Characteristics of the Prostakov family based on the comedy Nedorosl (Fonvizin D.I.). What kind of relationships were there in the Prostakov family? In the comedy "Minor"
To be honest, one litter.
D. Fonvizin. Minor
D. I. Fonvizin - not only great playwright, but also a leading man of his age. He was the first in the history of drama to speak out against the brutal oppression of the masses and sharply denounced the autocracy and the reactionary policies of Empress Catherine II. “Satire is a brave ruler,” Pushkin called Fonvizin, and today we consider the author immortal comedy"Nedorosl" by one of the most progressive writers of the "satirical direction" of Russian literature XVIII century.
In the images of the Skotinin-Prostakov family, Fonvizin very expressively depicted the rudeness, cruelty, ignorance of the serf-owners, and the unlimited arbitrariness of the landowners' power.
Taras Skotinin is proud to belong to a “great and ancient family.” Why is he so great? Stupidity, stinginess, stubbornness. It’s scary that out of the “eighteen people” children of the Skotinin parents, only two remained, while the rest “by the power of God died.” And this was at a time when the father of the family saved money all his life, but was so stingy that he died of starvation without touching his wealth. The main distinguishing feature of the family, according to Prostakova (nee Skotinina): “We were not taught anything... and it wouldn’t be Skotinin who would want to learn something.” Brother and sister Taras Skotinin and Mrs. Prostakova faithfully fulfill this covenant.
Skotinin “hasn’t read anything in my life.” He is afraid of science and is glad that “God saved me from this boredom.” Cruel, cowardly, narcissistic and self-confident, Skotinin does not notice his vices. It is easy for him to live in the world, since there is a science that he himself can teach anyone: he is a master of oppression, of collecting rent from peasants who are already robbed to the bone. Skotinin has a “death hunt” in his life - he loves pigs. The landowner's pigs have a free life, because he treats them “much better than people.” Skotinin even intends to get married at first not out of love for the girl and not because of the “orphan’s” dubious wealth, but because there are large pigs in her village. The landowner’s limitations are boundless, and he himself admits the reason for his strange attachment: “People in front of me are smart, but among the pigs I myself am smarter than everyone else.”
Is Mrs. Prostakova very different from her brother? One of the heroes calls her “a despicable fury,” “an inhuman mistress.” She is despotic and power-hungry, life is hard for the serfs in her house. She complains to her brother that “we took away everything that the peasants had, and we can no longer collect anything.” However, Prostakova does not treat her family much better than her serfs. Everyone gets it: the husband, the brother, and the teachers of Mitrofanushka’s beloved son. Prostakova is ignorant and uneducated, she doesn’t even know how to read letters: “Thank God, I’m not brought up like that. I can receive letters, but I always tell someone else to read them.” But, unlike her rather simple-minded brother, Prostakova perfectly knows how to be a hypocrite; she will never miss her benefit: she disposes of the estate of her sister-in-law Sophia, who was left an orphan, as her own, and is looking for a richer bride for her stupid son. Seeing that her plans are crumbling, she is even ready to use brute force against weak girl, forcefully marry her to her son. However, having met Sophia’s defenders stronger than her, Prostakova readily throws herself on her knees and begs for forgiveness. Flattery, hypocrisy, rudeness and arrogance in the landowner are not only funny, but also scary at times. “Both the crime and the repentance of contempt for her are sufficient.”
Prostakov is the ideal husband for such a despotic wife as his wife. This person is timid and unsure, has no regard for anything own opinion, “a wife’s husband,” as he says about himself. His life was not in vain, because he learned to obey Prostakov unquestioningly and even say what she thinks. “My mother,” he calls his wife. “Freak” and “weeper” - Prostakov calls her husband. Such is the family idyll. Material from the site
And here is Prostakov-Skotinin, the youngest: Mitrofa-nushka, a runt. That's it worthy son your parents! An infinitely lazy liar, a coward, a hypocrite, a rude person, an ignorant person - these are the distinctive qualities of a sixteen-year-old blockhead. “Mother’s son,” he went even further than his parents in his ability to not give a damn about others. Mitro-fanushka is a spiritually devastated person. All his interests in life are to eat well and sleep. He does not know how to think for himself, despite the fact that he is the only “scientific” person in the family. However, the “brilliance” of the knowledge he acquired is so dim that it becomes funny.
Fonvizin touches on a lot of problems in his comedy, asks many questions that have not lost their relevance even now. How do we treat other people? How do we behave in the family? What is more important for a person: pedigree, good education or kind heart? How to behave when meeting with simpletons, mitrofanushki, and cattle? There are a lot of questions, and it is very important that a person learns to answer them on his own, so as not to be like the ignorant heroes of D. I. Fonvizin’s comedy “The Minor.”
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During the reign of Catherine II, the comedy “The Minor” was written. At that turbulent time there was an age of serfdom, and almost all landowners oppressed and humiliated their peasants. This is proven by the speeches of Mrs. Prostakova: “Am I not powerful even in my people?”, “A nobleman, when he wants, is not free to flog his servants: why have we been given a decree on the freedom of the nobility?” and Skotinin: “Isn’t a nobleman free to beat a servant whenever he wants?”
In that era there were many noble families like the Prostakovs, vile, two-faced and cowardly. They groveled before their elders in rank and title, but, as if in revenge, they tyrannized and mocked their peasants. Life was very bad for the serfs: almost everything they earned was taken away from them in the form of quitrents by the landowners, and almost all of them worked as corvee labor for their owners. No wonder many peasants tried to escape. And all these atrocities occurred in almost every estate.
The central heroine of the comedy is Mrs. Prostakova. Its essence is visible in speech, for example, a favorite curse word is “cattle.” She manages the household. She beats her husband, keeps the servants in terror, and raises her son Mitrofan. “Now I scold, now I fight, and that’s how the house holds together.” But in the image of Prostakova there is also a good feature, albeit taken to the point of absurdity. This “despicable fury” loves her son very much and sincerely cares about him. At the end of the play, betrayed by Mitrofan, she becomes humiliated and pitiful. And we feel sorry for her too.
Prostakova is the main one in the family, this is evidenced by the way Skotinin, Prostakov and Mitrofan introduce themselves to Starodum: “It’s me, my sister’s brother,” “I’m my wife’s husband,” “And I’m my mother’s son.”
Thanks to the speaking surnames, we can determine the character of the heroes. Skotinin loves pigs and speaks like a barnyard. His speech is filled with words: pig, piglets, barn. He compares his life to the life of pigs. For example: “Yes, and I want to have my own piglets,” “If I have a special barn for each pig, then I’ll find a little place for my wife.” And he’s proud of it: “Well, I’ll be a son of a pig if...”
The speech of the good characters is not so bright, and this is primarily due to the fact that they do not use colloquial, colloquial phrases. The book speech of those years and the speech of educated people of that time was characterized by a lack of emotion. Clarity, correctness, monotony - these are the distinctive features of the speech characteristics of positive heroes.
Families like the Prostakovs have no future. Life consists of constant development and movement forward, and they are underdeveloped, have reached their perfection, very low in relation to others and, especially, educated people.
The comedy “Minor” is a brilliant work by Fonvizin, in which the playwright portrayed bright, memorable characters whose names are in modern literature and the era have become household names. One of the main characters of the play is the mother of the undergrown Mitrofanushka - Mrs. Prostakova. According to the plot of the work, the heroine belongs to the negative characters. A rude, uneducated, cruel and selfish woman from the first scene evokes a negative attitude, and in some places, ridicule from readers. However, the image itself is subtly psychological and requires detailed analysis.
The fate of Prostakova
In the play, upbringing and heredity almost completely determine the future character and inclinations of the individual. And the image of Prostakova in the comedy “Minor” is no exception. The woman was raised in a family of uneducated landowners, whose main value was material wealth - her father even died on a chest of money. Prostakova inherited disrespect for others, cruelty towards peasants and the willingness to do anything for profit from her parents. And the fact that there were eighteen children in the family and only two of them survived - the rest died due to oversight - causes real horror.
Perhaps, if Prostakova had married an educated and more active man, the shortcomings of her upbringing would become less noticeable over time. However, she got a passive, stupid Prostakov as her husband, for whom it is easier to hide behind the skirt of an active wife than to solve economic issues himself. The need to manage an entire village herself and the old landowner's upbringing made the woman even more cruel, despotic and rude, strengthening all the negative qualities of her character.
Considering the life story of the heroine, the ambiguous characterization of Prostakova in “The Minor” becomes clear to the reader. Mitrofan is the woman’s son, her only consolation and joy. However, neither he nor her husband appreciates the effort Prostakova expends on managing the village. It is enough to recall the well-known scene when, at the end of the play, Mitrofan abandons his mother, and the husband is only able to reproach his son - Prostakov also remains on the sidelines of her grief, not trying to console the woman. Even with all her grumpy character, Prostakova feels sorry for her, because her closest people abandon her.
Mitrofan's ingratitude: who is to blame?
As mentioned above, Mitrofan was Prostakova’s only joy. The woman’s excessive love turned him into a “mama’s boy.” Mitrofan is just as rude, cruel, stupid and greedy. At sixteen years old, he still resembles a small child who is naughty and runs around chasing pigeons instead of studying. On the one hand, excessive care and protecting the son from any worries real world may be connected with the tragic history of Prostakova’s own family - one child is not eighteen. However, on the other hand, it was simply convenient for Prostakova for Mitrofan to remain a big, weak-minded child.
As it becomes clear from the scene of the arithmetic lesson, when a woman solves the problems proposed by Tsyfirkin in her own way, the owner’s “own” landowner wisdom is the main one for her. Without any education, Prostakova resolves any situation by searching for personal gain. The obedient Mitrofan, who obeyed his mother in everything, should also have been a profitable investment. Prostakova does not even spend money on his education - after all, firstly, she herself has lived well without burdensome knowledge, and, secondly, she knows better what her son needs. Even marrying Sophia would, first of all, replenish the coffers of the Prostakov village (remember that the young man does not even fully understand the essence of marriage - he is simply not yet mature enough to understand it mentally and morally).
In that in final scene Mitrofan's refusal of his mother is undoubtedly Prostakova's own fault. The young man learned from her disrespect for relatives and the need to stick to those who have money and power. That is why Mitrofan, without hesitation, agrees to serve with the new owner of the village of Pravdin. However, the main reason still lies in the general “evil nature” of the entire Skotinin family, as well as the stupidity and passivity of Prostakov, who could not become a worthy authority for his son.
Prostakova as a bearer of outdated morality
In "The Minor" Mrs. Prostakova is contrasted with two characters - Starodum and Pravdin. Both men are bearers of humane educational ideas, contrasting with outdated, landowner foundations.
According to the plot of the play, Starodum and Prostakova are parents of young people, but their approach to education is completely different. The woman, as mentioned earlier, pampers her son and treats him like a child. She doesn’t try to teach him anything; on the contrary, even during the lesson she says that he won’t need the knowledge. Starodum communicates with Sophia on equal terms, shares his own experience with her, passes on his own knowledge and, most importantly, respects her personality.
Prostakova and Pravdin are contrasted as landowners, owners of large estates. The woman believes that beating her peasants, taking their last money, treating them like animals is quite normal. For her, the inability to punish the servants is as terrible as the fact that she lost her village. Pravdin is guided by new, educational ideas. He came to the village specifically to stop Prostakova’s cruelty and let people work in peace. By comparing two ideological directions, Fonvizin wanted to show how important and necessary educational reforms are Russian society that era.
Fonvizin's innovation in the portrayal of Prostakova
In "The Minor" Prostakova appears as an ambiguous character. On the one hand, she appears as a cruel, stupid, selfish representative of the old nobility and landowner principles. On the other hand, in front of us is a woman with difficult fate who suddenly loses everything that was valuable to her.
According to the canons of classic works, exposure and punishment negative characters in the final scene of the play should be fair and not cause sympathy. However, when at the end the woman loses absolutely everything, the reader feels sorry for her. The image of Prostakova in “The Minor” does not fit into the templates and framework of classic heroes. Psychologism and non-standard depiction of an essentially composite image (Prostakova is a reflection of an entire social layer of serf Russia in the 18th century) make it innovative and interesting even for modern readers.
The given description of Prostakova will help students in grades 8 and 9 to reveal the image of Mitrofan’s mother in their essay on the topic “Characterization of Prostakova in the comedy “The Minor” by Fonvizin”
Work test
The problem of raising children, the legacy destined for the country, played important role in society in ancient times and remains relevant to this day.
Members of the Prostakov family are strangers to each other. They don't look like strong ones at all. loving family. Mrs. Prostakova is rude, power-hungry, and hypocritical. She is a hereditary noblewoman. Following the example of her ancestors, the lady uses her uncontrolled power over the serfs, treats them unjustifiably cruelly, setting a bad example for her son, she humiliates herself before those in power and noble people, which expresses her slavish essence. Mr. Prostakov, completely subject to the influence of his wife and subordinate to her word, is narrow-minded, apathetic, and soft-hearted. In the relationship between Mitrofan's parents, disrespect reigns, generated by total matriarchy, disregard for the law on the subordination of the wife, the keeper of the hearth, to the husband, the head of the family.
Mitrofan is a lazy, carefree young man of 16, not striving for anything and not thinking about his own future. He appears as a pampered mama's boy. Knowing who is boss in the house, he takes advantage of his mother’s boundless, blind love to satisfy his whims. Prostakova, however, does not limit her son in anything, seeing his happiness in wealth and idleness. Knowing the difficulties civil service, she “allows” Mitrofan to enjoy the last carefree years of his life. Time passes, children grow up, and parents, preparing them for a difficult adult life in accordance with their ideals, they are often brought up in their own image and likeness. Children inherit habits, ways of thinking and living from their parents.
Mitrofan’s “evil character” is a direct consequence of the bad qualities of his parents. The entire environment of the protagonist is anti-virtuous, so where does his honor and compassion come from?
Kosheleva Daria, student of class 9 "A" school 1862
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