Imagology as a Key to Understanding A. S. Griboyedov's Comedy "Woe from Wit"

In this article Alexander Griboyedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit” (1824) is analyzed from the point of view of imagology – the discipline which studies the stereotypes of “alien’s” perception (other nations, countries, cultures, religions etc.). The authors of the article view the conflict of the play through the prism of different cultural identities collision. This conflict reflects the problems of the epoch including the confrontation of the old and the new cultural paradigms and Russia’s search for its place in European civilization. Special attention is paid to the image of Chartsky and his alienness to Moscow society as well as to Chatsky’s similarities with Griboyedov. The authors also analyze the Russian nobility’s perception of Western Europe and their attitude towards foreign influences such as foreign tutors, fashion and behavior models. The article underlines that the analysis of the cross-cultural interaction contributes to understanding your own cultural identity.