Горе от ума

Russian Library

by Alexander Griboyedov, Александр Сергеевич Грибоедов

«Горе от ума» — комедия в стихах А. С. Грибоедова — произведение, сделавшее своего создателя классиком русской литературы. Она сочетает в себе элементы классицизма и новых для начала XIX века романтизма и реализма.

Комедия «Горе от ума» — сатира на аристократическое московское общество первой половины XIX века — одна из вершин русской драматургии и поэзии; фактически завершила «комедию в стихах» как жанр. Афористический стиль способствовал тому, что она «разошлась на цитаты».

Электронное издание «Горе от ума» от Animedia Company иллюстрировано рисунками М. Башилова, П. Бореля, В.И. Гау, Г. Гревендона, В. Караколпаковой, П. Соколова, К. Сомова, а также содержит критический этюд И. А.

Genres: Classics, Russia, Fiction, Russian Literature, Plays, Poetry, Drama

207 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1825

About the author

Russian: Александр Сергеевич Грибоедов
Russian diplomat, playwright, poet, and composer. He is recognized as homo unius libri, a writer of one book, whose fame rests on the verse comedy Woe from Wit or The Woes of Wit. He was Russia's ambassador to Qajar Persia, where he and all the embassy staff were massacred by an angry mob following the rampant anti-Russian sentiment that existed through the Treaty of Gulistan of 1813 and Treaty of Turkmenchay of 1828, and had forcefully ratified for Persia's ceding of its northern territories comprising Transcaucasia and parts of the North Caucasus.

Reviews

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early 19th Century Russia. Estate life of Moscow's nobility was changing. Chatsky represented a new generation of nobles. His estate was run with the assistance of over three hundred serfs. He was "seized by wanderlust, and- off he goes...seeking greener pastures...And then...He deigns to reappear...". Three years have passed. He determined that "It's good to travel to a distant land...-or live on one's estate, with work its own reward, not kowtowing to the powers that be." Chatsky can't wait to see Sophie, the girl he loves. Growing up they were inseparable. He was in for a rude awakening.

Famusov, Sophie's father, was hosting a high society ball on the night of Chatsky's unannounced arrival. Chatsky observed the so-called moral and ethical behavior of Famusov's elite guests. Literary life replete with "delight, curiosity and enthusiasm" was painfully absent at this salon. "...anyone who has "five or six thoughts in his head" has no place in this society...People waltz, play cards...frivolity personified." Liza, (Sophie's maid) tells Sophie, "Like all gentlemen hereabouts, your father's set his sights on decorations and high rank...".

Chatsky noticed that "old prejudices linger". His outspokenness was misunderstood. He would not "practice civility...And join the civil service...". He said, "Service, not servility...Trample those beneath whom you despise, Flatter those above you adulate-an age of servile urges...". "But listen! in uniform, or a civilian who's a more delightful and amusing man than Alexander Chatsky?...He had a sharp, inventive wit...".

"Woe from Wit: A Verse Comedy in Four Acts" by Aleksandr Griboyedov and translated by Betsy Hulick, was written in the 1820's in the period between the War of 1812 against Napoleon and the Decembrist Revolt of 1825. The four act satirical play was heavily censored during the author's lifetime. This reader lacked familiarity with the Russian language and was unable to experience the colloquialisms and oft quoted Russian proverbs. The masterful introduction by Angela Brintlinger was thoroughly researched and most informative. I highly recommend this tome.

Thank you Columbia University Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Woe from Wit".

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just found my copy from decades ago, ed D.P. Costello (Prideaux Press), so I shall add passages soon. This great play--not a novel-- was written by a writer appointed an ambassador like so many 19C literary men (think of Hawthorne in England), an ambassador who dies when the Iranians over-ran his embassy. The Cossacks defended for an hour or more, but were outnumbered; then the Persians climbed on the roof, removed the tiles, and overwhelmed the embassy with stones, Griboyyedev's being the last room taken. He was killed and dragged through the streets, disfigured. Why didn't Americans before Carter know this Iranian penchant? They actually treated the US embassy much better. (Iranians don't like foreign empires--the Russian one in 1829, and the American one a century and a half later.)

But this play is about "furreners," namely German influence on Russia. The central character Chatsky returns from Europe to Czarist Russia highly developed by his European so-journ (shades of the young Bill Clinton) but instead of his fellow Russians electing him Prez, he's highly suspected. The mutual suspicion on both sides is hilarious, worthy of Austen, almost Griboyedev's contemporary. Chatsky is rejected by Czarist society because he is always laughing, an amusement bred in Germany and Europe generally (think of Byron), whereas in Russia men laugh at each other, behind their backs: therefore they suspect anyone who laughs openly. Only Repetilov defends Chatsky when Zagoretsky relays the general opinion that Chatsky's mind has been damaged by his foreign residence: Nonsense! Чепуха!

The great Pushkin , writing on first hearing the play in 1825, wrote, "Half the lines are bound to become proverbs." One that sounds proverbial, Chatsky's host Famusov to an officer rival for his daughter's hand, "кладите шляпу, сденьте шпагу", Take off your sword, put on your hat. May have already been a proverb! (II.4, p.40)
"Woe from Mind [or Smarts or Wit]" was only published posthumously, in 1833. Griboyedev had been an excellent student in five languages, probably destined to be a scholar, but Napoleon's invasion changed his life; he joined the military under a relative, and eventually served in recruitment of cavalry. But he had a practical side which served him well (too well) becoming an ambassador.
Griboyedov died young, only 35. Russian literature and government both lost. And America gained a precedent that it refuses to acknowledge. Why would any country hate foreign empires on its soil? (Hmmm--seems to me North Americans didn't appreciate the British Empire in the 1770s.)

[Frankie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many Russian writers – Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Lermontov – refer to characters from Woe from Wit, especially Chatsky. I've always been curious to have at least a basic knowledge of this character, though I realize that Russian stage banter doesn't translate well. I found an English version online here, but a very stilted one that attempts to match the meter and rhyme. Tough translations like this should keep to prose for a more accurate, albeit less fanciful version. I learned this lesson from Eugene Onegin. I finally dug up this 1914 British edition The Misfortune of Being Clever. Much of the original sarcasm is lost, and the style is typically Victorian and theatrical. It reads as if Griboyedov were Shakespeare, and while he is a sort of Muscovite version of Shakespeare, the comparison doesn't do him justice.

Chatsky is truly fascinating because it's impossible for the reader/theater-goer to decide about him. Is he a fool or not? It could go either way. My favorite thing about the play is that no one character is a "straight man." Everyone, including Chatsky, is an exaggeration of personality. The best example of this is Repetilov, who doesn't merely follow people who seem wise to him, he goes about endorsing them based on his lack of understanding.

My favorite scene is Act III, Scene 7. The Tugoukhovsky girls hear of Chatsky as an available bachelor, and send their father across the room to invite him to their house. When they're told that Chatsky's not wealthy, they quickly call their father back.

I'm really glad to have finally read this. I understand much better now the reference to Chatsky as a character type. He's the first realistic model of the 19th century young man full of misguided angst. Together the characters Famusov and Chatsky represent the generation gap that Turgenev and Dostoevsky would write about half a century later. Even into the 20th century, Proust and Flaubert often referenced these characters.

Here's a lovely video of Act III Scene 3. http://youtu.be/OYxxcSBxRtM

[TarasProkopyuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

В этом небольшом произведении Грибоедов преподнёс на суд читателя извечные пороки человечества.

В комедии описано чрезмерное тяготение ко всему новому, притворство, торжество глупости над умом, льстивое подражание и услужливость, хитрость, любовь и разочарование, а также многие другие недостатки людей.

Книга стоит того чтоб её прочитать и ещё не раз возвращаться к ней.

Не могу сказать, что сюжет и стиль изложения автора очень мне понравился, но с уверенностью могу сказать, что проблемы, которые автор показал в своей книге очень уж актуальные для большинства людей.

[Caroline]

Amusing. Interesting on three counts:

1. According to the introduction, you can trace a significant share of Pushkin's Eugene Oregin character to Griboyedov's protagonist Alexander Chatsky. The same careless, witty, sardonic, worldly dismissive, sometimes sneering attitude.

2. Griboyedov hung out with people who were involved in the Decembrist movement, and was briefly questioned himself. Potentially as a result, he was dispatched to diplomatic missions in the Balkans and Iran, returning only rarely to Russia before he was killed in an attack on the Russian embassy in Iran before he was forty years old. This play shows both the type of man who was restless under the old system, and how corrupt, hypocritical and stultified it was.

3. It is the source of many commonly used aphorisms and phrases still current in Russian today.

A fourth, if you speak Russian, it was a relatively early literary work in a modern, more flexible and lively Russian language that was emerging.

[Flo]

May 26, 14
Dear diary,

Did I say "resignation"?
I won't rate this book nor review it. It wouldn't be fair to Griboyedov's work. All I can say is this: I will never forget the excruciating pain this Spanish translation caused me. I will never forgive.
I hope I find, someday, a proper English edition to fully appreciate the potential that I know this play has. One without missing or blurred pages. As much as I enjoy mystery, if I want it, I can always read some Agatha Christie book. I'd like to read the whole play, if that's possible.


*


May 9, 14
I found it! "El mal de la razón". I hope the translation isn't too literal that it seems I'm reading something from the Google Translator.

[Czarny Pies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of all the western diplomats killed in Teheran, none has achieved more lasting fame than Aleksandr Griboyedov whose tragic death in 1829 at the hands of a crowd of irate fundamentalists put an end to what might have been a great literary career. Woe from Wit his one surviving work is a sad reminder of what might have been.
Woe from Wit is fabulous satirical comedy about Russian high society that should raise many smiles as it successfully mocks hypocrisy, greed, and pretention with a brio comparable to that of Molière. The play was banned by the Imperial censor possibly because some of the characters seemed to be modelled on real individuals in position of power. The more likely reason for the ban was that Griboyedov was known to have frequented the Decembrists which made the censor uneasy with an otherwise politically anodyne text.
The fact that his play had been censored did not prevent the Czar from naming him Ambassador to Persia 18 months later which proved to have more serious consequences than the ban on the publication and performance on his play.
The one problem is that to fully enjoy Woe from Wit, one needs to be reasonably well-versed in the history and politics of Imperial Russia. If for example you do not know who the Decembrists were, there is a strong chance that much of this play will go over your head. This work is clearly for someone who has already read several works by Tolstoy, Chekov, Dostoevsky and Pushkin as well as a solid survey history of nineteenth century Russia.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming satirical play in verse written by a revered early 19th C Russian diplomat, poet, composer and ultimately, martyr, since he was killed by a mob while serving as Ambassador to Iran (then Persia) with his corpse subsequently savagely mistreated, etc. He must have been a man of great social insight, judging from the mercilessly stinging critique of the Russian upper classes that "Woe from Wit" actually completely consists of.

The plot is more like a device, an excuse for one satirical portrait of a parade of ridiculous, pompous, or foolish upper class figures. The one character - Chatsky - who has some insight into their stupidity and shallowness, is eventually branded as mad by the small-minded and vapid circle. This doesn't really phase Chatsky though as he was only passing through Moscow anyway.

The play takes place over the course of a day at the house of Mr. Famusov - various characters, one more silly and superficial than the next, wander in and out of the play, some seeking to become Sophia's, Famusov's daughter's, fiancee. In the end, but too late, Sophia realizes that the man she had earlier rejected, Chatsky, in favor of her father's secretary Molchalin - who was only using her, probably would have been the best match.

The English language rhymed verse translation must have been written several decades ago since it seems creaky - and contains many outdated words, but that may be suitable for the play, since it was originally written by Griboyedov early in the 19th C (and of course immediately banned in Russia). Anyway, it was fun looking up the unfamiliar, "antique" words!

Unfortunately, Russia seems fated to fail socially - prior to the Revolution, great writers wrote about the problems of income & social inequality. There was then the Revolution and I suppose the hope that everything would immediately change. Everything certainly did change and at least on paper there was more equality, there was free education, health care, cheap housing. However, society under communism was stultifying - and the regime used terror to stay in power. This was not what the masses had bargained for when they overthrew the monarchy. The country became authoritarian again.. and even under capitalism, post the overthrow of communism, it is once again basically authoritarian, despite the trappings of democracy. Maybe Russians don't care enough to ensure that they will have a say etc., and so let strong men take over, repeatedly. Maybe it's passivity or being apolitical or cynical. The complaints about monarchy/aristocracy and communism were real enough - this play is yet another barb directed toward the "bored" "small-minded" aristocracy. But why does Russia slide back into authoritarianism even when given the opportunity to enjoy democracy?

Anyway, here are the quotes:

From the Introduction by Semyon Ekshtut:

"The social status of a literary scholar in Russian at that time [the early 19th C] was extremely low and [Griboyedov's] ... authoritative mother kept reminding him of the need to think about his prestige."

"[General Alexander] Yermolov, a hero of the French war of 1812, sought total subjugation of the Caucasian nations, telling the rebellious Chechens: "It's either submissiveness or else face dreadful extermination!""

"The play's characters showcase all the negative traits of the era: servility, submissiveness, closed-mindedness and poor education."

"...all the talent in the world could not get the play published or staged. ... meanwhile, his play spread throughout Russia in hundreds of manuscript and handwritten copies. [Although completed in 1824] The full text was published only in 1862, one year after the abolition of serfdom in Russia."

"[Griboyedov] ... was well aware of the abyss separating this group of highly-educated intellectuals and their noble theories [the Decembrists] from the huge mass of uneducated peasants. His experience in Persia and the Caucasus taught him well that the world was dominated by a crude despotism, while wit, intellect and justice held little relevance for the passive majority of the population."

"On May 16, 1828, Griboyedov attended Pushkin's reading of his famous poem, 'Boris Godunov.' He came away dreaming of embracing his literary career. "My head is full of plans," he wrote to his friend Begichev. 'I feel an inner imperative to write.""

"Griboyedov arrived in Tehran in early 1829. ... On January 30 (old style) a crowd of thousands, at the instigation of religious fanatics, stormed the Russian embassy."

"Persian rulers were scared by the blood spilled at the embassy and feared Russian military retaliation. But the Russian tsar was also scared. He needed quiet on the Persian front in order to succeed in his war against the Turks."

"'Woe from Wit' was first staged publicly in a Russian theater a few years after [the playwright's] ... death. Today, 170 years later, Griboyedov's singular masterpiece remains one of the most popular plays in the Russian repertoire. Most every famous Russian actor in the past century has acted one of the play's major roles. Partly thanks to the appeasement in Russian-Persian relations following Griboyedov's tragic death, Russia won the war of 1828-1829 against Turkey, securing the Eastern coast of the Back Sea (a region which today includes the famous resort town of Sochi)."

"Throughout the nineteenth century, Russia maintained significant influence in Persia. In 1907, as "The Great Game," between Russia and Britain came to a close, the two countries divided Persia into two spheres of influence. But, by the late 1930s, Germany began to infiltrate and influence Persia (the country's name changed to Iran in 1935). Then, in August 1941, Soviet Russia and Britain introduced troops into Iran in order to neutralize Nazi influence. Not only did this protect Russia's southern flank during the war, but the land bridge through Iran served as the second largest pipeline for Allied aid to Russia during the war."

Quotes from the play:

"[Sophia:] Broad day! How sad! How quick the nights are gone."

"[Sophia:] Who notes, in happiness, how time is flying."

"[Liza, Sophia's maid]: It's not the doing wrong, it's what they say that matters."

"[Chatsky:] Now tell me, what can Moscow show me new?
A ball last night, tomorrow there'll be two.
One's had good luck, another's met reverses,
The same old talk! The same old album verses.

Translator's note: It was common to have a personal album, in which friends would write inscriptions."

"[Chatsky:] Yes, now we breathe more free;
We don't all hurry off to join the clown's brigade."

"[Chatsky:] If three whole years away you roam,
Don't count on love when you come home."

"[Chatsky:] New streets, but prejudices old as ever."

"[Chatsky:] Who are our judges? Obsolete as owls,
At all that's free in life they raise their senseless howls.
From fly-worn newspapers thy get their last idea,
The Siege of '88, the Conquest of Crimea;
They always sing the same old song..."

"[Chatsky:] Why, surely, it is these, enriched with plunder,
who've dodged the law court through their friends and their relations,
And build a splendid house, a very nine days' wonder,
In which they overflow in feasts and dissipations;
Where foreign parasites could never quite adopt
Of that dear age that's gone, the worst extravagances!

[Translator's Note:] Here Chatsky is alluding to French citizens living in the homes of rich Russians. Among their number were many political reactionaries who fled their homeland during the French Revolution."

"[Chatsky:] These are our judges stern, the censors of our ways!
And now the moment one of us,
Of us young folks, is found these low maneuvers spurning,
No claimant bold for place, of rank not covetous,
Who plunges in his books a mind that thirsts for learning,
If God's own grace in him has kindled the desire
For high creative arts, and all that's fair and true,
They all start shouting: Robbers! Fire!"

"[Molchalin:] Alas! Malicious tongue are worse than pistol shot!"

"[Zagoretsky:] ...Oh, fables I can't stand!
Its everlasting jokes at eagles and at lions.
Say what you will:
Although they're animals, they're sovereigns still."

"[Chatsky:] ...as for me, I find our North is ten times worse,
Since everything was changed for all that's its reverse,
Our manners and our tongue and all we once revered,
Our gracious flowing robes for something new and weird,
A veritable clown's costume..."

"[Chatsky:] What did I hope? What did I think to find?
These home - comings, how stale! Not one true friend in all!"

"[Repetilov:] With dirty hands all round, no doubt,
But tell me where to find the man who's clean, and clever?"

"[Skalozub:] ...Don't think that me you'll fuddle with your learning."

"[Chatsky, to Sophia:] Quick! Fall into a faint! Just now it's quite in season."

"[Chatsky:] ... I'm proud to think with you [Molchalin] I've done!
And you, good Sir, Papa, who worship decorations,
A happy ignorant, I'll leave you drowsing on."

"[Chatsky:] Of friends in friendship false, unflagging in their hatred,
Tale-mongers not to be placated;
The silly would - be wit, the crooked simpleton,
Old maids, malicious every one,
And old men babbling out some folly or some fad --
No wonder, all the gang proclaimed that I was mad.
You're very right! That man could pass through fire unscathed
Who had spent a live-long day with you
And in the self same air had bathed
And yet had kept his reason too."

Quote from note About the Translator [Sir Bernard Pares]:

"[Pares:] I had finished my translation of Krylov (Krylov's fables] with the help of the peasant soldiers while still with the army, and on the road I also completed my other long-standing task of translation, Griboyedov's classical play, 'The Mischief of Being Clever;' this I could never have done, but for the bitterness that came with the collapse of so many hopes." Here he meant the failure of his mission in Russia to keep political developments to a moderate, constitutional course, and to keep Russia working with the Allies in the [First World] war effort."

[Natasha Belle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Заверните мне Чацкого, лучше два. (Belle)

Favourite quotes:

Судьба, проказница — шалунья,
Определила так сама:
Всем глупым — счастье от безумья,
Всем умным — горе от ума.

Счастливые часов не наблюдают.

Где ж лучше? Чацкий: Где нас нет

Служить бы рад, прислуживаться тошно.

2025 update: still great

Ой, нужно на русском. Какие же люди двуличные и какие и же люди меркантильные. Были и тогда, есть и сейчас. Разумеется, не все, но в любой прослойке населения такие найдутся. Аудиоспектааль, где роль Чацкого играет Чонишвили - оргазм для ушей и воображения.

[Anna Gabueva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Нет ничего лучше нашей классики! Помню, как еще в школе читала с неохоткой! А сейчас перечитываю и понимаю, что ничего у нас в России не меняется даже спустя столько лет

[Natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

По плотности афоризмов на страницу текста эта пьеса, по-моему, прочно занимает первое место в русской литературе.
К сожалению, сейчас просто прочитать текст не достаточно - нужны комментарии. Без них мы читаем какую-то другую пьесу, а хочется максимально приблизиться к тому времени, к тому, что видели в пьесе современники.

[Illiterate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comedy on social pretensions and snobberies, pleasingly including Francophilia.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Griboyedov’s Woe from Wit is a dazzling, razor-sharp verse comedy that has become a cornerstone of Russian literary culture. Written entirely in rhymed iambic lines, the play is both a linguistic marvel and a devastating social critique of Moscow aristocratic society in the early 19th century.

The difficulty stems mainly from its brilliant wordplay and cultural specificity. Griboyedov’s aphorisms have entered the Russian language as proverbs, making the text a minefield of idioms, in-jokes, and satirical references that challenge non-native readers. The protagonist, Chatsky, returns from abroad only to discover that his progressive ideas clash violently with the stagnant, hypocritical society he once knew.

The play’s tension lies in its dual tone—comedic surface, tragic undercurrent. Chatsky’s idealism becomes a weapon used against him, as society labels him insane not for madness but for moral clarity. Griboyedov dissects the mechanisms of conformity, mediocrity, and social cruelty with scalpel-like precision.

The linguistic density makes Woe from Wit a demanding read, but its rewards are immense. It is one of the most quotable, vibrant, and intellectually charged works in Russian literature.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

So often and by many I've been told
That talk is silver while the silence has been made of pure gold
Like Chatsky I felt always free to speak my rebel's mind
No wonder that indeed I am "the failing looser" in the eyes of those all quail Molchalin's kind
Being "Chatsky" makes the life to be the real mess
It's "Woe from Wit" when one just likes to serve without licking bosses's ass
The story is so true; it doesn't matter anyway, I must admittedly to say
Where, in what country Chatskys and Molchalins really live - it happens be the same for any country: Russia, France and even USA

Chatsky was the first "spare", "unused by the society" character in Russian classical literature, to be followed by Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, Lermontov's Pechorin, Turgenev's Bazarov and Goncharov's Oblomov.

In the 20th century this tradition was continued by Yuri Trifonov.

[Stas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Где я была, что не читала эту книгу?

Теперь она нашла себе место на полке моих самых любимых книг.
Не к спеху может и хорошо - не уверена, оценила бы пьессу по достоинсву в школе (здраствуй, школьная программа по русской литературе).

Бесценно и уж очень актуально.

А в обществе у нас немного изменилось...

[AcademicEditor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great translation. Betsy Hulick is one of the best Russian translators working right now. This work is no easy feat, with the early 19th-century language and humor. This work influenced many later writers, so I am looking forward to teaching at least an excerpt of it in context.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC for the purpose of an unbiased review.

[Bohdan]

оценки нет, потому что а судьи кто

[Anastasia Bodrug · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Prea multă minte strică” de Aleksandr Griboiedov este o altă lucrare din literatura rusă clasică. Mintea, ca instrument de supraviețuire perfect, a continuat și continuă să ceară luptă, concurență și hrană. Mintea este în multe privințe asemănătoare cu mușchii corpului uman: este susținută de un antrenament constant și, fără antrenament, se atrofiază treptat. Dar! Mintea singură nu garantează fericirea, dragostea, banii sau cariera.
Aceasta este povestea care i s-a întâmplat tânărului nobil Chatsky (personajul principal). Și despre societatea în care s-a regăsit, trei ani mai târziu, după ce s-a întors din străinătate. Și venind la pragul iubitei sale - Sofia, Chatsky își dă seama imediat că este respins ... respins de ea și nu va fi perceput de „ei”, rudele familiei Sofiei. Și prin întreaga lucrare putem observa această luptă neliniștită de morale și fundamente vechi (ca un semn de stagnare) și un nou apărător progresist al drepturilor și libertăților omului (ca un semn al dezvoltării).

[Arina Kirse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Гениальное произведение с бессмертным языком и вечно актуальными темами.

Читала в сопровождении Умных Курсов, где каждое действие и явление были разобраны на мельчайшие детали, и в обсуждение вплетались интереснейшие факты об авторе, эпохе в которой он жил, людях и событиях, которыми вдохновлялся. Это абсолютно новый для меня, глубокий уровень чтения; перечитывать классику теперь хочется только так.

[Hoella Vallee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une pièce de théâtre (je sors de mes habitudes de lecture) amusante. Cela me permet de mieux comprendre la Russie du 19ème siècle avec les changements qu'opèrent Pierre le Grand et l'Européanisation qu'il impose au peuple russe - notamment le fait qu'il ne soit correct d'usage que le français, le russe étant jugé rustre et obsolète. C'est une pièce perspicace qui analyse et critique la société moscovite de ce début de 19ème au travers du personnage de Tchatski - une démarche pas forcément appréciée du reste des personnages. Merci aux notes de bas de page d'André Markowicz sans lesquels certaines références me seraient passées par-dessus la tête.

[Theediscerning · Rating 5 out of 5]

You probably don't always read translations of plays from Russia, and plays with rhyming dialogue at that. But this is certainly one instance where those with half an eye to that country should do so. A young man returns from abroad to the place where his childhood sweetheart lives, to find her more grown up and moved on. Also, the whole family seems to find everything he says quite strident – in being so utterly, utterly quick to criticise, and finding everything about society fuddy-duddy, nepotistic and old-fashioned. The comedy follows him as he tries to stick around with the family, and while she tries to avoid him, leaving him to work out who his rival might be en route to a great society ball the household is hosting. The good thing is this is a breeze to read, with snappy dialogue in short lines of verse, and it remains funny, even if we might not know all the ins and outs of what the author was saying. Never mind, the fantastic introduction is on hand to explain the full social context of the times the play was set in, and gives us both the author's life story and the history of the play since. It's kind of a loose approximation, but where Russians might just have to need such a similarly annotated edition of "The Importance of Being Earnest" to understand us current Brits, so we might need to read this to understand the Russian that constantly quotes this, or performs this in full, to this day. I've always respected this publisher, even if I've not always loved their work, but this volume really does prove to me the 'classic' status of, and the worth in reviving, this text. It's not for everyone, but it should well be for many.

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5
*Read for class.
Очень понравилась комедия. К сожалению, не могу сказать ничего конкретного, возможно, потому что в голове ещё не все уложилось.

Крайне интересно было отметить количество цитат, которые используются порой так часто, что уже и правда не осознаются, как цитаты. Меня это удивило.

[Fiona McCall · Rating 5 out of 5]

An untranslatable Russian classic full of epigrams that have become common expressions in the Russian language. Chatsky is a kind of Russian Byronic figure who comes back to Russian high society and savages it with his cutting wit.

[mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

… und das soll eine Komödie sein?

[Piero Marmanillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

La desgracia de ser inteligente' es una pieza de teatro en cuatro actos. En palabras del crítico Belinski, es una sátira, no comedia, contra una parte de la sociedad moscovita.

La obra está realizada en verso libre y la traducción de Oleg Y. Shatrov ha procurado mantener la presencia de rima en la mayoría de los versos.

Asimismo, la obra está llena de epítetos y epigramas que muchos de ellos se han convertido en parte de los dichos populares en Rusia.

"-¿Dónde se está mejor?
- Donde nosotros no estamos"

Además la obra posee personajes parlantes como el coronel Sacacolmillov; el patético Repetilov; el esposo de Natalia Dimitrievna, el militar Platón Mijáilych (llamado por su esposa 'mi cielo', 'mi alma'); el secretario de Famusov, el silencioso Silencin; incluso se menciona a un personaje llamado Foma Fomich (!), etc.

Todos ensartan unos diálogos llenos de comicidad. Todos juegan el juego de las apariencias. Pero la aparición de Aleksandr Andreich Chatski, revela a través de sus líneas, un desprecio total a esa forma de vivir de aquella sociedad, es ingenioso para ensartar epítetos y epigramas. Incomoda a los demás y mucho, a tal punto que lo tildan de loco y qué rápido corre aquel rumor.

Según Belinski, la obra está por encima de las de Fonvizin pero muy por debajo de 'El inspector' de Nikolai Gógol. En suma es una obra llena de ingenio y muy recomendable de leer.

Tras leer la obra, me ha recordado a las comedias de Aristófanes o de Lucio de Samosata, asimismo el personaje de Chatski me ha recordado a Pechorin ('Un héroe de nuestro tiempo' de Lermontov), y a Eugenio Oneguin (Pushkin) así como también me anima a leer a Byron.

Pueden leer la obra por internet consultando como "El mal de la razón pdf"

[Jason Furman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In December I was browsing in the McNally Jackson bookstore in New York City. One of my favorite things about the bookstore is they organize the fiction by country/region. I was looking through the Russian section, as I've done many times before, expecting that I had already read just about everything in it when this cover jumped out at me. I loved the title Woe from Wit and it was advertised as a verse comedy, a genre I love (having read all of the Richard Wilbur Moliere translations, many of them multiple times). I bought it but only just got around to reading it. And I read it with no preconceptions: I didn't read the intro or the back cover so I didn't have a confident idea of when it was written or any of the other context (I read all of that afterwards).

I was drawn in from the very beginning with the witty rhyming lines in aabb and abab format. It started out as what I thought would be a light comedy of romantic misunderstandings: the mistress of the house is in love with someone but he's in love with the maid, the father is a bit of a buffoon, and then another suitor enters the mix. But when that happens it shifts, it is still light and comic but the new character (Alexandr Chatsky) is a Russian returning to Moscow to find it changed, he is witty and biting about the army and much of the society as well. Eventually there is a splendid scene set at a ball where the mistress starts a rumor that Chatsky is mad and roughly a dozen characters, really not much more than extras, amplify and distort it. The final act wraps up with some more romantic mishaps bringing it to a sort of joyful or at least amusing conclusion.

[Max Heimowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This translation is quite remarkable, as the English rhymes, flows, and use colloquial phrases, likely in an effort to imitate that of the original Russian. Consider me impressed.

This play had some of the funniest lines I've read in a while, but I won't say I was laughing throughout the whole thing. While it's comedic (it is a comedy after all) it's also somewhat... tragic?

Chatsky evokes the reformist spirit of the Decembrists. Having lived and traveled abroad for three years, he returns to Moscow high society, and is, to put it frank, disgusted. Dissatisfied. Sophie, the girl he loves, doesn't appear to love him, and she herself has caught the eye of Molchalin. Molchalin, well he has a secret affair going on with Liza. And Famusov, head of the house, only cares about outward appearances and reputations.

Chatsky, the 'enlightened one,' hopes to knock some sense into everyone, but they all deem him mad. And oh, how fast rumor spreads among a people at a ball!

My first Russian play -- and while I'm fresh off the heels of a semester of intense Molière study, I couldn't help but notice all the similarities. Chatsky is Alceste from Le Misanthrope, but perhaps in a different vein. All in all, a fun play, but not my favorite by any means.

[Maria’s bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ο Γκριμπογέντοφ ως ευφυέστατος και πολυδιαβασμένος αριστοκράτης, μα βαθιά ανικανοποίητος από τη ρωσική ζωή, εμπότισε το έργο του με καυστική σάτιρα για όλα τα παρασκηνιακά των υψηλών κοινωνικών κύκλων, προσώπων και πραγμάτων. Το έργο του «Συμφορά από το πολύ μυαλό »αλλοιώθηκε από την λογοκρισία μέχρι και το 1862 που δημοσιεύθηκε στη Ρωσία σε ολοκληρωμένη έκδοση.

Όπως κι ο Πούσκιν και ο Γκόγκολ έτσι και εδώ ο Γκριμπογεντοφ, στήνει έναν καθρέπτη μπροστά στη ρωσική κοινωνία. Δεν γράφει αλληγορία αλλά τοποθετεί την ιστορία ακριβώς πάνω στην περίοδο δράσης της, σαν βιωματική.

Μέσα απο τις σχέσεις των ηρώων, τις ηθογραφικες τους αντιθέσεις, τις φιλοδοξίες ή τις σκοπιμότητες ο συγγραφέας αναδεικνύει όλη την παλιά Μόσχα, το πνεύμα της, η ιστορία της, τα ήθη της.

Βασικό δίπολο είναι ο Τσατσκι που εκπροσωπεί την νέα γενιά και το φιλελεύθερο πνεύμα ενάντια στον απαρχαιωμένο κόσμο που εκπορεύεται μέσα από όλους τους άλλους ήρωες: τον πατέρα της Σοφίας, τον Μολτσαλιν, τον Σκαλοζουμπ, τον Ζαγκορετσκι…

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a witty play brilliantly translated. It fits nicely with Moliere’s wonderful play the Misanthrope, and Richard Wilbur’s verse translation.

Translating a play into rhymes is a tricky proposition that can go wrong in a dozen ways. It requires just the right play and just the right translator. And that’s what Wit to Woe achieves. The rhyme is once light and biting, witty and erudite.

Like the Misanthrope, Griboyedov’s Woe to Wit features a man out of sync (and patience) with the shallowness and dishonesty of his society. The characters are vivid and brought to life with a few deft strokes.

This is an excellent play, and a classic in Russia theatre and literature. It doesn’t quite achieve the lofty heights of The Misanthrope (bBut how many plays do?), yet is a wonderful work.

If you enjoy classic theatre, I highly recommend this play and the outstanding translation by Elizabeth Hulick. The reading is a pleasure. I’d love to see it performed.

[Anton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Пропустить в детстве всю классику российской/советской комедии - очень прикольный опыт. Потом сидишь такой в свои 20е, обнаруживаешь очередной мем в книге который скоро 200 лет и такой "неплохо".

Действительно, одна из самых забавных вещей в "Горе от Ума" это фразы, которые можно встретить в разговорной речи до сих пор.

Основная моя проблема с этой книгой - язык. Все говорят очень пафосно и напыщено. Особенно смешно это смотрится в наше время. Чадский, который по плану должен быть протагонистом сейчас в половине случаев звучит как мамкин мизантроп. Не думаю, что так и было задумано, так что спасибо языку.

Забавно, прикольно, не mind blowing.