Who really is Khlestakov. The image and characteristics of Khlestakov in Gogol's comedy "The Government Inspector": description of appearance and character

Who is Khlestakov

The Inspector General is one of the first theatrical plays written by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. One of the central characters of the work is Khlestakov, a young man who found himself in the city of N on his way from St. Petersburg to the village to his father.

A brief description of Khlestakov from Gogol's The Inspector General can be made up of just two words: frivolous and irresponsible. All the money that his father sent him, he lost, lost in cards. In the tavern where Khlestakov lives with his servant Osip, he owes money for housing and food. Moreover, he is indignant that they do not want to feed him for free, as if everyone around him is obliged to support him.

As Gogol writes in a brief description in "Remarks for Messrs. Actors", Khlestakov is an empty person.

The role of Khlestakov in the play

In the course of the play, Khlestakov finds himself in a situation where he is mistaken for an inspector. Khlestakov was frightened at first, thinking that the mayor was going to put him in jail, but then, quickly orienting himself, used the situation to his advantage. Realizing that nothing threatens him so far and using the rank of honor on the part of the mayor and other characters, Khlestakov fishes out money from them and hides in an unknown direction. Without knowing it, Khlestakov plays the role of a scalpel that opened an abscess on the patient's body. All the dirty deeds that the officials in the city of N are doing suddenly come out. People who consider themselves the “elite” of the city begin to pour mud on each other. Although before the scene where everyone is bringing offerings to Khlestakov, everyone smiled sweetly and pretended that everything was fine.

Surname Khlestakov and his role in the play - is there a connection?

The surname Khlestakov is well suited to his role in the play, because with his deceit he seemed to “whip” all the characters on the cheeks. It is difficult to say whether Gogol connected Khlestakov's character in the comedy The Inspector General with his last name. But the meaning is very similar to this. Moreover, Khlestakov simply assumed the role imposed on him by those around him, and took the opportunity.

Khlestakov's relationship with the characters of the play

Depending on who he was with and under what circumstances, his attitude towards the heroes also changed. For example, with Osip Khlestakov - a gentleman, capricious, a little rude, behaves like a little unreasonable child. Although he scolds him at times, Khlestakov nevertheless listens to his opinion, it is thanks to the cunning and caution of the servant that Khlestakov manages to leave before being exposed.

With women, Khlestakov is a dandy from the capital, whispering compliments to any lady, regardless of age.

With Gorodnichiy and city officials - at first frightened, and then insolent visiting liar, pretending to be an important bird.

Khlestakov easily adapts to any situation and finds benefits for himself, as a result, getting "dry out of the water."

Khlestakov and modernity

The plot of the play surprisingly resonates with today. And now you can meet the servility described in the work. And the characterization of Khlestakov in the comedy "The Inspector General" is quite suitable for many people. After all, it often happens when a person, trying to appear more significant, boasts of acquaintances with celebrities or, adapting to the situation, lies and dodges.

Gogol seems to describe the events taking place at the present time. But when he wrote The Inspector General he was only twenty-seven years old. And this once again confirms that genius does not depend on age.

Artwork test

Khlestakov

KHLESTAKOV - the hero of N.V. Gogol's comedy "The Government Inspector" (late 1835 - early 1836; final version - 1842). Ivan Alexandrovich X., a petty Petersburg official, in the words of his servant Osip, "a simple elist" (that is, he has the rank of collegiate registrar, the lowest in the table of ranks), heading from the northern capital "to the Saratov province, to his own village ”, was adopted in the county town for an auditor, “nobleman”, holder of a high rank (according to Bobchinsky, he is “the generalissimo himself”). Having received a substantial amount of money as bribes, treated kindly, declared the fiancé of Marya Antonovna, the daughter of the Gorodnichiy, X. safely goes home. X. is exposed only after his departure with the help of his letter to his friend Tryapichkin, which was read by officials. The novelty of this scenic plot, and at the same time of X. as an artistic character, is determined by their relationship with real cases and persons.

Three main variants of an official misunderstanding, qui pro quo, were possible: in the place of the “auditor” there was either a deceiver, deliberately, for selfish purposes, impersonating another; or a man who, although he did not seek to deceive, yet fully entered into his new position and even tried to profit from it; or, finally, an outsider, accidentally mistaken for a high person, but not taking advantage of this mistake. The first case took place in Ustyuzhin, where a certain adventurer pretended to be “an official of the ministry” and robbed “all city dwellers” (from the memoirs of V.A. Sollogub). The second incident happened to the writer P.P. Svinin when he was in Bessarabia, which, by the way, was reflected in Pushkin’s sketch of the work, which is very reminiscent of the scheme of the future “Inspector General”: (Svinin) Crispin arrives in Province N for a fair - he is taken for (nrzb ) ... Governor / ator / honest fool - Lip / ernator / flirts with him - Crispin wooes his daughter ”(Crispin is the role of a rogue and braggart in French comedy). Finally, the third case occurred with Pushkin himself, who, on his way to Uralsk (1833), was mistaken in Nizhny Novgorod for a person who had “a secret assignment to collect information about malfunctions” (the story of the memoirist and historian P.I. Bartenev); learning about this later, already in Orenburg, Pushkin laughed to his heart's content at the unexpected hoax.

However, the concept of the image in Gogol, who apparently was aware of all three cases, does not coincide with any of them. X. is not an adventurer, not a selfish deceiver; he does not set himself any conscious goal at all (in the draft version, X. said to himself when Gorodnichiy appeared: “... do not succumb. By God, do not succumb”; but then this phrase was removed: adhere to some deliberate He doesn't have a plan.) X. all within a given minute, acts and speaks almost reflexively, under the influence of circumstances. He never figured out what happened; only in act IV does he vaguely imagine that he is mistaken for someone else, but for whom exactly - remained a mystery to him. X. is sincere both when he tells the truth and when he lies, for his lies are akin to the fantasies of a child.

In the documents relating to the "Inspector" and interpreting its content, Gogol emphasized in every possible way precisely this feature of X. - unintentionality and naturalness: “X. does not inflate at all; he is not a liar by trade; he himself will forget that he is lying, and he himself almost believes what he says ”(“ Excerpt from a letter written by the author shortly after the first presentation of The Inspector General ”). "It's all about surprise and surprise.<...>He started talking, not knowing at all from the beginning of the conversation where his speech would lead. Topics for conversations are given to him by the investigators. They themselves, as it were, put everything in his mouth and create a conversation "(" Forewarning for those who would like to play "The Inspector General" properly "). But it was precisely this candor that deceived Gorodnichy and company, who were expecting to meet a real auditor, who were also able to expose some kind of swindler, but who turned out to be powerless in the face of naivety and unintentionality. It can be said that the “throwers” ​​create not only a “conversation”, but also the very appearance of a formidable auditor - with the participation of X., but without his initiative.

X. is also unusual in its position in comedic intrigue, which was most often controlled by a person who acted in the guise of another; such are (if we call the examples closest to the “Inspector General”) Semyon in “A Lesson to Daughters” by I.A. Kvitka-Osnovyanenko, as well as numerous vaudeville heroes, these, as Gogol said, "vaudeville naughty ones." The role of X. in the intrigue, although he wins, is passive; nevertheless, the author insisted on his status as the protagonist. This status gave the play a special, fantastic color (X. - “a phantasmagoric face, a face that, like a deceitful, personified deception, was carried away along with a troika ...” - “Forewarning ...”), turned the traditional comedy intrigue into mirage intrigue.

The first performers of the role of X. - N.O. Dur at the Alexandrinsky Theater (premiere on April 19, 1836) and D.T. Lensky at the Moscow Maly Theater (premiere on May 25 of the same year) - could not separate their hero from the traditional role of a vaudeville liar, rogues. Only gradually came the comprehension of X. as an exclusively original character, and Gogol himself contributed to this process; so, on November 5, 1851, he read a comedy in the presence of writers and actors, including S.V. Shuisky, who played X., in order to show how this role should be played, especially the scene of lies: “... this is something like ecstasy, inspiration, creative delight - this is not a simple lie, not a simple boasting ”(from the memoirs of I.S. Turgenev, who was present at the reading). Among the subsequent remarkable interpreters of X. are S.V. Vasiliev (1858), M.P. Sadovsky (1877), P.V. Samoilov (1892). “Here, by the way, is one detail invented by Mr. Samoylov. When he tells how he plays whist with the mighty of this world, he begins to count partners with great aplomb: the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the French envoy, the German envoy ... Then he suddenly thinks: "who else to invent" and suddenly remembers: - And I ... This is pronounced with an apologetic smile and evokes obsequious laughter from those around” (New time. 1902. No. 9330). In later productions, the grotesque coloring of the image of X. intensified, this especially applies to the play of M.A. Chekhov (Art Theater, 1921) and E.P. Garin (State Theater named after Vs. Meyerhold, 1926).

In the performance of Chekhov, X. appeared with a pale face, with an eyebrow curved with a sickle - a visiting card of a clown, a jester, a madman; appeared as “an empty creature, sometimes arrogant, sometimes cowardly, lying with rapture, all the time playing something - some kind of continuous improvisation ...” (Bulletin of the theater. 1921. No. 91-92. P. 11). In the interpretation of Meyerhold, carried out by Garin, X. is a “principled mystifier and adventurer”, “sharp player” (V.E. Meyerhold. Articles, letters, speeches, conversations. M., 1968. 4.2. P. 145); in his appearance there was something from a “werewolf”, from a “petty demon” (D. Talnikov. New revision of the “Inspector”. M .; L., 1927. P. 49-51). Both concepts markedly deviated from Gogol's interpretation, according to which in X. "nothing should be marked sharply", "he even sometimes holds himself well" ("Excerpt from a letter ..."), not to mention the fact that Meyerhold attached it actions some purposefulness; however, thanks to all this, the phantasmagoric nature of the image and the whole play as a whole was intensified. Among the subsequent outstanding performers of the role of X. - I.V. Ilyinsky (Maly Theater, 1938), O.V. Basilashvili (Bolshoi Drama Theater, 1972), A.A. Mironov (Moscow Theater of Satire, 1972).

A deep understanding of Khlestakovism as a phenomenon was also facilitated by literary criticism and journalism. A.A. Grigoriev wrote that the degree of satirical effect is directly proportional to the smallness of X. as a person: “The emptier, smoother, colorless X. will be on stage<...>, the stricter Nemesis will appear over the iniquities of the city ”(A.A. Grigoriev. Theater criticism. L., 1985. P. 120). V.G.Korolenko, considering the image of X., analyzed the phenomenon of imposture: the history of X. “in thousands of live pictures is repeated annually, monthly, almost daily all over the face of the Russian land” (V.G.Korolenko. Poly. collected. Op. SPb. T.Z. S.363). N.A. Berdyaev extended the analysis of Khlestakovism to Russia of the Soviet period: “There is no longer autocracy, but X. still plays an important official, everyone still trembles before him<...>. Khlestakov's courage at every step makes itself felt in the Russian revolution "(N. Berdyaev. Spirits of the Russian Revolution

// Russian thought. 1918, May-June; see also: Literary studies. 1990, March-April. S. 123 et seq.). I.A. Ilyin, saying that “X. reminds us<...>about the numerous impostors that arise in Russian history, who gave rise to so much misfortune, ”emphasized the international significance of this character:“ But it’s not only Russia that should be discussed ... ”(quoted from the book: N. Poltoratsky. Ivan Alexandrovich Ilyin. Ed. Hermitage, 1989. P. 89).

Lit .: Gippius V.V. Comic writer's mission

//Gippius V.V. Gogol. L., 1924; Danilov S.S. Gogol and theater. L., 1936; Mann Yu.V. "Inspector". General situation. Mirage intrigue

//Mann Yu.V. Poetics of Gogol. M., 1988; Makogonenko G.P. Pushkin's beginning in Gogol's comedy "The Government Inspector"

//Makogonenko G.P. Gogol and Pushkin. L., 1985; Matskin A.P. Mikhail Chekhov - Khlestakov. Meyerhold. How the Auditor was created

//Matskin A.P. On the themes of Gogol. M., 1984; Lotman Yu.M. About Khlestakov

//Lotman Yu.M. In the school of poetry. Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol. M., 1988.

Yu.V.Mann

literary heroes. - Academician. 2009 .

See what "KHLESTAKOV" is in other dictionaries:

See bahval ... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and expressions similar in meaning. under. ed. N. Abramova, M .: Russian Dictionaries, 1999. Khlestakov braggart, braggart; in one fell swoop of seven kills, fanfaron Dictionary of Russian synonyms ... Synonym dictionary

The protagonist of the comedy The Inspector General (1836) by N. V. Gogol (1809 1852), a braggart and dreamer. A common noun for people of this type. Hence the "Khlestakovism" shameless, boastful lies and narcissism (deprecating, ironic). Encyclopedic ... ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions

Khlestakov- Comedy hero N.V. Gogol's "Inspector"*. Ivan Alexandrovich Khlestakov is a petty metropolitan official who, on his way from St. Petersburg * to his village * in the Saratov province, was mistaken for an auditor by officials of a small district town. Having received a large... Linguistic Dictionary

A; m. [capitalized] Unapproved. About a frivolous, empty person, distinguished by unbridled boasting and lies. Real Khlestakov! The Khlestakovs are and always will be. ● By the name of the comedy hero N.V. Gogol's Inspector General (1836). ◁ Khlestakovsky, ah ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Khlestakov- A; m.; disapproved see also Khlestakov, in Khlestakov's style By the name of the hero of the comedy N.V. Gogol's Inspector General (1836). About a frivolous, empty person, distinguished by unbridled boasting and lies. Real Khlestakov! The Khlestakovs are and will always be ... Dictionary of many expressions

Khlestakov (Khlestakovism, whipping). A braggart, a reported liar. Wed He's all gone... into a stupid, ridiculous panache, into Khlestakovism of the very last sort. P. Boborykin. Three posters. 5. Wed. He broke off the hinges and already a little ... ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Khlestakov

comedy hero N.V. Gogol "Inspector".

A shot from the film "Inspector General" by V. Petrov. Khlestakov - I. Gorbachev (on the right):

Russia. Large linguo-cultural dictionary. - M .: State Institute of the Russian Language. A.S. Pushkin. AST-Press. T.N. Chernyavskaya, K.S. Miloslavskaya, E.G. Rostova, O.E. Frolova, V.I. Borisenko, Yu.A. Vyunov, V.P. Chudnov. 2007 .

See what "KHLESTAKOV" is in other dictionaries:

Khlestakov- See bahval ... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and expressions similar in meaning. under. ed. N. Abramova, M .: Russian Dictionaries, 1999. Khlestakov braggart, braggart; in one fell swoop of seven kills, fanfaron Dictionary of Russian synonyms ... Synonym dictionary

Khlestakov- the hero of N.V. Gogol's comedy "The Government Inspector" (end of 1835, beginning of 1836; final version of 1842). Ivan Aleksandrovich X., a petty Petersburg official, in the words of his servant Osip, “a simple spruce ratishka” (that is, he has the rank of collegiate registrar, ... ... literary heroes

Khlestakov- The protagonist of the comedy "The Inspector General" (1836) by N.V. Gogol (1809 1852), a braggart and dreamer. A common noun for people of this type. Hence the "Khlestakovism" shameless, boastful lies and narcissism (deprecating, ironic). Encyclopedic ... ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions

Khlestakov- A; m. [capitalized] Unapproved. About a frivolous, empty person, distinguished by unbridled boasting and lies. Real Khlestakov! The Khlestakovs are and always will be. ● By the name of the comedy hero N.V. Gogol's Inspector General (1836). ◁ Khlestakovsky, ah ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Khlestakov- A; m.; disapproved see also Khlestakov, in Khlestakov's style By the name of the hero of the comedy N.V. Gogol's Inspector General (1836). About a frivolous, empty person, distinguished by unbridled boasting and lies. Real Khlestakov! The Khlestakovs are and will always be ... Dictionary of many expressions

Khlestakov- Khlestakov (Khlestakovism, Khlestakovism). A braggart, a reported liar. Wed He's all gone... into a stupid, ridiculous panache, into Khlestakovism of the very last sort. P. Boborykin. Three posters. 5. Wed. He broke off the hinges and already a little ... ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Khlestakov- m. 1. Literary character. 2. Used as a symbol of a shameless, unrestrained falsely frivolous braggart. Explanatory Dictionary of Efremova. T. F. Efremova. 2000... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language Efremova

Khlestakov- Khlestak ov, and ... Russian spelling dictionary

Khlestakov- (2 m) (lit. character; type of shameless braggart and liar) ... Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language

Khlestakov- the main character of Gogol's famous comedy The Inspector General, a petty Petersburg official, who in a remote province is mistaken for an important person of the auditor. Painfully frivolous and boastful, he takes the opportunity to show off and ... ... Historical reference book of a Russian Marxist

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• Great Literary Heroes, Collection. Glorious Gilgamesh, noble Ivanhoe, romantic Assol and inimitable Munchausen. Literary heroes penetrate our world in order to settle in it forever, create and actively influence us.…

The most, in my opinion, comical and even a little stupid hero of Gogol's comedy "The Government Inspector" is Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov.

The author says that Khlestakov looks twenty-three years old, he is thin and "without a king in his head", which the reader will be convinced of throughout the comedy. On the way from St. Petersburg to his native Saratov, Khlestakov loses all his money, so he stops in province N, where all the events of the comedy unfold.

Local officials and merchants perceive Khlestakov as the strictest auditor, they had an opinion about him even before their personal communication, this is one of the main moments of the comedy, because if people themselves invented the ruler of their destinies, then it will be very difficult to convince them, even if you behave as stupid and tactless as Khlestakov behaved.

Due to the fact that everyone perceives Ivan Alexandrovich as a judge of his future, people simply do not notice that his habits, speech and the stories that he tells about himself are at odds with reality. And even if they notice, then for them it is not a beam in the eye, but a small speck of dust. An example of this is the conversation of the Gorodnichiy, who, after Khlestakov's boasting about his position in St. Petersburg and talking on a short note with the emperor himself, says that even if half of what Khlestakov said is true, then this is already a collapse, because such a respected person saw everything the shortcomings of the city run by the Governor.

Khlestakov, being a man of not the most honest breed, takes advantage of the moment and receives the maximum benefit from the current situation. Although he does not realize that he is perceived as an auditor who can put everyone in prison, he understands that his position among these stupid residents seems very high to them, his connections in St. Petersburg are extremely powerful, so he uses the power that he has : allegedly borrows money from all officials, which he will never return, although he promises; eats as much as possible; accepts payment for himself in a hotel, where he has debts for two weeks of accommodation and food.

He listens to all the merchants' complaints about his Governor, promises to sort it out and, of course, punish the culprit. He takes money from the workers for this, listens to the problems of two women, but in the end he simply forgets everything that he heard, because it doesn’t matter to him.

He is greedy for women and tries to succeed immediately with both the Gorodnichiy's daughter and his wife. Even at such an already absurd moment, no one guesses what Khlestakov is, and when they understand, it's too late.

An essay about Khlestakov

Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General" was written a long time ago, but it is still relevant. And there are many reasons for this. The magnificent style that distinguishes each work of Nikolai Vasilyevich, subtle, almost jeweler irony, which few people will not cause a smile, topical social problems that make more than one generation of readers think about it, and, of course, the characters: bright, original, very recognizable. One of these characters is the protagonist of Gogol's immortal comedy "The Inspector General", a swindler and rogue named Khlestakov. This is an impudent and self-confident young man who knows human psychology well and knows how, using human weaknesses, to achieve success in his plans.

One of the main character traits of Khlestakov is that this impudent young man believes that for some reason everyone should please him in every possible way and help him. That is why he willingly accepts bribes and gifts from those around him and happily begins to play the role of an imaginary auditor. Khlestakov loves when they pay a lot of attention to him, when they bow before him, fawn over him. He likes to feel all-powerful, although in reality he is absolutely nothing.

Khlestakov is one of those people who are used to taking everything from life. When he is mistaken for an auditor, he revels in his power and impunity, not at all thinking about the future, about where this performance of one actor will lead him. This person does not have any moral and ethical principles, he is used to living according to the principle "even grass does not grow after me." Khlestakov considers himself the king of life, and the rest - miserable, absolutely worthless people. But then life puts everything in its place, at the end of the performance, when the real auditor arrives.

In his comedy, Gogol had in mind that Khlestakov's features live in many contemporary people, and it is no coincidence that he chose the Russian folk saying "There is nothing to blame on the mirror if the face is crooked" as an epigraph to the work. By this, he wanted to tell readers that they should not be offended if they inadvertently find their features in the image of Khlestakov.

Khlestakov is just a petty official, but, nevertheless, he is sure that all the best in life should go to him. He simply does not notice other people, is indifferent to their needs and desires. Other people for him are just pawns with which he carries out his plans. Gogol also portrays Khlestakov as a good psychologist: He easily gains confidence in a variety of people, finds a common language with people, uses human weaknesses in order to cash in on them. Gogol portrays him as completely unprincipled and callous, deaf to the feelings and experiences of other people.

Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General" is still relevant due to the fact that in it Gogol draws very vivid types of human characters, in particular, vivid images of the impudent swindler Khlestakov and faint-hearted people who are afraid of the auditor and in every possible way curry favor with him, losing their own dignity. But the image of Khlestakov is drawn most vividly. Khlestakov is an impudent, self-confident swindler who is sure that his fraud will go unpunished and does not put the people around him in anything. There have been such people at all times, there were in the time of Gogol, and they still exist today. And they will.

Khlestakov's characterization in Gogol's comedy The Government Inspector

One of the main characters in Gogol's comedy "The Government Inspector" is Khlestakov. Gogol specifically chose such a surname for him. The root of the word is to whip, whip after someone. An inconspicuous, thin man, twenty-three years old. A petty official, a gambler, lost all his money on the way and is now sitting in a hotel in a county town, hungry. Therefore, he looks into everyone's plates. He wants to eat, but the mayor takes him for an auditor.

Likes to dream and likes to lie a little about himself. And he enjoys it. As if everyone is paying attention to him and even took him for an important general.

His lies are like the lies of a child, he himself believes in him. Gives out wishful thinking. The inhabitants of the city unwittingly help him in this - they believe all his tales. No one, including the mayor, bothered to check him and look at his documents. Everyone was waiting for the auditor, they were afraid of his check, and here the visitor does not pay money and sticks his nose everywhere. Why not an auditor? Therefore, no one paid attention to some inconsistency of facts in his speeches. Where has it been seen that the ambassadors of foreign powers played cards with the first comer. And a person who does not have any military rank was promised to be given the highest military rank of field marshal.

Khlestakov managed to deceive even the mayor, who boasts that he has been deceiving people for thirty years of his service. He did not understand who he was confused with. If I had been a little smarter, I would have benefited from the current situation. And so he just wanted to eat and borrow some money to go further. After all, he did not plan to stay in this city for a long time. He never plans anything at all, he does not live by reason, but benefits from the current situation.

Khlestakov is a man without moral principles, stupid, lazy. He prefers not to work, but to spend time at the card table. He borrows money from people, knowing in advance that he will not give them back. He deceives two women at once - the mayor's wife and daughter. The daughter is seduced by the prospect of marrying a man from the capital. He does not feel sorry for anyone and does not see except his person, a cynic and an egoist.

In the person of Khlestakov, Gogol shows that how can one be deceived in a person who only wants to appear to be what he really is not.

Essay 4

Gogol's work "The Inspector General" is an excellent example of domestic phantasmagoria and humor within the framework of literary prose and work. This work differs from the rest of his creations in that it has its own unique atmosphere and identity, again, within the framework of his work, and his vision of problems and their solutions. Also, the work is unique in its special style of narration and syllable, although these are already more technical aspects of the work. One way or another, the work is a wonderful example of Gogol's literary genius. This work is "The Inspector".

The work tells about the story of a very cunning and talented scammer Khlestakov, who, thanks to his knowledge of human psychology and his assertiveness, and partly, self-confidence, gets everything he needs. Also in the work there are many different aspects that I would like to discuss, but for now we will only discuss the image and character of the fraudster Khlestakov.

Khlestakov is essentially a person who does not care about the state of his environment, because from any situation he can always find a benefit for himself. He does not care about anything other than his safety, and his well-being, because of which the reader sometimes has conflicting feelings about this image. He is a hidden person, not having, at least not showing them, real friends. He only pretends that his supposedly friends are important to him, but in fact he thinks over how he can squeeze benefits out of them for himself. That's the way he is and there's nothing you can do about it. He also tries to trick as many people as possible, most likely to improve his skill.

It was the image of Khlestakov that Gogol turned out to be the most vivid and strong, which, undoubtedly, should be remembered by the reader, if only for his bitingness and self-confidence. I believe that this is what the author tried to focus on when he wrote the work, because this is what helps the reader to remember the image and keep it in his head, comprehending and scrolling through everything too, and, accordingly, return to this work again. This is my subjective opinion, and therefore, it cannot be regarded as objective.

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The image of the false auditor in Gogol's comedy is not at all the main one, but it is a key character, on the basis of interaction with which the characters of all the heroes, officials of a small county town, are written out. Khlestakov was that touchstone, which shows all the comedy and bureaucratic lawlessness, and the whole life of Russia at that time. It is on the stupidity of this petty official, who happened to be passing through here, that all the stupidity and worthlessness of the local aristocracy and the bureaucratic elite looms.

Initially, a stupid, eccentric young man is shown with excessive claims to life, which, as we understand, are his style of behavior. Then we see in his example the reality of this nature in other heroes of the play.

Khlestakov's characteristic

The initial characterization of Khlestakov was already given by the author himself, as a recommendation for the actor who will embody this image on stage. He is characterized as an empty and extremely stupid person. However, in the course of the play, the image of Khlestakov opens up more fully, in all its comic diversity.

It is no coincidence that the first appearance on the stage of this image is not associated with the young man himself, but with his servant, who talks for a long time about the owner. He characterizes him - “it would be good if it was worthwhile, otherwise it’s a simple lady”, meaning obviously the most insignificant rank and the fact that the owner behaves stupidly and arrogantly out of status. They are completely characterized by the local owner of the hotel - "you and your master are scammers, and your master is a rogue." It is difficult to give a more precise description. In a dispute with the owner, not just stupidity is manifested, but an awkward childish naivety in an attempt to still make a proper impression and deceive everyone.

(Artist L. Konstantinovsky, illustration for "The Government Inspector", 1951)

It is these attempts that he succeeds with success when he communicates with local officials. For local officials, the fear of exposure of their unseemly acts in the service and innate servility close up the seemingly obvious stupidity of the visitor. And Khlestakov, as they say, has already suffered.

In dealing with the mayor and the local elite, our hero shows remarkable imagination and reckless impudence, which could be quickly exposed in ordinary society, but in this case passes for the truth. No less stupid are the ladies, and the police, and the owner of the city himself, whom the author described as "not a very stupid person."

The image of Khlestakov as the main character of the comedy

And yet, Khlestakov, with his role in the play, interacting with the rest of the characters, is the main character. The way the rest of the characters characterize him, in a positive laudatory or in a negative ironic way, reveals their own characters.

By chance, finding himself in the role of the capital's auditor, Khlestakov, not at all embarrassed, takes on this role and fulfills it in accordance with his own primitive ideas about the habits and lifestyle of high officials. However, the fact that they cannot expose him suggests that it was precisely such habits that all bureaucracy was endowed with.

(Weinstein Mark Grigorievich "Khlestakov and the Governor", 1945-1952)

They easily believe him and obsequiously try to please, especially seeing in him a bird of "high flight". An intelligent mayor, seasoned policemen, young ladies easily recognize him as a capital burner. Obviously, according to Gogol's plan, this is a hyperbole of the beau monde that he observed in real life. And the final silent scene turns out to be the apogee of comedy and is perceived by the actors themselves as only a possible repetition of everything that happened.

Even the very fact of exposure did not in any way affect the change in the consciousness of one's own mistake and stupidity of either the local bigwigs or the false auditor himself. The only annoyance on both sides is the unfortunate mistake and the fact that this official did not turn out to be exactly who he claimed to be. Only one annoyance that "will spread history around the world." And the very fact of the mistake did not turn out to be a lesson for anyone, because the mistake itself was only in the personality of the arrived veil, but not in his behavior, actions, stories and boasting. As the mayor said - “I myself am not glad that I drank, as if even half of what he said turns out to be true!” This is precisely the main meaning invested in the image of the protagonist, the author. The stupidity of officials reveals the very viciousness of the entire bureaucratic system of the state.