Fonvizin’s comedy “The Minor” is one of the classic works, without which it is impossible to consider the traditions of social comedy and satire in Russian literature in general. The author skillfully portrays typical characters from the outback, ossified, rude, uneducated, but bearing important titles and proud of their own nobility.
An important role in reflecting the author’s position and the whole idea of the work is played by such a characteristic character as Mrs. Prostakova. A tough landowner, she is quite typical of the Russian reality of that time. Under her “wing” there is a dearly beloved son, as well as a not very loving husband who simply does not dare to object to his domineering wife. She is actually a narrow-minded, but very purposeful woman who is completely focused on raising her own son and the financial and social prosperity of her family. She obviously lacks both education and banal upbringing and tact, however, this character is not devoid of strong feelings, and is not at all as clear-cut as it might seem.
Characteristics of the hero
The main features of the character are not so difficult to understand; they are described by Fonvizin quite clearly, since Prostakova herself is neither a mysterious person nor a lady too deep in her inner content. On the one hand, she is cruel and merciless, she is ready to do anything to achieve her own goals. On the other hand, she is so filled with love for her son that she does not want to notice his obvious shortcomings. Such a contradiction does not allow the reader to perceive her solely as a negative hero.
The main features of the heroine also include bad temper, hot temper, and intolerance. She is not very happy, so she is always dissatisfied with what is happening around her. This applies to both her relationship with her husband and the social structure, even politics and economics to the extent that she is able to understand them at all.
Another important feature of this hero is her dislike for science in all its manifestations. For her, the absence of any development is the key to stability and well-being. She is very straightforward, so she takes any exercises and lessons literally. In many scenes with the teacher, her greed is also revealed: simple mathematical problems plunge her into real shock, forcing her to completely protect her child from these harmful sciences.
This is precisely her psychological portrait: the typical consciousness of an imperious landowner over the years literally “killed” everything human in her. Only the thirst for power drives her, and even good feelings turn into something negative: love for her husband turns into command, tenderness for her son into overprotection. The author draws out small but significant features through details, for example, giving a link to an unsightly maiden name. The former Skotina, Prostakova received an equally meaningful surname after her marriage.
The image of the hero in the work
Prostakova is the central image in the comedy, around which several storylines revolve at once. However, what is much more important is that she embodies all the old landowners, which Fonvizin ridicules. The ending, in which Prostakova again plays a central role, shows the author’s main idea precisely through the social death of this “malicious fury.” It inevitably came to an end, as did the entire structure of bourgeois society. Throughout Prostakov’s comedy, there is the embodiment of bourgeois customs and remnants.
Through the image of Prostakova, the author of the comedy draws out all the features that he so hates in his contemporary society. The lady does not consider her serfs to be people; for her, they are only soulless and not very smart machines for carrying out orders. They are obliged to endure any punishment from her, with or without reason. In her eyes, such people simply cannot have good intentions and need to be “tight-handed.”
She does not consider the interests and feelings of other people to be something important. Without deception and cunning, this woman will not be able to arrange her future, and this is a dead-end path of development, which is why it leads to such a tragic ending. Prostakova’s deprivation of her village at the end is a direct reference from the author to the sad end of the entire philistinism, which must lose all property for its crimes. At the same time, the future of the state, according to Fonvizin, remains with such characters and classes as Sophia and Milan.
Mrs. Prostakova image and characteristics with a plan:
- General characteristics
- Character and way of thinking
- Relationship to husband and son
- Relation to Sophia
- Exposure and punishment
- Meaning of the image
1. General characteristics
Mrs. Prostakova is one of the main characters in D. I. Fonvizin’s comedy “The Minor.” This is Mr. Prostakov’s wife, Mitrofanushka’s mother. She keeps her weak-willed husband “under her thumb,” single-handedly managing all matters. Mrs. Prostakova is firmly convinced of the inviolability of her noble rights. She believes that she can, at her own discretion, execute and pardon the people under her control.
2. Character and way of thinking
Mrs. Prostakova is a cruel and despotic woman who can hit not only a serf, but even her husband. She very often gets angry, demanding complete obedience from those around her (“I scold, then I fight; that’s how the house holds together”).
The highest value for Prostakova is money, which she treats with great stinginess, although she knows how to count with ease. She is completely illiterate, but considers this not a disadvantage, but an advantage: “I can receive letters, but I always order someone else to read them.” At the beginning of the comedy, she utters a very characteristic phrase: “Is it really necessary... to be a tailor in order to be able to sew a caftan...”.
Prostakova is proud of her noble origins, which give her unlimited power. She is ready at any moment to punish the “cattle” under her control, even if they are not guilty of anything.
3. Attitude towards husband and son
Prostakova despises her husband and does not take his opinion into account at all. In fact, he is the same serf for her
Mrs. Prostakova is raising Mitrofanushka according to her own “system”. She really sincerely loves the brainless "junk" and allows him absolutely everything. Prostakova herself does not understand that her boundless love is ruining the boy, whose character will be very difficult to change.
Mitrofanushka's training resembles a farce. He cannot master the most basic knowledge. The main reason lies in Mrs. Prostakova herself. The illiterate woman hired “teachers” out of necessity. She doesn’t see any benefit in them and says to the “poor child”: “If learning is so dangerous for your little head, then for me, stop.”
4. Attitude towards Sophia
Mrs. Prostakova dreams of taking possession of all of Sophia’s already insignificant property. For this purpose, she took the girl to her village and is going to marry her to her brother, Skotinin.
The news of his uncle "resurrected from the dead" and Sophia's rich inheritance leads to a new plan. According to Prostakova, the best groom for the heiress of ten thousand can only be her beloved Mitrofanushka.
Prostakova is ready to do anything to marry her “junior” to Sophia. She doesn't care about the feelings and desires of the girl herself. Having learned about Starodum's intentions, she plans to secretly marry Sophia and Mitrofanushka. Fortunately, the kidnapping attempt is foiled.
5. Exposure and punishment
The embodiment of justice in the comedy is Pravdin, who arrives at the Prostakovs’ estate in order to become familiar with all the abuses on the spot. He is personally convinced of the “inhumanity of the evil landowner.”
The incident with Sophia becomes the last straw. Pravdin is determined to act against Prostakova to the fullest extent of the law.
Mrs. Prostakova is deprived of all her possessions, because “no one is free to tyrannize.” But a more terrible punishment for her is the unexpected rudeness of “Mitrofanushka’s dear friend”: “Let go, mother, how you imposed yourself.”
6. The meaning of the image
The image of a despotic landowner was not typical of Russian society, which was traditionally dominated by men. Perhaps, by doing so, Fonvizin wanted to soften the sharp meaning of the comedy and its anti-serfdom orientation.
Mrs. Prostakova actually replaces her husband and loses all (except maternal love) feminine traits. She always acts like a man: decisively and toughly.
In general, the image of Prostakova symbolizes all the ignorance and “tyranny” of the provincial nobility, who felt like real kings in their small estates.
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Mrs. Prostakova is the main character of the comedy “The Minor” by Fonvizin. The author endowed this image with exclusively negative qualities. Prostakova’s ignorance, lack of education and bad manners can make everyone around her unhappy, including Prostakova’s beloved Mitrofanushka.
Personality characteristics
Mrs. Prostakova comes from an old noble family. Apparently, her family was neither rich enough nor respected enough among other aristocrats - Prostakova was not an educated woman, and her thirst for power gave her many complexes. It is likely that Prostakova does not even know how to read - she asks Sophia to act as her reader. The fact of her lack of education is also confirmed by the woman’s indignant comment that the parents never taught her or her brother (Taras Skotinin) anything, while now it is necessary to teach Mitrofanushka completely useless sciences.
In general, we can say that Mrs. Prostakova’s parents were not the best - their inattention to children and negligence caused the death of some of them - “There were eighteen of us children; Yes, except for me and my brother, everyone, according to the power of the Lord, tried on. Some of the dead were pulled out of the bathhouse. Three, after sipping milk from a copper cauldron, died. Two fell from the bell tower about Holy Week; and the rest did not stand on their own.”
Prostakova’s family actually lives in communicative isolation - except with Uncle Skotinin, there is no communication with any of the nobles.
Mrs. Prostakova herself has a complex character. She is very demanding of those around her, but her demandingness is selective.
She is ready to find fault with the peasants over little things, but at the same time not take into account even the most significant mistakes in the behavior and development of her son Mitrofan.
In parallel with this quality, another one manifests itself - the lack of a sense of proportion.
Prostakova essentially does not have a single positive quality - she is cruel and merciless. Prostakova does not know how and does not even try to look at the world and those around her positively. In any situation, Prostakova tries to see only the negative.
Prostakova’s speech exposes her bad manners and lack of education. She often distorts words. The word “first” is missing from her vocabulary; instead, she uses “pervoet”, “searching” - in the role of another, deushki - instead of girl, and “eorgafia” - instead of geography.
In Prostakova’s speech one can rarely find bookish literary expressions. They first appear in addresses to Starodub - in such an image the landowner tries to create the appearance of courtesy: “Our priceless guest! Would it really be necessary to meet our own father, on whom we have all our hope, who is the only one we have, like gunpowder in the eye.”
Along with her assertive character, Prostakova is endowed with cowardice. Realizing that Starodub will not silently observe her actions, but intends to resist her, moreover, that this opposition will not be just an appearance, Prostakova throws herself at Starodub’s feet with forgiveness.
Prostakova is driven by a sense of personal gain, for the sake of which she is ready to do any act, even criminal. So, for example, she tries to force Sophia to marry Mitrofan in order to get the girl’s money.
Attitude towards others
The ability to find a common language with others and to be on good terms with them is a great talent that Ms. Prostakova, unfortunately, does not possess.
Her negative perception of reality does not allow her to establish a communication process with anyone.
The attitude of landowners towards peasants has always been complex - despite the absence of an official division into social castes, formal distribution into estates in Russia at that time was commonplace and, naturally, serfs did not have a place of honor in this hierarchy system.
Many nobles treated their serfs worse than animals - Mrs. Prostakova was one of these landowners.
We bring to your attention an article written by Denis Fonvizin.
She had long ago taken from the peasants everything that could be taken away, and constantly kept the serfs in fear - according to Prostakova herself, she was not used to indulging the peasants, and therefore cruelly punishes them even for the smallest offenses.
Eremeevna, Mitrofanushka’s nanny, especially gets it. The landowner often calls her names and scolds her for everything, including the fact that she burst into tears, unable to bear the reproaches. Prostakova point-blank does not notice Eremeevna’s attempts to please and generously rewards the woman for high-quality work with curse words like “old witch” and “dog’s daughter.”
Analyzing the conflict situations that arose between Prostakova and her serfs, we can conclude that in relation to the servants, Prostakova acts as a tyrant - it always seems to her that the serfs are behaving inappropriately. The landowner considers bickering and swearing to be the only effective lever for running a household. She proudly tells her husband about how hard she scolded the servants all day: “From morning to evening, like being hanged by the tongue, I don’t lay down my hands: I scold, then I fight; This is how the house holds together, my father.”
The woman doesn't behave much better towards Sonya. As long as Prostakova thinks that Sonya is a poor landowner girl and behaves rudely, she rarely even observes the rules of decency towards the girl. However, after Starodum made the girl a rich heiress, the situation changes dramatically - courtesy awakens in Prostakova. Now Sonya in her eyes is not a poor relative demanding a roof over her head, but a promising bride, and therefore she no longer addresses her sarcastically (“madam”, “mother”), but shows good manners and tenderness (“Congratulations, Sofyushka! Congratulations, soul my!")
Prostakova’s relationship with her husband is also not ideal - the landowner does not perceive her husband as a person worthy of her attention and tenderness - she constantly insults him, including in the presence of other people. Prostakova never takes into account her husband’s opinion and always operates exclusively on her personal opinion.
Since Prostakova has a low opinion of the role of education and does not see the point in it, then, accordingly, she does not appreciate the work of Mitrofan’s teachers. She has not paid them a salary for about a year and finds this acceptable.
The problem of education
The problem of education is inherently connected with the image of Mrs. Prostakova. Mitrofan was the only and long-awaited child in the family. And therefore spoiled. Prostakova is ready to forgive Mitrofan for any offense. She constantly pampers him and does not make any demands on him.
Prostakova hires Mitrofanushka teachers because, by decree of Peter I, all nobles are required to be educated, otherwise they will not be allowed to serve. Prostakova does not understand the role of education and accepts science as a meaningless torment. She instills the same idea in her son, willy-nilly - Mitforan does not realize the importance of education and therefore does not even try to learn anything.
", the landowner Prostakova is a very unique 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” is observed in Fonvizin’s comedy. But Prostakova is not a typical negative classic character, who, according to the requirements, should have no positive traits at all.
Our main character is Prostakova only in appearance. She is Skotinina by birth and in essence, and is only capable of giving birth to something similar to herself.
She is the central face of the conflict that has formed in the comedy. All problems were initially tied to her, and were created by her. This is a woman who was raised by an imperious tyrant father who received visitors “sitting on a chest.” She grew up in wealth and permissiveness. She was given in marriage, but was able to easily suppress her husband’s will, since, apparently, she was physically stronger.
She resolves all controversial issues with the help of her fists, and never denies herself the opportunity to humiliate, insult and yell at someone, and especially at serfs. Everything should be subordinated to Prostakova and should please her. Even the rich Starodub is a “benefactor” who is obliged to benefit her. Who else if not her!
She had already disposed of the lands and property of the orphan Sophia in advance - the good would not go to waste, especially since it was coming into her hands. If not for his brother, then for his son, especially since Sophia is a rich heiress. Sophia herself is of no interest to anyone, pigs are the only ones who really occupy Skotinin’s fiancé.
And the underage groom Mitrofan does not care who he is married to - he also experienced the strongest emotions at the sight of “pigs” - “as he was three years old, it used to be, when he saw a pig, he would tremble with joy”! But Prostakova never let go of her. The landowner is even ready for outright baseness when everything does not work out as she planned.
But, oddly enough, this creature is capable of loving - selflessly, without seeing anything negative. She adores her only son with some kind of animal love, ready to tear him to shreds for the insult inflicted on her offspring: “Have you ever heard of a bitch giving away her puppies?” Whatever her child says or does, she is ready to justify, defend, and rush at the offender. This is the blind maternal instinct of an animal; no living creature is more unworthy of it, only the worthy heir of the Skotinin family, her baby, her pride and joy.
At the end of the comedy, Prostakova is completely unsettled and demoralized: power over the estate has been taken away from her, Sophia marries someone else and her wealth is lost - and even her beloved 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 she had was lost irretrievably.
This character, of course, cannot evoke 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 lordship”, 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 Minor, it was Fonvizin who began ridiculing the “tyrants of Russian life” in literature.
I liked Fonvizin’s comedy “The Minor.” The main theme of this work is the “evil nature of the serf owners.” With the first scene of the comedy, I saw a world in which some people own other people. The main figure of this world is Prostakova. Prostakova was uneducated and uneducated. She, like all ignoramuses, was rude to everyone from whom she did not meet resistance. Fonvizin calls Prostakova a “despicable fury.” She extends her despotic power not only to the serfs, but also to her husband, Sophia, Skotinin.
One day, when Prostakova called her husband, he did not come. Then she said to Mitrofan: “So go and get him out if you don’t get any 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 loved her son dearly 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.
At the end of the comedy, the Prostakovs receive a well-deserved punishment - the authorities order to take custody of the estate. The final scene, in which even Mitrovan leaves Prostakova, indicates that a vicious person is preparing a well-deserved punishment for himself through his actions. Prostakova is presented as a domineering, uneducated Russian woman. She is very greedy and in order to grab more of someone else’s things, she often flatters and “puts on” a mask of nobility, but from under the mask every now and then an animalistic grin peeks out, which looks funny and absurd. Prostakova’s speech: rude in addressing the servants (“fraudster,” “cattle,” “thief’s mug” - tailor Trishka; “beast,” “runaway” - nanny Ermeevna), caring and affectionate in conversation with her son Mitrofanushka (“live forever, learn forever, my dear friend,” “darling”). But at the same time, she is not at all worried about raising her son (“It’s very nice to me that Mitrofanushka doesn’t like to step forward...
He's lying, my dear friend. I found the money - don't share it with anyone. Take it all for yourself, Mitrofanushka.
Don't learn 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, who is devoid of any merits. (“You can’t beat your betrothed with a horse, darling! It’s a sin to blame for your own happiness. You’ll live happily with me. Ten thousand of your income! What happiness has come; yes, I’ve never seen so many since I was born; yes, I’ll buy all the pigs from the world with them “Yes, you hear me, I will do that, so that everyone will blow the trumpet: in this neighborhood there are only pigs to live.”) The ignorance and bestiality of Skotin and Prostakova make their vices obvious.
These people are clearly visible, they have nothing to cover up their animality, and they don’t even consider it necessary to do so. Their world wants to subjugate all life, to assign the right of unlimited power over both serfs and noble people. Fonvizin's comedy "The Minor" is the first socio-political comedy in the history of Russian drama. The author exposes in it the vices of his 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 servants in terror, and raises her son Mitrofan.
“Now I scold, now I fight, and that’s how the house holds together.” No one dares to resist her power: “Am I not powerful in my people.” Speech characterization is the main way to create Prostakova’s character.
The heroine's language changes depending on who she is addressing. Mrs. Prostakova calls her servants “thieves”, “rascals”, “beast”, “dog’s daughter”. He addresses Mitrofan: “my dear friend,” “dulyenka.” 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 self-interested “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 it go...
- - I don’t have a son...
The image of Mitrofan in the play is associated with the idea of education, which is very important for educational literature. Mitrofan is an ignoramus, a slacker, his mother's favorite. He inherited arrogance and rudeness from his mother. He addresses Eremeevna, who is sacredly devoted to him: “old Khrychovka.” Mitrofan's upbringing and education corresponds to the "fashion" of the time and the understanding of his parents. He is taught French by the German Vralman, exact sciences by retired sergeant Tsyfirkin, who “speaks a little of arithmetic,” and grammar by seminarian Kuteikin, dismissed from “all teaching.” Mitrofanushka’s “knowledge” in grammar, his desire not to study, but to get married, are ridiculous. But his attitude towards Eremeevna. the readiness to “take on people”, the betrayal of the mother evokes different feelings. Mitrofanushka becomes an ignorant and cruel despot. The names of the characters are remarkable. “Talking” surnames immediately establish the reader’s and viewer’s attitude towards their owners. Psychologically, he already becomes a participant in the action. The opportunity to evaluate the heroes and their actions was taken away from him. From the very beginning, from the names of the characters, the reader was told where the negative characters were and where the positive ones were. And the reader’s role comes down to seeing and remembering the ideal to which one must strive. The language of comedy is interesting. Negative characters and their servants have a common vernacular language. The Skotinins' vocabulary consists mainly of words used in the barnyard. This is well shown by the speech of Skotinin - Uncle Migrofan. It is all filled with words: pig, piglets, barn. 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’ll find a little light for my wife.” And he is proud of it: “Well, if I were 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 “a fool beyond counting” and she has to do everything herself. But Skotinin’s roots are also evident in her speech. Favorite curse word: "cattle". To show that Prostakova is not far behind her brother in development, Fonvizin sometimes denies her basic logic. For example, such phrases: “Since we took away everything that the peasants had, we can’t rip off anything anymore,” “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.” All that can be said about her husband is that he is a man of few words and does not open his mouth without his wife’s instructions. But this characterizes him as a “countless fool,” a weak-willed husband who fell under the heel of his wife. Mitrofanushka is also a man of few words, although, unlike his father, he has freedom of speech. Skotinin's roots are manifested in his inventiveness of curse words, “old bastard”, “garrison rat”. Servants and teachers have in their speech characteristic features of the classes 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 sexton from Pokrov. And with their speech they show their belonging: one to the military, the other to 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 relationships, and even the civil structure. This dramatic technique 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 the positive heroes is no different. This is bookish speech, the speech of educated people of that time, which practically does not express emotions. You understand the meaning of what is said from the direct meaning of the words. For the rest of the characters, the meaning can be grasped in the very dynamics of speech. Milon's speech is almost impossible to distinguish from Pravdin's speech. It is also very difficult to tell anything about Sophia based on 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” should live. Starodum’s monologues are structured in this way: Starodum first tells a story from his life, and then the conclusion