Woe From Wit - Characters

Characters

Griboyedov's characters, while typical of the period, are stamped in the really common clay of humanity. They all, down to the most episodic characters, have the same perfection of finish and clearness of outline.

• Pavel Afanasyevich Famusov, the father, the head of an important department, the born conservative of all time, the cynical and placid philosopher of good digestion, the pillar of stable society;
• Sofia Pavlovna, his daughter, the heroine neither idealized nor caricatured, with a strange, drily romantic flavour. With her fixity of purpose, her ready wit, and her deep, but reticent, passionateness, she is the principal active force in the play and the plot is advanced mainly by her actions.
• Liza, her maid;
• Alexey Stepanovich Molchalin, Famusov's secretary living in his house, the sneak who plays whist with old ladies, pets their dogs, and acts the lover to his patron's daughter;
• Alexandr Andreyevich Chatsky, the protagonist. Sometimes irrelevantly eloquent, he leads a generous, if vague, revolt against the vegetably selfish world of Famusovs and Molchalins. His exhilarating, youthful idealism, his go, his élan is of the family of Romeo. Tradition tells that the character is modeled after Pyotr Chaadaev, an original and controversial Russian writer and philosopher, with whom Griboyedov was acquainted. It is significant that, in spite of all his apparent lack of clear-cut personality, his part is the traditional touchstone for a Russian actor. Great Chatskys are as rare and as highly valued in Russia as are great Hamlets in Britain.
• Colonel Skalozub, Sergey Sergeyevich
• The Goriches:
  • Natalia Dmitriyevna, young lady
  • Platon Mikhailovich, her husband
• Count Tugoukhovsky
• Countess, his wife, and six daughters
• The Khryuminas:
  • Countess Khryumina, the grandmother
  • Countess Khryumina, the granddaughter
• Anton Antonovich Zagoretsky
• Old woman Khlyostova, Famusov's sister-in-law
• Mr. N.
• Mr. D.
• Repetilov, the Anglomaniac orator of the coffee room and of the club, burning for freedom and stinking of liquor, the witless admirer of wit, and the bosom friend of all his acquaintances;
• Petrushka and several speaking footmen;
• A large number of guests of all ranks and their footmen engaged during their departure;
• Famusov's waiters.

A number of the characters have names that go a long way toward describing their personality in Russian. Molchalin's name comes from the verb molchat', to be silent, and he is a character of few words. Tugoukhovsky's name comes from roots meaning "difficult" (tugo) and "ear" (ukho), implying that he is hard of hearing. Skalozub's name is an inversion of the Russian zuboskal, either a dim-witted man, or a man with primitive social graces (literally, "one who grins a lot"). Famusov's name is derived from Latin fama, meaning "public opinion" or "repute", which is a matter of great importance to that character.