Was the
characterization of Mitrofan from the comedy "The Little Growth" of the comedy by Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin an author's fiction? It is believed that the prototype of Mitrofan Terentyevich Prostakov was a real historical figure - Alexei Nikolaevich Olenin. It should also be noted that the author of the comedy was personally acquainted with the founder of the Russian national theater A.P. Sumarokov, was fascinated by the educational ideas of Voltaire.
The prototype of Mitrofanushki
The real undergrowth was of an old noble origin on the maternal side - from the family of the Volkonsky princes. The father of the young landowner - a retired colonel of the Life Guards - obviously did not pay enough attention to the education of the undergrowth. Alyosha grew up in permissiveness in his father’s estate, located in s. Salasur of Ryazan governorship of the Moscow province. Focusing on some phrases of Alexei and his hobbies, he created Fonvizin “Undergrowth”. Mitrofan’s characterization turned out to be recognizable, though not documentary.
Mitrofan's views on life
The fifteen-year-old young man is convinced that, having a noble origin, he can ignore many “secondary”, in his opinion, things: education, upbringing, hard work, harmonious relations with people. If Peter I obligated the young people to serve the Fatherland after studying, then in the future the requirements were limited only to education. The characterization of Mitrofan from the comedy The Undergrowth shows how pride is gradually developing from this highly erroneous point of view, which threatens to destroy his life in the future. Upon learning that the girl Sophia is gifted by the landowner Starodum with considerable wealth, he tries on the role of the groom. Indeed, why study when a wedding brings prosperity for the rest of your life? He despises his father, considering him a jerk, mocking his teachers.
To show her son in a favorable light in front of the insightful Starodum, Ms. Prostakova is trying to present him as educated. This anecdotal attempt by a semi-literate mother is doomed to failure, and so it turns out. Sophia is in love with a truly worthy young man - Milon.
The characterization of Mitrofan from the comedy "The Little Growth" is given by the Starodum resonator extremely briefly and comprehensively: "Unenlightened, and also deprived of the soul." Indeed, a young landowner cherishing his ego does not bother himself with labor and establishing friendly relations with other people
conclusions
Did Fonvizin comedy succeed? The question, of course, is rhetorical. However, I would like to answer how Alyosha Olenin himself was influenced by the phonvizin characteristics of Mitrofan. The undergrowth turned out to be, of course, a bummer, but not a fool. According to contemporaries, the young man not only recognized himself in Mitrofan Terentyevich, but was shocked by the look at himself from the side, he was really ashamed. Thus, the
work of Fonvizin became a powerful incentive for the education and upbringing of Aleksei Nikolaevich Olenin. Who would have thought that the characterization of Mitrofan from the comedy "Undergrowth" motivates Alyosha with such force? This man considered the image of young Prostakov as his personal reference point, the motivation for a crazy concentration on education and work. And, as a result, we are now talking about Alexei Olenin as a person who created a backlog for the national bibliography, equivalent to the contribution of Fonvizin himself to the development of Russian comedy. In addition, Olenin was the President of the Academy of Arts, a recognized authority in history and archeology.