Warden of Charities Character Analysis

Artemy Filippovich Zemlyanika is the Warden of Charities. He’s rotund and clumsy, yet crafty, unscrupulous, and servile. The Warden of Charities runs the charity hospital, but he severely neglects his duties. He chooses not to treat patients with medicine and manages the hospital very poorly. He feels little guilt about his misconduct; he only dreads getting caught by the government inspector. To win over Khlestakov, who he believes is the inspector, the Warden of Charities serves Khlestakov a delicious lunch at the charity hospital, while he doesn’t even provide hospital patients with proper meals. This demonstrates the Warden of Charities’ eagerness to protect himself from being reported to the authorities, as well as his indifference to his responsibilities. To further win Khlestakov’s favor, the Warden of Charities proposes that each town official should meet with Khlestakov individually. When it’s his turn to present himself to Khlestakov, the Warden of Charities double-crosses his fellow officials by exposing their many crimes. He also ridicules the mayor behind his back on more than one occasion. At the end of the play, the Warden of Charities is shocked that Khlestakov wasn’t the government inspector and blames the devil’s influence for the officials’ mistake.