Previous
Act 2
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Government Inspector, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Corruption and Bureaucracy
Greed, Selfishness, and Pleasure
External Validation
Self-Deception
Summary
Analysis
Scene 1. In the mayor’s house, Anna Andreyevna and Marya Antonovna await news about the government inspector. As her mother endlessly criticizes her, Marya notices Dobchinsky approaching the house. When Anna finally accepts that her daughter’s observation is correct, she futilely tries to question Dobchinsky from the window.
Anna Andreyevna’s eagerness to hear about the supposed government inspector exemplifies how quickly town residents believe Khlestakov is the inspector based on hearsay. As Anna demands impatiently to know everything about Khlestakov, she reveals her self-centeredness. She must always be at the center of excitement. She also haughtily refuses to admit when she’s wrong. That Anna hates to be corrected yet makes obvious mistakes makes her seem more ridiculous.
Themes
Scene 2. Dobchinsky gives Anna Andreyevna the note from the mayor, and she asks what kind of man the government inspector is. Dobchinsky says Khlestakov is as good as a general—cultured, dignified, and intimidating. After inquiring about the inspector’s age and looks, Anna reads the mayor’s note. At first, she’s bewildered by her husband’s words, which are interrupted by the text of Khlestakov’s dining bill. But she makes sense of it and instructs the mayor’s servant Mishka to prepare for Khlestakov’s stay.
Dobchinsky’s description of Khlestakov is evidence of his self-deception. Dobchinsky views Khlestakov as impressive and frightening only because he’s already assumed that Khlestakov is the government inspector. Instead of seeing Khlestakov for who he really is, Dobchinsky perceives him according to his inaccurate, preconceived notions. Then Dobchinsky shares his misunderstanding of Khlestakov with Anna Andreyevna and Marya Antonovna, causing them to form their own mistaken assumptions about Khlestakov. Anna’s view of Khlestakov is particularly shallow, as she only cares if he’s high-ranking and handsome.
Themes
Scene 3. Anna Andreyevna and Marya Antonovna debate about what to wear to impress the inspector. Anna compares herself to the Queen of Clubs, but Marya says she’s more like the Queen of Hearts.
When Anna Andreyevna insists on impressing Khlestakov with her appearance, she reveals her need for praise and admiration from other people. Her desire for approval from Khlestakov in particular stems from her belief that Khlestakov is an important person whose attention is especially valuable. Anna wants to associate herself with powerful people. However, Khlestakov isn’t actually a government inspector, as she thinks he is. Anna’s allusion to the Queen of Clubs also demonstrates her vanity and self-centeredness. In the card game solitaire, the Queen of Clubs was thought to predict a woman’s marriage. Therefore, when Anna likens herself to the Queen of Clubs, she gloats about her own desirability.
Themes
Scene 4. Osip brings Khlestakov’s luggage into the mayor’s house, and Mishka asks him about his master. Osip answers that Khlestakov is “a general, but bottom side up,” which, he says, is more than a real general. Osip asks for some food, then he and Mishka carry Khlestakov’s suitcase into his room.
When Osip calls Khlestakov “a general, but bottom side up,” he means that Khlestakov isn’t a general at all. In fact, Khlestakov is the opposite of a general: a civil servant of the lowest rank. When Osip jokes further that Khlestakov is more than a real general, he implies that real generals aren’t worth their titles. This suggests that—at least from Osip’s perspective—high-ranking government officials don’t deserve the prestige their social status carries. Here, Osip also mocks Khlestakov’s tendency to show off and act superior as if he’s more important than a real general.
Themes
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Scene 5. Khlestakov arrives at the mayor’s house, pleased by the local officials’ hospitality and the delicious lunch he ate at the charity hospital. The Warden of Charities brags about the hospital’s management, and the mayor boasts about his demanding duties and humble diligence. When Khlestakov asks if the town has any playing-card societies, the mayor exaggeratedly denies any interest in cards. In an aside, the judge reveals that the mayor won money in a card game against him just last night.
Khlestakov’s fixation on food emphasizes that his priority is pursuing pleasure. Likewise, the food from the charity hospital lunch symbolizes Khlestakov’s self-indulgent pleasure seeking. The food also represents the town officials’ selfishness and greed, especially as the officials get to enjoy the delicious lunch for their own benefit in the same place where hospital patients suffer as a result of the officials’ dereliction of duty. Preoccupied with his own pleasure, Khlestakov doesn’t notice the obvious signs of the officials’ corruption, that he’s being bribed, or that he’s been mistaken as a government inspector. He simply seeks more pleasure. Meanwhile, the judge exposes more of the mayor’s lies, corruption, and avarice through his jealousy.
Themes
Scene 6. The mayor introduces his wife and daughter to Khlestakov, who compliments and flatters Anna Andreyevna. Khlestakov begins overstating his importance in the civil service. He says he was once mistaken for the Commander-in-Chief. He also says he’s a brilliant author and gives extravagant balls in St. Petersburg. He claims he was once begged to take charge of a whole government department, and that he visits the imperial palace every day. Terrified, the mayor suggests that Khlestakov rest in his room.
Khlestakov continues to take advantage of the officials’ eagerness to please him. For his own frivolous enjoyment, he flirts with the mayor’s wife and boasts about the fictitious, grandiose life he lives. Importantly, Khlestakov isn’t trying intentionally to frighten and deceive the officials into believing how powerful he is as a government inspector. Instead, his fundamental desires for pleasure and external validation lead him to exaggerate his social status simply for the officials’ attention and admiration. However, the officials have already convinced themselves that Khlestakov is the inspector, so his ridiculous claims seem like terrifying threats to them. They fear they may be in trouble with much higher-ranking authorities than they initially thought.
Themes
Scene 7. Bobchinsky declares he almost died of fright in Khlestakov’s presence. Bobchinsky thinks Khlestakov’s rank must be even higher than general. Nervously, the Warden of Charities hopes that Khlestakov won’t write any reports to St. Petersburg.
The town officials continue to deceive themselves into thinking Khlestakov is an intimidating, powerful, high-ranking government inspector based on the assumptions they’ve already made about him. Their enduring mistake about Khlestakov’s identity reflects their comic foolishness. Additionally, the officials’ fear indicates how guilty of corruption they are. They wouldn’t be so afraid of Khlestakov if they weren’t trying to conceal so many of their misdeeds from him.
Themes
Scene 8. Anna Andreyevna and Marya Antonovna gush over Khlestakov’s charm and argue which one of them Khlestakov looked at the most.
Anna Andreyevna and Marya Antonovna’s captivation with Khlestakov is not only superficial and self-centered—it’s also disproportionate, considering that Khlestakov isn’t actually the high-status, dignified personage they believe he is. Also, Anna’s bickering with Marya demonstrates that Anna is willing to be rude and competitive against her own daughter in order to be the sole center of attention. This emphasizes Anna’s strong desire for external validation.
Themes
Scene 9. The mayor hushes everyone so they don’t disturb Khlestakov. The mayor admits Khlestakov was very drunk and must have embellished some of his stories, but the mayor doesn’t know what’s true anymore. He says, “The whole world’s gone topsy-turvy,” because it seems that Khlestakov may be a far more important person than he initially appeared.
As he convinces himself to believe in and fear Khlestakov’s identity as the government inspector, the mayor distances himself further from reality. He worries he can no longer separate truth from fiction and feels as if the world itself has become distorted. The mayor’s reaction suggests how powerfully disorienting self-deception can be.
Themes
Scene 10. Interrupting each other, Anna Andreyevna and the mayor question Osip about Khlestakov’s rank and personality. Osip answers vaguely so he doesn’t contradict their impression of Khlestakov as a very important person. When the mayor asks what Khlestakov enjoys most while traveling, Osip says Khlestakov appreciates hospitality and good food. The mayor gives Osip money and in annoyance sends his wife and daughter away.
The mayor’s efforts to find out more about Khlestakov through bribery exemplifies how underhanded the corrupt mayor’s dealings often are. That Osip accepts the mayor’s bribes shows that Osip isn’t much more scrupulous about how he fulfills his desires for comfort and ease than Khlestakov or the town officials. Also, for his own pleasure and convenience, Osip allows the mayor and Anna Andreyevna to believe what they’ve already persuaded themselves is true about Khlestakov. Even so, Osip is more honest than deceptive. He’s truthful about Khlestakov’s personality and love of food, for instance, indirectly hinting at Khlestakov’s desire for pleasure above all else.
Themes
Scene 11. Two constables arrive at the mayor’s house. The mayor commands them to guard the front door and turn away any petitioners by force.
The mayor’s readiness to use violence against townspeople provides another clear example of how the mayor wrongfully abuses his power and harms the citizens he governs. Furthermore, by trying to prevent townspeople from reporting his misdeeds to Khlestakov, the mayor reveals his desperation to hide his corruption in order to protect himself. The mayor is not only corrupt but also cowardly and selfish. The play criticizes corrupt government officials through the example of the morally reprehensible mayor.
Themes
