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Act 4
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. The mayor and his wife celebrate their daughter’s engagement to Khlestakov, which they expect will also raise them to higher rank and status. The mayor believes he could even become a general. They imagine moving to St. Petersburg, mixing with aristocrats, and enjoying expensive luxuries.
As the mayor and Anna Andreyevna imagine how they’ll benefit from their daughter’s marriage, they reveal their selfishness and greed. They fantasize about holding prestigious titles and showing off to other people, which demonstrates their craving for external validation. Also, their excitement for material luxuries exemplifies their desire for self-indulgent pleasure-seeking. The mayor and his wife’s daydreams are ridiculous because they’re overambitious, but also because they’re based on the false belief that Khlestakov is a preeminent government inspector who actually intends to marry their daughter. Because they can’t see the truth, the mayor and his wife foolishly aspire to greatness, which they don’t deserve.
Themes
Scene 2. The shopkeepers present themselves to the mayor after being summoned by a constable. The mayor curses them and calls them double-dealing crooks for complaining to Khlestakov about him. The shopkeepers accept guilt and entreat the mayor not to ruin them. The mayor won’t bear a grudge but asks to be properly congratulated for his daughter’s marriage.
The mayor’s verbal abuse of the shopkeepers showcases how the mayor abuses his authority to insult and belittle other people. The mayor is an example of not only political corruption but also moral corruption. Moreover, when the mayor demands proper congratulations from the shopkeepers, he exposes his need to receive other people’s admiration so he can feel superior. He also means that he wants more extravagant bribes from them than he normally receives, which exemplifies his selfish greed for materialistic pleasure.
Themes
Scene 3. The judge, Warden of Charities, and a town citizen named Rastakovsky all congratulate the mayor’s good fortune. They kiss Anna Andreyevna’s and Marya Antonovna’s hands.
Once everyone believes the mayor’s daughter will soon marry Khlestakov—the purported high-ranking government inspector—town officials and citizens rush to flatter the mayor with gracious well wishes. Their congratulations fulfill the mayor’s desire for respect and admiration, even though the mayor hasn’t done anything himself to earn such positive recognition.
Themes
Scene 4. Three more citizens—Korobkin, Korobkin’s wife, and Lyulyukov—congratulate the mayor, Anna Andreyevna, and Marya Antonovna.
Town citizens seek to present themselves in a good light to the mayor by being courteous and friendly, since flattering the mayor will also enhance their own reputations for graciousness and respectability. In this way, they seek their own external validation from the mayor and his family.
Themes
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Scene 5. From a crowd of well-wishers, Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky push their way to the mayor and his family. Talking over each other, they offer their congratulations and wish Marya Antonovna a happy wedding, wealth, and a tiny baby boy.
As a whole host of townspeople congratulate the mayor and his family, the mayor gets his wish for other people’s approval and adoration, which increases his self-importance. The almost identical Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky function primarily as comical figures. Their bumbling speech, overly sentimental well wishes, and overall triviality contribute to the play’s comedy.
Themes
Scene 6. The Inspector of Schools starts to congratulate the mayor, but his wife interrupts him to congratulate Anna Andreyevna effusively.
When the Inspector of Schools comes to pay his respects to the mayor, he satisfies the mayor’s desire for outside approval and praise. He also tries to maintain a positive image for himself. However, the fact that he’s quickly interrupted by his loquacious wife further characterizes him as a nervous pushover. The humor of the Inspector of Schools being so timid emphasizes how ridiculous it is that he holds a position of authority as a town official.
Themes
Scene 7. The Chief of Police congratulates the mayor. Anna Andreyevna recounts Khlestakov’s proposal as gentlemanly and beautiful, and she recalls compliments he supposedly gave her. The mayor’s guests offer more well wishes to him; however, in asides, the Inspector of Schools, Warden of Charities, and the judge mock the mayor’s aspirations of living in St. Petersburg as a general. Still, they ask the mayor to do them favors once he rises in rank.
Even though she’s not the one engaged to Khlestakov, Anna Andreyevna seeks attention and praise for herself, demonstrating her pettiness, vanity, and selfishness. Also, by portraying Khlestakov as an exceedingly refined gentleman who admired her lavishly, Anna exposes her self-deception about Khlestakov’s identity. Meanwhile, the town officials reveal that their obsequious regard for the mayor is fake. In reality, they’re fully aware that the mayor’s stupidity and corruption make him undeserving of the greatness to which he aspires. However, the officials still flatter the mayor and greedily demand favors from him, which testifies to their own corruption.
Themes
Scene 8. The postmaster rushes in and declares that Khlestakov isn’t the government inspector at all. The postmaster has opened and read Khlestakov’s letter, fearing that Khlestakov might have reported him to the authorities. In doing so, the postmaster discovered that Khlestakov is a nobody. For proof, the postmaster reads aloud the letter, which exposes Khlestakov’s glee at being treated like royalty by fools, although each town official tries to stop the letter from being read when he hears an insult directed at him. Finally realizing their mistake, the distraught officials remember how much money they lost to Khlestakov.
Once again, the postmaster demonstrates his simple-mindedness, incompetence, and violation of duty. In this case, however, his corrupt ways help the town officials finally realize Khlestakov isn’t a government inspector. They only convinced themselves that he was, and all their efforts to win him over were in vain. The officials’ first impulse is to protect their own reputations from ridicule, which shows how self-centered and shallow they are. Concerned only with their images, the officials care more about appearing dignified in front of other people than about maintaining true dignity by fulfilling their duties properly. Moreover, the officials’ second impulse—to lament the money they’ve lost to Khlestakov—demonstrates their selfish greed.
Themes
The mayor berates himself for being a fool, feeling like the whole world will know he’s been duped. The mayor particularly dreads that a hack will put them all in a comedy. Furiously, the mayor exclaims, “What are you laughing at? You’re laughing at yourselves, that’s what!” Then the mayor reflects that Khlestakov never really seemed like a government inspector and demands to know who first claimed he was. The officials turn on Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky.
The mayor recognizes that he’s deceived himself and has his own folly and vices to blame for his embarrassment. However, the mayor still isn’t repentant for his crimes. Instead, he’s most upset that he’s being laughed at for his mistake. He craves external validation so much that he prioritizes looking good over being and doing good. By encouraging the audience to ridicule the foolish, corrupt mayor, the play satirizes people who try to preserve their positive images while shamelessly committing wrongdoings. At the same time, through the mayor, the play also holds a mirror to the audience, warning them that they might be just as foolish and corrupt as the characters on stage. In this way, the play critically references the flaws of 19th-century Russian society, including real political corruption and human greed, selfishness, and folly.
Themes
