Life in St. Petersburg
Khlestakov spares no words describing his life in the capital and the balls that he says he is throwing almost every week. “It's a simple affair, not worth talking about! On the table, for instance, is a water-melon that costs seven hundred rubles. The soup comes straight from Paris by steamer in the tureen: there's nothing in the world to be compared with its flavour!” His boasting creates a rather significant impression on the audience in the governor’s house—but, of course, is nothing but boasting.
Deceptive Appearances
When Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky inform the Mayor that there is a young man in the inn “rather good-looking and well-dressed—and walks into the room, with such an expression on his face—such a physiognomy—and a style so distinguished a head-piece,” he understands that this must be the governor inspector. Why does everyone around decide so? Because of the appearance and manners of this man. The image of a well-educated person with good manners and exquisite holding of himself is a deceptive one. The Mayor also thinks that because he does not exactly look like what they expected—a general, someone large and imposing—that this, yes, has to be him.
The Mayor's False Faith
When the Mayor worries about the situation with the government inspector, he says, "God help me out of this mess quickly and I'll light the most enormous candle you've ever seen. I'll make each shopkeeper stump up for a hundred pounds of wax" (232). This is a fantastic image: an absurdly large candle, a monument to the pride, ignorance, and insincerity of the Mayor and his cronies. There is no candle so large as to excuse their ineptitude, but it is a funny image nonetheless.
The Mute Scene
Perhaps the single most powerful image in the play is the very last scene in which all the characters, upon hearing that the real government inspector has arrived, freeze into a tableau of shocked, wry, and flummoxed expressions. They are to hold these positions for a minute and a half, which allows the audience to contemplate the events that have happened and those that are likely to come. It gives an air of gravitas to what mostly seems like pure comedy/satire, helping to enforce the themes of the Antichrist and the Last Judgment.
