The work "Woe from Wit" by A.S. Griboyedov belongs to the genre of comedy, the events took place at the beginning of the 19th century, in which the author showed images of Moscow nobles. The main theme of the work is the confrontation between the present century and the past, the difficult change of old ideals for new ones. On the side of the last century there were a significant number of people in comedy, one of them was a young nobleman who did not yet have any ranks Molchalin. His task was to serve powerful people.
Molchalin himself was a poor nobleman, born in Tver. In the comedy, he lived in the house of Famusov, who, in turn, took Molchalin as a secretary. Molchalin falls in love with Famusov's daughter and secretly meets with her. Famusov is opposed to such relations, because he believes that his daughter needs an influential husband with ranks. Although Molchalin does not meet these requirements, he has another quality that was appreciated by the inhabitants of the Famusovsky house. He did his best to serve in every possible way, and this attracted attention. That is why he managed to get into the position of secretary, where business qualities are important, not honor.
In the work "Woe from Wit" the image of the protagonist can be called the standard behavior of a young nobleman in the environment. We see how he tries to serve, and if necessary, even humiliate himself in front of the influential guests of Famusov's house, all this comes with the expectation that they can be useful in life and further service. Molchalin even took it for granted to praise the coat of Khlestova's dog. To describe the hero, a quote is suitable that says that while “we are in small ranks”, “we must depend on others.” He believes that while you are young, it is not necessary to have an opinion.
The Famus society was famous for boasting, at every opportunity it was common to praise new successes, Molchalin was the same. He was a frequent guest of Princess Tatyana Yurievna. Although in character and behavior Molchalin was the same as everyone else in society, although he agreed with everyone and supported ideas, this did not stop him from going to meanness. For example, his love for Sophia was only a fiction, and he went for it for his own benefit. In fact, he sincerely opens up when communicating with the maid Lisa, whom he liked. And then another character opens up to the reader, you see that there is duplicity in him, which means that such a person is dangerous.
In his soul and heart there is not a drop of respect and warmth for Sophia. He is at great risk when he begins to secretly see Famusov's daughter, because he was constantly in a state of fear that they would be noticed. This expresses cowardice. For Molchalin, an important role was played by the fact that he was worried about the opinions of others, and he was also afraid of what others would think of him. This meanness and deceit of his ruins him, because he begins to harm those with whom he has long been surrounded. He remembered the words of his father, which said to please everyone without exception, which Molchalin followed. Based on this, we can conclude about the attitude of the hero to the description of the ideal of the past century, despite the fact that he is still young.
The author showed Molchalin as a worthy continuation and example of conservative nobles. Such a society is characterized by the fact that for them rank and money are in the first place, these two categories allow them to evaluate the rest. As already mentioned, Molchalin was cunning and two-faced, these are the two main qualities that describe the hero.
Griboyedov touched upon a problem in the comedy that is still relevant today. Indeed, many cases are known when there were the same people who did not see anything in their path and were ready to go through everything for the sake of their goals. This topic will be relevant as long as there are people among us with the same values as Molchalin and his society.
The comedy "Woe from Wit", written by Alexander Sergeevich Griboedov in the period from 1822 to 1824, tells about the secular society and life of those times. One of the central characters of the work is Alexei Stepanovich Molchalin, a man from the common people, striving for career growth.
Molchalin seems to be a decent young man who is distinguished by his kindness and modesty. But in fact, all these qualities are just a mask that the hero uses to achieve his goals. His dream is a career, high rank and wealth. Respect among high society is the limit of his happiness. There are many different ways to achieve these goals. But Molchalin chooses the fastest and most negative. He takes steps towards his dream with the help of flattery, hypocrisy and duplicity. He does it so subtly and imperceptibly that many can envy.
The hero worked as a secretary for Famusov, a rich and respected man. He did all the work conscientiously, spoke affectionately and carefully, which is why Famusov liked him. With the daughter of his master, with Sophia, he treated even better and even dared to play a young man in love. Naturally, he does not experience any high feelings towards the girl. On the contrary, he despises her and builds relationships solely for his own benefit. Once guilty before the girl, he rushes to her feet. The reason for this was far from repentance, but the fear of losing the trust of his master Famusov. Another person who was lucky enough to listen to lies from Molchalin was Khlestova. He kindly played cards with her and complimented her dog. In fact, people are very pleased with such behavior in their address. Molchalin showed hypocrisy and helpfulness towards everyone living in the house: from servants to superiors. This was the plan of the hero, which he strictly adhered to.
Thus, Molchalin in Griboyedov's comedy is a negative character. The reader cannot see any positive features of the hero, but sees only hypocrisy and a desire to achieve a dubious goal in dirty ways. With the help of this character, the author reveals a serious problem that still exists today. People who aspire not to anything high, but to fame and money, are ready to go over their heads and put on a mask of sincerity. Usually, having achieved their goals, such people live unhappily and alone.
In his comedy Woe from Wit, Griboyedov tells about the nobles of Moscow in the 19th century, it was then that society split into conservatives and those who were impressed by the ideas of the Decembrists. The main idea of the work is the opposition of the current century and the past century, the replacement of outdated ideals of the nobles with completely new ones.
In comedy there is a huge number of supporters of the old ideals. Admirers of the old principles are weighty and significant people in society, such as the landowner Famusov, Colonel Skalozub, and the younger generation, who is simply forced to serve the "old men", also serve the old nobles. Molchalin is one of these young people who is forced to serve the old nobles with their orders.
Molchalin himself is a poor nobleman, born in Tver, he lives in the house of Famusov, who gave him the rank of assessor and hired him as a sergeant. Molchalin is also the lover of Famusov's daughter, but Famusov himself does not know about this. The father does not want to have such a son-in-law as Molchalin, because in Moscow it is customary to have rich relatives. Famusov appreciates in people the desire to serve him, and that is how Molchalin, with the help of his helpfulness, receives such positions.
In this play, the image of Molchalin very accurately corresponds to the nature of the command of a young, not strong nobleman in an influential society. Molchalin is trying to curry favor with the distinguished guests in Famusov's house as much as possible, because they can be useful for his further career growth. The young nobleman stooped to the point that he began to praise the coat of Khlestov's dog. He believes that the nobles of the lower ranks should thus earn respect from their elders.
He, like all the characters in this comedy, considers it his duty to show off and be proud of his success in promotion. Molchalin is excellent at establishing connections with the people he needs, who can help him in his service. Molchalin bears enormous damage to the society in which he is located. He also deceives Famusov's daughter, because he takes care of her only for the sake of long service to her father. He is the kind of person who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal, and is capable of causing great damage to the society in which he is located.
My dad's name is Arkady. He works at a bakery as a driver. Every morning he delivers hot bread and buns to the shops.
This canvas clearly depicts us approximately the middle of autumn, when the leaves have already begun to turn yellow, but have not yet fallen off. As soon as I looked at the picture, I saw that the artist painted this canvas on some low hill
The name of the painting “Stepan Razin” makes it clear who the main character of this work is, but with him the author also depicts his brothers. Cossacks are sailing along the river in an unknown direction on a boat
In Griboedov's comedy "Woe from Wit", several typical characters are created, well recognizable regardless of the era. Molchalin belongs to such images, so now it would be appropriate to briefly consider the characteristics of Molchalin, paying attention to the features that Griboyedov endowed this character with.
The play says very little about the life of Molchalin before Famusov appeared in the house. The reader learns that Alexei Stepanovich Molchalin is of humble origin, a poor young man.
Famusov took Molchalin to his secretary from Tver, was able to "get" him the rank of assessor, which was highly valued and equated to the army rank of major. Meanwhile, the hero is still listed in the Archives of the College of Foreign Affairs and manages to receive three awards. At the time of Griboedov, the “archival youths” were treated somewhat contemptuously, since young people who wanted to avoid military service in this way were enrolled there. This information is already helping to compile a characterization of Molchalin from the comedy "Woe from Wit".
In the house of his patron, Molchalin lives on the first floor, where the servants' rooms and utility rooms are located. For the sake of his career, Molchalin starts an affair with Sofya, Famusov's daughter, while simultaneously courting the maid Lisa.
What else is interesting in the characterization of Molchalin? He admits that Sophia is not interested in him. No matter how Molchalin tries to awaken feelings for her in himself, nothing happens, the hero still remains cold: “As soon as I wake up, I’ll get a sheet.” He's chasing after the boss's daughter, hoping to reap the benefits. Knowing Sophia’s inconstancy (“they once loved Chatsky, they will stop loving me like him”), he is not worried, he is more concerned about Famusov’s reaction to their relationship.
Literary critics have repeatedly wondered: what attracted Sophia Molchalin, why did she prefer him to the smart and noble Chatsky? Probably the answer is in the words of the heroine herself. Talking about Molchalin, she highlights such qualities as helpfulness, attentiveness, shyness, he is ready to foresee Sophia's every desire and shows her his tender feelings.
Another quality that is important in the characterization of Molchalin is his hypocrisy and duplicity: portraying love for Sophia, he courts Lisa, seducing her with gifts and not embarrassed to express his feelings quite brazenly and obsessively. In Famusov's house, Molchalin wears the mask of a timid man in love until an accidental exposure occurs.
Griboyedov uses a speaking surname. Molchalin is silent, quiet, he does not dare to have his own opinion, fearing not to please important people. Its main goal is to gain confidence in those who can provide patronage by being helpful and pleasing to them. Chatsky bitterly remarks: "The silent ones are blissful in the world."
To understand the characterization of Molchalin in the comedy "Woe from Wit" by Griboedov, it is necessary to remember what testament the father gives to Molchalin. The young man says that his father advised him to "please all people without exception": the owner of the house where he lives, the boss, the boss's servant, "the porter, the janitor to avoid evil, the janitor's dog to be affectionate." The hero follows this principle. He tries to please Famusov, the "old men" at the balls. For the sake of this, he refuses to dance and have fun, and plays cards all evening with elderly, but noble gentlemen. With helpfulness and modesty, Molchalin achieved a good relationship with the influential Tatyana Yuryevna and even the grumpy Khlestova.
Molchalin considers his main talents to be "moderation and accuracy". Griboyedov in his comedy "Woe from Wit" shows: Molchalin is stupid, his mind is directed only to finding profitable behavior, low, does not have self-esteem, is capable of meanness and lies.
We hope that our article, which briefly presented the characterization of Molchalin from the comedy "Woe from Wit" by Griboyedov, helped you get to know this character better. Read also in our literary blog
Woe from Wit is a well-known comedy by A. S. Griboyedov, in which nobles living in the early 19th century appear. During this period, the ideas of Decembrism and conservative views began to provoke disagreements. The basis of the theme is the confrontation between modern times and the past century, ideals were replaced by new ones, which had a deplorable effect on people. At the same time, most of the representatives of comedy belong to the supporters of the past century, this category includes both individuals who have weight in society, and those who are trying to serve. And Molchanov belongs to those who serve against their will.
Molchalin Alexei Stepanovich is a man, he is young and works as Famusov's secretary. Among his main features there is stupidity, meanness combined with cunning, his goal is to extract advantages for himself. To do this, he adjusts to the opinions of others and meets not with the woman he loves, but with Sofia Famusova.
Among the positive qualities are:
There are also negative qualities:
The psychological mindset of Mochalin defines a whole category of people, they are ready for anything for the sake of promotion and forget about their opinion for the sake of it. Alexey gradually lost the ability to judge logically and simply agreed with the public, reaching the maximum in his flattery.
Alexei is not rich and is a nobleman from Tver, lives in the owner's house and secretly has a love relationship with his daughter. Molchalin cannot reach the status of a son-in-law, because he does not have ranks and stars, society likes him because he is professionally helpful. He fully answers the image of a young nobleman, because he tries to please everyone who can somehow influence his career. He himself believes that small ranks do not make it possible to have his own judgment.
In public, the true face of Molchalin is hidden, but when talking with Lisa, he shows himself, because the bright contrast between the modest and quiet with the rake is simply impossible not to notice. This person is dangerous because he is two-faced. There is no love and even respect for Sophia in him, he is afraid to open a relationship, while building a real performance. He believes that evil tongues are worse than a gun, while Sophia, on the contrary, does not worry about the opinions of others. Molchalin lives the way his father advised him - he pleases everyone.
Alexey is proud of his success, the presence of important connections, and even gives advice to behave like Chatsky, because he believes that his behavior is correct. Although the views of the hero and the conservative noble nobility are the same, he is harmful to society. Having deceived Famusov's daughter and being her lover more as a position than out of feelings, he spoils the girl's life. Molchalin has an exact correspondence to the ideals of the past century, he easily adapts to the situation and values only wealth and titles.
The basis of the character's character is duplicity and cunning, such can be blissful, and reach known degrees, because people like such silence. The relevance of the affected features of the hero remains, his image has survived to this day, promotion, enrichment for many is much more important than such eternal concepts as dignity, honesty or love for the motherland. Molchalin clearly divides people by status and treats them accordingly.
In the comedy, Molchalin is not too important for the development of the storyline, he personifies the general spirit of the people of that time, showing their humiliation in front of the higher ranks. Also, the image allows you to show Chatsky more vividly, because he is opposite in character, and stands out with a strong soul, pride and confidence.
A. Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from Wit" was created in 1824. Due to the accusatory content of the work, it was published only in 1833, and even then selectively. Only in 1862 a full-fledged comedy was released. In his work, the author wished to speak out about what had hurt him for so many years of contemplating the hypocrisy and sycophancy of the people around him. The comedy "Woe from Wit" is a confrontation between a smart, thinking, active, open and honest person with vile, vile, immoral people who care only about wealth and rank.
Famusov's faithful dog, Sophia's heartfelt friend, sycophant, hypocrite, rootless official, Chatsky's main antagonist - that's who Alexei Stepanych Molchalin is. The characterization of the central character of the comedy shows a typical representative who was corrupted by serf-bureaucratic morality. From childhood, Molchalin was taught to servility, to please everyone around: the boss, the owner, the butler, the janitor's dog, in the end, to be affectionate.
The character of the character is fully revealed by the surname that speaks for itself. Basically Alexei Stepanych is silent, endures humiliation, shouting, even unfair reproaches. He is well aware that a rootless official cannot live in this callous and cynical society without the support of people in power, and therefore pleases everyone around, trying not to quarrel with anyone, to be good for everyone, and he does it excellently. The author of the comedy is sad that society is teeming with such heroes who can, where necessary, be silent, stroke the dog of an influential lady, give a compliment, raise a headscarf and receive formal awards and ranks for all this, in reality remaining servants.
Secretary Famusov is characterized by different comedy characters: Chatsky, Sofia, Famusov, Lisa. Someone speaks of him as a modest, handsome, quiet and timid person, ready to endure all humiliations and reproaches. Some heroes of the work guess about his low soul, and only a few see the true face of Molchalin.
Sofya sees in Aleksey Stepanych a fictional image: “I’m ready to forget myself for others”, “an enemy of insolence, always shyly, timidly.” The girl thinks that Molchalin behaves shyly, because he is modest by nature, not suspecting that this is just one of his masks. “He has been serving with the priest for three years, he often gets angry to no avail, but he disarms with his silence, forgives from the kindness of his soul,” Alexei’s slavish humility speaks of his certain position in life, which involves keeping silent, enduring, but not getting involved in a scandal.
Molchalin reveals his true face in front of Lisa: “Why are you and the young lady modest, but the maid is a rake?” Only her secretary tells about his true feelings for Sophia. Chatsky also guesses about the duplicity and pettiness of Alexei: “He will reach the known levels, because now they love the dumb”, “Who else will settle everything so peacefully! There he will stroke the pug in time, then rub the card at the right time ... ”A brief description of Molchalin shows that his silence is not at all a manifestation of stupidity. This is a well-thought-out plan for obtaining benefits.
Alexei Stepanych's manner of speaking very well characterizes his inner appearance. Subservience, humility, servility are the main characters, therefore, diminutive words, self-deprecating intonations, exaggerated courtesy, obsequious tone can be traced in his speech. To please people richer and higher in rank, the hero adds the prefix "s" to the words. Molchalin is mostly silent, trying not to enter into a conversation without unnecessary need. He shows his eloquence only in front of Lisa, in front of whom he can remove the mask and show his true face.
The ability to please helps in moving up the career ladder - this is exactly what Molchalin thinks. The characterization of the character suggests that he even started an affair with Sophia for the reason that she is the daughter of Famusov, and a close relative of the boss cannot be denied the fulfillment of whims. The girl herself invented a hero for herself and imposed her feelings on Alexei Stepanych, making him a platonic admirer. To please the lady, he is ready to abandon his native bourgeois dialect and communicate in the language of silent glances and gestures. Molchalin sits silently next to Sophia all night long, reading novels with her, only because he cannot refuse the boss's daughter. The hero himself not only does not love the girl, but also considers her a "deplorable thief."
The problem of bureaucracy is one of the main issues addressed in the comedy Woe from Wit. Molchalin's characterization gives the reader an idea of a new type of officials at the beginning of the 19th century. He and Famusov belong to the world of bureaucrats, but still they do not look alike, because they belong to different centuries. Barin is an elderly rich man with an established opinion and a successful career. Aleksey Stepanych is still young, therefore he goes to petty officials and is only climbing the career ladder.
In the 19th century, a new type of Russian bureaucrat appeared who abandoned the commandments of the "fathers". This is precisely what the characteristic of Molchalin shows. "Woe from Wit" is a story about a socio-political conflict that expresses the position of society. Whatever it was, but Molchalin still belongs to Famusov's entourage, and just like his boss, he admires rank and wealth.
A comparative description of Molchalin and Chatsky shows how different they are. Molchalin - Famusov's secretary, does not have a noble origin, but has developed his own tactics, following which he builds himself a reliable and comfortable future. Once again, you won’t get words out of him, but he knows how to run on tiptoe, work with papers and appear at the right time, and many people like it. Silent, helpful, spineless people were valued in the era of Nicholas I, so someone like Molchalin was waiting for a brilliant career, rewards for services to the motherland. In appearance, this is a modest young man, he likes Sophia with his meekness and pliability, pleases Famusov with patience and silence, fawns over Khlestova and only shows his true face to the maid Lisa - vile, two-faced, cowardly.
Chatsky is the embodiment of the image of the Decembrists, a romantic nobleman, revealing the vices of serfdom. It is his antagonist that Molchalin is. The characterization of the hero shows that he embodies the features of an advanced thinking person of the early 19th century. Chatsky is convinced that he is right, therefore, without hesitation, he preaches new ideals, reveals the ignorance of the current rich, exposes their false patriotism, inhumanity, and hypocrisy. This is a freethinker who has fallen into a rotten society, and this is his misfortune.
Griboyedov's hero Molchalin became a household name for servility and meanness. The characterization of the character shows that from childhood Alexei Stepanych programmed a plan in his head on how to break into people, make a career, achieve a high rank. He went on his way without turning aside. This person is absolutely indifferent to the feelings of other people, he will not lend a helping hand to anyone if it is unprofitable.
The theme of bureaucracy, which was raised by many writers in the 19th century, is stretched through the whole comedy "Woe from Wit". The bureaucracy of the state kept growing and turning into a serious machine that grinds all the rebels and works in a way that is beneficial to it. Griboyedov in his work showed real people, his contemporaries. He set himself the goal of ridiculing certain traits of a person, showing the whole tragedy of the society of that era, and the writer did it perfectly.
Once a rumor spread around Moscow that Alexander Griboyedov, University Professor Thomas Evans, alarmed by this news, decided to visit the writer. In turn, Griboyedov told his interlocutor a story that happened to him at one of the balls. He was tired of the antics of society, praising some Frenchman, an ordinary talker who did nothing remarkable. Griboyedov could not restrain himself and told those around him everything he thought about them, and someone from the crowd shouted out that the writer was a little out of his mind. Alexander Sergeevich was offended and promised to create a comedy, the heroes of which would be those unlucky spiteful critics who called him crazy. And so the work "Woe from Wit" was born.
Griboyedov, in his comedy "Woe from Wit" created many characteristic characters. These images remain relevant today. One of these heroes is Molchalin. He is the brightest representative of the people who live in our time. Let's take a closer look at his character.
Molchalin is a poor young man from Tver, whom Famusov took into his service and gave the rank of collegiate assessor.
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We can assume that Molchalin is a rootless person, probably from a family of burghers. Famusov says the same about him: "He warmed up the bezrodny and introduced him into my family."
I believe that Molchalin can be described as a cowardly and low person. The most noticeable feature of his character is his taciturnity - which is immediately evident from his last name. (“He is silent when he is scolded”, “Not a free word, and so the whole night passes”) He never expresses his own opinion, in communication he prefers short, fragmentary phrases. “At my age, one should not dare to have one’s own judgment,” Molchalin claims. He seems to be afraid not to please his interlocutor with his remark. Molchalin lives according to the principle bequeathed to him by his father: "to please all people without exception." His helpfulness goes beyond the limits allowed by morality. We see a sharp contrast to this method of communication in the dialogue between Molchalin and Lisa. He takes her for "his", so he is not afraid to frankly express his opinion, to say what he thinks. He tells her about his frivolous intentions in relations with Sophia, claims that he loves her only "by position". He admits that he uses Sophia for his own benefit. This describes him as a vicious, cowardly person who, trying to break into people, makes his way through silent lies and servility. We learn about most of the qualities of Molchalin from the replicas of other heroes. At first, Sophia describes him as a wonderful spiritual organization of a person: “Molchalin is ready to forget himself for others”, “The enemy of insolence is always shy, timidly ...”. From her words it is perfectly clear how much she loves him. Chatsky, on the contrary, treats Molchalin with the deepest contempt. He openly doubts his abilities and does not believe that he can achieve anything. Chatsky considers Molchalin a fool, "the most miserable creature" incapable of any conscious action. But after Chatsky realizes that this is just a mask of Molchalin, that in fact he is a cunning and unprincipled person who knows how to achieve his goals. Chatsky says that Molchalin "will reach the known levels, because now they love the dumb." Molchalin also has a different attitude towards other heroes of the comedy. With people above him in rank, he is helpful, he does not dare to say an extra word. With Chatsky, he allows himself not only to express his opinion, but also to give him advice. After all, Chatsky is not only the same age as Molchalin, but also has no ranks. Therefore, Molchalin sees no reason for his usual helpfulness in the presence of Chatsky. The attitude of other heroes to Molchalin and his attitude towards them characterizes him as an immoral person who sees in others only ranks and titles, not taking into account the human soul.
Thus, Griboyedov created a negative, but interesting to study image in his comedy. Such silent liars exist in modern society as well. And the duty of every person is to eradicate in himself all those qualities that are in him, to develop in himself all the kindest, brightest, and not vile and false. Everyone should try not to be Molchalin.
