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Why is Khlestakov lying? Let's try to find the answer in this article.

Lie Khlestakov

Khlestakov is a deceitful person; in his inner emptiness, he even stands much lower than not only the mayor and other officials, but also his lackey Osip. He is completely incapable of any coherent thinking; he has, in his own words, "a remarkable lightness in thoughts": his thought constantly flies from subject to subject, so that he himself forgets what he has just said. His highest pleasure is to flaunt on a walk in a fashionable suit, to show off, especially in front of the ladies. Petty vanity, the desire to splurge, that's what guides all his actions.

In order to satisfy this passion, he resorts to the most shameless lies, especially when he sees that they are listening to him, that they are looking after him: he manages the department, and travels to the palace, and plays cards with envoys. Finally, he lies so much that even the frightened mayor notices this, although he explains in his own way: “Yes, he also said more than necessary; It is clear that the man is young.

However, Khlestakov is not at all a conscious deceiver and not an impostor. He lies without any purpose, not from any personal, selfish motives, but from simple frivolity and fanfare. At the moment when he lies, he even believes his own words, although he immediately forgets about them and sometimes loses his tone and thinks about his room on the fourth floor, about the cook Mavrushka. As there is little connection in his thoughts, so there is little connection in his actions. He is not at all aware of his actions, does not think about the result.

The thought that flashed through his head immediately turns into a word or a deed: in this sense, Khlestakov is a purely impulsive nature. This feature of him is especially pronounced in the 4th act, when Khlestakov either receives officials and takes money from them (on loan, since he heard in St. at the same time to his wife and daughter, then, finally, unexpectedly leaves, tempted by the prospect of riding in style on a dashing troika, and, thus, following the prudent advice of Osip, gets rid of the troubles that awaited him when the real auditor arrives. Gogol attached great importance to the role of Khlestakov.

Khlestakov, according to Gogol, is not just a small Petersburg veil, he is at the same time a representative of a very common type; therefore, its image, in addition to the particular, also has a general meaning. Very many people strive in life to seem not what they really are, and it is in this contradiction between being and seeming that the root of all “Khlestakovism” lies, with the only difference that it does not always manifest itself as brightly and clearly as in the face of Khlestakov.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol needs no introduction. He is known, in particular, for the fact that he struggled with the shortcomings of contemporary society with the help of laughter. In 1835, Gogol decided to compose a play that would present true Russian vices and characters. So in 1836 the comedy The Inspector General was born. Its main character is Khlestakov Ivan Aleksandrovich. Today we will talk about why Khlestakov was mistaken for an auditor, a big official from St. Petersburg. After all, it would seem that his true position in society was not difficult to unravel.

The news of the imminent arrival of the auditor

In order to answer the question of why Khlestakov was mistaken for an auditor, it is necessary to turn to the very beginning of the work. Gogol's comedy begins with the fact that Anton Antonovich, the mayor, gathers officials together and says that he has "unpleasant news" for everyone. It turns out that soon an auditor should arrive from St. Petersburg with a check. At the same time, it is not known how he will look and when exactly he is going to arrive. This news, of course, shocked the officials of the city of N. It brought some confusion into their measured and lazy life.

State of affairs in the city of N

It should be said that the officials were bribe takers. Each of them is only concerned with how to get more money. It seems that at that time in the city of N it was common for officials to spend the city treasury and receive bribes. Even the law was powerless against it.

The mayor, for example, justified himself by saying that his salary was insufficient. He allegedly did not even have enough for tea with sugar. As for the city judge, he did not at all consider that he was a bribe taker, since he took it not with money, but with puppies. The postmaster of the city of N also distinguished himself. To obtain information, he opened other people's letters.

Of course, such an irresponsible attitude of officials to official duties eventually led to the fact that the city fell into disrepair. It is clear that the news about the upcoming inspection alarmed the local leadership. It is not surprising why Khlestakov was mistaken for an auditor in this turmoil.

Preparing for the Auditor's Arrival

While waiting for the arrival of the authorities with a check, each of the officials began to frantically remember what needed to be done. Finally, they all began to make attempts to restore order in their departments. There was a lot of work. Servants in the courthouse were drying clothes and breeding geese. Patients in the local hospital smoked tobacco and wore dirty clothes. The church should have been built a long time ago, 5 years ago, but its opening did not take place. The mayor ordered everyone to say that the fire had destroyed this building. It was ordered to demolish the old fence, located near the shoemaker. In its place, it was ordered to put a model of straw. Mayor Anton Antonovich himself, looking at such a deplorable state of affairs, self-critically admitted that this was a "bad city."

Khlestakov's arrival

City officials, of course, were afraid of their superiors. Therefore, they were ready to see an inspector from the capital in any visitor. That is why the officials mistook Khlestakov for an auditor. When a rumor spread that some unknown person had been living in a hotel in the city of N for a long time, everyone decided that this stranger must certainly have been an auditor. In addition, Khlestakov Ivan Alexandrovich (that was the name of the guest) arrived from St. Petersburg and was dressed in the latest metropolitan fashion. Indeed, why would a resident of the capital come to a county town? There can be only one answer: for verification! We hope it is now clear to you why the officials mistook Khlestakov for an auditor.

Meeting of the "auditor" with the mayor

The meeting of Ivan Alexandrovich with the mayor is very curious. The latter in a panic put a box on his head instead of a hat. The mayor handed out the last instructions to his subordinates on the go before meeting with an important guest.

The comical scene of the meeting of these heroes lies in the fact that both of them are afraid. Khlestakov was threatened by the innkeeper that he would hand him over to the mayor, and he would be sent to prison. And then the mayor appears ... Both heroes are afraid of each other. Ivan Alexandrovich also screams loudly and gets excited, which makes his guest tremble with fear even more. The mayor tries to give him a bribe to appease him, invites the "auditor" to live with him. Having met with an unexpectedly warm welcome, Khlestakov calms down. Ivan Alexandrovich at first does not even suspect who the mayor considers him to be. He does not immediately think about why he was received so warmly. Khlestakov is completely sincere and truthful. He turned out to be simple-hearted, not cunning, because he did not intend to deceive at first. However, the mayor believes that the auditor is thus trying to hide who he really is. If Ivan Aleksandrovich were a conscious liar, he would have a much better chance of being unraveled and understood. The way they took Khlestakov for the auditor is very significant. General fear did not allow the officials and the mayor to open their eyes.

How Khlestakov played his role in the comedy "The Government Inspector"

We note that in the future, Ivan Alexandrovich was not at a loss. He played the role imposed by circumstances perfectly. At first, Khlestakov thought, when he saw the officials and the mayor, that they had arrived in order to put him in prison for not paying the debt for the hotel. However, then he guessed that he was mistaken for some high-ranking official. And Ivan Alexandrovich was not averse to taking advantage of this. At first, he easily borrowed money from each of the city officials.

Khlestakov in the comedy "The Inspector General" became a respected person and a welcome guest in any home. He charmed the mayor's daughter and wife, and even offered his daughter to marry him.

Lying scene

The scene of Ivan Alexandrovich's lies is the climax of the work. Khlestakov, in the role of an auditor, having drunk a lot, talks about the fact that he has an excellent position in the capital. He is familiar with Pushkin, has lunch with the minister, and is an indispensable employee. And in his free time, Khlestakov allegedly writes musical and literary works.

It seems that because of his lies, he is about to be exposed, but the local public hangs on his every word and believes in all sorts of absurdities. Osip, the servant of Ivan Alexandrovich, turns out to be the only one who understood the mistake made by Khlestakov. Fearing for his master, he takes him away from the city of N.

The deception is revealed

What did the city officials have to do when they discovered that they had been deceived by some petty official who had arrived from St. Petersburg! In the play, a fight breaks out between them. Each of them seeks to find out who failed to recognize the impostor, why Khlestakov was mistaken for an auditor. However, the misadventures of city N officials do not end there. After all, the news comes that a real auditor has arrived! This is where the play ends.

The positive hero of the play

Nikolai Vasilievich was often reproached for the absence of positive characters in his work. Gogol replied to this that there is still one such character - it is laughter.

So, we answered the question: "Why was Khlestakov mistaken for an auditor?" Briefly summing up the above, we note that fear is the main cause of the general mistake. It is he who is the engine of the plot in Gogol's work and creates a situation of delusion. It is the fear of losing warm places and the fear of verification that gives rise to absolutely all the characters of the comedy.

Khlestakov was made a nobleman by those fantastic, perverted relations in which people are placed with each other. But, of course, for this, some qualities of Khlestakov himself were also needed. When a person is frightened (and in this case, not one person is frightened, but the whole city), then the most effective thing is to give people the opportunity to continue to intimidate themselves, not to interfere with the catastrophic increase in "universal fear." The insignificant and narrow-minded Khlestakov successfully does this. He unconsciously and therefore most faithfully leads the role that the situation requires of him.

Gogol immediately makes it clear to the viewer that Khlestakov is not an auditor (anticipating Khlestakov's appearance with Osip's story about him). However, the whole meaning of this character and his attitude to his audit "duties" do not immediately become clear.

Khlestakov does not experience any process of orientation upon arrival in the city - for this he lacks elementary powers of observation. He does not build any plans to deceive officials - for this he does not have sufficient cunning. He does not consciously use the benefits of his position, because he does not even think about what it consists of. Only just before leaving, Khlestakov vaguely realizes that he was taken "for a statesman", for someone else; but for whom exactly, he did not understand. Everything that happens to him in the play happens as if against his will.

The comedy of phenomenon 8 (action 2) is that here everyone says and believes what he says, although in reality everything is different. The mayor believes that Khlestakov skillfully lies in order not to reveal his status as an inspector, Khlestakov brazenly and self-confidently tries to prove that, although he lives in debt, he will return everything. Everyone speaks what he believes, although all this does not fit with the truth. Hence the comedy of the situation.

The mayor has a lot of remarks aside, since this reveals his character, thoughts and emotions in relation to the false auditor and the whole situation.

Khlestakov is so stupid that he does not even immediately understand who they take him for. He lives for one minute, he can lie with inspiration, but he does it not consciously, not aiming to deceive anyone. He is not aware of his actions, "the lightness in his thoughts is extraordinary." The paradox is that everyone takes such an empty person for an important person. After the mayor invites Khlestakov to his place, everyone finally becomes sure that he is the auditor. After his inspired, absurdly false speech about what an important figure he is in St. Petersburg, the officials are even more afraid of him and consider it their duty to come to him one by one and “repent”.

The development of the action reaches its climax in act III. The comic fight continues. The mayor deliberately goes towards his goal: to force Khlestakov to “let slip”, “tell more” in order to “find out what he is and to what extent he should be feared.” After visiting a charitable institution where a magnificent breakfast was offered to the guest, Khlestakov was at the height of bliss. “Cut off and cut off hitherto in everything, even in the manner of walking a trump card along Nevsky Prospekt, he felt spaciousness and suddenly turned around unexpectedly for himself, he started talking, not knowing at the beginning of the conversation where his speech would go. Topics for conversations are given to him by the investigators. They seem to put everything in his mouth and create a conversation, ”N.V. Gogol writes in Forewarning. In a few minutes in the scene of lies, Khlestakov makes a dizzying career: from a petty official (“You may think that I am only copying ...”) to a field marshal (“The State Council itself is afraid of me”). The action in this scene develops with ever-increasing energy. On the one hand, these are the stories of Ivan Alexandrovich, gradually losing all credibility and reaching their climax at the end of the phenomenon. On the other hand, this is the behavior of the listeners, who become more and more frightened by the speeches of the guest. Their experiences are expressively conveyed by the remarks: at the beginning of the conversation, “the mayor and everyone sit down” at the gracious invitation of Khlestakov, however, at the mention that in his hallway one can supposedly meet counts and princes, even the minister, “the mayor and others get up from their chairs with timidity”. The words: “And it certainly happened, as I pass through the department - just an earthquake, everything trembles and shakes like a leaf” - are accompanied by a remark: “the mayor and others are lost in fear.” At the end of the scene, the mayor, “approaching and shaking with his whole body, tries to utter” something, but with fright he cannot utter a word. Khlestakov himself believes in what he is talking about. He, lying, presents himself as a great writer, and a general, and a public figure, almost the sovereign-emperor himself.

Without a twinge of conscience, this hero borrows money from officials, knowing that he will not return it. Khlestakov considers it permissible to drag two ladies at once - the mayor's wife and daughter, promising both of them love to the grave: “It's nothing! For love there is no difference; and Karamzin said: "Laws condemn." We will retire under the canopy of the jets ... "

And all this "disgrace" could continue for a long time. And it would have ended very badly for Khlestakov himself, because the hero would not have been able to stop in time. By a lucky chance, he leaves the city, and soon the mayor and the whole city will find out that he was just a deceiver, a liar, a heliporter: “I mistook an icicle, a rag for an important person! There he is now flooding the whole road with a bell! Spread history around the world.

Khlestakov leaves the city, as he guesses that he will soon be exposed.