Mitrofan the ignoramus characterization of the hero briefly. Quotes

Mitrofanushka
MITROFANUSHKA is the hero of D.I.’s comedy. Fonvizin “Nedorosl” (1781), a sixteen-year-old teenager (minor), the only son of Mrs. Prostakova, his mother’s darling and the favorite of the servants. M. as a literary type was not Fonvizin’s discovery. Russian literature of the late 18th century. knew and portrayed such teenagers, living freely in rich parental homes and barely able to read and write at the age of sixteen. Fonvizin endowed this traditional figure of noble life (especially provincial) with the generic features of the Prostakov-Skotinin “nest”. In his parents’ house, M. is the main “funny man” and “entertainer”, the inventor and witness of all the stories like the one he saw in his dream: how his mother beat his father. It is well known how M. took pity on his mother, who was busy with the difficult task of beating her father. M.'s day is marked by absolute idleness: fun in the dovecote, where M. is saving himself from lessons, is interrupted by Eremeevna, begging the “child” to learn. Having blabbed to his uncle about his desire to get married, M. immediately hides behind Eremeevna - “an old bastard,” in his words, who is ready to lay down his life, but “can’t give it away to the “child.” M.’s boorish arrogance is akin to his mother’s manner of treating household members and servants: “freak” and “weeper” - the husband, “dog’s daughter” and “nasty mug” - Eremeevna, “beast” - the girl Palashka. If the intrigue of the comedy revolves around the marriage of M. to Sophia, desired by the Prostakovs, then the plot is focused on the theme of the upbringing and teaching of an underage teenager. This is a traditional theme for educational literature. M.'s teachers were selected in accordance with the time standard and the parents' level of understanding of their task. Here Fonvizin emphasizes details that speak of the quality of choice characteristic of the simpleton family: M. is taught French by the German Vralman, exact sciences are taught by retired sergeant Tsyfirkin, who “speaks a little of arithmetic,” and grammar by the “educated” seminarian Kuteikin, who was fired from “all teaching” by permission of the consistory. Hence, in the famous exam scene, M. is an outstanding invention of Mitrofan’s ingenuity about the noun and adjective door, hence the intriguingly fabulous ideas about the story recounted by the cowgirl Khavronya. In general, the result was summed up by Mrs. Prostakova, who is convinced that “people live and have lived without science.” Fonvizin's hero is a teenager, almost a youth, whose character is affected by the disease of dishonesty, spreading to every thought and every feeling inherent in him. He is dishonest in his attitude towards his mother, through whose efforts he exists in comfort and idleness and whom he abandons at the moment when she needs his consolation. The comic clothes of the image are funny only at first glance. V.O. Klyuchevsky classified M. as a breed of creatures “related to insects and microbes,” characterizing this type with inexorable “reproduction.” Thanks to the hero Fonvizin, the word “minor” (formerly neutral) became a common noun for a quitter, a loafer and a lazy person.

Mitrofanushka (Prostakov Mitrofan) is the son of the landowners Prostakovs. It is considered an undergrowth because he is 16 years old and has not reached the age of majority. Following the tsar's decree, Mitrofanushka studies. But he does this with great reluctance. He is characterized by stupidity, ignorance and laziness (scenes with teachers).
Mitrofan is rude and cruel. He does not value his father at all, mocks teachers and serfs. He takes advantage of the fact that his mother dotes on him and spins her around as she wants.
Mitrofan stopped in his development. Sophia says about him: “Even though he is 16 years old, he has already reached the last degree of his perfection and will not go further.”
Mitrofan combines the traits of a tyrant and a slave. When Prostakova's plan to marry her son to a rich pupil, Sophia, fails, the undergrowth behaves like a slave. He humbly asks for forgiveness and humbly accepts “his sentence” from Starodum - to go serve (“For me, wherever they tell you”). Slave upbringing was instilled in the hero, on the one hand, by the serf nanny Eremeevna, and, on the other hand, by the whole world of the Prostakov-Skotinins, whose concepts of honor are distorted.
Through the image of Mitrofan, Fonvizin shows the degradation of the Russian nobility: from generation to generation, ignorance increases, and the coarseness of feelings reaches animal instincts. No wonder Skotinin calls Mitrofan “damned pig.” The reason for such degradation is an incorrect, disfiguring upbringing.
The image of Mitrofanushka and the very concept of “minor” have become a household word. Nowadays they say this about ignorant and stupid people.

Mitrofan Prostakov is one of the main characters of Fonvizin’s comedy “The Minor.” He is a spoiled, ill-mannered and uneducated young nobleman who treated everyone with great disrespect.

He was always surrounded by the care of his mother, who spoiled him. Mitrofanushka adopted the worst character traits from his loved ones: laziness, rudeness in dealing with all people, greed, selfishness.

At the end of this work, Starodum said: “These are the worthy fruits of evil,” and this very accurately describes the situation happening in the family.

Mitrofanushka does not show any desire or interest in studying, but only wants to frolic and chase pigeons. In any difficult situation, he hides behind his mother’s back, but even in the last scene he shocks her with his boorish behavior.

It seems to me that Fonvizin created Prostakov Mitrofan in order to focus attention on the problem of illiteracy of the young nobility and inter-class relations in the serf-dominated Russian Empire.

Updated: 2013-09-17

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“I don’t want to study, but I want to get married” - Mitrofanushka’s life-affirming statement has not lost its relevance for the third century. The first realistic, or everyday, comedy in the history of Russian drama by Denis Fonvizin presented a lot of vivid images and useful aphorisms. Let's find out 10 facts from the life of Mitrofanushka together with Natalya Letnikova.

Fonvizin’s ideas for “Minor” took shape in Europe. For a year and a half, the writer, while in France, became acquainted with philosophy, jurisprudence and the life of the country. When writing “The Minor,” the playwright relied on articles from satirical magazines, the works of Voltaire, Rousseau, Duclos, and even comedies written by Catherine II herself.

Speaking surnames - the best author's characteristics. In the sketches, the main character’s name was Ivanushka, but by the time the comedy was published, it was already Mitrofanushka, in common parlance “mama’s boy” - Mrs. Prostakova. The pseudoscientist Vralman and the official Pravdin, Starodum and Skotinin, Sophia and Milon, Tsyfirkin and Kuteikin are the heroes of Fonvizin’s most famous work and complete portraits of their era.

"Undergrown." The landowner Prostakova carries out justice and reprisals. From an engraving by N.I. Wickets. 1958

Illustration of comedy by D.I. Fonvizin "Minor"

History of undergrowth in Russia. This is how in the 18th century they called noble children who had not reached the age appointed by Peter I for entering the service. Fonvizin filled the image with ironic meaning. A minor is an uneducated, uncouth, rude, selfish young man, and the name Mitrofanushka, with the light hand of the playwright, has become a household name.

The most repertoire play of the 18th century on the Russian stage. A year before the premiere, the author tested the work at home readings. They intended to stage the play both in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Moscow censorship did not take risks. The premiere took place in 1782 at the Free Russian Theater in St. Petersburg. “The Minor” has gone through many amateur productions. In the play at the Nizhyn Gymnasium, the role of Prostakova was played by Gogol.

The author, who is also the director. Fonvizin himself, and “the first court actor of the Russian theater” - Ivan Dmitrievsky, worked on the production and distributed the roles. The most famous actor of the 18th century played the role of Starodum and became the main magnet for the public. The role of Pravdin was played by the brilliant actor and playwright Pyotr Plavilshchikov, and the image of Eremeevna was brilliantly embodied by the leading comedian of the time, Yakov Shumsky.

« Die, Denis, you can’t write better”- the phrase attributed to Grigory Potemkin has become a real historical anecdote. According to theatrical legend, after the premiere of the play in St. Petersburg, Prince Potemkin allegedly approached Fonvizin with this phrase. According to another version, the flattering review belongs to Derzhavin. The “Dramatic Dictionary” of that time reported: “The audience applauded the play by throwing purses.”

"Undergrowth" Fonvizin. Artist T.N. Kasterina

Mrs. Prostakova, Mitrofanushka, Kuteikin and Tsyfirkin. "Undergrowth" Fonvizin. Artist T.N. Kasterina

Execute vices with laughter. The comedy fulfilled its main task of its time in full. “The lists are too faithful from life,” Belinsky said about the characters in “The Minor”; “Everything was taken alive from nature,” Gogol echoed his colleague; The Decembrists called “The Minor” the first folk comedy. “The only monument of folk satire,” Pushkin called the work of the “Russian Moliere.”

From everyday comedy to satirical magazine. In 1783, the first printed edition of “Nedoroslya” was published, and five years later Denis Fonvizin tried to publish his own satirical magazine with the self-explanatory name “Starodum” - named after the most reasonable hero of the comedy. The magazine was banned by Empress Catherine II.

« Minor" is also a favorite among modern directors. The story of Mitrofanushka is in the repertoire of the northernmost theater in the world - the Norilsk Polar Theater, as well as the Ryazan and Nizhny Novgorod Youth Theaters. With music by Dmitry Shostakovich and Russian folk melodies, the comedy is presented by the Children's Philharmonic of St. Petersburg. And in 2015, “The Minor” also became a musical - with the light hand of composer Alexander Zhurbin.

30th anniversary of Mitrofanushka at the Maly Theater. The modern version of “The Minor” on this stage begins its countdown in 1986. More than 700 performances were performed. “I was terribly tired,” recalled Afanasy Kochetkov, who played Starodum, “but suddenly at some performance schoolchildren came to a matinee, and from their reaction I realized... that they were interested in the position of this character, his philosophy, his thoughts...”

Writer and playwright D.I. Fonvizin, whose comedy “The Brigadier” never left the stage, was compared to Moliere. Therefore, the play “The Minor,” staged on the stage of the Moscow Medox Theater on May 14, 1783, was also a huge success.

One of the main characters of this comedy was Prostakov Mitrofan Terentyevich, the son of the Prostakovs, simply Mitrofanushka.

As soon as the name of the comedy “Undergrown” is pronounced, the image of a mama’s boy, a quitter and a stupid ignoramus immediately appears in the imagination. Before this comedy, the word “minor” did not carry an ironic meaning. During the time of Peter I, this was the name given to noble teenagers who had not reached the age of 15. After the play appeared, this word became a household word.

The main character himself, Mitrofanushka, is devoid of any purpose in life. The main activities in life that he enjoys are: eating, lazing around and chasing pigeons. His idleness is encouraged by his mother. “Go and have some fun, Mitrofanushka,” is how she answers her son when he is about to go chase pigeons.

A sixteen-year-old boy at that time was supposed to go to service at this age, but his mother did not want to let him go. She wanted to keep him with her until she was 26 years old.

Prostakova doted on her son, loved her with a blind maternal love, which only harmed him: Mitrofanushka ate until his stomach hurt, and Prostakova tried to persuade him to eat more. The nanny said to this that he already ate five pieces of pies. And Prostakova answered: “So you feel sorry for the sixth one.”

When Mitrofanushka was offended, she came to his defense, and he was her only consolation. Everything was done only for the sake of her son, even in order to provide him with a carefree future, she decided to marry him to a rich bride.

She tried not to bother him with anything, not even with his studies. It was customary for noble families to hire teachers. And Prostakova hired teachers for him, but not so that he could learn intelligence, but it was just the way it was supposed to be. The names of the teachers spoke for themselves: the German coachman Vralman, the retired soldier Tsyfirkin, the half-educated seminarian Kuteikin. Mitrofan did not want to study and told his mother: “Listen, mother. I'll amuse you. I'll study; just let this be the last time. The hour of my will has come. I don’t want to study, I want to get married.” And Prostakova agreed with him, because she herself was illiterate and stupid. “It’s only torment for you, but everything, I see, is emptiness. Don’t learn this stupid science!”

All his relatives irritated Mitrofanushka, he did not love anyone - neither his father, nor his uncle. The nanny, who did not receive money for raising Mitrofan and always protected him from his uncle, tried to teach him something. She persuaded him: “Yes, teach at least a little.” Mitrofan answered her: “Well, say another word, you old bastard! I’ll finish them off, I’ll complain to my mother again, so she’ll deign to give you a task about yesterday.” Nobody's worries bothered him. This hero combined in himself the worst qualities of the young nobles of that time.

All the mother's concerns about her son did not find an answer. Mitrofanushka treated his mother with disdain. He did not respect her at all and played on her feelings: His words: “The river is here and the river is close. I’ll dive in, just remember what my name was,” or “All night, such rubbish was in my eyes. -What rubbish, Mitrofanushka? “Yes, either you, mother, or father,” prove this.

Even at a difficult moment for the mother, the son refuses her. “You are the only one left with me, my dear friend,” - with these words Prostakova rushes to her son. She seems to be looking for support in the only person close to her. Mitrofan indifferently says: “Go away, mother, how you imposed yourself.”

His mother's upbringing and the environment in which Mitrofan Prostakov lived made him a heartless, stupid animal who only knows what to eat and have fun. The thoughts instilled in Mitrofan by his mother that lying on his side could get both ranks and money fell on fertile ground. We can conclude that Mitrofan, if his fate had turned out the way his mother intended, would not have disgraced his “surname.”

It seems to me that the meaning of this comedy is the playwright’s protest against the Prostakovs and Skotinins. There should be as few such inhumane, rude, stupid people as possible. They should not constitute the majority of society. I share the writer's point of view.

The play by Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin is a comedy about the undersized Mitrofanushka (from the Greek “like his mother”), about the vices of his upbringing, which turns the young man into a spoiled and stupid creature. Previously, there was nothing bad about this word, and only over time did it become a common noun. In those days, minors were teenagers who had not reached the age of fifteen required to enter the service.

The decree on the freedom of the nobility, signed by Peter I, gave the nobles the right to choose: to serve or not to serve. But one way or another, training became mandatory. Mrs. Prostakova tries to follow the law, but wants to keep her son “with her” for another ten years: “While Mitrofan is still in his infancy, it’s time to marry him; and then in ten years, when he enters, God forbid, into the service, you’ll have to endure everything.”

Being the only son of the landowners Prostakovs, Mitrofan Terentyevich at the age of sixteen lives with his parents, without knowing any worries. His domineering mother decides everything for him: who to marry, who to kiss on the hand.

Characteristics of the hero

(Illustration for a comedy. Artist T.N. Kasterina, 1981)

Our main character is a spoiled mama's boy who behaves as he pleases. However, his mother’s undivided love turned him not only into an egoist, but also into a skilled manipulator. He doesn’t recognize his father at all and doesn’t value him at all, because he doesn’t indulge his whims. Mitrofan does not like his uncle and is rude in every possible way.

Throughout the play, Prostakov enjoys the comfort of home and idleness, instead of serving. He doesn’t care about anything, except maybe tasty and plentiful food and fun.

Mitrofanushka has neither life goals nor high aspirations. He also has no desire to study, to which he “dedicated” four whole years, but was never able to learn either literacy or arithmetic. This is understandable, because Prostakov never lived by his own wits, and the caring mother did not want to “torment her child with studies,” hiring teachers only because this was customary in noble families.

It is curious that Mitrofan is also characterized by a certain self-criticism: he is aware that he is lazy and stupid. However, this fact does not upset him at all.

Cruelty towards his teachers and servants was the norm for him, because he was narcissistic and arrogant, just like Mrs. Prostakova, who also did not take into account anyone’s opinion except her own. The young man’s nanny, Eremeevna, suffered a lot from him. Mitrofan constantly complained to his mother about the poor woman and they stopped paying her salary.

The whole plot is built around the plan of Mitrofanushka’s sudden marriage to the poor orphan Sophia, who (suddenly!) turns out to be a rich heiress. Following his mother’s instructions, the hero ultimately betrays her: “Let go, mother, how you imposed yourself.”

The image of the hero in the work

For his relatives, Mitrofan Prostakov is still a small child - even in his presence they talk about him in this way, calling him now a child, now a child - and Mitrofanushka shamelessly takes advantage of this throughout the comedy.

Through the image of Mitrofan, one of the main negative characters, the author shows the degradation of the noble class of that time. Ignorance and rudeness, stupidity and apathy are just the tip of the iceberg of the problems of improper upbringing and permissiveness.

Mommy’s favorite, whose life is burdened with class vices, causes laughter through tears: “Although he is 16 years old, he has already reached the last degree of his perfection and will not go further.” He is his mother's slave, he is her tyrant. His heart does not know love, pity and compassion.

Thanks to the image created by Fonvizin, the word “minor” in our time is used to describe ignorant and stupid people.