Mistakes and experience of Mrs. Prostakova. Characteristics of Prostakova in the comedy "Undergrowth
The writing
In the comedy Undergrowth, Fonvizin portrays the vices of contemporary society. His heroes are representatives of different social strata: statesmen, nobles, servants, self-proclaimed teachers. This is the first socio-political comedy in the history of Russian dramaturgy.
The central heroine of the play is Mrs. Prostakova. She manages the household, beats her husband, keeps the courtyards in horror, and brings up her son Mitrofan. Now I scold, now I fight, and that is how the house is kept. No one dares to oppose her power: Am I not powerful in my people. But in the image of Prostakova there are also tragic elements. This ignorant and greedy overripe fury loves and cares deeply for her son. At the end of the play, rejected by Mitrofan, she becomes humiliated and pitiful:
You are the only one left with me.
Let go…
I don't have a son...
The main way to create the character of Prostakova is a speech characteristic. The heroine's language changes depending on who she is addressing. Mrs. Prostakova calls the servants thieves, rascals, a beast, a dog's daughter. He turns to Mitrofan: my friend, my dear, my dear. Guests are met with respect: I recommend you a dear guest, you are welcome.
The image of Mitrofan in the play is connected with the idea of education, which is very important for educational literature. Mitrofan is ignorant, idler, mother's favorite. From the parent, he inherited arrogance and rudeness. To Yeremeevna, who is sacredly devoted to him, he addresses: an old grunt. Mitrofan's upbringing and education corresponded to the fashion of that time and the understanding of his parents. He is taught French by the German Vralman, the exact sciences by the retired sergeant Tsyfirkin, who dabbles in a little arithmetic, and grammar by the seminarian Kuteikin, who was dismissed from all teaching. Mitrofanushka's knowledge of grammar, his desire not to study, but to get married are ridiculous. But his attitude towards Eremeevna, his readiness to take on people, his mother's betrayal evokes different feelings. Mitrofanushka becomes an ignorant and cruel despot.
The main method of creating satirical characters in the play is zoologization. Having gathered to get married, Skotinin declares that he wants to have his own piglets. It seems to Vralman that, while living with the Prostakovs, he lived as a fairy with horses. Thus, the author emphasizes the idea of the animal lowlands of the surrounding world.
Despite the fact that the genre of the play Undergrowth is a comedy, Fonvizin is not limited only to exposing social vices and creating satirical characters. The author draws a number of positive characters Starodum, Pravdin, Sofya, Milon. These heroes openly express the views of an honest man on noble morality, family relations, and even civil order. This dramatic device truly means a revolution in Russian educational literature from. criticism of the negative aspects of reality to the search for ways to change the existing system.
Reflecting the problems relevant to his time, Fonvizin was a talented psychologist, thinker, and artist. His comedy has a universal significance, it lives through the centuries, does not leave the stages of modern theaters.
The action takes place in the estate of the Prostakovs. The unrestricted hostess is Mrs. Prostakova. It is curious to note that in the list of characters only she was given the title of “Madam”, the rest of the characters are named only by their last names or first names. She really dominates the world subject to her, she rules arrogantly, despotic, with complete confidence in her impunity. Taking advantage of Sophia's orphanhood, Prostakova takes possession of her estate. Without asking the girl's consent, he decides to marry her off. However, the full nature of this "fury" is revealed in the treatment of serfs. Prostakova is deeply convinced of her right to offend, rob and punish the peasants, whom she looks at as beings of another, lower Breed.
The welfare of Prostakova rests on the shameless robbery of the serfs. “Since then, she complains to Skotinin, we have taken away everything that the peasants had, we can’t tear anything off.” Order in the house is brought about by abuse and beatings. “From morning to evening, Prostakova complains again, like she’s hanged by the tongue, I don’t rest my hands: either I scold, or I fight.” Eremeevna, when asked how much her salary is due, replies with tears: “Five rubles a year, up to five slaps in the face a day.”
The primitive nature of Prostakova is clearly revealed in sharp transitions from arrogance to cowardice, from complacency to servility. She is rude to Sophia while she feels her power over her, but upon learning of the return of Starodum, she instantly changes her tone and behavior. When Pravdin announces the decision to put Prostakov on trial for inhuman treatment of the peasants, she humiliatedly wallows at his feet. But, having begged for forgiveness, he immediately hurries to deal with the slow servants who missed Sophia: “Forgive me! Ah, father! Well! Now I will let the canals open to my people. Now I'll take them all one by one." Brother Prostakova Skotinin is related to her not only in blood, but also in spirit. He exactly repeats the serf practice of his sister. “If it wasn’t for me Taras Skotinin,” he declares, if I don’t have any fault to blame. In this, sister, I have the same custom with you ... and every loss ... I will tear off my own peasants, and the ends are in the water.
The presence of Skotinin in the play emphasizes the wide distribution of nobles like Prostakova, gives it a typical character. Not without reason, at the end of the play, Pravdin advises to warn the other Skotinins about what happened at the Prostakov estate. Many nobles are so low in mental and civic development that they can only be likened to animals. Cattle possessing people, this is the painful problem that D.I. Fonvizin posed with great courage.
He endowed the heroes with emphatically Russian names, surrounded them with familiar surroundings, and preserved Russian customs on the stage. Mrs. Prostakova, nee Skotinina, is always compared to a dog, Skotinin to pigs. They themselves persistently call themselves cattle, animals. “Have you heard that a bitch gave out her puppies,” asks Prostakova. "Ah, I am a dog's daughter!" she says elsewhere. The base spiritual appearance of Skotinin is revealed in his predilection for "pigs". “I love pigs ... he admits, but in our neighborhood there are such large pigs that there is not a single one of them that, standing on its back with a single leg, would not be taller than each of us with a whole head.” “No, sister,” he says to Prostakova, “I want to have my own piglets.” And Mitrofan, according to his mother, “was the same hunter from the age of pigs ... Sometimes, when he saw a pig, he would tremble with joy.” "I am cattle, Mitrofan reads according to the hour book, and not a man."
A real revolution was made by Fonvizin in the field of comedic language. The speech of many of his heroes is predetermined by spe -. cipher of the image. In "Undergrowth" the speeches of Prostakova, Skotinin, Eremeevna are especially colorful. Fonvizin retains all the incorrectness of the language of his ignorant heroes: “first” instead of first, “robenka” instead of a child, “goloushka” instead of little head, “which” instead of which. Successfully used proverbs and sayings. The rough, dissolute nature of Prostakova is well revealed by the vulgarisms she uses: “And you, the beast, were dumbfounded, and you didn’t bite into your brother’s mug, and you didn’t pull his snout up to his ears.” Swear words never leave Prostakova's tongue: cattle, mug, rascals, old witch. The news of the illness of the yard girl Palashka infuriates her: “Oh, she is a beast! Lies. As if noble!
Throughout the comedy, the Skotinins and Prostakovs emphasize that they are unusually smart, especially Mitrofanushka. In fact, Prostakova, her husband and her brother cannot even read. Moreover, they are deeply convinced of the futility and uselessness of knowledge. “Without science, people live and lived,” Prostakova confidently declares. Equally wild are their social representations. High positions exist, according to their deep conviction, only for enrichment. According to Prostakova, her father "was a voivode for fifteen years ... he did not know how to read and write, but he knew how to make enough money." They see the advantages of the "noble" class in the ability to insult and rob people dependent on them. Bad mentors can also be the cause of “malice”. Mitrofan's education was entrusted to the half-educated seminarian Kuteikin, the retired soldier Tsyfirkin, and the former coachman, the German Vralman. Mitrofan is one of the main actors of the comedy. Using the techniques of speech characteristics, D. I. Fonvizin portrayed Mitrofan as the greatest lazy person. But it's not just the teachers, Mitrofan's character and behavior are the natural result of those living examples that he is surrounded by in his parents' house. It had the most devastating effect on Mitrofan Prostakov. After all, his name, translated from Greek, means “like a mother”, that is, “representing a mother.” From Prostakova, Mitrofan adopted rudeness, greed, contempt for work and knowledge. The education that a mother wanted to give her son, a bestial education, an education of animal needs.
Slavery corrupts the masters, the landowners, depriving them of their human traits. They turned their peasants into cattle, but they themselves became cattle, having lost their honor and conscience, forgetting about human and family affections. Fonvizin managed to create truly typical images that became household names and outlived their time. The names of Mitrofanushka, Skotinin, Prostakova became immortal.
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Once, when Prostakova called her husband, and he did not come up. Then she said to Mitrofan: “So go and get him out if you don’t do good.”
In this remark, I saw Prstakova's rude and dismissive attitude towards her husband. But despite this attitude towards Prostakov, she never scolded her son. Mitrofan was spoiled, because his mother allowed him everything, protected him even when he was wrong. Prostakova dearly loved her son and did not allow teachers to bother Mitrofan. By this act, she deprived her son of the opportunity to receive an education. Prostakova did not think about raising her son, under Mitrovan she scolded the serfs, and as a result, her beloved son left her.
In the finale of the comedy, the Prostakovs are waiting for a well-deserved punishment - the order of the authorities comes to take the estate under guardianship. The final scene, in which even Mitrovan leaves Prostakova, indicates that the vicious person himself is preparing his well-deserved punishment with his actions. Prostakova is presented as an imperious, uneducated Russian woman. She is very greedy and in order to grab more of someone else's often, she flatters and “puts on” a mask of nobility, but an animal grin constantly peeps out from under the mask, which looks ridiculous and ridiculous. Prostakova’s speech: rude in addressing servants (“swindler”, “cattle”, “thieves’ mug” - tailor Trishka; “beast”, “scum” - nanny Ermeevna), caring and affectionate in conversation with her son Mitrofanushka (“live for a century, study for a century, my dear friend”, “darling”). But at the same time, she is not at all worried about raising her son (“I am very pleased that Mitrofanushka does not like to step forward ...
He's lying, my dear friend. Found the money - do not share with anyone. Take everything for yourself, Mitrofanushka.
Don't study this stupid science! "). It is not surprising that Mitrofanushka grew up so spoiled and uncouth. There is another negative character in the play - Prostakova's brother - Skotin. He, like his sister, is cruel and narcissistic.
Self-confidence is heard in every remark of Skotin, devoid of any merit. (“You won’t go around your betrothed with a horse, darling! You will blame the sin on your happiness. You will live with me in clover. Ten thousand of your income! Yes, you hear me, I’ll make sure that everyone trumpets: in this neighborhood, and only pigs live.”) Ignorance, bestiality of Skotin and Prostakova make their vices frank.
These people are visible at a glance, they have nothing to cover their animality, and they do not consider it necessary to do so. Their world wants to subjugate all life to itself, to appropriate the right of unlimited power over both serfs and noble people. Fonvizin's comedy "Undergrowth" is the first socio-political comedy in the history of Russian dramaturgy. The author exposes in it the vices of contemporary society.
The heroes of the comedy are representatives of different social strata: statesmen, nobles, servants, self-proclaimed teachers. The central character of the play is Mrs. Prostakova. She manages the household, beats her husband, keeps the courtyards in horror, and brings up her son Mitrofan.
"I scold, then I fight, and that's how the house is kept." No one dares to oppose her power: "Am I not powerful in my people." The speech characteristic is the main way to create the character of Prostakova.
The heroine's language changes depending on who she is addressing. Mrs. Prostakova calls the servants "thieves", "canals", "beast", "dog's daughter". He addresses Mitrofan: "my dear friend", "duilenka". He greets guests with respect: "I recommend you a dear guest", "you are welcome." There are also tragic elements in the image of Prostakova. This ignorant and greedy "despicable fury" loves and sincerely cares about her son.
At the end of the play, rejected by Mitrofan, she becomes humiliated and pitiful:
- You are the only one left with me.
- - Let go...
- I don't have a son...
The image of Mitrofan in the play is connected with the idea of education, which is very important for educational literature. Mitrofan is an ignorant, loafer, mother's favorite. From the parent, he inherited arrogance and rudeness. To Yeremeevna, who is sacredly devoted to him, he addresses: "old grunt". The upbringing and education of Mitrofan corresponds to the "fashion" of the time and the understanding of the parents. He is taught French by the German Vralman, the exact sciences by the retired sergeant Tsyfirkin, who "does a little bit of arithmetic," and grammar by the seminarian Kuteikin, who was dismissed from "any teaching." "Knowledge" of Mitrofanushka in grammar, his desire not to study, but to marry - are ridiculous. But his attitude towards Eremeevna. the readiness to "take on people", the betrayal of the mother already evokes different feelings. Mitrofanushka becomes an ignorant and cruel despot. The names of the actors are remarkable. "Talking" surnames immediately establish the attitude of the reader and viewer to their owners. Psychologically, he already becomes a participant in the action. He was deprived of the opportunity to evaluate the heroes and their actions. From the very beginning, from the names of the characters, the reader was told where the negative characters are and where the positive ones are. And the role of the reader is to see and remember the ideal to which one must strive. Interesting language of comedy. Negative characters and their servants are inherent in the common colloquial language. The vocabulary of the Skotinins consists mainly of words used in the barnyard. This is well shown by the speech of Skotinin - Uncle Migrofan. She is full of words: pig, piglets, pigsty. The idea of life also begins and ends with the barnyard. He compares his life with the life of his pigs, for example. "I want to have my own piglets." "If I have ... a special barn for each pig, then I will find a litter box for my wife." And he is proud of this: "Well, be I a pig's son. If ..." The vocabulary of his sister, Mrs. Prostakova, is a little more diverse due to the fact that her husband is "countless fool" and she has to do everything herself. But the roots of Skotininsky are also manifested in her speech. Favorite curse word is "cattle". To show that Prostakova is not far behind her brother in development, Fonvizin sometimes denies her elementary logic. For example, such phrases: "Since we took away everything that the peasants had, we can't tear anything off", "So is it really necessary to be like a tailor in order to be able to sew a caftan well?" And, drawing conclusions from what has been said, Prostakova finishes the phrase: "What a bestial reasoning." Concerning her husband, one can only say that he is laconic and does not open his mouth without instructions from his wife. But this also characterizes him as a "countless fool", a weak-willed husband who fell under the heel of his wife. Mitrofanushka is also laconic, however, unlike his father, he has freedom of speech. Skotinin's roots are manifested in his ingenuity of swearing, "old grunt", "garrison rat". Servants and teachers have in their speech the characteristic features of the estates and parts of society to which they belong. Eremeevna's speech is constant excuses and desires to please. Teachers. Tsyfirkin is a retired sergeant, Kuteikin is a deacon from Pokrov. And by their speech they show belonging: one - to the military, the other - to the church ministers. The author introduces a number of positive characters - Starodum, Pravdin, Sophia, Milon. These heroes openly express the views of an "honest" person on noble morality, family relations, and even civil order. This dramatic device truly caused a revolution in Russian educational literature, from criticism of the negative aspects of reality to the search for ways to change the existing system. The speech of positive characters does not differ in brightness. This is bookish speech, the speech of educated people of that time, which practically does not express emotions. You understand the meaning of what has been said from the immediate meaning of the words. For the rest of the characters, the meaning can be caught in the very dynamics of speech. It is almost impossible to distinguish Milon's speech from Pravdin's speech. It is also very difficult to say anything about Sophia from her speech. An educated, well-behaved young lady, as Starodum would call her, sensitive to the advice and instructions of her beloved uncle. Starodum's speech is completely determined by the fact that the author put his moral program into the mouth of this hero: rules, principles, moral laws by which a "pious person" must live. Starodum's monologues are structured in this way: Starodum first tells a story from his life, and then the conclusion
>Characteristics of the heroes Undergrowth
Characteristics of the hero Prostakov
Prostakova is one of the main characters and the moving face in D. I. Fonvizin's play "Undergrowth". She is the mother of Mitrofanushka and the sister of Taras Skotinin. Prostakova participates in almost all the events of the play, since the action takes place in the house where she is the mistress. By position, she is a noblewoman, has serfs and is a typical example of a Russian landowner in the middle of the 18th century. It is distinguished by unscrupulousness, ignorance, illiteracy and the desire to control everything. The heroine's husband does not dare to argue with her. Such concepts as conscience and honor are alien to her. To achieve her goals, she is ready to go any tricks, including meanness and deceit. All that interests her is her personal well-being and the well-being of her son. For the sake of Mitrofanushka, she is ready to do anything. So, for example, having learned about the rich dowry of Sophia's pupil, she immediately decides to marry her son to her, despite the fact that it was originally decided to marry her off to the brother of the landowner Taras Skotinin and, despite the protests of Sophia herself. Even when her plans fall apart, she still tries to secretly marry the young.
The play shows Prostakova's boundless and stupid love for her son, who is her only joy. Being illiterate herself, she tries to give him a decent education so as not to look worse than other landowners. To do this, she hires a German teacher. However, this is not done for the sake of the son being scientific, but for the sake of the capital's fashion. Also, in an attempt to eliminate her brother from the path of Mitrofanushka, she simply clings to his throat. The author clearly shows the reasons for this behavior of Prostakova. First of all, this is due to her inner ignorance and lack of education. The second reason has a social connotation and lies in the decree of Catherine II "On the Liberty of the Nobles". Thanks to this decree, the nobles of that time received full power over the serfs and were free to do whatever they wanted. Having shown the collapse of Prostakova and her plans at the end of the play, the author also emphasizes the collapse of the entire system.
- Miss Prostakova. The playwright portrays her vividly and realistically. Before us is a living face, we see Prostakova, we understand all her simple primitive psychology, we understand why and how the character of this “despicable fury”, as Pravdin calls her, has developed. The first thing that catches your eye when you read "Undergrowth", or see the production of this comedy, is the extraordinary rudeness of Mrs. Prostakova: the first act begins with the fact that she scolds the tailor Trishka, calling him "cattle, thieves' mug and blockhead" . The same rudeness is visible in her words addressed to her husband, to her brother. But in the treatment of servants, not only rudeness is visible, but also inhuman cruelty. Upon learning that the girl Palashka fell ill, fell ill and was delirious, Prostakova exclaims: “Ah, she is a beast! Lies! Delirious, you bastard! Like she's noble!" She tells her husband to punish Trishka the tailor because, in her opinion, the caftan that he sewed for Mitrofan does not fit well. "Rogues! the thieves! scammers! beat everyone to death!" she shouts at the people. Prostakova considers ill-treatment of servants not only her right, but also her duty: “I manage everything myself, father,” she says to Pravdin, “from morning to evening, as if hanging by the tongue, I don’t rest my hands: I scold, then I fight, That's how the house holds up!" She completely ruined her serfs with dues, and she herself says this: “since we robbed everything that the peasants had, we can’t tear anything off.” Her brother, Skotinin, does the same with his peasants: “No matter how much the neighbors offended me, no matter how much damage they did,” he says, “I didn’t hit anyone with my forehead: and any loss, than to go after him, I’ll tear off their own peasants, so ends up in the water.
Heroes of "Undergrowth" Fonvizin
Brother and sister received the same education, which partly explains the roughness of their morals. Prostakova herself says that their father had eighteen brothers and sisters, but, except for her and her brother, they all “tried on”; it is clear that the children grew up without any supervision: “some of the dead were pulled out of the bath; three, having sipped milk from a copper pot, died; two of the Saint fell from the bell tower; but the ones who got to the ground weren’t standing by themselves…” The children weren’t taught anything at home. The father got angry when "kind people" persuaded him to send his son to school, and shouted: "I will curse the child who learns something from the infidels, and if it weren't for Skotinin, who wants to learn something."
In a conversation with Starodum, Prostakova completes a portrait of her father: “The dead father,” she says, “was a governor for fifteen years, and with that he deigned to die because he did not know how to read and write, but he knew how to earn enough and save. He used to always receive petitioners while sitting on an iron chest. After each, the chest will open and put something. At the same time, he was a great "economist", in other words, a miserly miser. “A dead man, light,” Prostakov ends his story, “lying on a chest with money, he died, so to speak, of hunger.” The example of such a father and the upbringing given to his children was reflected in the character and views of Prostakova.
Fonvizin. Undergrowth. Performance of the Maly Theater
However, agreeing with her father that “people live and lived without science,” Prostakova tries to give her son Mitrofanushka some kind of education. Following the requirements of the time, she even herself says to Mitrofan: "live for a century, learn for a century." She understands that now you won’t get big ranks without a diploma. Therefore, for the third year now, the seminarian Kuteikin has been teaching Mitrofan to read and write, the retired soldier Tsyfirkin - arithmetic, and the German Vralman, who enjoys special honor in the house, as a foreigner, all the sciences. Prostakova spares nothing in order to bring Mitrofanushka to the people, but, herself not understanding anything in the sciences, she interferes in the lessons, stupidly prevents teachers from doing their job and indulges Mitrofan's laziness.
Prostakova's insane love for her son is the only good feature of her character, although, in essence, this is a primitive, rude feeling; Prostakova herself compares her love for her son with the natural attachment of a dog to his puppy. But love for her son, whatever it may be, takes first place in all the actions and thoughts of Mrs. Prostakova. Mitrofan is the center and meaning of her life. For his sake, she is ready to commit a crime, trying to take Sophia away and forcibly marry her to Mitrofan. Therefore, when all her atrocities are revealed, when Pravdin takes custody of her estate for inhuman treatment of servants and threatens to bring her to justice, seeing that her power and strength have been taken away from her, she rushes to her adored son: “You alone remained with me , my heart friend, Mitrofanushka! - And when Mitrofan, in response to this cry of her mother's heart, rudely pushes her away: "Yes, get rid of it, mother, how you imposed it!" - she can not stand her grief and with the words: “And you! And you're leaving me!" loses his senses. At this moment, one involuntarily feels sorry for Madame Prostakov; the author managed to portray her really, like a living person. Pointing to her, Starodum says the well-known final words of the comedy: “Here are worthy fruits of malevolence!”
”, the landowner Prostakova is a very peculiar character for a comedy written according to the rules of classicism. She also stands out against the background of very “pale” positive characters, and is not as disgustingly unambiguous as her son Mitrofan Prostakov and brother Taras Skotinin.
Of course, the classic "trinity" in Fonvizin's comedy is respected. But Prostakova is not a typical negative classic character, who, according to the requirements, should not have any positive features at all.
Our main character is Prostakova only in appearance. She is Skotinina by birth and in essence, and is only able to give birth to something similar to herself.
She is the central face of the conflict that has formed in the comedy. All the problems were originally tied to her, and created by her. This is a woman who was brought up by an imperious tyrant-father, who received visitors, "sitting on a chest." She grew up in wealth and permissiveness. She was married, but managed to easily suppress her husband's will, because, apparently, she was physically stronger.
She resolves all controversial issues with the help of her fists, and never refuses herself the opportunity to humiliate, insult and shout at someone, and even more so at serfs. Everything should be subordinated to Prostakova and should please her. Even the wealthy Starodub is a “benefactor” who is obliged to do her good deeds. Who else but her!
She already disposed of the lands and property of the orphan Sophia in advance - the good does not disappear, especially since it goes into her hands. If not a brother, then a son, especially since Sophia is a rich heiress. Sophia herself is of no interest to anyone, pigs - only they really occupy the groom Skotinin.
And the immature groom Mitrofan doesn’t care who he is married to - he also experienced the strongest emotions at the sight of “pigs” - “as he was for another three years, it happened, when he saw a pig, he would tremble with joy”! But the fact that her, Prostakova never let go of her hands. The landowner is even ready for outright baseness when everything does not turn out the way she planned.
But, oddly enough, this creature is able to love - selflessly, not seeing anything negative. She adores her only son with some kind of animal love, ready to tear to shreds for the offense inflicted on her offspring: “Have you heard that a bitch gave out her puppies?” Everything that she says and does not do her child, she is ready to justify, protect, rush to the offender. This is the blind maternal instinct of an animal, not a single living being is more unworthy of it, only a worthy heir to the Skotinins, her baby, her pride and joy.
At the end of the comedy, Prostakova is completely unsettled and demoralized: her power over the estate is taken away from her, Sophia marries another and wealth is lost - and even the adored Mitrofan leaves her without regret as soon as he sees her failure. But most of all, the landowner is killed by the thought that the power that she had was irretrievably lost.
This character, of course, cannot arouse sympathy, he is endowed with painfully unattractive features. However, Prostakova is not a single character who showed us the “tyrant of Russian life” in the comedy. This is a typical representative of the "wild nobility", and since this problem was sore, Fonvizin solves it radically - he shows exactly how to deal with people like her. And although serfdom was abolished only sixty years after the release of The Undergrowth, it was Fonvizin who began to ridicule the "tyrants of Russian life" in literature.
