Female images in the comedy Woe from Wit 9th grade essay

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On literature
Griboyedov
Female images in the comedy Woe from Wit

There are quite a lot of female characters in this comedy, the most noticeable of which is Sophia.

It is clear that she receives such attention, since she is Chatsky’s beloved. But, as I understand it, she doesn’t need his truth, social justice and the like, but only love (and that’s not his). She had already chosen her beloved while Chatsky was traveling, and this is Molchalin, who flatters her and deceives her. However, Sophia prefers to be deceived, and Chatsky’s attempt to open her eyes only irritates her. Sophia is young and beautiful, she is quite an enviable bride. But like many women, she only listens with pleasure to men’s compliments, carefully turning a blind eye to their shortcomings.

Sophia appears from the very beginning of the comedy and is present in it until the end. Chatsky often turns to her in conversation and constantly thinks about her. Sophia's thinking is funny in its limitations, surprising in its self-deception. She is, as they say, pretty, but stupid. She is also a slightly “languid” young lady, romantic. I think that Chatsky could have chosen a better girl... But they are connected by memories. And Sophia also turns out to be vindictive - she slanders her admirer.

Sophia's faithful companion is Lisa, her maid. But like many servants, she has her own mind, and she is also cheerful, even a real joker. It is said many times in the work that she is fast - “lively.” I think that for a simple girl this is quite normal. The lively Lizanka sincerely worries about the lady. It was young Lisa who attracted Sophia’s “fiancé” – Molchalin. That is, he himself was attracted, but she refuses him, he won’t buy her for gifts!

Both the lady and the maid are superstitious. Only Lisa believes in brownies, and Sophia believes in dreams...

Many other women appear in the comedy occasionally, mostly at the ball in Sophia’s house. There is a whole procession of caricatures going on there.

For example, the countess's grandmother and granddaughter. The older one speaks with a German accent and is very mannered, the younger one wants to dance and she is apparently looking for a groom. By the way, they generally don’t stay at the ball.

Next is the wife of Chatsky’s friend. Natalya Dmitrievna showers her husband with tender names that are not very suitable for a man. She kisses her “darling” on the forehead, and he is so uncomfortable with all this, especially in front of his old acquaintance, Chatsky. She turns her husband into a lapdog with her lisp! And of course, she leads, limiting all her husband’s aspirations to her “concern.”

There is also Khlestova - an older lady, she is domineering, demanding and even rude. There is no courtesy in her, but there is a pressure that society fears. She is constantly dissatisfied, complains about everything, and everyone pleases her.

Also a funny couple - a prince and a princess who are looking for suitors for their daughters. But she thinks about the main thing for her girls - about the position in society and the condition of the young man. And having chosen a “victim”, she sends her husband on a “hunt”.

Almost at the end there is an excited discussion (everything is gossip) about whether the main character is mad or not. The princesses are gossiping “by numbers” (Griboedov didn’t even give them names to the six of them).

As a result, it cannot be said that women speak much in comedy. There are no huge dialogues with meaning between them; the female characters, rather, illustrate.

Author: A. S. Griboyedov
Work: Woe from Wit
This essay has been copied 26,957 times

In the comedy “Woe from Wit” A. S. Griboyedov portrayed noble Moscow of the 10-20s of the 19th century. In the society of that time, they worshiped uniform and rank and rejected books and enlightenment. A person was judged not by his personal qualities, but by the number of serf souls. Everyone sought to imitate Europe and worshiped foreign fashion, language and culture.

The “past century”, presented vividly and fully in the work, is characterized by the power of women, their great influence on the formation of tastes and views of society. Moscow noblewomen represent a number of stage and off-stage characters. They either participate in the conflict of the play, or help the author to reveal with greater depth the world of old aristocratic Moscow in the first quarter of the 19th century. Female images in comedy are bright, colorful and characteristic of their time and are not only diverse types, but also individuals.

Noble women were not deeply influenced by veneration for rank, which was a striking feature of the “past century” and left its mark on the psychology of any man. Women were drawn into the system of service-state hierarchy to a much lesser extent. This gave them relative freedom of opinion and personal independence. Despite this, military men were more favored by ladies than civilian employees, because military service was considered more prestigious. Chatsky is outraged by the blind admiration of women for the uniform, which in their eyes often obscured the personality: “And in wives and daughters there is the same passion for the uniform! “Still, Sophia is not tempted by the opportunity to marry the future general. In Colonel Skalozub she sees only “a constellation of maneuvers and mazurkas.” She doesn't like his rudeness and inability to show subtle feelings.

One of the most important themes that occupy all comedy characters, especially women, is the theme of family. Discussions about marriage, getting married, searching for and choosing suitors are almost constantly present in conversations, plans and assessments of people in Famusov’s circle.

The ideal of all women of the “past century” is “a husband-boy, a husband-servant.” This is exactly the kind of married couple that the Gorichs represent. Marriage to Natalya Dmitrievna made the former military man Platon Mikhailovich a weak-willed man, obliged to unquestioningly fulfill all the whims of his wife: go to balls with her, “start dancing on command,” protect herself from drafts and the “rumatism” that came from nowhere.

The formation of the female ideal of married life was also influenced by the reading of English classic novels, which presented the virtuous hero as a role model. Sophia chose Molchalin, a poor, quiet, modest, but noble, in her opinion, man. She appreciates him because he is “the enemy of insolence,” “yielding, modest, quiet.” Drawing a portrait of her chosen one for Chatsky, she formulates her moral ideal, which outwardly resembles the hero of the novels she has read, with his humility and willingness to sacrifice himself. A girl blinded by love does not want to see in her lover the vices inherent in his nature. Unaware of Molchalin's true feelings towards her, she imperiously and self-confidently controls his actions.

Excessive passion for foreign culture, characteristic of society as a whole, is also characteristic of Moscow young ladies and ladies. The social life of France has become a standard for Russian noble society, and the French are the idols of the capital's ladies, so many foreigners find a warm welcome in Moscow. They are perceived as well-mannered and pleasant gentlemen, they are treated with respect in secular society, although in their homeland they could be tailors, cooks or even soldiers.

The passion for French culture and literature leads to the fact that in the speech of almost all the heroines, except for Countess Tugoukhovskaya and the old woman Khlestova, who was a remnant of Catherine’s times, there are Gallicisms. Chatsky complains about the mixture of “French with Nizhny Novgorod”, acutely feeling the slavish dependence of Moscow society on foreign culture. Guests who have arrived for the evening exchange greetings when they meet at Famusov’s house, and the ladies discuss their outfits, flaunting foreign words. Natalya Dmitrievna uses the French word “turlyurlu”, which is not at all appropriate in the mouth of a lady of the world.

It becomes obvious that the noblewomen’s passion for foreign things is simply a fascination with the external attributes of a foreign culture. Having turned away from the national soil, they found nothing but false values determined by the whims of fashion. Possessing a certain amount of power both in the family and in society, women had a great influence on the formation of public opinion. The whole society was forced to take their tastes into account.

In the comedy, women play the role of public judges and legislators, capable of commanding imperiously “in front of the front” or even being present in the Senate:

What about the ladies? Anyone, try it, master it, Judges of everything, everywhere, there are no judges above them

- this is how Famusov speaks about the authority of Moscow ladies. Even he, a recognized Moscow ace, is far from indifferent to what “Princess Marya Aleksevna will talk about him.” Many young people obsequiously curried favor with the influential Tatyana Yuryevna, who had extensive connections in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and willingly provided patronage to those who wanted to make a career. Molchalin liked to attend balls in her rich house, and in the summer to visit her among other guests at the dacha during the holidays. He even advises Chatsky, who has not succeeded in his career, to go to her in order to gain patronage.

Like many women, Moscow noblewomen have a passion for gossip. Any phrase is immediately picked up by the ladies and instantly spread throughout Moscow. The gossip is carried out by the countess-granddaughter and the countess-grandmother, embittered at the whole world, six faceless princesses and Natalya Dmitrievna. And as soon as someone doubts the veracity of the next rumor, the menacing look of the countess or another lady puts everything in its place.

So, bright female images, both stage and off-stage, represent a picture of the life of the Moscow nobility in the first quarter of the 19th century. According to Goncharov, both the general and the details, all this was not composed, but was entirely taken from Moscow living rooms and transferred to a book with all the “special imprint” of Moscow.

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