In the comedy A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit" presents the customs of the Moscow nobles of the early 19th century. The author shows the clash of the conservative views of the feudal landlords with the progressive views of the younger generation of nobles who began to appear in society. This clash is presented in the form of a struggle between two camps: the "past century", which defends its mercantile interests and personal comfort, and the "present century", which seeks to improve the structure of society through the manifestation of true citizenship. However, there are characters in the play that cannot be unequivocally attributed to any of the opposing sides. This is the image of Sophia in the comedy "Woe from Wit".
Sophia's opposition to Famus society
Sofya Famusova is one of the most difficult characters in the work of A.S. Griboyedov. The characterization of Sophia in the comedy "Woe from Wit" is contradictory, because on the one hand, she is the only person close in spirit to Chatsky, the main character of the comedy. On the other hand, it is Sophia who is the cause of Chatsky's suffering and his expulsion from Famus society.
The main character of the comedy is not without reason in love with this girl. Let now their youthful love Sophia calls childishness, nevertheless, she once attracted Chatsky with her natural mind, strong character, independence from other people's opinions. And he was sweet to her for the same reasons.
From the first pages of the comedy, we learn that Sophia received a good education, loves to spend time reading books, which causes the anger of her father. After all, he believes that "there is not great use in reading," and "learning is the plague." And this is the first discrepancy in the comedy "Woe from Wit" of the image of Sophia with the images of the nobles of the "past century."
Sofia's hobby for Molchalin is also natural. She, as a fan of French novels, discerned the features of a romantic hero in this man's modesty and laconicism. Sophia does not suspect that she has become the victim of a deception of a two-faced person who is next to her only for personal gain.
In her relationship with Molchalin, Sofya Famusova displays such character traits that none of the representatives of the "past century", including her father, would ever dare to show. If Molchalin is mortally afraid to make this connection public in front of society, since "evil tongues are worse than a gun," then Sophia is not afraid of the opinion of the world. She follows the dictates of her heart: “What is the rumor to me? Whoever wants to judge so. " This position makes her in common with Chatsky.
Traits that bring Sophia closer to Famus society
However, Sophia is the daughter of her father. She was brought up in a society where they value only ranks and money. The atmosphere in which she grew up certainly influenced her.
Sophia in the comedy "Woe from Wit" made a choice in favor of Molchalin not only because she saw positive qualities in him. The fact is that in Famus society, women rule not only in the world, but also in the family. It is worth remembering a couple of Goriches at a ball in Famusov's house. Platon Mikhailovich, whom Chatsky knew as an active, active military man, under the influence of his wife turned into a weak-willed creature. Natalya Dmitrievna decides everything for him, gives answers for him, disposing of him as a thing.
Obviously, Sophia, wanting to dominate her spouse, chose Molchalin for the role of her future spouse. This hero corresponds to the ideal of a husband in the society of the Moscow nobility: "A husband is a boy, a husband is a servant, of the wife's pages is the high ideal of all Moscow husbands."
The tragedy of Sophia Famusova
In the comedy Woe From Wit, Sophia is the most tragic character. She bears more suffering than even Chatsky.
Firstly, Sophia, possessing by nature decisiveness, courage, intelligence, is forced to be a hostage of the society in which she was born. The heroine cannot afford to surrender to feelings, regardless of the opinions of others. She was brought up among the conservative nobility and will live according to the laws dictated by them.
Secondly, the appearance of Chatsky threatens her personal happiness with Molchalin. After Chatsky's arrival, the heroine is in constant tension and is forced to protect her lover from the stinging attacks of the protagonist. It is the desire to save her love, to save Molchalin from ridicule that pushes Sophia to spread gossip about Chatsky's madness: “Ah, Chatsky! You like to dress everyone up as jesters, would you like to try on yourself? " However, Sophia turned out to be capable of such an act only because of the strong influence of the society in which she lives and with which she gradually merges.
Thirdly, in the comedy, there is a brutal destruction of the image of Molchalin that has developed in Sophia's head when she hears his conversation with the servant Lisa. Her main tragedy lies in the fact that she fell in love with a scoundrel who played the role of her lover only because it could be beneficial for him to receive another rank or award. In addition, the exposure of Molchalin takes place in the presence of Chatsky, which further wounds Sophia as a woman.
conclusions
Thus, the characterization of Sophia in the comedy "Woe from Wit" shows that this girl is in many ways opposed to her father and the entire noble society. She is not afraid to speak out against the world, defending her love.
However, this same love makes Sophia defend herself from Chatsky, with whom she is so close in spirit. It was with the words of Sophia that Chatsky was denigrated in society and expelled from it.
If all the other heroes of the play, with the exception of Chatsky, participate only in social conflict, defend their comfort and their usual way of life, then Sophia is forced to fight for her feelings. “She, of course, is harder than everyone else, harder even than Chatsky, and she gets her own 'million torments',” wrote I.A. Goncharov about Sophia. Unfortunately, in the finale it turns out that the heroine's struggle for the right to love was in vain, because Molchalin turns out to be an unworthy person.
But even with someone like Chatsky, Sophia would not have found happiness. Most likely, she will choose as her husband a man who corresponds to the ideals of the Moscow nobility. Sophia's strong character requires realization, which will become possible with a husband who allows him to command and lead.
Sofya Famusova is the most complex and controversial character in Griboyedov's comedy Woe from Wit. The characterization of Sophia, the disclosure of her image and the description of the role in the comedy will be useful to 9 grades when preparing materials for an essay on the image of Sophia in the comedy "Woe from Wit"
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Pupils of the 9th grade are often given an essay on the theme "The image of Sophia in the comedy" Woe from Wit "by A.S. Griboyedov". Before you is a sample essay on the indicated topic. However, before proceeding to write an essay, let's recall the main characteristics of the image of Sophia.
The text of the composition.
“Griboyedov belongs to the most powerful manifestations of the Russian spirit,” Belinsky said at one time. Having died tragically at the age of thirty-four, Griboyedov did not create, undoubtedly, everything that he could accomplish according to his creative powers. He was not destined to carry out numerous creative ideas, striking in their wide scope and depth. An ingenious poet and thinker, he remained in history as the author of one famous work. But Pushkin said: "Griboyedov did his own thing: he has already written" Woe from Wit " ... These words contain recognition of the great historical service of Griboyedov to Russian literature.
In Woe From Wit, Griboyedov put forward the main social and ideological theme of his critical time - the theme of irreconcilable hostility of the defenders of the old, inert way of life and supporters of a new worldview, a new free life.
The protagonist of the comedy, Chatsky, is viewed both in relations with representatives of the Famus society, and with Sophia, whom he loves. That's why Sofia plays an important role in the comedy and her attitude not only to Chatsky, but also to Molchalin. The image of Sophia Pavlovna is complex. By nature, she is endowed with good qualities: a strong mind and an independent character. She is able to feel deeply and sincerely love. For a girl of the noble circle, she received a good education and upbringing. The heroine is fond of reading French literature. Famusov, Sophia's father, says:
She has no sleep from French books
And the Russians hurt me to sleep.
This girl is neither good nor bad. So, for example, when Pushkin first got acquainted with the play by Griboyedov, the image of Sophia seemed to him "It is not clear to the inscribed".
I want to try to understand her character. It is very difficult in itself. In Sophia, "good instincts with lies" are complexly intertwined. She has to dodge and lie so as not to give her close father her love. She is forced to hide her feelings not only because of fear of her father; it hurts her when in things for her poetic and beautiful they see only harsh prose. Chatsky's love for Sophia will help us understand one truth: the character of the heroine is in something important to match the main positive hero of the whole comedy. At seventeen, she not only “blossomed beautifully,” as Chatsky says about her, but also shows an enviable will, unthinkable for people like Molchalin, Skalozub, or even her father. Suffice it to compare the Famusian “what will Princess Marya Aleksevna say”, the Tachalin “independence, I need to depend on others” and Sophia's reply: “What do I need to hear? Whoever wants to judge so. ” This statement is not just "words". The heroine is guided by them literally at every step: both when she receives Molchalin in her room, and when, in front of Skalozub and Chatsky, she runs shouting to Osip: “Ah! Oh my God! fell, was killed! " - and she herself falls unconscious, not thinking about the impression of others.
But, unfortunately, all these positive character traits could not be developed in the Famus society. Here is how IA Goncharov wrote about it in his critical study “A Million of Torments”: “It is difficult to treat Sophia Pavlovna without being sympathetic: she has strong inclinations of a remarkable nature, a lively mind, passion and feminine softness. It is ruined in the stuffiness, where not a single ray of light, not a single stream of fresh air penetrates. " At the same time, Sophia is a child of her society. She drew ideas about people and about life from French sentimental novels, and it was this sentimental literature that developed dreaminess and sensitivity in Sophia. She says about Molchalin:
He takes his hand, presses to his heart,
Sighs from the depths of his soul,
Not a word of freedom, and so the whole night goes by,
Hand with hand, and he does not take his eyes off me.
Therefore, it was not by chance that she drew attention to Molchalin, who, in his words and his behavior, reminded her of her favorite heroes. However, it cannot be said that the heroine is blinded: she is able to assess the chosen one sensibly and critically:
Of course, this mind is not in him,
What a genius for some, about a plague for others,
Which is fast, brilliant and soon about against it ...
Sophia is absolutely confident in herself, in her actions, in her feelings. Although in all this, perhaps, a significant role is played by that spontaneity, not the corruption of her nature, which allows us to compare her with Pushkin's Tatyana Larina. But there is also a significant difference between them. Tatiana embodies the ideal character of a Russian woman, as Pushkin imagines her. Possessing the highly positive qualities of her soul, she loves an extraordinary person, worthy of her in a number of qualities. Sophia's chosen one, unfortunately, is different, but this is visible only to us and Chatsky. Sophia, blinded by Molchalin's courtship, sees only good in him.
At the first meeting of Sophia with Chatsky, she does not show the same interest in him, she is cold and unkind. This puzzled and even upset Chatsky. In vain he tried to insert into the conversation the witticisms that had previously so amused Sophia. They only led to an even more indifferent and slightly vicious answer from Sophia: "Was it a mistake, in sorrow, for you to say good things about someone?"... Sophia keeps her proud opinion of Chatsky until the end of the play: "Not a man - a snake." The next meetings of Sophia and Chatsky differ little from each other. But in Act 3, Chatsky decides to "pretend once in a lifetime" and begins to praise Molchalin in front of Sophia. Sophia managed to get rid of Chatsky's intrusive questions, but she herself gets carried away and completely goes into her feelings, again completely without thinking about the consequences, which once again proves to us the firmness of her character. To Chatsky's question: “Why did you get to know him so briefly?” She replies: “I didn’t try! God brought us together. " This is enough for Chatsky to finally understand who Sophia is in love with.
The heroine paints a full-length portrait of Molchalin, giving it the most iridescent color, perhaps hoping in her heart to reconcile with this love not only herself, but others as well. Sophia loves Molchalin, but hides this from her father, who, of course, would not recognize him as a son-in-law, knowing that he is poor. The heroine sees a lot of good in her father's secretary:
... compliant, modest, quiet,
Not a shadow of concern in my face
And there are no misdeeds in my soul,
He does not cut strangers at random, -
That's why I love him.
Sophia also fell in love with Molchalin because she, a girl with character, needed a person in her life whom she could control.
"The desire to patronize a loved one, poor, modest, who does not dare to raise his eyes to her, to raise him up to himself, to his circle, to give him family rights" -
this is its goal, according to I.A.Goncharov. Chatsky naturally does not want * to listen to Sophia. For him, Molchalin is a person who is not worthy of respect and even less the love of a girl like Sophia.
We involuntarily think: what attracted Sophia to Molchalin? Maybe his looks or deep way of thinking? Of course not. The boredom that reigns in the Famusovs' house is primarily reflected in the young, quivering heart of the girl. The soul of a young and beautiful Sophia is filled with a romantic expectation of love, she, like all girls in her years, wants to be loved and love herself. Having solved the secret aspirations of Sophia, Molchalin is nearby, he lives in the house. A young man of good appearance, moderately educated, vividly enters the role of a lover and enchanted. Compliments, courting, the constant presence of Molchalin are glad to do their job. The girl falls in love without being able to choose or compare.
Sophia involuntarily hears Molchalin's conversation with Lisa and suddenly sees her chosen one in a different light. She realized that in fact, Molchalin assumed the appearance of a lover only "to please the daughter of such a person." He needed Sophia only in order to take advantage of her influence at the right time. His goal was also to get a higher rank, so he, according to the behests of his father, please "all people without exception." Perhaps one day Sophia would find out about the true intentions of Molchalin and she would not be so painful. But now she lost a man who was very suitable for the role of husband-boy, husband-servant. It seems that she will be able to find such a person and will repeat the fate of Natalya Dmitrievna Gorich and Princess Tugouhovskaya. And if Sophia had grown up in a different environment, she might have chosen Chatsky. But she chooses a person who suits her best, since she does not think of another hero for herself. And in the end, according to Goncharov, “the hardest of all, harder even than Chatsky” is Sophia.
Griboyedov introduced the heroine of the comedy to us as a dramatic person. This is the only character who is conceived and executed as close to Chatsky.
So, in his comedy A.S. Griboyedov managed to show not only the time in which he lived, but also created unforgettable images that are interesting to both the modern reader and viewer. Therefore, as Goncharov says, "Woe from Wit" is kept apart in literature and differs from other works by its youthfulness, freshness and stronger vitality.
A few more ideas for an essay on the theme "The image of Sophia in the comedy" Woe from Wit "
The image of Sophia is considered the most difficult in Griboyedov's comedy. Interpreting her character, identifying the motivations for her behavior - all this caused numerous controversies among critics ..
The image of Sophia, as Belinsky noted, is extremely contradictory. She is endowed with many virtues: a lively mind, will, independence and independence of judgment, "energy of character." Sophia does not value the opinion of the Famus society: “What is the rumor to me? Whoever wants to judge so ... ”Neglecting secular etiquette, she decides to meet with Molchalin at night. In this episode B. Goller saw a "challenge", a rebellion against the hypocritical moral concepts of Famus society. “The young lady who violated the prohibitions was expecting a break with society. Or withdrawal from society, ”the critic wrote.
Sophia's behavior is natural: she cannot hide her feelings after seeing Molchalin fall from his horse. “I'm afraid that I won't be able to withstand the pretense,” she remarks to Alexei Stepanovich. To some extent, the heroine is "natural" with Chatsky: she is genuinely angry in response to his witticisms. At the same time, Sophia skillfully lies to her father, hiding from him her relationship with Molchalin.
Sophia is disinterested, she evaluates people not by the presence of ranks and wealth, but by their inner qualities. Famusov is busy about a profitable party for his daughter: "he would like a son-in-law with stars, but with ranks." Sophia does not accept such morality: she wants to marry for love. In her nature “something of her own is hiding in the shadows, hot, gentle, even dreamy”. Famusov read Colonel Skalozub as her fiancé - Sophia doesn't even want to hear “about such happiness”: “He never uttered an intelligent word, - I don't care what is for him, what is in the water.”
Sophia is quite insightful: she correctly evaluates Skalozub, perfectly sees the vulgarity and emptiness of people who enter Famusov's house. However, she cannot "see" the "true face" of Molchalin.
What are the motives of Sophia's actions? This image caused the most controversy in criticism. Pushkin wrote that Sophia "is not clearly drawn." Goncharov believed that Sophia was strongly influenced by her environment:
“It is difficult to treat Sofya Pavlovna without being sympathetic: she has strong inclinations of a remarkable nature, a lively mind, passion and feminine softness. It is ruined in the stuffiness, where not a single ray of light, not a single stream of fresh air penetrates. " Belinsky, considering the contradictory character of the heroine unreal, wrote that Sophia was "not a real person, but a ghost."
Let's try to figure out what the heroine of Griboyedova really is by analyzing her upbringing and life circumstances.
Famusov is a widower; Sophia, who grew up under the supervision of Madame Rosier, obviously enjoyed a certain freedom in the house. Like Pushkin's Tatyana, she is dreamy, loves sentimental novels with a happy ending, where one of the heroes is poor, but has a number of virtues. It is such a hero, according to Sophia, that Molchalin is: "compliant, modest, quiet, In the face of not a shadow of anxiety, And in the soul of no misconduct ...". Sophia, like Tatyana Larina, loves in the chosen one not a specific person, but her high ideal, gleaned from books. As SA Fomichev notes, "Sophia is trying to arrange her fate according to the models of sensitive, sentimental novels."
And already this "external factor" in the choice of the heroine is alarming. Sophia's behavior is also alarming. It is very difficult for a loved one to give a characterization, and Sophia easily outlines the character of Molchalin, not forgetting to add that "he does not have this mind ... which is quick, brilliant and will soon oppose." As N.K.Piksanov notes, the heroine is too rational, rational, prudent in her love, capable of subtle calculation, of cunning. However, by nature. Sophia is temperamental, wayward.
The very night date of the heroes looks unnatural. And Sophia is first of all unnatural here. Molchalin plays the role of "Romeo" here, in accordance with his own ideas about the behavior of a lover. Unlike Sophia, Alexey Stepanovich was hardly ever fond of reading sentimental novels. Therefore, he behaves as his intuition tells him:
He takes his hand, presses to his heart,
Sighs from the depths of his soul,
Not a word of freedom, and so the whole night goes by,
Hand with hand, and he does not take his eyes off me ...
However, Molchalin's behavior in this scene is quite consistent with his image and character. Sophia, with her ironic mind, causticity, strong character, is difficult to imagine here. This sensitive scene is nothing more than a romantic cliche, where both "lovers" are posing, with the only difference that Sophia does not realize the unnaturalness of her behavior, while Molchalin understands perfectly well.
The heroine's story about a night date makes Lisa laugh, who in this scene seems to be the embodiment of common sense. She recalls her aunt Sophia, from whom a young Frenchman fled. And this story, as it were, anticipates the further development of events in the comedy.
Chatsky puts forward his own version of the choice of Sofya Molchalin. He believes that the ideal of the heroine is "a husband-boy, a husband-servant, from the wife's pages." In the comedy finale, upon learning the truth about Sophia's choice, he becomes an eater and sarcastic:
You will make peace with him by mature reflection.
Destroy yourself, and for what!
Think you can always have it
Protect, and swaddle, and send for business.
Husband-boy, husband-servant, from wife's pages -
The high ideal of all Moscow husbands.
This accusation by Chatsky is highly unfair. Sophia is an extraordinary, deep nature, in many respects different from the people of the Famus circle. She cannot be equated with Natalya Dmitrievna Gorich. Having found Molchalin with Liza, Sophia is offended in her feelings, and reconciliation with Molchalin is impossible for her. And she does not need "the high ideal of all Moscow husbands", she needs true love.
The main motive for Sophia's behavior is resentment against Chatsky, who once left her. This is how Isabella Grinevskaya views the situation in Griboyedov's comedy in her work "The Slandered Girl". It is not for nothing that Molchalin is endowed with qualities that are directly opposite to the character of Chatsky: Alexey Stepanovich is moderate in everything, neat, quiet, silent, "not rich in words", he does not have "this mind, which is a genius for others, but for others a plague ...", " does not cut strangers and at random. " A frank resentment is heard in Sophia's words: “Ah! If someone loves whom, Why seek the mind and travel so far? " Hence the slander of the heroine: "... not a man, a snake", her gossip about Chatsky's madness.
We wonder why Sophia does not want to tell Chatsky the truth about her feelings for Molchalin, but the reasons for this are simple: she keeps her admirer in the dark, subconsciously wanting to take revenge on him. Sophia cannot forgive Chatsky for his departure, for his "three-year silence." In addition, the heroine herself, apparently, does not believe in "the strength of her feelings": that is why she does not call her "sentimental ideal" ("compliant, modest, quiet") by the name of Molchalin in a conversation with Chatsky. Is her affection for Chatsky alive in Sophia's soul? It seems that we cannot find the answer to this question in the text of the comedy. But the insult and, as a result, the dislike of Sophia - this can be traced clearly and definitely.
Thus, the motives of the heroine's behavior are very complex. A lot is guessed in them: resentment, pity (Sophia sympathizes with Molchalin, knowing the "angry disposition" of her father), "patronage, curiosity of a young feeling for the first intimate relationship with a man, romanticism, piquancy of domestic intrigue ...". Molchalin, as such, is not really interested in the heroine. She only thinks she loves him. As Vasiliev notes, "under the influence of the books, Molchalin aroused in Sophia's heart a completely independent, original novel, which was too complex to lead to passion." Therefore, Chatsky is not far from the truth when he does not believe in Sophia's feelings for Molchalin. This is not the hero's psychological blindness, but rather his intuitive insight.
Precisely because Sophia does not really love, she could not reveal her presence in the scene with Molchalin and Lisa for so long. That is why she is so proud and restrained: "I didn't seem to know you since then." Of course, the heroine's self-control and the strength of her character are manifested here, but the absence of real, deep love is also felt. Sophia is able to analyze her situation, in a sense, she is pleased with the following outcome:
Wait, be glad
That when you met me in the stillness of the night You were more timid in your disposition, Than even during the day, and in public, and in Java; You have less insolence than curvature of the soul. She herself is pleased that she found out everything at night, There are no reproachful witnesses in her eyes ...
Thus, Sophia is a complex volumetric character, contradictory and ambiguous, in the depiction of which the playwright follows the principles of realism.
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To understand who Sophia Pavlovna Famusova is, the heroine of the play "Woe from Wit", you need to know the peculiarities of the time in which Alexander Griboyedov lived. The author created a satire, where he showed the obvious vices of those who consider themselves the elite of society, leveling any desire for education, learning, learning new things and insisting on the observance of the old order. Sophia is a representative of this class.
Her image cannot be called positive, but if the reader thinks that this girl is a completely negative character, she may make a mistake in her conclusions. So, let's follow the character and actions of Sofia Famusova.
Characteristics of Sofia Famusova
From the pages of the work, we learn that Sophia, unlike her father who opposes the teachings, is an educated girl who loves to read books, mainly French novels. It was thanks to this literature that she became sentimental and sensual.
Against the background of representatives of the nobility of the Famusian society, Sophia seems smart and developed. The heroine of the play can play the piano and flute. “… One can hear a flute, sometimes like a piano; Was it too early for Sophia ?? "
Sophia's character is imperious and demanding: she commands the house like a mistress, despite her young age. A seventeen-year-old girl commands - she is obeyed. In addition, Sophia has decisiveness: “... I will wake everyone up in the house with a cry and ruin myself and you ...” - she says.
However, despite these, on the one hand, positive qualities, Sophia, like a sponge, absorbed the lies and hypocrisy inherent in the representatives of Famus society.
Alexander Chatsky and Sophia Famusova
Alexander Chatsky at first chose Sophia as his bride, because she was, firstly, close to him in spirit, and secondly, he saw her mind and strong character.
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He was also impressed by the independence of this girl from others. However, when Chatsky arrived from St. Petersburg with the intention of marrying Sophia, she greeted him very coldly, because she was already carried away by another - Alexei Stepanovich Molchalin, who at that time lived in her father's house. It remains a mystery that the girl preferred the clever and intellectually developed Chatsky to a stupid and narrow-minded person.
Sofia Famusova and Alexey Molchalin
Possessing a romantic nature, Sophia fell in love with a man who, in character and habits, was similar to the hero of her favorite works. The cause of her heart melancholy was Alexey Molchalin, her father's secretary. But this choice of Sophia is justified not only by this, because Molchalin is a person who can be commanded, and, as you know, Sophia loves to push people around. However, blinded by passion, the girl does not want to notice how pitiful and stupid her chosen one is. On the contrary, the heroine of the play is very worried about Alexei, and faints when he falls from his horse. However, Sophia's dreams of living together with her chosen one are not destined to come true, because marriage with this man is not only disgusting to her father, but also to Molchalin himself. However, another unexpected circumstance indicated the absolute impossibility of connecting Sophia's life with Molchalin: at the end of the play, the true face of Alexei was revealed, who secretly from Sophia met with the servant Lisa.
Molchalin's feigned modesty shattered to smithereens, as it turned out that he was a two-faced and dangerous person.
Sophia is disappointed, because the one on whom she pinned her hopes turned out to be a scoundrel and a hypocrite. “Go further, I have heard a lot, Awful man! I am ashamed of myself, I am ashamed of the walls, ”she laments, finally seeing that she wanted to connect her life with an unworthy, insignificant man.
Readers' reviews about the heroine of the play
“Sofya Famusova surprises with her twofold nature. On the one hand, she is kind, loves and regrets Molchalin very much, although she sees that intellectually he is lower than her, on the other, she commands the household with might and main. It is a pity that the fate of this girl did not work out. In my opinion, if she connected her life with Chatsky, she would be happy. "
“In tandem - Sophia, Molchalin, Chatsky - I feel sorry for Alexander Chatsky. He specially came to propose to the girl, he wanted to marry her, but she refused him, preferring the clever man Molchalin, who did not have high intelligence. In addition, she spread rumors that Chatsky was crazy. It is a pity that the society where he lives and interacts with people leaves its imprint on a normal and intelligent person, and few people decide in this case to swim against the tide ”.
The image of Sophia (A. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit")
The only character somewhat close to Chatsky is Sofia Pavlovna Famusova. Griboyedov wrote about her: "A girl who is not stupid herself prefers a fool to a clever man ..." This character embodies a complex character, the author has left here satire and farce. He presented the feminine character of great strength and depth. Sophia was "unlucky" in criticism for a long time. Even Pushkin considered this image a failure of the author: "Sophia is not clearly drawn ...". And only Goncharov in "Million of Torments" in 1871 for the first time understood and appreciated this character and his role in the play.
Sophia has a dramatic face, she is a character of everyday drama, not a social comedy. She - just like her antagonist Chatsky - is a passionate nature, living with a strong and real feeling. And even if the object of her passion is wretched and pitiful (the heroine does not know about this, but the audience knows) - this does not make the situation funny, on the contrary, it deepens its drama. Sophia is driven by love. This is the most important thing in her, it forms the line of her behavior. The world for her is divided in two: Molchalin and all the others. When there is no chosen one - all thoughts are only about an imminent meeting; she can be present on the stage, but in reality her whole soul is directed towards Molchalin. The power of the first feeling was embodied in Sophia. But at the same time, her love is not joyful and not free. She is perfectly aware that the chosen one will never be accepted by her father. The thought of this darkens life, Sophia is internally ready to fight. The feeling overwhelms the soul so much that she confesses her love to seemingly completely random people: first to the servant Lisa, and then to the most inappropriate person in this situation - Chatsky. Sophia is so in love and at the same time depressed by the need to constantly hide from her father that her common sense simply changes. The situation itself deprives her of the opportunity to reason: "But what do I care about whom? To them? To the whole universe?" The heroine, as it seems to her, treats the chosen one sensibly and critically: "Of course, this mind is not in him, // What a genius for others, but a plague for others, // Which is quick, brilliant and will soon oppose ... // Yes, such will the mind make the family happy? " "Woe from Wit", "Grief from Love" by Sophia lies in the fact that she chose and fell in love with a wonderful person in her view: soft, quiet and meek (this is how Molchalin appears in her stories-characteristics), without seeing his true appearance ... He's a scoundrel. This quality of Molchalina Sophia will open in the finale of the comedy. In the finale, when she becomes an unwitting witness to Molchalin's "courtship" for Liza, when "the veil slept", she is struck in the very heart, she is destroyed - this is one of the most dramatic moments of the entire play.
How did it happen that an intelligent and deep girl not only preferred the scoundrel, the soulless careerist Molchalin, to Chatsky, but also committed a betrayal by spreading a rumor about the madness of the person who loves her? In "Woe from Wit" there is an exhaustive definition of female education of that time, given by Famusov:
We take tramps both into the house and on tickets,
To teach our daughters everything, everything -
And dancing! and singing! and tenderness! and sighs!
As if we are preparing buffoons for their wives.
This angry remark clearly formulates the answers to the basic questions of upbringing: who teaches, what and why. And it's not that Sophia and her contemporaries were uneducated: they knew not so little. The point is different: the entire system of women's education had the ultimate goal of giving the girl the necessary knowledge and skills for a successful secular career, that is, for a successful marriage. Sophia builds her life according to generally accepted models. On the one hand, she is brought up by books - those very French novels from which "she has no sleep." She is read by sentimental stories of unequal love between a poor and rootless young man and a rich, noble girl (or vice versa). Admires them for their loyalty, devotion, willingness to sacrifice everything in the name of feelings. Molchalin in her eyes looks like a romantic hero:
He takes his hand, presses to his heart,
Sighs from the depths of his soul,
Not a word of freedom, and so the whole night goes by,
Hand with hand, and he does not take his eyes off me.
This is how lovers behave in the pages of French novels. Let us remember that Pushkin's Tatyana Larina "imagined the heroine of her beloved creators" and at the dawn of her tragic love for Onegin saw either Grandison or Lovlas in her chosen one! But Sophia does not see the difference between romantic fiction and life, she does not know how to distinguish a true feeling from a fake. She loves something. But her chosen one is only "serving his duty": "And now I take the form of a lover // To please the daughter of such a person ...". And if Sophia had not accidentally eavesdropped on Molchalin's conversation with Liza, she would have remained confident in his virtues.
On the other hand, Sophia unconsciously builds her life in accordance with generally accepted morality. In the comedy, the system of female images is presented in such a way that we see, as it were, the entire life of a secular lady: from girlhood to ripe old age. Here is Sophia, surrounded by six princesses Tugoukhovsky: young ladies of marriageable age, "on the threshold" of a secular career. Here is Natalya Dmitrievna Gorich - a young lady who recently got married. She takes the first steps, overcomes the initial stages of a secular career: she pushes her husband around, guides his opinions and "adjusts" to the judgments of the world. And here are the ladies who form the "opinion of the world": Princess Tugoukhovskaya, Khlestova, Tatyana Yurievna and Marya Aleksevna. And, finally, the result of the life of a secular lady is the comic mask of the countess grandmother: "Someday I fell into the grave." This unfortunate creature, almost crumbling on the go, is an indispensable attribute of the ballroom ... Such is the successful, prosperous path of a secular lady, which any young lady - and Sophia too - aspires to accomplish: marriage, the role of a judge in secular living rooms, respect for others - and so on until the moment when "from the ball to the grave." And for this path, Chatsky is not suitable, but Molchalin is just an ideal!
"You will make peace with him, on reflection mature," - Sophia Chatsky contemptuously throws. And he is not so far from the truth: one way or another, but next to Sophia, it is most likely that "husband-boy, husband-servant from wife's pages" will be found. Sophia, of course, is an extraordinary nature: passionate, deep, selfless. But all her best qualities received a terrible, ugly development - that is why the image of the main character of "Woe from Wit" is truly dramatic.
The best analysis of the image of Sophia belongs to I. Goncharov. In the article "Million of Torments", he compared her with Pushkin's Tatyana Larina, showed her strength and weakness. And most importantly, he appreciated all the virtues of a realistic character in her. One characteristic deserves special attention: "This is a mixture of good instincts with lies, a lively mind with the absence of any hint of ideas and beliefs, confusion of concepts, mental and moral blindness - all this does not have the character of personal vices in her, but appears as common features of her circle ".
Bibliography
Monakhova O. P., Malkhazova M. V. Russian literature of the XIX century. Part 1. - M.-1994
