One of the main characters in A. Griboyedov’s comedy, around whom all the main events develop, is the young girl Sofya Pavlovna Famusova.

The image and characterization of Sophia in the comedy “Woe from Wit” is difficult to perceive. To understand it, to form your opinion about the girl, you need to understand the features of the controversial era.

Contradictory nature

Sophia is the only person who is close to the smart and educated Chatsky, a character opposed to the society of conservatives and people-pleasers. Sophia became the cause of the young nobleman's suffering, a source of gossip, and a creator of intrigue. Such a combination of two contrasts in one image confirms its reality, which the author strived for. A soulless, stupid socialite beauty or, conversely, an educated noblewoman who is passionate about science would not have aroused so much interest. It is this inconsistency that can explain the strength of the feelings that Chatsky, an ardent and eloquent young man, experiences for her. A rich bride, a real daughter of her father, she grew up in an atmosphere of care and attention, and learned to find benefits for herself.

Sophia's appearance and hobbies

The girl is beautiful and young:

“At seventeen you blossomed beautifully...”

It is clear why no one is surprised by the number of gentlemen. Beauty attracts prim (Skalozub), stupid (Molchalin), educated (Chatsky) suitors. The flighty young lady does not value the attitude towards herself, realizing that her beauty will not go unnoticed.

The lovely little girl grew up without maternal affection: her mother died early. Her father assigned her a governess from France, who instilled her taste and helped her develop her individuality. Home education allowed Sophia to become versatile and interesting:

• can sing;
• dances gracefully;
• loves and understands music;
• plays several musical instruments (piano, flute);
• knows French;
• reads books in a foreign language.

The girl is trained in feminine “tricks”: sighs, tenderness, cunning tricks.

Qualities that bring Sophia closer to her father’s company

The desire to dominate. Love for Molchalin is not just a youthful feeling. Sophia is looking for a man from those whom she can push around. In it you can see the features of female characters dragging their husband and servants by the hair. Power in the family is a girl’s desire, perhaps still hidden even to her. But it will take a very short period of time, she will understand what she is striving for. In the comedy there is an analogy with the Gorich couple, where the wife disposes of her husband like a thing, turning the other half into a weak-willed creature:

“husband-boy, husband-servant, one of the wife’s pages...”.

Immorality. Some literary scholars (P.A. Vyazemsky) consider the girl immoral. One can argue with this position, but there is some truth in it. If we logically construct Sophia’s day, which passed before the readers, then the picture will not be very beautiful: the night is in the bedroom with a man, during the day she pretends to be sick, but asks the maid to bring Molchalin to her, at night she secretly makes her way to his room. This behavior is shameless. He cannot be compared to the modest characters of classical literature who secretly suffer for their beloved. No social decency restrains the master's daughter.

Qualities that set her apart from her father's environment

The girl loves to read and tends to spend a lot of time reading books. For the Famus society, books are the cause of all troubles. They stay away from them, afraid to gain knowledge that could change their attitude towards life. Sophia is passionate about novels. She looks for prototypes of heroes in reality and is mistaken. The girl becomes a victim of deception and lies, having examined the features of the romantic handsome man in Molchalin. Other qualities that distinguish her among society ladies:

Courage. Sophia is not afraid to confess her feelings to her father. She is ready to unite herself with a poor serviceman for the sake of her beloved. The girl is not even afraid of possible rumors and gossip.

Determination. The girl stands up to defend her feelings, sensing a threat from Chatsky. She takes revenge for ridiculing Molchalin. Moreover, he does not choose softer methods. Sophia resolutely spreads the idea of ​​​​the madness of her childhood friend, even without taking into account his feelings for her.

Gullibility. Having fallen under Molchalin's charm, the girl does not notice the truth of his feelings. Her eyes are covered with a veil. Like a real lover, she falls into the bonds of deceit and becomes funny.

Frankness. Sophia thinks openly, builds her speech, not being afraid to reason and dream. The owner's daughter is not characterized by secrecy, deceit, or florid thinking.

Pride. All the girl’s behavior shows her respect for herself. She carries herself with dignity, knows how to get away from a conversation in time, and does not give the opportunity to reveal her secrets. Even in the last scene, she does not lose her pride, which is visible in her indignation and inaccessibility. Molchalin’s phrases were perceived correctly by Sophia. She is bitter and harsh.

Characteristics of Sophia from Griboedov's comedy "Woe from Wit".

How to compare and see

The present century and the past century

The legend is fresh, but hard to believe.

A. S. Griboyedov

"Woe from Wit" is one of the most topical works of Russian drama. The problems posed in the comedy continued to excite Russian social thought and literature many years after its birth.

“Woe from Wit” is the fruit of Griboedov’s patriotic thoughts about the fate of Russia, about ways of renewal and reconstruction of its life. From this point of view, the comedy highlights the most important political, moral and cultural problems of the era.

The content of the comedy is revealed as a collision and change of two eras of Russian life - the “present” century and the “past” century. The border between them, in my opinion, is the War of 1812 - the fire of Moscow, the defeat of Napoleon, the return of the army from foreign campaigns. After the Patriotic War, two public camps emerged in Russian society. This is the camp of feudal reaction in the person of Famusov, Skalozub and others, and the camp of advanced noble youth in the person of Chatsky. The comedy clearly shows that the clash of centuries was an expression of the struggle between these two camps.

The Emperor was terrified of the penetration of revolutionary ideas into Russia - the “French infection.” He could make promises at the European Diet, but at home things did not come to real steps. Moreover, domestic policy took repressive forms. And the discontent of the progressive Russian public was gradually ripening, for Arakcheev’s firm hand brought external order to the country. And this order, this pre-war prosperity, of course, was joyfully welcomed by people like Famusov, Skalozub, Gorichy and Tugoukhovsky.

In the very title of his comedy “Woe from Wit,” Griboedov lays down the main idea of ​​the work; we can already understand that everything in it will relate to the concept of “mind.”

Griboyedov himself said that in his works there are 15 fools for every one smart person. We understand that there will be one single hero endowed with intelligence, and all the people around him will be those 15 fools that Griboyedov spoke about.

I.A. Goncharov wrote about the comedy “Woe from Wit” that it is “a picture of morals, and a gallery of living types, and an ever-burning, sharp satire,” which presents noble Moscow in the 10-20s of the 19th century. According to Goncharov, each of the main characters of the comedy experiences “its own million torments.” Sophia also survives him.

The only character conceived and performed as close to Chatsky,

This is Sofya Pavlovna Famusova. Griboyedov wrote about her: The girl herself is not stupid, prefers a fool to an intelligent man..." This character embodies a complex character, the author here abandoned satire and farce. He presented a female character of great strength and depth. Sophia was "unlucky" in criticism for quite a long time Even Pushkin considered this image a failure of the author: “Sophia is drawn unclearly.” And only Goncharov, in “a million torments” in 1871, first understood and appreciated this character and his role in the play.

Raised by Famusov and Madame Rosier in accordance with the rules of raising Moscow young ladies, Sophia was trained in “dancing, singing, tenderness, and sighs.” Her tastes and ideas about the world around her were formed under the influence of French sentimental novels. She imagines herself as the heroine of a novel, so she has a poor understanding of people. Sophia. rejects the love of the overly sarcastic Chatsky. She does not want to become the wife of the stupid, rude, but rich Skalozub and chooses Molchalin. Molchalin plays the role of a platonic lover in front of her and can sublimely remain silent until dawn alone with his beloved. Sophia gives preference to Molchalin because she finds in him many virtues necessary for “a boy-husband, a servant-husband, one of a wife’s pages.” She likes that Molchalin is shy, compliant, and respectful.

Meanwhile, the girl is smart and resourceful. She gives the right characteristics to those around her. In Skalozub she sees a stupid, narrow-minded soldier who “can never utter a smart word,” who can only talk about “fruits and rows,” “about buttonholes and edgings.” She can’t even imagine herself as the wife of such a man: “I don’t care whether he’s in the water or not.” In her father, Sophia sees a grumpy old man who does not stand on ceremony with his subordinates and servants. Yes, and Sophia correctly evaluates Molchalin’s qualities, but, blinded by love for him, she does not want to notice his pretense..

Sophia is resourceful like a woman. She skillfully distracts her father’s attention from Molchalin’s presence in the living room in the early hours of the morning. To disguise her fainting and fear after Molchalin's fall from his horse, she finds truthful explanations, declaring that she is very sensitive to the misfortunes of others. Wanting to punish Chatsky for his caustic attitude towards Molchalin, it is Sophia who spreads the rumor about Chatsky’s madness. The romantic, sentimental mask is now torn off from Sophia and the face of an irritated, vindictive Moscow young lady is revealed.

Sophia is a dramatic person; she is a character in an everyday drama, not a social comedy. She, like her antagonist Chatsky, is a passionate nature, living with a strong and real feeling. And even if the object of her passion is wretched and pitiful (the heroine does not know this, but the audience knows) - this does not make the situation funny, on the contrary, it deepens its drama. In the best performances, actresses play love in the role of Sophia. This is the most important thing about her; it shapes the line of her behavior. The world for her is divided in two: Molchalin and everyone else. When there is no chosen one, all thoughts are only about a quick meeting; she may be present on stage, but in fact, her whole soul is directed towards Molchalin. The power of the first feeling was embodied in Sophia. But at the same time, her love is joyless and unfree. She is well aware that the chosen one will never be accepted by her father. The thought of this darkens life; Sophia is already internally ready for a fight. The feeling overwhelms her soul so much that she confesses her love to seemingly completely random people: first to the maid Liza, and then to the most unsuitable person in this situation - Chatsky. Sophia is so in love and at the same time depressed by the need to constantly hide from her father that common sense simply fails her. The situation itself deprives her of the opportunity to reason: “What do I care about whom? About them? About the whole universe?” From the very beginning you can sympathize with Sophia. But there is as much freedom in choosing it as there is predetermination. She chose and fell in love with a comfortable man: soft, quiet and resigned (this is how Molchalin appears in her characterization stories). Sophia, it seems to her, treats him sensibly and critically: “Of course, he doesn’t have this mind, What a genius is for others, and for others a plague, Which is quick, brilliant and will soon become disgusting... Will such a mind make a family happy?” She probably thinks that what she did was very practical, on top of everything else. But in the finale, when she becomes an involuntary witness of Molchalin’s “courtship” of Liza, she is struck to the very heart, she is destroyed - this is one of the most dramatic moments of the entire play.

This deals a blow to Sophia's pride, and her vengeful nature is revealed again. “I’ll tell my father the whole truth,” she decides with annoyance. This once again proves that her love for Molchalin was not real, but bookish, invented, but this love makes her endure her “millions of torments.”

I admit, I feel sorry for Sophia, because she is not a bad girl, not immoral, but, unfortunately, she turned out to be a victim of the lies that are characteristic of Famus society, which destroyed her.

Every person who reads this “comedy” should learn something different. One may simply laugh at the jokes and witticisms directed at our nobility, while another, more intelligent one, may think about the meaning of this work and can understand what Chatsky’s true grief is.

Every person must make a choice: Molchalin or Chatsky. You can be Molchalin and silently climb the stairs to the top. Or become Chatsky and spend your whole life arguing, fighting, getting your way, fighting the hopeless stupidity of others

The comedy "Woe from Wit" has entered the treasury of our national culture. Even now she has not lost her moral and artistic strength. We, people of the new generation, understand and are close to Griboyedov’s angry, irreconcilable attitude towards injustice, meanness, hypocrisy, which are so often encountered in our lives.

In the comedy A.S. Griboyedov's "Woe from Wit" presents the morals of Moscow nobles of the early 19th century. The author shows the clash between the conservative views of the feudal landowners and the progressive views of the younger generation of nobles who began to appear in society. This clash is presented as a struggle between two camps: the “past century,” which defends its mercantile interests and personal comfort, and the “present century,” which seeks to improve the structure of society through the manifestation of true citizenship. However, there are characters in the play who cannot be clearly attributed to any of the warring parties. This is the image of Sophia in the comedy “Woe from Wit”.

Sophia's opposition to Famus society

Sofya Famusova is one of the most complex characters in the work of A.S. Griboedova. The characterization of Sophia in the comedy “Woe from Wit” is contradictory, because on the one hand, she is the only person close in spirit to Chatsky, the main character of the comedy. On the other hand, it is Sophia who turns out to be the cause of Chatsky’s suffering and his expulsion from Famus society.

It is not without reason that the main character of the comedy is in love with this girl. Let Sophia now call their youthful love childish, nevertheless, she once attracted Chatsky with her natural intelligence, strong character, and independence from other people’s opinions. And he was nice to her for the same reasons.

From the first pages of the comedy, we learn that Sophia received a good education and loves to spend time reading books, which angers her father. After all, he believes that “reading is of little use,” and “learning is a plague.” And this is where the first discrepancy in the comedy “Woe from Wit” between the image of Sophia and the images of the nobles of the “past century” is manifested.
Sophia's passion for Molchalin is also natural. She, as a fan of French novels, saw in this man’s modesty and taciturnity the traits of a romantic hero. Sophia does not suspect that she has become a victim of deception by a two-faced man who is next to her only for personal gain.

In her relationship with Molchalin, Sofya Famusova displays character traits that none of the representatives of the “past century,” including her father, would ever dare to display. If Molchalin is mortally afraid of making this connection public to society, since “evil tongues are worse than a pistol,” then Sophia is not afraid of the opinion of the world. She follows the dictates of her heart: “What is rumor to me? Whoever wants to, judges that way.” This position makes her similar to Chatsky.

Traits that bring Sophia closer to Famus society

However, Sophia is her father's daughter. She was raised in a society where only rank and money are valued. The atmosphere in which she grew up certainly had an influence on her.
Sophia in the comedy “Woe from Wit” made a choice in favor of Molchalin not only because she saw positive qualities in him. The fact is that in Famus society, women rule not only in society, but also in the family. It is worth remembering the Gorich couple at the ball in Famusov’s house. Platon Mikhailovich, whom Chatsky knew as an active, active military man, under the influence of his wife turned into a weak-willed creature. Natalya Dmitrievna decides everything for him, gives answers for him, disposing of him like a thing.

It is obvious that Sophia, wanting to dominate her husband, chose Molchalin for the role of her future husband. This hero corresponds to the ideal of a husband in the society of Moscow nobles: “A husband-boy, a husband-servant, one of his wife’s pages - the high ideal of all Moscow husbands.”

The tragedy of Sofia Famusova

In the comedy "Woe from Wit" Sophia is the most tragic character. She suffers more than even Chatsky.

Firstly, Sophia, having by nature determination, courage, and intelligence, is forced to be a hostage of the society in which she was born. The heroine cannot allow herself to give in to her feelings, regardless of the opinions of others. She was raised among the conservative nobility and will live according to the laws dictated by them.

Secondly, Chatsky’s appearance threatens her personal happiness with Molchalin. After Chatsky’s arrival, the heroine is in constant tension and is forced to protect her lover from the caustic attacks of the protagonist. It is the desire to save her love, to protect Molchalin from ridicule that pushes Sophia to spread gossip about Chatsky’s madness: “Ah, Chatsky! You like to dress everyone up as jesters, would you like to try it on yourself?” However, Sophia was capable of such an act only because of the strong influence of the society in which she lives and with which she gradually merges.

Thirdly, in the comedy there is a cruel destruction of the image of Molchalin that has formed in Sophia’s head when she hears his conversation with the maid Liza. Her main tragedy is that she fell in love with a scoundrel who played the role of her lover only because it could be beneficial for him to receive the next rank or award. In addition, Molchalin's exposure occurs in the presence of Chatsky, which further wounds Sophia as a woman.

conclusions

Thus, the characterization of Sophia in the comedy “Woe from Wit” shows that this girl is in many ways opposed to her father and the entire noble society. She is not afraid to go against the light in defense of her love.

However, this same love forces Sophia to defend herself from Chatsky, with whom she is so close in spirit. It was Sophia’s words that Chatsky was denigrated in society and expelled from it.

If all the other heroes of the play, with the exception of Chatsky, participate only in social conflict, defend their comfort and their usual way of life, then Sophia is forced to fight for her feelings. “She, of course, has the hardest time of all, harder even than Chatsky, and she gets her “millions of torments”,” wrote I.A. Goncharov about Sophia. Unfortunately, in the finale it turns out that the heroine’s struggle for the right to love was in vain, because Molchalin turns out to be an unworthy person.

But even with someone like Chatsky, Sophia would not have found happiness. Most likely, she will choose as her husband a man who corresponds to the ideals of the Moscow nobility. Sophia's strong character requires implementation, which will become possible with a husband who allows him to command and guide himself.

Sofya Famusova is the most complex and contradictory character in Griboyedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit.” The characterization of Sophia, the disclosure of her image and the description of her role in the comedy will be useful for 9th graders when preparing materials for an essay on the topic of Sophia’s image in the comedy “Woe from Wit”

Work test

The image of Sophia is considered the most complex in Griboedov's comedy. The interpretation of her character, identifying the motivations for her behavior - all this caused numerous controversy among critics.

The image of Sophia, as Belinsky noted, is extremely contradictory. She is endowed with many virtues: a lively mind, will, independence and independence of judgment, “energy of character.” Sophia does not value the opinion of Famus society: “What do I need rumors for? Whoever wants, judges that way...” Disregarding social etiquette, she decides to have a night date with Molchalin. In this episode, B. Goller saw a “challenge”, a rebellion against the hypocritical moral concepts of Famus society. “The young lady who violated the prohibitions was expected to break with society. Or removal from society,” the critic wrote.

Sophia's behavior is natural: she cannot hide her feelings after seeing Molchalin fall from his horse. “I’m afraid that I won’t be able to withstand the pretense,” she remarks to Alexei Stepanovich. To some extent, the heroine is “natural” with Chatsky: she is sincerely angry in response to his witticisms. At the same time, Sophia skillfully lies to her father, hiding her relationship with Molchalin from him.

Sophia is unselfish, she evaluates people not by the presence of ranks and wealth, but by their inner qualities. Famusov is trying to find a profitable match for his daughter: “he would like a son-in-law with stars and ranks.” Sophia does not accept such morality: she wants to marry for love. In her nature, “hiding in the shadows is something of her own, hot, tender, even dreamy.” Famusov reads Colonel Skalozub as her groom - Sophia doesn’t even want to hear “about such happiness”: “He hasn’t uttered a smart word in his life - I don’t care what’s for him, what’s in the water.”

Sophia is quite insightful: she correctly assesses Skalozub, perfectly sees the vulgarity and emptiness of the people entering Famusov’s house. However, she cannot “see” Molchalin’s “true face”.

What are the motives for Sophia’s actions? This image caused the most controversy in criticism. Pushkin also wrote that Sophia was “not clearly outlined.” Goncharov believed that Sophia was strongly influenced by her environment:

“It’s hard to be unsympathetic to Sofya Pavlovna: she has strong inclinations of a remarkable nature, a lively mind, passion and feminine softness. It is ruined in the stuffiness, where not a single ray of light, not a single stream of fresh air penetrates.” Belinsky, considering the heroine’s contradictory character unrealistic, wrote that Sophia is “not a real person, but a ghost.”

Let's try to figure out what Griboyedov's heroine really is like by analyzing her upbringing and life circumstances.

Famusov is a widower; Sophia, who grew up under the supervision of Madame Rosier, obviously enjoyed a certain freedom in the house. Like Pushkin's Tatyana, she is dreamy and loves sentimental novels with a happy ending, where one of the heroes is poor but has a number of virtues. Molchalin is precisely such a hero, according to Sophia: “compliant, modest, quiet, Not a shadow of anxiety in his face, And no offenses in his soul...”. Sophia, like Tatyana Larina, loves not a specific person in her chosen one, but her high ideal, drawn from books. As S. A. Fomichev notes, “Sophya is trying to arrange her destiny according to the models of sensitive, sentimental novels.”

And already this “external factor” in the choice of the heroine is alarming. Sophia's behavior is also alarming. It is very difficult to characterize a loved one, but Sophia easily describes Molchalin’s character, not forgetting to add that “he doesn’t have that mind... which is quick, brilliant and will soon become disgusting.” As N.K. Piksanov notes, the heroine is too rational, rational, prudent in her love, capable of subtle calculation, cunning. However, by nature. Sophia is temperamental and willful.

The heroes' night date itself looks unnatural. And first of all, Sophia is unnatural here. Molchalin plays the role of "Romeo" here, in accordance with his own ideas about the behavior of a lover. Unlike Sophia, Alexei Stepanovich was hardly ever fond of reading sentimental novels. Therefore, he behaves as his intuition tells him:

He will take your hand and press it to your heart,

Breathe from the depths of your soul

Not a free word, and so the whole night passes,

Hand in hand, and doesn’t take his eyes off me...

However, the behavior of Molchalin in this scene is consistent with his image and character. Sophia, with her ironic mind, causticity, strong character, is hard to imagine here. This sensitive scene is nothing but a romantic cliché, where both “lovers” pose, with the only difference that Sophia is not aware of the unnaturalness of her behavior, while Molchalin understands perfectly.

The story of the heroine about a nightly date causes Lisa to laugh, who in this scene seems to be the embodiment of common sense. She remembers Aunt Sophia, from whom the young Frenchman ran away. And this story seems to anticipate the further development of events in the comedy.

Chatsky puts forward his own version of Sofia’s choice of Molchalin. He believes that the ideal of a heroine is “a husband-boy, a husband-servant, one of a wife’s pages.” At the end of the comedy, having learned the truth about Sophia’s choice, he becomes caustic and sarcastic:

You will make peace with him after mature reflection.

Destroy yourself, and why!

Think you can always

Protect, and swaddle, and send to work.

Husband-boy, husband-servant, from the wife's pages -

The high ideal of all Moscow men.

This accusation against Chatsky is extremely unfair. Sophia is an extraordinary, deep nature, different in many ways from the people of Famusov’s circle. She cannot be equated with Natalya Dmitrievna Gorich. Finding Molchalin with Liza, Sophia is offended in her feelings, and reconciliation with Molchalin is impossible for her. And she doesn’t need the “high ideal of all Moscow husbands,” she needs true love.

The main motive for Sophia’s behavior is resentment towards Chatsky, who once left her. This is exactly how Isabella Grinevskaya views the situation in Griboyedov’s comedy in her work “The Slandered Girl.” It is not for nothing that Molchalin is endowed with qualities that are directly opposite to Chatsky’s character: Alexei Stepanovich is moderate in everything, careful, quiet, silent, “not rich in words,” he does not have “that mind that is a genius for others, but for others a plague...”, “ He doesn’t cut strangers at random.” Frank resentment can be heard in Sophia’s words: “Ah! If someone loves someone, Why search for wisdom and travel so far? Hence the heroine’s slander: “...not a man, a snake,” her gossip about Chatsky’s madness.

We wonder why Sophia doesn’t want to tell Chatsky the truth about her feelings for Molchalin, but the reasons for this are simple: she keeps her admirer in the dark, subconsciously wanting to take revenge on him. Sophia cannot forgive Chatsky for his departure, his “three-year silence.” In addition, the heroine herself, apparently, does not believe in the “power of her feelings”: that is why she does not call her “sentimental ideal” (“compliant, modest, quiet”) by the name of Molchalin in a conversation with Chatsky. Is her attachment to Chatsky alive in Sophia’s soul? It seems that we cannot find the answer to this question in the text of the comedy. But Sophia’s resentment and, as a consequence, hostility can be seen clearly and definitely.

Thus, the motives for the heroine’s behavior are very complex. A lot is guessed in them: resentment, pity (Sofya sympathizes with Molchalin, knowing her father's "angry disposition"), "patronage, curiosity of a young feeling for the first intimate rapprochement with a man, romanticism, piquancy of domestic intrigue ...". Molchalin, as such, is not really interested in the heroine. She only thinks she loves him. As Vasiliev notes, "under the influence of books, Molchalin aroused in Sophia's heart a completely independent, original novel, which was too complicated to lead to passion." Therefore, Chatsky is not far from the truth when he does not believe in Sophia's feelings for Molchalin. This is not the psychological blindness of the hero, but rather his intuitive insight.

It is precisely because Sophia does not truly love that she was able not to reveal her presence in the scene with Molchalin and Lisa for so long. That’s why she’s so proud and reserved: “From now on, it’s as if I didn’t know you.” Of course, the heroine's self-control and the strength of her character are manifested here, but the absence of true, deep love is also felt. Sophia is able to analyze her situation, in a certain sense she is pleased with this outcome:

Stop, be glad

That when meeting with me in the silence of the night, You kept more timidity in your temper, Than even during the day, and in front of people, and in reality; You have less insolence than curvature of the soul. She herself is pleased that she found out everything at night, There are no reproachful witnesses in her eyes...

Thus, Sophia is a complex three-dimensional character, contradictory and ambiguous, in the depiction of which the playwright follows the principles of realism.

Sofya Famustova is the daughter of a wealthy landowner, Pavel. A young beauty "of marriageable age", not just entering the light of high society, but originally born in it. To be more precise: in a family that maintains a secular society. Sophia is young and beautiful - these are her main distinguishing features. She is trained in all appropriate manners and carries out standard girlish duties around the house: reads French writers aloud, plays the piano, receives guests in her father's house with a smile and kindly. The young lady was raised without maternal warmth (Pavel was widowed early), however, she was not deprived of care and attention. Since childhood, an excellent nanny was assigned to her, who replaced her with a loved one.

Sophia loves her father and named brother, Chatsky. They are not related to each other by blood, but Famusov raised Chatsky in his home, replacing his untimely departed parents. The reader learns from the comedy a little later that Chatsky is crazy about Sofia and his feelings are far from related. As for Sophia herself, it is worth noting that the girl is far from stupid, not a coward, however, with the young lady’s self-determination, not everything is really going smoothly. Although, such behavior can be easily justified by adolescence and, of course, by the influence of society, which gave Sophia a comfortable life, ignorant of real experiences.

Characteristics of the heroine

(Sophia. Artist P. Sokolov, 1866)

Sophia, despite her direct relationship to secular society, which lives by “Famustism,” has her own personal opinion and does not want to merge with the public. The first opposition to everything that happens around her is visible in her persistent love for self-improvement. Sofya Pavlovna loves to read, which incredibly irritates her father. He is indignant at Sonechka’s desire to re-read French literature; he considers this an incomprehensible, empty activity, especially for a young lady.

Further, the defense against general opinion goes much deeper: “What do I hear?” Sophia speaks about their secret connection with Molchalin. At a time when a young man frantically weighs all the pros and cons, young Famustova, without a twinge of conscience, spends evenings and nights with him on secret dates, knowing full well that such relationships put a stigma on her reputation. In the century described in the comedy by Griboyedov himself, such communication between a man and a woman was considered tantamount to a thoughtless riotous life on the part of a girl from a family with a big name.

(The role of Sophia, USSR artist Vera Ershova "Woe from Wit", 1939)

However, no matter how much her soul strives for isolation and liberation from human opinion, Sophia rationally stops her heartfelt choice. Molchalin - not because she is in love, but because it is calmer and more profitable than with the vilified Chatsky, who has loved her from an early age. Sympathy is sympathy, and her rank initially suited her, so she used it for its intended purpose.

The image of the heroine in the work

(Anna Snatkina in the image of Sofia Famusova, One Actor Theater - project of E. Rozhdestvenskaya)

Sophia is not an evil character. Moderately open, moderately naive and oh, how good. At 18, she became an almost perfect wife and woman, not lacking in intelligence and intelligence.

Its main role in Griboyedov’s work is to show that it is difficult to escape the general opinion in a small circle. And it doesn’t matter: 10 people - neighbors in your house - make up this very “public opinion” or, defending your personal opinion, you will have to go against the established iron system of those who need rank, money and the mask of the most ideal person.

Sophia herself, a “front-line comrade” and Chatsky’s beloved girlfriend, could not overcome the desire to live in comfort. It is not certain that Sophia was afraid of rumors or difficulties with gossip. Most likely, this is not vanity and fears, but a thoughtful choice, with an application for a long and happy future, concerning, first of all, herself, and then everyone who stood closer.