Chatsky is the main character. Characteristics of the hero Chatsky, Woe from Wit, Griboyedov. The image of the character Chatsky. The meaning of the image of Chatsky

The Famus society, which firmly preserved the traditions of the "past century", is opposed by Alexander Andreich Chatsky. He is an advanced man of the "present century", more precisely, of the time when, after the Patriotic War of 1812, which sharpened the social consciousness of the Russian people, secret revolutionary circles and political societies began to emerge and develop. ( This material will help to competently write on the topic The image and character of Chatsky in the comedy Woe from Wit. The summary does not make it possible to understand the whole meaning of the work, therefore this material will be useful for a deep understanding of the work of writers and poets, as well as their novels, stories, stories, plays, poems.) Chatsky in the literature of the 20s of the XIX century is the most vivid image of a "new man", a positive hero, a Decembrist in terms of views, social behavior, moral convictions, throughout the mind and soul.

The son of a deceased friend of Famusov, Chatsky grew up in his house, in childhood he was brought up and studied with Sophia under the guidance of Russian and foreign teachers and governors. The framework of the comedy did not allow Griboyedov to tell in detail where Chatsky studied further, how he grew and developed. We only know that he is an educated person, is engaged in literary work (“he writes gloriously, translates”), that he was in the military service, had connections with ministers, was abroad for three years (obviously, as part of the Russian army). Staying abroad enriched Chatsky with new impressions, broadened his mental horizons, but did not make him a fan of everything foreign. Chatsky's inherent qualities were protected from this servility before Europe, so typical of Famus society: genuine patriotism, love for the motherland, for its people, a critical attitude to the surrounding reality, independence of views, a developed sense of personal and national dignity.

Returning to Moscow, Chatsky found in the life of the noble society the same vulgarity and emptiness that characterized it in the old years. He found the same spirit of moral oppression, suppression of the individual, which reigned in this society before the war of 1812.

The collision of Chatsky - a man with a strong-willed character, wholehearted in his feelings, a fighter for an idea - with the Famus society was inevitable. This clash takes gradually

An increasingly fierce character, it is complicated by Chatsky's personal drama - the collapse of his hopes for personal happiness; his attacks on the noble society are becoming more and more harsh.

Chatsky enters into a struggle with the Famusian society. In the speeches of Chatsky, the opposition of his views to the views of Famusov Moscow is clearly expressed.

1. If Famusov is the defender of the old century, the heyday of serfdom, then Chatsky, with the indignation of a revolutionary Decembrist, speaks of serfdom, of serfdom. In the monologue "Who are the judges?" he angrily opposes those people who are the pillars of the noble society. He sharply speaks out against the dear to the heart of Famusov's order of Catherine's age, "the century of obedience and fear - the century of flattery and arrogance."

Chatsky's ideal is not Maksim Petrovich, an arrogant nobleman and a "hunter to cheat," but an independent, free person, alien to slavish humiliation.

2. If Famusov, Molchalin and Skalozub consider service as a source of personal benefits, service to persons, not to business, then Chatsky breaks ties with ministers, leaves the service precisely because he would like to serve the motherland, and not serve his superiors: he would be glad to serve , it's sickening to serve, ”he says. He defends the right to serve the country's enlightenment through scientific work, literature, art, although he realizes how difficult it is under the conditions of an autocratic serf system, Now let one of us, Of the young people, find an enemy of quests, Requiring neither places nor promoted! in a chip, In science, he sticks a mind hungry for knowledge; Or in his soul God himself will stir up the heat To the creative arts, high and beautiful,

They immediately: - robbery! fire! And he will be known as a dreamer! dangerous !!

These young people mean such people as Chatsky, Skalozub's cousin, princess Tugouhovskoy's nephew - “chemist and botanist”.

3. If the Famusian society scornfully treats everything that is popular, national, slavishly imitates the external culture of the West, especially France, even neglecting its native language, then Chatsky stands for the development of a national culture that assimilates the best, advanced achievements of European civilization. He himself "looked for the mind" during his stay in the West, but he is against the "empty, slavish, blind imitation" of foreigners.

Chatsky stands for the unity of the intelligentsia with the people. He has a high opinion of the Russian people. Calls him "smart" and "vigorous", that is, vital.

4. If the Famus society evaluates a person by his origin and the number of serf souls he has, then Chatsky sees the value of a person in his personal merits.

5. For Famusov and his circle, the opinion of the aristocratic society is sacred and infallible, the worst of all is “what will Princess Marya Aleksevna say!” Chatsky defends freedom of thought and opinion, recognizes that every person has the right to have their own convictions and express them openly. He asks Mol-chalin: "Why are the opinions of others only holy?"

6. Chatsky sharply opposes arbitrariness, despotism, against flattery, hypocrisy, against the emptiness of those vital interests that live in the conservative circles of the nobility.

With great completeness and clarity, Chatsky's spiritual qualities are revealed in his language: in the choice of words, in the construction of phrases, intonations, in the manner of speaking.

Chatsky's speech is the speech of an orator who is fluent in the word, a highly educated person.

According to its vocabulary, Chatsky's speech is rich and varied. He can express any concept and feeling, give an apt description to any person and touch on different aspects of life. We meet with him both folk words (just now, indeed, more than tea), and expressions characteristic only of the Russian language: "not a hair of love", "she does not put him in a penny", "but it is full of nonsense to grind" and others. Chatsky, like the Decembrists, appreciates the national culture: there are many ancient words in his speech (veche, finger, stick on the mind, hungry for knowledge, etc.). He uses foreign words if there is no corresponding Russian word to express the desired concept: climate, province, parallel, etc.

Chatsky constructs his speech in a syntactic respect in a variety of ways. As an orator, he makes extensive use of periodic speech. As a writer, he quotes from works of fiction in his speech. In his words:

When you wander, you will return home, And the smoke of the fatherland is sweet and pleasant to us! -

The last line is a slightly modified verse by Derzhavin:

Good news to us about our side; Fatherland and smoke are sweet and pleasant to us.

("Harp", 1798.)

Chatsky's mind is reflected in his widespread use of aphorisms, that is, short sayings-characteristics: "Fresh tradition, but hard to believe", "Blessed are those who believe: warmth to him in the world", "Houses are new, but prejudices are old", etc. P. Chatsky knows how to give concise but apt descriptions of people: "A low worshiper and a businessman" (Molchalin), "Constellation of a shunting" mazurka "(Skalozub)," And Guillaume, a Frenchman, blown out by the breeze? "

The tone of Chatsky's speech always clearly expresses his state of mind. Joyfully excited by the meeting with Sophia, he is "lively and talkative." His jokes about Muscovites at this moment are good-natured, his speech, addressed to Sophia, breathes lyricism. Later, as his struggle with Famus society intensified, Chatsky's speech was increasingly colored with indignation and caustic irony.

Alexander Andreevich Chatsky is a nobleman with about 400 serfs on his estate. He was orphaned early, so most of his upbringing took place in the house of his father's friend, Famusov. As soon as Alexander entered the period of growing up, he began to live independently. He wanted to get acquainted with the life of light, and he left his home for 3 years. In this article we will consider the image and characteristics of Chatsky in the comedy in verse "Woe from Wit" by A. S. Griboyedov.

Chatsky's education

Chatsky is a member of the English Club, which included rich and noble representatives of the nobility. He is smart, as evidenced by his ability to speak eloquently. From the words of the heroes of the comedy, it becomes known that the young man knows foreign languages, is trying to write himself:

"He writes and translates nicely."

Chatsky's speeches are so correctly composed that it seems that he does not speak, but writes. The young man's advanced views are not similar to the positions of representatives of the Famusov circle. It is knowledge and the desire for self-improvement that distinguish Alexander Andreevich from other heroes of the work. Famusov sees the reason for Alexander's behavior in education:

"Learning is a plague,

Learning is the reason ... "

The receding nobility is ready to close schools, lyceums and gymnasiums, only so that the Chatskys do not appear on their way.

Inconsistency of character

Griboyedov is trying to bring the situation in the landlord's house closer to reality. This explains the fact that all the heroes of the work have positive and negative traits, like ordinary people. Chatsky is no exception.

Intelligence and categoricalness. The hero's intellect does not prevent him from being tactless. He does not analyze his judgments, is not afraid to ridicule the defenseless. They cannot answer him in the same way, since they are limited in mental capabilities. Justifies the behavior of a young nobleman only statements against immorality. With categorical judgments, he tries to fight her. But, as an intelligent person, he could understand that he was talking in vain. His statements do not reach those to whom they are directed. At times it just shakes the air. One gets the impression that this is a conversation with oneself. It was this quality that A. Pushkin did not like. He thinks that throwing beads in front of the Repetilovs is not the business of smart people.

Love and passion. Another contradiction is the feelings of the hero. He is in love with a girl who chose another. Moreover, it is difficult even to compare them. Love made Chatsky blind. The passion and desire to know who he was preferred, equated him with the funny characters of the comedy ball. I would like the hero to leave the stage with his head proudly raised, and he just runs away from those who slandered about him and spread gossip.

The hero's love of freedom

Chatsky thinks freely and does not adhere to the rules imposed on him by the older generation. It is the speeches that scare Famusov. The old landowner includes him among the Jacobins and Carbonari. He does not understand Chatsky's ideas. Freedom of thought creates fear and apprehension. The love of freedom led the young man to a path incomprehensible to the elderly. Two career lines have been familiar for the century:

• military service;
• work as an official.

Chatsky did not become either one or the other. He did not accept the laws of the service, where it was necessary to obey the established rules. The service fettered a sensual person, interfered with his development. The role of an official did not fit Chatsky. Sitting behind a routine, papers did not give the opportunity to engage in creativity, searches. Alexander tries to find himself in scientific activity or in the niche of literary creativity:

"The mind stared into science ...".

"In my soul ... heat for the creative arts, high and beautiful."

He is not interested in either a position among officials, or a promotion in the ranks of military service and the ranks of civilians.

Love of truth is the main character trait. The hero gets to the truth everywhere, whatever it may be. It was freedom of thought, liberalism that allowed him to be led into the category of madmen.

Chatsky's weaknesses

Alexander Andreevich, subtly noticing the peculiarities of the character and behavior of people, easily teases and ridicules their vices and weaknesses. He does not try to offend or humiliate his interlocutors with words. Not everyone understands his barbs. He directs most of his judgments against stupid and intellectually limited people. He will laugh at him, make him look like a clown so that the person being ridiculed may not understand why they are making fun of him. Other weaknesses of the young landowner:

Sharpness of judgment. Angry - intonation changes:

"A formidable look, and a harsh tone."

Pride. Chatsky does not accept disrespect for himself:

"... you are all proud!"

Sincerity. Alexander does not want to be cunning, does not want to pretend. He cheats on himself only because of his love for Sophia:

"I'll pretend once in my life."

Sensitivity. The quality of the hero distinguishes him from all the guests in the Famusov house. He is the only one worried about the girl, does not believe in her changes, love for the insignificant Molchalin, without principles and moral foundations.

Chatsky's patriotism

Through the hero, Griboyedov conveyed his worldview. He cannot change the servility of the Russian people. He is surprised by his admiration for everything foreign. The author ridicules such aspirations of landowners: foreign teachers, clothes, dances, games and hobbies. He is sure that the Russian people should have their own teachers. The hero has a special relationship to language. He does not like the fact that a mixture of "French with Nizhny Novgorod" has been made from the Russian speech. He hears the beauty of Russian speech, its singularity and melodiousness. Therefore, there are a lot of folk words in speech: this morning, Pushcha, tea. He easily inserts proverbs and sayings into speech, respects literature. Chatsky quotes the classics, but shows that foreign words should be present in the speech of an educated person, but only where they have a place.

Chatsky is a young free man; one might say a traveler, a seeker of the new. He is not rich, he does not have any rank, and he does not need him for anything: "I would be glad to serve, it is sickening to serve," he says to Famusov when he calls on Chatsky to serve if he wants to marry Sophia. Chatsky is smart, witty, says only what is in his heart - and this is his distinguishing feature. I dare even compare him with Khlestakov: "What's on the mind is on the tongue."

Chatsky is a man of modern times, advanced views, a man of a different kind:

"I scolded your century mercilessly!" -

He exposes the present age, the time in which he lives and, most importantly, is not afraid to do this. In this regard, the question arises: "Who else, if not him?" “One is not a warrior in the field,” says popular wisdom. But in this case, a warrior is a warrior, if he is Chatsky!

And there is; he is a doctor, a doctor of freedom. He is trying to make sure that he is understood - he does not accept the current system, as I said. But the fact is that no one understands him, and cannot understand, and they take him for a madman. Chatsky himself says to Famusov and Skalozub:

“The houses are new, but the prejudices are old;
Rejoice, do not exterminate
Neither their years, nor fashion, nor fires "-

Here it is, the problem! But does Chatsky himself understand that all his appeals, all exhortations, all his strength, all that caustic mind that he put into his words - does he understand that all this is ... as if in vain? He knows that it is not in vain, for it will not be the present century, not these people, who will understand him, but others will certainly understand.

In the comedy, Chatsky is the most significant character in terms of his function, because without him nothing would have happened: the Famus society would have remained Famusian, or changed slightly due to new trends, as is usually the case.

Throughout the comedy, Chatsky has earned many characteristics about himself. Here are some of them.

I. Liza about Chatsky:

1) "Who is so sensitive, and cheerful, and sharp,
How Alexander Andreevich Chatsky! "

II. Sofya Pavlovna about Chatsky:

1) (D. I, Ya. 5)

"... He is glorious
He knows how to laugh everyone;
Chatting, joking, it's funny to me;
Laughter can share with everyone. "

2) (Also D., also me.)

“Oster, smart, eloquent.
I am especially happy in my friends. "

3) (Also D., I 6) Sophia, angry with Chatsky's words about Molchalin:

"Not a man, a snake!"

4) (D. II, Ya. 8)

“Murderous by their coldness!
I have no strength to look at you, to listen to you. "

5) (Also D., also I.)

“What do you want me for?
Yes, really, not your troubles - fun for you,
Dear father, kill it all the same. "

6) (Also D., Ya. 9)

“Ah, Alexander Andreevich, here,
Appear you are quite generous:
Unfortunately for your neighbor, you are so not indifferent. "

7) (Also D., Ya. 11)

“… I'm afraid I won't be able to withstand the pretense.
Why did God bring Chatsky here! "

8) Chatsky receives a thorough description from Sophia in III D., 1 phenomenon:

"Your gaiety is not modest,
You immediately have the sharpness ready,
And you yourself ... "

“... a menacing look and a harsh tone,
And there are an abyss of these features in you,
And the thunderstorm above itself is far from useless "-

With this, Sophia reproaches Chatsky for being too frank. She, perhaps, believes that Chatsky himself does not see these "features of the abyss" - these, according to Sophia, the strongest shortcomings. She calls on Chatsky to fight them. But are these disadvantages? Only in the opinion of the Famus society, but not in the opinion of Chatsky.

“It is noticeable that you are ready to pour out bile on everyone;
And I, so as not to interfere, will evade from here. "

“Why be, I’ll tell you bluntly,
So incontinent on the tongue,
In contempt for people, so undisguised,
That there is no mercy for the most humble! .. What?
Happen to someone to call him:
A hail of barbs and jokes will burst out of yours.
Tell jokes! and a century to joke! how will you become! "

Hinting at Chatsky:

"Of course, this mind is not in him
What a genius for some, but for others a plague,
Which is quick, brilliant and will soon oppose,
Which light scolds on the spot,
So that the light at least says something about him,
But will such a mind make the family happy? "

9) (D. III, Ya. 14)

"Ah, this man always
Cause me a terrible frustration!
Glad to humiliate, to prick; envious, proud and angry! "

"He is not quite all there"

"Not that at all ..."

"A! Chatsky, you like to play around as jesters,
Is it good to try on yourself? "

III. Chatsky about himself:

1) (D. I, Ya. 7)

“Listen, are my words all the pegs?
And leaning towards someone else's harm?
But if so, the mind and heart are out of tune.
I'm in eccentrics to another miracle
Once I laugh, then I will forget ... "

2) (Also D., Ya. 9)

"Oh! no, I am a little spoiled by hopes "

"I am not a guesser of dreams"

"I believe my own eyes"

3) (D. II, Ya. 7)

"It is not my desire to prolong the debate ..."

4) (D. III, Ya. 1)

“I myself? isn't that ridiculous? "

“I’m weird, not weird who is?
The one who looks like all fools ... "

“But is there in him * (in Molchalin) * that passion,
That feeling, that ardor
So that apart from you he has a whole world
Seemed ashes and vanity?
So that every heart beat
Has love accelerated towards you?
So that thoughts are all and all his deeds
Soul - you, are you pleasing? .. "

"Oh! Oh my God! Am I one of those
To whom is the purpose of all life - laughter?
I have fun when I meet funny ones
And more often I miss them. "

5) (D. IV, Ya. 10)

"Am I really crazy?"

6) (Also D., Ya. 14)

"Blind man! In whom I was looking for the reward of all labors! "

IV. Famusov about Chatsky

1) (D. I, Ya. 10)

“... this dandy buddy;
Notorious as a bastard, a tomboy;
What a commission, creator
To be a father to a grown daughter! "

2) (D. II, Ya. 2)

“That's it, you are all proud!
Would you ask how the fathers did?
They would study, looking at the elders ... "

"Oh! Oh my God! he's carbonari! "

"A dangerous person!"

“What he says! and speaks as he writes! "

"He wants to preach liberty!"

"He doesn't recognize the authorities!"

“And I don’t want to know you, I don’t tolerate debauchery.”

“Here they are scouring the world, beating their thumbs,
Come back, expect order from them. "

3) (D. II, Ya. 3)

"They will already bury you
They will give you on trial how to drink ”.

4) (D. II, Ya. 4)

“... Andrei Ilyich's deceased son:
He does not serve, that is, he does not find any benefit in that,
It's a pity, it's a pity, he is small with a head,
And he writes and translates nicely. "

5) (D. III, Ya. 21)

“For a long time I have been wondering how no one will bind him!
Try about the authorities, and no news will tell you!
Bow down a little, bend over a ring,
At least in front of a monastic face,
So he will call him a scoundrel! .. "

“I went by my mother, by Anna Aleksevna:
The deceased went mad eight times. "

6) (D. IV, Ya. 15)

"Insane! what nonsense he was talking about!
Low admirer! father-in-law! and so menacing about Moscow! "

V. Other persons about Chatsky:

1) (D. III, Ya. 10), Khlestova:

“… What is he glad about? What's the laugh?
It's a sin to laugh at old age ... "
"I scolded him by the ears, just a little."

2) (D. III, Ya. 15 and 16), G. N. and G. D .:

"Crazy!"

3) (D. III, Ya. 16), Zagoretsky:

“... His uncle-rogue hid him in the mad ones ...
They grabbed me into a yellow house and put me on a chain.
So they let go of the chain, ”

"He's crazy"

Countess's granddaughter:

“Imagine, I noticed myself;
And even though you can bet, you are one word with me. "

(Ya. 19) Zagoretsky:

"In the mountains, wounded in the forehead, crazy from the wound."

(I. 20) Countess grandmother:

“Yes! .. he is in pusurmans!
Oh! accursed Voltairean! "

(Ya. 21) Khlestova:

"I drew champagne with glasses."

Famusov:

"Learning is the plague, learning is the reason ..."

4) (D. IV, Ya. 7), Princess:

“… It's dangerous to talk to them,
It's time to ban it a long time ago ...
…
I think he's just a Jacobin ... "

In the opinion of Famusov, and, I think, in the opinion of the entire Famus society, Chatsky is a perverted nature; and his perversion is expressed in that: in speech, in actions - in everything, and he is perverted by the fact that he sees all the injustice, unrighteousness, precisely the very perversion of Famusian society. What dares, moreover, express his opinion. "He's carbonari!" - exclaims Famusov. “He is a Jacobin,” says the princess. And as soon as Chatsky is not called, but everyone comes to the conclusion ... more precisely, Sophia came to the conclusion, and then in jest, in revenge, and the rest of society agreed with this conclusion - in general, Chatsky went crazy. But this is not so - and we know this very well. He was simply smarter than his time, he was ahead of him and fought against the old order, exposing them with sophistication and cunning ... He opposed himself to the whole society; he fought with him ... in the end, he comes to the conclusion that only time will change these people. Then he leaves to wander - again:

“Get out of Moscow! here I am no longer a rider.
I'm running, I won't look back, I'm going to look around the world,
Where for the offended there is a corner!
A carriage for me, a carriage! "

But what did Chatsky leave behind, what did he change? After all, the Famusian society remained Famusian! Or has he planted a seed, a seed of freedom that will soon bear fruit?
Chatsky, being a sensitive and, moreover, a witty person, uttered all sorts of "barbs", accused the Famus society for the fact that it could not understand it, that it did not want to change, and that it made fun of him. He tried on a special role - the role of a judge, an exposer of vices, of all this injustice, piling up and surrounding all this society. So has something changed? It is impossible to answer this question, just as it is impossible to answer the question: “Will this person be a talented poet? - but a man has not yet been born; has not yet grown - it is still in its infancy ...

/ A.A. Grigoriev. Regarding the new edition of the old thing. "Woe from Wit". SPb. 1862 /

So I now turn to my second position - to the fact that Chatsky is still the only heroic the face of our literature.<...>

Chatsky first of all - honest and active nature, moreover, the nature of a fighter, that is, a nature in the highest degree passionate.

They usually say that a secular person in a secular society, firstly, will not allow himself to say what Chatsky says, and secondly, he will not fight windmills, preach to Famusov, Silent and others.<...>

In Chatsky there is only truthful nature, which will not let down any lies - that's all; and he will allow himself everything that his true nature will allow himself. And that there are and have been in life, there is evidence for you: old man Grinev 1, old man Bagrov 2, old man Dubrovsky 3. Alexander Andreevich Chatsky inherited the same nature, if not from his father, then from his grandfather or great-grandfather.

Another question is whether Chatsky would talk to people he despises.

And you forget with this question that Famusov, on whom he pours out "all the bile and all the annoyance," for him is not just such and such a person, but a living recollection of his childhood, when he was taken "to bow" to the master, which the

Drove in many wagons From mothers, fathers of rejected children.<...>

<...>Chatsky, less than you yourself, believes in the benefit of his sermon, but he has a boil of bile, in him the sense of truth is offended. And, besides, he is in love ...

Do you know how people like this love?

Not with this love that is not worthy of a man, which absorbs all existence into the thought of a beloved object and sacrifices everything to this thought, even the idea of ​​moral improvement: Chatsky loves passionately, madly and tells the truth to Sophia that

I breathed you, lived, was busy continuously ...

But this only means that the thought of her merged for him with every noble thought or deed of honor and goodness. He speaks the truth, asking her about Molchalin:

But is there in him that passion, that feeling, that ardor, So that, besides you, the whole world seemed to him dust and vanity?

But under this truth lies the dream of his Sophia, as capable of understanding that the "whole world" is "dust and vanity" in front of the idea of ​​truth and goodness, or, at least, able to appreciate this belief in her beloved person, able to love for it person. He loves this only ideal Sophia; he does not need the other: he will reject the other and go with a broken heart

Search in the light, Where the offended feeling has a corner.

Look with what deep psychological fidelity you can see the whole conversation between Chatsky and Sophia in Act III. Chatsky is trying to find out what Silent him above and it is better; he even enters into conversation with him, trying to find in him

A smart mind, a mature genius, -

and yet she cannot, cannot understand that Sophia loves Molchalin precisely because of the properties opposite to those of him, Chatsky, for her petty and vulgar properties (she still does not see Molchalin's dastardly features). Only after being convinced of this, he leaves his dream, but leaves as a husband - irrevocably, he already sees clearly and fearlessly the truth. Then he says to her:

You will make peace with him by mature reflection. Destroy yourself! .. and for what? You can scold him, and swaddle him, and send him for business.

And yet there is a reason why Chatsky dearly loved this apparently so insignificant and petty nature. What was it about him? Not only childhood memories, but more important reasons, at least physiological ones. Moreover, this fact is by no means the only one in that strange, ironic cycle, which is called life. People like Chatsky often love such petty and insignificant women as Sophia. You can even say - for the most part they love this way. This is not a paradox. They sometimes meet with women who are quite honest, quite capable of understanding them, sharing their aspirations, and are not satisfied with them. Sophia is something fatal, inevitable in their life, so fatal and inevitable that for the sake of of this they neglect honest and warm-hearted women ...

<...>You, gentlemen, who regard Chatsky as Don Quixote, emphasize in particular the monologue with which the third act ends. But, firstly, the poet himself put his hero here in a comic position and, remaining true to a lofty psychological task, showed what a comic outcome an untimely energy can take; and secondly, again, you must have not pondered how people with the inclinations of even some kind of moral energy love. Everything that he says in this monologue, he speaks for Sophia; He collects all the strength of his soul, with all his nature he wants to open up, he wants to convey everything to her at once.<...>Here Chatsky's last faith in the nature of Sophia is reflected ...; here for Chatsky the question of the life or death of a whole half of his moral life. That this personal question has merged with a public question is, again, true to the nature of the hero, who is the only type of moral and masculine struggle in the sphere of life that the poet has chosen.<...>

Yes, Chatsky is - I repeat again - our only hero, that is, the only one who fights positively in the environment where fate and passion threw him.<...>

Chatsky, in addition to his general heroic significance, also has significance historical... He is the offspring of the first quarter of the Russian XIX century, the direct son and heir of the Novikovs 7 and Radishchevs 8, a comrade of the people

Eternal memory of the twelfth year,

a powerful, still deeply believing in itself and therefore stubborn force, ready to perish in a collision with the environment, to perish if only because of leaving a "page in history" ... he fights, positively unable not only to understand him, but even to take him seriously.

But Griboyedov, as a great poet, cares about this. No wonder he called his drama a comedy.

Read also other critics' articles on the comedy "Woe From Wit":

A.A. Grigoriev. Regarding the new edition of the old thing. "Woe from Wit"

• Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from Wit" - a representation of secular life
• Chatsky's characteristic

I.A. Goncharov

V. Belinsky. "Woe from Wit". Comedy in 4 acts, in verse. The composition of A.S. Griboyedov

), belongs to the best part of the then Russian young generation. Many literary critics have argued that Chatsky is a reason. This is completely wrong! He can be called a resonator only insofar as the author expresses his thoughts and feelings through his lips; but Chatsky is a living, real face; he, like any person, has his own qualities and shortcomings. (See also Image of Chatsky.)

We know that in his youth Chatsky often visited Famusov's house, and studied with Sophia with foreign teachers. But such an education could not satisfy him, and he went abroad to wander. His journey lasted 3 years, and now we see Chatsky again at home, in Moscow, where he spent his childhood. Like every person who has returned home after a long absence, everything is sweet here, everything awakens pleasant memories associated with childhood; he gladly sorts out his acquaintances in his memory, in which, by the nature of his sharp mind, he certainly sees funny, caricatured features, but does this at first without any anger and bile, and so, for laughter, for embellishment of memories: “a Frenchman, knocked out by the wind ... ", And" This ... Black Overweight, on the legs of the caravilic ... "

Woe from wit. Maly Theater performance, 1977

Going through the typical, sometimes caricatured sides of Moscow life, Chatsky ardently says that when

"... you will wander, you will return home,
And the smoke of the fatherland is sweet and pleasant to us! "

In this, Chatsky is completely different from those young people who, returning from abroad to Russia, treated everything Russian with contempt and praised only everything that they saw in foreign countries. It was thanks to this external comparison of a native Russian with a foreign one that developed in that era to a very strong degree. gallomania, which so outrages Chatsky. His separation from his homeland, the comparison of Russian life with European life, only aroused an even stronger, deeper love for Russia, for the Russian people. That is why, having found himself again after a three-year absence in the environment of Moscow society, he, under a fresh impression, sees all the exaggeration, all the ridiculous aspects of this Gallomania.

But naturally hot Chatsky no longer laughs, he is deeply indignant at the sight of the "Frenchman from Bordeaux" reigning among Moscow society only because he is a foreigner; indignant at the fact that everything Russian, national causes ridicule in society:

"How to put the European in parallel
With the national - something strange! " -

says someone, stirring up a general laugh of approval. Going, in turn, to exaggeration, Chatsky, in contrast to the general opinion, says with indignation:

“If only we could borrow from the Chinese
Wise their ignorance of foreigners. "
………………………
"Will we be resurrected when from the foreign rule of fashions,
So that our smart, kind people
Although by language he did not consider us Germans? " -

meaning by "Germans" foreigners and hinting that in society in that era, everyone spoke to each other in foreign languages; Chatsky suffers, realizing what an abyss separates the millions of the Russian people from the ruling class of the nobility.

From an early age, children were given a foreign upbringing, which gradually alienated the secular youth from everything that was native, national. Chatsky casually sneers at these "regiments" of foreign teachers, "in more numbers, at a cheaper price", who were entrusted with the education of young nobility. Hence - ignorance of their people, hence the lack of understanding of the difficult situation in which the Russian people found themselves, thanks to serfdom... Through the lips of Chatsky, Griboyedov expresses the thoughts and feelings of the best part of the then nobility, indignant at the injustices that serfdom entailed, and fought the tyranny of inveterate serf owners. Chatsky (monologue "Who are the judges? ..") vividly depicts pictures of such arbitrariness, recalling one master, "Nestor of the noble scoundrels", who exchanged several of his faithful servants for three greyhound dogs; another - a theater lover - who

“I drove to the serf ballet in many wagons
From mothers, fathers of rejected children ”; -

he made "all of Moscow marvel at their beauty." But then, in order to pay off creditors, he sold one by one these children, who portrayed "cupids and marshmallows" on the stage, separating them forever from their parents ...

Chatsky cannot calmly talk about this, his soul is indignant, his heart aches for the Russian people, for Russia, which he dearly loves, which he would like to serve. But how to serve?

“I would be glad to serve - it’s sickening to serve,” -

he says, hinting that among the many government officials he sees only the Molchalins or such nobles as Famusov's uncle Maxim Petrovich.

Here, I am no longer a rider.
I'm running, I won't look back, I'm going to look around the world,
Where for the offended there is a corner!
A carriage for me, a carriage! "

In this stormy outburst of despair, the whole ardent, unbalanced, noble soul of Chatsky is visible.