The Minor

2 hrs. 47 min.

Classics

Language Russian

Author Denis Fonvizin

Narrator Alexander Terenkov

Description

Self-styled fashionable teachers, servants, serfs, arrogant noblemen, and foolish government officials—all of this is in Denis Fonvizin’s audiobook “The Minor” (“Nedorosl”). But the author portrays the actual characters in a far from flattering light. Mrs. Mitrofanova doesn’t shy away from profanity; she keeps strict control not only over her own son, but also over her husband. For her, upbringing and education are nothing more than the performance of society’s fashionable conventions—so for her son, teachers include both a retired sergeant and a former coachman. Is it surprising that the writer sharply criticizes the “upper” strata of society of those times?