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Act 5
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
Last Scene. A gendarme announces that the real government inspector has arrived and demands the officials’ presence immediately. Everyone freezes, struck intensely by these words.
The arrival of the real government inspector implies that the town officials won’t get away with their corruption. Despite all their ridiculous efforts to conceal and preserve their crooked ways, the officials will likely get caught, as they deserve. Thus, the play ultimately condemns its immoral characters and their crimes. The officials’ stupefied reactions to their ensnarement comedically showcase their foolishness and guilt.
Themes
Mute Scene. The entire, speechless group is transfixed like statues in various positions. In the center, the mayor stands with his arms outstretched and his head thrown back. His wife and daughter reach out for him. The postmaster is “transformed into a question mark,” the Inspector of Schools appears bewildered, and the Warden of Charities tilts his head as if to listen to something. The judge crouches and seems about to whistle or speak. Korobkin winks at the audience and “directs contemptuous looks” toward the mayor. Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky reach for each other with wide eyes and gaping mouths.
The characters on stage create a tableau vivant, or a “living picture,” by forming a silent and static scene. In this tableau, many of the characters’ poses and expressions are ambiguous. However, the range of emotions on display is telling. The mayor seems to despair, which reflects his new awareness of his guilt and folly. The postmaster and Inspector of Schools especially seem shocked and confused, which emphasizes their lack of intelligence: they still don’t understand their situation. Meanwhile, Korobkin silently bids the audience to deride and scorn the mayor, signaling that this response to the play’s corrupt characters is appropriate. The concluding scene of The Government Inspector reinforces the play’s satirical nature by encouraging the audience to laugh at and condemn the targets of its criticism.
Themes
