# The Inspector General: every role by lines, words, and stage time

> Nikolai Gogol, translated by Thomas Seltzer. 37 speaking roles, 22,785 words, about 163 minutes of speech.

- URL: https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-inspector-general
- Last updated: 2026-10-08

**Governor** has the most to say in The Inspector General: about 734 lines and 6,532 words, 28.7% of the play. Gogol’s satire follows the officials of a provincial town who mistake a penniless young traveler for a government inspector. The Governor is the largest part, with nearly 29% of the words, and Khlestakov follows at about 23%. Khlestakov does not speak until Act 2 and is absent from Act 5, which belongs to the Governor and the town.

- Speaking roles: 37
- Scenes: 52
- Words: 22,785
- Speech time: 163 min

## Every role, largest first

| Role | Lines | Words | Share | Minutes | Scenes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Governor | 734 | 6,532 | 28.7% | 46.7 | 21 |
| Khlestakov | 637 | 5,218 | 22.9% | 37.3 | 26 |
| Anna | 253 | 2,120 | 9.3% | 15.1 | 15 |
| Osip | 175 | 1,528 | 6.7% | 10.9 | 11 |
| Bobchinsky | 128 | 1,104 | 4.8% | 7.9 | 9 |
| Artemy | 128 | 1,031 | 4.5% | 7.4 | 10 |
| Postmaster | 112 | 875 | 3.8% | 6.3 | 4 |
| Ammos | 105 | 839 | 3.7% | 6.0 | 8 |
| Dobchinsky | 85 | 685 | 3% | 4.9 | 8 |
| Marya | 59 | 427 | 1.9% | 3.1 | 11 |
| Luka | 49 | 349 | 1.5% | 2.5 | 6 |
| Merchants | 37 | 324 | 1.4% | 2.3 | 2 |
| Locksmith’s Wife | 31 | 289 | 1.3% | 2.1 | 1 |
| Servant | 33 | 210 | 0.9% | 1.5 | 3 |
| Korobkin | 25 | 198 | 0.9% | 1.4 | 3 |
| A Merchant | 19 | 186 | 0.8% | 1.3 | 2 |
| Luka’s Wife | 17 | 163 | 0.7% | 1.2 | 1 |
| Judge | 13 | 107 | 0.5% | 0.8 | 1 |
| Widow | 12 | 94 | 0.4% | 0.7 | 1 |
| Captain | 11 | 82 | 0.4% | 0.6 | 2 |
| Mishka | 12 | 78 | 0.3% | 0.6 | 1 |
| Korobkin’s Wife | 7 | 53 | 0.2% | 0.4 | 3 |
| Rastakovsky | 5 | 40 | 0.2% | 0.3 | 2 |
| Svistunov | 7 | 38 | 0.2% | 0.3 | 2 |
| Merchant’s Voice | 4 | 31 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 1 |
| Gendarme | 3 | 25 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 1 |
| Luka Lukich | 4 | 21 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 3 |
| Guest | 2 | 19 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Liuliukov | 2 | 18 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Derzhimorda’s Voice | 2 | 14 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Bobchinsky’s Voice | 1 | 8 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Postilion | 4 | 7 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Many Guests | 1 | 5 | 0% | 0.0 | 1 |
| A Lady | 1 | 4 | 0% | 0.0 | 1 |
| Ammos Fiodorovich | 1 | 4 | 0% | 0.0 | 1 |
| Artemy Filippovich | 1 | 4 | 0% | 0.0 | 1 |
| Derzhimorda | 1 | 4 | 0% | 0.0 | 1 |

## Who speaks in which scene

Words each role speaks in each scene (scene: words). Scenes: 1.1 = Act 1, Scene 1; 1.2 = Act 1, Scene 2; 1.3 = Act 1, Scene 3; 1.4 = Act 1, Scene 4; 1.5 = Act 1, Scene 5; 1.6 = Act 1, Scene 6; 2.1 = Act 2, Scene 1; 2.2 = Act 2, Scene 2; 2.3 = Act 2, Scene 3; 2.4 = Act 2, Scene 4; 2.5 = Act 2, Scene 5; 2.6 = Act 2, Scene 6; 2.7 = Act 2, Scene 7; 2.8 = Act 2, Scene 8; 2.9 = Act 2, Scene 9; 2.10 = Act 2, Scene 10; 3.1 = Act 3, Scene 1; 3.2 = Act 3, Scene 2; 3.3 = Act 3, Scene 3; 3.4 = Act 3, Scene 4; 3.5 = Act 3, Scene 5; 3.6 = Act 3, Scene 6; 3.7 = Act 3, Scene 7; 3.8 = Act 3, Scene 8; 3.9 = Act 3, Scene 9; 3.10 = Act 3, Scene 10; 3.11 = Act 3, Scene 11; 4.1 = Act 4, Scene 1; 4.2 = Act 4, Scene 2; 4.3 = Act 4, Scene 3; 4.4 = Act 4, Scene 4; 4.5 = Act 4, Scene 5; 4.6 = Act 4, Scene 6; 4.7 = Act 4, Scene 7; 4.8 = Act 4, Scene 8; 4.9 = Act 4, Scene 9; 4.10 = Act 4, Scene 10; 4.11 = Act 4, Scene 11; 4.12 = Act 4, Scene 12; 4.13 = Act 4, Scene 13; 4.14 = Act 4, Scene 14; 4.15 = Act 4, Scene 15; 4.16 = Act 4, Scene 16; 5.1 = Act 5, Scene 1; 5.2 = Act 5, Scene 2; 5.3 = Act 5, Scene 3; 5.4 = Act 5, Scene 4; 5.5 = Act 5, Scene 5; 5.6 = Act 5, Scene 6; 5.7 = Act 5, Scene 7; 5.8 = Act 5, Scene 8; 5.L = Act 5, Last scene.

- **Governor**: 1.1 (1,210), 1.2 (280), 1.3 (246), 1.4 (246), 1.5 (391), 1.6 (3), 2.8 (793), 2.9 (18), 2.10 (261), 3.5 (339), 3.6 (45), 3.9 (307), 3.10 (225), 3.11 (140), 4.15 (264), 4.16 (139), 5.1 (510), 5.2 (468), 5.6 (13), 5.7 (127), 5.8 (507)
- **Khlestakov**: 2.2 (108), 2.3 (128), 2.4 (129), 2.5 (172), 2.6 (328), 2.7 (122), 2.8 (640), 2.9 (31), 2.10 (68), 3.5 (179), 3.6 (1,079), 4.2 (111), 4.3 (115), 4.4 (207), 4.5 (207), 4.6 (185), 4.7 (115), 4.8 (159), 4.9 (164), 4.10 (154), 4.11 (82), 4.12 (319), 4.13 (110), 4.14 (17), 4.15 (97), 4.16 (192)
- **Anna**: 1.6 (321), 3.1 (166), 3.2 (348), 3.3 (128), 3.6 (151), 3.8 (119), 3.9 (50), 3.10 (84), 4.13 (88), 4.14 (188), 4.15 (40), 5.1 (181), 5.2 (7), 5.7 (239), 5.8 (10)
- **Osip**: 2.1 (671), 2.2 (179), 2.6 (3), 2.7 (13), 3.4 (96), 3.10 (190), 4.8 (1), 4.9 (252), 4.10 (64), 4.11 (21), 4.16 (38)
- **Bobchinsky**: 1.3 (651), 1.4 (40), 2.10 (30), 3.5 (21), 3.7 (92), 4.7 (173), 5.5 (54), 5.7 (8), 5.8 (35)
- **Artemy**: 1.1 (90), 1.3 (57), 3.5 (89), 3.6 (4), 3.7 (37), 4.1 (164), 4.6 (329), 5.3 (29), 5.7 (76), 5.8 (156)
- **Postmaster**: 1.2 (219), 4.1 (18), 4.4 (77), 5.8 (561)
- **Ammos**: 1.1 (205), 1.2 (71), 1.3 (107), 4.1 (130), 4.3 (106), 5.3 (20), 5.7 (107), 5.8 (93)
- **Dobchinsky**: 1.3 (101), 2.10 (5), 3.2 (292), 3.7 (9), 4.7 (210), 5.5 (46), 5.7 (7), 5.8 (15)

## The longest speeches

| Speech | Scene | Words | Lines |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Osip: “The devil take it! I’m so hungry. There’s a racket in my belly, as if a whole regiment were blowing trumpets. We’ll never reach home. I’d like to know what we are going to do. Two months already since we left St. Pete. He’s gone through all his cash, the precious buck, so now he sticks here with his tail between his legs and takes it easy. We’d have had enough and more than enough to pay for the fare, but no he must exhibit himself in every town. “Osip, get me the best room to be had and order the best dinner they serve. I can’t stand bad food. I must have the best.” It would be all right for a somebody, but for a common copying clerk! Goes and gets acquainted with the other travellers, plays cards, and plays himself out of his last penny. Oh, I’m sick of this life. It’s better in our village, really. There isn’t so much going on, but then there is less to bother about. You get yourself a wife and lie on the stove all the time and eat pie. Of course, if you wanted to tell the truth, there’s no denying it that there’s nothing like living in St. Pete. All you want is money. And then you can live smart and classy—theeadres, dogs to dance for you, everything, and everybody talks so genteel, pretty near like in high society. If you go to the Schukin bazaar, the shopkeepers cry, “Gentlemen,” at you. You sit with the officials in the ferry boat. If you want company, you go into a shop. A sport there will tell you about life in the barracks and explain the meaning of every star in the sky, so that you see them all as if you held them in your hand. Then an old officer’s wife will gossip, or a pretty chambermaid will dart a look at you—ta, ta, ta! And what deucedly civil manners they have, too. You never hear no impolite language. They always say “Mister” to you. If you are tired of walking, why you take a cab and sit in it like a lord. And if you don’t feel like paying, then you don’t. Every house has an openwork gate and you can slip through and the devil himself won’t catch you. There’s one bad thing, though; sometimes you get first class eats and sometimes you’re so starved you nearly drop—like now. It’s all his fault. What can you do with him? His dad sends him money to keep him going, but the devil a lot it does. He goes off on a spree, rides in cabs, gets me to buy a theeadre ticket for him every day, and in a week look at him—sends me to the old clo’es man to sell his new dress coat. Sometimes he gets rid of everything down to his last shirt and is left with nothing except his coat and overcoat. Upon my word, it’s the truth. And such fine cloth, too. English, you know. One dress coat costs him a hundred and fifty rubles and he sells it to the old clo’es man for twenty. No use saying nothing about his pants. They go for a song. And why? Because he doesn’t tend to his business. Instead of sticking to his job, he gads about on the Prospect and plays cards. Ah, if the old gentleman only knew it! He wouldn’t care that you are an official. He’d lift up your little shirtie and would lay it on so that you’d go about rubbing yourself for a week. If you have a job, stick to it. Here’s the innkeeper says he won’t let you have anything to eat unless you pay your back bills. Well, and suppose we don’t pay. Oh, good God! If only I could get cabbage soup. I think I could eat up the whole world now. There’s a knock at the door. I suppose it’s him.” | Act 2, Scene 1 | 671 | 68 |
| Khlestakov: “Immense! For instance, watermelon will be served costing seven hundred rubles. The soup comes in the tureen straight from Paris by steamer. When the lid is raised, the aroma of the steam is like nothing else in the world. And we have formed a circle for playing whist—the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the French, the English and the German Ambassadors and myself. We play so hard we kill ourselves over the cards. There’s nothing like it. After it’s over I’m so tired I run home up the stairs to the fourth floor and tell the cook, “Here, Marushka, take my coat”—What am I talking about?—I forgot that I live on the first floor. One flight up costs me—My foyer before I rise in the morning is an interesting spectacle indeed—counts and princes jostling each other and humming like bees. All you hear is buzz, buzz, buzz. Sometimes the Minister— Even my mail comes addressed “Your Excellency.” And once I even had charge of a department. A strange thing happened. The head of the department went off, disappeared, no one knew where. Of course there was a lot of talk about how the place would be filled, who would fill it, and all that sort of thing. There were ever so many generals hungry for the position, and they tried, but they couldn’t cope with it. It’s too hard. Just on the surface it looks easy enough; but when you come to examine it closely, it’s the devil of a job. When they saw they couldn’t manage, they came to me. In an instant the streets were packed full with couriers, nothing but couriers and couriers—thirty-five thousand of them, imagine! Pray, picture the situation to yourself! “Ivan Aleksandrovich, do come and take the directorship of the department.” I admit I was a little embarrassed. I came out in my dressing-gown. I wanted to decline, but I thought it might reach the Czar’s ears, and, besides, my official record—“Very well, gentlemen,” I said, “I’ll accept the position, I’ll accept. So be it. But mind,” I said, “na-na-na, look.” Sharp is the word with me, look sharp!” And so it was. When I went through the offices of my department, it was a regular earthquake, Everyone trembled and shook like a leaf. Oh, I don’t like to joke. I got all of them thoroughly scared, I tell you. Even the Imperial Council is afraid of me. And really, that’s the sort I am. I don’t spare anybody. I tell them all, “I know myself, I know myself.” I am everywhere, everywhere. I go to Court daily. Tomorrow they are going to make me a field-marsh—” | Act 3, Scene 6 | 449 | 45 |
| Bobchinsky: “Yes, of rather good appearance and dressed in citizen’s clothes—walking up and down the room. There was something out of the usual about his face, you know, something deep—and a manner about him—and here full, full of everything. I had a sort of feeling, and I said to Dobchinsky, “Something’s up. This is no ordinary matter.” Yes, and Dobchinsky beckoned to the landlord, Vlas, the innkeeper, you know—three weeks ago his wife presented him with a baby—a bouncer—he’ll grow up just like his father and keep a tavern.—Well, we beckoned to Vlas, and Dobchinsky asked him on the quiet, “Who,” he asked, “is that young man?” “That young man,” Vlas replied, “that young man”—Oh, don’t interrupt, Piotr Ivanovich, please don’t interrupt. You can’t tell the story. Upon my word, you can’t. You lisp and one tooth in your mouth makes you whistle. I know what I’m saying. “That young man,” he said, “is an official.”—Yes, sir.—“On his way from St. Petersburg. And his name,” he said, “is Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov, and he’s going,” he said “to the government of Saratov,” he said. “And he acts so queerly. It’s the second week he’s been here and he’s never left the house; and he won’t pay a penny, takes everything on account.” When Vlas told me that, a light dawned on me from above, and I said to Piotr Ivanovich, “Hey!”—” | Act 1, Scene 3 | 239 | 24 |
| Governor: “I’m a decent person myself, mother. But, really, think, Anna Andreyevna, what gay birds we have turned into now, you and I. Eh, Anna Andreyevna? High fliers, by Jove! Wait now, I’ll give those fellows who were so eager to present their petitions and denunciations a peppering. Ho, who’s there? Is it you, Ivan Karpovich? Call those merchants here, brother, won’t you? I’ll give it to them, the scoundrels! To make such complaints against me! The damned pack of Jews! Wait, my dear fellows. I used to dose you down to your ears. Now I’ll dose you down to your beards. Make a list of all who came to protest against me, especially the mean petty scribblers who cooked the petitions up for them, and announce to all that they should know what honor the Heavens have bestowed upon the Governor, namely this: that he is marrying his daughter, not to a plain ordinary man, but to one the like of whom has never yet been in the world, who can do everything, everything, everything, everything! Proclaim it to all so that everybody should know. Shout it aloud to the whole world. Ring the bell, the devil take it! It is a triumph, and we will make it a triumph. So that’s the way, Anna Andreyevna, eh? What shall we do now? Where shall we live? Here or in St. Pete?” | Act 5, Scene 1 | 231 | 24 |
| Governor: “Engaged! Rats! Fiddlesticks! So much for your engagement! Thrusts her engagement at me now! Here, look at me! Look at me, the whole world, the whole of Christendom. See what a fool the governor was made of. Out upon him, the fool, the old scoundrel! Oh, you fat-nose! To take an icicle, a rag for a personage of rank! Now his coach bells are jingling all along the road. He is publishing the story to the whole world. Not only will you be made a laughingstock of, but some scribbler, some ink-splasher will put you into a comedy. There’s the horrid sting. He won’t spare either rank or station. And everybody will grin and clap his hands. What are you laughing at? You are laughing at yourself, oh you! I would give it to all those ink-splashers! You scribblers, damned liberals, devil’s brood! I would tie you all up in a bundle, I would grind you into meal, and give it to the devil. I can’t come to myself. It’s really true, whom the gods want to punish they first make mad. In what did that nincompoop resemble an inspector general? In nothing, not even half the little finger of an inspector general. And all of a sudden everybody is going about saying, “Inspector general, inspector general.” Who was the first to say it? Tell me.” | Act 5, Scene 8 | 226 | 23 |
| Governor: “Oh, it isn’t a matter of words now. Do you know that the very official to whom you complained is going to marry my daughter? Well, what do you say to that? Now I’ll make you smart. You cheat the people, you make a contract with the government, and you do the government out of a hundred thousand, supplying it with rotten cloth; and when you give fifteen yards away gratis, you expect a reward besides. If they knew, they would send you to—And you strut about sticking out your paunches with a great air of importance: “I’m a merchant, don’t touch me.” “We,” you say, “are as good as the nobility.” Yes, the nobility, you monkey-faces. The nobleman is educated. If he gets flogged in school, it is for a purpose, to learn something useful. And you—start out in life learning trickery. Your master beats you for not being able to cheat. When you are still little boys and don’t know the Lord’s Prayer, you already give short measure and short weight. And when your bellies swell and your pockets fill up, then you assume an air of importance. Whew! What marvels! Because you guzzle sixteen samovars full a day, that’s why you put on an air of importance. I spit on your heads and on your importance.” | Act 5, Scene 2 | 221 | 23 |
| Governor: “I had a sort of presentiment of it. Last night I kept dreaming of two rats—regular monsters! Upon my word, I never saw the likes of them—black and supernaturally big. They came in, sniffed, and then went away.—Here’s a letter I’ll read to you—from Andrey Ivanovich. You know him, Artemy Filippovich. Listen to what he writes: “My dear friend, godfather and benefactor— —and to let you know”—Ah, that’s it—“I hasten to let you know, among other things, that an official has arrived here with instructions to inspect the whole government, and your district especially. I have learned of his being here from highly trustworthy sources, though he pretends to be a private person. So, as you have your little peccadilloes, you know, like everybody else—you are a sensible man, and you don’t let the good things that come your way slip by—” H’m, that’s his junk—“I advise you to take precautions, as he may arrive any hour, if he hasn’t already, and is not staying somewhere incognito.—Yesterday—” The rest are family matters. “Sister Anna Krillovna is here visiting us with her husband. Ivan Krillovich has grown very fat and is always playing the fiddle”—et cetera, et cetera. So there you have the situation we are confronted with, gentlemen.” | Act 1, Scene 1 | 218 | 22 |
| Governor: “Well, then, this is what you are to do.—Sergeant Pugovichyn—he is tall. So he is to stand on duty on the bridge for appearance’ sake. Then the old fence near the bootmaker’s must be pulled down at once and a post stuck up with a whisp of straw so as to look like grading. The more debris there is the more it will show the governor’s activity.—Good God, though, I forgot that about forty cartloads of rubbish have been dumped against that fence. What a vile, filthy town this is! A monument, or even only a fence, is erected, and instantly they bring a lot of dirt together, from the devil knows where, and dump it there. And if the functionary that has come here asks any of the officials whether they are satisfied, they are to say, “Perfectly satisfied, your Honor;” and if anybody is not satisfied, I’ll give him something to be dissatisfied about afterwards.—Ah, I’m a sinner, a terrible sinner. Heaven only grant that I may soon get this matter over and done with; then I’ll donate a candle such as has never been offered before. I’ll levy a hundred pounds of wax from every damned merchant. Oh my, oh my! Come, let’s go, Piotr Ivanovich.” | Act 1, Scene 5 | 213 | 22 |
| Postmaster: ““I hasten to inform you, my dear friend, what wonderful things have happened to me. On the way here an infantry captain did me out of my last penny, so that the innkeeper here wanted to send me to jail, when suddenly, thanks to my St. Petersburg appearance and dress, the whole town took me for a governor-general. Now I am staying at the governor’s home. I am having a grand time and I am flirting desperately with his wife and daughter. I only haven’t decided whom to begin with. I think with the mother first, because she seems ready to accept all terms. You remember how hard up we were taking our meals wherever we could without paying for them, and how once the pastry cook grabbed me by the collar for having charged pies that I ate to the king of England? Now it is quite different. They lend me all the money I want. They are an awful lot of originals. You would split your sides laughing at them. I know you write for the papers. Put them in your literature. In the first place the Governor is as stupid as an old horse—”” | Act 5, Scene 8 | 197 | 20 |
| Locksmith’s Wife: “He did it, he did it, the blackguard! May God smite him both in this world and the next. If he has an aunt, may all harm descend upon her. And if his father is living, may the rascal perish, may he choke to death. Such a cheat! The son of the tailor should have been levied. And he is a drunkard, too. But his parents gave the governor a rich present, so he fastened on the son of the tradeswoman, Panteleyeva. And Panteleyeva also sent his wife three pieces of linen. So then he comes to me. “What do you want your husband for?” he says. “He isn’t any good to you any more.” It’s for me to know whether he is any good or not. That’s my business. The old cheat! “He’s a thief,” he says. “Although he hasn’t stolen anything, that doesn’t matter. He is going to steal. And he’ll be recruited next year anyway.” How can I do without a husband? I am not a strong woman. The skunk! May none of his kith and kin ever see the light of God. And if he has a mother-in-law, may she, too—” | Act 4, Scene 11 | 195 | 20 |

## Small roles that can be doubled

These pairs of small roles never speak in the same scene, so one actor could play both. Check entrances and silent appearances in your script before you cast it this way.

- Bobchinsky and Merchants
- Bobchinsky and Locksmith’s Wife
- Bobchinsky and Servant
- Bobchinsky and A Merchant
- Bobchinsky and Luka’s Wife
- Bobchinsky and Judge
- Bobchinsky and Widow
- Bobchinsky and Mishka
- Bobchinsky and Merchant’s Voice
- Bobchinsky and Gendarme
- Bobchinsky and Liuliukov
- Bobchinsky and Derzhimorda’s Voice

## Questions actors ask

### Who has the most lines in The Inspector General?

Governor, with about 734 lines and 6,532 words, 28.7% of everything spoken in the play. Khlestakov is next, with about 637 lines (22.9%).

### How long is The Inspector General?

The full text has 22,785 spoken words, about 163 minutes at 140 words a minute before pauses, scene changes, and cuts. Most productions cut the text, so running times vary.

### How many speaking roles are in The Inspector General?

37 named roles speak in this edition, across 52 scenes. 28 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.

## How we count

Counts are computed from the full text of the [Standard Ebooks edition](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/nikolai-gogol/the-inspector-general/thomas-seltzer) (public domain; retrieved 2026-10-08). Words are every spoken word, with stage directions removed. Lines are verse lines as printed, plus prose at 10 words a line, because prose has no fixed line breaks; editions differ, so other sources give slightly different line counts. Time is words at 140 words a minute, before pauses and stage business. A role is counted in a scene when it speaks there. To count a script that is not in the library, paste it into the [script line counter](https://www.offbook.com/tools/script-line-counter).