Greed, Selfishness, and Pleasure Theme Analysis

In The Government Inspector, Khlestakov and the town officials prioritize their own pleasure over everything else. On one hand, Khlestakov’s pleasure-seeking causes him to neglect his duties, avoid responsibility, and be a wholly ineffectual civil servant. Instead of working, Khlestakov plays card games and gambles his money away. He can’t resist good food, cigars, and women. He even states that the main purpose of life is to “pluck the blossoms of pleasure.” In other words, Khlestakov is preoccupied with his own ease and pleasure, which leads him to do his job as a government official poorly. On the other hand, the town officials are especially guilty of greedily fulfilling their selfish desires at the expense of other people—namely, the townspeople they are supposed to govern properly. For instance, the postmaster reads people’s private letters, because he’s curious and enjoys the stories in them. The judge takes bribes so he can fund his hobby of raising hunting dogs. And the mayor takes anything that catches his eye—valuable or not—from shops without compensating the shopkeepers. The local officials’ selfish greediness is the source of the town’s corruption and clearly marks them as morally reprehensible authority figures. Moreover, the play encourages the audience to laugh at the officials’ desperate attempts to preserve their selfish ways without getting caught by the government inspector. Their efforts comically backfire on them, and by the end of the play they’re still beholden to the real government inspector, which suggests that the officials cannot—and should not—get away with their crimes of greed. Through the examples of Khlestakov and the town officials, The Government Inspector satirizes greed, selfishness, and pleasure-seeking, suggesting that while such traits are universal among humans, they are perhaps best exemplified by government officials.