Resumen
Resumen de El inspector general
Para quién es
For readers who love sharp comedy, officials caught up in rumour, and short plays that can be read in one sitting.
De qué trata este libro
The Inspector-General is a comedy in five acts by Nikolai Gogol. It was first staged in Saint Petersburg in 1836, in the reign of Nicholas the First. Gogol took the plot from a story told to him by the poet Pushkin, about a traveller mistaken for an official. He wrote the play to laugh at the greed and fear of provincial Russian officials. The tsar himself is said to have enjoyed the first performance, though many in the audience were angry.
You get a small town, a nervous mayor, and a case of mistaken identity that grows out of control. You meet the judge, the postmaster, the school superintendent and the hospital head, each guilty in his own way. You also meet a young clerk who has no idea what he has walked into. In the next few minutes you will hear how the story is built, what it shows about power and fear, and why it still makes people laugh. First, the news that sets everything off.
En este resumen
- 1A letter warns of a hidden inspectorFree
- 2A penniless clerk is taken for the inspector
- 3Flattery teaches Khlestakov to play the part
- 4Bribes arrive one official at a time
- 5Two women compete for the visitor's attention
- 6What the play is about and how it works
Idea clave 1 de 6
A letter warns of a hidden inspector
The play opens in the house of the mayor, Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky, in a remote district town. He has called the town officials together to share bad news. A letter from a friend tells him that an inspector is on his way from the capital, travelling in secret. The inspector will examine how the town is run.
The officials are alarmed, and with good reason. The judge, Ammos Fyodorovich, keeps a hunting whip in the courtroom and takes gifts from people who come before him. The charity commissioner, Artemy Filippovich, runs a hospital where the patients are fed badly and nobody keeps proper care. The school superintendent, Luka Lukich, is a timid man afraid of everything. The postmaster, Ivan Kuzmich, reads other people's letters for pleasure.
The mayor gives orders in a panic. Clean the hospital, put clean caps on the patients, and tell the sick not to smoke strong tobacco. Tidy the courthouse and take the hunting gear away from the judge's hall. He is not trying to reform anything. He only wants the town to look good for a few days.
The scene is funny because every man hides his own faults while pointing at his neighbour's. The mayor himself is no better, since he has taken money from merchants for years. Gogol sets up the world quickly, and he shows that fear, not duty, is what drives these men. Then two local gossips burst in with news.
The gossips are Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, two landowners who look almost alike and who speak over each other. They have seen a young stranger at the inn.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky
- The town's bribe-taking mayor fears official scrutiny and gathers his fellow officials to discuss a warning.
- Ivan Alexandrovich Khlestakov
- A penniless clerk from Saint Petersburg, he travels with Osip and is mistaken for an important inspector.
- Anna Andreyevna
- The mayor's ambitious wife longs for fashionable society and competes with her daughter for Khlestakov's attention.
- Marya Antonovna
- The mayor and Anna Andreyevna's impressionable daughter is excited by their visitor from the capital.
- Osip
- Khlestakov's practical servant understands his master's weaknesses and is tired of their hungry, penniless travels.
- Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky
- These two gossiping landowners spread suspicions about the stranger and help alarm the mayor and officials.
- Ammos Fyodorovich Lyapkin-Tyapkin
- The town's judge accepts gifts from litigants and shares the mayor's fear of an official inspection.
- Artemy Filippovich Zemlyanika
- The charity commissioner neglects the hospital and tries to protect himself by informing against fellow officials.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 31,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 2 h 5 min
- Listening time3 h 25 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 14 other languages
Questions about El inspector general
What is The Inspector-General about?
It is a comedy about a provincial town whose corrupt officials mistake a penniless young clerk for a secret inspector from the capital. Their fear and flattery spin the mistake out of control.
Who is Khlestakov in The Inspector-General?
Khlestakov is a young, idle minor clerk from Saint Petersburg who is stuck in the town without money. He does not plan to deceive anyone, but he goes along with the role the officials give him.
When was The Inspector-General written and is it based on a true story?
Gogol wrote it in the mid 1830s and it was first staged in 1836. It is fiction, but the idea of a traveller mistaken for an official was suggested to Gogol by the poet Pushkin.
Why is the play called The Inspector-General or The Government Inspector?
The Russian title names an official sent from the capital to examine local administration. English translations vary, using Inspector-General, Government Inspector or Inspector, but all refer to the same figure whom the town fears.
Is The Inspector-General hard to read?
No. It is a short play with clear scenes and quick dialogue. Each official has one vice that makes him easy to remember.