Mitrofanushka undergrowth quotes. Brief description of Mitrofan based on the comedy Undergrowth (Fonvizin D

  • 13.11.2021

Mitrofan Prostakov is one of the main characters in Fonvizin's comedy "Undergrowth". This is a spoiled, ill-mannered and uneducated young nobleman who treated everyone very disrespectfully.

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

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

Mitrofanushka does not show any desire and interest in studying, but only wants to frolic and drive 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 on the problem of illiteracy of the young nobility and interclass relations in the serf Russian Empire.

Updated: 2013-09-17

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Mitrofanushka with the main character traits resembles her mother. This is emphasized in the comedy even by his name, since the word "Mitrofan" in Greek means "resembling a mother." The image of Mitrofanushka is really the image of a "sissy".

The hero we are interested in is described in many ways, in different ways: to relatives, to teachers, to servants, etc., but he does not have the psychological depth inherent in the image of Ms. Prostakova. This could not be: Mitrofan was "fed", but not brought up, without instilling in him anything but lordly laziness, arrogance and despotism.

This hero, like his mother, we see a complete lack of spiritual interests. His inclinations and interests are not intellectual, i.e. mental, but purely biological, animal character. Buns, hearth pies, corned beef, dovecote - these are the limits of his needs.

The mental level of Mitrofanushka is extremely poor. This is stupid and ignorant. Even Vralman remarks about Mitrofanushka that his head is weaker than his belly. Education, which was officially required of the "underage" in the 18th century, was reduced to a very modest minimum: "learn to read and write, count, history and geography." How Mitrofanushka learned this minimum can be seen from the fact that the words "door" and "fool" are adjectives for him. For several years of teaching, he never learned to read and write. Everyone knows Mitrofanushka's categorical statement: "I don't want to study, I want to get married."

This hero, however, is not without cunning. Knowing that all his well-being directly depends on Prostakova, he obviously fakes for her and for the time being is affectionate and obsequious towards her.

In a completely different way, he behaves with courtyards and teachers. With them, he, like his mother, is harsh and rude. “Well, say another word, you old bastard. I’ll finish them off, ”he shouts at Yeremeevna. He treats teachers no better, for example, with Tsyfirkin: "Give me the board, garrison rat." He already feels a future tyrant, a worthy successor to his mother. Mitrofanushka imperceptibly becomes a tyrant of everyone around.

In the last act, one more feature of the image of Mitrofanushka is revealed - his callous ingratitude. When Prostakova, deprived of power and property, rushes in despair to her son, he sharply pushes her away: “Yes, get rid of it, mother, as it was imposed ...” The ugly upbringing has borne fruit.
Mitrofanushka's language fully corresponds to his character. This hero, as we have identified, cannot do without swearing in conversations with Eremeevna and Tsyfirkin. Approximately the same way he talks with his uncle Skotinin: “What are you, uncle, overeating with henbane?”

The image of Mitrofanushka, a stupid, ignorant undergrowth, is depicted in the comedy so expressively that his name has become a household name. Moreover, the very word "undergrowth", which in the 18th century served as the official term for teenagers from nobles under the age of 16, acquired a special meaning and connotation thanks to Fonvizin's comedy. In general, people who do not show a desire for learning began to be called undergrowths.

Mitrofan and Prostakova Influence of father and uncle on Mitrofan Mitrofan's education Why is Mitrofan the central character?

Denis Fonvizin wrote the comedy "Undergrowth" in the 18th century. In that era, Russia had a decree of Peter I, which prescribed that young men under 21 without education were forbidden to enter the military and public service, as well as to marry. Young people up to this age in this document were called "underage" - this definition formed the basis of the title of the play. In the story, the main character is

Mitrofanushka is undersized.

Fonvizin portrayed him as a stupid, cruel, greedy and lazy young man of 16 who behaves like a small child, does not want to learn and is naughty. Mitrofan is a negative character and the funniest hero of the comedy - his awkward statements, stupidity and ignorance cause laughter not only among readers and spectators, but also among other heroes of the play. The character plays an important role in the ideological concept of the play, so the image of Mitrofan the Undergrowth requires a detailed analysis.

Mitrofan and Prostakova

In Fonvizin's work “Undergrowth”, the image of Mitrofanushka is closely connected with the theme of education, since, in fact, it was the wrong upbringing that caused the young man’s malevolence and all his negative features.
His mother, Mrs. Prostakova, is an uneducated, cruel, despotic woman, for whom material wealth and power are the main values. She adopted her views on the world from her parents - representatives of the old nobility, the same uneducated and ignorant landowners like herself. The values ​​and views received through upbringing were passed on to Prostakov and Mitrofan - the young man in the play is depicted as a “sissy” - he can’t do anything himself, everything is done for him by servants or his mother. Having received from Prostakova cruelty towards servants, rudeness and the opinion that education occupies one of the last places in life, Mitrofan also adopted disrespect for loved ones, a willingness to deceive or betray them for a better offer.

Recall how Prostakova persuaded Skotinin to marry Sophia in order to essentially get rid of the “extra mouth”. Whereas the news about the girl’s large inheritance made her a “caring teacher”, supposedly loving Sophia and wishing her happiness. Prostakova is looking for her own self-interest in everything, which is why she refused Skotinin, because if the girl and Mitrofan, who listens to his mother in everything, would marry, Sophia’s money would go to her.

The young man is as selfish as Prostakova. He becomes a worthy son of his mother, adopting her “best” features, which explains the final scene of the comedy, when Mitrofan leaves Prostakov, who has lost everything, leaving to serve the new owner of the village, Pravdin. For him, the efforts and love of his mother turned out to be insignificant before the authority of money and power.

Influence on Mitrofan father and uncle

Analyzing the upbringing of Mitrofan in the comedy "Undergrowth" one cannot fail to mention the figure of the father and his influence on the personality of the young man. Prostakov appears before the reader as a weak-willed shadow of his wife.
It was the passivity and desire to transfer the initiative to someone stronger that Mitrofan adopted from his father. It is paradoxical that Pravdin speaks of Prostakov as a stupid person, but in the action of the play his role is so insignificant that the reader cannot fully understand whether he really is so stupid. Even the fact that Prostakov reproaches his son when Mitrofan leaves his mother at the end of the work does not indicate him as a character with positive traits.

The man, like the rest, does not try to help Prostakova, remaining on the sidelines, thus again showing an example of weak will and lack of initiative to his son - he does not care, as it was all the same, while Prostakova beat his peasants and disposed of his property in her own way.

The second man who influenced Mitrofan's upbringing is his uncle. Skotinin, in fact, is a person that a young man could become in the future. They are even brought together by a common love for pigs, whose company is much more pleasant for them than the company of people.

Mitrofan's training

According to the plot, the description of Mitrofan's training is in no way connected with the main events - the struggle for Sophia's heart. However, it is these episodes that reveal many important problems that Fonvizin highlights in the comedy. The author shows that the reason for the stupidity of a young man is not only bad upbringing, but also bad education. Prostakova, hiring teachers for Mitrofan, chose not educated smart teachers, but those who would take less.

The retired sergeant Tsyfirkin, the half-educated Kuteikin, the former groom Vralman - none of them could give Mitrofan a decent education. They all depended on Prostakova, and therefore could not ask her to leave and not interfere with the lesson. Recall how a woman did not even let her son think about solving an arithmetic problem, offering “her own solution”. The scene of a conversation with Starodum becomes an exposure of Mitrofan's useless teaching, when the young man begins to invent his own grammar rules and does not know what geography is studying.

At the same time, the illiterate Prostakova also does not know the answer, but if the teachers could not laugh at her stupidity, then the educated Starodum openly ridicules the ignorance of mother and son.

Thus, Fonvizin, introducing scenes of Mitrofan's training and exposing his ignorance into the play, raises the acute social problems of education in Russia in that era. Noble children were taught not by authoritative educated personalities, but by literate slaves who needed pennies. Mitrofan is one of the victims of such an old-fashioned, obsolete and, as the author emphasizes, meaningless education.

Why is Mitrofan the central character?

As it becomes clear from the title of the work, the young man is the central image of the comedy “Undergrowth”. In the system of characters, he is opposed to the positive heroine Sofya, who appears before the reader as a smart, educated girl who respects her parents and older people. It would seem, why did the author make the weak-willed, stupid, with a completely negative characterization of the undergrowth the key figure of the play? Fonvizin in the image of Mitrofan showed a whole generation of young Russian nobles.

In addition, in The Undergrowth, Mitrofan's characterization is a composite image of the negative features of modern landlords Fonvizin. The author sees cruelty, stupidity, ignorance, sycophancy, disrespect for others, greed, civic passivity and infantilism not only in outstanding landowners, but also in officials at the court, who also forgot about humanism and high morality. For the modern reader, the image of Mitrofan is, first of all, a reminder of what a person becomes when he stops developing, learning new things and forgets about eternal human values ​​- respect, kindness, love, mercy.

p> A detailed description of Mitrofan, his character and lifestyle will help students in grades 8-9 when preparing a report or essay on the topic “Characteristics of Mitrofan in the comedy “Undergrowth””


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Fonvizin's comedy "Undergrowth" is one of the best motivational works. With the help of the image of Mitrofan Prostakov, we can analyze and realize all the destructiveness of boundless blind parental love and permissiveness.

Character Description

Mitrofan Prostakov is not distinguished by outstanding qualities of character. In fact, this is a vivid example of ignorance (in any sense of it) and bad manners.

Excessive guardianship on the part of parents and permissiveness became the reason for the formation of a complex character.

At the age of 15, he is still considered a child - his parents forgive him a lot, motivating him with the fact that he is a child and will outgrow it.

Parents spoil their son - they believe that adult life is full of difficulties, and therefore it is necessary to arrange the period of childhood in such a way that it is the least carefree.

As a result, Mitrofan grows pampered and spoiled. However, he himself is not capable of good deeds or humanity - the young man constantly swears with peasants and teachers, is rude and cruel not only towards them, but also towards his parents.

Receiving no punishment for his actions, no rebuff, he only becomes more convinced of the correctness of his actions and continues to become more and more hardened.
Mitrofan is not interested in anything but marriage.

We suggest that you familiarize yourself with which Denis Fonvizin wrote.

He does not know how to find beauty and aesthetics in the world around him - nature, art. To some extent, he resembles an animal that is guided solely by basic instincts.


Mitrofan is a very lazy person, he likes the measured life of a parasite and sneak. He is not trying to achieve anything in life. Although, if desired, he can develop himself. It is worth noting that in general he is a smart person - Mitrofan realizes that he is incredibly stupid, but does not see this as a problem - the world is full of stupid people, so he can find a decent company for himself.

Attitude towards others

The story of Mitrofan Prostakov is a typical story about what happens when a person is guided by the motive of permissiveness and impunity from childhood. The young man's parents are overwhelmed with excessive love for their son, which is extremely destructive for him both as a person and as a unit of interpersonal relations, social communication.

Dear readers! We offer you which was written by Denis Fonvizin.

Mitrofan's parents did not attach importance to the peculiarities of their son's interaction with society, did not make adjustments and did not correct the son's mistakes that arose in communication with other people, which resulted in an extremely unfavorable picture.

In Mitrofan's mind, communication with a person begins with determining his position in society - if this is a significant, important person (an aristocrat), then the young man tries to comply with the minimum etiquette standards, which is true and this is difficult for him. With a simple person, Mitrofan does not stand on ceremony at all.

Mitrofan's dismissive, rude attitude towards teachers is a common thing. Parents, again, do not interfere with their son, and therefore the situation develops into the plane of interpersonal relations as a whole. Mitrofan is allowed to be rude to other people (mostly people who are lower in social status, or those who are unable to fight back), while teachers and educators are forced to follow the rules of etiquette and treat their pupil politely.

So, for example, it is common for a young man to exclaim to a teacher in a similar way: “Give me a board, garrison rat! Ask what to write. As, however, and insulting appeals in the direction of his nanny: "old hrychovka."

As a result, a mother who is madly in love with her child also becomes the subject of rudeness. From time to time, Mitrofan reproaches his mother for being tired of her, blackmails her - he threatens to commit suicide, and on the whole successfully sums up his mother's efforts: "You tricked me, blame yourself."

Attitude towards learning

While the bulk of the aristocracy tried to give the best education to their children, in the hope that this would allow their children to become successful in life, Mitrofan's parents teach their child, because it is impossible not to learn - the decree issued by Peter I obliges all aristocrats to teach their children in arithmetic, grammar, and the word of God.

The image of Mitrofan Prostakov for the modern reader seems not quite typical - in most cases, history and literature provide images of educated, although not always purposeful, aristocrats. The image of Prostakov seems out of the ordinary, however, if you think about it, you can come to the conclusion that this is not so. This fact is confirmed by historical documents (the decree of Peter I on the compulsory education of the nobles) - if the situation with ignorance were not common, then it would hardly have found its reflection in official documents.

Mitrofan's parents are not educated people - their knowledge is based on life experience, in general they do not see the point in education and consider science a forced measure, a tribute to fashion. This attitude of the parents, in particular the mother, provoked a feeling of the uselessness of education in the eyes of Mitrofan.

Prostakov's parents could not convey to him the idea of ​​the need for education and the prospects that open up for an educated person, and in fact they could not do it - Mitrofan's mother considered education an evil, a necessity that must be experienced. From time to time she adds fuel to the fire, voicing her true attitude to learning: “My friend, at least for the sake of appearance, study so that it comes to his ears how you work!”.


In other words, the mother in no way condemns her son for his negligent behavior in the field of education and training, which further convinces Mitrofan that this whole process is useless and unnecessary, and is carried out exclusively “for show”.

This attitude led to another problem - a violent negative attitude towards the learning process itself and towards teachers.

For several years of study, Mitrofan could not advance one iota, and therefore he still walks in “undergrowth” - due to insufficient knowledge, the young man cannot receive documents proving his education, but his parents are of little concern.

For four years of learning to read and write, Mitrofan still reads by syllables, reading new texts for him still seems to be an unsolvable task, and with those already familiar, things are not going to be much better - Mitrofan constantly makes mistakes.

With arithmetic, things also do not look optimistic - for several years of study, Mitrofan mastered only counting up to three.

The only place where Mitrofan excelled was in French. His teacher, the German Vralman, speaks rather flatteringly about his student, but in this case the matter is not in Mitrofan's exceptional predisposition to learning languages, but in Vralman's ability to deceive - Adam Adamovich not only successfully hides the true position of the level of knowledge of his student, but also deceives the Prostakovs, posing as a teacher - Vralman himself does not know French, but, taking advantage of the stupidity of the Prostakovs, he successfully creates an appearance.

As a result, Mitrofan turns out to be a hostage of the situation - on the one hand, his parents do not see the point in education, and gradually instill this position in their son. On the other hand, stupid, poorly educated teachers, by virtue of their knowledge, cannot teach a young man anything. At a time when the situation with teachers of arithmetic and grammar looks at the level of "difficult, but possible" - neither Kuteikin nor Tsyfirkin have exceptional knowledge, but they still have the bulk of knowledge, the situation with Vralman looks completely catastrophic - a man who doesn't know French, teaches French.

Thus, Mitrofan Prostakov is a person with an insignificant soul, petty desires, limited to the carnal, animal satisfaction of his needs, who has reached the limit in his moral and spiritual development. Paradoxically, having the opportunity, Mitrofan does not seek to realize his potential, but, on the contrary, burns his life in vain. He finds a certain charm in laziness and parasitism and does not consider this a flaw.

From the age of six, the children of nobles were assigned to some regiment as lower ranks: corporals, sergeants, and even privates. By the age of majority, the young men received an officer's rank for their length of service and had to "go to work". Teenagers under the age of sixteen were called "undergrowths", which meant: they had not grown up to responsibility, adulthood.

The family of the future officer was obliged to provide the underage with a certain level of education, which was tested in the exam. Often such a test was formal, and the young man was allowed to continue home schooling until the age of 25. All this time he received a promotion in ranks without leaving home. Spoiled and undereducated, often already married and having children, the officer immediately occupied a high position. It is not difficult to guess how this affected the combat capability of the army. The situation with the civil service was no better.

Such a vicious practice of homeschooling nobles was ridiculed by Denis Fonvizin in the comedy "Undergrowth". The protagonist of the work is not accidentally named Mitrofan, which means - "like mother". Mrs. Prostakova embodies the most unattractive features of a landowner from the time of serfdom: tyranny, cruelty, greed, swagger, ignorance. Her weak-willed and narrow-minded husband is afraid to say a word without the approval of his wife.

Prostakova is trying to make a copy of her son. Mitrofanushka grows up as a selfish, rude and arrogant slacker, all of whose interests are centered around delicious food and entertainment. The immoderate appetite of an overgrown "child" is encouraged in every possible way by the mother, even to the detriment of her son's health. Despite a hard night after a hearty dinner, Mitrofanushka eats five buns for breakfast, and Prostakova demands that he be served the sixth. It is not surprising that the undersized, according to the mother, "delicate build".

Mitrofan's entertainment is the most primitive. He loves to drive pigeons, play pranks and listen to the stories of the cowgirl Khavronya. Mother encourages such idleness, because Prostakova herself is illiterate, like her parents, husband and brother. She even prides herself on her ignorance: “Don’t be that Skotinin who wants to learn something”. But the landowner is forced to invite teachers to her son. Because of her pathological greed, she hires the cheapest "specialists". The retired sergeant Tsyfirkin teaches arithmetic, the half-educated seminarian Kuteikin teaches grammar, and the former coachman Vralman teaches "everything else".

However, stupidity and laziness do not allow Mitrofan to receive even those primitive knowledge that the unfortunate teachers are trying to convey to him. Tsyfirkin admits that he did not learn the ward in three years "count three", and Kuteikin complains that the undergrowth is four years old "ass mumbling". Vralman's science is to constantly advise "to kid" stress less and not communicate with smart people. Mrs. Prostakova's fears that there will be no company for her beloved child, Vralman easily refutes: “What a motherfucking son, there are millions of them on the planet”.

Support from the German only strengthens in the mind of the landowner a contemptuous attitude towards education. And this makes Mitrofanushka very happy. He had not even heard of geography, and the word "Door" considers it an adjective because "she is attached to her place".

It should be noted that although Mitrofan is stupid, he is cunning, he perfectly understands his own benefit. He deftly manipulates his mother's feelings. Not wanting to start the lesson, the teenager complains that his uncle beat him, promises to drown himself from such an insult.

Mitrofan does not value those who are lower than him in rank or position in society, but fawns over wealth and power. The appeals of the undergrowth to servants and teachers are characteristic: "old bastard", "garrison rat". He calls the dreaming parents "such rubbish", but fawns over the rich Starodum and is ready to kiss his hands.

Mitrofan is very cowardly. He threatens with the wrath of his mother, whom others are afraid of, but in a skirmish with Skotinin, he hides behind an old nanny. Prostakova does not have a soul in an only child, protects him and tries to arrange a happy future. For the sake of her son, she enters into a fight with her own brother, by hook or by crook she tries to marry him to the rich heiress Sophia.

The ungrateful Mitrofanushka pays Prostakova for love and care with her indifference. When in the final scene, a woman who has lost power rushes to her son for consolation, the undergrowth repels Prostakova with contempt: "Yes, get rid of you, mother, how imposed".

The image of Mitrofanushka has not lost its relevance even after two and a half centuries. The problems of upbringing, blind maternal love, ignorance and rudeness, unfortunately, remain also important for modern society. And lazy, mediocre students can easily be met today.