The speech of the heroes as a means of characterizing the undergrowth. “Undergrowth” - a play by D. I. Fonvizin. Analysis of the work, the main characters. Other positive characters

Speech characteristics of the heroes of the comedy "Undergrowth"

The first thing that the modern reader of the comedy "Undergrowth" pays attention to is the surnames actors. “Speaking” surnames immediately establish the attitude of the reader (spectator) to their owners. He ceases to be a more or less objective witness of the action being played out, he psychologically already becomes a participant in it. 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.

The actors can be divided into three groups: negative (Prostakovs, Mitrofan, Skotinin), positive (Pravdin, Milon, Sophia, Starodum), the third group includes all other characters - these are mainly servants and teachers. 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 Mitrofan. 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 also 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 is what characterizes him as a “countless fool”, a weak-willed husband who fell under the heel of his wife. Mitrofanushka is also laconic, though, unlike his father, he has freedom of speech. Skotinin's roots are manifested in his ingenuity of curses: "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 sexton from Pokrov. And by their speech they show belonging: one - to the military, the other - to the church ministers.

Hello:

Kuteikin: “To the house of the lord peace and many years from the children and household.”

Tsyfirkin: “We wish your honor a hundred years of health, yes twenty ...”

Say goodbye:

Kuteikin: “Would you like us to go home?”

Tsyfirkin: “Where are we going, your honor?”

They swear:

Kuteikin: “At least now with whispers, if only I’ll be beaten by a sinner!”

Tsyfirkin: “I would give myself an ear to take away, if only to school this parasite like a soldier! .. What a beast!”

All the characters, except for the positive ones, have a very colorful, emotionally colored speech. You may not understand the meaning of the words, but the meaning of what is said is always clear.

For example:

  • - I'll get you
  • - I have my own holds are sharp

The speech of positive characters does not differ in such brightness. All four have no colloquial, colloquial phrases in their speech. 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, according to which a “pious person” must live. Starodum's monologues are structured in this way: Starodum first tells a story from his life, and then deduces a moral. Such, for example, is the conversation between Starodum and Pravdivy. And the conversation between Starodum and Sophia is a set of rules, and "... every word will be embedded in the heart."

As a result, it turns out that the speech of the negative character characterizes him, and the speech of the positive character is used by the author to express his thoughts. The person is depicted in volume, the ideal - in the plane.

The speech of the heroes of the play by D. I. Fonvizin "Undergrowth"

Comedy "Undergrowth" by Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin -
a masterpiece of Russian drama of the 18th century, which reveals the problem of the moral decay of the nobility and the problem of education.

In Fonvizin's comedies, a clear distinction was made between the language of negative and positive characters. And if in building the linguistic characteristics of negative characters on the traditional basis of using vernacular, the writer achieved great liveliness and expressiveness, then the linguistic characteristics of positive characters remained pale, coldly rhetorical, cut off from the living elements of the spoken language.

The speech of all the characters in The Undergrowth differs both in lexical composition and intonation. Creating his heroes, endowing them with bright linguistic features, Fonvizin makes extensive use of all the richness of lively folk speech. He introduces numerous folk proverbs and sayings, makes extensive use of common folk and swear words and expressions.

The remarks of the negative characters - Prostakovs and Skotinin, serf servants and teachers are sustained in the tones of unconstrained vernacular, interspersed with local dialectisms. At the same time, the speech of the provincial landowners is almost no different from the speech of the serfs-mother Eremeevna and the tailor Trishka. All speeches are distinguished by liveliness, natural intonations, not obsolete in many respects to this day. It is characteristic that Fonvizin consistently applies the technique of rectilinear reflection in the speeches of the characters of their typical distinguishing features. Skotinin talks either about the barnyard or about his former soldier's service, Tsifirkin now and then uses arithmetic terms in his speech, as well as soldier's expressions, in Kuteikin's speeches Church Slavonic quotations from the Psalter predominate, according to which he teaches his pupil to read and write. Finally, the speech of the German Vralman is deliberately distorted in order to convey his non-Russian origin.

All of the above features are clearly illustrated by Prostakova's speech - rude and vicious, full of swear words, abuse and threats, emphasizing the despotism and ignorance of the landowner, her soulless attitude towards the peasants, whom she does not consider to be people from whom she rips off "three skins" and at the same time is indignant and reproaches them. “Five rubles a year and five slaps a day,” Eremeevna, a faithful and devoted servant and nanny (“mother”) of Mitrofan, whom Prostakova calls “an old hrychovka”, “bad mug”, “dog daughter”, “receives from her. beast", "canal". But the main distinguishing feature Prostakova’s speeches - the frequent use of vernacular (“first”, “deushka”, “arihmeti-ka”, “child”, “sweat him and pamper him”) and vulgarisms (“... and you, the beast, were dumbfounded, but you didn’t get drunk brother in the mug, but you did not pull his snout up to his ears ...”).

In the image of another landowner, Prostakova's brother Taras Skotinin, everything speaks of his "animal" essence, starting with the surname itself and ending with the hero's own confessions that he loves pigs more than people.

The language of Mitrofan's teachers is just as bright and individualized: the soldier's jargon in Tsyfirkin's speech, quotes (often inappropriate) from the Holy Scriptures in Kuteikin, the monstrous German accent of the former coachman Vralman. The features of their speech make it possible to accurately judge that social environment where these teachers came from, and about the cultural level of those who are entrusted with the education of Mitrofan. It is not surprising that Mitrofanushka remained undersized, having received neither useful knowledge nor a worthy upbringing during his studies.

In contrast, the speech of the positive characters of the comedy, primarily Starodum, is replete with features of a high style, full of solemn Slavic turns: “It is in vain to call a doctor to the sick is incurable”; “Here are worthy fruits of evil-mindedness!” The basis of the speech of positive actors is book turns. Starodum often uses aphorisms (“it is in vain to call a doctor to the sick is incurable”, “impudence in a woman is a sign of vicious behavior”, etc.) and archaisms. Researchers also note direct "borrowings" in Starodum's speech from the prose works of Fonvizin himself, and this is quite natural, because it is Starodum who expresses the author's position in the comedy. For Pravdin, clericalisms are characteristic, and in the language of young people Milon and Sophia there are sentimental phrases (“the secret of my heart”, “the sacrament of my soul”, “touches my heart”).

Speaking about the peculiarities of the language of the heroes of Fonvizin, one cannot fail to mention the maid and nanny Mitrofan Yeremeevna. This is a bright individual character, due to certain social and historical circumstances. By belonging to the lower class, Eremeevna is illiterate, but her speech is deeply popular, absorbing best features simple Russian language - sincere, open, figurative. In her woeful statements, the humiliated position of a maid in the Prostakovs' house is especially clearly felt. “I have been serving for forty years, but the mercy is the same ... - she complains. “... Five rubles a year and five slaps a day.” However, despite such injustice, she remains loyal and devoted to her masters.

The speech of each comedy character is different in its own way. In this, the amazing skill of the satirist writer was especially clearly manifested. The wealth of linguistic means used in the comedy "Undergrowth" suggests that Fonvizin had an excellent command of the dictionary of folk speech and was well acquainted with folk art. This helped him, according to the fair assertion of the critic P. N. Berkov, to create truthful, life-like images.

Let us also point out the relatively frequent "Europeanisms" both in the replicas of the characters (for example, "I am glad to have made your acquaintance" in Pravdin's speech), and in the author's remarks: "Sophia took a seat near the table."

It is noteworthy that the speech of the provincial nobles is not alien to certain foreign language elements: (letter)amorous in Prostakova's remark. from French or Italian swear words penetrated into her speech: “The beast is delirious, as if noble” (about a serf girl); “I’ll give dawn to my canals!” The language of the "Undergrowth" in comparison with the language of the comedies of the first half or the middle of the 18th century. (Sumarokova, Lukina, etc.) is distinguished by fidelity to life and plausibility. This play prepared the language achievements of 19th-century comedians. Griboyedov and Gogol.

Semakova Anastasia

Characteristics of Ms. Prostakova, Mitrofanushka, Skotinin through the speech of the heroes

Download:

Preview:

MBOU "Secondary Selmengskaya high school»
branch "Topetsk Basic School"

Research work in the Russian language

8th grade students

Semakova Anastasia

Swear words - a means of speech characteristics of the heroes of the play
DI. Fonvizin "Undergrowth"

Supervisor of the work - Fedoseeva S.V.

October, 2013

Introduction

Target - to explore the swear words in the speech of the heroes of the play by D.I. Fonvizin "Undergrowth".

Tasks :

  • Determine what swear words are, what marks it has in dictionaries.
  • Write out from the text of the play D.I. Fonvizin vocabulary, which can be attributed to swear words, and analyze the etymology and lexical meaning of these words.
  • Determine how the swear words characterize the characters of the play.
  • Draw conclusions about how swear words characterize the heroes of the play.

This paper discusses the use of swear words by the characters in the play by D.I. Fonvizin "Undergrowth", in order to characterize the heroes.

Speech always characterizes the speaker:

Study

"Dictionary of the Russian language of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR" (MAS), edited by A.P. Evgenieva indicates that the adjective abusive refers to the word scolding, and the interpretation of scolding gives as "insulting, abusive words, swearing" and notes the connotation of this word "condemnation, censure, reproaches."

Let's try to characterize the heroes of the work of D.I. Fonvizin "Undergrowth", using swear words in their speech. To do this, we wrote out replicas containing swear words from the text of the play, and based on this we compiled a table:

Hero of the play

Action/

phenomenon

To whom does he speak

What does he say

Ms. Prostakova

Trishka

And you cattle , come closer. Didn't I tell you thieves mug so that you let the caftan go wider. Tell, blockhead what will you justify?

Looking for it, he argues. A tailor learned from another, another from a third, but who did the first tailor learn from? Speak, cattle.

Trishka

Get out, cattle.

Eremeevna

So you're sorry sixth, beast?

Eremeevna

Well ... and you, the beast , dumbfounded, and you do not

got drunk on my brother mug and you didn't tear him apart burrowed to the ears...

Yes ... yes ... not your child, beast! You are still an old witch, and burst into tears.

Eremeevna

All you bastards , zealous in words alone, and not in deeds ...

Eremeevna

Are you a girl you are the daughter of a dog ? Is it in my house besides yours bad hari, and no maids!

Eremeevna

about fortress Palashka

Lies! Oh, she's a beast! Lies! As if noble!

Eremeevna

about fortress Palashka

Delirium, bastard ! As if noble!

Sophia

Perhaps a letter to me. (Almost vomits.) I bet it's some kind of amorous one. And guess who. It's from that officer

who was looking to marry you and for whom you yourself wanted to go. Yes, which beast gives you letters without my asking! I'll get there. Here's what we've come up with. Write letters to girls! Girls can read and write!

Starodum

About Me

Oh, I'm stupid ! Father! I'm sorry. I stupid .

Milon

about my husband

Do not be angry, my father, that freak mine missed you. So rotten was born, my father.

household members

and serfs

Rogues! The thieves! Fraudsters!I order everyone to be beaten to death!

everyone

About Me

Oh, I'm a dog's daughter! What have I done!

Skotinin

Pravdin

How! Nephew to interrupt from his uncle! Yes, I like him at the first meeting hell break. Well be me pig son if I am not her husband, or Mitrofan a freak.

Mitrofan

Oh, you damned chick!

Pravdin

I myself will not take my eyes off that the elected one does not tell me stories. Master, dog son where does it come from!

Mitrofan

Eremeevna

Well, another word, old hrychovka!

Tsyfirkin

Vralman

And you furrowed your eyebrows, snooker owl!

Kuteikin

Vralman

Cursed owl! What are you slapping with burkali?

Vralman

Tsyfirkin and Kuteikin

What fsyali, beast? Shuta suntes.

Tsyfirkin and Kuteikin

Like putto py to the arithmetic of dustlyuti sand turaks!

For the etymological analysis of words, we used the dictionary of N.M. Shansky. All words from the list we have compiled are marked "Obshcheslav." and "Original", except for the words fury , borrowed from Polish, which got there from the Greek language, and canine , which refers to the word dog, borrowed from the Iranian language.By origin, all swear words from the play "Undergrowth" can be divided into groups:

  1. Animal origin:
  1. Livestock = wealth, money. It is explained by the fact that cattle served as a bargaining chip.
  2. Mug. The origin is unclear. Presumably an abbreviation of Khavrya Sow. In this case, mug is literally - "pig face".
  3. Bestia. From the slang of the seminarians.It is a rethinking of lat. bestia "beast, animal", Bestia "animal" literally - "breathing". Dictionary V.I. Dahl points to the Latin origin of this word.
  4. Chushka is a suffixal derivative of chukh "pig", formed from "imitative" choo-choo . Chukha → pig (alternating x / / w). Dictionary V.I. Dalia gives an explanation of the word chukha as "snout, nose, pig grunt".
  5. Dog is an adjective derived from the noun dog.
  6. The snout is the front part of the head in some animals.
  1. Borrowing from Greek mythology- Fury.
  2. Damn / Damn - the origin is unclear. Presumably "he who digs lives in the earth" and further - "underground spirit".
  3. Blockhead - origin unclear. A presumably suffixal derivative oflost bly, balls "log".

Consider the lexical meaning (LZ) of swear words (according to the dictionaries of V.I. Dahl and S.I. Ozhegov)

Words

LZ

Litters

"Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language" by V.I.Dal

Dictionary of the Russian language by S.I. Ozhegov.

livestock

"cattle-like man"

"swearing"

“portable” “colloquial” “swearing”

mug

“bad, disgusting face, mug”

"colloquial" "swearing"

blockhead

“stupid, stupid, ignorant, ignorant”

"abusive"

"colloquial"

beast

“a rogue, a swindler, an impudent swindler, a clever and impudent rogue”

"abusive"

"colloquial"

fool / fool

“stupid person, dumbass”

"colloquial"

"abusive"

crap

“the personification of evil, the enemy of the human race: unclean, black power, satan, devil, evil one”

"abusive"

hrych / hrychovka

“old man, old man”

"abusive or humorous"

"colloquial" "swearing"

ingot

/chukhna

“the same as a pig” (according to S.I. Ozhegov)

“stupid fool” (according to V.I. Dahl)

"abusive"

"colloquial"

canine

“grumpy, quarrelsome” (according to the dictionary of V.I. Dahl)

"abusive"

"colloquial"

"disapproving"

deadhead

"an unruly person"

"disapproving" "colloquial"

rogue

“a person who loves to be cunning, cunning” (according to S.I. Ozhegov)

"colloquial"

thief

“a swindler, an idler, a deceiver; traitor” (according to V.I.Dal’s dictionary)

“traitor, villain” (according to S.I. Ozhegov)

scammer

"rascal, crook"

freak

“immoral, a person of bad rules or inclinations” (according to the dictionary of V.I. Dahl)

“a person with some bad, negative properties” (according to S.I. Ozhegov)

snout

“same as face”

"swearing"

"colloquial" "swearing"

Most of the words that the heroes of the play “Undergrowth” use to swear belong to colloquial and colloquial vocabulary and are marked “abusive”.

conclusions

So, swear words as an appeal are most often present in the speech of Ms. Prostakova (“And you, cattle, come closer”, “Didn’t I tell you, thieves’ mug, that you let your caftan go wider”, “Get out, cattle” , “Well ... and you, the beast, were dumbfounded, but you didn’t bite into your brother’s mug, and you didn’t pull his snout up to his ears”, “Tell me, idiot, how can you justify yourself?”). Turning to her maids, Prostakova most often calls them beasts, and the servants are cattle, while when she wants to achieve something from influential people, she begins to humiliate herself in front of them, for example: “Oh, I'm an uncountable fool! Father! I'm sorry. I'm a fool". Since she always uses rude words from colloquial vocabulary that do not differ in variety and are connected by their origin with the animal world, it can be argued that Prostakova is uneducated, ignorant, rude, cruel to those who cannot protect themselves from her rudeness. Prostakova uses abusive vocabulary when she communicates with her servants, brother and husband or talks about them, for example: “Do not be angry, my father, that my freak missed you. I was born so rotten, my father.” The same applies to her son Mitrofan and brother Skotinin, who use swear words of animal origin as references, for example: “Oh, you damn pig!”

Throughout the play, the author constantly plays words of animal origin in the speech of the characters, thereby trying to expose the bestial behavior of some characters, even though they are people of noble noble origin. For example, the word livestock occurs in the play different meanings. “When only cattle can be happy with us, then your wife will have poor peace from them and from us,” - in Pravdin’s speech, the word cattle can be understood in different ways: “common name for domestic animals” or “a person similar to cattle ". livestock is the root in the surname of the hero of the play Skotinin. And Prostakova herself, although she now bears such a surname, was also originally Skotinina. It is no coincidence that Kuteikin dictates to Mitrofan the words: "I am cattle" (I am cattle). Fonvizin, with the help of these words, constantly ridicules the ignorance, rudeness of the Prostakov and Skotinin family, showing their true essence. The author is trying to impress the reader that, no matter how noble the origin of a person, with bestial behavior, he will be worse than the cattle itself.

Three teachers, Tsyfirkin, Kuteikin and Vralman, although they are teachers, behave very hostilely towards each other, using the same words of animal origin when they meet. What is Prostakova herself, she chose such teachers for her son: rude and uneducated.

Consequently, abusive vocabulary characterizes the heroes of Fonvizin's play "Undergrowth" as rude, vicious, uneducated, ignorant people.

Bibliography

  1. Emelianenko E. M. Nouns-predicates with the meaning of a negative assessment // РЯШ, 1990, No. 5, pp. 73 - 76.
  2. Kimyagarova R. S., Bash L. M., Ilyushina L. A. Dictionary of the comedy language of D. I. Fonvizin "Undergrowth". -http://www.philol.msu.ru/~slavmir2009/sections/?secid=9- International scientific symposium "Slavic languages ​​and cultures in modern world". - Moscow, Faculty of Philology, Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov, March 24–26, 2009
  3. Krysin L.P. The relationship of the modern literary language and vernacular // РЯШ, 1988, No. 2, pp. 81 - 88.
  4. The full text of Vladimir Ivanovich Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language (vols. 1-4, 1863-66) in accordance with modern spelling rules.http://slovari.yandex.ru/dict/dal
  5. Dictionary of the Russian language S.I. Ozhegov. 10th edition, stereotypical. Ed. Doctor of Philology, Professor N.Yu. Shvedova. Publishing house "Soviet Encyclopedia", Moscow - 1973.http://www.ozhegov.org
  6. Dictionary of the Russian language: In 4 volumes / USSR Academy of Sciences, Institute of the Russian Language; Ed. A.P. Evgenyeva. - 3rd ed., stereotype. - M.: Russian language, 1985 -1988. T.1. A - Y. 1985. - 696s. T.2. K-O. 1986. - 736 p.
  7. Shansky. NM School etymological dictionary of the Russian language. The origin of words / N. M. Shansky, T. A. Bobrova. - 7th ed., stereotype. - M.: Bustard, 2004. - 398, p.http://slovari.yandex.ru/dict/shansky/
  8. Fonvizin D.I. Undergrowth //Fonvizin D.I., Griboyedov A.S., Ostrovsky A.N. Selected writings/ Editorial staff: G. Belenky, P. Nikolaev, A. Puzikov; Comp. And entry. Article by V.Turbina; Comp. section "Applications" and note. Y.Dvinskoy. - M.: Artist. Lit., 1989. - 608 p.

One of the main positive characters in the play. She is Starodum's niece, left an orphan. In his absence, the Prostakovs manage the estate. They look after Sophia and at the same time rob her. Upon learning that the girl has a rich inheritance, they begin to fight for her hand and heart. However, the girl has a lover named Milon, to whom she remains faithful.

One of the main characters and the driving force in the play. She is Mitrofanushka's mother and Taras Skotinin's sister. 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.

The son of the landowners Prostakovs and one of the main negative characters of the comedy. As a minor teenager, he is a prominent representative of the youth of the nobility and one of the many "undersized" who inhabited Russia in the 18th century. By nature, he is rude and cruel, does not want to study or serve, does not put his father in anything and, using his mother's boundless love, manipulates her as he wishes.

One of the main characters of the comedy, Sophia's uncle. His surname indicates that he is a man of the "old" era, that is, the era of Peter I. His role in the work is very important, especially his speech and instructions. Starodum's father served under Peter the Great and always told his son that you need to remain a man at any time and in any situation.

One of the characters in the comedy, the brother of Mrs. Prostakova. This surname was chosen by the author not by chance. Taras loves and breeds pigs. Household animals are the character's only interest. Having learned that the pupil of Starodum, Sophia, is a rich heiress, he tries to win her favor and marry her.

One of the minor characters in the play. The name of the character was not chosen by chance. Pravdin is an honest and noble official, called to understand the deeds of the Prostakov-Skotinins. He serves as a bureaucrat in the governorship created by Catherine II.

One of the characters in the comedy, Sophia's fiancé, is a young man of great dignity, an officer with a valiant character. Milo is a modest and not arrogant person. Sofya and Starodum like him very much. Thanks to him, Sophia manages to avoid marriage with the underage son of Mrs. Prostakova and courtship from Skotinin.

One of the secondary characters in the play. She is Mitrofan's nanny and nurse. Using the example of her image, the author tries to show how serfdom perverted domestic servants, how it disfigured and humiliated them. Despite her inherent good human qualities, slavish humiliation prevails.

One of the characters in the comedy, Mitrofan's tutor and the highest paid worker in the Prostakovs' house. Adam Adamych Vralman was hired as a teacher of French and other sciences. In fact, he is the former coachman of Starodum, and not a teacher at all.

The satirical work of Fonvizin does not lose its relevance to this day. The names of the main characters Mitrofan, Prostakova, Skotinin became common nouns, and phrases from the comedy were winged. Quotes characterizing the heroes of the comedy "Undergrowth" will help the reader to better understand what this or that character is in this work. Some quotes have become quite firmly established in everyday speech, thanks to their brightness, capacity and topicality.

famous comedy lines

"I don't want to study - I want to get married." Mitrofan's phrase addressed to his mother. In life, they apply to those young people who have the wind in their heads. Whose life is one continuous entertainment and pleasure. None of them even think about studying or working.

"And then you'll get married." Having entered into a marriage union on mutually beneficial terms, you can no longer worry about your future. A kind of marriage of convenience, not love.

"Don't do business, don't run away from business." So they say about those people who are irresponsible about work, but only create the appearance of it in the workplace.

"Cash is not cash value." The presence of money still does not say anything, and even more so automatically cannot make a person good in the eyes of others.

"Beleny ate too much." This phrase can be attributed to those people who commit inadequate acts, stupid things that cannot be rationally explained.

QUOTATIONS BY CHARACTER

Pravdin

The direct dignity in man is the soul.

I was born in Moscow, if you need to know, and my villages are in the local governorship.

Excuse me, ma'am. I never read letters without the permission of those to whom they are written.

Moreover, from my own feat of my heart, I do not leave to notice those malevolent ignoramuses who, having full power over their people, use it for evil inhumanely.

I caress, however, to soon put limits on the wickedness of the wife and the stupidity of the husband. I have already informed our chief of all the local barbarisms, and I have no doubt that measures will be taken to appease them.

I am instructed to take custody of the house and villages at the first rabies, from which the people subject to it might suffer.

I beg your pardon for leaving you.

When only cattle can be happy among you, then your wife will have poor peace from them and from you.

Starodum

An ignoramus without a soul is a beast.

For the whims of one person, all of Siberia is not enough.

The direct dignity in man is the soul. Without her, the most enlightened smart girl is a miserable creature.

An honest man must be a perfectly honest man

Not the rich one who counts out money to hide it in a chest, but the one who counts out extra money in order to help someone who does not have what he needs.

Everyone should seek his happiness and benefits in the one thing that is lawful.

Have a heart, have a soul, and you will be a man at all times.

I left the court without villages, without a ribbon, without ranks, but brought mine home intact, my soul, my honor, my rules.

It is much more honest to be bypassed without guilt than to be granted without merit.

Milon

I see and honor virtue adorned with enlightened reason.

I am in love and have the happiness of being loved.

The judge, who, fearing neither vengeance nor strong threats, gave justice to the helpless, is in my eyes a hero.

At my age and in my position, it would be unforgivable arrogance to consider everything deserved than young man encouraged by worthy people.

Sofia

Uncle! My true happiness is that I have you. I know the price.

I will use all my efforts to earn the good opinion of worthy people.

How many sorrows have I endured since the day of our separation! My shameless in-laws.

I was now reading a book ... French. Fenelon, on the education of girls.

Mitrofanushka

I don't want to study, I want to get married!

Yes, all sorts of rubbish climbed into my head, then you are a father, then you are a mother.

Beleny ate too much.

I will learn; only that it be the last time, and that today there should be an agreement!

Well, say another word, you old bastard! I'll get you off.

Yes, get off my mother, how imposed!

For me, where they say!