The Inspector-General | Page 7

ready for the press by 1851,
but kept the copy and burned it again a few days before his death
(1852), so that it is extant only in parts.
THOMAS SELTZER.

CHARACTERS OF THE PLAY

ANTON ANTONOVICH SKVOZNIK-DMUKHANOVSKY, the
Governor. ANNA ANDREYEVNA, his wife. MARYA
ANTONOVNA, his daughter. LUKA LUKICH KHLOPOV, the
Inspector of Schools. His Wife. AMMOS FIODOROVICH
LIAPKIN-TIAPKIN, the Judge. ARTEMY FILIPPOVICH
ZEMLIANIKA, the Superintendent of Charities. IVAN KUZMICH
SHPEKIN, the Postmaster. PIOTR IVANOVICH DOBCHINSKY. }
PIOTR IVANOVICH BOBCHINSKY. } Country Squires. IVAN
ALEKSANDROVICH KHLESTAKOV, an official from St.
Petersburg. OSIP, his servant. CHRISTIAN IVANOVICH
HÜBNER, the district Doctor.
FIODR ANDREYEVICH LlULIUKOV. } ex-officials, }esteemed
IVAN LAZAREVICH RASTAKOVSKY. }personages STEPAN
IVANOVICH KOROBKIN. }of the town. STEPAN ILYICH
UKHOVERTOV, the Police Captain. SVISTUNOV. }
PUGOVITZYN. }Police Sergeants. DERZHIMORDA. } ABDULIN, a
Merchant. FEVRONYA PETROVA POSHLIOPKINA, the
Locksmith's wife. The Widow of a non-commissioned Officer.
MISHKA, the Governor's Servant. Servant at the Inn. Guests,

Merchants, Citizens, and Petitioners.

CHARACTERS AND COSTUMES

DIRECTIONS FOR ACTORS
THE GOVERNOR.--A man grown old in the service, by no means a
fool in his own way. Though he takes bribes, he carries himself with
dignity. He is of a rather serious turn and even given somewhat to
ratiocination. He speaks in a voice neither too loud nor too low and
says neither too much nor too little. Every word of his counts. He has
the typical hard stern features of the official who has worked his way
up from the lowest rank in the arduous government service. Coarse in
his inclinations, he passes rapidly from fear to joy, from servility to
arrogance. He is dressed in uniform with frogs and wears Hessian boots
with spurs. His hair with a sprinkling of gray is close-cropped.
ANNA ANDREYEVNA.--A provincial coquette, still this side of
middle age, educated on novels and albums and on fussing with
household affairs and servants. She is highly inquisitive and has streaks
of vanity. Sometimes she gets the upper hand over her husband, and he
gives in simply because at the moment he cannot find the right thing to
say. Her ascendency, however, is confined to mere trifles and takes the
form of lecturing and twitting. She changes her dress four times in the
course of the play.
KHLESTAKOV.--A skinny young man of about twenty-three, rather
stupid, being, as they say, "without a czar in his head," one of those
persons called an "empty vessel" in the government offices. He speaks
and acts without stopping to think and utterly lacks the power of
concentration. The words burst from his mouth unexpectedly. The
more naiveté and ingenousness the actor puts into the character
the better will he sustain the role. Khlestakov is dressed in the latest
fashion.
OSIP.--A typical middle-aged servant, grave in his address, with eyes
always a bit lowered. He is argumentative and loves to read sermons
directed at his master. His voice is usually monotonous. To his master
his tone is blunt and sharp, with even a touch of rudeness. He is the
cleverer of the two and grasps a situation more quickly. But he does not
like to talk. He is a silent, uncommunicative rascal. He wears a shabby

gray or blue coat.
BOBCHINSKY AND DOBCHINSKY.--Short little fellows, strikingly
like each other. Both have small paunches, and talk rapidly, with
emphatic gestures of their hands, features and bodies. Dobchinsky is
slightly the taller and more subdued in manner. Bobchinsky is freer,
easier and livelier. They are both exceedingly inquisitive.
LIAPKIN-TIAPKIN.--He has read four or five books and so is a bit of
a freethinker. He is always seeing a hidden meaning in things and
therefore puts weight into every word he utters. The actor should
preserve an expression of importance throughout. He speaks in a bass
voice, with a prolonged rattle and wheeze in his throat, like an
old-fashioned clock, which buzzes before it strikes.
ZEMLIANIKA.--Very fat, slow and awkward; but for all that a sly,
cunning scoundrel. He is very obliging and officious.
SHPEKIN.--Guileless to the point of simplemindedness. The other
characters require no special explanation, as their originals can be met
almost anywhere.
The actors should pay especial attention to the last scene. The last word
uttered must strike all at once, suddenly, like an electric shock. The
whole group should change its position at the same instant. The ladies
must all burst into a simultaneous cry of astonishment, as if with one
throat. The neglect of these directions may ruin the whole effect.

THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL

ACT I
A Room in the Governor's House.

SCENE I
Anton Antonovich, the Governor, Artemy Filippovich, the
Superintendent of Charities, Luka Lukich, the Inspector of Schools,
Ammos Fiodorovich, the Judge, Stepan Ilyich, Christian Ivanovich, the
Doctor, and two Police Sergeants.
GOVERNOR. I have called you together, gentlemen,