The concept of one of Gogol's best comedies, Marriage. Family play "Marriage Comedy Marriage gogol

- "Marriage" - is more interesting in its analysis, it captures Russian life deeper and wider. That is why, in fairness, "Marriage" can be given the honorary title of "the first everyday Russian comedy": in it, each hero is a representative of a well-known class, merchants, officials, and military men are also brought here. All of them are outlined brightly, characteristically, they have nothing in common with the lifeless images of the old comedy. Fried eggs, Anuchkin, Zhevakin, Agafya Tikhonovna, Ustinya Naumovna - all this, perhaps, is somewhat caricatured, too vivid images, but, nevertheless, the heroes are alive, clothed in flesh and blood. “And all these people are turned and turned by Kochkarev’s nature, no doubt, energetic, but with one, very often occurring, drawback, with the lack of thought about “what will come of all this.” He just needs to act and fuss, and how his fuss will respond to others, this is not enough for him: he is pleased that he intervened, that he himself is in sight, and in this fuss, without calculation and plan, all his self-satisfaction. And, next to him, his shy companion Podkolesin, this brother of Oblomov, without aspirations, without desires, with only one thought, so that the day that endlessly stretches would pass sooner. Nothing can arouse this person to action: he, with his phlegm and passivity, will resist any arguments of reason, or the seduction of a dream; life for him is a slumber in the twilight, and no one, and nothing, will awaken him from this half-sleep. He can boil up and rush for a moment, only to immediately fall into despair of fear of an act ”(Kotlyarevsky).

Gogol's "Marriage" is a funny but bleak comedy, we have a whole gallery of "gray, languishingly boring and stupid" characters in front of us. Their life is empty, meaningless, but they do not notice this, do not realize their spiritual misery. In the person of Agafya Tikhonovna, Gogol ridiculed the deviation from antiquity, the betrayal of the good old traditions of life, the senseless attraction to "innovations". In the person of Arina Panteleevna, and especially the merchant Starikov, Gogol brought out positive types; the author's nationalistic inclinations and the desire to idealize the patriarchal "good times" were reflected in the creation of these two heroes of "The Marriage".

Gogol "Marriage". Illustration by K. Savitsky

Criticism about Gogol's "Marriage"

Contemporaries misunderstood this comedy, calling it a hilarious "farce". Critics in their analysis paid all attention to the intrigue of "The Marriage", indeed, rather confusing and artificial, and overlooked the fact that the comedy of this Gogol comedy was based not only on the "positions" of the characters, but also on their "characters". Analyzing any type bred by Gogol in The Marriage, we see that it is complete and comical in itself. It can be taken from the situation in which it is shown, taken separately, without its collision with other types, and it will arouse the same smile, the same laughter, as a rare original and typical product of our life. This Gogol type also rises to the level of the “general human type”, which we are so surprised at in Molière's comedies. At least the same Podkolesin and Kochkarev. They can be found anywhere and anytime. In "The Marriage" they are before us in the role of petty inhabitants of St. Petersburg, and how many such persons, persons jumping out of the window at the decisive moment, and persons bringing confusion and turmoil into life, how many of them acted and act on the wide arena, public and political?

Gogol himself attached great importance to The Marriage: he remade it several times from 1837 to 1842, radically changing the content and characters. At first, this comedy was reminiscent of the plot of the Sorochinskaya Fair and The Night Before Christmas. Its action took place in Little Russia, and the play was called "Grooms".

Gogol "Marriage". Film-performance

The meaning of Gogol's "Marriage" in the history of Russian literature

The significance of "Marriage" in the history of Russian literature is very great. To begin with, many of Ostrovsky's comedies from merchant life (a merchant girl longing for suitors of a non-merchant title, a type of matchmaker, the ideal merchant Starikov, an old aunt) develop and supplement what Gogol brilliantly outlined in his first "everyday" comedy. Then "Marriage" had a noticeable influence on Goncharov's novel "Oblomov" (the scene of Podkolesin's conversation with Stepan, Podkolesin's type, Kochkarev).

The play was created by Nikolai Gogol for nine years: from 1833 to 1842. It was staged in St. Petersburg at the Alexandrinsky Theatre. "Marriage" is a comedy of everyday life and customs, opening a series of plays about merchant life, subsequently continued by Alexander Ostrovsky. We will consider the idea of ​​Gogol, the features of the work and the image of the characters, for which we will analyze the play "Marriage". Let's take a look at the plot first. Everything will be presented here in a concise form, but on our website you can also read a summary of the play "Marriage".

The plot of the play "Marriage" by Gogol

Indeed, it is impossible to imagine an analysis of the play "The Marriage" without understanding the storyline. The entire work of Gogol is built around the central event - the alleged marriage of Podkolosin and his matchmaking with the merchant's daughter Agafya Tikhonovna. She certainly wants a groom from the nobility. The matchmaker and friend Kochkarev hardly convince the protagonist to get up from the sofa and go to see the bride. It turns out that several more suitors come to her, each with his own demand: one needs a good dowry, the other needs the knowledge of the future wife of French. And what?

As a result, Kochkarev arranges for Podkolyosin to remain the only groom and the girl gives preference to him. However, when a friend is away on business, the groom, tormented by indecision, runs away through the window from the bride's house.

The comic content does not negate the seriousness in the depiction of various types of Russian society. Although this is not a summary of the play, the gist is clear. Let's continue the analysis of the play "Marriage".

The image of the characters in the play "Marriage" by Gogol

In the work we see representatives of several classes and professions: the merchant's daughter Agafya Tikhonovna, court adviser Podkolyosin, retired officer Anuchkin, sailor Zhevakin, matchmaker Fyokla Ivanovna.

Agafya Tikhonovna demonstrates the desire to break out into the nobility, characteristic of wealthy representatives of the merchant class. To do this, she is looking for a groom-nobleman. Making a choice between several applicants, she is guided only by their external data, therefore she cannot make a decision in any way: if the lips of the other were added to the nose of one, and combined with the corpulence of the third, it would turn out to be an ideal husband. When doing an analysis of the play "Marriage", do not miss one more character. This is Podkolyosin.

Podkolyosin is a type of indecisive person, because of this, incapable of action. At first, he lies on the couch, postponing everything for tomorrow. Then he cannot decide whether he needs to get married: how it was unmarried, but suddenly became married. Then, due to doubts, she runs away before the wedding. Podkolyosin is a parody of the hero-lover, who usually climbs through the window to his beloved. In addition, running away from the crown is the prerogative of girls, thereby emphasizing the weakness and lack of male will in the hero.

Kochkarev, on the contrary, is an active and energetic person. However, he does not know why he wants to marry a friend and what his efforts will lead to. He is also a kind of parody of the traditional image of a friend and confidante in love.

The rest of the grooms are caricatures, each of them emphasizes one exaggerated character trait.

However, an analysis of the play "Marriage" shows that Gogol is not just ridiculing a failed attempt to marry. It shows the hypocrisy and pretense that accompany family relationships in today's society. In their choice, the heroes are guided not by feelings, but by profit.

In addition, analyzing the play "Marriage", it can be noted that Gogol emphasizes a typical feature of a Russian person: a desire to dream, but an inability to live. In his dreams, Podkolyosin imagines himself with his family, but escapes reality through a window. It turns out a comic and dramatic clash of ideal ideas and reality at the same time.

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Theatrical interests occupied a large place in the life of N. V. Gogol. It is not surprising that the very first attempts of the writer to turn from the romantic fiction "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" to modern reality led him to the idea of ​​​​creating a comedy. Evidence of this dates back to the end of 1832 (letter from P. A. Pletnev to V. A. Zhukovsky dated December 8, 1832). And on February 20, 1833, the author himself informs M. N. Pogodin:

“I didn’t write to you: I’m obsessed with comedy. She, when I was in Moscow, on the road [Gogol returned to St. Petersburg on October 30, 1832 - A. S.], and when I arrived here, did not get out of my head, but so far I have not written anything. The plot had already begun to be drawn up the other day, and the title was already written on a thick white notebook:

"Vladimir of the 3rd degree", and how much anger! laughter! salt!.. But suddenly he stopped, seeing that the pen was just pushing against such places that the censorship would never let through. What if the play is not being played? Drama lives only on the stage. Without it, she is like a soul without a body. What kind of master will carry an unfinished work for show to the people? There is nothing left for me but to invent the most innocent plot, which even a quarterly could not be offended by. But what is a comedy without truth and malice! So, I can’t take on a comedy ”See: Khrapchenko M.B. Nikolai Gogol: Literary Way: The greatness of the writer. - M., 1984. - S. 168 - 169 .. This testimony of Gogol speaks volumes. Here, with great force, the advanced ideas of Gogol's theatrical aesthetics are formulated and the ideological orientation of his dramaturgy is revealed. "Truth" and "malice", i.e., realism and bold, merciless criticism - this is the ideological and artistic law of comedy. Without it, it doesn't make sense. Gogol's comedy had to meet these requirements. Her critical focus went far beyond the limits of censorship. The conceived comedy was to become a vivid example of critical realism. The plot gave a full opportunity for this: the hero seeks to be awarded the order by any means, but fails due to the machinations of ambitious people like himself, and goes crazy, imagining himself Vladimir of the third degree. Gogol dealt a blow to the main vices of the bureaucratic system of that time. The written parts of the failed comedy (“Morning of a Business Man”, “Tyazhba”, “Lakeyskaya”, “Excerpt”) confirm this nature of Gogol's plan.

In search of a plot that even a quarterly could not be offended by, Gogol turns to the idea of ​​a comedy on a family and everyday theme. In 1833, he began to write "The Marriage" (the original title was "Grooms"). Through a series of intermediate revisions, Gogol only in 1841 comes to the final version of the comedy, which was published in 1842. In the last edition of the play, Gogol not only changes certain aspects of the content (for example, the action originally took place in a landowner's estate and the landowner tried to get married) , but, more importantly, in accordance with the development of his aesthetic views, he frees comedy from the elements of vaudeville, from the methods of external comedy. "Marriage" becomes a social comedy from the life of merchants and bureaucrats. In the plot about the courtship of suitors differing in character and position for a merchant's daughter, the comedian ridicules the stagnation, primitive life of the depicted environment, the squalor of the spiritual world of people of this circle. With great force, Gogol showed the vulgarization of love and marriage, characteristic of this environment, so poetically depicted by him in stories from folk life (“Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”). Grotesquely sharpening the outline of the characters and the unexpected denouement (the groom's flight at the last minute through the window), Gogol gives his comedy the subtitle "An absolutely incredible event in two acts." But this is only a means, characteristic of the comic writer, of emphasizing the vitality of his work. The realism of The Marriage was opposed to the conventions of those melodramas and vaudevilles, the dominance of which in the repertoire of the Russian theater Gogol complained.

In the history of the genre of family comedy "Marriage" has an important place. The great talent of a comic writer allowed Gogol to develop and enrich the traditions of Russian comedy, which was already turning to merchant life. The genre features of such a comedy were further developed in the dramaturgy of A. N. Ostrovsky. In his very first comedy, "Our people - let's settle" the reader met with the merchant's daughter, dreaming of a "noble" groom, and with the matchmaker - an indispensable participant in the marriage deal.

In the initial drafts of The Marriage (1833), the action took place in the countryside, among the landlords. Neither Podkolesin nor Kochkarev were in the early text. Then the action was transferred to St. Petersburg and the St. Petersburg characters Podkolesin and Kochkarev appeared. V. G. Belinsky defined the essence of the final edition of this comedy in the following way: Gogol’s “Marriage” is not a crude farce, but a picture full of truth and artistically reproduced picture of the mores of the St. Petersburg society of the middle hand” Belinsky V.G. Full coll. op. in 13 volumes - M., 1959. - V.5, S.333.

This is not the capital Petersburg of Nevsky Prospekt, Millionnaya Street and Angliyskaya Embankment, this is provincial Petersburg - the Moscow part, Sands, Shestilavochnaya, Soap lanes, one-story wooden houses with front gardens.

The comedy is built on a paradox: everything revolves around marriage, but no one is in love, there is no trace of love in comedy. Marriage is an enterprise, a business. This attitude to marriage is familiar to Ivan Fedorovich Shponka: “... Then he suddenly dreamed that his wife was not a person at all, but some kind of woolen matter; that he comes to the merchant's shop in Mogilev. “What matter do you order? - says the merchant. “You take a wife, this is the most fashionable matter! Very kind! Everyone now sews frock coats out of it.” The merchant measures and cuts his wife. Ivan Fedorovich takes under his arm, goes to ... the tailor "Gogol N.V. Complete works: In 14 volumes - M., L., 1939. - T. 1. - S. 320 ..

All the absurdity of marriage as a deal, nakedly shown in Ivan Fedorovich's dream, became the main theme of Gogol's comedy. Exposing the vulgarity of the St. Petersburg philistines, Gogol the playwright expanded the circle of social observations and sketches he made in Ukrainian and St. Petersburg stories. The way of thinking and feeling, the very structure of the speech of the characters introduces the reader into the limited world of the capital's inhabitants, not far removed in their development from the inhabitants of Mirgorod. And at the same time, behind the images of the merchant’s daughter Agafya Tikhonovna, her aunt Arina Panteleymonovna, the matchmaker Fyokla Ivanovna, the Starikov’s hotel palace and four suitors, there arises the image of St. cabbies who, for a dime, are driven through the whole city.

"Marriage", of course, goes far beyond the boundaries of St. Petersburg life. In this satirical comedy, as in his other works, Gogol sought to present the reader with all of Rus', in all its details.

Gogol's special attention to "The Marriage" can be explained precisely by the fact that he already saw in the play's conception the possibility of a broad social generalization - this can be traced even in its draft versions. Conceiving "Vladimir of the 3rd degree", Gogol writes that "this comedy will have a lot of" salt and anger ". This "anger" did not evaporate during the transition to "Grooms", but, on the contrary, increased.

If in “Vladimir of the 3rd degree”, in the small comedies that broke away from him, in “The Government Inspector”, Gogol was preoccupied with the public face of his characters, then in “Marriage”, Gogol’s only comedy in this sense, we are talking about personal matters, about intimate the world of people, about the arrangement of their own destiny. Officials and landowners, merchants and nobles are presented here simply as people who have exposed their most intimate feelings.

Nothing much has changed due to the fact that the action, which in "Vladimir of the 3rd degree" was supposed to unfold in St. Petersburg, was transferred to the village in "The Marriage" - the satirical intensity of the comedy has not weakened. Agafya Tikhonovna's gallery of village grooms is a vivid satire on the then society. Basically painted with the same colors as in the final edition, all of them: Fried eggs (called at one time Pot), and Onuchin (later Anuchin), and Zhevakin, and the stutterer Panteleev (who later remained only in Fyokla's stories) - they are all voluntary slaves of vulgarity, devoid of even personal virtues.

Every time when it comes to the analysis of "The Marriage", thoughts arise about the satirical intensity associated only with the denunciations of officials. This play is placed, as a rule, lower than The Inspector General and the unfulfilled plan of Vladimir 3rd degree, because there the characters are revealed in social manifestations, but here - at home. It would seem that a person is shown by Gogol "at home", outside of his social ties, but, nevertheless, he is revealed as a social unit - this is the satirical prick of "Marriage".

Excluded from the sphere of service interests, Podkolyosin and other suitors of Agafya Tikhonovna could show the usual individual human traits. But not for a minute does Fried Eggs stop being a fat and rude executor, frightening his subordinates with his practiced bass. Not for a second does Podkolyosin forget that he is a court adviser, that even the color of his tailcoat is not the same as that of the titular small fry.

The strength of this comedy also lies in the fact that Gogol showed the close relationship between personal life and social life, showed how the moral character of people who are the backbone of autocratic-bureaucratic Russia is formed.

The satirical aim of "Marriage" is felt from the first lines of the comedy, because Podkolyosin lying at home on the couch is the same Podkolyosin who will receive his subordinates tomorrow morning. There are only two people in the room - he and Stepan, who is standing near the lying master. It is impossible not to hear Stepan's answers. And yet, Podkolesin continually asks the servant again: “What are you talking about?”. And he, not surprised or annoyed, stupidly repeats everything from the beginning.

Podkolesin. Did you have a tailor?

Stepan. Was.

Podkolesin. ... And have you already sewn a lot? ..

Stepan. Yes, that’s enough, I’ve already begun to throw loops ...

Podkolesin. What are you saying?

Stepan. I say, I began to throw loops.

The dialogue continues. Two or three more questions-answers, and again the servant is interrupted by the obnoxious-lordly:

"What are you saying?

Stepan. Yes, he has a lot of tailcoats.

Podkolesin. However, after all, they will have cloth, worse tea than mine?

Stepan. Yeah, it'll be a little better looking than what's on yours.

Podkolesin. What are you saying?

Stepan. I say: it’s better to look at what’s on yours ... ”Gogol N.V. Complete works: In 14 volumes - M., L., 1939. - T. 3. - S. 62.

Why, it would seem, Podkolesin, who does not show hearing loss with anyone other than Stepan, endlessly asks the servant again? And then, that Podkolesin behaves in this way in his position, pretending that he does not understand the explanations of the junior rank.

All Gogol's comedies, despite the difference in their content, are built according to one creative plan, expressing the writer's point of view on the place and importance of satire in the life of society. Satire, he believed, should reveal terrible ulcers, among which the most dangerous are the lack of ordinary, sincere feelings in people and the destruction of a sense of duty. In "The Marriage" there is neither love nor a sense of duty - Gogol persistently emphasized this idea. So, for example, in one of the first versions of the play, Fekla, referring to Podkolesin, said: “Soon you will not be at all fit for marital duty.” Insignificant, at first glance, this phrase undergoes a change in the final version: “Soon you will not be fit for marital affairs at all” Ibid. P.85. Podkolesin will not be suitable for “business” in time, but he is not suitable for duty even now.

The play contains a whole gallery of not only physical, but also moral freaks: money-grubbers, blessed ones, bastards, matchmakers. The author was extremely successful in the image of Podkolesin, some of whose features were later embodied in the image of Oblomov. The image of Kochkarev turned out to be just as vivid, which resembles Nozdryov, subsequently created by Gogol, with his fuss, unnecessary ardor, and his ability, under the guise of a service, to put a pig on his neighbor. The matchmaker Thekla, the predecessor of the bright types of matchmakers A. N. Ostrovsky, turned out to be extremely typical. Fekla is a real artist in his profession. She knows how to praise her "product". Here is one of the comic scenes of "The Marriage":

Thekla. And the dowry: a stone house in the Moscow part, about two eltazh, so profitable that, truly, a pleasure: one labaznik pays seven hundred for a shop; the beer cellar also attracts a large community; two wooden hligers - one hliger is completely wooden, the other on a stone foundation ...

Podkolesin. Yes, what is it like, yourself?

Thekla. Like a refinate! White, ruddy, like blood with milk... The sweetness is such that it is impossible to describe. You will be satisfied for now ... Gogol N.V. Complete works: In 14 volumes - M., L., 1939. - T. 3. - S. 70.

Already in this comedy, Gogol finally establishes the principles of realism on the stage, making it impossible for the traditional adventurous comedy or urapatriotic drama to exist.

The main characters of "Marriage" did not appear in the play immediately. As mentioned above, in the first versions there was neither Podkolesin nor Kochkarev, there was only one layer of the play: the desire of a certain merchant's daughter to get married, the matchmaker's search for grooms, the grooms themselves coming to the bride, their parade, brief conversations with Agafya Tikhonovna. The Petersburg layer was absent in the comedy - the action at first took place in the village. And the comedy "Grooms" was called. Gogol's idea went from the village to the city, from "Grooms" to "Marriage". Why was the play renamed when Podkolesin and Kochkarev appeared in it? After all, Podkolesin is a groom, like everyone else, and Kochkarev can be attributed to people like Fyokla, that is, to people who arrange weddings.

The word "Marriage" for Gogol contained something more significant than the first name. Something changed not only in the plot, but also in the author's concept itself. The creation of the images of Podkolesin and Kochkarev was the main impetus that transferred the Grooms to a new, ideological and artistic register of The Marriage.

In the play, the writer outlines as the main three characters - as social characters that determine the public face of that time.

The character of Podkolesin is one of the typical characters of this time, and with the appearance of this person, the comedy acquired a more serious direction, socially deeply meaningful, requiring radical alterations both in the plot and in the title.

The first among the critics who saw in the character of Podkolesin features that anticipate the appearance in the literature of the image of Oblomov was Belinsky, who wrote after the release of "Marriage" that "as long as the question is about intention, Podkolesin is resolute to the point of heroism, but a little touched on execution, he is a coward. This is an ailment, who is familiar to too many people and is smarter and more educated than Podkolesin "Belinsky V.G. Complete collection of works in 13 volumes - M., 1959. - V.6. - P.574 .. In an article devoted to" Marriage ", Belinsky combines artistic issues with social problems. The figure of Podkolesin, like any other literary figure, is not seen by him in isolation from the real civil situation of the time.

Indecision before any business and complete readiness for business in words is not only a psychological trait, but also a social one, generated not only by the individual qualities of the character of a given person, but also by the environment, the social education of the individual. Gogol, who grasped this feature of his time, in "The Marriage" did the same as in "The Government Inspector", when he saw Khlestakov's in the official, and in the intellectual, and in the monarch, in a word, in everyone who acted "without a king in his head ".

The writer did not invent signs of the Podkolyosin type and signs of "Podkolyosinism". He wrote "Podkolyosinism", as well as "Khlestakovism", as well as "Manilovism", creating a socio-psychological type from individual features.

And Kochkarev is not just a "matchmaker", Gogol also refers him to a certain category of people, his character is a character-generalization. Kochkarev is one of the most difficult characters in comedy, primarily because he has no goals, he has no reason to expend energy in connection with the alleged marriage of Podkolesin. Gogol did not give Kochkarev a single reason for his frenzied energy, no motives at all. This lack of motivation of Kochkarev's energy was subtly noticed by Belinsky in his time, seeing in this a special, serious meaning. “If an actor playing the role of Kochkarev,” Belinsky warned, “having heard about Podkolesin’s intention to marry, makes a significant mine, like a person who has some kind of goal, then he will spoil the whole role from the very beginning” Belinsky V.G. Full coll. op. in 13 volumes - M., 1959. - V.6. - P.575..

In the first versions of "Marriage" there was still some logic in Kochkarev's actions. Gradually, Gogol removed this logic even in passing remarks, leaving Kochkarev's energy without relying on the motivation of actions. In one of the editions of Marriage, where Kochkarev still bore the surname Kokhtin, Podkolesin, turning to him, said: “Please, get busy there!” Podkolesin himself asked a friend to intercede for him in front of the bride. Further activities of Kochkarev received in this case at least some visible meaning. This phrase is not in the final edition of "Marriage". Kochkarev's mountain-moving temperament began to swirl out of nothing, in vain. And it was then that a generalization arose, a single character became a typical character - Kochkarev became the personification of Kochkarevism.

There is also a certain Khlestakovian beginning in Kochkarev's character, which once again convinces that the image of Khlestakov constantly occupied Gogol, not even in a specific connection with the plot of The Government Inspector. Khlestakov's type goes beyond the story of the imaginary auditor. “Khlestakovism” was gradually assembled by Gogol into a common noun from the very first searches in the field of comedy. There was a search for such a character, the existence of which "without a king in the head" would reflect the same existence of an entire empire. In the image of Kochkarev, created in parallel with the image of Khlestakov, there is a similarity with this character. Ivan Alexandrovich's favorite word - "suddenly" - often breaks out of Kochkarev's language. “We are going to the bride right now, and you will see how everything suddenly ...” Gogol N.V. Complete Works: In 14 volumes - M., L., 1939. - Vol. 1. - S. 354. This "suddenly" is like a leitmotif of his character and betrays in him "an extraordinary lightness of thought." Khlestakovskoe is also recognizable in Kochkarev's instant reaction to any remark of the interlocutor. Without hesitation, he can report such things that either the terrified Mayor, or the bride, who only blinks her eyes at everything, can believe.

And Kochkarev is lying in Khlestakov's way, i.e. inspired, talented, "no hitch." Knowing nothing about Agafya Tikhonovna, he already reports about her to the suitors: “She studied with her wife at a boarding school ... she always wears a stupid hat and sits ... And the French teacher just beat her with a stick.” And he knows in detail about the house of Kuperdyagina, which he had never heard of: “It is mortgaged, but for two years the interest has not been paid yet. Yes, there is another brother in the Senate, who also casts his eyes on the house ... the world did not produce such quarreling; he took off his last skirt from his own mother, the atheist ”Gogol N.V. Complete works: In 14 volumes - M.-L., 1939. - T. 1. - S. 290 ..

Khlestakov has the same extraordinary speed of reaction. And Kochkarev can praise himself as well as Ivan Aleksandrovich. He told how he resolutely composed everything in one night, this one is also touched by his talents: “I don’t know how I was born there, the abyss of talents: sometimes you start talking - Cicero will fly off your tongue that will amaze at least someone.” In the final version, Gogol smoothed out this panegyric of Kochkarev addressed to himself, but basically the writer's intention is clear - to reveal in this character a phenomenon that later became known as "Khlestakovism".

And, finally, the third type of character in this play, a character seemingly completely immersed in everyday life, not connected with any state institutions, and at the same time socially large-scale, raised to the level of a significant phenomenon. This is the character of the bride Agafya Tikhonovna.

Agafya Tikhonovna does not say much in The Marriage, and indeed all her words concern the most petty and ridiculous worldly concerns. However, it is worth paying attention to the fact that it was the text of Agafya Tikhonovna that V.I. used in his articles and speeches. Lenin Nechkina M.V. Gogol and Gogol's images in the works of V.I. Lenin // N.V. Gogol. Materials and research, - M.-L., 1936. - V.2. - P.573-591 .. It was the image of Agafya Tikhonovna, the most seemingly unsuitable for analogy in politics, that was most actively used in the political struggle as a typical common noun, as a well-established repetition of certain signs of life, and hence ideology. How far Lenin's understanding of Gogol's satirical theater is from the traditional ideas that everything that goes beyond the limits of concrete reliability is a farce used by the writer to avert censorship.

In the work of Piksanov N.I. “Gogol the playwright” speaks of Agafya Tikhonovna’s famous monologue: “... The ideological essence of Gogol’s plays is densely covered with external comedy ... and farcical episodes ... Agafya Tikhonovna’s catchphrase became: “If Nikanor Ivanovich’s lips were put to Ivan Kuzmich’s nose” Piksanov N.I. . Gogol is a playwright. - L., 1952. . Consequently, here we are again confronted with the manifestation of external comedy, while it is in the above monologue that the essence of character, the inner, deep foundations of the social type are revealed.

It is noteworthy that the remarks of a choosy bride are used to determine the political unscrupulousness of the society of that time. This means that the writer laid in this character not only social and everyday, but also social and social observations. The character of Agafya Tikhonovna, Podkolesin and Kochkarev - each in their own way - revealed the moral image of Russia in Gogol's time: “Any Gogol's image is collective and typical in the highest degree. But the scale of this collectiveness does not coincide with any class or professional scale. Although Khlestakov is an official, and Manilov and Nozdrev are landowners, those complexes of ideas and phenomena that are called “Khlestakovism”, “Manilovism”, “Nozdrevshchina” are not only bureaucratic or landowner” Mann Yu. Man and environment. Notes on the Natural School // Questions of Literature - 1968. - No. 9. - P. 116-117 .. Podkolesin's amorphousness, Kochkarev's empty energy, Agafya Tikhonovna's inability to make a choice - all these are not only certain social signs recognizable by their time, to some extent they are recognizable by any time.

The comedy "Marriage" once again confirms that Gogol's characters are unusually multifaceted, they cannot be reduced to any one stage decision. Only by understanding Gogol's intention as a whole, by understanding his striving for a generalizing synthesis, can one reveal the types in Gogol's comedies.

1.3 Poetics of the play "Marriage"

"Marriage" provides material for understanding the features of Gogol's comedic poetics. Subsequently, similar techniques will be used by the writer in such works as The Inspector General and The Players. The author makes vulgarity and stupidity explode from within. The anecdotal absurdity of the final incident - the groom jumped out of the window from under the crown - exacerbates the anecdotal absurdity of all that ordinary, everyday that is depicted in comedy. The transformation of marriage into trade, into an absurd farce, this exhibition of suitors, the activity of a matchmaker - all this has become so ingrained in everyday life, has become so common that it is not noticed in its monstrous absurdity. Gogol exposes the tragicomic squalor, the improbability of the familiar. Such stupidity and absurdity should have ended in something especially incredible, shameful, like the unheard-of scandalous flight of Podkolesin.

One might get the impression that "Marriage" confirms the opinion that Gogol's essence is not in the plot, but in character: there seems to be a lot of talk that has nothing to do with the "case". Zhevakin talks in detail about his stay in Sicily, and there are other conversations, the purpose of which is, as it were, a self-sufficient depiction of characters. In fact, these conversations serve the purpose of demonstrating characters, but this detailed and seemingly self-sufficient demonstration of characters is at the same time a completely natural development of the plot: the plot just requires an exhibition of suitors. Bridegrooms take place (it was not for nothing that the play was previously called “Grooms”; the change in the title emphasized the significance of the plot; this title contains irony over the failed wedding); the bride carefully chooses the suitors - that's why they show themselves. Gogol's character never breaks away from the plot, and this ensures the theatricality, theatricality of his dramaturgy. The funniest thing in the demonstration of suitors is that, with complete emptiness and impersonality, each of them has his own "character", his own disposition. Fried eggs - a positive, busy, solid person; this is a relative of Sobakevich; for him, his wife is a house, a barn. Anuchkin is obsessed with the highest tone, with secularism, he yearns for the French language, in his view, the wife is a creature who speaks French. Zhevakin is able to think only about “roses”, for him his wife is a rose. The differences between these "characters", their "essence" are so insignificant that, in fact, all their "individual originality" is exhausted in the argument that Kochkarev puts forward for Podkolesin: . Ivan Kuzmich! But whatever is horrible: Ivan Pavlovich, Nikanor Ivanovich, the devil knows what it is. Surprises appear in the characters of Podkolesin and Kochkarev. As always with Gogol, the surprise of character is entirely in the logic of character. The most decisive act in Podkolesin's life - jumping out the window - most fully expresses his indecision. Such a way of dialectically depicting the logic of characters in Gogol, excluding a smooth, logically carefully substantiated, but one-line, only evolutionary image without transitions of psychological properties into their opposite, without surprises.

The unexpected character of Kochkarev was exhaustively defined by Belinsky, pointing out that Kochkarev is busy with all his energy for no one knows why. He is completely disinterested in his frenziedly energetic activity, which at any moment can be directed to a goal that is directly opposite; if, say, the marriage went smoothly, then Kochkarev would put all his strength into upsetting the wedding. In the atmosphere of The Marriage, Kochkarev, with his senseless energy, is necessary: ​​he is the very spirit of the absurdity and stupidity of everything that happens in the play.

Thus, Gogol, conceiving a play on a family and everyday theme, eventually came to create a social comedy from the life of a merchant and bureaucrat, where he revealed the social characters of the heroes of that time. The characters of "Marriage" influenced the literary tradition: the main character traits of the main characters of the comedy were later embodied, for example, in the images of landowners in "Dead Souls", Khlestakov, Goncharov's Oblomov.

The comedy The Marriage by Gogol was prepared for publication and first staged on stage in 1842. Early reviews of both the production and the printed text were mostly negative and fell short of the author's expectations. Let's try to figure out why.

History of creation and first productions

Gogol began work on the comedy The Marriage in 1833. For eight years, the name has changed (the first version is “Grooms”), the scene (moved from the village to St. Petersburg), the plot (initially, Podkolesin and Kochkarev were absent, and the landowner was the bride). The writer planned to give the play for staging in the spring of 1836, but the last point in it was set only 5 years later, abroad.

The premiere of the comedy "Marriage" by Gogol took place in early December 1842 at the Alexandrinsky Theater, and two months later - in Moscow. None of them had the proper success, which was partly due to the behavior of the actors: many of them simply did not understand the essence of what was happening. And on the St. Petersburg stage, after the final curtain, there was a hiss: such stories usually ended in a happy reunion of lovers, and here they had to look for explanations for Podkolesin's act. The following productions turned out to be more successful, and now one of the advantages of the play is that it presents a broad picture of the life of various class groups in the first half to the middle of the 19th century.

Let's see how Gogol portrays his contemporary in the comedy Marriage.

Summary of 1 action. Getting to know the main character

Court adviser Podkolesin is a bachelor, but has long dreamed of getting married. He had already turned to the matchmaker, Fekla Ivanovna, ordered a dress coat to the tailor, the servant Stepan bought polishes for boots. It seems that the hero can only get acquainted with the future bride.

Podkolesin's conversation with the servant about how the preparations for the wedding are going on is interrupted by the visit of the matchmaker: she came to tell about the new girl. The court adviser immediately bombards her with questions about the age of the bride, what is included in the dowry, and whether she is pretty. Fekla Ivanovna reports that Agafya Tikhonovna is the daughter of a merchant, but she certainly wants to see a nobleman as her husband. Has a solid dowry, and is good-looking. After listening, Podkolesin asks to come the day after tomorrow - during this time he will think everything over. "This has been going on for the third month already," the matchmaker reproaches him and adds that she has other suitors in mind.

Gogol's "marriage" continues with the appearance of Kochkarev, the groom's friend. At first he scolds Fyokla Ivanovna that she married him, but after learning what was the matter, he immediately begins to repeat that the wedding is the best event in life. And he undertakes today to introduce Podkolesin to the bride and arrange his fate.

In the house of Agafya Tikhonovna

While Kochkarev raises the court adviser from the sofa and forces him to go to the bride, Fyokla Ivanovna introduces the merchant's daughter to potential suitors: Yaichnitsa, Anuchkin, Zhevakin. First in words, and then in person: soon they will appear in the house.

Having met the suitors, Agafya Tikhonovna feels embarrassed and runs away, and Fekla Ivanovna invites everyone to evening tea for a better acquaintance. Kochkarev, after all, having dragged his friend out of the house and witnessed the scene of acquaintance, convinces Ivan Kuzmich that he cannot find a better party and that he must act immediately.

Thus, in the first part of the play, the audience is presented with people who want to find for themselves some ideal created in the imagination. At the same time, none of them remembers that the main thing in marriage is the union of two kindred souls. Gogol leads us to such thoughts in the comedy Marriage.

Summary 2 steps. The results of Kochkarev's activity

The hero, who decides to marry Podkolesin at all costs, takes the initiative into his own hands. First, Kochkarev assures Agafya Tikhonovna, who is preoccupied with the upcoming choice of a groom - she even decided to draw lots in connection with this - that it is better not to find Ivan Kuzmich. His move succeeds: the bride drives away the men who have reappeared in her house and runs away. Left alone with Yaichnitsa, Anuchkin, Zhevakin, Kochkarev introduces himself as a relative of the heroine and talks about her "shortcomings". Finally, he arranges a conversation between the bride and Podkolesin, in the hope that the latter will make an offer. However, the viewer becomes a witness of their timid conversation about nothing and shy silence - it sometimes helps to understand the inner feelings of the hero. Thus, instead of a happy logical ending to the comedy "Marriage", Gogol develops the action further.

Groom's flight

Now Kochkarev makes an offer to Agafya Tikhonovna for his indecisive friend. He already arranged the wedding and ordered dinner. The bride went to put on an outfit long prepared for the occasion. It seems that this time everything was done by the proactive Kochkarev so that the marriage would take place in the evening.

Gogol - the summary showed this - depicts Podkolesin as an apathetic person, incapable of decisive changes in life. And at that moment, when everything has already been decided, the enthusiastic state caused by a conversation with a girl is suddenly replaced by panic and fear of a new life. The hero finds nothing better than to jump out the window and go home. And Agafya Tikhonovna, her aunt, the matchmaker, and Kochkarev himself, who appeared on the stage, were shocked when they learned about this. With the phrase of Fekla, “even if he ran out the door, it’s a different matter, and if the groom darted out the window, it’s already here ...” N.V. concludes the play. Gogol. “Marriage” is a comedy, at the end of which the viewer should involuntarily think about the question of what made the hero, who was almost ready for change, to act in this way.

Character characteristics

As already noted, the basis of the comedy was the image of typical mid-century characters. Let's consider them in more detail.

The first suitor is Fried Eggs, a rude and ignorant executioner who ran here in passing. He was seduced by a rich dowry and therefore immediately begins to check whether everything from the list compiled by the matchmaker is available. He doesn’t care what his wife will turn out to be, even a foolish way, as long as the “surplus items” are good.

Anuchkin, an infantry soldier, wants to have a lady next to him, who certainly speaks French and has secular manners, otherwise it will not be the same. At the same time, high society is closed to him, and he himself does not understand anything in French.

Former sailor Zhevakin, who once made a trip to Sicily, wants to have a wife in the body, to be "a kind of rose". And not once in the course of the development of the action of Gogol's comedy "The Marriage" is the question of the spiritual qualities of the bride and grooms, of mutual love, or at least sympathy, touched upon. Everything is measured by the amount of dowry and far-fetched whims that have nothing to do with real life.

Podkolesin in many ways resembles Oblomov I. Goncharov - the same couch potato and a person who is afraid to take responsibility. In addition, at first he cannot decide on his attitude towards the bride: it seems to him that she is really stupid, has a long nose and is worthless without French. However, with the same ease with which Ivan Kuzmich had previously accepted the point of view of each of the suitors, he agrees with his friend that Agafya Tikhonovna is practically perfect. For him, the impression made by a phenomenon, object, face on other people is more important than its true content. "Marriage" - Gogol uses in the play the techniques of creating a psychological portrait - exposes the most negative social vices.

Kochkarev also looks comical, possessing great power of suggestion and enjoying the result of violent activity. This is an example of an unprincipled and cunning person who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. He turns the fates of others to please himself, and therefore his energy does more harm than good.

All characters created in the play, including female ones, are multifaceted and surprisingly realistic.

The meaning of comedy

"Marriage" was one of the first Russian comedies, in the center of which was an ordinary everyday scene, funny and sad at the same time. She was far ahead of her time and predetermined the appearance of A. Ostrovsky's plays and, to some extent, Goncharov's novel Oblomov.

Absolutely incredible event in two acts

Written in 1833

Characters

Agafya Tikhonovna, merchant's daughter, bride. Arina Panteleimonovna, aunt. Fekla Ivanovna, matchmaker. Podkolesin, employee, court adviser. Kochkarev, his friend. Fried eggs, executor. Anuchkin, retired infantry officer. Zhevakin, sailor. Dunyashka, the girl in the house. Starikov, hotel palace. Stepan, Podkolesin's servant.

Act one

Phenomenon I

Bachelor's room.

Podkolesin alone, lies on the sofa with a pipe.

That's how you start thinking about it alone at your leisure, so you see that at last you definitely need to get married. What, really? You live, you live, but such filth finally becomes. Here again missed the meat-eater. But it seems that everything is ready, and the matchmaker has been walking for three months now. The right, most somehow becomes ashamed. Hey Stepan!

Phenomenon II

Podkolyosin, Stepan.

Podkolesin. Didn't the matchmaker come? Stepan. Not at all. Podkolesin. Did you have a tailor? Stepan. Was. Podkolesin. Well, is he sewing a tailcoat? Stepan. Sews. Podkolesin. And have you already sewn a lot? Stepan. Yes, that's enough. I started throwing loops. Stepan. I say: I have already begun to throw loops. Podkolesin. But he didn’t ask why, they say, the master’s tailcoat is needed? Stepan. No, I didn't. Podkolesin. Maybe he said, does the master want to marry? Podkolesin. Have you seen, however, that he has other tailcoats? After all, he also sews for others? Stepan. Yes, he has a lot of tailcoats. Podkolesin. However, after all, the cloth on them, tea, will be worse than on mine? Stepan. Yeah, it'll be a little better looking than what's on yours. Podkolesin. What are you saying? Stepan. I say: it's better than what's on yours. Podkolesin. Fine. Well, he didn’t ask: why, they say, does the gentleman sew a tailcoat from such fine cloth? Stepan. No. Podkolesin. Didn't say anything about whether he wants to, disk, get married? Stepan. No, he didn't talk about it. Podkolesin. However, did you say what rank I have and where I serve? Stepan. He said. Podkolesin. What is he to it? Stepan. He says I will try. Podkolesin. Fine. Now go.

Stepan leaves.

Phenomenon III

One undercarriage.

I am of the opinion that a black coat is somehow more solid. Colored ones are more suitable for secretaries, titular and other small fry, something milky. Those who are higher in rank should observe more, as they say, this ... I forgot the word! and a good word, but forgot. Yes, father, no matter how you turn yourself there, but the court adviser is the same colonel, except perhaps a uniform without an epaulette. Hey Stepan!

Event IV

Podkolyosin, Stepan.

Podkolesin. Did you buy a wax? Stepan. Bought. Podkolesin. Where did you buy? In that shop that I told you about, on Voznesensky Prospekt? Stepan. Yes, in the same one. Podkolesin. Well, good wax? Stepan. Good. Podkolesin. Have you tried cleaning your boots with it? Stepan. Tried. Podkolesin. Well, is it shiny? Stepan. Shine, she shines well. Podkolesin. And when he gave you a polish, he didn’t ask why, they say, the master needs such a polish? Stepan. No. Podkolesin. Maybe he didn’t say: isn’t the gentleman planning, disking, to marry? Stepan. No, he didn't say anything. Podkolesin. Okay, well, go ahead.

Phenomenon V

One undercarriage.

It seems that boots are an empty thing, but, however, if they are badly sewn and a red-haired black shoe, there will not be such respect in good society. Everything is somehow not that ... That's still disgusting, if corns. Ready to endure God knows what, just not blisters. Hey Stepan!

Event VI

Podkolyosin, Stepan.

Stepan. What would you like? Podkolesin. Did you tell the shoemaker not to have blisters? Stepan. Said. Podkolesin. What does he say? Stepan. Says good.

Stepan leaves.

Appearance VII

Podkolesin, then Stepan.

Podkolesin. But troublesome, damn it, the thing of marriage! This, yes, yes this. So that yes it was in order - no, damn it, it's not as easy as they say. Hey Stepan!

Stepan enters.

I also wanted to tell you...

Stepan. The old woman came. Podkolesin. Ah, she came; call her here.

Stepan leaves.

Yes, it's a thing... a wrong thing... a difficult thing.

Appearance VIII

Podkolesin and Fekla.

Podkolesin. Ah, hello, hello, Fyokla Ivanovna. Well? How? Take a chair, sit down, and tell me. Well, so how, how? How, I mean, her: Melania? .. Fekla. Agafya Tikhonovna. Podkolesin. Yes, yes, Agafya Tikhonovna. And right, some forty-year-old maiden? Fekla. Well, no, it's not. That is, as you get married, so every day you will begin to praise and thank. Podkolesin. You're lying, Fyokla Ivanovna. Fekla. I am outdated, my father, to lie; the dog is lying. Podkolesin. What about a dowry, a dowry? Tell me again. Fekla. And the dowry: a stone house in the Moscow part, about two eltazh, so profitable that it is a real pleasure. One labaznik pays seven hundred for a shop. The beer cellar also attracts a large community. Two wooden hligers: one hliger is completely wooden, the other is on a stone foundation; every four hundred rubles brings income. There is also a garden on the Vyborg side: the third year the merchant hired for cabbage; and such a sober merchant, does not take drunkenness in his mouth at all, and has three sons: he has already married two, “and the third, he says, is still young, let him sit in the shop so that it would be easier to send trade. I’m already, he says, old, so let my son sit in the shop so that trade goes easier. Podkolesin. Yes, what is it like? Fekla. Like a refinate! White, ruddy, like blood with milk, the sweetness is such that it is impossible to describe. For now you will be satisfied (points to throat); that is, you will say to a friend and an enemy: “Ah yes, Fekla Ivanovna, thank you!” Podkolesin. But she, however, is not a staff officer? Fekla. The third guild merchant's daughter. Yes, such that the general will not be offended. He doesn't want to hear about the merchant. “To me, he says, no matter what the husband, even if he is unprepossessing himself, let him be a nobleman.” Yes, such a giant! And by Sunday, as soon as he puts on a silk dress - so those are Christ, and makes noise. The princess is simple! Podkolesin. Why, that's why I asked you because I'm a court adviser, so I, you understand ... Fekla. Yes perishing revamped, how not to understand. We also had a court adviser, but they refused: I didn’t like it. He had such a strange disposition: whatever the word says, he will lie, but such a prominent one at a glance. What to do, so God gave him. He himself is not happy, but he can’t help but lie. Such is the will of God. Podkolesin. Well, besides this one, there are no others? Fekla. What else do you want? This is by far the best. Podkolesin. Like the best? Fekla. Though you go all over the world, you will not find such a one. Podkolesin. Let's think, mother. Come the day after tomorrow. We are with you, you know, again like this: I will lie down, and you will tell ... Fekla. Have mercy, father! I've been going to you for three months now, but it's not good at all. Everyone sits in a dressing gown and smokes a pipe. Podkolesin. And you probably think that marriage is like “hey, Stepan, give me your boots!”. Pulled on his feet, and went? You need to think, consider. Fekla. Well, so what? When you look, then look. On the item to look at. Here, order the caftan to be brought in, and now, since it’s morning time, and go. Podkolesin. Now? And you see how cloudy it is. I'll leave, and suddenly enough rain. Fekla. And you're bad! After all, gray hair is already looking in your head, soon you will not be at all suitable for marital affairs. It is not known that he is a court adviser! Yes, we will clean up such suitors that we will not even look at you. Podkolesin. What the hell are you talking about? Why did you suddenly manage to say that I have gray hair? Where is the gray hair? (He touches his hair.) Fekla. How not to be a gray hair, a person lives on that. Look you! You won't please him, you won't please another. Yes, I have such a captain in mind that you won’t even fit under his shoulder, but he speaks like a pipe; serves in haberdashery. Podkolesin. Yes, you're lying, I'll look in the mirror; where did you come up with gray hair? Hey Stepan, bring a mirror! Or not, wait, I'll go myself. Here it is, God save it. It's worse than smallpox. (Goes into another room.)

Appearance IX

Fekla and Kochkarev, running in.

Kochkarev. What Podkolesin?.. (Seeing Fekla.) How are you here? Oh, you! .. Well, listen, why the hell did you marry me? Fekla. What's wrong? The law has been fulfilled. Kochkarev. The law has been fulfilled! Ek unseen, wife! Couldn't I have done without her? Fekla. Why, you yourself stuck: Zheni, grandmother, and it’s full. Kochkarev. Oh, you old rat!.. Well, why are you here? Does Podkolesin want... Fekla. But what? God sent grace. Kochkarev. No! Ek bastard, because I have nothing about it. What! I humbly ask: be quiet, huh?

Phenomenon X

The same and Podkolesin with a mirror in his hands, into which he peers very carefully.

Kochkarev (sneaking up from behind, scares him). Poof! Podkolesin (shouting and dropping the mirror). Crazy! Well, why, why ... Well, what nonsense! Frightened, right, so that the soul is not in place. Kochkarev. Well, nothing, I was joking. Podkolesin. What kind of jokes did you think? I still can't wake up from fear. And broke the mirror. After all, this thing is not free: it was bought in an English store. Kochkarev. Well, that's enough: I'll find you another mirror. Podkolesin. Yes, you will. I know these other mirrors. A whole dozen seems older, and the mug comes out in a joint. Kochkarev. Look, I should be more angry with you. You hide everything from me, your friend. Have you thought about getting married? Podkolesin. That's nonsense: I didn't even think about it. Kochkarev. Yes, there is evidence. (Pointing to Fekla.) After all, it’s worth it - you know what kind of bird it is. Well, nothing, nothing. There is nothing like that here. A Christian cause, necessary even for the fatherland. Please, please, I'll take care of everything. (To Fekla.) Well, tell me how, what and so on? A noblewoman, an official or a merchant, or something, and what is her name? Fekla. Agafya Tikhonovna. Kochkarev. Agafya Tikhonovna Brandakhlystova? Fekla. But no - Kuperdyagina. Kochkarev. Does he live in Shestilavochnaya? Fekla. Now, no; will be closer to Sands, in Soap Lane. Kochkarev. Well, yes, in Soapy Lane, right behind the bench - a wooden house? Fekla. And not behind a shop, but behind a beer cellar. Kochkarev. As for the beer - here I don’t know. Fekla. But as you turn into the alley, it will be right for you the booth, and as you pass the booth, turn left, and here you are right in the eyes - that is, so right in your eyes and there will be a wooden house where the seamstress lives, who lived before with Senate Oberseklekhtar. You don’t go to the seamstress, but now there will be a second house behind her, a stone one - this house is hers, in which, that is, she lives, Agafya Tikhonovna, the bride. Kochkarev. Good good. Now I'll do it all; and you go - you are no longer needed. Fekla. How so? Do you want to direct the wedding yourself? Kochkarev. By myself; you just don't get in the way. Fekla. Ah, what a shameless! Well, it's not a man's job. Back off, father, right! Kochkarev. Go go go You don't understand anything, don't interfere! Know, cricket, your hearth - get out! Fekla. People only to take away bread, such an atheist! Involved in such rubbish. Had she known, she would not have said anything. (Exit in annoyance.)

Phenomenon XI

Podkolesin and Kochkarev.

Kochkarev. Well, brother, this matter cannot be postponed. Let's go. Podkolesin. Why, I'm still nothing. I just thought so... Kochkarev. Rubbish, rubbish! Just do not be embarrassed: I will marry you so that you will not hear. We are going to the bride right now, and you will see how everything is suddenly. Podkolesin. Here's another! Now to go! Kochkarev. But why, pardon me, what is the matter? .. Well, consider for yourself: well, what of the fact that you are not married? Look at your room. Well, what's in it? There is an uncleaned boot, there is a wash basin, there is a whole heap of tobacco on the table, and here you yourself lie like a bobak, all day on your side. Podkolesin. This is true. I have order, I know for myself that I don’t. Kochkarev. Well, as soon as you have a wife, you simply won’t know anything about yourself: here you will have a sofa, a dog, some kind of siskin in a cage, needlework ... And, imagine, you are sitting on the sofa, and suddenly a little butterfly will sit on you, a pretty one, and handle you. Podkolesin. Oh, hell, what do you think, right, what kind of pens really are. It's simple, brother, like milk. Kochkarev. Where are you! As if they just had pens! .. They have, brother ... Well, what can I say! they, brother, just the devil knows what they don’t have. Podkolesin. But to tell you the truth, I love it if a pretty woman sits next to me. Kochkarev. Well, you see, he figured it out. Now you just need to arrange. You don't care about anything. Wedding dinner and so on - that's all me ... Less than a dozen champagne, brother, you can't, as you want. Madeira, too, half a dozen bottles without fail. The bride, it’s true, has a bunch of aunts and gossips - these don’t like to joke. And Rhine wine - to hell with it, isn't it? A? And as for dinner, I, brother, have a court waiter in mind: so, the dog, will feed you that you simply won’t get up. Podkolesin. Have mercy, you take it so passionately, as if it really were a wedding. Kochkarev. Why not? Why postpone? After all, do you agree? Podkolesin. I? Well no... I don't quite agree yet. Kochkarev. Here's to you! Why, you just said what you want. Podkolesin. I just said it wouldn't hurt. Kochkarev. How, have mercy! Yes, we really had the whole thing ... But what? don't you like the married life, don't you? Podkolesin. No... like it. Kochkarev. Well, so what? What was the matter? Podkolesin. Yes, the matter did not become for nothing, but only strange ... Kochkarev. What's strange? Podkolesin. Strange as it may seem: everyone was unmarried, and now suddenly he is married. Kochkarev. Well, well ... well, aren't you ashamed? No, I see you need to speak seriously: I will speak frankly, like a father with his son. Well, look, look at yourself carefully, for example, the way you look at me now. Well, what are you now? After all, it's just a log, you don't matter. Well, what are you living for? Well, look in the mirror, what do you see there? stupid face - nothing more. And here, imagine, there will be children around you, because it’s not just two or three, but maybe as many as six, and everything is like two drops of water on you. Now you are alone, a court adviser, a freight forwarder, or some kind of boss, God knows you, and then, imagine, there are forwarders around you, little kind of little canals, and some kind of shooter, stretching out his little hands, will pull at your sideburns, and you will only be him like a dog: av, av, av! Well, is there anything better than this, tell me yourself? Podkolesin. Why, they are only big naughty ones: they will spoil everything, scatter papers. Kochkarev. Let them play pranks, but everyone looks like you - that's the thing. Podkolesin. And it, in fact, is even funny, damn it: some kind of plump, a kind of puppy, and it already looks like you. Kochkarev. As funny as it is, of course it's funny. Well, let's go. Podkolesin. Perhaps we'll go. Kochkarev. Hey Stepan! Let's quickly get your master dressed. Podkolesin (getting dressed in front of a mirror). I think, however, what would be needed in a white waistcoat. Kochkarev. Rubbish, anyway. Podkolesin (putting on collars). Damn washerwoman, she starched her collars so badly - they don't stand at all. You tell her, Stepan, that if she, stupid, irons clothes like that, then I will hire another. She, right, spends time with her lovers, and does not iron. Kochkarev. Come on, brother, hurry up! How are you digging! Podkolesin. Now. (Puts on coat and sits down.) Listen, Ilya Fomich. Do you know what? Go on your own. Kochkarev. Well, here's another; have you gone crazy? I have to go! Who among us is getting married: you or me? Podkolesin. You're right, you don't want something; better tomorrow. Kochkarev. Well, do you have a drop of mind? Well, aren't you dumb? Gathered completely, and suddenly: no need! Well, tell me, please, aren't you a pig, aren't you a scoundrel after that? Podkolesin. Well, what are you arguing about? why on earth? what did I do to you? Kochkarev. Fool, full of fools, everyone will tell you that. Stupid, that's just stupid, even though the freight forwarder. After all, what am I trying to do? About your benefit; after all, the cous will be lured out of the mouth. Lie down, damned bachelor! So tell me, please, what do you look like? Well, well, rubbish, cap, he would say such a word ... but it’s only indecent. Woman! worse than women! Podkolesin. And you are really good! (In an undertone.) Are you out of your mind? Here stands a serf, and he scolds in front of him, and even with such words; didn't find another place. Kochkarev. Yes, how can I not scold you, tell me, please? Who can not scold you? Who has the heart not to scold you? As a decent person, he decided to get married, followed prudence, and suddenly - just foolishly, he ate too much henbane, a wooden block ... Podkolesin. Well, that's enough, I'm going - why are you shouting? Kochkarev. I'm going! Of course, what else to do, how not to go! (To Stepan.) Give him a hat and overcoat. Podkolesin (in the door). Such a strange man indeed! You can’t get along with him in any way: he will suddenly pick out for no reason at all. Doesn't understand any appeal. Kochkarev. Yes, it's over, now I do not scold.

Both leave.

Appearance XII

A room in the house of Agafya Tikhonovna.

Agafya Tikhonovna lays out on cards, an aunt looks from behind her hand Arina Panteleimonovna.

Agafya Tikhonovna. Again, aunt, dear! Some kind of diamond king is interested, tears, a love letter; on the left side, the club shows great interest, but some villain interferes. Arina Panteleimonovna. Who do you think the king of clubs was? Agafya Tikhonovna. Don't know. Arina Panteleimonovna. And I know who. Agafya Tikhonovna. Who? Arina Panteleimonovna. And a good trader on the cloth line, Alexei Dmitrievich Starikov. Agafya Tikhonovna. That's right, he's not! At least I put something, not him. Arina Panteleimonovna. Don't argue, Agafya Tikhonovna, your hair is so blond. There is no other king of clubs. Agafya Tikhonovna. But no: the king of clubs means here a nobleman. The merchant is far from the king of clubs. Arina Panteleimonovna. Hey, Agafya Tikhonovna, but you wouldn’t have said that, as if the dead Tikhon, your father, Panteleymonovich were alive. It happened that he would hit the table with his whole hand and cry out: “I don’t give a damn, he says, about the one who is ashamed to be a merchant; Yes, he says, I won’t give my daughter to a colonel. Let others do it! And I won’t give my son to the service, he says. What, he says, does not the merchant serve the sovereign in the same way as any other? Yes, all five of them are on the table and that's enough. And the hand is the size of a bucket - such passions! After all, to tell the truth, he saccharized your mother, and the deceased would have lived longer. Agafya Tikhonovna. Well, so that I also have such an evil husband! I won't marry a merchant for anything! Arina Panteleimonovna. But Alexei Dmitrievich is not like that. Agafya Tikhonovna. I don't want, I don't want! He has a beard: he will eat, everything will flow down his beard. No, no, I don't want to! Arina Panteleimonovna. But where to get a good nobleman? After all, you won't find him on the street. Agafya Tikhonovna. Fekla Ivanovna will look for you. She promised to find the best. Arina Panteleimonovna. Why, she's a liar, my light.

Appearance XIII

The same and Fekla.

Fekla. But no, Arina Panteleymonovna, it’s a sin for you to raise slander in vain. Agafya Tikhonovna. Ah, this is Fyokla Ivanovna! Well, tell me, tell me! Eat? Fekla. There is, there is, just let me gather my courage first - so much trouble! According to your commission, I went all the way home, to the offices, to the ministries, I got worn out, I leaned into the guardhouses ... Do you know, my mother, because they almost killed me, by God! The old woman who married the Aferovs approached me like this: “You are such and such, you only interrupt bread, know your quarter,” she says. “Yes, well,” I said bluntly, “I’m for my young lady, don’t be angry, I’m ready to satisfy everything.” But what suitors she has in store for you! That is, the light was and will be, but there have never been such! Today, others will arrive. I ran in on purpose to forestall you. Agafya Tikhonovna. How about today? My soul Fekla Ivanovna, I'm afraid. Fekla. And don't be afraid, my mother! matter of life. They will come and see, nothing more. And you look at them: if they don’t like them, they will leave. Arina Panteleimonovna. Well, tea, good lured! Agafya Tikhonovna. And how many of them? a lot of? Fekla. Yes, there are six people. Agafya Tikhonovna(shouts). Wow! Fekla. Well, what are you, my mother, fluttered so? It is better to choose: one will not have to, the other will have to. Agafya Tikhonovna. What are they: nobles? Fekla. All as a choice. Already such nobles that there were none. Agafya Tikhonovna. Well, what, what? Fekla. And they are all nice, good, neat. The first Baltazar Baltazarovich Zhevakin, so glorious, served in the navy - it’s just right for you. He says that he needs the bride to be in the body, and he does not like fried ones at all. But Ivan Pavlovich, who serves as an execukhtor, is so important that there is no attack. So prominent of himself, fat; how she screams at me: “Don’t talk nonsense to me that the bride is such and such! Can you tell me bluntly how much movable and immovable is behind it? “So much and so much, my father!” - "You're lying, dog's daughter!" Moreover, my mother, he pasted in such a word that it is indecent for you to say. I instantly realized: uh, yes, this must be an important gentleman. Agafya Tikhonovna. Well, who else? Fekla. And also Nikanor Ivanovich Anuchkin. It's so big! and lips, my mother, are raspberries, absolutely raspberries! so glorious. “I, he says, need the bride to be pretty, brought up, so that she can speak French.” Yes, a man of fine behavior, a German little thing! And he himself is so slender, and his legs are narrow, thin. Agafya Tikhonovna. No, these slender ones are somehow not right for me ... I don’t know ... I don’t see anything in them ... Fekla. And if you want to be tighter, then take Ivan Pavlovich. You can't choose anyone better. That one, there’s nothing to say, the gentleman is such a gentleman: he won’t enter these doors a little - he’s so glorious. Agafya Tikhonovna. And how old is he? Fekla. And the man is still young: about fifty, and not even fifty yet. Agafya Tikhonovna. And what about the last name? Fekla. And the surname is Ivan Pavlovich Yaichnitsa. Agafya Tikhonovna. Is this a surname? Fekla. Surname. Agafya Tikhonovna. Oh my God, what a name! Listen, Feklusha, how can it be if I marry him and suddenly be called Agafya Tikhonovna Yaichnitsa? God knows what it is! Fekla. And, my mother, yes, in Rus' there are such nicknames that you just spit and cross yourself if you hear. And perhaps, if you don’t like the nickname, then take Baltazar Baltazarovich Zhevakin - a glorious groom. Agafya Tikhonovna. What kind of hair does he have? Fekla. Good hair. Agafya Tikhonovna. And the nose? Fekla. Uh... and a good nose. Everything is in its place. And he is so nice. Just don’t get angry: there’s only a pipe in the apartment, there’s nothing else - no furniture. Agafya Tikhonovna. And who else? Fekla. Akinf Stepanovich Panteleev, an official, a titular adviser, only stutters a little, but he is so modest. Arina Panteleimonovna. Well, what are you all: an official, an official! And if he likes to drink, here, they say, what do you say. Fekla. And he drinks, I won’t argue, he drinks. What to do, he is already a titular adviser; but as quiet as silk. Agafya Tikhonovna. No, I don't want my husband to be a drunkard. Fekla. Your will, my mother! If you don't want one, take another. However, what is it that sometimes he drinks too much - after all, he is not drunk all the week: some day he will get out and sober. Agafya Tikhonovna. Well, who else? Fekla. Yes, there is one more, but only this one ... God bless him! These will be cleaner. Agafya Tikhonovna. Well, who is he? Fekla. And I wouldn't like to talk about it. He, perhaps, is a court adviser and wears a buttonhole, and he’s too heavy to get up, you can’t lure him out of the house. Agafya Tikhonovna. Well, who else? After all, there are only five, and you said six. Fekla. Is it still not enough for you? Look how suddenly you were taken aback, but the davitcha was frightened. Arina Panteleimonovna. What about them, your nobles? Even though you have six of them, but, really, one merchant will stand for all. Fekla. But no, Arina Panteleymonovna. The nobleman will be respected. Arina Panteleimonovna. What about respect? But Alexei Dmitrievich, in a sable hat, in a sled, how to ride ... Fekla. And a nobleman with an aplet will pass towards you, saying: “What are you, merchant? get out of the way!" Or: “Show, merchant, the best velvet!” And the merchant: “Excuse me, father!” - "Take off your hat, you ignoramus!" - that's what the nobleman will say. Arina Panteleimonovna. And the merchant, if he wants, will not give cloth; but the nobleman is naked, and the nobleman has nothing to wear! Fekla. And the nobleman will kill the merchant. Arina Panteleimonovna. And the merchant will go to complain to the police. Fekla. And the nobleman will go to the merchant to the senator. Arina Panteleimonovna. And the merchant to the governor. Fekla. And the noble... Arina Panteleimonovna. You're lying, you're lying: nobleman... The governor is bigger than the senachtor! Spread with a nobleman! and the nobleman, on occasion, also bends his hat ...

A call is heard at the door.

No, someone is calling.

Fekla. Oh, it's them! Arina Panteleimonovna. Who are they? Fekla. They are... one of the suitors. Agafya Tikhonovna(shouts). Wow! Arina Panteleimonovna. Saints, have mercy on us sinners! The room is not tidy at all. (Seizes everything on the table and runs around the room.) Yes, the napkin, the napkin on the table is completely black. Dunya, Dunya!

Dunyashka is.

More like a clean napkin! (Pulls off the napkin and rushes about the room.)

Agafya Tikhonovna. Oh, aunty, how can I be? I'm almost wearing a shirt! Arina Panteleimonovna. Oh, my mother, hurry up and get dressed! (Running around the room.)

Dunyashka brings a napkin: the doorbell is ringing.

Run say "now"!

Dunyashka shouts from afar: "Now!"

Agafya Tikhonovna. Auntie, but the dress is not ironed. Arina Panteleimonovna. Oh, merciful Lord, do not destroy! Put on something else. Fekla (running in). Why don't you go? Agafya Tikhonovna, hurry up, my mother!

A call is heard.

Ahti, but he is waiting for everything!

Arina Panteleimonovna. Dunya, bring him in and ask him to wait.

Dunyashka runs into the passage and opens the door. Voices are heard: "At home?" - "At home, please come to the room." Everyone curiously tries to look through the keyhole.

Agafya Tikhonovna(shouts). Oh, how fat! Fekla. It's coming, it's coming!

Everyone is running fast.

Appearance XIV

Ivan Pavlovich Fried eggs and a girl.

Girl. Wait here. (Exits.) Fried eggs . Perhaps, to wait - let's wait, as if only not to hesitate. After all, he was absent from the department only for a minute. Suddenly the general decides: “Where is the executor?” - "I went to look out for the bride." So that he does not ask such a bride ... But, however, consider the painting again. (Reads.) "A stone two-story house ..." (He lifts his eyes and looks around the room.) Eat! (Continues to read.)“There are two outbuildings: an outbuilding on a stone foundation, a wooden outbuilding ...” Well, the wooden one is rather poor. “Drozhki, paired sledges with carvings, under a large carpet and under a small one ...” Maybe such that they are suitable for scrap? The old woman, however, assures that the first grade; well, let the first grade. “Two dozen silver spoons...” Of course, silver spoons are needed for the house. “Two fox fur coats...” Hm... “Four large down jackets and two small ones. (Significantly tightens his lips.) Six pairs of silk and six pairs of cotton dresses, two night bonnets, two...” Well, this article is empty! "Linen, napkins ..." Let it be as she wants. However, you need to believe all this in practice. Now, perhaps, they promise both houses and carriages, but when you get married, you will only find that down jackets and feather beds.

A call is heard. Dunyashka runs in a hurry across the room to open the door. Voices are heard: "At home?" - "At home".

Appearance XV

Ivan Pavlovich and Anuchkin.

Dunyashka. Wait here. They will blow out. (Exits.)

Anuchkin bows to Yaichnitsa.

Fried eggs . My regards! Anuchkin. Do I not have the honor of talking to the papa of the charming mistress of the house? Fried eggs . No, not with papa at all. I don't even have kids yet. Anuchkin. Ah, sorry! Sorry! Scrambled eggs (aside). The physiognomy of this man is somehow suspicious to me: almost for the same reason he came here for what I did. (Aloud.) Do you really have any need for the mistress of the house? Anuchkin. No, well ... there is no need, and so, I came from a walk. Scrambled eggs (aside). Lying, lying, from a walk! Marry, scoundrel, wants!

A call is heard. Dunyashka runs across the room to open the door. In the passage voices: "At home?" - "At home".

Appearance XVI

The same and Zhevakin, accompanied by a girl.

Zhevakin (girl). Please, darling, clean me up... You know, there's a lot of dust on the street. Over there, please take off the fluff. (Turns.) So! thank you, darling. Here's another, look, it's like a spider climbs there! and there is nothing on the rebounds in the back? Thank you dear! It's still here, it seems. (He strokes his tailcoat sleeve and looks at Anuchkin and Ivan Pavlovitch.) Sukontso, after all, is English! After all, what is worn! In the ninety-fifth year, when our squadron was in Sicily, I bought him as a midshipman and sewed a uniform from him; in the eight hundred and first, under Pavel Petrovich, I was made a lieutenant - the cloth was quite new; in eight hundred and fourteen he made an expedition around the world, and that's just a little frayed at the seams; retired in 1985, only changed his face: I've been wearing it for ten years - it's still almost brand new. Thank you, darling, m ... coloring! (Makes her a pen and, going up to the mirror, slightly ruffles her hair.) Anuchkin. And how, let me ask you, Sicily ... so you deigned to say: Sicily, is this a good land of Sicily? Zhevakin. Ah, beautiful! We stayed there thirty-four days; the view, I tell you, is amazing! such mountains, some kind of pomegranate tree, and everywhere italian girls, such roses, so you want to kiss. Anuchkin. And well educated? Zhevakin. In an excellent way! So educated, as here we only have countesses. You used to walk down the street - well, a Russian lieutenant ... Naturally, there are epaulettes here (points to shoulders), gold embroidery ... and such black-haired beauties - after all, they have balconies near each house, and the roofs, like this floor, are completely flat. It used to be that you look like that, and a kind of rose is sitting ... Well, naturally, so as not to lose face in the dirt ... (Bows and waves his hand.) And she's just like that. (Makes motion with hand.) Naturally, she is dressed: here she has some kind of taffeta, lacing, ladies' various earrings ... well, in a word, such a tidbit ... Anuchkin. And how, let me ask you another question, what language do they speak in Sicily? Zhevakin. And of course, everything is in French. Anuchkin. And all the young ladies resolutely speak French? Zhevakin. All with determination. You may not even believe what I will report to you: we lived for thirty-four days, and during all this time I did not hear a single word from them in Russian. Anuchkin. Not a single word? Zhevakin. Not a single word. I'm not talking about the nobles and other seniors, that is, their various officers; but take on purpose a simple local peasant who drags all sorts of rubbish around his neck, try telling him: “Give me some bread, brother,” he won’t understand, by God he won’t understand; but say in French: "Dateci del pane" or "portate vino!" - understand, and run, and definitely bring. Ivan Pavlovich. And curious, however, as I see it, this land must be Sicily. So you said - a man: what is a man, how is he? Is he completely broad-shouldered and plows the ground, like the Russian peasant, or not? Zhevakin. I can’t tell you: I didn’t notice whether they plow or not, but as for snuffing tobacco, I’ll report to you that everyone not only sniffs, but even puts it on the lip. The shipping is also very cheap; there is almost water everywhere and gondolas everywhere ... Naturally, a kind of Italian girl is sitting, such a rose, dressed: a shirt-front, a handkerchief ... There were also English officers with us; well, the people, just like ours, are sailors; and at first, it was, indeed, very strange: you didn’t understand each other, but then, as you got to know each other well, you began to freely understand: you used to show it to a bottle or a glass like that - well, he immediately knows what it means to drink; put your fist to your mouth like that and say only with your lips: bang-bang - you know: smoke a pipe. In general, I will report to you, the language is quite easy, our sailors began to understand each other completely in three days. Ivan Pavlovich. And interesting, as I see it, life in foreign lands. I am very pleased to get along with an experienced person. Let me ask: with whom do I have the honor of speaking? Zhevakin. Zhevakin, retired lieutenant. Allow me, for my part, to also ask: with whom do I have the good fortune to speak? Ivan Pavlovich. As an executor, Ivan Pavlovich Yaichnitsa. Zhevakin (not listening). Yes, I ate too. The roads, I know, will be enough ahead, but the time is chilly: I ate a herring with bread. Ivan Pavlovich. No, it seems you misunderstood: this is my surname - Oyachnitsa. Zhevakin (bowing). Ah, sorry! I'm a little hard of hearing. I really thought that you deigned to say that you ate scrambled eggs. Ivan Pavlovich. Yes, what to do? I was about to ask the general to allow me to be called Yaichnitsyn, but my people dissuaded me: they say it will look like a "dog's son." Zhevakin. And this, however, happens. We had the whole third squadron, all the officers and sailors - all had strange surnames: Pomoikin, Yaryzhkin, Perepreev, lieutenant. And one midshipman, and even a good midshipman, was simply Dyrka by name. And the captain used to say: “Hey you, Hole, come here!” And, it used to be, you always make fun of him. "Oh, you, such a hole!" - you say, it happened to him.

A call is heard in the hallway, Fekla runs across the room to open.

Fried eggs. Ah, hello, mother! Zhevakin. Hello; How are you, my soul? Anuchkin. Hello, Mother Fekla Ivanovna. Fekla (runs in a hurry). Thank you fathers! Healthy, healthy. (Opens the door.)

Appearance XVII

The same, Kochkarev, Podkolesin And Fekla.

Kochkarev (Podwheel). You remember, only courage, and nothing more. (Looks around and bows with some astonishment; to himself.) Wow, what a bunch of people! What does it mean? Aren't they grooms? (Pushes Fekla and speaks to her quietly.) From which sides did the crow pick up, huh? Fekla (in an undertone). There are no crows here, all honest people. Kochkarev (to her). Uncounted guests, caftans plucked. Fekla. Look at the raid on your flight, but there is nothing to boast about: a hat worth a ruble, and cabbage soup without cereals. Kochkarev. Probably your razzhivnye, a hole in your pocket. (Aloud.) What is she doing now? After all, this door, right, to her bedroom? (Goes to the door.) Fekla. Shameless! they tell you he's still getting dressed. Kochkarev. Eka trouble! what is this? After all, I'll just look, and nothing more. (Looks through the keyhole.) Zhevakin. And let me be curious too. Fried eggs. Let me take a look just once. Kochkarev (continuing to watch). Nothing to see, sir. And it is impossible to recognize what is turning white: a woman or a pillow.

Everyone, however, surrounds the door and pushes through to have a look.

Shh... someone's coming!

Everyone bounces away.

Phenomenon XVIII

The same, Arina Panteleimonovna And Agafya Tikhonovna. Everyone bows out.

Arina Panteleimonovna. And for what reason did you deign to borrow a visit? Fried eggs. And I learned from the newspapers that you wished to enter into contracts for the supply of wood and firewood, and therefore, being in the position of an executor at a government place, I came to find out what kind of wood, in what quantity and by what time you can deliver it. Arina Panteleimonovna. Although we do not take any contracts, we are glad to come. What about last name? Fried eggs. Collegiate assessor Ivan Pavlovich Fried eggs. Arina Panteleimonovna. I beg you to sit down. (Turns to Zhevakin and looks at him.) And let me know... Zhevakin. I, too, in the newspapers I see something announced: come on, I think to myself, I'll go. The weather seemed fine, there was grass everywhere along the way... Arina Panteleimonovna. And what about last name? Zhevakin. And a retired lieutenant of the naval service, Baltazar Baltazarov Zhevakin II. We also had another Zhevakin, and he retired even before mine: he was wounded, mother, under the knee, and the bullet passed so strangely that it didn’t touch the knee itself, but went through the vein - like it was sewn with a needle, so, when you used to stand with him, it always seems that he wants to hit you with his knee from behind. Arina Panteleimonovna (Turning to Anuchkin.) And let me know for what reason? .. Anuchkin. Next door- Being quite close... Arina Panteleimonovna. Isn't it in the house of the merchant's wife Tulubova, on the contrary, if you please live? Anuchkin. No, for the time being I still live on Pesky, but I have, however, the intention to move here and there in the neighborhood, to this part of the city. Arina Panteleimonovna. And I ask you to sit down. (Turning to Kochkarev.) And let me know... Kochkarev. Don't you recognize me? (Turning to Agafya Tikhonovna.) And you too, ma'am? Agafya Tikhonovna. How much it seems to me, I did not see you at all. Kochkarev. However, remember. You must have seen me somewhere. Agafya Tikhonovna. Right, I don't know. Isn't it at the Biryushkins'? Kochkarev. Namely, at the Biryushkins. Agafya Tikhonovna. Oh, you don't know, the story happened to her. Kochkarev. How did you get married. Agafya Tikhonovna. No, that would be good, otherwise she broke her leg. Arina Panteleimonovna. And it broke a lot. She returned home quite late in a droshky, but the driver was drunk and dumped out of the droshky. Kochkarev. Yes, I remember something, something happened: either she got married, or she broke her leg. Arina Panteleimonovna. What about last name? Kochkarev. Well, Ilya Fomich Kochkarev, we are related. My wife constantly talks about that ... Let me, let me (takes Podkolesin by the hand and brings him up): my friend, Podkolyosin Ivan Kuzmich, court counselor; serves as a freight forwarder, one does all the work, perfected his part perfectly. Arina Panteleimonovna. What about last name? Kochkarev. Podkolyosin Ivan Kuzmich, Podkolyosin. The director was appointed just for the rank, but he does all the work, Ivan Kuzmich Podkolesin. Arina Panteleimonovna. Yes, sir. I beg you to sit down.

Phenomenon XIX

The same And Starikov.

Starikov (bowing lively and quickly, in a merchant's way, and slightly taking in the sides). Hello, mother Arina Panteleevna. The guys at Gostiny Dvor said that you were selling wool, mother! Agafya Tikhonovna (turning away with disdain, in an undertone, but so that he hears). This is not a merchant's shop. Starikov. Won! Al out of place came? Al and without us the case was cooked? Arina Panteleimonovna. Please, please, Alexei Dmitrievich; although we do not sell wool, we are glad to see you. I ask you to be seated.

Everyone sat down. Silence.

Fried eggs. Strange weather today: in the morning it was absolutely like rain, but now it seems to have passed. Agafya Tikhonovna. Yes, sir, this weather is unlike anything else: sometimes it is clear, and at other times it is completely rainy. A very big nuisance. Zhevakin. Here in Sicily, mother, we were with the squadron in the springtime - if you fit it, it will turn out to be our February - you used to go out of the house: a sunny day, and then some kind of rain; and you look, exactly, as if it's raining. Fried eggs. The most unpleasant thing is when you sit alone in such weather. A married person is a completely different matter - not bored; and if alone - it's so easy ... Zhevakin. Oh, death, perfect death! Anuchkin. Yes, you can say that... Kochkarev. Which! Just torment! life will not be happy; God forbid to experience such a situation. Fried eggs. And how, madam, if you had to choose a subject? Let me know your taste. Sorry for being so direct. In what service do you think it is more appropriate for a husband to be? Zhevakin. Would you like, madam, to have as a husband a man familiar with sea storms? Kochkarev. No no. The best, in my opinion, husband is the man who alone manages almost the entire department. Anuchkin. Why the prejudice? Why do you want to show disdain for a man who, although, of course, served in the infantry service, knows how, however, to appreciate the manners of high society. Fried eggs. Ma'am, allow me!

Agafya Tikhonovna is silent.

Fekla. Answer me, my mother. Tell them something. Fried eggs. How is it, mother? Kochkarev. What is your opinion, Agafya Tikhonovna? Fekla (quiet to her). Say, say: thank you, they say, with my pleasure. It's not good to sit like that. Agafya Tikhonovna (quiet). I'm ashamed, I'm really ashamed, I'll leave, I'll leave right. Auntie, sit for me. Fekla. Oh, don't do it shamefully, don't go away; completely embarrassed. They don't know what they'll think. Agafya Tikhonovna (Also). No, I'll leave. I'll go, I'll go! (Runs away.)

Fekla and Arina Panteleimonovna leave after her.

Phenomenon XX

The same except those who have left.

Fried eggs. Here you are, and everyone is gone! What does it mean? Kochkarev. Something must have happened. Zhevakin. Somehow about the ladies' toilet... Fix something like that... a shirt-front... pin it down.

Fekla is included. All to meet her with questions: “What, what is it?”

Kochkarev. Something happened? Fekla. How can it happen. By God, nothing happened. Kochkarev. Why did she leave? Fekla. Yes, they shamed me, that's why I left; completely embarrassed, so I didn’t sit still. He asks to be excused: in the evening, for a cup of tea to come. (Exits.) Fried eggs (to the side). Oh, this is my cup of tea! That's why I don't like wooing - there will be a fuss: today it's impossible, but perhaps tomorrow, and even the day after tomorrow for a cup, but you still need to think. But the thing is rubbish, not at all a puzzle. Damn it, I'm a man of office, I have no time! Kochkarev (Podwheel). But the hostess is not bad, is she? Podkolesin. Yes, not stupid. Zhevakin. But the hostess is good. Kochkarev (to the side). Damn it! This fool is in love. It will probably get in the way too. (Aloud.) Not good at all, not good at all. Fried eggs. The nose is big. Zhevakin. Well, no, I didn't notice the nose. She's... such a rose. Anuchkin. I myself, too, their opinions. No, not that, not that ... I even think that she is hardly familiar with the treatment of high society. And does she still speak French? Zhevakin. Why, I dare to ask, didn't you try, didn't speak French with her? Maybe he knows. Anuchkin. Do you think I speak French? No, I did not have the good fortune to benefit from such an upbringing. My father was a scoundrel, a brute. He never thought to teach me French. I was still a child then, it was easy to teach me - you just had to cut it well, and I would know, I would certainly know. Zhevakin. Well, yes, now that you don’t know what kind of profit you have if it ... Anuchkin. And no, no. A woman is a completely different matter. She must certainly know, and without that she has both this and that ... (shows with gestures)- everything will not be the same. Fried eggs (to the side). Well, someone else takes care of that. And I’ll go and inspect the house and outbuilding from the yard: if only everything is as it should be, I’ll get things done this very evening. These suitors are not dangerous to me - the people are somehow painfully thin. Brides don't like them. Zhevakin. Go smoke a pipe. What, are we on the way? Where, may I ask, do you live? Anuchkin. And on Sands, in Petrovsky Lane. Zhevakin. Yes, sir, there will be a circle: I am on the island, in the Eighteenth line; but still, I will accompany you. Starikov. No, there is something arrogant here. Ah, remember later, Agafya Tikhonovna, and us. With my respect, gentlemen! (Bows and leaves.)

Phenomenon XXI

Podkolesin And Kochkarev.

Podkolesin. Well, let's go too. Kochkarev. Well, isn't it true that the hostess is nice? Podkolesin. What! I confess I don't like it. Kochkarev. Here on! what's this? Why, you yourself agreed that she was good. Podkolesin. Yes, it’s somehow not that: the nose is long, and he doesn’t know French. Kochkarev. What else is this? what do you mean in french? Podkolesin. Well, after all, the bride must know French. Kochkarev. Why? Podkolesin. Yes, because ... I don’t know why, but everything will be wrong with her. Kochkarev. Well, the fool just said one, and he hung his ears. She is a beauty, just a beauty; You will not find such a girl anywhere. Podkolesin. Yes, at first I liked it myself, but after they began to say: long nose, long nose - well, I examined it, and I see for myself that it is a long nose. Kochkarev. Oh, you, Piraeus, did not find the doors! They deliberately interpret to discourage you; and I didn't praise either - that's how it's done. This, brother, is such a girl! Just look at her eyes: after all, those are the devil knows what kind of eyes; say breathe! And the nose - I don't know what a nose is! whiteness is alabaster! And not everyone can compare with alabaster. You take a good look at yourself. Podkolesin (smiling). Yes, now I see again that she seems to be good. Kochkarev. Of course it's good! Listen, now, since they've all gone, let's go to her, explain ourselves - and that's it! Podkolesin. Well, I won't do that. Kochkarev. Why? Podkolesin. Yes, what kind of arrogance? There are many of us, let her choose. Kochkarev. Well, why should you look at them: are you afraid of rivalry, or what? If you want, I'll send them all away in one minute. Podkolesin. How are you going to get rid of them? Kochkarev. Well, that's my business. Just give me your word that you won't deny it later.