This question required the candidates to show the aspects the couple share in common. Mayor and Anna are married couple and they share a lot in common. They are both ambitious. As the Mayor dreams of becoming a general, Anna dreams ofliving in the city. They both lack scruples. Mayor suggests to the other civil servants that the Inspector's visit notwithstanding the status quo (corruption) should be maintained. Anna also lacks scruples as she competes with her daughter for Hlestakov's attention. The Mayor and his wife Anna are greedy, corrupt and foolish. Some candidates only identified their individual characters and did not compare their peculiar attributes. This reduces their marks.