The Government Inspector - Gogol, Nikolai

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Résumé :
The corrupt officials of a small Russian town, headed by the Mayor, react with terror to the news that an incognito inspector (the revizor) will soon be arriving in their town to investigate them. The flurry of activity to cover up their considerable misdeeds is interrupted by the report that a suspicious person has arrived two weeks previously from Saint Petersburg and is staying at the inn. That person, however, is not an inspector it is Khlestakov, a foppish civil servant with a wild imagination. Having learned that Khlestakov has been charging his considerable hotel bill to the Crown, the Mayor and his crooked cronies are immediately certain that this upper class twit is the dreaded inspector. For quite some time, however, Khlestakov does not even realize that he has been mistaken for someone else. Meanwhile, he enjoys the officials' terrified deference and moves in as a guest in the Mayor's house. He also demands and receives massive loans from the Mayor and all of his associates. He also flirts outrageously with the Mayor's wife and daughter.The Government Inspector, also known as The Inspector General (Russian: ???????, Revizor, literally: Inspector), is a satirical play by the Russian and Ukrainian dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the play was revised for an 1842 edition. Based upon an anecdote allegedly recounted to Gogol by Pushkin, the play is a comedy of errors, satirizing human greed, stupidity, and the extensive political corruption of Imperial Russia.According to D. S. Mirsky, the play is not only supreme in character and dialogue - it is one of the few Russian plays constructed with unerring art from beginning to end. The great originality of its plan consisted in the absence of all love interest and of sympathetic characters. The latter feature was deeply resented by Gogol's enemies, and as a satire the play gained immensely from it. There is not a wrong word or intonation from beginning to end, and the comic tension is of a quality that even Gogol did not always have at his beck and call.The dream-like scenes of the play, often mirroring each other, whirl in the endless vertigo of self-deception around the main character, Khlestakov, who personifies irresponsibility, light-mindedness, absence of measure. He is full of meaningless movement and meaningless fermentation incarnate, on a foundation of placidly ambitious inferiority (D.S. Mirsky). The publication of the play led to a great outcry in the reactionary press. It took the personal intervention of Tsar Nicholas I to have the play staged, with Mikhail Shchepkin taking the role of the Mayor.

Biographie:
Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) was a Russian short story writer, playwright and novelist born in the Ukrainian Cossack town of Sorochyntsi. Often referred to as the Father of the Golden Age of Russian Literature, Gogol was the author of the first great Russian novel, Dead Souls, 1842. He was one of the first writers to use the grotesque in his work, and the famous trope can be seen in his well-known short story, The Overcoat, 1842.

Sommaire:
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (1809-1852) was a Russian writer, playwright, and critic of Ukrainian origin, considered one of the greatest authors of Russian literature. Born in Poltava, his early works, such as Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, heavily drew on Ukrainian culture and folklore. In St. Petersburg, Gogol gained fame for his satirical works and innovative style, which had a significant influence on both Russian and world literature.His works, such as The Government Inspector and Dead Souls, explore human vices and social issues, blending realism with humor. The Government Inspector had a profound impact on Russian society by exposing bureaucratic corruption. Gogol also delved into religious and mystical themes, particularly in his later years, experiencing deep spiritual crises that led him to burn some of his writings. He died in Moscow at the age of 42, leaving behind a literary legacy of social critique and stylistic innovation that inspired writers like Dostoevsky and Bulgakov....