dead souls, imperial envoy

Chapter 57 The Imperial Envoy (9)
Ann went to his uncle and asked for his blessing.

Mayor Yes, yes, ask for blessings, if you are not allowed to speak, tomorrow... (Sneezes, congratulatory words rang out.)
The Chief of Police wishes you well, my lord!

Bao wishes you a long life and a box full of gold!

I wish you a long and boundless life!
The judge wishes you an early ascension to heaven!

Guo wife, hell, what are you talking about!

Mayor, thank you, thank you!I also wish you all the best.

Ann, we are going to live in Petersburg now.To be honest, the air here is a bit like that... The environment is also poor, rustic! ...Honestly, it's boring here...my husband...he's going to get a general.

Mayor Yes, to be honest, gentlemen, I would love to be a general.

Inspector God will make your way.

God can do what man cannot do.

Talented judges will definitely be reused.

Administrators are honored for their merits.

JUDGE (Narrator) He wants to be a general too, it's ridiculous!If he had the title of general on him, it would be like a cow in the saddle!No, these are premature.There are people who are much more capable than him, but they haven't become generals yet, so it's his turn.

The administrator (narrator) is ridiculous, wanting to be a general!If you're lucky, you might become a general.Look at his look, the devil can't do anything to him. (to him) Then, Anton Antonovitch, don't forget us.

Judge, if there is any trouble, say, official trouble, please protect me.

Next year, Guo, I will send my son to the capital to serve the country. Please take care of him. You can discipline him like your own son.

Mayor All right, all right, I'll try to help.

An Anton, you always agree to other people's requests.But don't think about it, how will you have the time then, and how can you get yourself into trouble for such things.

Mayor, what's the matter?There is still time.

Ann certainly can, but not every small character should be protected.

Listen to Mrs. Guo, what did she say, how could she treat us like this?

A certain female customer Yes, this woman is like this, if you flatter her a few words, she will be complacent, she will lift her feet to the sky, she is really self-righteous...

▲The eighth game
[The characters and postmaster gasp and enter, holding the opened letter]
Postmasters, something strange has happened!The person we think of as the imperial envoy is not the real imperial envoy.

How could everyone not be imperial envoys?
The postmaster is absolutely right, not the imperial envoy,—I can tell from this letter.

What's the matter with the mayor?What's the matter?what happened?What letter?

The postmaster's own letter, a letter written by him, was delivered to the post office.When I looked at the address, it was "Post Street".I just froze.I thought to myself: "He must think that our management is chaotic and found something that did not follow the rules, so he wrote a special letter to report the situation to the superior." So I picked out this letter and opened it. It's coming.

Mayor what?How can you do this? ...

The postmaster, I don't know why, it seems that there is a force agitating me, giving me an irresistible urge.I wanted to ask the messenger to deliver the letter at once, but I was still overwhelmed by a curiosity I had never felt before.I can't, I can't, I can't hold myself!It's so attractive to me, I was attracted to this behavior!In one ear I heard: "You can't take it apart! It's going to be bad luck." In the other ear, there seemed to be a little ghost whispering: "Take it apart, take it apart, take it apart and see!" My heart was boiling , an impulse rushed straight up——as soon as I took it apart, a gust of cold hit me, and my whole body froze.The hands trembled involuntarily, and everything was messed up.

Mayor, do you dare to open the letter of the imperial envoy?

The postmaster is not an imperial envoy, nor is he a minister.

THE MAYOR Then who is he?

The postmaster, who knows what he is, is always a dud!

Mayor (annoyed) What is a nonsense person?How dare you call him a dude and say you don't know who he is?I'm going to imprison you...

Who is the postmaster?do you
Mayor Yes, it's me.

Postmaster Oh, you better save yourself!
Mayor, do you know that he is going to marry my daughter, and I will soon become a high-ranking official, so it will be easy for me to send you to Siberia?

Postmaster Well, Anton Antonovich, what do you want me to do in Siberia?If you really want to go to Siberia, it is still far away.Let me read this man's letter instead.Everyone!Do you agree with me reading it?
Everyone read it, read it!
Postmaster (reading) "Toro Pittskin, I'm going to tell you that a funny thing happened to me. On the way, the captain of the infantry broke me, I had no money, and the hotel owner wanted to send me to prison. Go. All of a sudden, because of my Petersburg look and dress, the whole town recognized me as a minister. I am now living in the mayor's house, enjoying a happy life, courting his wife and his daughter; not yet Decide which woman to start with first--perhaps his wife, because this woman is supposed to be willing to obey. You should remember how you and I lived poorly and ate nothing, and the candy store once My boss grabbed me by the collar and humiliated me because I ate a few of his pies for nothing. Now it's a different situation. Everyone lends me as much money as they want. It's so funny Yeah, you'd die laughing if you were here. I know you're writing articles now, and you can put their absurd behavior into words. The most important thing is that the mayor is as stupid as a gray gelding... "

Mayor What, how could this be?impossible!Absolutely impossible.

Postmaster (showing the letter) Take it and read it yourself.

The Mayor (reads) "Like a gray gelding." No such words!You wrote it yourself.

Postmaster What am I writing on?
Administrator read it, read it!

Inspector read on!
Postmaster (read on) "The Mayor is like a gray gelding..."

Mayor bastard!Repeatedly!Isn't it enough to read it once?

THE POSTMASTER (Reading on) Mm... Mm... Mm... Mm... "Grey gelding. The Postmaster is good too..." (Stops reading) He also had unkind descriptions of me.

Read it, the mayor!

The postmaster should not read it, right? ...

You bastard mayor, if you read it, you should read it.Read it all!
The administrator asked me to read it. (Puts on glasses and begins to read) "The postmaster looks like Mikhaiev, the valet in the department. He must be a jerk and likes to get drunk."

The postmaster (to the audience) is a bad thing, should be whipped, I really have nothing to say!

Administrator (continue reading) "The director of the Charity Hospital is...is..." (Stuttering)

Why did Guo stop?Read it quickly.

The administrator's handwriting is a little unclear...but he's clearly an asshole.

Guo show me!My eyes are better, so I can read it. (take credit)

Administrator (refusing to send a letter) No, this paragraph can be skipped, and the following will be clear.

Guo to me, I know what's going on.

The administrator can read it—I can read it myself.The following is clear.

The postmaster can't do it, read it all!Read it all before.

Get out the letter, everyone, Artim Filipapitch, get out the letter! (to Guo Luobojin) Read it.

Admin OK, OK. (hands the letter) Here... (covers with finger) Read from here.

[Everyone surrounds him. ]
Postmaster Read it, read it!It doesn't matter, read it all!
Guo (reads) "Zemlyanika, the director of Charity Hospital, is a pig wearing a cap."

Admin (to audience) That's not very humorous!A pig in a hat!How can there be pigs wearing caps!

Guo (continues to read) Inspector smells like green onions all over his body.

God knows the inspector, I never eat shallots in my mouth.

Judge (narrator) God forbid, at least it's not about me!
Guo (reading) "Judge..."

The judge is miserable! ... (voice out) Guys, I think this letter is too long.Whatever it is, what are you doing reading such nonsense?
Inspectors can't do it, you have to read it!

Not the postmaster, read on!
Administrators can't, read on!

Kuo (read on) Judge Lebukin-Japkin is the most powerful Movento 38 (stop) is probably French.

Judge who knows what that means!If it's meant to be a liar, that's okay, maybe worse than that.

Guo (read on) Yet they were all hospitable and kind-hearted people.Good-bye, dear Tolopitzkin.I myself will follow your example and engage in literary work.Living like this is really boring, and I really want to express what is in my heart.I feel that noble work must be done now.Correspondence to the village of Botkachilovka, Saratov province. (Turns the letter over, reads the address on the letter) St. Petersburg, 97 Post Street, courtyard, third floor, on the right, Mr. Ivan Vasilievich Torypidzkin.

Mrs. X was really unexpected, how could such a thing happen?

The mayor is so deceitful!I was hurt badly by him, I was really hurt by him!There are pig faces and donkey faces in front of me, but there is no human face. This is the end of the matter... Chasing him back, chasing him back quickly! (waving)

Where can the postmaster come back!As he was a great man, I specially ordered the postmaster to bring them the best troika, which was arranged long ago.

Guo's wife really made a fool of herself this time!
Bad luck for the judge!He borrowed three hundred rubles from me.

The administrator also borrowed three hundred from me.

Postmaster (sighs) Oh!I also borrowed three hundred rubles from me.

Bob lent me and Peter Ivanovitch 65 rubles.

Judge (waves hands in confusion) What's going on?How did we all become fools?

The mayor (tapping his forehead) What's the matter?I turned out to be a fool too.I am so old-fashioned! ... I have been an official for 30 years, and none of the businessmen and contractors will count on me. No matter how cunning a liar is, he can only be defeated by me.I have lied to three governors! ... What is the governor! (Waves hands) What is the Governor...

However, all this is impossible.He's engaged to Maria...

The mayor (angry) is engaged!What is an engagement!That's a bloody engagement... (Furiously) Look, look, people all over the world, Christians, look, the mayor is being fooled the most!What a fool!What an old bastard! (threatening himself with his fist) You useless thing!To think that a dubious person is an imperial envoy!Now he is running on the road, and the little bell keeps ringing!Spread the story around the world.Not only would we be the butt of jokes, but he'd find someone who could play with words and put us all in a comedy.How exasperating!No matter what position people are in, everyone will laugh out loud, clap their hands and cheer.What are you laughing at?laugh at yourselves! ...yourselves! ... (He raised his leg and knocked on the floor with hatred) I hate these people who like to write when they have nothing to do, those people who write and write are hateful, hateful free thinkers!They are sowing the devil's seed!They should all be roped and pulverized to fill the soles of the devil's shoes!Put it in his hat! ... (stamping fists and feet angrily)

[After a moment of silence. ]
Now I can't recover.Indeed, if God wishes to punish a man, he must first take away his reason.In what way does the floating boy look like an imperial envoy?Not at all!Not even a little finger, but everyone said he was the imperial envoy, the imperial envoy!Who first said that he was an imperial envoy?Answer!

The administrator (hastily waved his hand) Who would have thought of this, I really can't explain it.Even if the knife rests on my neck, I can't explain it clearly.I thought he was the imperial envoy, how could I think he was the imperial envoy?

Judge who said it?It's not what these two stupid young people said! (pointing to Dobchinski and Bobchinski)
Bao isn't me, I didn't think...

It's not me, it has nothing to do with me...

You are the administrators, and we all remember you.

Did the inspectors forget?You come running from the hotel like crazy: "Come on, come on, don't pay..." Important people have been found!
The mayor is right, it is you, it is you who spread rumors and make troubles, the beginning of all evil!
Admins, you are really damned for making such rumors.

Mayor, you will only run around the city and disturb everyone's peace!You're always spreading rumors, you're short-tailed crows!

Judge hateful two people!

Inspector simple-minded fools!

Admin short-bellied mushrooms!
[Everyone surrounds the two of them. ]
Really, it's none of my business, it's all Peter Ivanovitch's idea.

No, how could it be me?You were the first to say...

No, Bao, you said it first.

▲The last game

[Characters and Gendarmerie]
The imperial envoy of the gendarme, who came from Petersburg by imperial order, invites you to come and see him immediately.He lives in a hotel.

[These words shocked everyone like thunder.Surprised voices flew out from the woman's mouth in unison; all the people suddenly changed their positions and stayed there as if frozen.The mayor stands in the center of the stage, like a pillar, with his hands outstretched in front of him and his head thrown back.On his right hand, his wife and daughter are in the posture of rushing to him.Behind is the postmaster, transformed into a questioning sign, facing the viewer.Behind him came the inspector, with the utmost innocence, showing a flustered look.In the past, there were three women on the edge of the stage, the female guests, leaning on each other, all the way towards the mayor's house, making very mocking faces.To the mayor's left is Zemlyanika, with his head bent slightly, as if listening to him; behind him is the judge, with his hands outstretched, almost squatting on the ground, making a gesture of his lips as if about to scream , or say: "This is terrible, bad days are coming!" Golobkin squinted at the audience from behind, making vicious hints at the mayor; Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky stood Next to him, gestures are sprinting towards each other, mouths are open, eyes are staring at each other.The rest of the guests also stood there like wooden pillars.For about a minute and a half, the frozen cast remained in this posture.The curtain falls. ]
▲【Appreciation of works】

Gogol's "The Imperial Envoy" brought together all the ugliness and injustices of the Russian bureaucratic society, and "laughed at it vividly".The story happened in a remote city in Russia, when a group of officials headed by the mayor heard the news that the imperial envoy came to inspect, they panicked and took a passing petty Petersburg official Hlesdakov as the imperial envoy, and treated him as an imperial envoy. Flattery, bribery.Just when the mayor betrothed his daughter to this "imperial envoy" and was dreaming of getting promoted and making a fortune, news came that the real imperial envoy had arrived, and it ended in a dumb show.

With remarkable artistic realism, Gogol portrayed the treacherous mayor, the dereliction of duty judge, the head of a charity hospital who cares nothing about the lives of patients, the ignorant school inspector, and the postmaster who stole letters—all these images are extremely real It clearly reflects the essential characteristics of the Russian bureaucracy, which are corrupt, flattering, despicable and vulgar.When the mayor was publicly exposed, he did not spare the postmaster; when the postmaster was exposed, he did not let go of the director of the charity hospital; and the director of the charity hospital did not let anyone else go.These seemingly meaningless and repetitive dialogues are actually closely linked one after another, pushing the plot forward.We saw a group of clowns gloating and tearing each other down one after another, making a lot of fools.From it, we can see the ugly prototype of the dignitaries in Russian society at that time and the darkness, decay and absurdity of the society under the tsarist autocratic rule.

Lesdakoff is a representative of the provincial youth with Petersburg aristocratic and bureaucratic habits, frivolous, superficial, vain, boastful, and shameless, which was typical of Russian society at that time.

(End of this chapter)