The Government Inspector

The Government Inspector is a satirical stage play by Russian-Ukrainian author Nikolai Gogol, originally published in 1836 and later revised in 1842. Also known as The Inspector General, the play is a comedy of errors based on a supposed anecdote relayed to Gogol by the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. In a small unnamed Russian town, a young dissolute government clerk, Khlestakov, is mistaken for an awaited government inspector. Khlestakov uses the situation to his advantage, duping the townspeople out of money while enjoying the Mayor’s free hospitality. Gogol’s satirical depiction of government exposes the moral decay and incompetence of those in positions of power. The play has been translated several times across various mediums, including more than a dozen film and theater adaptations, including the most well-known film adaptations, The Inspector General (1949), starring Danny Kaye, and Waiting for Guffman (1997), directed by Christopher Guest.

This guide uses the 2009 Oxford University Press edition, translated by Christopher English.

Plot Summary

The Government Inspector takes place in a small Russian province during the 1830s. Act I is set inside the Mayor’s house, where several civic leaders from town have gathered for a meeting. The Mayor has invited the Judge, the Inspector of Schools, the Chief of Police, the Warden of Charities, and the District Physician to inform them that a government inspector is en route from St. Petersburg. The Mayor says that the inspector will arrive incognito, with secret instructions to evaluate the local government. The civic leaders are terrified at such a prospect. The Mayor frantically orders the officials to do whatever is necessary to cover up the corrupt misdeeds that have taken place in town. As the leaders scramble to hide their corruption, landowning siblings Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky storm in to inform them that a suspicious person from St. Petersburg arrived two weeks prior and is staying at the town’s inn. When the Mayor departs for the inn to meet the person he suspects is the inspector general, his wife Anna and daughter Maria inquire about the inspector.

Act II is set inside Khlestakov’s room at the inn. The servant Osip explains that the 23-year-old Khlestakov is a low-ranking government clerk who lost all his money gambling and cannot afford to pay for two weeks of food and lodging at the inn. When the Mayor enters the room, he assumes Khlestakov to be the government inspector. The Mayor offers to give Khlestakov a tour of the various governmental intuitions in town. Khlestakov is taken to see the prison, which makes him think he is being arrested for failing to pay his bill at the inn. Amid the confusion, the Mayor invites Khlestakov to stay at his home. Khlestakov agrees, unaware that he is mistaken for another man.

Act III is set in the Mayor’s home. Anna and Maria anxiously await the inspector’s arrival. After the Mayor gives Khlestakov a robust meal and a view of the hospital, the two enter the house. Khlestakov eventually realizes he has been mistaken for the eponymous inspector. As a result, he spins a wild tale about his lavish lifestyle in St. Petersburg. Later, when Khlestakov retires to his room for the night, Anna and Maria argue about who was the target of their guest’s flirting.

Act IV is also set in the Mayor’s home. The Mayor dispatches each of the town’s officials to gives Khlestakov as much money as he requests. The Mayor hopes these bribes will keep Khlestakov from reporting them to the authorities. Khlestakov takes advantage, soliciting increasing amounts of funds. When the officials depart, Khlestakov pens a letter to Tryapichkin, his confidant in St. Petersburg, boasting about how much money he has taken from the town officials. Next, local shopkeepers arrive to talk to Khlestakov about the widespread corruption and bribery that happens in town. When they depart, Khlestakov flirts with Maria. When she briefly leaves the room, Khlestakov flirts with Anna too. When Maria returns to find Khlestakov professing his undying love to Anna, Khlestakov quickly proposes to Maria. The Mayor arrives, initially disbelieving that Khlestakov has proposed to his daughter. He is soon persuaded. Osip enters after making plans for Khlestakov to flee before his duplicity is discovered. Khlestakov says he is departing, but will soon return to marry Maria.

Act V also takes place at the Mayor’s home. The Mayor and his wife fantasize and brag about the extravagant lifestyle they expect to enjoy in St. Petersburg once Maria marries a high-ranking government agent. The postman arrives, having illegally opened and read the letter Khlestakov wrote to Tryapichkin. The postman exposes Khlestakov’s grand deception. The Mayor calls himself a fool for mistaking Khlestakov as an illustrious personage. The Mayor turns to the audience and, asking what they could possibly be laughing at, reminds them that they are laughing at themselves. Just then, a military police officer enters and declares that the real government inspector has arrived. The play concludes with every character remaining frozen in their surprised and fearful realization that the real inspection is about to begin.