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Intro
The Government Inspector is set in a remote, provincial Russian town in the 1830s. The town’s mayor assembles other local officials in his home and announces that an incognito government inspector from St. Petersburg is coming with “secret instructions” to investigate them. The mayor frantically warns the officials to hide evidence of their maladministration before the inspector arrives. The mayor, judge, Warden of Charities, Inspector of Schools, postmaster, and Chief of Police are all guilty of neglecting their duties and abusing their power, so they’re desperate not to get caught.
The landowners Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky rush in with dreadful news. Earlier, at the inn, they saw a young government official from St. Petersburg named Khlestakov. They claim that Khlestakov must be the inspector. Having learned that Khlestakov has already been in town for two weeks, the panicked mayor hastily sends the officials away to clean up the town. Then the mayor prepares to meet Khlestakov at the inn, bringing his scratched sword with him and anxiously praying that he won’t be in trouble for his sins.
In reality, Khlestakov is not the government inspector. He is only a minor clerk. He and his servant Osip have been stuck at the inn in town because Khlestakov gambled his money away while traveling from St. Petersburg to a different province. Having no money for food, Khlestakov and Osip are famished, although Khlestakov manages to beg for a meager lunch from the innkeeper. When the mayor arrives at the inn, Khlestakov fears he’s being sent to jail for not paying his bill. But the mayor is just as afraid of Khlestakov, since he believes Khlestakov is the government inspector. Therefore, to win Khlestakov’s favor, the mayor slips him extra money and offers Khlestakov a room in his own house. Pleased with this unexpected fortune, Khlestakov relaxes and accepts the mayor’s hospitality.
Later, Khlestakov and the town officials return to the mayor’s house from a tour of the town’s institutions and a delicious lunch at the charity hospital. Khlestakov drunkenly boasts about his luxurious life and high status with increasing exaggeration, until he thoroughly terrifies the officials.
The next day, each town official presents himself formally to Khlestakov. Khlestakov takes advantage of their eagerness to please him and asks for loans from all of them. Only after these interviews does Khlestakov realize that the officials have mistaken him for some other important figure. Khlestakov laughs at them and writes a letter to his friend in St. Petersburg recounting the officials’ foolishness. Then, according to Osip’s advice, Khlestakov makes plans to leave. As he does so, shopkeepers and other townspeople gather to present petitions to Khlestakov. He listens to their complaints about the mayor’s many misdeeds and promises vaguely to help them, but soon he grows tired of listening to them and sends the rest away.
Khlestakov meets Marya Antonovna, the mayor’s daughter, while she’s alone and flirts with her. When her mother Anna Andreyevna walks in, Khlestakov suddenly proclaims his love to Anna instead. Then he switches back to declaring undying love for Marya. The mayor and his wife give their blessings for the couple’s union, and Khlestakov becomes betrothed to Marya. At that moment, Osip informs Khlestakov that his carriage is ready, and Khlestakov departs with a promise to return tomorrow.
The mayor and his wife smugly celebrate their daughter’s engagement to Khlestakov. They fantasize about living in St. Petersburg and rising in status, and they enjoy everyone’s congratulations on their extraordinary good fortune. However, their happiness is interrupted by the postmaster’s entrance. In front of all the mayor’s guests, the postmaster reveals the devastating contents of Khlestakov’s letter. The officials discover that Khlestakov was never the government inspector at all and that they’ve duped themselves. The mayor curses his own stupidity and delivers a tirade about being turned into the world’s laughingstock.
Suddenly, a gendarme enters and announces that the real government inspector has arrived and demands the officials’ presence at the inn. In shock, everyone freezes into a silent tableau.
