The comedy “Woe from Wit” refused a great influence on all Russian literature and took far from the last place in it. In this work there is a confrontation between two heroes - Famusov and Chatsky. This is not just a disagreement between the two characters, but a duel between two views of the world, and, one might say, two eras - “the present century and the century past”. Chatsky is a truly ambitious man of wide views. A brief description of Famusov betrays a person who depends on public opinion, reckons with established rules and rejects everything that goes beyond the rules and traditions established in society and even his own understanding. He is afraid that his reputation and the reputation of his family might be shaken, he is even concerned about possible gossip about him and about what is happening at his place. A more detailed description of Famusov will be discussed below.
His surname is a derivative of the Latin word "fama", in translation - rumor or rumor. So, the action “Woe from Wit” begins from the moment when Chatsky comes to the house of the Famusov family, to his beloved Sophia, daughter of Famusov, whom she had not seen for three years. She, to his extreme and unpleasant surprise, is cold to him. It turns out that her lover is Molchalin, the secretary of her father. This is even more striking for Chatsky, since he deeply despises this man for his desire to curry favor with everyone, cringing and honoring.
Famusov’s share was not an easy day. First, his daughter fools his fans. Then Chatsky annoys him with his speeches, incomprehensible to him; in the end he
there is a suspicion that his guest is crazy. After that, he tries by all means to convince his daughter that she should not be with the “crazy Volterian”. After all, Chatsky, with his progressive views, is completely incomprehensible to Famusov, a rather limited person. Therefore, he expresses his dissatisfaction with him. All day, he cannot figure out the intrigues of youth. First, he tries to find out who exactly is to the liking of his daughter. Then he warns her of Chatsky, a freethinker and a Volterian.
Griboedov’s characteristic of Famusov points to a person who is extremely conservative, afraid of any changes and public opinion, who perceives everything “strange”, incomprehensible to his limited consciousness, as immoral and dangerous. He is frightened by Chatsky’s habit of having his own opinion, reaching out to everything with his own mind, while not being guided by the concepts of those around him.
Therefore, he shows his “Volterian” his rejection. In addition, the characterization of Famusov as an uneducated person who despises “scholarship and doctrine, the reason for crazy opinions”, a brutal serf and close-minded manager in a public place clearly does not honor him. He humiliates the dignity of his servants, and often threatens one of her with a “reference to the settlement”.
The attitude to Famusov’s service is purely bureaucratic. For him, the main thing is ranks, profitable connections and money.
Famusov’s characteristic is the exact opposite of Chatsky’s qualities. On this example, the author accurately and with humor reveals the conflict of generations, as well as the conflict of society and individuals who do not share some concepts of this society. In general, the characteristics of Famusov and Chatsky are the opposition of people from the “past century” and the “present century”.