The Inspector-General
1836
The Inspector-General
1836
Translated by Thomas, 1875? Seltzer
The greatest comic assault on bureaucratic corruption ever written. When word arrives that an inspector is traveling incognito to their backwater town, the entire apparatus of local government descends into panic. The Governor and his cronies scramble to hide their bribes, falsified records, and general incompetence before the dreaded official arrives. Into this chaos stumbles Khlestakov, a penniless, aimless drifter from St. Petersburg, who is mistakenly identified as the inspector. What unfolds is a brilliantly orchestrated comedy of errors: the officials prostrate themselves before this supposed authority, offering bribes, hospitality, and their daughters, while Khlestakov basks in the absurd deference of men terrified of their own shadows. Gogol's satire cuts so deep it transcends its nineteenth-century Russian setting. The play remains startlingly relevant because corruption, pretense, and the fear of exposure are not Russian problems but human ones. Every generation discovers this comedy is about them.
Editions
X-Ray
“It is no use to blame the looking glass if your face is awry.””
— Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol
“What are you laughing at? You are laughing at yourself.””
— Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol
“GOVERNOR. And then I must call your attention to the history teacher. He has a lot of learning in his head and a store of facts. That's evident. But he lectures with such ardor that he quite forgets himself. Once I listened to him. As long as he was talking about the Assyrians and Babylonians, it was not so bad. But when he reached Alexander of Macedon, I can't describe what came over him. Upon my word, I thought a fire had broken out. He jumped down from the platform, picked up a chair and dashed it to the floor. Alexander of Macedon was a hero, it is true. But that's no reason for breaking chairs. The state must bear the cost.””
— Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol
“You can always tell a pig by its grunt.””
— Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol
“The more debris there is the more it will show the governor's activity.””
— Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol
“BOBCHINSKY Not bad looking, in civilian dress, walking about the room, a reflective look on his face . . . his physiognomy . . . his behavior, and up here (He waves his hand around his forehead) a lot, a lot of everything.””
— Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol
“AMMOS FYODOROVICH No, it’s impossible to drive it out: he says his nanny hurt him as a child, and ever since then he’s given off a whiff of vodka.””
— Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol
“Don’t blame the mirror if your mug’s askew.”
— Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol
“Alcalde:Lo mismo debo hacerle notar con respecto al maestro de historia. Es un sabio (eso es evidente, sabe mucho), pero se expresa con tanta vehemencia, que se olvida de todo. Días pasados lo estuve escuchando. Mientras hablaba de los asirios y los babilonios, todo iba bien, pero cuando llegó a Alejandro el Grande lo que pasó no tiene nombre. ¡Creí que se había incendiado el aula, se lo juro! ¡Bajó corriendo de la tarima y empezó a golpear furiosamente el suelo con la silla! Claro está que Alejandro el Grande es un héroe, pero... ¿a qué romper las sillas? Eso perjudica al fisco.Luká Lúkich:¡Sí, es muy vehemente! Ya se lo he hecho notar varias veces... Y me contestó: «¿Qué quiere que haga? ¡Yo daría la vida por la ciencia!»””
— Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol
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