this is one of the many legends that to this day shrouded the real biography of A.S. Griboyedov. In his "Note" Begichev also assures that already in 1816 the poet wrote several scenes from the play, which were subsequently either destroyed or significantly changed. In the original version of the comedy, there were completely different characters and heroes. For example, the author subsequently abandoned the image of Famusov's young wife - a secular coquette and fashionista, replacing her with a number of supporting characters.

According to the official version, the first two acts of the original edition of Woe from Wit were written in 1822 in Tiflis. Work on them continued in Moscow, where Griboyedov arrived during his vacation, until the spring of 1823. Fresh Moscow impressions made it possible to unfold many scenes that had barely been outlined in Tiflis. It was then that Chatsky's famous monologue "Who are the judges?" was written. The third and fourth acts of the original edition of "Woe from Wit" were created in the spring and summer of 1823 in the Tula estate of S.N. Begichev.

S.N. Begichev recalled:

“The last acts of Woe from Wit were written in my garden, in the gazebo. He got up at this time almost with the sun, came to us for dinner and rarely stayed with us long after dinner, but almost always left soon and came to tea, spent the evening with us and read the scenes he had painted. We have always looked forward to this time. I do not have enough words to explain how pleasant our frequent (and especially in the evenings) conversations between us were for me. How much information he had on all subjects! How fascinating and animated he was when he revealed to me, so to speak, for plowing his dreams and the secrets of his future creations, or when he analyzed the works of brilliant poets! He told me a lot about the Persian court and the customs of the Persians, their religious stage performances in the squares, etc., as well as about Alexei Petrovich Yermolov and about the expeditions he went on with him. And how kind and sharp he was when he was in a cheerful disposition.

However, in the summer of 1823, Griboedov did not at all consider the comedy complete. In the course of further work (late 1823 - early 1824), not only the text changed - the surname of the protagonist changed somewhat: he became Chatsky (previously his surname was Chadsky), the comedy, called "Woe to the Wit", received its final name.

In June 1824, having arrived in St. Petersburg, Griboyedov carried out a significant stylistic revision of the original version, changed part of the first act (Sofia's dream, the dialogue of Sofia and Lisa, Chatsky's monologue), and in the final act, the scene of Molchalin's conversation with Lisa appeared. The final edition was completed only in the autumn of 1824.

The publication

A well-known actor and a good friend of A.I. Griboyedov P.A. Karatygin recalled the first attempt of the author to acquaint the public with his creation:

“When Griboyedov brought his comedy to St. Petersburg, Nikolai Ivanovich Khmelnitsky asked him to read it at his home. Griboyedov agreed. On this occasion, Khmelnitsky made a dinner, to which, in addition to Griboyedov, he invited several writers and artists. Among the latter were: Sosnitsky, my brother and myself. Khmelnitsky then lived as a gentleman, in his own house on the Fontanka near the Simeonovsky bridge. At the appointed hour, a small company gathered at his place. The dinner was luxurious, cheerful and noisy. After dinner, everyone went into the living room, served coffee, and lit cigars. Griboyedov laid the manuscript of his comedy on the table; the guests, impatiently waiting, began to move chairs; everyone tried to fit closer so as not to utter a single word. Among the guests there was a certain Vasily Mikhailovich Fedorov, the writer of the drama "Lisa, or the Triumph of Gratitude" and other long-forgotten plays. He was a very kind, simple man, but he had pretensions to wit. Griboedov did not like his face, or perhaps the old joker overdid it at dinner, telling witty anecdotes, only the host and his guests had to witness a rather unpleasant scene. While Griboyedov was lighting his cigar, Fyodorov, going up to the table, took the comedy (which had been rewritten rather quickly), shook it on his arm, and said with an ingenuous smile: “Wow! What a full-bodied! It's worth my Lisa." Griboyedov looked at him from under his glasses and answered through his teeth: "I don't write vulgarities." Such an unexpected answer, of course, stunned Fedorov, and, trying to show that he took this sharp answer for a joke, he smiled and immediately hurried to add: “No one doubts this, Alexander Sergeevich; I not only did not want to offend you by comparing with me, but, really, I am ready to be the first to laugh at my works. - “Yes, you can laugh at yourself as much as you like, but I won’t let anyone laugh at myself.” - "Forgive me, I was not talking about the merits of our plays, but only about the number of sheets." “You still cannot know the merits of my comedy, but the merits of your plays have long been known to everyone.” - "Really, you are wrong to say this, I repeat that I did not mean to offend you at all." - "Oh, I'm sure that you said without thinking, and you can never offend me." The owner of these hairpins was on pins and needles, and, wanting to somehow hush up the quarrel, which took on a serious character, with a joke, he took Fedorov by the shoulders and, laughing, said to him: “We will put you in the back row of seats for punishment.” Griboedov, meanwhile, walking around the living room with a cigar, answered Khmelnitsky: "You can put him wherever you like, only I won't read my comedy in front of him." Fedorov blushed to the ears and at that moment looked like a schoolboy who is trying to grab a hedgehog - and where he is not touched, he will be pricked everywhere ... "

Nevertheless, in the winter of 1824-1825, Griboyedov willingly read Woe from Wit in many houses in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and everywhere he was a success. Hoping for an early publication of the comedy, Griboyedov encouraged the appearance and distribution of its lists. The most authoritative of them are the Gendrovskiy list, “corrected by the hand of Griboyedov himself” (belonged to A.A. Zhandru), and Bulgarinsky - a carefully corrected clerk's copy of the comedy left by Griboyedov F.V. Bulgarin in 1828 before leaving Petersburg. On the title page of this list, the playwright made the inscription: "My grief I entrust to Bulgarin ...". He hoped that an enterprising and influential journalist could get the play published.

A.S. Griboyedov, "Woe from Wit",
1833 edition

Since the summer of 1824, Griboyedov tried to print a comedy. Excerpts from the first and third acts first appeared in F.V. Bulgarin "Russian Waist" in December 1824, and the text was significantly "softened" and shortened by censorship. "Inconvenient" for printing, too harsh statements of the characters were replaced by faceless and "harmless". So, instead of the author's "To the Scientific Committee" was printed "Among the scientists who settled." Molchalin's "software" remark "After all, one must depend on others" is replaced by the words "After all, one must keep others in mind." The censors did not like the mention of the "royal person" and the "boards".

“The first outline of this stage poem,” Griboedov wrote bitterly, “as it was born in me, was much more magnificent and of higher significance than now in the vain outfit in which I was forced to dress him. The childish pleasure of hearing my poems in the theater, the desire for their success made me spoil my creation as much as possible.

However, Russian society at the beginning of the 19th century knew the comedy "Woe from Wit" mainly from handwritten lists. Military and civilian scribes earned a lot of money copying the text of the comedy, which literally overnight was parsed into quotes and "winged expressions." The publication of excerpts "Woe from Wit in the almanac "Russian Thalia" caused a lot of responses in the literary environment and made Griboedov truly famous. “His handwritten comedy: Woe from Wit,” recalled Pushkin, “produced an indescribable effect and suddenly put him along with our first poets.”

The first edition of the comedy appeared in German translation in Reval in 1831. Nicholas I allowed the comedy to be printed in Russia only in 1833 - "in order to deprive it of the attractiveness of the forbidden fruit." The first Russian edition, with censored edits and cuts, was published in Moscow. Two uncensored editions of the 1830s are also known (printed in regimental printing houses). For the first time, the entire play was published in Russia only in 1862, during the era of censorship reforms of Alexander II. The scientific publication of "Woe from Wit" was carried out in 1913 by the famous researcher N.K. Piksanov in the second volume of the Academic Complete Works of Griboyedov.

Theatrical performances

The fate of the theatrical productions of Griboyedov's comedy turned out to be even more difficult. For a long time, theatrical censorship did not allow it to be staged in full. In 1825, the first attempt to stage "Woe from Wit" on the stage of a theater school in St. Petersburg ended in failure: the performance was banned, since the play was not approved by the censors.

The artist P.A. Karatygin recalled in his notes:

“Grigoriev and I suggested that Alexander Sergeevich play “Woe from Wit” at our school theater, and he was delighted with our proposal ... It cost us a lot of work to beg the good inspector Bock to allow the pupils to take part in this performance ... Finally , he agreed, and we quickly set to work; in a few days they painted the roles, learned them in a week, and things went smoothly. Griboyedov himself came to our rehearsals and taught us very diligently... One should have seen with what ingenuous pleasure he rubbed his hands, seeing his "Woe from Wit" at our childish theater... Although, of course, we chipped away his immortal a comedy with heartbreak in half, but he was very pleased with us, and we were delighted that we could please him. He brought A. Bestuzhev and Wilhelm Kuchelbecker with him to one of the rehearsals - and they also praised us.” The performance was banned by order of the St. Petersburg Governor-General Count Miloradovich, the school authorities received a reprimand.

For the first time the comedy appeared on the stage in 1827, in Erivan, performed by amateur actors - officers of the Caucasian Corps. The author was present at this amateur performance.

Only in 1831, with numerous censored notes, Woe from Wit was staged in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Censorship restrictions on theatrical performances of comedy ceased to operate only in the 1860s.

Public perception and criticism

Despite the fact that the full text of the comedy never made it to print, immediately after the publication of excerpts from the play by Bulgarin, heated discussions unfolded around Griboyedov's work. The approval was by no means unanimous.

Conservatives immediately accused Griboedov of exaggerating satirical colors, which, in their opinion, was the result of the author's "squabbling patriotism". In the articles by M. Dmitriev and A. Pisarev, published in Vestnik Evropy, it was stated that the content of the comedy does not at all correspond to Russian life. "Woe from Wit" was declared to be a mere imitation of foreign plays and was characterized only as a satirical work directed against aristocratic society, "a gross mistake against local mores." Chatsky especially got it, in whom they saw a clever "madcap", the embodiment of the "Figaro-Griboedov" philosophy of life.

Some contemporaries who were very friendly towards Griboyedov noted many errors in Woe from Wit. For example, a longtime friend and co-author of the playwright P.A. Katenin, in one of his private letters, gave the following assessment of the comedy: “There is definitely a chamber of mind in it, but the plan, in my opinion, is insufficient, and the main character is confused and knocked down (manque); the style is often charming, but the writer is too pleased with his liberties. According to the critic, annoyed by deviations from the rules of classical dramaturgy, including the replacement of “good Alexandrian verses” common for “high” comedy with free iambic, Griboedov’s “phantasmagoria is not theatrical: good actors will not take these roles, and bad ones will spoil them.”

Griboyedov's response to Katenin's critical judgments, written in January 1825, became a remarkable auto-commentary to "Woe from Wit". This is not only an energetic "anti-criticism", representing the author's view of comedy, but also a kind of aesthetic manifesto of the playwright-innovator, refusing to please the theorists and satisfy the school requirements of the classicists.

In response to Katenin's remark about the imperfection of the plot and composition, Griboyedov wrote: “You find the main error in the plan: it seems to me that it is simple and clear in purpose and execution; the girl herself is not stupid, she prefers a fool to a smart person (not because the mind of us sinners was ordinary, no! and in my comedy there are 25 fools per sane person); and this man, of course, is in contradiction with the society surrounding him, no one understands him, no one wants to forgive him, why is he a little higher than the others ... "The scenes are connected arbitrarily." Just as in the nature of all events, small and important: the more sudden, the more it attracts curiosity.

The playwright explained the meaning of Chatsky’s behavior as follows: “Someone out of anger invented about him that he was crazy, no one believed, and everyone repeats, the voice of general unkindness reaches him, moreover, the dislike for him of that girl for whom he was the only one to Moscow, it is completely explained to him, he didn’t give a damn about her and everyone else and was like that. The queen is also disappointed about her sugar honey. What could be more complete than this?

Griboyedov defends his principles of portraying heroes. Katenin's remark that "characters are portrait" he accepts, but he considers this not an error, but the main advantage of his comedy. From his point of view, satirical images-caricatures that distort the real proportions in the appearance of people are unacceptable. "Yes! and I, if I do not have the talent of Moliere, then at least I am more sincere than him; portraits and only portraits are part of comedy and tragedy, but they have features that are common to many other persons, and others to the whole human race, insofar as each person resembles all his bipedal brethren. I hate caricatures, you will not find a single one in my picture. Here is my poetry...

Finally, Griboyedov considered Katenin's words that in his comedy "talents are more than art" as the most "flattering praise" for himself. “Art only consists in imitating talent ... - the author of Woe from Wit remarked. “I live as well as I write freely and freely.”

Pushkin also expressed his opinion about the play (the list of Woe from Wit was brought to Mikhailovskoye by I.I. Pushchin). In letters to P. A. Vyazemsky and A. A. Bestuzhev, written in January 1825, he noted that the playwright succeeded most of all in “characters and a sharp picture of morals.” In their depiction, according to Pushkin, Griboyedov's "comic genius" manifested itself. The poet was critical of Chatsky. In his interpretation, this is an ordinary reasoning hero, expressing the opinions of the only "smart character" - the author himself. Pushkin very accurately noticed the contradictory, inconsistent nature of Chatsky's behavior, the tragicomism of his situation: “... What is Chatsky? An ardent, noble and kind fellow, who spent some time with a very intelligent person (namely with Griboyedov) and was fed by his thoughts, witticisms and satirical remarks. Everything he says is very smart. But to whom does he say all this? Famusov? Puffer? At the ball for Moscow grandmothers? Molchalin? It's unforgivable. The first sign of an intelligent person is to know at a glance who you are dealing with, and not to cast pearls in front of Repetilov and the like.

At the beginning of 1840, V. G. Belinsky, in an article about “Woe from Wit”, as decisively as Pushkin, denied Chatsky a practical mind, calling him “the new Don Quixote”. According to the critic, the protagonist of the comedy is a completely ridiculous figure, a naive dreamer, "a boy on a stick on horseback, who imagines that he is sitting on a horse." However, Belinsky soon corrected his negative assessment of Chatsky and comedy in general, declaring the protagonist of the play perhaps the first revolutionary rebel, and the play itself - the first protest "against the vile Russian reality." The frantic Vissarion did not consider it necessary to understand the real complexity of the image of Chatsky, evaluating the comedy from the standpoint of the social and moral significance of his protest.

Criticism and publicists of the 1860s went even further from the author's interpretation of Chatsky. A.I. Herzen saw in Chatsky the embodiment of Griboedov’s “backward thought”, interpreting the comedy hero as a political allegory. "... This is a Decembrist, this is a man who completes the era of Peter I and tries to see, at least on the horizon, the promised land ...".

The most original is the judgment of the critic A.A. Grigoriev, for whom Chatsky is “our only hero, that is, the only one who positively fights in the environment where fate and passion have thrown him.” Therefore, the whole play turned in his critical interpretation from a "high" comedy into a "high" tragedy (see the article "On the new edition of the old thing. Woe from Wit. St. Petersburg, 1862").

I.A. Goncharov responded to the production of “Woe from Wit” at the Alexandrinsky Theater (1871) with the critical study “A Million of Torments” (published in the journal “Bulletin of Europe”, 1872, No. 3). This is one of the most insightful analyzes of comedy, which later became a textbook. Goncharov gave deep characteristics of individual characters, appreciated the skill of Griboyedov the playwright, wrote about the special position of "Woe from Wit" in Russian literature. But, perhaps, the most important advantage of Goncharov's etude is the careful attitude to the author's concept, embodied in the comedy. The writer abandoned the one-sided sociological and ideological interpretation of the play, carefully considering the psychological motivation of the behavior of Chatsky and other characters. “Every step of Chatsky, almost every word in the play is closely connected with the play of his feelings for Sophia, irritated by some kind of lie in her actions, which he struggles to unravel to the very end,” Goncharov emphasized in particular. Indeed, without taking into account the love affair (Griboedov himself noted its significance in a letter to Katenin), it is impossible to understand the “woe from wit” of the rejected lover and lonely truth-lover, the tragic and comic nature of Chatsky’s image at the same time.

comedy analysis

The success of Griboedov's comedy, which has taken a firm place among the Russian classics, is largely determined by the harmonious combination of the topical and the timeless in it. Through the author’s brilliant picture of Russian society in the 1820s (disturbing minds about serfdom, political freedoms, problems of national self-determination of culture, education, etc., masterfully outlined colorful figures of that time, recognizable by contemporaries, etc.) one can guess “ eternal” themes: conflict of generations, drama of a love triangle, antagonism of the individual and society, etc.

At the same time, "Woe from Wit" is an example of an artistic synthesis of the traditional and the innovative in art. Paying tribute to the canons of the aesthetics of classicism (the unity of time, place, action, conditional roles, names-masks, etc.), Griboedov “revives” the traditional scheme with conflicts and characters taken from life, freely introduces lyrical, satirical and journalistic lines into comedy.

The accuracy and aphoristic accuracy of the language, the successful use of free (various) iambic, which conveys the elements of colloquial speech, allowed the text of the comedy to retain its sharpness and expressiveness. As predicted by A.S. Pushkin, many lines of "Woe from Wit" have become proverbs and sayings, very popular today:

• Fresh tradition, but hard to believe;
• Happy hours are not observed;
• I would be glad to serve, it is sickening to serve;
• Blessed is he who believes - he is warm in the world!
• Pass us beyond all sorrows
  And the lord's anger, and the lord's love.
• Houses are new, but prejudices are old.
• And the smoke of the Fatherland is sweet and pleasant to us!
• Oh! Evil tongues are worse than a gun.
• But to have children, who lacked intelligence?
• To the village, to my aunt, to the wilderness, to Saratov!...

Play conflict

The main feature of the comedy "Woe from Wit" - interaction of two plot-forming conflicts: a love conflict, the main participants of which are Chatsky and Sofia, and a socio-ideological conflict, in which Chatsky clashes with conservatives who have gathered in Famusov's house. From the point of view of problems, in the foreground is the conflict between Chatsky and Famusovsky society, but in the development of the plot action, the traditional love conflict is no less important: after all, it was precisely for the sake of meeting Sophia that Chatsky was in such a hurry to Moscow. Both conflicts - love and socio-ideological - complement and reinforce each other. They are equally necessary in order to understand the worldview, characters, psychology and relationships of the characters.

In the two storylines of "Woe from Wit" all the elements of the classical plot are easily found: the exposition - all the scenes of the first act preceding the appearance of Chatsky in Famusov's house (phenomena 1-5); the beginning of a love conflict and, accordingly, the beginning of the action of the first, love plot - the arrival of Chatsky and his first conversation with Sophia (d. I, yavl. 7). The socio-ideological conflict (Chatsky - Famus society) is outlined a little later - during the first conversation between Chatsky and Famusov (d. I, yavl. 9).

Both conflicts develop in parallel. Stages of development of a love conflict - dialogues between Chatsky and Sofia. Chatsky's conflict with Famus society includes Chatsky's verbal "duels" with Famusov, Skalozub, Molchalin and other representatives of Moscow society. Private conflicts in "Woe from Wit" literally spill onto the stage a lot of minor characters, forcing them to reveal their position in life in remarks and actions.

The pace of development of action in comedy is lightning fast. A lot of events that develop into fascinating everyday "microplots" pass before readers and viewers. What is happening on the stage causes laughter and at the same time makes you think about the contradictions of the then society, and about universal problems.

The climax of "Woe from Wit" is an example of Griboyedov's remarkable dramatic skill. At the heart of the climax of the socio-ideological plot (society declares Chatsky crazy; d. III, yavl. 14-21) is a rumor, the reason for which was given by Sophia with her remark "aside": "He is out of his mind." The annoyed Sofia threw this remark by accident, meaning that Chatsky "went crazy" with love and became simply unbearable for her. The author uses a technique based on the play of meanings: Sophia's emotional outburst was heard by the secular gossip Mr. N. and understood it literally. Sophia decided to take advantage of this misunderstanding to take revenge on Chatsky for his mockery of Molchalin. Becoming a source of gossip about Chatsky's madness, the heroine "burned bridges" between herself and her former lover.

Thus, the climax of the love plot motivates the climax of the socio-ideological plot. Thanks to this, both seemingly independent storylines of the play intersect at a common climax - a lengthy scene, the result of which is the recognition of Chatsky as crazy.

After the climax, the storylines diverge again. The denouement of a love affair precedes the denouement of the socio-ideological conflict. The night scene in Famusov's house (d. IV, yavl. 12-13), in which Molchalin and Liza, as well as Sophia and Chatsky participate, finally explains the position of the heroes, making the secret clear. Sophia is convinced of the hypocrisy of Molchalin, and Chatsky finds out who his rival was:

Here is the solution to the puzzle at last! Here I am donated to whom!

The denouement of the storyline based on Chatsky's conflict with the Famus society is Chatsky's last monologue directed against the "crowd of persecutors". Chatsky announces his final break with Sofia, and with Famusov, and with the entire Moscow society: “Get out of Moscow! I don't come here anymore."

Character system

IN character system comedy Chatsky takes center stage. It connects both storylines, but for the hero himself, not a socio-ideological, but a love conflict is of paramount importance. Chatsky perfectly understands what kind of society he fell into, he has no illusions about Famusov and "all Moscow". The reason for Chatsky's stormy accusatory eloquence is not political or educational, but psychological. The source of his passionate monologues and well-aimed caustic remarks are love experiences, " impatience of the heart", which is felt from the first to the last scene with his participation.

Chatsky came to Moscow with the sole purpose of seeing Sofia, finding confirmation of his former love and, probably, getting married. Chatsky's revival and "talkativeness" at the beginning of the play are caused by the joy of meeting with his beloved, but, contrary to expectations, Sofia completely changed towards him. With the help of the usual jokes and epigrams, Chatsky tries to find a common language with her, “sorts out” Moscow acquaintances, but his witticisms only annoy Sophia - she answers him with barbs.

He annoys Sophia, trying to call her to frankness, asking her tactless questions: “Can I find out, / ... Whom do you love? ".

The night scene in Famusov's house revealed the whole truth to Chatsky, who "became clear." But now he goes to the other extreme: instead of love passion, the hero is seized by other strong feelings - rage and anger. In the heat of his rage, he shifts the responsibility for his "futile labors of love" to others.

Love experiences exacerbate Chatsky's ideological opposition to the Famus society. At first, Chatsky calmly relates to Moscow society, almost does not notice its usual vices, sees only comic sides in it: “I am a strange miracle / Once I laugh, then I will forget ...”.

But when Chatsky is convinced that Sophia does not love him, everything and everyone in Moscow begins to annoy him. Replies and monologues become bold, caustic - he angrily denounces what he previously laughed without malice.

Chatsky rejects generally accepted notions of morality and public duty, but one can hardly consider him a revolutionary, a radical, or even a "Decembrist." There is nothing revolutionary in Chatsky's statements. Chatsky is an enlightened person who offers society to return to simple and clear ideals of life, to clear from extraneous layers what they talk a lot about in Famus society, but which, according to Chatsky, they do not have a correct idea - service. It is necessary to distinguish between the objective meaning of the hero's very moderate enlightening judgments and the effect that they produce in the society of conservatives. The slightest dissent is regarded here not only as a denial of the usual, consecrated "fathers", "senior" ideals and way of life, but also as a threat of a social upheaval: after all, Chatsky, according to Famusov, "does not recognize the authorities." Against the backdrop of an inert and unshakably conservative majority, Chatsky gives the impression of a lone hero, a brave "madman" who rushed to storm a powerful stronghold, although in the circle of freethinkers his statements would not shock anyone with their radicalism.

Sofia
performed by I.A. Lixo

Sofia- the main plot partner of Chatsky - occupies a special place in the system of characters of "Woe from Wit". The love conflict with Sophia involved the hero in a conflict with the whole society, served, according to Goncharov, "a motive, a reason for irritation, for that" million torments, under the influence of which he could only play the role indicated to him by Griboyedov. Sofia does not take the side of Chatsky, but does not belong to Famusov's like-minded people, although she lived and was brought up in his house. She is a closed, secretive person, it is difficult to approach her. Even her father is a little afraid of her.

There are qualities in Sophia's character that sharply distinguish her among the people of the Famus circle. This is, first of all, independence of judgment, which is expressed in her dismissive attitude to gossip and gossip (“What is rumor to me? Whoever wants, judges ...”). Nevertheless, Sophia knows the "laws" of the Famus society and is not averse to using them. For example, she deftly connects "public opinion" to take revenge on her former lover.

Sophia's character has not only positive, but also negative traits. "A mixture of good instincts with lies," Goncharov saw in her. Self-will, stubbornness, capriciousness, complemented by vague ideas about morality, make her equally capable of both good and bad deeds. Having slandered Chatsky, Sophia acted immorally, although she remained, the only one among those gathered, convinced that Chatsky was a completely “normal” person.

Sophia is smart, observant, rational in her actions, but love for Molchalin, both selfish and reckless, puts her in an absurd, comical position.

As a lover of French novels, Sofia is very sentimental. She idealizes Molchalin, not even trying to find out what he really is, not noticing his "vulgarity" and pretense. “God brought us together” - it is this “romantic” formula that exhausts the meaning of Sofia's love for Molchalin. He managed to please her because he behaves like a living illustration to a novel he has just read: “He takes his hand, presses it to his heart, / He sighs from the depths of his soul ...”.

Sophia's attitude towards Chatsky is completely different: after all, she does not love him, therefore she does not want to listen, does not seek to understand, and avoids explanations. Sophia, the main culprit of Chatsky's mental anguish, evokes sympathy herself. She completely surrenders to love, not noticing that Molchalin is a hypocrite. Even the oblivion of decency (night dates, the inability to hide her love from others) is evidence of the strength of her feelings. Love for the “rootless” secretary of her father takes Sofia out of the Famus circle, because she deliberately risks her reputation. With all the bookishness and obvious comedy, this love is a kind of challenge to the heroine and her father, who is preoccupied with finding her a rich careerist groom, and a society that excuses only open, uncamouflaged debauchery.

In the last scenes of Woe from Wit, the features of a tragic heroine clearly appear in the guise of Sofia. Her fate is approaching the tragic fate of Chatsky rejected by her. Indeed, as I.A. Goncharov subtly noted, in the finale of the comedy she has to “harder than anyone else, harder even than Chatsky, and she gets “a million torments”». The denouement of the love plot of the comedy turned out to be “grief”, a life catastrophe for the smart Sophia.

Famusov and Skalozub
performed by K.A. Zubov and A.I. Rzhanova

The main ideological opponent of Chatsky is not the individual characters of the play, but the "collective" character - many-sided famous society. The lone truth-seeker and ardent defender of “free life” is opposed by a large group of actors and off-stage characters, united by a conservative worldview and the simplest practical morality, the meaning of which is “to take awards and live happily.” Famus society is heterogeneous in its composition: it is not a faceless crowd in which a person loses his individuality. On the contrary, convinced Moscow conservatives differ among themselves in intelligence, abilities, interests, occupation and position in the social hierarchy. The playwright discovers in each of them both typical and individual features. But in one thing everyone is unanimous: Chatsky and his like-minded people are “crazy”, “crazy”, renegades. The main reason for their “madness”, according to the Famusists, is an excess of “mind”, excessive “scholarship”, which is easily identified with “freethinking”.

Depicting the conflict between Chatsky and the Famus society, Griboedov makes extensive use of the author's remarks, which report on the reaction of conservatives to Chatsky's words. Remarks complement the replicas of the characters, reinforcing the comedy of what is happening. This technique is used to create the main comic situation of the play - a situation of deafness. Already during the first conversation with Chatsky (d. II, yavl. 2-3), in which for the first time his opposition to conservative morality was outlined, Famusov "does not see or hear anything." He deliberately plugs his ears so as not to hear Chatsky's seditious, from his point of view, speeches: "Good, I plugged my ears." During the ball (d. 3, yavl. 22), when Chatsky utters his angry monologue against the “foreign power of fashion” (“In that room, an insignificant meeting ...”), “everyone waltzes around with the greatest zeal. The old men wandered off to the card tables." The situation of feigned "deafness" of the characters allows the author to convey mutual misunderstanding and alienation between the conflicting parties.

Famusov
performed by K.A. Zubova

Famusov- one of the recognized pillars of Moscow society. His official position is quite high: he is a "manager in a government place." It is on him that the material well-being and success of many people depend: the distribution of ranks and awards, "patronage" of young officials and pensions for the elderly. Famusov's worldview is extremely conservative: he accepts with hostility everything that is at least somewhat different from his own beliefs and ideas about life, is hostile to everything new - even to the fact that in Moscow "roads, sidewalks, / Houses and everything are new fret." Famusov's ideal is the past, when everything was "not what it is now."

Famusov is a staunch defender of the morality of the "gone century". In his opinion, to live correctly means to do everything “as the fathers did”, to learn, “looking at the elders”. Chatsky, on the other hand, relies on his own “judgments” dictated by common sense, so the ideas of these antipode heroes about “proper” and “improper” behavior do not coincide.

Listening to the advice and instructions of Famusov, the reader seems to find himself in a moral “anti-world”. In it, ordinary vices turn almost into virtues, and thoughts, opinions, words and intentions are declared “vices”. The main "vice", according to Famusov, is "scholarship", an excess of the mind. Famusov's idea of ​​"mind" is mundane, worldly: he identifies the mind either with practicality, the ability to "get comfortable" in life (which he evaluates positively), or with "free-thinking" (such a mind, according to Famusov, is dangerous). For Famusov, Chatsky's mind is a mere trifle that cannot be compared with traditional noble values ​​- generosity (“honor for father and son”) and wealth:

Be poor, but if there are two thousand family souls, - He and the groom. The other one, at least be quicker, puffed up with all sorts of arrogance, Let yourself be known as a reasonable person, But they won’t include them in the family.

(D. II, yavl. 5).

Sofia and Molchalin
performed by I.A. Likso and M.M. Sadovsky

Molchalin- one of the brightest representatives of the Famus society. His role in comedy is comparable to that of Chatsky. Like Chatsky, Molchalin is a participant in both love and socio-ideological conflict. He is not only a worthy student of Famusov, but also Chatsky's "rival" in love for Sofia, a third person that arose between former lovers.

If Famusov, Khlestova and some other characters are living fragments of the "past century", then Molchalin is a man of the same generation as Chatsky. But, unlike Chatsky, Molchalin is a staunch conservative, so dialogue and mutual understanding between them is impossible, and conflict is inevitable - their life ideals, moral principles and behavior in society are absolutely opposite.

Chatsky cannot understand, "why the opinions of others are only holy." Molchalin, like Famusov, considers dependence “on others” to be the basic law of life. Molchalin is a mediocrity that does not go beyond the generally accepted framework, this is a typical "average" person: both in abilities, and in mind, and in claims. But he has "his talent": he is proud of his qualities - "moderation and accuracy." The outlook and behavior of Molchalin is strictly regulated by his position in the official hierarchy. He is modest and helpful, because "in the ranks ... small", he cannot do without "patrons", even if he has to completely depend on their will.

But, unlike Chatsky, Molchalin organically fits into the Famus society. This is "little Famusov", because he has a lot in common with the Moscow "ace", despite the big difference in age and social status. For example, Molchalin's attitude to service is purely "famus": he would like to "take awards and have fun." Public opinion for Molchalin, as well as for Famusov, is sacred. Some of his statements (“Ah! Evil tongues are worse than a gun”, “In my years one should not dare / Have one’s own judgment”) resemble Famus’s: “Ah! My God! what will / Princess Marya Aleksevna say!

Molchalin is the antipode of Chatsky not only in his convictions, but also in the nature of his attitude towards Sofia. Chatsky is sincerely in love with her, nothing exists for him above this feeling, in comparison with him, "the whole world" Chatsky "seemed to be dust and vanity." Molchalin only skillfully pretends to love Sophia, although, by his own admission, he does not find "anything enviable" in her. Relations with Sofia are entirely determined by the life position of Molchalin: this is how he behaves with all people without exception, this is a life principle learned from childhood. In the last act, he tells Lisa that his "father bequeathed" to him "to please all people without exception." Molchalin is in love "by position", "in the pleasing of the daughter of such a person" as Famusov, "who feeds and waters, / And sometimes he will give a rank ...".

Puffer
performed by A.I. Rzhanova

The loss of Sofia's love does not mean the defeat of Molchalin. Although he made an unforgivable mistake, he managed to get away with it. It is significant that not on the "guilty" Molchalin, but on the "innocent" Chatsky and the offended, humiliated Sophia, Famusov brought down his anger. In the finale of the comedy, Chatsky becomes an outcast: society rejects him, Famusov points to the door and threatens to "announce" his imaginary depravity "to all the people." Molchalin is likely to redouble his efforts to make amends with Sofia. It is impossible to stop the career of such a person as Molchalin - this is the meaning of the author's attitude towards the hero. ("The silent ones are blissful in the world").

The Famusov society in Woe from Wit is a lot of secondary and episodic characters, Famusov's guests. One of them, Colonel Skalozub, - martinet, the embodiment of stupidity and ignorance. He "has never uttered a word of wisdom", and from the conversations of those around him he understands only what, as it seems to him, relates to the army theme. Therefore, to Famusov’s question “How do you get Nastasya Nikolaevna?” Skalozub businesslike replies: "We did not serve together." However, by the standards of Famus society, Skalozub is an enviable groom: “And a golden bag, and aims for generals,” therefore no one notices his stupidity and uncouthness in society (or does not want to notice). Famusov himself "deliriously raves about them", not wanting another suitor for his daughter.

Khlestov
performed by V.N. Pashennaya

All the characters that appear in Famusov's house during the ball actively participate in the general opposition to Chatsky, adding new fictitious details to the gossip about the "crazy" of the protagonist. Each of the minor characters performs in his comic role.

Khlyostov, like Famusov, is a colorful type: this is an “angry old woman”, an imperious lady-serf of the Catherine era. She “out of boredom” carries with her a “black-haired girl and a dog”, has a weakness for young Frenchmen, loves to be “pleased”, therefore she favorably treats Molchalin and even Zagoretsky. Ignorant tyranny is the life principle of Khlestova, who, like most of Famusov's guests, does not hide her hostile attitude towards education and enlightenment:

And indeed you will go crazy from these, from some From boarding schools, schools, lyceums, as you put them, Yes from Lancart mutual studies.

(D. III, yavl. 21).

Zagoretsky
performed by I.V. Ilyinsky

Zagoretsky- “a notorious swindler, a rogue”, a scammer and a cheater (“Beware of him: endure much, / Don’t sit down cards: he will sell”). The attitude towards this character characterizes the mores of the Famus society. Everyone despise Zagoretsky, not embarrassed to scold him in person (“He is a liar, a gambler, a thief,” Khlestova says about him), but in society he is “cursed / Everywhere, but accepted everywhere,” because Zagoretsky is “a master of obliging.”

"Talking" surname Repetilova indicates his tendency to thoughtlessly repeat other people's arguments "about important mothers." Repetilov, unlike other representatives of the Famus society, in words is an ardent admirer of "scholarship". But he caricatures and vulgarizes the enlightening ideas that Chatsky preaches, urging, for example, that everyone should study "with Prince Grigory", where "they will give you champagne to drink for slaughter." Repetilov nevertheless let it slip: he became a fan of "scholarship" only because he failed to make a career ("And I would climb into the ranks, but I met failures"). Enlightenment, from his point of view, is only a forced replacement for a career. Repetilov is a product of the Famus society, although he shouts that he and Chatsky “have the same tastes.

In addition to those heroes who are listed in the "poster" - a list of "characters" - and at least once appear on stage, many people who are not participants in the action are mentioned in Woe from Wit - these are off-stage characters. Their names and surnames flash in the monologues and remarks of the actors, who necessarily express their attitude towards them, approve or condemn their life principles and behavior.

Off-stage characters are invisible "participants" in the socio-ideological conflict. With their help, Griboyedov managed to expand the scope of the stage action, concentrated on a narrow area (Famusov's house) and kept within one day (the action begins early in the morning and ends in the morning of the next day). Off-stage characters have a special artistic function: they represent the society, of which all participants in the events in Famusov's house are a part. Playing no role in the plot, they are closely associated with those who fiercely defend the "past century" or strive to live the ideals of the "present century" - screaming, indignant, indignant, or, conversely, experiencing "a million torments" on stage.

It is the off-stage characters that confirm that the entire Russian society is split into two unequal parts: the number of conservatives mentioned in the play significantly exceeds the number of dissidents, "crazy". But the most important thing is that Chatsky, a lonely truth-seeker on the stage, is not at all alone in life: the existence of people spiritually close to him, according to the Famusites, proves that "today, more than ever, there are more crazy divorced people, and deeds, and opinions." Among Chatsky’s like-minded people is Skalozub’s cousin, who abandoned a brilliant military career in order to go to the village and start reading books (“The rank followed him: he suddenly left the service, / In the village he began to read books”), Prince Fedor, nephew of Princess Tugoukhovskaya (“ The official doesn't want to know! He's a chemist, he's a botanist..."), and the St. Petersburg "professors" with whom he studied. According to Famusov's guests, these people are just as crazy, crazy because of "scholarship", like Chatsky.

Another group of off-stage characters are Famusov's "like-minded people". These are his "idols", whom he often mentions as a model of life and behavior. Such, for example, is the Moscow “ace” Kuzma Petrovich - for Famusov this is an example of a “commendable life”:

The deceased was a respectable chamberlain, With a key, and he knew how to deliver the key to his son; Rich, and was married to a rich woman; Married children, grandchildren; Died; everyone remembers him sadly.

(D. II, yavl. 1).

Another worthy, according to Famusov, role model is one of the most memorable off-stage characters, the “dead uncle” Maxim Petrovich, who made a successful court career (“he served Catherine under the empress”). Like other "nobles in the case", he had a "haughty disposition", but, if the interests of his career required it, he knew how to deftly "serve" and easily "bent over".

Chatsky exposes the morals of the Famus society in the monologue “And who are the judges? ..” (d. II, yavl. 5), talking about the unworthy lifestyle of the “fatherland of the fathers” (“overflowing in feasts and extravagance”), about the wealth they have unjustly acquired ( “they are rich in robbery”), about their immoral, inhuman acts that they commit with impunity (“they found protection from court in friends, in kinship”). One of the off-stage characters mentioned by Chatsky “traded” the “crowd” of devoted servants who saved him “during the hours of wine and fights” for three greyhounds. The other one “for undertakings / On a fortress ballet drove on many wagons / From mothers, fathers of rejected children”, which were then “sold out one by one”. Such people, from the point of view of Chatsky, are a living anachronism that does not correspond to the modern ideals of education and humane treatment of serfs.

Even a simple enumeration of non-stage characters in the monologues of actors (Chatsky, Famusov, Repetilov) completes the picture of the mores of the Griboedov era, gives it a special, "Moscow" flavor. In the first act (fig. 7), Chatsky, who has just arrived in Moscow, in a conversation with Sophia, "sorts through" a lot of mutual acquaintances, ironically over their "oddities".

Dramatic innovation of the play

Griboedov's dramatic innovation manifested itself primarily in the rejection of certain genre canons of the classic "high" comedy. The Alexandrian verse, which was used to write the "reference" comedies of the classicists, was replaced by a flexible meter, which made it possible to convey all the shades of live colloquial speech - free iambic. The play seems "overpopulated" with characters in comparison with the comedies of Griboyedov's predecessors. One gets the impression that Famusov's house and everything that happens in the play is only part of the big world, which is brought out of its usual half-asleep state by "madmen" like Chatsky. Moscow is a temporary haven for an ardent hero wandering "around the world", a small "post station" on the "high road" of his life. Here, not having time to cool down from the frantic ride, he made only a short stop and, having experienced "a million torments", set off again.

In "Woe from Wit" there are not five, but four acts, so there is no situation typical for the "fifth act" when all contradictions are resolved and the life of the characters restores its unhurried course. The main conflict of the comedy, the socio-ideological one, remained unresolved: everything that happened is only one of the stages in the ideological self-awareness of the conservatives and their antagonist.

An important feature of "Woe from Wit" is the rethinking of comic characters and comic situations: in comic contradictions, the author discovers a hidden tragic potential. Not allowing the reader and viewer to forget about the comedy of what is happening, Griboyedov emphasizes the tragic meaning of the events. The tragic pathos is especially intensified in the finale of the work: all the main characters of the fourth act, including Molchalin and Famusov, do not appear in traditional comedic roles. They are more like the heroes of the tragedy. The real tragedies of Chatsky and Sophia are supplemented by the “small” tragedies of Molchalin, who broke his vow of silence and paid for it, and the humiliated Famusov, tremblingly awaiting retribution from the Moscow “Thunderer” in a skirt - Princess Marya Aleksevna.

The principle of "unity of characters" - the basis of the dramaturgy of classicism - turned out to be completely unacceptable for the author of "Woe from Wit". "Portrait", that is, the life truth of the characters, which the "archaist" P.A. Katenin referred to the "errors" of comedy, Griboyedov considered the main advantage. Straightforwardness and one-sidedness in the depiction of the central characters are discarded: not only Chatsky, but also Famusov, Molchalin, Sophia are shown as complex people, sometimes contradictory and inconsistent in their actions and statements. It is hardly appropriate and possible to evaluate them using polar assessments (“positive” - “negative”), because the author seeks to show in these characters not “good” and “bad”. He is interested in the real complexity of their characters, as well as the circumstances in which their social and domestic roles, worldview, system of life values ​​and psychology are manifested. The characters of Griboedov's comedy can rightly be attributed to the words spoken by A.S. Pushkin about Shakespeare: they are "living creatures, full of many passions ..."

Each of the main characters is, as it were, in the focus of a variety of opinions and assessments: after all, even ideological opponents or people who do not sympathize with each other are important to the author as sources of opinions - verbal “portraits” of heroes are formed from their “polyphony”. Perhaps rumor plays no less a role in comedy than in Pushkin's novel "Eugene Onegin". Judgments about Chatsky are especially saturated with various information - he appears in the mirror of a kind of "oral newspaper" created before the eyes of the viewer or reader by the inhabitants of the Famusov's house and his guests. It is safe to say that this is only the first wave of Moscow rumors about the St. Petersburg freethinker. Secular gossip "crazy" Chatsky gave food for gossip for a long time. But "evil tongues", which for Molchalin are "more terrible than a gun", are not dangerous to him. Chatsky is a man from another world, only for a short moment he came into contact with the world of Moscow fools and gossips and recoiled from it in horror.

The picture of "public opinion", skillfully recreated by Griboedov, is made up of the oral statements of the characters. Their speech is impulsive, impetuous, reflects an instant reaction to other people's opinions and assessments. The psychological authenticity of the speech portraits of characters is one of the most important features of comedy. The verbal appearance of the characters is as unique as their place in society, demeanor and range of interests. In the crowd of guests gathered in Famusov's house, people often stand out precisely with their "voice", the peculiarities of speech.

The "voice" of Chatsky is unique: his "speech behavior" already in the first scenes betrays in him a staunch opponent of the Moscow nobility. The word of the hero is his only, but the most dangerous "weapon" in the "duel" of the truth-seeker with the Famus society that lasts all day long. But at the same time, Chatsky, an ideologist who opposes the inert Moscow nobility and expresses the author's point of view on Russian society, in the understanding of Griboyedov's predecessor comedians, cannot be called a "definitely positive" character. Chatsky's behavior is the behavior of an accuser, judge, tribune, who fiercely attacks the morals, life and psychology of the Famusites. But the author indicates the motives for his strange behavior: after all, he did not come to Moscow as an emissary of St. Petersburg freethinkers. The indignation that grips Chatsky is caused by a special psychological state: his behavior is determined by two passions - love and jealousy. They are the main reason for his ardor. That is why, despite the strength of his mind, the enamored Chatsky does not control his feelings, which are out of control, and is not able to act reasonably. The anger of an enlightened man, combined with the pain of losing his beloved, made him "throw beads in front of the Repetilovs." Chatsky's behavior is comical, but the hero himself experiences genuine mental suffering, "a million torments". Chatsky is a tragic character who finds himself in comic circumstances.

Famusov and Molchalin do not look like traditional comedic "villains" or "stupid". Famusov is a tragicomic person, because in the final scene, not only all his plans for Sofia's marriage are collapsing - he is threatened with the loss of his reputation, his "good name" in society. For Famusov, this is a real disaster, and therefore, at the end of the last act, he exclaims in despair: “Is my fate not deplorable yet?” The position of Molchalin, who is in a hopeless situation, is also tragicomic: captivated by Lisa, he is forced to pretend to be a modest and uncomplaining admirer of Sofia. Molchalin understands that his relationship with her will cause irritation and the anger of Famusov. But to reject Sofia's love, Molchalin believes, is dangerous: the daughter has influence on Famusov and can take revenge, ruin his career. He found himself between two fires: the "lordly love" of his daughter and the inevitable "lordly wrath" of his father.

“People created by Griboedov are taken from life in full growth, gleaned from the bottom of real life,” critic A.A. Grigoriev emphasized, “they do not have their virtues and vices written on their foreheads, but they are branded with the seal of their insignificance, branded with a vengeful hand executioner-artist.

Unlike the heroes of classic comedies, the main characters of Woe from Wit (Chatsky, Molchalin, Famusov) are depicted in several social roles. For example, Chatsky is not only a freethinker, a representative of the younger generation of the 1810s. He is in love, and a landowner (“he had about three hundred souls”), and a former military man (once Chatsky served in the same regiment with Gorich). Famusov is not only the Moscow “ace” and one of the pillars of the “gone century”. We see him in other social roles as well: a father trying to “settle in” his daughter, and a state official “manager in a government place”. Molchalin is not only "Famusov's secretary who lives in his house" and Chatsky's "happy rival": he belongs, like Chatsky, to the younger generation. But his worldview, ideals and way of life have nothing in common with the ideology and life of Chatsky. They are characteristic of the "silent" majority of the youth of the nobility. Molchalin is one of those who easily adapts to any circumstances for the sake of one goal - to climb as high as possible up the corporate ladder.

Griboyedov neglects an important rule of classic dramaturgy - the unity of the plot action: in Woe from Wit there is no single event center (this caused the literary Old Believers to reproach the vagueness of the "plan" of the comedy). Two conflicts and two storylines in which they are realized (Chatsky - Sofia and Chatsky - Famus society) allowed the playwright to skillfully combine the depth of social problems and subtle psychologism in depicting the characters of the characters.

The author of Woe from Wit did not set himself the task of destroying the poetics of classicism. His aesthetic credo is creative freedom ("As I live, so I write freely and freely"). The use of certain artistic means and techniques of dramaturgy was dictated by specific creative circumstances that arose in the course of work on the play, and not by abstract theoretical postulates. Therefore, in cases where the requirements of classicism limited his possibilities, not allowing him to achieve the desired artistic effect, he resolutely rejected them. But often it was the principles of classic poetics that made it possible to effectively solve an artistic problem.

For example, the "unity" characteristic of classicist dramaturgy - the unity of place (Famusov's house) and the unity of time (all events take place within one day) are observed. They help to achieve concentration, "thickening" of the action. Griboyedov masterfully used some private techniques of classicism poetics: depiction of characters in traditional stage roles (unsuccessful hero-lover, his sly rival, servant - confidant of his mistress, capricious and somewhat eccentric heroine, deceived father, comic old woman, gossip, etc. .). However, these roles are necessary only as a comedy "highlight", emphasizing the main thing - the individuality of the characters, the originality of their characters and positions.

In comedy, there are a lot of "situational persons", "figurants" (as in the old theater they called episodic characters who created the background, "live scenery" for the main characters). As a rule, their character is exhaustively revealed by their "talking" surnames and names. The same technique is also used to emphasize the main feature in the appearance or position of some central characters: Famusov - known to everyone, on everyone's lips (from Latin fama - rumor), Repetilov - repeating someone else's (from French repeter - repeat) , Sophia - wisdom (ancient Greek sophia), Chatsky in the first edition was Chad, that is, “staying in a child”, “beginning”. The ominous surname Skalozub is “shifter” (from the word “tooth-skal”). Molchalin, Tugoukhovsky, Khlestova - these names "speak" for themselves.

In "Woe from Wit" for the first time in Russian literature (and, most importantly, in drama), the most important features of realistic art were clearly manifested. Realism not only liberates the individuality of the writer from deadly "rules", "canons" and "conventions", but also relies on the experience of other artistic systems.

Today comedy A.S. Griboedov's "Woe from Wit" would rather be called a tragicomedy, since there is no more sadness in it than funny. The incident that prompted the writer to create this work also makes you laugh sadly. Being young and ardent, having returned from abroad and having traveled a lot, Alexander Sergeevich saw how obsequiously the St. Petersburg high society treats a foreign guest, was indignant at this and expressed his indignation aloud. But society did not want to hear the truth, it was easier for them to declare the young man crazy. On that day, the future protagonist of the work, Alexander Alexandrovich Chatsky, was born. At that time, the traditions of classicism still dominated in Russian literature, but if you read Woe from Wit from a modern point of view, you can notice the features of realism in the comedy, which were already beginning to come into their own. On the one hand, there are speaking surnames, a love conflict, the unity of time and place of action, on the other hand, a living language and a complete reflection of the then historical realities, coupled with well-written characters. Griboedov wrote "Woe from Wit" as a bitter satire on Moscow society, and not only of his historical period. He himself noted that the basis of the work was a fairly long period of time, when ranks and honors were given not to those who were worthy of them, but to those who knew how to curry favor better than others. And therefore, for the local nobility, one who does not want ranks and honors was insane. Unfortunately, the comedy "Woe from Wit" is largely understandable even today: the realities have changed, but people have not.

In addition to the main character - Chatsky, there are other important characters in it - the Famusov family, Skalozub, the careerist Molchanov and the whole society that is pre-configured to condemn dissidents. The love one is connected with Sophia, who once loved Chatsky, and now she is cold with him, since an unworthy, but quite understandable person has taken a place in her heart, and the social one is built on the confrontation of two centuries - the present and the past, which are embodied in the images of Chatsky and Famusova. If the first person has progressive views, then the second believes that it is quite normal to make those in power laugh in order to get the coveted place. Today you can download Woe from Wit for free to see the two conflicts on which the development of the action of this simple and clear dramaturgical structure of the play is based.

Read the full text of the comedy "Woe from Wit" online or pick up a book - in any case, you need to know that the four acts of the play include exposition (the first act to the sixth phenomenon), the plot (only one phenomenon - the seventh of the first act) , the development of the action (from the end of the first phenomenon to the end of the third) and the culmination (the fourth action). Such a composition allows you to fully demonstrate the characters' characters and unfold the storyline. The lesson of literature dedicated to "Woe from Wit" will be of interest to everyone - the topic of confrontation between the old and the new is still relevant, and that is why Griboedov's play belongs to the Russian classics.