The main theme is dowry. To help a schoolchild
Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky’s play “Dowry” is rightfully considered a real masterpiece of Russian drama. It is distinguished by its deep psychologism, colorful images, and acute social and personal issues. We invite you to familiarize yourself with literary analysis works according to a plan that will be useful to 10th grade students in preparation for a literature lesson.
Brief Analysis
Year of writing– 1874-1878.
History of creation– Ostrovsky, who held the honorary position of justice of the peace, based the plot on the real story of the death of a young woman who died at the hands of her husband. The author worked on the play for four years, from 1874 to 1878. At first the work did not receive recognition, but after a while it became a stunning success.
Subject- Distorted relationships in a society in which the principles of “buying and selling” reign. Any person, any action can be bought, the only question is the price.
Composition– A work consisting of four acts is characterized by a linear composition. The first act is exposition and announcement (Paratov’s arrival), the second act is the development of the plot ( strong love Larisa to Paratov, for whose sake she is ready to make great sacrifices), the third act is the climax (dinner at Karandyshev’s), the fourth act is the denouement (Larissa’s death).
Genre- A play. Social and psychological drama.
Direction– Realism.
History of writing
In the 70s of the 19th century, Alexander Nikolaevich served as justice of the peace for the Kineshma district. On duty, he took part in high-profile court hearings and was well acquainted with the criminal chronicles of that time. All this gave Ostrovsky, as a writer, rich literary material, which he often used in his works.
Presumably, the plot of "Dowry" was based on real story, which shook the entire Kineshma district when local Ivan Konovalov killed his own young beautiful wife.
Ostrovsky began writing the play in the fall of 1874. However, parallel work on other works delayed its writing for four long years. Having successfully passed the censorship, “Dowry” was published in 1879 in the literary magazine “Otechestvennye zapiski.”
The first productions were a failure and drew harsh criticism. Such rejection was due to the fact that the author managed to open painful ulcers on the body of society. Such courage was not to everyone’s taste, and was received with hostility by both theater critics and ordinary readers.
And only in the 90s of the 19th century, almost 10 years after the death of the writer, the play achieved well-deserved success.
Subject
The essence of Ostrovsky's drama fully reflects the meaning of the title- “Dowry.” Previously, this was the name given to poor girls who did not have a penny to their name. Their situation was very humiliating and difficult - rarely did anyone want to start a family with a dependent woman, who had to be fully supported all her life. Only beauty, education and personal traits could attract the attention of a worthy groom who was ready to turn a blind eye to the bride’s lack of dowry.
Thus, the author draws one of serious problems a society in which a person appears as a commodity that can be bought or sold. Few people are interested in a person’s personality, his soul feelings, since everyone has only one goal - not to sell things short.
Larisa Ogudalova is a sensitive, kind and vulnerable girl, a real beauty, which still has one significant drawback - the lack of a dowry. They see the meaning of their life in searching true love, and soon finds her in the person of Sergei Paratov. She sees his image in a kind of halo, endowing him with virtues that do not exist in reality.
However, soon the romantic flair disappears from the heroine’s eyes, and she sensibly assesses the current situation. The people around her, including birth mother, they see in it only luxurious fun, expensive toy, which can be boasted in society. Even in her close circle, no one seeks to look into her soul or show sincere concern for her.
Larisa comes to the sad conclusion that she is a thing that should be sold at a higher price. The collision of a pure soul with the vicious material world invariably leads to a tragic outcome - death main character. However, Larisa finds joy in her death, since it gives her long-awaited freedom.
Composition
In "Dowry" the analysis includes a description compositional structure works. The composition of the play follows all classical laws and consists of four acts:
- first act contains exposition and plot (description of the life of Larisa and her family, Paratov’s arrival);
- in the second act events develop (Larissa is becoming more and more convinced that her personal happiness is possible only with Paratov, and for his sake she is ready to sacrifice a lot);
- third act- climax (dinner at Karandyshev’s, Larisa’s singing, which, in fact, is a pure and sincere declaration of love for Paratov);
- fourth act- denouement (the death of Larisa, who at the moment of her death wholeheartedly forgives all those who, one way or another, are guilty of her death).
All events take place within 24 hours, which further enhances the drama of the story. Linear composition allows the author to convey as accurately as possible the motives for the behavior of the main characters. It becomes clear that their actions are largely determined not only by their character traits, but also by the environment in which they live.
Main characters
Genre
The play “The Dowry” fully corresponds to the drama genre, since it presents the difficult fate of the main character, who is forced to live in a constant conflict between her soul and society.
The purpose of the socio-psychological drama, to which “Dowry” belongs, is to reveal to the reader all the hardships that a person is forced to face in an environment alien to him. As a rule, the main characters of the drama are expected internal contradictions, spiritual suffering, and ultimately - tragic fate. But at the same time, the drama fully reflects the realities surrounding life, making you think about many important issues prevailing in any society.
Drama "Dowry" (1879) became one of the peaks in Ostrovsky's dramaturgy. Here, each character is revealed with utmost authenticity and convincingness. The play consists of a number of large and significant scenes that are built in accordance with the logic of positions and situations.
Ostrovsky puts the fate of a woman at the center of the work, showing life from the most emotional and expressive side, contrasting cold and soulless calculation and selfishness with the sincerity, gullibility and recklessness of “hot hearts”.
“B” presents a piece of Russian life at the end of the 19th century. The impoverished nobles Ogudalovs, living in the provincial Volga city of Bryakhimov, with difficulty maintaining the appearance of prosperity and secularism, the rich businessmen Knurov and Vozhevatov, the “brilliant gentleman of the shipowners” Sergei Sergeich Paratov, the poor official, the “little man” Karandyshev, the traveling actor Robinson, the bartender, servants, gypsies - this is the cast of characters in the drama. The composition is quite varied, but accurately reflects the signs of Russian life at that time.
The play is unusual in composition. Overall, this is a climax drama, because it captures the moment of highest tension in the life of the main character Larisa Ogudalova. The painful experiences of being “dowryless,” a mental crisis due to a long and incomprehensible separation from Paratov, forced the girl to make a difficult decision for herself - to become the wife of the uninteresting and unattractive Karandyshev.
Larisa, who clearly idealizes Paratov, does not see his selfishness and callousness and recklessly follows him, not at all doubting his nobility. The shock from the deception turns out to be so severe, and the situation is so irreparable - honor is lost, faith in a loved one and in love itself is lost - that life loses all meaning for Larisa. But in order to leave it, she does not find the strength in herself and is forced to accept the law of bourgeois society, where beauty, being a commodity, is bought and sold. Larisa is ready to become Knurov’s kept woman, and only Karandyshev’s shot put an end to doubts, torment, and moral hesitations, ending the life of Larisa Ogudalova.
The play is structured in such a way that the main action develops in two streams - on stage and off stage. Only the most acute events take place on stage, situations are shown that reveal the psychological complexity of relationships and sharp turns in the development of the plot. Everything ordinary, everyday or everyday known remains outside the stage space. Thus, the playwright omits the scene of Larisa’s first meeting with Paratov, does not show her experiences after his departure (the viewer learns about this from the characters’ remarks), and there is no scene of Larisa’s trip across the Volga with the gypsies. The basis of drama is not only action, but also psychological process.
“B” is a play about a beautiful, extraordinary girl who finds herself in an ordinary bourgeois environment, which looks at her as a bright, attractive thing. The theme of purchase and sale permeates the entire work, is the main one and is stated at the very beginning of the drama, when there is a conversation about the “Swallow”, profitably bought by Vozhevatov from Paratov, about pleasures for which “you have to pay” (meaning the pleasure of visiting the Ogudalovs’ house ), that it would be nice to go to Paris with Larisa Dmitrievna for an exhibition, and that this woman is created for luxury and, like an expensive diamond, she needs an expensive frame. All the remarks regarding Larisa were not thrown by chance, they are developed, and in the finale their truly dramatic meaning is revealed: at the most difficult moment for Larisa, when she realizes that Paratov has cruelly deceived her, Knurov makes her an offer to go with him to Paris for an exhibition.
Larisa does not have the integrity and inner strength that was felt in Katerina. Her soul is tossing about pure love, about a noble groom, between the desire to love people, to live according to the laws of honor, according to the moral standards accepted among the nobility, and the ability to morally compromise.
The playwright emphasizes Larisa’s loneliness with an unexpected technique: the heroine dies to the accompaniment of a “loud choir of gypsies.” Before her death, she perceives Karandyshev’s shot as a blessing, as relief from suffering. To the sounds of a gypsy song, Larisa talks about love for people and sends a farewell kiss. At the beginning of the play, the Ogudalovs' house was compared to a camp; the play ends with a camp song. Beginnings and ends, causes and effects, temporary and eternal, are united. Dying, Larisa understands that she is a stranger to everyone, but at the same time she does not blame anyone: “Let those who have fun have fun... I don’t want to disturb anyone! Live, live, everyone!” her death is not an accident, but an inevitable death due to the incompatibility of this woman with a practical and cruel world.
“B” is a drama, but it is seen as tragic. A number of leitmotifs:
Simplicity, which is shaded by the motive of wealth
At the beginning of the play, the motive of tragedy arises: Larisa always feels like she is on the edge of an abyss
Like Katerina, she recklessly shows her feelings all the time. Simplicity and stupidity testify to this.
The motif of the “man of things” is not only found in Larisa, but also in Paratov.
The motive of the game - acting - is common to everyone except Larisa.
Dramatic conflict: “if you are a thing, it is expensive” => having lost love, she accepts what is offered to her.
Death is a manifestation of weakness, not strength, as it was for Katerina.
Two contenders for Larisa's heart - Paratov and Karandyshev. Both Knurov and Vozhevatov are related to the death of Larisa. However, Paratov and Karandyshev occupy a central place in the system of images. It was these heroes who pushed Larisa to the moral abyss. Paratov cruelly deceives the girl, uses her gullibility and selfless love, and Karandyshev, having no power over Larisa’s heart, kills her.
At first glance, these heroes are antipodes. Paratov is handsome, rich, “a brilliant gentleman from a ship owner,” and Karandyshev is a small, poor official with an uninteresting appearance. Paratov appears everywhere with style, attracting attention with every gesture, every step. Paratov finds it easily mutual language with people, arouses their admiration. Kharita Ignatievna, for example, speaks of Paratov like this: “Well done man... What a falcon! Look at you and rejoice." Larisa will deeply and strongly fall in love with Paratov, a brave and passionate admirer. Karandyshev, on the contrary, the girl, even agreeing to become his wife, almost despises. He is a straw for her, “for the cat.” the drowning man grabs." None of the characters speak of him with respect. “B-he’s proud, envious,” notes Vozhevatov. “Well, what is Karandyshev!” - with contempt and bewilderment Gov. Knurov, having learned about Larisa’s decision to marry this man. Those around him are unpleasant about Karandyshev’s envy, his embitterment, and his desire to be in a chosen society at all costs. Karandyshev and Paratov are rivals. The heroes have social networks. abyss. Karandyshev is “little h-k”, and Paratov is “the master of life”. He has a rule - “don’t forgive anyone, otherwise they will forget the fear and become forgotten.” And this is not an empty phrase, but one of the main qualities of Paratov, cat. can be defined as lordship. However, with a deep analysis of the characters and actions of Paratov and Karandyshev, we can conclude that the heroes have a lot in common. Both he and others are extremely proud and vain, love to impress, and achieve their goals by any means necessary. Both need Larisa for self-affirmation. For them she is a toy, a THING. Para-tov achieved that Larisa fell in love with him passionately, and he himself “beat off all the suitors, and there was no trace of him...”
Returning to Bryakhimov and inviting the girl for a ride on the Lastochka, Paratov coldly sacrifices her reputation to his whim. For him, the trip is a cheerful farewell to his bachelor life, and for Larisa, it is hope for a happy marriage with her loved one.
Karandyshev stubbornly waited for Larisa to be left without contenders for her hand, and he also achieved his goal: he became the girl’s fiancé. He can’t wait to experience the triumph of the winner, and after she agrees to marry him, he already looks at Larisa as his property.
Both Karandyshev and Paratov are not indifferent to Larisa, but at the same time they do not value the girl, do not listen to her words, and do not want to understand what is happening to her. The heroes revel in their power over Larisa. At the dinner party, Karandyshev is rejoicing; he is already enjoying his position as the future husband, the complete ruler of Larisa. He decides for her whether she will sing for the guests or not: “No, no, don’t ask, it’s impossible; I forbid..." Both heroes are to blame for the death of Larisa. Both the “little man” and the brilliant gentleman do not have true sensitivity and the ability to love unselfishly in their souls. They believe that in a world where everything is based on calculation, you can buy honor, love, and beauty. Larisa idealized both Paratov and Karandyshev. She perceived Karandysheva as a person with a kind soul, poor and misunderstood by others, she sincerely wanted to love him. Paratov was Larisa’s ideal man. She considered him noble and reliable, and dreamed of uniting her destiny with him. Too late, the girl realized that in the world of profit and self-interest there is no place for love.
Moral problems in A. N. Ostrovsky’s play “Dowry”. The essence dramatic work A. N. Ostrovsky's "Dowry" is to show the contradictions of the surrounding reality through the fate of the heroes. The writer, penetrating into the life of the classes described, depicts his heroes in action, revealing them character traits. main topic Ostrovsky's works are a drama of personality in society. All lines of the play are devoted to the disclosure of this theme. Speaking about women in bourgeois society, the playwright reveals to the reader true position of things.
In a quiet town on the Volga there lives a girl of marriageable age, Larisa Ogudalova. There are many eligible bachelors around, but Larisa is without a dowry. Therefore, despite her spiritual qualities, she is at a disadvantage. These men claim Larisa as just a beautiful thing, talking about her as just another matter. Larisa’s lyrical nature does not understand this at first; she is looking for love. If not mutual, then at least self-love. Therefore, in the absence of other candidates, she agrees to become the wife of Karandyshev, who loves her. With this decision, she crosses out a year of empty suffering for another person - Sergei Paratov, deciding that family responsibilities will help you forget about him. But Paratov reappears in her life. He decided to say goodbye to his free single life, maybe he barely remembers Ogudalova, but Larisa is sure that Sergei Sergeevich came for her sake.
Larisa's mother, Kharita Ignatyevna, knows what awaits her daughter, and her attitude towards her is no different from that of the merchants - she also wants to sell Larisa off at a profit. She talks to the poor Karandyshev with disdain, with Paratov she behaves a little familiarly, with Knurov she agrees with everything, understands that he is ready to take his daughter as a kept woman and is happy about this, having received a wardrobe for her daughter and three hundred rubles.
Larisa has self-esteem and believes that not having a dowry will not stigmatize her. The conflict of the drama is in the contradiction between the girl’s expectations and harsh reality. When Larisa comes face to face with her, she rushes about, trying to maintain her self-esteem and pride. “Everyone loves themselves. When will someone love me? You will bring me to death…” she says to her fiancé Karandyshev. Larisa cannot change her fate in any way - others decide everything in advance for her.
As sad as it is to realize this, Karandyshev, even though he is in love with Larisa, also treats her as a beautiful, soulless thing. This is terrible for Larisa. After all, she considers love to be the main advantage of her fiancé. He is happy that she will become his wife and perceives this event as a profitable deal for himself. Now he has something to boast about in front of these rich people! There is something to hurt them! But he is jealous and also hurt, because Larisa doesn’t even hide the fact that she loves Paratov! Because she believes that she waited for her love, going through suffering.
Karandyshev has one difference from other male heroes - he acts at the behest of his heart. He tells Larisa that he is ready to be humiliated for her sake. How do others behave? What does Paratov feel for Larisa? Does she mean more to him than to others, or does he enjoy his power over the girl in love, as well as his dexterity in deceiving the groom? How honest are those around her towards Larisa?
Judging by their actions, the main “moral” quality in merchant environment is a business
grip They talk about everything from the point of view of profitability, and feelings have no place where there should be only calculation. The merchants keep their distance from the rest of the population, and they are quite distrustful even of each other. We learn their moral character in their relationship with Larisa. The powerful and calculating Knurov is emphatically friendly with her, saying that he is obliged to take part in her fate. In fact, this means that he will take advantage of the girl’s hopeless situation.
Paratov is ready to do anything for the sake of money, and his relationship with Larisa is like gambling, because he believes that in life you have to try everything. Unfortunately, the girl in love does not see his selfishness. Moral Character Sergei Sergeevich Paratov appears for Larisa only when he, having seduced a girl, tells her about his impossibility of marrying her. What did he choose? A more financially advantageous marriage to millions. Everyone learns about this event at the very beginning of the play. But, seeing how Larisa is rushing about, no one tells her about this, including her childhood friend Vasya Vozhevatov. Vozhevatov is a soulless egoist who is not touched by Larisa’s fate. He can't even offer her help in critical situation, because he is bound by an honest merchant's word. He plays Larisa toss with Knurov,
Knurov is a cynical businessman, he can only tell Ogudalova for the sake of a catchphrase that “he never thought for a single minute to offer his hand,” but he is married, so he is ready to give her such allowance that all critics of morality will be forced to remain silent. That is, there are no immoral actions - there is little money.
Thus, human relationships, morality, love, friendship are crossed out for the sake of business relationships, for the sake of profit. This is how Larisa herself sums up her life: “I was looking for love and didn’t find it. They looked at me and look at me as if I was funny. No one ever tried to look into my soul, I didn’t see sympathy from anyone, I didn’t hear warmth, heartfelt words. But it’s cold to live like this. It’s not my fault, I was looking for love and didn’t find it... it doesn’t exist in the world... there’s nothing to look for. I haven’t found love, so I’ll look for gold.” Larisa makes a choice - she is ready to become a beautiful thing for the rich man Knurov.
As usual, the truth comes from the lips of someone whose words are not taken seriously. Robinson tells Paratov: merchants are ignorant. And this is the mildest description that can be given. Karandyshev is the first to open the bride’s eyes to her surroundings; he tells her cruel but truthful words about those whom she considers friends: “They do not look at you as a woman, as a person - a person controls his own destiny; they look at you as if you were a thing.” He believes that he is obliged to protect Larisa and punish her offenders. But a transformation also occurs with him - his love is desecrated by jealousy and revenge. He envies the merchants and also wants to feel like a master.
After everything that happened, Larisa can only become a toy for Knurov or die. Therefore, she thanks Karandyshev for accidentally fulfilling her wish: “My dear, what a good deed you have done for me!” Perhaps she herself would not have decided to take her own life, and having become Mokiy Parmenych’s kept woman, she would have lost herself. She takes the blame for her death, covering for Karandyshev, who saved her from further disappointments and suffering.
Inevitability tragic ending prepared by the fact that Larisa has nothing holding her back in life. Nobody needs her love, the girl is alone in this world. She has lost harmony in her soul and does not see compassion from anyone. Larisa's drama is that she was born into a world in which only money and power are important.
Many poets and writers dedicated their lines to women, the beautiful half of humanity. In Russian literature, the image of a woman was depicted with great warmth, her best features were sung: loyalty, sincerity, beauty, intelligence, nobility, tenderness and selfless love.
Larisa is an unusually interesting and attractive character in A.N. Ostrovsky's play "Dowry".
The meaning of the life of the main character is love. Larisa is a beautiful, smart, gentle, multi-talented girl with a pure soul. She lives in a provincial town, in a family without sufficient means of subsistence. But the girl does not chase a successful match, she waits and hopes that true love will come to her.
Kharita Ignatievna is trying to arrange the fate of her daughter, so she is busy looking for the best groom, but the main condition is money. The girl’s mother is not interested in the education and decency of the groom, just to marry off her daughter more profitably.
Frequent receptions are held in the house with the money of Knurov and Vozhevatov. The audience is very diverse: rich merchants and the modest Karandyshev, officials and the brilliant nobleman Sergei Sergeevich Paratov. Larisa fell in love with Sergei Sergeevich with all her soul. He is handsome, charming, smart, courteous and calculating. But the girl does not notice his shortcomings, forgives him any sin, condemns herself to shame for his pleasure and is ready to follow him to the ends of the world.
Having squandered his fortune, Paratov is forced to marry a rich bride. Larisa is deceived, disgraced and abandoned. Desperate, she is ready to marry Karandyshev, hoping to find peace with him. Childhood friend Vasya Vozhevatov plays her toss with the elderly and serious merchant Knurov. Like a person , Larisa is not interested in any of them. For them, she is a “thing,” dear and beautiful. Having lost everything, the girl is ready to become a “thing.” Karandyshev’s shot brings her deliverance: she dies free, without becoming anyone’s. Larisa’s death is perceived as deliverance from torment: “I was looking for love and didn’t find it. They looked at me and look at me as if I was a joke. No one ever tried to look into my soul, I didn’t see sympathy from anyone, I didn’t hear a warm, heartfelt word.”
Sincere and proud Larisa was alien to cunning and lies, she is a woman with a “warm heart”. Such people are not capable of compromise. They can either win or die. Beauty and youth are ruined, but Larisa dies free.
Now the triumph of the bourgeoisie... in the full sense, the golden age is coming.
A. Ostrovsky
Money, gold, material values at all times have been of no small importance for man and society. But there are times in history when money begins to play a primary role. They push aside all other values because everything becomes a commodity. And then “it’s good for those who have a lot of money,” as Mokiy Parmenych Knurov says in “Dowry.” Ostrovsky dedicated this play to precisely one of these periods, when a new bourgeois class was being formed in Russia and capitalist relations were being formed. “These are vile times,” according to the playwright himself. But they are inevitable in the development of the economy and are repeated at every new turn of history. Today we live in similar times. Therefore, Ostrovsky’s play is relevant and interesting for the modern reader.
The theme of money in “Dowry” is already evident in its very title. From the first pages of the play, money is the main subject of conversation. Their presence or absence determines a person’s place in society and attitude towards him. The owner of a huge fortune, Mokiy Parmenych Knurov, has no one to talk to in the city. Even the bartender Tavrilo understands that he can only speak with his equals. And there are “two or three such rich people in the city.” Among them is the young merchant Vozhevatov. Even on holiday, during a walk, they talk about profitable deals, about new acquisitions. They speak with the same feelings about the brilliant four horses of the rich man Chirkov, and about Larisa Dmitrievna. After all, she is also a commodity, an “expensive diamond” that people look at and ask the price of. When you read the play, you get the feeling that you are in an unusual market where everything is bought and sold: Knurov and Vozhevatov buy pleasure - with small gifts they pay for the opportunity to be in society charming girl, and her mother cleverly and willingly trades on her daughter’s youth, talent and beauty. “You have to pay for pleasure” - this rule is accepted unconditionally, and failure to comply with it would be simply indecent. Paratov is selling not only his favorite ship, but also his will. The ship is cheap, but the shipowner valued his willow at half a million. This is the dowry new bride. But he almost “made people laugh” by succumbing to feelings and marrying the dowry Larisa. But a business person must know that “every product has a price,” even if we're talking about about love, beauty, happiness.
Poor official Karandyshev hates the rich and self-confident owners of his new life. But at the same time he really wants to become his own person among them. And he finds a way: to marry the dowry Larisa with a good noble surname. But he has no intention of paying for his purchase, believing that his very act is worthy of the eternal love and gratitude of the poor bride. For him, marrying Larisa is compensation for the moral damage caused to the pride, pride and vanity of a poor man who wanted to live like a rich man.
Even the main character, despairing of finding love and understanding, decides to look for money: “If you are a thing, there is only one consolation - to be expensive, very expensive.” But when Karandyshev’s shot prevented her from carrying out her plan, she thanks him for the “good deed” that he did for her.
There will always be people who cannot fit into new social relationships. They do not want to accept other people's rules or live by moral standards that are not typical for them. And they have a choice: remain themselves or become like everyone else. And to do this, you need to “step over” your beliefs, abandon your own life values, that is, make a deal with time, which dictates its terms.
L. Tolstoy and F. Dostoevsky will write about the difficulties of choice. And Ostrovsky’s heroine leaves the stage, passes away. Now is not her time. The “Golden Age” is not for everyone.
