Sophia and Lisa in the comedy "Woe from Wit" by A. S. Griboyedov: two characters and two destinies

The heroines of "Woe from Wit" - Sophia and Lisa - seem to participate only in the development of a love affair and are not involved in any way in the conflict between the "current century" and the "past century". The girls, on the one hand, are connected by the relations of mistress and maid, quite typical for world drama. In the plays of Shakespeare, Beaumarchais, Molière, we often encounter a situation where a smart and resourceful maid helps her mistress arrange her fate or find a way out of a difficult life situation. On the other hand, both girls are involved in complex love affairs. Sophia is crazy about Molchalin, her father's secretary, although she understands that it will be very difficult or almost impossible to arrange a fate with him. Molchalin is a man without means and of noble origin, almost a servant. Sophia loves Chatsky, who returned to Moscow after a three-year absence, and Famusov wants his daughter to marry Colonel Skalozub. Molchalin, although he portrays love for Sophia, prefers Liza, who, moreover, is the subject of encroachments by the owner of the house himself, Famusov. Lisa loves the man of her circle - Petrusha the barman. Thus, the hostess and mistress are the heroines on whom the love affair rests.

Although Liza is only a servant in the Famusovs' house, she is an important character in the play; it is no coincidence that the author does not place her at the end of the list of characters, as was customary to do, but immediately after Famusov and Sophia. In addition, Lisa is practically the main character of the first act. It is she who appears on the stage first, saves Soya from her father's wrath and even translates the clock, thereby changing the time of the action:

I will translate the clock, even though I know: there will be a race,
I'll make them play.

Both - Lisa and Sophia - young beautiful girls. The author does not give specific descriptions; we can judge their external data only by the impression they make on others. So, Famusov, flirting with Liza, says about her: “Oh! potion, spoiled girl, ”Molchalin also does not get tired of repeating about the beauty of the maid:“ What is your face! But the main thing that catches the eye in the alleged image of Lisa is her liveliness and cheerful disposition. "You are a funny creature! Alive! - the same Molchalin tells her.

Only the enamored Chatsky does not notice anyone except Sophia:

Yes, and now
At seventeen you blossomed beautifully,
Inimitable…

He says absently to Famusov: “How beautiful Sofya Pavlovna has become with you!” - and then repeatedly throughout the play repeats: "How good!". Molchalin is by no means seduced by the appearance of Sophia: “I don’t see anything enviable in Sofya Pavlovna,” he admits to Lisa.

As for Sophia, her image is rightfully considered one of the most complex characters in Woe from Wit. One cannot but agree with Pushkin that it is "inscribed indistinctly." Sophia is not devoid of intelligence, but prefers Molchalin to Chatsky. Not being cruel, she goes to baseness, I spread rumors about Chatsky's madness.

Of course, Sophia idealizes Molchalin. It seems to her that he is a man of a kind soul and positive qualities, only he "will make the family happy." Chatsky is right when he says to Sophia: "You gave him darkness, admiring him." But her love, apparently, is quite sincere, and the girl herself has a warm heart and an ardent nature. “Yes, what am I to whom? before them? to the whole universe? she says. Sophia lives with thoughts about the subject of her passion, She understands that her father will not give her up for Molchalin, and all the time she is preparing for a fight. Chatsky has known her for a very long time, and, believing in her mind, for a long time he cannot recognize the obvious fact that Sophia is in love with the most insignificant person.

The stupidity of Skalozub is obvious to her: "He did not utter a word of wisdom." And in Molchalin itself, she does not see the mind. Protecting her lover, she says:

Of course, he does not have this mind,
What a genius for others, and for others a plague ...

Sophia is well-read and educated. Many of her remarks have become proverbs and sayings (“Happy hours do not watch”, “Walked into a room, got into another”, “The hero is not my novel”).

Sophia's problem, apparently, is not that she lacks intelligence, but that she does not know how and is not accustomed to think. She leads her life according to generally accepted patterns. She is brought up by French novels. Reading stories about the love of a noble girl and a poor young man, or vice versa, she builds relationships with Molchalin in accordance with them. Molchalin Sofya takes humility, modesty and resignation for love. She does not even think that Molchalin is pretending. If Sophia had not happened to overhear the conversation of her chosen one with the maid, she would have remained confident in his love.

Sophia grew up in the atmosphere of the immoral zaons of the Famus society. That is why she so easily goes to meanness in relation to Chatsky, slandering him. After all, this is a fairly typical way for the world to solve its problems. Maybe Molchalin is good for Sophia: she appreciates his timidity and reticence, because she needs a “husband-boy”, “husband-servant”, indulging the whims of his wife, Moreover, it is through the lips of Sophia that Griboedov expresses the attitude of society towards humble people, When Chatsky asks her if the Frenchman Guillaume is still married to some princess, then Sophia, as befits the young lady of her croix, throws with contempt: “Dance master! Is it possible!

Lisa is completely different. Although a servant, she sometimes turns out to be, if not smarter than her mistress, then at least more reasonable. She has a clear eye for everything. She repeats to the young lady that “this proa will not be in love”, realizing that Famusov wants a rich husband for her daughter and “under the stars”. “And a golden bag, and aims at generals,” - this is how the witty Liza characterizes both Skalozub and the ideal of Famusov’s son-in-law. She is also able to appreciate the merits of Chatsky:

Who is so sensitive, and cheerful, and sharp,
Like Alexander Andreevich Chatsky!

Lisa is well aware of her position in the house. Although she often acts as Sophia's friend, she nevertheless repeats more than once that she knows her place. She sees the difference in her position and her mistress, when she notices that Molchalin is modest with the young lady, and a rake with the maid.

Who is Lisa - a kind of French soubrette or a Russian serf? Apparently, it's both.

She is a serf, but grew up in the Famusovs' house in the position of Sophia's friend. That's where her free manners and freedom of treatment with Mrs. and Chatsky come from. She is a half-lady, half-maid, and plays the role of a companion to the daughter of the owner of the house. Her speech, a serf maid who grew up for a long time with her educated young lady, is a mixture of colloquial colloquial style with literary and bookish. Along with peasant words (“passed”, “an”, “pokudova”, “sorry”), with expressions inherent in the lackey environment (“from the young lady, sir”, “I dare”), she also uses clearly literary turns, such as “I ask you to serve a young lady in love”, “what better prophet for you”.

Lisa understands the true state of affairs well, while Sophia, in love, remains blind for a long time:

Well, people in this side!
She to him, and he to me,
And I ... only I crush love to death, -
And how not to fall in love with the barman Petrusha!

Lisa is constantly trying to reason with Sophia. She defends her more than once from her father's wrath. However, Sophia shows her real attitude towards Lisa. “Listen, don’t take too many liberties,” she tells her, indicating the abyss that lies between her and a simple maid. In the scene of Molchalin's fall from a horse, when Lisa tries to reason with Sophia again, she in response hears a sharp retort from the young lady: “Which of them do I value? // I want - I love, I want - I will say.

A sharp discrepancy in the position of the heroines is also manifested in how their future develops. At the end of the play, both Sophia and Lisa are waiting for the verdict of the owner of the house, but their fate is too different. The innocent Liza, who grew up in the position of almost a friend of Sophia, is expelled to the poultry yard, that is, she is transferred to the category of servants, and even the lowest ones. “If you please, go to the hut, march, follow the birds,” Fasmusov tells her. Sophia is also expected to be exiled. Angry father says:

You should not be in Moscow, you should not live with people:
Away from these grips,
To the village, to my aunt, to the wilderness, to Saratov.

However, the reader and the viewer understand that if for Lisa life is broken forever, then for Sophia everything will soon go on as before. The story of her love for Molchalin will be forgotten, and, most likely, Sophia will repeat the usual fate of all Moscow young ladies. “You will make peace with him, mature in thought,” Sofya Chatsky contemptuously throws. Apparently, he is not so far from the truth. Sophia will marry another silent man and will live as is customary in a crooked and stupid world.

Sophia and Lisa, of course, are not ordinary natures. But the best qualities of Famusov's daughter are crushed, twisted by her whole way of life in the world. And Lisa is not at all the mistress of her own destiny. Here Chatsky's monologue "Who are the judges?" involuntarily comes to mind. Liza is the same thing as those serfs, about whom the main character speaks with pain. Her life is an illustration of Chatsky's words about the lack of rights of serfs, and her fate will turn out as the owner orders. As for Sophia, she is unlikely to help her former maid either. Why would a successful Moscow lady (and she most likely will be) keep a witness to the sins of her youth before her eyes?

Thus, both in the character and in the fate of the two heroines, the love and social lines are constantly intertwined. Sophia and Lisa are not only the heroines of a love affair, their images are successfully woven into that “sharp picture of morals” that, according to Pushkin, Griboyedov painted.

"Woe from Wit", being innovative in many ways, differs from the classic comedies that existed before it in the way the characters are portrayed. The author made the images more realistic than was customary in the tradition of classicism, endowing his characters with both positive and negative features at the same time. Presenting to the public on the pages of the play the conflict between the conservative way of life of the nobility and the progressive views of the younger generation of nobles, the conflict between the “past century” and the “present century”, the author significantly expands the system of comedy images. This helps him make the secular Moscow society depicted in the work more vivid and memorable. In the development of the action of comedy, an important role is assigned to secondary characters. In this regard, in order to comprehend the play, it is necessary to pay attention to the characterization of Liza in the comedy Woe from Wit.

In Russian literature, the maid Liza in the comedy Woe from Wit takes a worthy place in the gallery of female images, despite the fact that her role is secondary.
This became possible due to the fact that the reader is attracted by the mind and cunning of this girl, and her character is interesting, deep and bright. Those well-aimed characteristics that we hear from her lips regarding other characters make us pay even more attention to her.

Lisa plays a significant role in the development of the comedy's love affair. She is the person with the help of whom Molchalin, the lover of her mistress Sophia, is exposed. It is Lisa who, the unfortunate lover, admits that he “loves” Sophia “by position”, for personal gain, and laments that the young lady does not attract him as much as the maid: “Why is she not you?” In addition, in communication with Lisa, Molchalin manifests himself in a completely different way than with Sophia. It helps to understand what this hero really is. And the reader hears the conclusion regarding this hero precisely from Liza: “You are modest with the young lady, but from the maid’s rake.”

In the comedy "Woe from Wit" Lisa reveals the true face of not only Molchalin. Each character, directly or indirectly in contact with her, appears before the reader in a new way. For example, Famusov, Sophia's father, believes that he is the best moral model for his daughter, because in society he is "known for his monastic behavior." But secretly from everyone, he drags after Lisa, and very frankly.

The fact that two heroes of the play are trying to drag Liza into their love game at once does not in the least discredit the image of this girl. She is a forced person, but her natural mind and ingenuity help her delicately get out of delicate situations. In addition, a timid but sincere feeling for a person of her circle lives in her heart - the barman Petrusha. And Molchalin fails to seduce Lisa with any gifts, which indicates that the girl has certain moral principles and attitudes.

In the comedy Woe from Wit, Lisa's characterization is largely based on what assessment she gives to other heroes of the play.
This girl is well versed in people, seeing in them the very essence. It is she who, even before Chatsky appears on the stage, gives him the most accurate description: "Who is so sensitive, and cheerful, and sharp, like Alexander Andreyich Chatsky."

Liza is also distinguished by sincerity, the ability to keep up the conversation, listen and even offer practical advice. It is no coincidence that it was with her, as the maid recalls, that Chatsky shared his fears before leaving abroad: “No wonder, Liza, I cry: who knows what I will find when I return? And how much, perhaps, I will lose!

Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov wrote a comedy in the first half of the 19th century, which in many respects departed from the classical canons. Her innovation was, first of all, in the way the author portrayed the characters. They began to look more realistic, but this was not accepted in the tradition of classicism. In addition, a significant difference was that Griboyedov endowed his characters with both negative and positive features. Such simultaneous combination was also not typical for classic comedies.

Alexander Sergeevich invites readers to get acquainted on the pages of his famous play with the confrontation that emerged at the beginning of the 19th century. Two sides entered into the conflict: the “past century”, the conservative-minded nobility with a familiar and understandable way of life, and the “current century”, young nobles with progressive outlook. With this image, the author needed to significantly increase the number of characters. Thus, the system of images became brighter and richer. Moscow society, depicted in the play "Woe from Wit", is replete with a wide variety of characters.

It should also be noted that Griboedov allocates a significant place to minor characters. Let's try to characterize one of them - the maid Lisa.

Despite the fact that her role is not the main one, Lisa is not at the last place in the gallery of female comedy images.

Her character is very interesting. The girl is distinguished not only by cunning, which captivates the reader so much, but also by a deep, sharp mind. And how brightly and aptly she gives characteristics to the people around her. It's impossible not to pay attention to Lisa!

What is her main role in comedy? Firstly, the girl is involved in the development of a love story between Sophia and Molchalin. It is she who becomes the exposer of the hero-lover. After all, he laments that the young lady attracts him less than a maid and admits that she loves Sophia only for the sake of profit, there is no question of any true feelings.

It also becomes interesting that this hero reveals himself from a completely different side in communicating with Lisa, because with Sophia he behaves differently, he is as if in a mask, and here we already see his true face. And it is the maid who gives Molchalin a real characterization: he is a rake, although he is modest in his treatment of the young lady.

The image of Liza is not defamed on the pages of the play, although she is drawn into a love game. The girl does not have her own will, she is a servant, but she easily avoids all delicate situations. Liza is in love with the barman Petrusha and is true to her first timid feelings; she does not pay any attention to Molchalin's courtship.

The girl easily understands people, she seems to feel their nature and unmistakably determines what a person is in his true form. The girl is sincere, knows how to listen and give useful advice, knows how to support any, even high society conversation.

The maid Liza is a minor character, but without her it is simply impossible to imagine the play "Woe from Wit".

Daughter of Pavel Famusov. She is young, beautiful and a little frivolous. Sophia has a decent education. She is fluent in French, understands fashion and leads a very “liberated” lifestyle. The girl loves without memory the secretary of her father - Molchalin. Young people spend secretly all night long, because the man lives in Famusov's house and is always "at hand" with the leader. Famusov has no idea about the "viciousness" of his daughter. However, everything secret, sooner or later will become clear ...

Sophia naively believes that she has a reciprocal sympathy for her. She cannot even imagine that a man is doing this for his own well-being. In fact, the secretary has long liked Liza, the maid of the Famusovs.

A very active and smart girl. Despite its simplicity, there is cunning in it, and the ability to bypass "sharp corners". This skill helps her to avoid any kind of "flirting" on the part of Pavel Famusov. The old man, although he leads a “righteous” life for show, does not miss the slightest opportunity to “have fun” with a young maid. Lisa, in every possible way, suppresses this connection, as she understands that from master's love to hatred is one step. This is confirmed by her words in the comedy: "Bypass us more than all sorrows and master's anger, and master's love."

Lisa is also at a loss from the secret desires of Molchalin. The girl avoids his courtship, as she absolutely does not like him. She does not go against her principles and rejects both men. She loves a completely different person, and everyone else becomes “automatically” uninteresting.

The images of Lisa and Sophia are completely different. The girls don't look alike. Sensitive Sophia has her head in the clouds, does not think about the future and lives literally "one day". Liza, on the other hand, is forced to help the girl, and every time she puts herself in danger, covering up the rendezvous of the “lovers”. The maid does not approve of such meetings, every time she tries to reason with Sophia and call her to caution and modesty. But all talk is wasted. Famusova does not understand that with her reckless actions she endangers three at once - herself, Lisa and Molchalin himself. Father, will not forgive anyone such "liberties" and everyone will bear their own punishment.

However, when Famusov finds out about the secret connection between the two "beloved", it is Lisa who is the first to be under attack. accuses her of harboring the "couple". She, as well as suffered from her mind. Only, unlike the hero of the comedy, the girl is waiting for a real punishment, and this time she cannot avoid the "master's wrath".

Perhaps it is the image of Lisa that is endowed with all the best qualities. The girl speaks only to the point, is not rude, but is not hypocritical either. She always draws her own conclusions from past mistakes in order to try to avoid any missteps in the future. Because the girl did not accept any male courtship, it can be understood that she belongs to a highly moral nature. This also distinguishes her from the "liberated" Sofia Famusova.

In comedy, the image of both girls is certainly very important. Each of them gives a peculiar shade to the work, which subsequently affects the whole plot. The author does not make the girls either friends or warring parties. Lisa is like an older sister to Sophia. She wishes Famusova well, gives good advice, but often simply remains ignored ...

June 27 2011

The era of classicism lasted in Europe for more than two thousand years - from antiquity to the beginning of the 19th century. During this not short period, theorists and writers of classicism created the most strict and detailed system of rules, which was considered mandatory.
for every creator. The most rigid and well-known rules related to tragedy and. The public reacted quite strongly to the violation of these established canons, so few of Griboedov's contemporaries understood his comedy "Woe
from the mind." was so out of step with the usual notions of comedy that even Pushkin saw it as a flaw rather than an innovation. First of all, readers are accustomed to the rule of "three unities". Undoubtedly, in "Woe from Wit"
the unity of place and time is observed, but the main thing - the unity of time - is not visible in any way. There are at least two storylines visible in the comedy. Firstly, a love triangle: the main character of the work is Chatsky-Molchalin-Sofya Pavlovna. Secondly,

the story of confrontation and the whole society, which ends with gossip about madness. These lines are connected, but still the plot is clearly "forked". Doubtful
it seemed to me how much the work had the right to be called a comedy. The plot itself should be comical, which is definitely not the case in comedy, although it is full of funny lines and many of the characters are rather funny. In addition, according to the literary actions of Griboedov's time, positive characters win, and negative ones remain in the cold. As a result, there are no winners, and no one strives to win, and even more so, there is no one to laugh at either. However, the works of "Woe from Wit" did not set itself the task of destroying the poetics of classicism. His credo is creative freedom. Therefore, in

in cases where the requirements of classicism limited his possibilities, not allowing him to achieve the desired artistic effect, he resolutely rejected them. But not infrequently, it was the principles of classical poetics that made it possible to effectively solve an artistic problem. For example, Griboyedov skillfully used some private tricks of stage roles: the unfortunate hero of the work-lover, his sly rival,

capricious and somewhat eccentric, the servant is a confidant of her mistress, a deceived father, a comic old woman, a gossip. But even here Griboyedov makes his own adjustments.

These changes can be traced in the image of two female images of the comedy "Woe from Wit". In general, the system of composing images in classicism was built hierarchically - like a ladder. So the servant could never become the object of description, she could not have her own opinion, but had to support the opinion of the mistress. In Jean-Baptiste Moliere's comedy "The Bourgeoisie in the Nobility", which obeys all the canons of classicism, the maid Nicole is a kind of Madame Lucille, only less educated and with a different social circle. Both girls are in love, only Lucille is in love with Cleont, and Nicole is in love with
his servant Covel. They express the same thoughts, only in different ways. For example, in the scene of a quarrel between lovers, the acting woman, like an echo, repeats the words of the mistress, changing them. Lucille says: “Are you speechless, Cleont?”, and Nicole repeats: “Are you taken away, Coviel?” We can't even tell if the maid is smart.
Women's images are depicted in a different way in the comedy Woe from Wit, which departs from classicism. In it, we can understand the life positions of both heroines. As in the above-mentioned work, Liza is Sophia's faithful companion and friend. maid
covers the secret but very chaste dates of his mistress from her father. She very quickly makes Famusov leave so that he does not suspect that there is a man in his daughter's room:

It's time, sir, you know you're not a child,
For girls, the morning dream is so thin,
You creak the door a little, you whisper a little:
Everyone hears...
And the hostess herself was confused at the sight of Pavel Afanasyevich:
Allow me, father, my head is spinning,
I can hardly catch my breath from fright;
You deigned to run in so quickly,
I got confused.
Suspecting his daughter's immoral behavior, he sets himself up as an example of "monastic" behavior, praising himself as a respectable father of the family, although we have just seen him flirting with Lizonka. To which the maid uttered a phrase that
will later become a catchphrase:

Bypass us more sadly than all
And the lord's anger, and the lord's love.
The girl is smart, but with a practical mind, characteristic of everyday life, that is, cunning.

The second heroine learned worldly wisdom from literary works and stories, because the French books that Famusov grumbled about, the French language, dances - this is what became the education of the young lady. But for all the bookishness and obvious comic

love is a feeling that is not characteristic of Famus society, the heroine gave herself to a man, not being seduced by either his wealth or his nobility. She is so happy with her love that she is not afraid of exposure and possible punishment: "Happy hours do not watch." Also, Sophia, sincere and frank, cannot hide her love for Molchalin from those around her, and she is transparent about her dream, especially since the situation when the father entered the young lady’s room was very frank.
Molchalin is almost clearly the hero of the work of a dream told by her, she simply cannot immediately abandon the oblivion of music and love.

So, the heroine is completely immersed in her love, she is blinded by it. And Lisa argues sensibly, guided by the mind. She believes that in Sophia's love there will be no use “no!
forever and ever”, since the father would like a son-in-law “with stars and ranks”. She likes Chatsky more: “Who is so
sensitive, and cheerful, and sharp." But Sophia seems to be annoyed by the fact: “Listen, don’t take too many liberties.” The young lady feels her power over the serf, she has some kind of lordly waywardness, despite the fact that she saved her from
father a few minutes ago. That is why we cannot attribute the heroine to the “present age”. Lisa, feeling her position, does not allow herself much. She admires Chatsky, but does not allow herself to fall in love with him - this is her life
wisdom, she does not succumb to Molchalin in the same way because she cannot help but “fall in love with the barman Petrusha”. She knows her place in society, and therefore will be happy.
Sophia, as an inhabitant of the Famus society, had the same ideals as all its representatives. And one of the ladies' aspirations is "a husband is a boy, a husband is a servant - the ideal of Moscow husbands." She also likes to patronize a poor, humble person.
But in the finale, her love is replaced by contempt for Molchalin, she is tormented by a sense of conscience: "I am ashamed of myself, I am ashamed of the walls." She understands her self-deception, and sincerely repents. Sophia suffered a complete fiasco in her love, it is possible that the heroine will close in
offended pride, in distrust of the whole world. One way or another, her fate is tragic.
So, Griboedov deviates far from the established rules of classicism. Alexander Sergeevich used the techniques of classicism only as a "highlight", emphasizing the key - the individuality of the characters, the originality of their characters and positions.

Sofya loves Molchalin, but hides this from her father, he, of course, would not recognize him as a son-in-law, knowing that he is poor. The heroine, however, sees a lot of good things in her father’s secretary: “... compliant, modest, quiet, in his face there is not a shadow of anxiety, and there are no misconducts in his soul, strangers and at random he doesn’t cut, - that’s why I love him.”
Sophia also fell in love with Molchalin because she, a girl with character, needed in life that she could manage. “The desire to patronize a loved one, a poor, modest one who does not dare to raise his eyes to her, to elevate him to himself, to his circle, to give him family rights” - this is her goal, according to Goncharov.

Therefore, Chatsky, having returned to Moscow and saw how Sophia had changed under the influence of the environment, was very worried. It was painful for him to see her like this after a three-year absence, it was hard to realize that her beloved had chosen Molchalin. Sophia is also worried, but because of something else. She involuntarily hears Molchalin's conversation with Lisa and suddenly sees her chosen one in a different light. She realized that in fact Molchalin took the form 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 precepts of his father, catered: "to all people without exception." Perhaps someday Sophia found out about the true intentions of Molchalin, and she would not have been so hurt. But now she had lost a man who was very suitable for the role of a husband - a boy, a husband - a servant. It seems that she will be able to find such a person and repeat the fate of Dmitrievna Gorech and Princess Tugoukhovskaya. She did not need a person like Chatsky, but it was he who opened her eyes to everything that was happening. If Sophia had grown up in a different environment, she might have chosen Chatsky. But she chooses a person who is more suitable for her, since she does not think of another hero for herself, and in the end, according to Goncharov's remark, “Heavier than everyone, harder even than Chatsky”, it is Sophia.

Griboedov introduced us to the heroine of the comedy as a dramatic person. This is the only character who is conceived and executed as close to Chatsky, but in the finale, when Sophia becomes an unwitting witness to Molchalin's "courtship" of Liza, she is struck to the very heart, she is destroyed. And this is one of the most dramatic moments of the play.