Essay by A.N. Ostrovsky Intrafamily relations in Sylvester's "Domostroy" and A. Ostrovsky's drama "The Thunderstorm"

Davydova Vera, 11th grade

Presentation for the lessons "Dark Kingdom" of the city of Kalinov.

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Reflection of the traditions of Domostroy in Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm" Performed by: student of the 10th "G" class, State Budgetary Institution OSHI "GMLIOD", Vera Davydova. Teacher: Pukhalskaya L.V.

Statistics The Russian Department of Internal Affairs has published statistics according to which one Russian woman becomes a victim of violence/beating every two seconds. At the count of one thousand one and one thousand two, another Russian woman becomes a victim of domestic violence. Statistics show that 60-75% of women who lose their lives to domestic violence were killed after they left the relationship with their abuser. Every hour, one Russian woman dies at the hands of her husband or partner.

In the drama “The Thunderstorm,” the author showed the wild, deaf society of the district town of Kalinov, living according to the laws of Domostroy, and contrasted it with the image of a freedom-loving girl who did not want to come to terms with Kalinov’s norms of life and behavior.

Domostroy is a set of everyday rules and instructions. Reflects the principles of patriarchal life, known for prescribing strict home life.

The compilers of Domostroi saw the main virtues of a woman in religiosity, complete subordination to her husband, caring for the family and hard work. In their opinion, it is precisely such a wife - “kind, hardworking, silent - who is the crown of her husband.”

In canonical and teaching books, a woman seems to form the background for a man’s life; acts as an object rather than a subject of action.

Images of Kalinov residents

“The Thunderstorm” is of particular interest to readers, since it describes not only an interpersonal conflict, but also gives a fairly complete description of the Russian merchants of the mid-19th century.

The nature of intrafamily relations in pre-revolutionary Russia was regulated by law. In accordance with Russian legislation, a woman was in a dependent position on a man. When she got married, she accepted the title and class position of her husband. The wife was obliged to “obey her husband as the head of the family,” “to remain in love, respect and unlimited obedience to him,” and to show him “all kindness and affection like a mistress.”

The main responsibility of the wife in the family was the organization of family life, while the man was the head of the family, the owner of all movable and immovable property, and the head of trade operations. At the same time, the wife’s dependence on her husband was also increased by the fact that husbands were usually much older than their wives. The dependent position of a woman was also greatly facilitated by the recognition of the only form of marriage - church marriage, and according to it the wife was obliged to follow her husband everywhere and could be forced by court to do so. The wife could obtain a passport only with the permission of her husband. Adultery could result in imprisonment.

Our writers of the 19th century often revealed the unequal position of Russian women. “You’re a share! - a Russian woman’s share! It’s hardly more difficult to find,” exclaims Nekrasov.

Domostroy in the Kabanov family

The image of Katerina In the image of Katerina, Ostrovsky showed the whole tragedy of the soul of a Russian woman. In the 19th century, women in Russia had virtually no rights. When getting married, they had to follow all the rules of family life.

The image of Kabanikha The image of the stern and domineering Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova (Kabanikha) allows us to get acquainted with another type of representative of the “dark kingdom”, as typical as Wild, but even more sinister and gloomy. “Prude, sir! He gives money to the poor, but completely eats up his family,” - this is how Kuligin correctly and aptly defines the character of Kabanikha.

The image of Dikiy Dikoy openly shows that she does not respect her nephew at all. He puts himself above everyone around him. And no one offers him the slightest resistance. Is it any wonder that Dikoy is becoming more and more convinced of the impunity of his actions, and as a result he feels like a full-fledged master of life.

The image of Tikhon Tikhon is a ruined personality. He cannot resist his mother’s orders and does everything she demands. As a result, the final scene of the play becomes even more tragic.

The image of Varvara It can be said that life in Kabanikha’s house morally crippled the girl. She also does not want to live according to the patriarchal laws that her mother preaches. But, despite his strong character, he does not dare to openly protest against them. Her principle is “Do what you want, as long as it’s safe and covered.”

Katerina is a mentally vulnerable, fragile person; Kabanikha’s cruelty and heartlessness hurt her painfully, but she endures without responding to insults, and Kabanova keeps provoking her into a quarrel, poking and humiliating her with every remark. dignity.

Katerina is trying to find her happiness in her love for Tikhon: “I will love my husband. Tisha, my darling, I won’t exchange you for anyone.” But sincere manifestations of this love are stopped by Kabanikha: “Why are you hanging around your neck, shameless one? You’re not saying goodbye to your lover.”

A conflict is brewing between Katerina and Kabanikha. This conflict does not explode until there are reasons for it. And the reason is Katerina’s confession of cheating on her husband. And Katerina understands that after this her life is over, because Kabanikha will then completely bully her.

Katerina was doomed to live with an unloved person under the constant oppression of her mother-in-law. The “Dark Kingdom” deprived her of a happy life. Her only path to salvation is love, but it “poisoned” Katerina’s life even more.

Conclusion In the course of our work, we studied Katerina’s powerless situation based on Domostroi. We can conclude that the problem of the main character will be relevant until the patriarchal way of life finally disappears from the consciousness of Russian society.

Sources of information: http://new.hist.asu.ru/biblio/mercbook/gl52.shtml http://mixzona.ru/referat/referat/1355/ http://www.litra.ru/characters/get/ ccid/00132341225987586309/ http://www.litra.ru/composition/get/coid/00050401184864068557/woid/00090801184773070249/ http://www.litra.ru/composition/get/coid/000534011848640756 27/woid/00090801184773070249/ http: //shkolazhizni.ru/archive/0/n-31289/

Daria MENDELEEVA

After the "Thunderstorm"

or A few words about Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova

I read Ostrovsky's drama a long time ago. The “cruel morals” of the city of Kalinov, once and for all declared a “dark kingdom”, were carefully studied and branded with shame; the fate of the unfortunate Katerina is mourned; the most thoughtful remember the weak-willed Boris Grigorievich with an unkind word. And yet, before the final composition, let's re-read the play again.

Strange Kabanikha

From the stories of the heroes about each other, from their own statements, a fairly clear gallery of the characters of a small town on the Volga is built before us. “Antique”, “chemist”, “little man” Kuligin begs for money for his bold but senseless experiments (about whom Boris, who received a regular education, says that it is “a pity to disappoint him”), Tikhon, beaten by his mother, gradually becomes an alcoholic, walks with Varvara Kudryash, Feklusha tells those around her fables, which others take as news, scolds everyone and everything in Dikoy...

Among the reviews of those around her about Marfa Ignatievna - the old Kabanikha - one can find the most opposite opinions: some believe that she is a “prude” and “has completely eaten up her family,” others praise her piety and sincerely wish her prosperity. Of course, the arguments about the tyranny of the old merchant’s wife are not based on empty space, but let’s take a closer look at how she communicates with her family.

Here the Kabanov family in full force is walking along the boulevard from vespers home (I, 5). On the way, the mother gives her son advice for the upcoming departure, and the general tone of the conversation cannot be called affectionate. It is clear that all the younger members of the family are quite tired of her severity and endless nagging. What, besides the very common jealousy of a mother-in-law towards her daughter-in-law (“I’ve seen for a long time that your wife is dearer than your mother”), so poisons the life of a peaceful merchant family, what does the old mother demand from her children? Firstly, constant attention and unconditional respect for yourself and for your elders in general (“If your parent ever says something offensive, out of your pride, I think you can bear it”; “They don’t really respect elders these days”); and secondly, modesty and unfeigned piety (hence the reproaches to Katerina: “Why did you jump out to cry in front of your eyes!”). Speaking about the latter, Kabanova, again seized by jealousy, clearly goes overboard, which greatly offends her innocent daughter-in-law, but immediately, although in her own way, apologizes: “Yes, I didn’t want to talk about you; and so, by the way, it had to.” Of course, such an instruction given “in reserve” in the future will only push Katerina towards her secretly beloved Boris, but somewhere in the depths of our consciousness the thought immediately arises that if Kabanikha’s new relative turns out to be a less pure soul, like, say, Varvara, and mother's reproaches would not be far from the truth.

In everything that Marfa Ignatievna says, there turns out to be much more common sense than is commonly believed. She, in particular, perfectly sees the weak character of her own son (“Why are you making a fuss? Well, what kind of husband are you?”) 1. The elderly merchant’s wife just as boldly and fairly evaluates the all-powerful Wild One: “There are no elders over you, so you are swaggering”; “And there’s not much honor, because you’ve been fighting with women all your life” (III, 2).

In general, the entire conversation between Kabanova and Dikiy at the beginning of the third act somehow does not fit into the characterization of provincial tyrants that we have learned. Beginning with rudeness that is understandable to us (“What the hell is this about a merman!.. - Don’t let your throat loose!.. I’m dear to you!”), it then unexpectedly turns into some kind of soulful stream. It turns out that even the almost omnipotent Savel Prokofievich has control, and it has nothing to do with physical strength: “Once I was fasting about fasting, about a great one, and then it’s not easy and I palmed off a little man: he came for money... he scolded me, he scolded me.” , that it’s impossible to demand better, he almost nailed him... After asking for forgiveness, he bowed at the feet of the man... he bowed at the peasant’s feet... here in the yard, in the mud... in front of everyone...” And besides, it turns out that, having scared away his family, the owner himself suffers from loneliness , seeks communication: “Talk to me so that my heart will go away.” Kabanova’s remarks suddenly show unexpected tolerance towards others (“...I’m amazed at you: how many people you have in the house, but they can’t please just one of you”) and even attention and ability to understand people (“Why are you Are you deliberately bringing yourself into your heart?.. I saw it, I know”). The question involuntarily arises: why, having such spiritual qualities, Marfa Ignatievna cannot recognize Varvara’s almost blatant lies and Katerina’s mental anguish?

The reason that the old merchant's wife is so able to heal the inconsolable Wild may be extremely simple - such a state of mind - “anger in the hearts” - is well known to her herself. She also recalls this in passing on the boulevard - in the first general family conversation on stage: “The conversation is close to the heart, and then you will sin, you will get angry” (I, 5). Moreover, this random phrase in itself only testifies to the attentiveness to oneself, one’s actions and mental states that is characteristic of every religious person. But then we will have to recognize in Kabanikha also sincere, genuine religiosity. Why then does she tirelessly nag those around her day and night, destroying her own son morally and physically, teaching her daughter to hypocrisy, turning the life of those closest to her into absolute hell?

She also speaks about this herself, first in the same scene on the boulevard: “After all, out of love your parents are strict with you, out of love they scold you, they all think of teaching you good” - and a little further: “I know I know that you don’t like my words, but what can I do, I’m not a stranger to you, my heart aches for you”; “What does youth mean? It's funny even to look at them! If it weren’t my own, I would have laughed my fill…” (II, 6). Of course, it is incredibly difficult to immediately discard the idea of ​​hypocrisy and pretense and believe that the old mother sincerely wishes the best for her children, but on the boulevard where the merchant family is walking, at that moment there are no strangers, and the last remark is generally spoken by Marfa Ignatievna in full alone - so the head of the family definitely has no one to “exhibit” to.

So, what rules of life is Kabanova trying to convey to Tikhon, Katerina and Varvara? Her very first lengthy reasoning puts us, modern people, at a dead end, for the conversation about the spinelessness of the precious child ends with a completely unexpected conclusion: “Will your wife marry you?” afraid after that?" Tikhon’s weak attempts to object (“It’s enough for me that she loves me”) are interrupted by his mother with an even more “iron” argument: “She won’t be afraid of you, and even less so of me.” What kind of order will there be in the house? After all, you, tea, live with her in law” (my italics. - D.M.). It remains completely incomprehensible to us why family life should, according to Kabanova’s concepts, be built primarily on fear, and not on heartfelt affection, and why this rule should be especially strictly observed in a legal marriage, sanctified by the Church. They talk about this again and further: “At least get a lover!” (I, 5), and again - in the scene of Tikhon’s farewell to his family (II, 5): “What are you hanging around your neck, shameless one! It’s not your lover you’re saying goodbye to!” And the farewell itself - with bows to the ground and three kisses, with everyone according to seniority - is extremely reminiscent of a ritual or theatrical performance, carefully directed by the mother, who here again insists on maintaining order. The same can be said about the orders to his wife, pronounced by Tikhon at his mother’s insistence (II, 3), and about the demands for Katerina to howl for an hour and a half while lying on the porch after her husband’s departure (II, 7). The wanderer Feklusha was even going to come and look at this not sincere - from the depths of the soul, but deliberate howl as if it were some kind of performance: “I really love, dear girl, to listen to someone howl well” (II, 1). Receptions of guests and relatives, apparently, turn into the same theatrical performance in Kalinov - Kabanova discusses this in the sixth scene of the second act: “They will invite guests, they don’t know how to seat them, and, look, they will forget one of the relatives.” And even after pulling the body of unfortunate Katerina out of the pool, everyone suddenly begins to bow theatrically and thank each other.

Stop. Enough questions! It's time to move on to the answers.

Back to the Middle Ages

Let's open Domostroy. This is a name that has probably come out of the mouths of the readers of “The Thunderstorm” more than once, and in our everyday life most often means all sorts of generally outdated, inert orders - “Some kind of house-building!” -- actually belongs to an ancient Russian literary monument (using our very conventional concepts). This rather extensive collection first appeared in Novgorod at the end of the 15th century and contained numerous articles strictly regulating various aspects of the life of ancient Russian people - his faith in God and participation in church rituals, civil and family responsibilities, household structure and raising children. Through the prism of Domostroy, the life of the provincial town of Kalinov will open up to us in a completely new way.

Let’s make a reservation right away: the existence of this ancient book does not mean that the ancient Russian man necessarily consulted it on every occasion or that Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova keeps an ancient tome somewhere at the bottom of her chest and runs to leaf through it after every conversation with her son. Most of the instructions of “Domostroi”, which, by the way, began to take shape several centuries before the creation of the final, consolidated list, were passed on from parents to children, from generation to generation through everyday experience, in the course of the usual rhythm of life, compiled by a series of religious and agricultural holidays, fasts and meat-eaters, births, weddings and deaths, accompanied by appropriate rituals. The very emergence of a general set of rules for Russian life owes its appearance not to the urgent need for everyday instructions, but to the fashion of that time for drawing up all sorts of compilations. After all, simultaneously with the second edition of “Domostroy,” the author of which was Archpriest Sylvester, an associate of the young John IV, in the 16th century, extensive collections for spiritual reading also appeared: the Great Menaion of the Cheti of Metropolitan Macarius, codes of law regulating civil law, Stoglav - Church law. Various chronicles are combined into chronicle collections. So, reading passages from an ancient book, let's try not to perceive them as dead rules, but to grasp behind them the spirit of medieval life, the ideas and logic of our distant ancestors.

“Children, listen to the commandments of the Lord, love your father and mother, and listen to them, and obey them according to God in everything, and honor their old age, and bear their weakness and all sorrow with all your soul on your neck, and goodness to you it will be, and you will live long on earth, thereby cleanse your sins and you will receive mercy from God and be glorified among men...”(37--38). And further: “You, children, please your parents in deed and word in every good advice (good plan), so that you will be blessed by them: the father’s blessing will strengthen the house, and the mother’s prayer will deliver from adversity. If a father or mother becomes impoverished in reason, do not dishonor them, do not reproach them, but you will be respected by your children, do not forget the work of your mother and father, as they were sick and sad about you (they cared and worried about you) ... "(38--39). (Let us remember the words of Marfa Ignatievna about “how many illnesses mothers suffer from their children” and that “you, young people, smart, should not exact from us, fools.”)

For a more complete understanding of this passage, it is necessary to realize that, in addition to concern for practical benefits (“take care of your parents, and your children will honor you in your old age”), “Domostroy” represents a completely different culture - a patriarchal culture. Our modern understanding of progress, the desire for the newest and most modern, is alien to the Middle Ages. It imagines life moving steadily in an eternal circle, where, on the contrary, the most valuable is what is more ancient, close to the “golden age” and time-tested. The veneration of elders - the guardians of tradition - in these conditions acquires the same religious meaning as the veneration of God, who is also, in fact, an elder (Lord, Lord).

Another passage is about raising children:

“Execute your son from his youth, and he will rest you in your old age, and give you the beauty of your soul... Daughter of the Imashi, lay your thunder on them (direct your severity on them), keeping me from the bodily; let him not disgrace his face, let him walk in obedience... Loving your son, give him frequent wounds, and then (after) rejoice over him, execute your son from his youth and rejoice over him in courage... don’t laugh at him, playing games (don’t smile , playing with him), in a small way you weaken - you will suffer a great deal (you will suffer) through sorrow, and then you will set your soul on edge.”(36--37).

Reading this, you should not be scared and think that our ancestors were completely sadistic in their treatment of their children. It’s just that the Christian Middle Ages almost did not know childhood as a special period of human life - after all, the absolute majority of ancient children’s games known to us (round dances, carols) and toys (various whistles, dolls) were preserved from even more ancient paganism, where they had their own adult, ritual meaning. In the Middle Ages, as soon as a person emerged from unconscious, angelic infancy, parents tried to include him as quickly as possible in the general circle of life with all the responsibilities of an adult Christian. To do this, the child needed, first of all, to instill knowledge of prohibitions, the boundaries of what is permitted, and the use of physical force was considered here not only not shameful, but quite justified. So, by instructing Tikhon day after day, Kabanova is only trying to “completely educate” her adult son, who has not yet gotten back on his feet, while unmarried Varvara enjoys, from a “medieval” point of view, unheard of freedom.

About the relationship between spouses:

“It is appropriate for husbands to teach their wives with love and reasonable punishment; wives of husbands ask about all decency, how to save the soul, please God and the husband, and build your house well, and submit to him in everything; and whatever your husband punishes, accept it with love and do according to his punishment.”(52--53). So, in Ostrovsky’s play, the wife’s admonition before her husband’s departure to distant lands, which looks like a meaningless performance, was probably once filled with deep meaning.

When carefully reading “Domostroy,” we are especially struck by the fact that in almost every article, the reward for correct behavior, along with God’s blessing, is “praise from people.” Nowadays it seems to us like a petty-bourgeois prejudice to care first of all about what others think of us, but before it was not so. Medieval people never felt like individuals in the full sense of the word, did not think about how unique their thoughts, feelings and destinies were. A person was, first of all, a Christian, whose thoughts could be either sinful or righteous, and in addition, a member of a parish, community, craft workshop, where his professional qualities, property and family status differed. Life “in the world,” under the watchful gaze of others, was in these conditions one of the regulators of behavior, and the saying: “The voice of the people is the voice of God” originates from the Middle Ages.

Another distinctive feature of the ancient collection is also connected with this. It consists in the fact that, while describing in great detail the external side of this or that act, he almost does not dwell on the internal state. For example:

“Begin every business or do handicrafts... having washed your hands clean, first bow to the saints three times in the ground... who knows how to speak worthily(here - say a prayer. - D.M.) Yes, be blessed by the present (elder), and say the Jesus Prayer, and cross yourself and say: “Lord bless, father!” – also start any business...” (39).

Almost in the same way, touching only on the external outline of events, Katerina Ostrovsky describes her life in her father’s house, but how much feeling, how much sadness for the lost past comes through in her words. Such fullness of personal experience, bordering on flight in scope (“Why don’t people fly?”), is incomprehensible not only to Varvara, who exclaims in bewilderment: “But it’s the same with us!” 3, but, without a doubt, would have seemed strange and dangerous in the Middle Ages. Ancient people did not realize the sometimes tragic difference between a thought and an action for us: each action implied for them a certain inner feeling, into which they invested exactly as much mental energy as they were supposed to, no more and no less. Education aimed at controlling actions (“Do as I ordered you”), in this case, simultaneously achieves the development of certain mental qualities that are otherwise inaccessible. The area of ​​the individual, not consistent with the experience of predecessors, and especially the individual-unconscious - dreams, intuition - from a church point of view is considered extremely doubtful and unreliable, and immersion in it is dangerous. So Katherine, with her religious visions, would have been considered at least enchanted in the Middle Ages.

The main character, who, because of her deep religiosity, is mistaken by us for a typical resident of a town with an archaic way of life, actually has a powerful personality, known only to the New Age. Every circumstance of external life, sanctified by centuries-old tradition for those around her, she must comprehend and approve for herself. If this does not happen, she rebels, and rebels with incredible force, as happened before, when she was pulled out of a boat from the middle of the Volga as a little girl. Her life proceeds serenely only as long as external circumstances correspond to her inner spiritual mood, and Dobrolyubov is partly right when he talks about conscious protest using the example of Katerina, but it is directed more against the whole world than against specific, socially determined circumstances, because the intensity of passions in this soul is such that, feeling the existing contradiction, it is hardly capable of logical explanations and searches for a reasonable way out.

Among the times

Let us now return to the city of Kalinov, which we have abandoned for so long. The revived antiquity looks at us from all sides, and we feel like strangers in front of it, like the same Boris Grigorievich, who says: “I don’t know the customs here. I understand that all this is Russian, native, but I still can’t get used to it.” Here, as before, all church services are diligently attended, and the built French innovation - the boulevard on the Volga bank - is empty in the evenings, when the inhabitants hide behind high fences and let loose their guard dogs: the ancient Russian man was reluctant to leave the confines of his yard or city wall unless absolutely necessary - - the surrounding space seemed undeveloped and hostile to him. The stories of the wanderer Feklusha about distant countries where “unrighteous kings” live, which we previously took as an example of Kalinov’s darkness and savagery, upon closer examination turn out to be excerpts from the ancient Russian story about Magnet-Saltan used by Ostrovsky. The girls embroider church decorations in gold on velvet, and Marfa Ignatievna, as in the old days, tirelessly worries about her home arrangement.

By the way, she is partly “doomed” to such troubles by her own “speaking” name, undoubtedly borrowed by Ostrovsky from the biblical story of Martha and Mary.

In the Gospel of Luke (chapter 10, verse 38-42) we read:

“As they continued their journey, He came to a certain village; here a woman named Martha received Him into her home;

She had a sister named Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to His word.

Martha was taking care of a great treat, and came up and said: Lord! or do you not need that my sister left me alone to serve? tell her to help me.

Jesus answered and said to her: Martha! Marfa! you care and fuss about a lot of things.

And only one thing is needed. Mary chose the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

This biblical story was extremely popular in Rus'. The behavior of his two heroines even gave rise to two complementary directions in the statutes of women's monasteries: in one case, exercise in prayer and improvement of the soul were put at the forefront, in the other - specific concern for one's neighbor: hospitals or orphanages were often created at the monasteries, where, as an obedience nuns worked. However, the efforts of Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova, fervently trying to establish external order in the house to the detriment of mutual understanding between relatives, turn out to be as futile as the efforts of her biblical namesake, who missed the Truth that came to the house, retiring to the kitchen.

Outwardly, the order dictated by “Domostroy” is preserved, but its times have passed. And not only because, according to Kabanikha herself, “that’s how antiquity fades away. I don’t even want to go to another house. And even if you get up, you’ll just spit and get out quickly” (II, 6). The fact is that “Domostroy” has lost its internal content, ceased to be a law that fills the earthly existence of people with deep sacred meaning. And this is especially clearly shown not by Katerina’s tragedy, but by how, having equally lost all purpose in life, people who, according to this old order, stand at different levels of the social ladder - both the subordinate Tikhon and the all-powerful Dikoy - become drunkards.

In fact, the “tyrant power” that N.A. talks about so much. Dobrolyubov in his articles, which are still offered to schoolchildren as the main commentary on Ostrovsky’s plays, has a much more difficult time in “The Thunderstorm”. Yes, both Kabanova and Dikiy, in some respects, can still be called “masters of life,” but this “restless household” not only does not bring them any joy, but is also floating out of their hands right before our eyes. As for the common critic, he, in our opinion, portrayed the main conflict of Ostrovsky’s play too narrowly, reducing it, in essence, to the social.

Incidents in the Kabanov family, which stirred up the quiet town of Kalinov, like a flash of lightning, revealed that several life orders, if you like, several times, coexist side by side in it. The Russian merchants - the beginnings of the bourgeoisie - who lived for the most part in small provincial towns and were aloof from any life, including public life, were discovered by Ostrovsky just on the eve of the events that brought him to the forefront of this life. But it came to this point, carrying with it the remnants of old ideas and orders, which were lost in other layers long ago. Domostroy is not the only such “cargo” in Ostrovsky’s play, because next to its main characters walks a living person of the 18th century - the inventor Kuligin.

It is no coincidence that the author saturates the speech of this character with quotes from Lomonosov and Derzhavin and endows him with a biography that is very characteristic of the Peter-Catherine era - thanks to his abilities, without regular education, he reached the pursuit of science and remained to vegetate in a small town as an eccentric, local attraction. Following Derzhavin, he sincerely admires nature and immediately tries to build a perpetual motion machine and “thunder bars”, trying to conquer it. In line with the best traditions of the 18th century, all his aspirations are aimed at the good of society, and only he, being a representative of the New Age, sympathizes with the unfortunate Katerina: “Her body is here... but her soul is now not yours; she is now before a judge who is more merciful than you!” (V, 7). It is Kuligin who is assigned in the play the role of a kind of commentator, opening Kalinov to the audience of the 19th century, and also as an “interpreter” - an interpreter of local customs - for the visiting Boris Grigorievich. Kuligin seems to connect all the times of the play together, but that’s all. His fate is also guessed without much effort: he will perish in his provincial town, cursing its morals and humiliating himself before the Wild One.

The two main conflicts of the play: external - the romantic Katerina and her family - and internal - the heroine with herself - are thus linked into a single knot of contradictions in the morality of different times. Breaking through time and rejecting the ways to resolve the situation that those around her can offer her, the main character must alone find a solution to the problem with all the “don’ts.” She cannot return to her husband’s house, where her mother-in-law’s jealousy has now grown into fierce hatred - after all, her unworthy daughter-in-law has forever disgraced her son, and life itself, not illuminated by the light of love, has lost all meaning for Katerina - she does not have the strength to “live again” ”, “walk, say something”. She cannot leave Kalinov for distant Kyakhta - the indecisive Boris refuses to take her with him, and his own conscience will not get rid of her, regardless of the distance. She can’t finish everything at once: after all, suicide is a mortal sin; rushing from the Volga bank, she thereby dooms her soul to eternal torment. And Katerina still commits suicide in an almost insane state, first trying to depict for herself the rite of a church funeral (which she, as a suicide, is not entitled to): “They fold their hands crosswise... in a coffin!.. I remembered”; “And they’re singing somewhere again!” (V, 4). Katerina's death, therefore, does not solve the problem, but only signifies it.

Well, what, you ask, is the positive role of Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova here? Rather than leading the reader through the wilds of antiquity with the passion of a researcher, isn’t it easier, following Dobrolyubov, to simply admit that old Kabanikha is the embodiment of “tyrant power,” and her daughter-in-law is the entire protest against the “dark kingdom.” In such an assessment of “The Thunderstorm” everything would be fine if not for... Varvara. As you remember, in the finale of the play, the enterprising sister Tikhon flees from the hated Kalinov together with Kudryash, and the critic almost does not dwell on this detail, only casually attributing to her the features of protest against the “dark kingdom”. It is natural for a sixties revolutionary to poeticize any protest, but we now know how revolutions usually turn out. And therefore, Varvara’s fate appears to us in less rosy colors: a young girl who ran away with a daring lover without a wedding (that means, without documents), without a means of livelihood, risks ending her life in a gutter. And if we also remember the ominous detail that Varvara “is not afraid of thunderstorms,” hard labor looms in the distance as a life prospect for her.

Following Dobrolyubov, Ostrovsky’s drama can truly be called a “play of life,” because, as in life, there are no ready-made answers in it. Her characters represent two different generations, and parents sincerely try to convey to their children their life experience, sanctified by centuries. But these attempts are in vain - ironically, the heroes living side by side are actually separated by a black hole of four hundred years, so the children are doomed to find their own path in life - parental experience is only a burden to them.

It seems that Russian history has a vile tendency to repeat itself...

Notes

1 We do not risk expanding too much about the reasons for Tikhon’s weak character, since they are hidden far beyond the time frame of the play itself. It only seems that little Tisha, from childhood, was not particularly lively, and after the death of his father, Marfa Ignatievna did not take the more natural position in the family of a widow, living out her life dependent on the young owner, but in fact manages all affairs through her son (“When you arrive?” there, do as I ordered you”; I, 5). And no one in Kalinov even mentioned Father Kabanov himself throughout the entire play.

2 Quotes from “Domostroy” are given from: Domostroy. M.: Artist. lit., 1991.

3 Let us recall in parallel another conversation about flying - the night conversation between Sonya and Natasha from the second volume of War and Peace, where the enthusiastic fullness of the main character also encounters the misunderstanding of her friend, who lives only strictly following external circumstances.

« Domostroy" as a guide to life management

When studying the play “The Thunderstorm,” we traditionally pronounce this word “domostroy,” and with a negative sign. Katerina, a heroine clearly sympathetic to the author, opposed to the entire huge, oppressive, heavy and stuffy kingdom, with her death affirming the desire for freedom of feelings, alone opposes the Domostroev order imposed on her by her mother-in-law. And we easily forgive the little lie - her first remark with which she appears on stage: “For me, mamma, everything is the same as my own mother, as you.” She’s not lying – she’s just wishful thinking. But the Domostroevsky order, branded in every possible way by criticism, irritates us because it is associated with a dark kingdom that does not allow poor Katerina to breathe freely. Naturally, in the lessons dedicated to this masterpiece by A.N. Ostrovsky, we consider the ambiguity in the interpretation of images. Indeed, protesting against the external side (howling, corporal punishment - Tikhon beat Katerina, because mamma ordered), she destroys with her betrayal the internal one - the HOME as the basis of human existence in general. We, of course, feel sorry for Katerina: she sincerely suffers, repents, finds no place for herself, but we forget about Tikhon (Serves him right: he didn’t know how to protect his wife in front of his mother - now he’ll suffer for the rest of his life!). And we continue to stigmatize the Domostroev order. What do we know about Domostroy and its declared rules? Maybe this knowledge will help us discover something in such a cruel Kabanikha? After all, she still protects her family! Let’s make a reservation: the title of the book was never mentioned in the play; I doubt that Kabanikha or Dikoy themselves ever held it in their hands, but “Domostroy” illuminated their actions for us, largely, again, thanks to criticism.

So, let’s define for ourselves the goals that we set when studying this work of ancient Russian literature:

• Acquaintance with the work from the point of view of its general structure and main content.
• Obtaining ideas about the norms of family law in the context of the 16th and 19th centuries and comparison with family relations of our time.
• An attempt to understand the role of family and home
• Rethinking some conceptual aspects of Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” from the point of view of family norms declared by “Domostroy”.

A little homework was given for the lesson:

• Flip through (re-read) the play “The Thunderstorm”, find in it a mention of “Domostroy”.
• Find in the statements of Kabanikha and Dikiy recommendations on how to behave correctly in various situations.

During the classes:

The introduction to this article can be used as an introduction. In an Internet search engine, I typed the word “Domostroy” and received ... a list of various companies. Why did many companies in different cities of the country choose this name? What is the lexical meaning of the word? What associations can be associated with this word? Students select associations for the word “Domostroy”

Associative concepts

· house, material, worker, morality, raising children, household members, love, care

· way of life, customs, traditions, laws, moral values, raising children

· house, person, build, rules, family, canon, family relationships, economics, traditions, laws, moral values, raising children

· house arrangement, everyday life, “House-2”

· parents, construction, forest, farming, economics, family law

· something outdated, old rules, concepts, scale, traditions, laws

Briefly discussed: Why did these particular associations arise? (because the Russian root word reflected precisely the basic concept in the title of the book: house + build?) What does it mean to build a house? (this is not only the construction of a building structure, but also the creation of family relationships).

From the history of creation: "Domostroy", a unique monument of ancient Russian literature, was not originally Russian. The text was compiled gradually in different places, using different sources. They translated from Greek, copied the moralizing sayings of the holy fathers, and compiled collections of them. Thus, the first edition of Domostroi was a compilation work; the book grew and was replenished with translations from Latin, German and Polish. And only at the beginning of the 16th century, Archpriest Sylvester, the Tsar’s confessor and assistant to Metropolitan Macarius, created the second edition of this monument. Later, this option will also be supplemented, but most of all with advice of a purely practical nature. We get acquainted with the work precisely in Sylvester’s edition as the most canonical and authoritative.

Group work : Students receive several texts from Domostroy. First, they become familiar with the table of contents (If there is a multimedia installation, the table of contents and texts can be projected onto the screen).

Punishment from father to son

How can Christians believe in the Holy Trinity and the Most Pure Mother of God and the Cross of Christ and the holy Heavenly powers and all the holy and honorable and holy relics and worship them

How to partake of the mysteries of God and believe in the resurrection of the dead, and look forward to the Last Judgment and touch all holy things

Just as you love God with all your soul, you also have the fear of God and mortal memory

As we venerate the hierarchical rank, so do the priestly ranks and ministerial ranks.

How to visit in monasteries and in hospitals and in dungeons and every sorrowful

How to honor the king and the prince and obey in everything and repent of every ruler and serve them with righteousness in everything, to the great and to the lesser, and to the sorrowful and weak to every person

How to be, and pay attention to yourself about this

How to decorate your house with holy images have a clean house

How to come to the churches of God and monasteries with offerings

10. How to call priests and monks into your home to pray

11. How to feed those who come to the house for thanksgiving

12. How should a husband, wife and household pray in their home?

13. How should a husband and wife pray in church to maintain cleanliness and not do any evil?

14. How can children honor their spiritual fathers and obey them?

15. How to raise your children in every punishment and fear of God

16. How to raise a child with an allotment to marry

17. How to teach children and save them through fear

18. How can the children of their father and mother love and take care of them and obey them and give them peace in everything?

19. How can every person do handicrafts and do every work, being blessed?

20. Praise for wives

21. Instructions for husband and wife and people and children, how should they be?

22. What kind of people are we to hold and how to provide for them in every teaching, and in divine commandments, and in house building

23. How should a Christian heal from illness and all kinds of sorrows?

24. About unrighteous living

25. About righteous living, if anyone lives according to God and according to the commandments of the Lord and according to fatherly tradition and according to the Christian law, if the ruler judges everyone righteously and unhypocritically

The rich and the poor alike, both those near and far will be pleased with the lessons of the righteous, and create

26. How can a person live when he sweeps away his belly?

27. Whoever lives without judging himself

28. Who keeps servants out of order?

29. Teach your husband how to please God and subdue your husband, and how to build your house well, and how to do all the household chores, and to know all kinds of handicrafts, and to teach servants and how to do them themselves.

30. Good wives take care of handmade fruits, and take care of everything, and take care of what remains and scraps

31. Like any dress, take care of the leftovers and trimmings

32. Keep all sorts of housework

33. Throughout the entire days of the empress, instruct the servants in everything, both household chores and handicrafts, and about herself and about all care and construction

34. Every day the wife and husband ask about everything and advise about everything and how to go to people and invite them to themselves and what to talk with guests

35. Punish servants like sending them to people

36. Wives are ordered about drunkenness and drunken drinking, and also about servants, not to keep anything secret anywhere, and not to listen to servants of lies and slander without correction; how to punish them with a thunderstorm and the wife in this way

Same, and how to be a guest and arrange yourself at home in everything

37. How to wear and arrange all kinds of dresses for a wife

38. How to arrange a hut well and cleanly

39. Even if a husband does not teach himself, he receives judgment from God, and even if he himself teaches his wife and household, he will receive mercy from God.

40. The sovereign himself or whomever he orders will buy a year’s supply and all kinds of goods.

41. Buy all sorts of goods from overseas and from distant lands for your daily needs

42. About the same thing, if there is no village to buy anything from, and all sorts of household items, both summer and winter, and how to store every year and keep all sorts of animals at home, and always keep food and drink

43. And as soon as the husband has stored up all kinds of food and fasting food for the year, arrange for him

44. About spare profits ahead

45. How to drive a vegetable garden

46. ​​How can a person keep extra drinks for himself and for guests, and how to arrange it in front of people?

47. In addition, the brewing industry has instructions on how to brew beer and how to drink honey and smoke wine.

48. The cooks and the bakers and everywhere have all sorts of orders for the housekeeper.

49. Advise husband and wife on how to give orders to the housekeeper about table services, the cook and the bakery

50. The order to the key holder is like a feast shining

51. An order from the sovereign to the housekeeper to cook lean and meat meals and feed the family, during meat-eating and during fasting

52. In granaries and in bins about care

53. Look the same in the dryer

54. Take care of everything in the cellar and on the glacier

55. And in the cellars and in the basements, and in the onbars, arrange all sorts of orders for the housekeeper according to the sovereign's order

56. In the hay fields there will be hay and horses in the stables, and in the yard there will be a supply of wood and all kinds of livestock.

57. Arrange work in kitchens and bakeries, and in business huts

58. In the cellars and on the glaciers, and in the granaries, and in the drying sheds and in the onbars and in the stables, the sovereign often looks

59. Laughing with the servants of the sovereign in everything according to their favor

60. About merchants and shop people, for the same reason you often keep an account with them

61. How to build a yard or a shop or a village or an bar

62. How a yard tax collects land from a shop or a village tax and the debtor pays all sorts of debts

63. Instruction to the housekeeper on how to keep in the cellar all kinds of salted food in barrels and in kadehs and in merniks and in tchanehs and in buckets meat fish cabbage cucumbers plums lemons caviar saffron milk caps

We invite you to discuss in groups what areas of life are regulated by Domostroy. Undoubtedly, the table of contents itself with its ancient spelling and vocabulary arouses keen interest in the book. In the class there are dictionaries and reference books, which we use to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, although many words that seem so strange turn out to be understandable even without a dictionary. But acquaintance with the table of contents is cursory. We draw conclusions that almost all spheres of life, the entire range of human interests are described in Domostroy. We have time to notice that in some matters it is recommended to “advise husband and wife,” that is, a semblance of equality is still preserved. You can also pay attention to how the rows of homogeneous members of the sentence in the chapter titles show the comprehensiveness of the overall picture: before us is a work of literature, a historical monument, and a unique document of the era - truly family law!

Text No. 1

I bless my sinners, and I teach and punish, and I admonish my son and his wife and their children and household members to be in every Christian law, and in every clear conscience and

in truth, with faith doing the will of God and keeping His commandments, confirming himself in every passion of God, and in lawful residence, and teaching his wife, and also punishing his household, not needing either wounds or hard work, having like children in every room, fed and clothed and in a warm church, and in every order, and I give you Christian life, this scripture for memory and admonition to you and your children, if you do not heed this scripture of mine and do not listen to the teaching, and therefore you will not learn to live and do otherwise But it is written, you will give an answer to yourself on the day of the Last Judgment, and I am not involved in your guilt and sin, except for my soul, I am about this about everything

I blessed the deanery, and wept, and begged, and taught, and offered the scripture to you, and if you accept this bad teaching and harsh punishment of mine, and this scripture, with all the purity of your soul, asking God for help and reason, as much as possible, as God will enlighten you, and begin to create with deeds all the mercy of God and the Most Pure Mother of God, and the great miracle workers, and our blessing from now on and forever, and your house and your children and your wealth and abundance, that God will be yours, will be upon you

bestowed from his labors may he be blessed and filled with all blessings forever. Amen.

We explain what namerek means (by name, calling a name - this is how the place where someone’s name should be inserted is indicated in the texts). That is, this message can be addressed to any son from his father.

How did you understand the main meaning of the introduction? ( I bless you to live righteously, I taught you, and if you don’t listen to me, you yourself will answer before God at the Last Judgment). So is this about a lack of freedom of choice? A person decides for himself what to choose: sin or virtue, righteous living or lawlessness, spiritual purity or long torment of conscience (if there is one).

Working with texts . Let's emphasize the main thought, idea or just key words in the texts.

Let us briefly write down the main idea of ​​the text. (This work can be done in groups - each has its own text).

Text No. 2

Just as you love God with all your soul, you also have the fear of God and mortal memory

Therefore love the Lord God yours with all your soul and stir up all your deeds and customs and morals to do according to His commandments, so that you can live sincerely si love every person created in the image of God, every Christian should always have the fear of God in his heart, and the memory of death, always do the will of God, and walk according to His commandments, say the Lord, whatever I find you in is what I will judge, otherwise worthy of every Christian ready to be in good deeds, in purity and in peace and in every confession there is always hope

(Sincerely love God and man, remember that you will have to answer at the Last Judgment)

Text No. 3

How to visit in monasteries and in hospitals and in dungeons and every sorrowful

In monasteries, and in hospitals, and in the desert and in dungeons, you visit those imprisoned and give alms and all the necessary strength and demand as much as possible, and see their misfortune and sorrow and I need it very much

maybe help for them and everyone who is sorrowful and poor and in need and do not despise poverty, bring them into your house with water, feed them, warm your clothes with all the love and a pure conscience, create the mercy of God and receive freedom, and make an offering to the churches of God in memory of your departed parents and create food for them in the house give alms to the poor and you yourself will be remembered by God.

(In every need, help everyone who is worse off than you)

Text No. 4

How to teach children and save them through fear

Execute your son from his youth and you will rest in your old age and give the beauty of your soul and do not weaken the beating of the baby, even if you beat him with the rod he will not die, but you will be in good health. hitting him on the body,

and you deliver his soul from death, the daughter of the imashi, put your threat on them, keep me from the body, and do not disgrace your face, but walk in obedience, so that you do not accept your own will and in foolishness spoil your virginity, and you will become known to your laughter and they will shame you in front of the multitude of people, if you give up your daughter you have accomplished a great deed, and in the midst of the cathedral you have boasted at the end, and you have not moaned about it, but loving your son, you have increased his wounds

May you take care of him, rejoice at the execution of your son from a young age, and rejoice over him in courage, and in the midst of the evil ones, boast and your enemies will receive envy, raise your child with rebuke and find peace and blessing over him..

(When raising the spiritual above the physical, you need to take care of the soul and moral and physical purity of your children so that you are not ashamed of them)

Text No. 5

Instructions for husband and wife and people and children, how can they be

Yes, teach the sovereign himself and his wife and children and household members not to steal, not to slander, not to lie, not to slander, not to envy, not to offend, not to slander, not to disdain someone else, not to be judged, not

to indulge in revelry, not to laugh, to remember no evil, not to be angry with anyone, to be obedient and submissive to the greater ones, to the middle ones in love, to the lesser and wretched, greetings and mercy, with all authority without

red tape, but especially not to offend the naim, but to endure every insult with thanksgiving for God’s sake, and diarrhea, and reproach, even if they are blasphemed and reproached for the sake of deeds, accept this with love, and from such madness turn away from against and do not take revenge, even if you are not guilty of anything Receive this from God as a reward, and teach your household the fear of God, and all manner of virtues, and do the same yourself, and together you will find mercy from God, even if through negligence and negligence you or your wife sin by not punishing your husband or do evil, and all household members are husbands and wives and children of the ruler's non-punishment of what sin or what evil they will do, or abuse or theft, or fornication all together according to their deeds

those who have committed evil will receive eternal torment, and Those who have done good in a manner pleasing to God will live longer and will inherit eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

(Do not commit unseemly acts, do good in secret, learn to endure insults and forgive: good is pleasing to God).

Text No. 6

How can a man live when he sweeps away his belly?

And in your own, in every household, and in the shop and in all goods, and in the treasury and in plates, or in the yard, in all supplies, or in the village, or in handicrafts, and in the parish, and in expenses, and in borrowings

and in the long run you always notice to yourself and therefore you live and maintain your daily life by income and expenses.

(There is no need to translate here: by income and expense).

Text No. 7

How to arrange a hut house well and cleanly

Table and dishes and staves and loshkas and all sorts of vessels and ladles and brotens, having warmed the water from the morning, wash and wipe and dry, and after lunch and in the evening as well as buckets and bowls and kneading bowls and troughs and sieves and sieves and pots and jugs and pots as well always wash, and scrub, wipe and dry and put in a clean place, where it would be convenient for all sorts of courts and all sorts of order to be washed and clean, but there would be no judgments in the shop and in the yard and in the mansions.

the stalls and dishes and brothers and ladles and pots would not be lying around the bench, where it was arranged to be in a clean place, it would be overturned and in which vessel there would be food or drink and that would be covered for the sake of cleanliness and all sorts of judgments with food or with with drink or with water, (...) good people with a decent wife always have a clean house and everything is arranged in order and hidden where everything is neat and tidy and neat, it’s always like going to heaven (...), and the husband will see that his wife’s house is not tidy (,) to lash others with a whip depending on their guilt, but to beat them not in front of people teach in private, keep quiet and be kind, and in no way be angry with either the wife against the husband or the husband against the wife and for any fault, do not hit on the ear, neither by sight, nor under the heart with a fist, nor with a kick, nor with a staff (...), and for terrible disobedience, and negligence, otherwise the shirt with a whip, politely beat the hands

holding by guilt looking at teaching to keep silent and there would be no anger and people would not know or hear about it (...) The sword does not cut the heads of worship, but the word obediently breaks the bone.

( The house must be clean, there may be quarrels in the family, but you cannot wash dirty linen in public, you need to be able to forgive, especially if a person himself feels guilty. But the husband is still the main one in the house).

Let's pay attention to the fact that “to keep quiet” means “to caress”, “to caress”. Maybe this also cemented relationships, especially in a young family.

In addition, during the lesson we show the full text of “Domostroi” to the students and invite those who wish to familiarize themselves with the book. Although, naturally, even in a double lesson, students will not have enough time to get a complete understanding of this work.

Now let’s define the key concepts that underlie Domostroy and write them down on a piece of paper.

Key Concepts

virtue, faith, grace, health, hearth, family, chastity, purity of soul (body)

· peace, home, family, tranquility, chastity, morality

· order to people, order, faith, grace, health, morality, chastity, happiness, sin, conscience, love, family

· all the tips around the house

· respect for elders, righteous living, healthy lifestyle

It is interesting that among the key concepts the students did not have any words semantically related to the everyday side of life. Let’s compare the previously recorded associative ideas about “Domostroy” and key concepts. Let us note that the key concepts are mainly built not on an economic, but on a moral basis. What is this connected with? (How can one build a life on the farm if there is no core, no foundation - after all, the spiritual is more significant! And in the 16th century this was perfectly understood, which is why the word “conscience” appears so often in the text).

Let's try to formulate the main questions that the book answers if it is considered as a guide to life management. We write them down and discuss them in groups.

Key questions:

· How to live well? What to do to be happy? How to run a farm?

· How to live righteously? How to live correctly? What to do if children don't listen?

· Is tyranny in the family normal?

· How to run a household without losing money?

· How can children love their parents?

· How to live in peace and obey each other?

· What is the house supported on?

Tell me, would we like to know the answers to these questions now? And those statements that we found are not the answers to them? Can we say that this is not just a book, but recipes for happiness? After all, if you comply with all the requirements, then you can learn to live righteously, and therefore, achieve harmony with yourself. And we, summarizing the main thoughts of individual texts (handouts), saw how fair they are in their essence, how eternal the truths contained in them are. And thus we come to the conclusion that we have before us the ideas of the people of the 16th century about the ideal person, a harmonious world order, and reasonable family law. Is it so? (students can note the rigidity of the requirements, and the prescribed, regulated nature of each step of a person, up to instructions on how to save the scraps after sewing, and in later editions, what to serve when). Is it good? Controversial issue. Is Domostroy modern? We suggest choosing one of the problems and writing a short discussion about what you read. Let's exchange impressions. Some works can be read out (optional) or ideas reflected in the essays can be expressed.

Up to this point, we have been working with the texts of Domostroy. Let's consider the impact the book had on the development of the family and society as a whole. Here it is appropriate to recall the play “The Thunderstorm”. It is well known that literature reflects reality and quite often defines and shapes it.

• Did you find any mention of Domostroy in the text of A.N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm”? (they are not there; N. Dobrolyubov wrote about the Domostroevsky order in well-known articles). Remember what didn’t suit Kabanikha in her daughter-in-law’s behavior? What demands did she make of her and her son? in Domostroy, find chapters that could serve as the basis for Kabanikha’s reprimands (how to raise children is not relevant for Katerina, she regrets that God did not give her children, but how a husband’s wife should obey her husband and how a husband should punish his wife for disobedience is just that for her). And, naturally, we find such correspondences. Moreover, we can explain Marfa Ignatievna’s concern: “He won’t be afraid of you, and even less so of me. What kind of order will there be in the house? ...Ali, do you think the law means nothing?” She understands well that the house is based on tradition, order, and the bearers of these traditions, the holders of order, are precisely the old people (see her famous monologue “What does youth mean!..”). And you and I understand that respect for the elderly and old age, unfortunately, is not our national trait. And we don’t really want to listen to the opinions of our elders either. In addition, such a thick atmosphere of obscurantism emanates from the “cruel morals” of the city of Kalinov that it seems truly impossible to live in this “dark kingdom.” In general, we can clearly see that Katerina is much closer to us, more modern, more understandable. We, too, probably would not have tolerated the regulation of family relationships and would also rebel.

In life, outdated orders and the desire to live in a new way have always collided. But, destroying the old, we sometimes forget to build the new. Hence the abolition of the institution of family, the destruction of family relationships. Didn't it all start with Katerina Kabanova? Was it not from that moment when, holding the key in her hands, she decided: “I should even die to see him”? But not so long ago it was natural that old people, their adult children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren lived as one family, passing on life experience and worldly wisdom, helping and protecting each other.

• Is Domostroy to blame for the fact that Katerina Kabanova’s family did not work out, just as many other families did not work out? Perhaps our common misfortune is rooted in non-compliance with these orders: family troubles? Select from the text of Domostroy what you would take note of for building your own family in the future and what you categorically disagree with. Why?
• What disappeared from our lives with the “cancellation” of Domostroy? What did this lead to?

(we are essentially, by our national character and mentality, anarchists and rebels: we don’t want order, we don’t want “as it should be”!). More precisely, we want order, but we ourselves do not want to follow any rules. I'm not talking about the fact that we had to keep the set of house building rules as instructions. Not at all. But there is an external side: specific advice on the home and behavior in everyday life, they are undoubtedly outdated, and there is an internal side: the image of the house as a fortress, a stronghold. Who will protect you if you are a weak woman in a harsh world? If you are poor and hungry, who will shelter you and warm you? Here in the book it says that ashamed not feeding the person who knocked on your door, offending a child, being a slob in the end, and this reflects a certain system of moral values. What about loyalty to husband (wife) and home? And that very road to the temple, dug up by the Soviet regime, that road that we are now, in torment and suffering, are looking for with the whole world, was indicated in “Domostroy”. We started destroying the HOUSE a long time ago, with a simple thing: Katerina’s betrayal in “The Thunderstorm” only exposed this destruction. F. I. Tyutchev only indicated the falling away of man from God: “I believe, my God! Come to the aid of my unbelief” (“Our Century”). Literature has shown this destruction. “Domostroy” is a book about an ideal HOUSE, about an ideal family.

How to feel about “Domostroy”? How to visit a historical and literary monument? How about a historiosophical work? How to visit a monument of Russian culture? It is clear that Domostroy cannot be a guide to action now. But he reveals to us something that, albeit deeply and indirectly, is embedded in the soul of every person: an understanding of the place of family, health, children, righteousness, and the integrity of one’s own soul in our lives. We all want, ultimately, to live, if not in an ideal world, but at least in a harmonious world adapted for life. In the 16th century they knew how to achieve this. And now?

Since one of the most important requirements for the elective course is health-saving technologies, we do not assign homework, but the questions posed in class will force students to look for answers on their own outside the lesson. And maybe throughout my life…

Application. Students' essays.

· I think that the moral problems raised in Domostroy are still relevant today. Nowadays there are a lot of unhappy families, and the reasons for this are very diverse. Some families suffer due to alcoholism, others due to misunderstanding in the family (the wife does not consult with her husband, and the husband does not consult with his wife). Our contemporaries also need to listen to the advice that Sylvester gives. How often do we turn a blind eye to the troubles of other people and do not show any sympathy or participation. Domostroy says that you need to visit the sick. Nowadays, there are a lot of lonely elderly people in hospitals. I know there are organizations that help such people for free. People don't get paid for it, but they don't care. The gratitude and sincere joy of older people pays them off in full. There are also a lot of street children. This also speaks of the loss of moral guidelines in society in our time. Families are falling apart. In the bustle, we don’t want to notice people’s troubles. (Masha N.)

· What to do to be happy? What is happiness? How to achieve happiness? Family, love, faith, home, hearth, family peace - these are the components of happiness. “Domostroy” taught how to live correctly, how to be a worthy person, because remaining an honest, decent person, a person of conscience is always difficult. Especially in our time, when there is so much wrong at every step. It is easier for a conscientious and kind person to achieve an unclear feeling of happiness, his soul is free from sins, his conscience does not torment him for rash actions. A feeling of lightness in the soul and gives a feeling of happiness. And also family, love, loved ones, a feeling of tenderness, support from loved ones. After all, if a person is kind, caring, conscientious, then he will never be left alone. Good attracts like a magnet, which means that a person will not remain lonely and will live in harmony with himself and the world around him. “Domostroy” contains rules, or rather, advice that are only an assistant to happiness, but each person chooses his own path in life, which means that everyone has their own happiness. (Anya A.)

· “Domostroy”, “house”, “build”, “build”. How many associations arise when reading these words. I immediately imagine tyranny, a political system, and someone terribly evil trying to build us in their own way. But, having become a little acquainted with the book “Domostroy”, you understand that there is neither tyranny nor cruelty in it. This is a guide on how to live. To be happy, prosperous. And it speaks not only about housekeeping and careful storage of scraps after sewing. I would say that Domostroy raises more philosophical questions. How to educate yourself and your family spiritually to live in virtue, grace, order and happiness? After all, if there is no light, morality, or kindness in the soul, then the cleanliness of the home will not help to achieve beauty and purity of soul and body (chastity). How to stay healthy, how to be righteous? How to protect yourself and your loved ones from sin? These questions, in my opinion, are still relevant today. In the 16th century, people were pious and righteous, they cared about the beauty of the soul and home, but now faith no longer plays such a role, and the advice of Domostroi seems like stupid relics of the past. Now they care more about whether their blouse is fashionable, whether they have a sofa in the house like their neighbor, or whether their car is the right color and brand. It is clear that in our time no one will live according to Domostroi. But if you think about it, wouldn’t we be happier if we led a life like we did then? After all, if in every home children were instilled with the concept of grace, virtue and chastity, they would avoid many problems and sins, although, however, the “polite” education of a wife with a whip seems to me to be unnecessary cruelty. (Katya K.)

· How to build relationships in a family? I think that this book is somehow relevant in our time. To live correctly, you need to live in harmony with yourself and the world around you. Defend your point of view, but do not conflict, and if you quarrel, meet them halfway. I believe that the main thing in building relationships in a family is love and care. The house should be warm and cozy, and no thunderstorms or storms will destroy it. Not stealing, not committing evil, not hurting or being offended is the main thing in building relationships. (Zhenya K.)

· Are laws that have existed for a long time always relevant? In my opinion, Domostroy should rightfully take the place of a certain standard in every home. Times change, everything develops, and something takes on a new meaning, but the basis remains the same. The problem of the relationship between generations has always worried, worries and will worry people, there will be disputes, innovations, but everyone knows and understands that we live according to a kind of template: the way of life in the family and home, faith in God and church canons, chastity and morality, image life and its rules. No matter who tries to fight and rebel against the old treasure, at a certain point in his life he still understands that he is beginning to live and has always lived according to the same pattern. The only thing I don't agree with is raising children. In my opinion, there is no need to raise a child in such strictness, but let’s not forget that in the 16th century there was no such science as psychology. In general, Domostroy is a very necessary book and will be needed in the future. (Olya B.)

· Foundations and relationships in the family. Past and present. Monk Sylvester in his book “Domostroy” talks about the relationships that should exist in any family between father and son, between husband and wife: a husband needs to beat his wife with a whip to maintain order in the family. The husband is in charge, he decides everything, he can give advice to his wife. In my opinion, in the modern world, in the 21st century, this is far from the case. If a husband dares to raise his hand against his wife, then this is a low act of a weak person who is unable to resolve this or that conflict peacefully, without resorting to violence, especially against a woman. But if this happens, the wife will most likely file for divorce. Nowadays, a woman has become more independent, she is able to solve her problems herself, disagree with her husband, and have her own opinion. In the last century, everything was not like that. Domostroy states that a son must be beaten. And keep your daughter in fear. Everything has changed. It seems to me that today it is not violence and pain that come to the fore, but mutual understanding and trust. Only then can one achieve peace, tranquility and happiness and preserve a real family as the highest spiritual value. I believe that the family foundations that Domostroy describes are now somewhat outdated, and many people regard them with bewilderment, just like me... (Lena O.)

· What to do if children do not obey? I have several thoughts on this matter. Firstly, there is no need to abuse physical punishment, because when the children grow up, retribution will follow. In order for children to obey, you need to do something that will be interesting to them. You need to have conversations with them. Under no circumstances should we forget about children. After mental work, you need to give children the opportunity to have fun. If this suits them, then there is simply no need for them to be naughty. If you are completely unbearable from their disobedience, then you can shout at them or punish them in some way, for example, putting them in a corner, but, in my opinion, you should not hit them. Of course, I am as much a nanny as a ballerina. But theoretically I understand something, and these ideas are taken from my own observations. (Nikita A.)

· “Domostroy,” written in the 16th century, teaches its contemporaries how to live: in order for life to be happy and righteous, you need to follow simple rules: be chaste, honest, virtuous, honor the sovereign, parents and believe in God. Moreover, you also need to believe correctly. The author even teaches readers exactly how to do this. In principle, what is said in the book has always been relevant and will not lose its relevance now. After all, neither faith, nor family, nor order, nor health, nor any other problem can lose its significance. But this does not mean at all that Domostroy is modern. Still, our life is very different from the one we led in the 16th century. For example, faith has now faded into the background, and not many regularly attend church and care about the salvation of their immortal soul. Of course, both now and then people wanted to be happy and have a strong family. But in Sylvester's time people gladly followed his advice, but my contemporaries would like to achieve all this not by following the instructions of some monk, but by completely different means. (Katya S.)

Literature

1. Domostroy - M.: “Fiction, 1991. (Article by V.V. Kolesov)

2.S.I.Ozhegov, N.Yu.Shvedova. Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language" - M.: "Az", 1995

3. Dictionary of archaisms / Comp. I. Smirnov, M. Globachev. – M.: TERRA-Book Club, 2001

4. Somov V.P. Dictionary of rare and forgotten words. – M.: LLC publishing house “Astrel”, 2001

5.Dal V.I. Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. Modern spelling. – M.: LLC publishing house “Astrel”, 2001

The highest artistic achievement of A. N. Ostrovsky in the pre-reform years was the drama “The Thunderstorm”. The author takes us to the provincial merchant town of Kalinov, whose residents stubbornly cling to the centuries-old way of life. But already at the beginning of the play it becomes clear that those universal human values ​​that Domostroy stands for have long ago lost their meaning for the ignorant inhabitants of Kalinov. For them, it is not the essence of human relationships that is important, but only the form, the observance of decency. It’s not for nothing that in one of the first acts “Mother Marfa Ignatyevna” - Kabanikha, Katerina’s mother-in-law - received a damning description: “A prude, sir. She gives to the poor, but eats her family.” And for Katerina, the main character of the drama, patriarchal values ​​are full of deep meaning. She, a married woman, fell in love. And he tries with all his might to fight his feelings, sincerely believing that this is a terrible sin. But Katerina sees that no one in the world cares about the true essence of those moral values ​​to which she is trying to cling, like a drowning man to a straw. Everything around her is already collapsing, the world of the “dark kingdom” is dying in agony, and everything she tries to rely on turns out to be an empty shell. Under the pen of Ostrovsky, the planned drama from the life of the merchants develops into a tragedy.

The main idea of ​​the work is the conflict of a young woman with the “dark kingdom”, the kingdom of tyrants, despots and ignoramuses. You can find out why this conflict arose and why the end of the drama is so tragic by looking into Katerina’s soul and understanding her ideas about life. And this can be done thanks to the skill of A. N. Ostrovsky.

Behind the external calm of life lie dark thoughts, the dark life of tyrants who do not recognize human dignity. Representatives of the “dark kingdom” are Dikoy and Kabanikha. The first is a complete type of tyrant merchant, whose meaning of life is to amass capital by any means. The imperious and stern Kabanikha is an even more sinister and gloomy representative of Domostroy. She strictly observes all the customs and orders of patriarchal antiquity, eats her family, shows hypocrisy when giving gifts to the poor, and does not tolerate manifestations of personal will in anyone.

Ostrovsky portrays Kabanikha as a staunch defender of the foundations of the “dark kingdom.” But even in her family, where everyone meekly obeys her, she sees the awakening of something new, alien and hateful to her. And Kabanikha complains bitterly, feeling how life is destroying the relationships that are familiar to her: “They don’t know anything, no order. They don’t know how to say goodbye. "If the light will stay on, I don't know. Well, it's good that I won't see anything." Under this humble complaint of Kabanikha there is misanthropy, inseparable from religious hypocrisy.

The development of action in "The Thunderstorm" gradually reveals the conflict of the drama. The power of the Kabanikha and the Wild over those around them is still great. “But a wonderful thing,” writes Dobrolyubov in the article “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom,” “the tyrants of Russian life, however, begin to feel some kind of discontent and fear, without knowing what and why... another life has grown, with other principles, and although it is far away and is not yet clearly visible, it is already giving itself a presentiment and sending bad visions to the dark tyranny of tyrants.” This is the “dark kingdom” - the embodiment of the entire system of life in Tsarist Russia: the lack of rights of the people, arbitrariness, oppression of human dignity.

Katerina finds herself in this world of the Wild and Boars - a poetic, dreamy, freedom-loving nature. The world of her feelings and moods was formed in her parents' home, where she was surrounded by the care and affection of her mother. In an atmosphere of hypocrisy and importunity, petty tutelage, the conflict between the “dark kingdom” and Katerina’s spiritual world matures gradually. Katerina endures only for the time being. “And if I get really tired of here, no force can hold me back. I’ll throw myself out the window, throw myself into the Volga, I don’t want to live here, so I won’t, even if you cut me!” - she says.

Not finding an echo in the heart of her narrow-minded and downtrodden husband, her feelings turn to a man unlike everyone else around her. Love for Boris flared up with the force characteristic of such an impressionable nature as Katerina; it became the meaning of the heroine’s life.

Katerina comes into conflict not only with the environment, but also with herself. This is the tragedy of the heroine’s situation.

If the drama ended with a scene of repentance, it would show the invincibility of the “dark kingdom.” But the drama ends with Katerina’s moral victory both over the forces that fettered her freedom and over what fettered her will and reason. Katerina decides to commit suicide. The heroine's suicide is a protest against a worthless life, against the dark forces of the kingdom of Domostroy. If a woman, the most powerless creature, and even in the dark, inert environment of the merchants, can no longer put up with the oppression of “tyrant power,” it means that among the disadvantaged, downtrodden people, indignation is brewing, which should motivate the people to a decisive struggle.

For its time, when Russia experienced a period of enormous social upsurge before the peasant reform, the drama "The Thunderstorm" was important. The image of Katerina belongs to the best images of women not only in Ostrovsky’s work, but also in all Russian fiction.

In 1856, Ostrovsky traveled along the Volga from the source of the river to Nizhny Novgorod. The impressions he received fueled his creativity for many years. They were also reflected in “The Thunderstorm,” which takes place in the fictional remote Volga town of Kalinov (it will later be mentioned twice more in other plays - “The Forest” and “Warm Heart”).

The people of “Thunderstorm” live in a special state of the world - crisis, catastrophic. The first action introduces us to the pre-storm atmosphere of life. The temporary triumph of the old only increases tension. It thickens towards the end of the first act: even nature, as in the folk tale, responds to this with a thunderstorm approaching Kalinov.

Kabanikha is a man of a crisis era, like other heroes of the tragedy. This is a zealot for the worst laws of the old morality. Although in reality she easily deviates not only from the spirit, but also from the letter of Domostroev’s instructions. “...If they offend you, don’t take revenge; if they blaspheme you, pray, don’t repay evil for evil, don’t judge those who sin, remember your sins, take care of them first of all, reject the advice of evil people, look up to those who live in truth and their deeds write it down in your heart and do the same yourself,” says the old moral law. “We need to forgive our enemies, sir! – Kuligin exhorts Tikhon. What does he hear in response? “Go and talk to mummy, what will she say to you about this.” The detail is significant! Kabanikha is terrible not for her loyalty to antiquity, but for her tyranny “under the guise of piety.”

The willfulness of the Wild, in contrast to the tyranny of Kabanikha, is no longer strengthened by anything, and is not justified by any rules. The moral foundations in his soul are thoroughly shaken. This “warrior” is not happy with himself, he is a victim of his own self-will. He is the richest and most famous man in the city. Capital frees his hands, gives him the opportunity to freely swagger over the poor and financially dependent on him. The more Dikoy gets rich, the more unceremonious he becomes. “So, are you going to sue me or something? - he declares to Kuligin. - So you know that you are a worm. If I want, I’ll have mercy, if I want, I’ll crush.” Boris's grandmother, leaving a will, in accordance with custom, made the main condition for receiving the inheritance the nephew's respect for his uncle. As long as moral laws stood firm, everything was in Boris’s favor. But their foundations were shaken, the opportunity arose to twist the law this way and that, according to the well-known proverb: “The law is like a pole: where you turn, that’s where it comes out.” “What should we do, sir,” Kuligin says to Boris. “We must try to please somehow.”

But strong materially, Savel Prokofievich Dikoy is weak spiritually. He can sometimes give up before someone who is stronger than him in law, because the dim light of moral truth still flickers in his soul: “I was fasting about fasting, about great things, but now it’s not easy and slip a little man in; He came for money and carried firewood. And it brought him to sin at such a time! I did sin: I scolded him, I scolded him so much that I couldn’t ask for anything better, I almost killed him. This is what my heart is like! After he asked for forgiveness, he bowed at his feet, really. Truly I tell you, I bowed at the peasant’s feet... I bowed to him in front of everyone.”

Of course, this “insight” of the Dikiy is just a whim, akin to his tyrant whims. This is not Katerina’s repentance, born of guilt, painful moral torment. And yet, this act clarifies something in the Wild’s behavior. Dikoy is willful with a secret consciousness of the lawlessness of his actions. And therefore he gives in to the power of a person who relies on the moral law, or to a strong personality who boldly crushes his authority.

The young forces of life are rebelling against the city fathers. These are Tikhon and Varvara, Kudryash and Katerina. Tikhon’s trouble is the lack of will and fear of his mother born from the “dark kingdom”. Essentially, he does not share her despotic claims and does not believe her in anything. In the depths of Tikhon’s soul, a kind and generous person curled up into a ball, loving Katerina, able to forgive her any offense. He tries to support his wife at the moment of repentance and even wants to hug her. Tikhon is much more subtle and morally insightful than Boris, who at this moment, guided by the weak-heartedness of “the secret”, comes out of the crowd and bows to the Kabanovs, thereby aggravating Katerina’s suffering. But Tikhon’s humanity is too timid and inactive. Only at the end of the tragedy does something resembling a protest awaken in him: “Mama, you ruined her! you, you, you...” Tikhon sometimes dodges the oppressive tyranny, but even in these dodges there is no freedom. Revelry and drunkenness are akin to self-forgetfulness. As Katerina rightly notes, “even in freedom he seems to be tied up.”

Varvara is the direct opposite of Tikhon. She has both will and courage. But Varvara is the child of the Wild and Boars, who does not want to answer for her actions, she simply does not understand Katerina’s moral torment: “But in my opinion: do what you want, as long as it is sewn and covered” - this is Varvara’s simple code of life, which justifies any deception .

Vanya Kudryash is much taller and more morally insightful than Varvara. In him, more than in any of the heroes of The Thunderstorm, with the exception, of course, of Katerina, the people's principle triumphs. This is a song nature, gifted and talented, daring and reckless on the outside, but kind and sensitive in depth. But Kudryash also gets used to Kalinov’s morals, “his nature is free, but sometimes self-willed.” Kudryash opposes the world of “fathers” with his daring and mischief, but not with moral strength.

In merchant Kalinov, Ostrovsky sees a world breaking with the moral traditions of folk life.

Only Katerina is given the opportunity in “The Thunderstorm” to retain the fullness of viable principles in folk culture and maintain a sense of moral responsibility in the face of the trials to which this culture is subjected in Kalinov.

In Ostrovsky’s Russian tragedy, two opposing cultures – rural and urban – collide, generating a powerful thunderstorm, and the confrontation between them goes back to the centuries-old depth of Russian history. “The Thunderstorm” is directed to the future as much as it is directed into the depths of centuries. To understand it, you need to free yourself from the existing confusion, which dates back to the Dobrolyubov times. Usually “Domostroy” with its strict religious and moral precepts is confused with the mores of folk, peasant Rus'. Domostroevsky orders are attributed to the family and rural community. This is the deepest misconception. “Domostroy” and the folk-peasant moral culture are largely opposite principles. Behind their confrontation lies a deep historical conflict between the zemstvo (people's) and state principles, the conflict of the rural community with the centralizing, formal force of the state, with the grand ducal court and the city. It is not difficult to notice in “The Thunderstorm” the tragic confrontation between the religious culture of Katerina and the Domostroev culture of Kabanikha. The contrast between them is drawn by the sensitive Ostrovsky with amazing consistency and depth.

Is it by chance that vibrant rural life brings smells from the flowering Trans-Volga meadows to Kalinov? Is it by chance that Katerina stretches out her exhausted hands to this oncoming wave of refreshing space? Let us pay attention to the vital sources of the integrity of Katerina’s nature, to the cultural soil that nourishes her. Without them, Katerina's character fades like cut grass.

Why did a seemingly simple story about how a merchant’s wife, brought up in the strict rules and concepts of ancient morality, fell in love with a “decently educated” young man who came from Moscow, cheated on her husband, did not want to hide her guilt and publicly having repented of it, rushed into the Volga from a high cliff?

The fact is that Ostrovsky showed not only the external circumstances of the tragedy: the severity of the mother-in-law, the lack of will of the husband and his commitment to wine; the indifferent, formal attitude of the Kalinovites towards faith, which hurts the soul of Katerina, whose religious feeling is ardent and sublime, the imperious rudeness of the rich merchants, the owners of the city, the poverty and superstition of the inhabitants, the isolation of the Kalinovsky world.

The main thing in the play is the inner life of the heroine, the emergence of something new in her, still unclear to her. “There’s something so extraordinary about me, as if I’m starting to live again, or... I don’t know,” she confesses to her husband’s sister Varvara. Katerina – little by little – begins to feel like an individual. In accordance with the life experience of a young woman from a merchant environment, this feeling takes the form of unexpected and “illegal” love. Love and will inextricably merge in the heroine’s consciousness, but she perceives the desire for both, which arose in her soul, as something terrible and disastrous, contrary to her own moral ideas. Katerina’s unbearable suffering is caused not only by separation from her beloved, but, above all, by the consciousness of sin, pangs of conscience and, at the same time, disgust for life in domestic captivity.

The spirit of the ancient way of life with its truly high morality, as Ostrovsky shows, has already disappeared from life - only a dead, oppressive shell remains. All the young heroes of the play only outwardly fulfill the patriarchal commandments. Katerina's husband Tikhon pretends to love and honor his mother. Varvara, who outwardly lives “as she should,” secretly meets with her lover. For Katerina, who still perceives the world from the perspective of the moral ideals of a bygone era, it is impossible to reconcile love and conscience. Katerina's fate takes on a symbolic meaning in the play.