Pavel Afanasevich Famusov is one of the key and brightest characters in the comedy “Woe from Wit”. If you analyze his name, it comes from fama, which is translated from Latin as "public opinion, rumor." The quotation characteristic of Famusov speaks of him as a person who has priority in ranks and money. All comedy actions take place in Famusov’s house, and therefore in the plot the house is of very great importance.
Quotation characteristic of Famusov
All events will unfold very early at dawn, when the day dawns a little, and end when the last lamp goes out. It is from that very moment when the battle of the ancient clock disrupts the earlier sleepy morning, old Famusov will be involved at first in the events of comic rallies, but gradually all this will develop into a drama.
The image of the owner of the house has a dual character. In the first part of the work, he is placed in an absurd position of the intrigues of youth, which he cannot follow and understand in any way. First, Sophia fools his head with some lovers born in poverty, and then Chatsky frightens him with his free-thinking - “carbonaries”. And further from everything he saw and heard, he himself begins to wait for something like “robbery and fire”, and therefore he will try his best to save his daughter and guests from Chatsky, whom he calls “the mad Volterian.”
Quotation characteristic of Famusov and Chatsky
Famusov is a vivid representative of the old and inveterate Moscow nobility. The quotation characteristic of Famusov indicates that he is still that "tough nut". His beliefs and views are unshakable, as they represent the experience of their ancestors and were passed down from generation to generation. He absolutely does not listen to other people's thoughts and arguments, and therefore Griboedov deliberately makes him deaf. In a conversation with Chatsky, he often expresses: "I do not listen"; “Under trial! Under trial!” His negative attitude towards Chatsky is completely opposite to treating Skalozub, in which he shows his interest as a potential bridegroom for Sophia. Famusov’s attitude to Skalozub determines his equal attitude to family life and service , because everything is equally built on profit. Chatsky about Skalozub speaks with the words: "He has a passion for uniform."
Conflict
Famusov of Chatsky says that he is an “enemy of searches”, who does not require “neither a place nor a promotion”, he is engaged in one science. Famusov’s quoted characteristic suggests that he will never allow such a person to be “introduced into his family”, for him he is the face of anti-state views, which means that such people must be feared so as not to incur trouble. For Famusov, such things require eradication, that is, a person who violates the general principles must be isolated or imprisoned in the framework of generally accepted assessments and opinions, thus preventing him from thinking in his own way and, moreover, expressing his opinion to a decent public.
For Famusov, the worst thing is that Chatsky thinks a lot, and he also has the habit of having his own judgment in everything, which he freely expresses. Famusov says about him: “What says! And he speaks as he writes! ” The landowner understands that the ability to think and speak in this way is brought up through books, and therefore Famusov expresses himself indignantly about education: "If evil was stopped, all books should be burned."
The end of the play
Famusov calls Chatsky’s free thinking “a plague and a contagious disease,” he considers his generation to be thoughtless, from which it is necessary to protect the family and the state. Mistakenly thinking that Sophia was having an affair with Chatsky, Famusov decided to announce him crazy: “I will announce to the whole people”; "I will submit to the Senate the ministers, the sovereign."
This is precisely the whole quotation characteristic of Famusov. “Woe from Wit” shows a very vivid and picturesque image with typical aristocratic thoughts and habits of his time.
In conclusion, it is certainly worth noting that this image was played on stage by many famous actors of the Russian scene, among them even K. S. Stanislavsky himself.