The face of tyranny as a socio-psychological phenomenon is a thunderstorm. Dikoy and Kabanikha - Tyrants of Russian Life

Tyrants and tyranny in A. Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm”

The drama "The Thunderstorm" (1859) was a significant event in public life countries in the 60s of the XIX century. Ostrovsky produced a play about a thunderstorm that brings renewal to the natural world and to the world human soul, about a thunderstorm that destroys the foundations of the “dark kingdom” throughout Russia. The purpose of creating images of tyrant merchants in the play was to condemn their wild tyranny, despotism, and cruel violence that then prevailed in Ostrovsky’s contemporary Russia. And the fictional city of Kalinov, as if in a mirror, reflected these “cruel morals.”

Immediately after the curtain opens, the viewer sees the high bank of the Volga, the city garden and the walking residents of the small town of Kalinova. The beauty of the landscape initially blinds you from prying eyes real life cities.

It turns out that in a wonderful town on the Volga everything is not as wonderful as it seems at first glance. The only one educated person in the city, the self-taught mechanic Kuligin calls the morals of the city of Kalinov cruel. The main thing that causes his indignation is social inequality, the enslavement of the poor by the rich, the power of money and the thirst for profit. But there is no harmony in economic relations between merchants. They write “malicious slander” against each other and try to undermine trade.

There is no control over rich merchants. No one can tell them. Even the head of the city cannot reprimand the Wild. Money gives them the right to rule over the residents of Kalinov. Therefore, no one can object to rich merchants.

Family relationships are built on the cruelty and despotism of tyrants. The word “tyrant” has become synonymous with rude self-confidence, rudeness, arbitrariness and impunity. Everyone knows that Dikoy is an influential merchant of the city. He can humiliate and curse a person for no reason. He is self-willed because he is confident in his own impunity. He knows that he will never meet resistance anywhere, Dikoy freely controls the fate of his nephew Boris, who is financially dependent on him. Dikoy, with his rudeness, rudeness, ignorance and greed, personifies the main features of the tyrants of the city of Kalinov. He doesn’t even know how to speak calmly, he rushes at people like a chained dog, He is constantly dissatisfied with everything. But how his anger increases when he has to part with money. That is why he so scolds and oppresses Boris, whose inheritance he must give to him in his will. Dioi is also angry if he encounters something beyond his understanding. The scene is indicative when he attacks Kuligin, who is trying to tell him about the lightning rod.

Being a wild and ignorant person, he, like all Kalinovites, is convinced that a thunderstorm is not electricity, but God’s punishment sent to people as punishment for their sins. Superstition and fear of the unknown determine the consciousness of the Wild.

The wealthy merchant Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is even more prone to fanatical religiosity. At first glance, she seems completely pious: she hosts strangers, goes to church, and honors the commandments of God. Unlike Wild, she does not raise her voice, does not yell or swear. But no matter how Kabanikha hides behind pious phrases, the residents of the city know the truth about her. So, for example, Kuligin speaks of her hypocrisy to Boris: “She gives money to the poor, but completely eats up her family.” True, it must be said that her tyranny is limited by own family, but here she gives herself free rein. The boar's wife mercilessly oppresses her son. Under her influence, he turned into a pitiful, downtrodden, weak-willed person who does not decide anything on his own and is constantly forced to justify himself to his mother for some non-existent sins. Tikhon is free from his mother's power only during business trips. And when he is at home, he tends to drink in order to forget.

Of course, Kabanikha is not that smart, you can adapt to her. Therefore, her daughter Varvara - a brave and cunning girl - easily finds a way out. She prefers to live by the principle “do what you want, as long as it’s done safely.”

The cruel and despotic Kabanikha, using a mask of piety, turned the life of not only her own children into hell, but also the life of her daughter-in-law. Katerina and Tikhon could not be happy, because their mother interferes in their affairs. Tikhon cannot show any independence even in his relationship with his wife. It is his mother who dictates to him what to say and how to behave with Katerina. She also arranges the scene of Tikhon’s farewell according to her own understanding, assigning her son and daughter-in-law the roles assigned by her. Tikhon, hesitatingly, delivers teachings under the dictation of his mother. And Katerina, by order of her mother-in-law, is obliged to howl on the porch after her husband leaves. Yes, these are truly wild customs in the city of Kalinov.

The power of the Wild and Kabanovs is formidable, but, apparently, it is coming to an end. Kabanikha is bitterly forced to admit that the old man is leaving: “I don’t even want to go to another house. And if you get up, you’ll just spit and get out quickly. What will happen, how the old people will die, how the light will remain, I don’t know.”

Despite her unlimited power in the family, Kabanikha feels internal anxiety. She feels that everything is not going the way she wants. She cannot even convince her uncomplaining son that the family should be held together by fear, and not by feelings. That is why, in the scene of Katerina’s repentance, she triumphantly says to Tikhon, trying to convince him that she is right: “What, son! This is where the will leads!”

The pillars on which the tyrants in Kalinov rest are shaken. Katerina prefers death to a bitter life in captivity and openly challenges the “dark kingdom.” Varvara runs away from home altogether. And even timid Tikhon dared to blame his mother for his wife’s death: “Mama, you ruined her.”

"Thunderstorm" is, without a doubt, the most decisive work Ostrovsky,” wrote Dobrolyubov. The need for change in the social life of the country - main idea plays. By tyranny, the revolutionary-democrat Dobrolyubov understood not only family despotism, but also the entire system of social relations in tsarist Russia, taken to the extreme. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” was supposed to bring renewal to the world of human relations in order to forever save people from cruelty, despotism, rudeness and hypocrisy.

Such and such a scolder like ours

Savel Prokofich, look again!..

Kabanikha is also good.

A. Ostrovsky. Storm

In his drama “The Thunderstorm,” A. N. Ostrovsky vividly and vividly depicted “ dark kingdom» Russian province, overwhelmingly the best human feelings and aspirations. The author was not only the first to introduce the word “tyrant” into literature, but also developed artistic form the very phenomenon of tyranny, when people in power act arbitrarily, at their own whim, without regard for others.

In the drama “The Thunderstorm,” the phenomenon of tyranny is described using the example of images “ significant persons» the cities of Kalinov - Dikiy and Kabanikha.

For the Wild, the main goal in life, the only law, is money. Rude, greedy, ignorant, Dikoy cowards over every penny. He is the richest man in the city, but everything is not enough for him, because he is sure that money is power. And this attitude allows him to cruelly exploit people and place himself above everyone else: “So you know that you are a worm. If I want, I’ll have mercy, if I want, I’ll crush.” In accumulating money, Dikoy does not choose his means: he appropriates the inheritance of his nephews, mocking them at the same time, shamelessly cheats the poor men working for him: “he will not disappoint a single one.” He operates on the principle: “I have a lot of people every year... I won’t pay them a penny more per person, but I make thousands out of this, so it’s good for me!” Dikoy is used to thinking only about himself.

It’s not for nothing that they say about this merchant: “His whole life is based on swearing.” Dikoy simply does not know how to speak as a human being: he screams, swears, and does not give life to his family. Rude and unceremonious, he is aware of his impunity and therefore often insults the poor and powerless: “They must submit to me...” However, in front of those who are able to rebuff him, in front of strong personalities or in front of people who have more money, Dikoy folds and retreats. Darkness, lack of culture, limited mental horizons are traits that characterize the merchant far from the best. Kabanikha is an ardent defender of the old foundations of life and customs of the “dark kingdom”. Conservatism of views and hatred of everything new are its distinctive features: “This is how the old is brought out. I don’t even want to go to another house. And if you get up, you’ll spit, and get out quickly. What will happen, how the old people will die, how the light will remain, I don’t know.”

Kabanikha’s strong, domineering, despotic character, combined with the most serious attitude to the house-building order makes the life of the household in her family unbearable. She raised her son spineless, weak, lacking independence, slavishly obedient to his mother’s will. But Kabanikha wants to make him the “master” in her family, whom his wife not only obeys unquestioningly, but is also afraid of. Therefore, she not only suppresses the will of her son, but also torments, finds fault with, and constantly reproaches her daughter-in-law.

Kabanikha strictly adheres to customs and rituals, many of which are outdated and have become ridiculous; For her, the main thing is adherence to form, despite the fact that living people suffer from her inertia and ignorance.

Hypocrisy and hypocrisy are typical features character of Kabanikha. She knows how to cover up her actions with a mask of submission to God’s will: “Prude, sir. He gives to the poor, but eats up his family.” However, Kabanikha’s religiosity is external, a tribute to tradition.

The unlimited power of the wild and wild boars is strangling the city, about the life of which Dobrolyubov wrote: “The absence of any law, all logic - this is the law and logic of this life.”

Even today we often encounter tyrants in life. They can be distinguished by the fact that “the tyrant is still trying to prove that no one can tell him and that he will do whatever he wants.” I think that the only way to combat tyranny is development internal qualities each person, the revival of true culture in his own heart.

The premiere of "The Thunderstorm" took place on December 2, 1859 in Alexandrinsky Theater In Petersburg. A.A. Grigoriev, who was present at the performance, recalled: “This is what the people will say!.. I thought, leaving the box into the corridor after the third act of “The Thunderstorm”, which ended with an explosion...

The drama "The Thunderstorm" takes place in provincial town Kalinov, located on the banks of the Volga. Residents of Kalinov live that closed life alien to public interests, which characterized the life of remote provincial towns in the old, pre-reform...

The title of Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm” plays a big role in understanding this play. The image of a thunderstorm in Ostrovsky's drama is unusually complex and multi-valued. On the one hand, the thunderstorm is a direct participant in the action of the play, on the other hand, it is a symbol of the idea of ​​this work....

A. N. Ostrovsky is rightfully considered a singer merchant environment, the father of Russian everyday drama, Russian theater. He wrote about 60 plays, the most famous of which are “Dowry”, “ Late love", "Forest", "Enough for every wise man...

(the essay is divided into pages)

The tyranny of the Russian people has long been the talk of the town. He was ridiculed by Fonvizin, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Nekrasov, Gogol, Chekhov. The list of authors can be continued endlessly. Ostrovsky is one of these authors; His difference from all the disgraced ones is that he was a playwright. There cannot be too long remarks in the play (they do not reveal the character of the characters); the author does not have the opportunity to show his attitude towards this or that hero or engage in long discussions. It is important for the playwright that the character of the hero be outlined as fully as possible with the help of his own lines, as well as the characteristics that others give him in front of or behind the scenes. This is the difficulty dramatic work. But Russian tyranny Ostrovsky was able to fully reveal: the disadvantage artistic means compensated by the talent of the author.

Who appears as tyrants in Ostrovsky's plays? These are representatives of both the older and younger generations: Dikoy and Kabanikha in “The Thunderstorm”; Ogudalova, Vozhevatov, Paratov - in "Dowry". Consequently, tyranny is not at all associated with advanced age (everyone knows that parents love to grumble at their children and are often dissatisfied with their behavior), but with the fact that all these people are representatives patriarchal world, endowed with at least a small amount of power.

In the drama "The Thunderstorm" there are two people in charge prominent representatives patriarchal world - Kabanikha and Wild.

Dikoy is a successful portrait of a tyrant landowner. At the very beginning of the play, we hear from Kuligia a story about how Dikoy withholds their meager pennies from the men, making a fortune for himself. And Boris speaks extremely unflatteringly about his uncle. But we understand the true nature of Wild’s character in his conversation with Kabanikha, when he talks about himself. The Wild One has a custom of cursing those to whom he owes money. He specially sets himself up to scold a person, and he can no longer do without it. It is precisely this behavior that is called tyranny: There is no benefit or benefit to the Wild One from shouting at people, but he does it solely for his own pleasure.

Interesting character Kabanikha. She has no doubts about the correctness of the hierarchical relations of patriarchal life. She does not consider herself wrong when she finds fault with Katerina in every possible way (it’s difficult to find another word). According to Kabanikha, proper family order and way of life are based on discipline and obedience of the younger ones to the elders. Thus, key concepts for the well-being of the family in the eyes of Kabanikha - “fear” and “order”. This is especially clearly seen in the scene of Tikhon’s departure, when the mother orders her son to keep his wife obedient.

Kabanikha subordinates everything in the house to her will, and this subordination goes to the extreme, to the point of absurdity. She literally cuts off oxygen to her children. Good for the cunning Varvara, who only outwardly succumbs to her mother’s power. But what is it like for the freedom-loving and independent Katerina, who, willy-nilly, is forced to obey the orders of her mother-in-law?

The most interesting thing is that Kabanikha does not approve of Dikiy’s tyranny. She treats his violence with some degree of contempt and the fact that he exposes everything that happens in his house to people. She herself will never complain to strangers about the disorder in the family. But in one thing they are similar to the Wild One: they feel like absolute masters in the house, little kings, they demand complete submission and command people, regardless of their feelings and desires.

Tyranny of a slightly different kind is shown in "Dowry". Firstly, the main thing actors are young people, except for Ogudalova and Knurov. But Knurov is full of consciousness of his own importance, he has no need to prove it to anyone, so the behavior of this character is difficult to analyze.

The author does not focus too much attention on Ogudalova. In relation to her, one can only say that she, too, has completely under her control free man, namely, Larisa. Kharita Ignatievna is trying to build a life own daughter, not particularly consistent with moral principles Larisa. So, she accepts gifts and money from Vozhevatov and Knurov and pushes her daughter to get closer to them. All her life the mother seemed to be putting her three daughters up for auction. As we learn, it didn't end happily for either of them. But, of course, Larisa suffered the most, because she was already openly being sold, like stale goods at the market.

Essay text:

Look for another scolder like ours, Savel Prokofich!.. Kabanikha is also good.
A. Ostrovsky. Storm
In his drama “The Thunderstorm,” A. N. Ostrovsky vividly and vividly depicted the “dark kingdom” of the Russian province, suppressing the best human feelings and aspirations. The author was not only the first to introduce the word “tyrant” into literature, but also developed in artistic form the very phenomenon of tyranny, when people in power act arbitrarily, at their whim, without regard for others.
In the drama "The Thunderstorm" the phenomenon of tyranny is described using the example of the images of "significant persons" of the city of Kalinov, Diky and Kabanikha.
For Wild, the main goal in life, the only law is “money. Rude, greedy, ignorant, Wild is a coward over every penny.” He is the richest man in the city, but everything is not enough for him, because he is sure that money is power. And this attitude allows him to cruelly exploit people and at the same time place himself above everyone else: “So you know that you are a worm. If I want, I will have mercy, if I want, I will crush.” In accumulating money, Dikoy does not choose his means: he appropriates the inheritance of his nephews, mocking them, and shamelessly cheats the poor men working for him: “he will not disappoint a single one.” He operates on the principle: “I have a lot of people every year... I won’t pay them a penny more per person, but I make thousands out of this, so it’s good for me!” Dikoy is used to thinking only about himself.
It’s not for nothing that they say about this merchant: “He spends his whole life OCHQ-ia on swearing.” As a human being, Wild simply does not know how to speak: he screams, swears, and does not give life to others. Rude and unceremonious, he is aware of his carelessness and often insults the poor and unequal in his lyrics: “They must submit to me...” However, before THEM, who is able to rebuff him, before strong personalities or in front of people who have more money, Dikoy pushes and retreats. Darkness, lack of culture, limited mental horizons are traits that characterize the merchant far from the best.
Kabanikha is an ardent defender of the old foundations of life and customs of the “dark kingdom”. Conservatism of views and hatred of everything new is her distinctive features: “That’s how the old man goes out. I don’t even want to go to another house. But if you go up, you’ll spit, but get out quickly. What will happen, how the old people will die, how the light will stay on, I don’t know.” ".
Kabanikha’s strong, imperious, despotic character, combined with the most serious attitude towards house-building orders, makes the life of the household in her family unbearable. She raised her son to be spineless, weak, devoid of independence, a slavishly submissive mother.
Shterinsky will. But Kabanikha wants to make him the “master” of his family, whose wife not only unquestioningly
but he obeys, but he is also afraid. Therefore, she not only suppresses the will of her son, but also torments, finds fault with, and constantly reproaches her daughter-in-law.
Kabanikha strictly adheres to customs and rituals, many of which are outdated and have become ridiculous; For her, the main thing is adherence to form, despite the fact that living people suffer from her inertia and ignorance.
Hypocrisy and hypocrisy are typical character traits of Kabanikha. She knows how to cover up her actions with a mask of submission to God's will: “A hypocrite, sir. He gives good things to the poor, but eats up his family.” However, Kabanikha’s religiosity is external, a tribute to tradition.
The unlimited power of wild and wild boars suffocates the city, about the life of which Dobrolyubov wrote: “The existence of every law, every logic is the law and logic of this life.”
Even today we often encounter tyrants in life. They can be distinguished by the fact that “the tyrant is always trying to prove that no one can tell him and that he will do whatever he wants.” I think that the only way to combat tyranny is the development of the internal qualities of each person, the revival of true culture in one’s own heart.

The rights to the essay “Images of tyrants in A. N. Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm”” belong to its author. When quoting material, it is necessary to indicate a hyperlink to