The theme of the work is Ostrovsky's thunderstorm. What themes does Ostrovsky raise in the play “The Thunderstorm”? Features of compositional construction
Department of Directing Theatrical Performances and Celebrations.
Work completed:
student of group 142
Markelova Evgenia.
Teacher:
Al Daniil Natanovich.
Saint Petersburg
Dramatic analysis of A. N. Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm”.
The history of the creation of the play "The Thunderstorm".
Ostrovsky wrote the play "The Thunderstorm" in 1859 - at a time when a change in social foundations was ripe in Russia, on the eve of peasant reform. Therefore, the work was perceived as an expression of the spontaneous revolutionary sentiments of the masses. The title is symbolic. A thunderstorm occurs not only as a natural phenomenon (the action unfolds to the sounds of thunder), but also as an internal one - the characters are characterized through their attitude to the thunderstorm. For each hero, a thunderstorm is a special symbol: for some it is a harbinger of a storm, for others it is purification, the beginning of a new life, for others it is a “voice from above” that predicts some important events or warns against any actions. If we compare drama with dramatic canons, then N.A. wrote best about this. Dobrolyubov: “The subject of the drama must certainly be an event where we see the struggle between passion and duty - with the unhappy consequences of the victory of passion or with the happy ones when duty wins.” Also, the drama must have unity of action, and it must be written in high literary language. “The Thunderstorm”, at the same time, “does not satisfy the most essential goal of the drama - to instill respect for moral duty and show the harmful consequences of being carried away by passion. The main theme of Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” is a powerful denial of the stagnation and oppression of the motionless “dark kingdom” and the emergence of a positive, bright beginning, the real heroines from the folk environment. Other themes in “The Thunderstorm” are themes of love, family relationships, and sin.
In the city of Kalinov, on the banks of the Volga, lives Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova, a rich merchant's wife, a widow - a rude, wild woman, a bigot and a despot. Together with her in her house live her son Tikhon, daughter Varvara and daughter-in-law Katerina Tikhon. A kind, but weak-willed man is completely under the power of his mother, only furtively violating her orders. He loves his wife, but she does not reciprocate his feelings. Katerina loves young man, the nephew of the merchant Dikov, Boris Grigorievich, who also suffers hopelessly for her; he lives with his uncle, enjoying the same rights in the family as Katerina did with her mother-in-law; they only occasionally see each other in church. Boris depends on his uncle, Katerina is in eternal enmity with her mother-in-law, which makes the life of lovers full of difficulties and insoluble contradictions. It’s especially difficult for Katerina. A believer woman - she is afraid of her love, afraid of sin, does not want to betray her husband. Having not yet sinned, Katerina believes that she has no forgiveness. But you can’t command your heart, and as soon as the opportunity arises to meet your loved one, the young woman does not refuse. The opportunity for meetings arose thanks to the departure of her husband and the enterprise of his sister. Varvara, a young lady without principles, very quickly organized nightly meetings between lovers, replacing her mother’s gate key. And for ten days Katerina meets with Boris. Varvara also does not miss the opportunity for freedom: she meets with Vanya Kudryash, a young man, Dikiy’s clerk. At the same time, Varvara does not even think about her actions; night festivities do not seem immoral and unworthy to her. Tikhon is not in the city, he walks and drinks freely and, of course, does not feel guilty. Katerina is another matter. During meetings with her beloved, she forgets about the Last Judgment and about the fiery hyena that pursues a believing woman. But then her husband returns and the fear of the sin committed begins to torment Katerina. The approaching thunderstorm increases the woman’s anxiety, and she confesses everything to her husband and mother-in-law, falling to her knees in front of Tikhon. It doesn’t get any easier for her, and she seeks protection and support from Boris, but even here the poor woman has no understanding. Boris cannot disobey his uncle, who sends him to Siberia for love affairs. Katerina doesn’t have much choice, and she rushes into the Volga. The mother forbids her son to approach his wife's body because she is a sinner.
Characteristic characters in the play "The Thunderstorm".
Katerina.
The main character of Ostrovsky's drama "The Thunderstorm". From Katerina's words we learn about her childhood and adolescence. The girl did not receive a good education. She lived with her mother in the village. Katerina's childhood was joyful and cloudless. Her mother “doted on her” and did not force her to do housework! We see that Katerina grew up as a happy, romantic, but limited girl. She loved everything and everyone around her: nature, the sun, the church, her home with wanderers, the beggars whom she helped. But the most important thing about Katya is that she lived in her dreams, apart from the rest of the world. From everything that existed, she chose only that which did not contradict her nature; the rest she did not want to notice and did not notice. We can say that Katerina was naive and kind, brought up in a completely religious spirit. But if she encountered something on her way that contradicted her ideals, then she turned into a rebellious and stubborn nature and defended herself from that extraneous, stranger that boldly disturbed her soul. ON THE. Dobrolyubov wrote in his criticism: “Katerina does not at all belong to the violent character, dissatisfied, who loves to destroy. On the contrary, this is a predominantly creative, loving, ideal character. That's why she tries to ennoble everything in her imagination. The feeling of love for a person, the need for tender pleasures naturally opened up in the young woman.”
After marriage, Katya’s life changed a lot, the girl found herself in a life full of deception, cruelty and desolation. The point is not even that Katerina married Tikhon against her will: she didn’t love anyone at all and she didn’t care who she married. The fact is that the girl was robbed of her former life, which she created for herself. Katerina no longer feels such delight from visiting church; she cannot do her usual activities. Sad, anxious thoughts do not allow her to calmly admire nature. Katya can only endure as long as she can and dream, but she can no longer live with her thoughts, because cruel reality returns her to earth, to where there is humiliation and suffering. 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.” Katerina has a strong sense of external humility and duty, which is why she forces herself to love unloved husband. Tikhon himself, because of his mother’s tyranny, cannot truly love his wife, although he probably wants to. And when he, leaving for a while, leaves Katya to walk around to his heart's content, the girl (already a woman) becomes completely lonely. Why did Katerina fall in love with Boris? The reason is that she lacked something pure in the stuffy atmosphere of Kabanikha’s house. And love for Boris was this pure, did not allow Katerina to completely wither away, somehow supported her. She went on a date with Boris because she wanted to get enough of love, knowing that there would be no other opportunity. On the first date, Katerina told Boris: “You ruined me.” Boris is the reason for discrediting her; souls, and for Katya this is tantamount to death. Sin hangs like a heavy stone on her heart. Katerina sees death as the only way out of this situation: “No, I don’t care whether I go home or go to the grave... It’s better in the grave... To live again? No, no, don’t... . not good" Haunted by her sin, Katerina leaves this life to save her soul.
Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova.
The boar is a prude and a hypocrite. Under the guise of piety, she, “like rusting iron,” eats her household, completely suppressing their will. Kabanikha raised a weak-willed son and wants to control his every step. Kabanikha and Dikoy are “pillars of society”, spiritual mentors in the city of Kalinov. She is the enemy of everything new, young, fresh. “That’s how the old man comes out. I don’t even want to go to another house. And if you get up, you’ll spit, but get out quickly. What will happen, how! the old people will die, I don’t know how the light will stay on. Well, at least it’s good that I won’t see anything.”
Savel Prokofievich Dikoy.
Just like a “dog” pounces on everyone. The capital behind him is the basis of his outrages, which is why he behaves this way. For the Wild there is one law - money. With them he determines the “value” of a person. Swear for him normal state. Dikoy is not scrupulous in his choice of funds. Under the yoke of the Wild and Boars, not only their households groan, but the entire city.
A simple tradesman, a self-taught mechanic and a dreamer. We don't know his appearance. He is over fifty years old, but he is active and proactive. We meet Kuligin at the very beginning of the play. He sits on a bench and admires the Volga, even singing with pleasure.
Kuligin knows how to find mutual language with people. "Which good man", Boris says about him. Kuligin is a noble dreamer, he constantly thinks about the welfare of society - he wants to invent a perpetuum mobile and get a million for it, which he would spend on giving work to the philistines. "Otherwise he has hands, but he has to work nothing".
In the “dark kingdom” Kuligin appears as a good person, he reads poetry, sings, his judgments are always accurate and thorough. He is a kind dreamer who strives to make people's lives better and expand their knowledge about the world around them. Often, it seems that the wise and judicious thoughts that Kuligin expresses are an assessment of the events of the play by the author himself.
I like the image of Kuligin because he always knows what he is striving for. He has a goal - to make the life of society better, for this he tries to come up with all sorts of inventions, perpetuum mobiles, in order to use the money he receives to provide jobs for city residents. Only this character has some aspirations in life, everyone else simply lives, solving everyday problems or creating them for others.
I think that Ostrovsky, in the image of Kuligin, wanted to portray a solution to the problem in Kalinov. If Kuligin were not alone in his aspirations or if he were richer, then he could really change the life of his society, but none of this is given to him, and he is doomed to be an “outcast” in Kalinov.
Vanya Kudryash.
Vanya Kudryash, a young man, Dikiy’s clerk. In him, more than in any of the heroes of “The Thunderstorm,” except, of course, 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. Nevertheless, Kudryash gets used to the Viburnum morals, his nature is free, but sometimes self-willed. Kudryash opposes the world of the dark kingdom with his daring and mischief, but not with his moral strength. Kudryash is a freedom-loving man, he does not want to obey tyrants. “No, I won’t slave to him.” Kudryash unreservedly loves Varvara and knows how to stand up for his feelings. Kudryash is also not indifferent to the fate of other people.
She is a typical reflection of ordinary “Kalinovites”, confident that “it’s still good that good people There is; no, no, and you’ll hear what’s going on in this world, otherwise you’d die like a fool.” Glasha belongs to the “dark kingdom”, dividing this world into “ours” and “theirs”, into patriarchal “virtue”, where everything is “cool and orderly”, and into external vanity, from which the old order and time begin to “become diminished” "
Varvara Kabanova.
The character in Ostrovsky's drama "The Thunderstorm" arouses significant reader interest. This girl shows character, and her character is quite strong. Let her not try to openly fight her mother and the order that reigned in the city of Kalinov. But nevertheless, she is absolutely not going to behave as her domineering and cruel mother demands. Varvara understands perfectly well that she is the master of her own destiny. Varvara is a realistic girl, and in this she differs significantly from the romantic and dreamy Katerina. Varvara looks at life very pragmatically, strives to enjoy all the joys of life and does it willingly. And to Katerina, in response to all her torments, she advises: “What kind of desire is there to dry up! Even if you die of melancholy, they will feel sorry for you! Well, just wait. So what kind of bondage is there to torment yourself!” Varvara knows how to see someone else’s deceit and hypocrisy. One episode clearly demonstrates this. Katerina and Varvara are talking, and suddenly a crazy lady appears. As usual, the crazy old woman talks about God's punishment, about the fire in which all sinners will burn. After she leaves, Katerina is truly scared. She says: “Oh, how she scared me! I’m trembling all over, as if she was prophesying something for me.” Katerina has a presentiment of something bad, although the tragedy is still far away. Developed imagination does the girl a disservice; she loses her sense of reality. And he begins to suffer from incomprehensible anxiety. And Varvara reacts to the words of the crazy lady very simply: “On your head, old hag!” Varvara does not take the words of the crazy lady to heart for a second. She reassures Katerina, says that the lady “prophesies this to everyone”: “She has sinned all her life from a young age. Ask what they will tell about her! That’s what she is afraid of dying. What she is afraid of, she scares others.” step, Varvara hoped that Katerina would become a little more cheerful and happier when she was next to her beloved man. Varvara simply did not understand that Katerina is a person unlike her, she measures people by her own standards. Varvara knows her brother very well and says that as soon as he breaks free from his mother’s control, he will definitely start drinking. This is what actually happens. She has a great understanding of life and the people who surround her. She just cannot fully understand Katerina, because she is so different from everyone else.
Boris Grigorievich.
Nephew of the Wild. He is one of the weakest characters in the play. Boris himself says about himself: “I’m walking around completely dead... I’m driven, beaten...” Good, good educated person. He stands out sharply against the background of the merchant environment. But he is by nature weak person. Boris is forced to humiliate himself before his uncle, Dikiy, for the sake of hope for the inheritance that he will leave him. Although the hero himself knows that this will never happen, he nevertheless curries favor with the tyrant, tolerating his antics. Boris is unable to protect either himself or his beloved Katerina. In misfortune, he only rushes about and cries: “Oh, if only these people knew how it feels for me to say goodbye to you! My God! God grant that someday they may feel as sweet as I do now... You villains! Monsters! Oh, if only there was strength! But Boris does not have this power, so he is unable to alleviate Katerina’s suffering and support her choice by taking her with him.
Tikhon Kabanov.
Katerina's husband, Kabanikha's son.
This image in its own way points to the end of the patriarchal way of life. Tikhon no longer considers it necessary to adhere to the old ways in everyday life. But, due to his character, he cannot act as he sees fit and go against his mother. His choice is everyday compromises: “Why listen to her! She needs to say something! Well, let her talk, and you turn a deaf ear!” A kindly but weak man, he rushes between fear of his mother and compassion for his wife. The hero loves Katerina, but not in the way Kabanikha demands - sternly, “like a man.” He doesn’t want to prove his power to his wife, he needs warmth and affection: “Why should she be afraid? It’s enough for me that she loves me.” But Tikhon doesn’t get this in Kabanikha’s house. At home, he is forced to play the role of an obedient son: “Yes, Mama, I don’t want to live by my own will! Where can I live by my own will!” His only outlet is traveling on business, where he forgets all his humiliations, drowning them in wine. Despite the fact that Tikhon loves Katerina, he does not understand what is happening to his wife, what mental anguish she is experiencing. Tikhon's gentleness is one of his negative qualities. It is because of her that he cannot help his wife in her struggle with her passion for Boris, and he cannot ease Katerina’s fate even after her public repentance. Although he himself reacted kindly to his wife’s betrayal, without being angry with her: “Mama says that she must be buried alive in the ground so that she can be executed! But I love her, I would be sorry to lay a finger on her.” Only above dead body Tikhon's wife decides to rebel against her mother, publicly blaming her for Katerina's death. It is this riot in public that deals Kabanikha the most terrible blow.
Compositional structure of the play "The Thunderstorm".
Conflict.
A collision of two or more parties that do not coincide in their views and worldviews. There are several conflicts in Ostrovsky's play The Thunderstorm. If we see in the image of Katerina a reflection of the spontaneous protest of the masses against the constraining conditions of the “dark kingdom” and perceive Katerina’s death as the result of her collision with her tyrant mother-in-law, we should define the genre of the play as a social drama, and the conflict as a social one.
Exposition.
The type of exposition once upon a time, as we get acquainted with the characters, the era and tune in to the genre of the play. The playwright not only introduces us to the characters and the setting: he creates an image of the world in which the characters live and where the events will unfold. That is why in “The Thunderstorm”, as in other plays by Ostrovsky, there are many people who will not become direct participants in the intrigue, but are necessary to understand the very way of life. The action takes place in a fictional remote town, the city of Kalinov is depicted in detail, specifically and in many ways. In violation, it would seem, of the very nature of the drama in The Thunderstorm, an important role is played by the landscape, described not only in the stage directions, but also in the dialogues of the characters. Some people see his beauty, others take a closer look at it and are completely indifferent. The high Volga steep bank and the distances beyond the river introduce the motif of space, flight, inseparable from Katerina. Childishly pure and poetic at the beginning of the play, in the finale he is tragically transformed. Katerina appears on stage, dreaming of spreading her arms and taking off from the coastal cliff, and passes away by falling from this cliff into the Volga.
The beginning of the main conflict.
Katerina decided to admit to herself her love for Boris, which in her eyes is the greatest sin. This determination of Katerina is evident in the scene with the key. At first she pushes the key away: “What! No need! No need!" Then, holding the key in her hands, she admits to herself: “At least I am now! I live, I suffer, I don’t see any light for myself. And I won’t see it, you know!” frightened by someone’s steps, and hiding the key in his pocket: “Well, you know, so be it... that I’m deceiving myself? I should at least die and see him...” Katerina meets with Boris, while the feelings of sin only intensify in her soul: “... after all, I can’t forgive this sin, never forgive it!.. Why do you want my death!”
The main twist.
Her spiritual drama main character Katerina, who is fighting with herself, is fighting with Kabanikha, behind whom stand the foundations and traditions of the “dark kingdom”.
Psychological outcome of the conflict.
it is clear that internally Katerina has already made up her mind: “I’m either going to go home or go to the grave!” It’s better in the grave...”, the formal denouement is the death of Katerina.
The ending of this play is based on the words of Tikhon. He exclaims that Kabanikha killed Katerina. But understanding Katerina’s inner experiences is inaccessible to Tikhon, like all other characters in the play.
Conclusion.
In his work A.N. Ostrovsky showed the tragedy female destiny in the conditions of a bourgeois family that followed the precepts and traditions of house-building. The writer showed how a cruel family turns a cheerful and naive girl into a person capable of suicide, that is, a person driven to the extreme of despair and disappointment in life. Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm” is a classic tragedy. Everything in “The Thunderstorm” is classic - the characters - the types, the disproportion of causes and suffering, the violation of the scale of emotions and events.
The conflict in “The Thunderstorm,” traditional for this genre, between feeling and duty (sinful love for Boris) plays out in Katerina’s soul. Katerina is a truly tragic hero, rising above her environment. For her, reconciliation on earth is impossible, so the play ends with the death of the heroine. The relevance of the play in different times is changing, but the significance of the problems raised by Ostrovsky is still great today. Because even today the main problems of society are centered around the concepts of love and hate, wealth and poverty, good and evil.
List of used literature:
1. N. A. Dobrolyubov “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom”, 1860
2. Article by I. A. Goncharov “Review of the drama “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky.”
3. S. Trukhtin “About Ostrovsky’s play The Thunderstorm.”
St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts.
The main character of Ostrovsky's drama "The Thunderstorm". The main idea of the work is the conflict of this girl with “ 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 the playwright Ostrovsky. From Katerina's words we learn about her childhood and adolescence. The girl didn't get it good education.
She lived with her mother in the village. Katerina's mood was joyful and cloudless. “she doted on her” and did not force her to do housework. Katya lived freely: she got up early, washed her face spring water, crawled flowers, went to church with her mother, then sat down to do some work and listened to wanderers and praying mantises, of which there were many in their house. Katerina had magical dreams in which she flew under the clouds. And how strongly it contrasts with such a quiet one, happy life the act of a six-year-old girl, when Katya, offended by something, ran away from home to the Volga in the evening, got into a boat and pushed off from the shore! ... We see that Katerina grew up as a happy, romantic, but limited girl.
She was very devout and passionately loving. She loved everything and everyone around her: nature, the sun, the church, her home with wanderers, the beggars whom she helped. But the most important thing about Katya is that she lived in her dreams, apart from the rest of the world. From everything that existed, she chose only that which did not contradict her nature; the rest she did not want to notice and did not notice.
That’s why the girl saw angels in the sky, and for her the church was not an oppressive and oppressive force, but a place where everything is light, where you can dream. We can say that Katerina was naive and kind, brought up in a completely religious spirit. But if she encountered something on her way that contradicted her ideals, then she turned into a rebellious and stubborn nature and defended herself from that extraneous, stranger that boldly disturbed her soul. This was the case with the boat.
After marriage, Katya's life changed a lot. From a free, joyful, sublime world in which she felt united with nature, the girl found herself in a life full of deception, cruelty and desolation. The point is not even that Katerina married Tikhon against her will: she didn’t love anyone at all and she didn’t care who she married. The fact is that the girl was robbed of her former life, which she created for herself. Katerina no longer feels such delight from visiting church; she cannot do her usual activities. Sad, anxious thoughts do not allow her to calmly admire nature. Katya can only endure as long as she can and dream, but she can no longer live with her thoughts, because cruel reality returns her to earth, to where there is humiliation and suffering.
Katerina is trying to find her happiness in her love for Tikhon: “I will love my husband. Silence, 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 woman, you’re not saying goodbye to your lover.” Katerina has a strong sense of external humility and duty, which is why she forces herself to love her unloved husband. Tikhon himself, because of his mother’s tyranny, cannot truly love his wife, although he probably wants to. And when he, leaving for a while, leaves Katya to walk around to his heart's content, the girl (already a woman) becomes completely lonely.
Why did Katerina fall in love with Boris? After all, he did not exhibit his masculine qualities, like Paratov, and did not even talk to her. Probably the reason was that she lacked something pure in the stuffy atmosphere of Kabanikha’s house. And love for Boris was this pure, did not allow Katerina to completely wither away, somehow supported her. She went on a date with Boris because she felt like a person with pride and basic rights. It was a rebellion against submission to fate, against lawlessness. Katerina knew that she was committing a sin, but she also knew that it was still impossible to live any longer. She sacrificed the purity of her conscience to freedom and Boris.
In my opinion, when taking this step, Katya already felt the approaching end and probably thought: “It’s now or never.” She wanted to be satisfied with love, knowing that there would be no other opportunity. On the first date, Katerina told Boris: “You ruined me.”
Boris is the reason for the disgrace of her soul, and for Katya this is tantamount to death. Sin hangs like a heavy stone on her heart. Katerina is terribly afraid of the approaching thunderstorm, considering it a punishment for what she did.
Katerina has been afraid of thunderstorms ever since she started thinking about Boris. For her pure soul, even the thought of loving a stranger is a sin. Katya cannot live any longer with her sin, and the only way She considers getting rid of him at least partially through repentance. She confesses everything to her husband and Kabanikha.
Such an act seems very strange and naive in our time. “I don’t know how to deceive; I can’t hide anything,” that’s Katerina. Tikhon forgave his wife, but did she forgive herself, being very religious.
Katya fears God, but her God lives in her, God is her conscience. The girl is tormented by two questions: how will she return home and look into the eyes of the husband she cheated on, and how will she live with a stain on her conscience. Katerina sees death as the only way out of this situation: “No, I don’t care whether I go home or go to the grave... It’s better in the grave... Living again No, no, don’t... it’s not good.” Haunted by her sin, Katerina leaves life to save your soul.
Dobrolyubov defined Katerina’s character as “decisive, integral, Russian.” Decisive, because she decided to take the last step, to die in order to save herself from shame and remorse. Whole, because in Katya’s character everything is harmonious, one, nothing contradicts each other, because Katya is one with nature, with God. Russian, because who, if not a Russian person, is capable of loving so much, capable of sacrificing so much, so seemingly obediently enduring all hardships, while remaining himself, free, not a slave. Ostrovsky wrote the play “The Thunderstorm” in 1859 at a time when a change in social foundations was imminent in Russia, on the eve of the peasant reform.
Therefore, the play was perceived as an expression of spontaneous revolutionary sentiments masses. It was not for nothing that Ostrovsky gave his play the name “The Thunderstorm”. A thunderstorm occurs not only a natural phenomenon, the action unfolds to the sounds of thunder, but also as an internal phenomenon - the characters are characterized through their attitude to the thunderstorm. For each hero, a thunderstorm is a special symbol, for some it is a harbinger of a storm, for others it is purification, the beginning of a new life, for others it is a “voice from above” that predicts some important events or warns against any actions.
In Katerina’s soul there is, to no one, an invisible thunderstorm, a thunderstorm for her is heavenly punishment, “the hand of the Lord,” which should punish her for betraying her husband: “It’s not so scary that it will kill you, but that death will suddenly overtake you with all evil thoughts." Katerina is afraid and waits for a thunderstorm. She loves Boris, but this depresses her. She believes that she will burn in “fiery hell” for her sinful feelings. For mechanic Kuligin, a thunderstorm is a crude manifestation of natural forces, consonant with human ignorance, which must be fought. Kuligin believes that by introducing mechanization and enlightenment into life, one can achieve power over “thunder,” which carries the meaning of rudeness, cruelty and immorality: “I decay with my body in dust, I command thunder with my mind.”
Kuligin dreams of building a lightning rod to rid people of the fear of thunderstorms. For Tikhon, a thunderstorm is anger, oppression on the part of his mother. He is afraid of her, but as a son he must obey her. Leaving home on business, Tikhon says: “How can I know that there won’t be any thunderstorms over me for two weeks, I don’t have these shackles on my legs.” Dikoy believes that it is impossible and sinful to resist lightning. For him, a thunderstorm means submission.
Despite his wild and evil disposition, he obediently obeys Kabanikha. Boris fears human thunderstorms more than natural ones. That's why he leaves, abandons Katerina alone and not with people's rumors. “It’s scarier here! “- says Boris, running away from the place of prayer of the entire city.
The thunderstorm in Ostrovsky's play symbolizes both ignorance and anger, heavenly punishment and retribution, and purification, insight, and the beginning of a new life. This is evidenced by a conversation between two townspeople of Kalinov; changes began to occur in the residents’ worldview, and their assessment of everything that was happening began to change. Perhaps people will have a desire to overcome their fear of thunderstorms, to get rid of the oppression of anger and ignorance that reigns in the city. After terrible rumbles of thunder and lightning strikes, the sun will shine above our heads again.
N.A. Dobrolyubov, in the article “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom,” interpreted the image of Katerina as “a spontaneous protest brought to the end,” and suicide as a force of freedom-loving character: “such liberation is bitter; but what to do when there is nothing else.”
I believe that Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” was timely and contributed to the fight against the oppressors.
Ostrovsky's drama "The Thunderstorm" significant work famous playwright. It was written in 1860 during a period of social upsurge, when the foundations of serfdom were cracking and a storm was brewing in the stuffy atmosphere of reality. Ostrovsky's play takes us to merchant environment, where the Domostroev order was most stubbornly maintained. Residents provincial town they live a closed life alien to public interests, in ignorance of what is happening in the world, in ignorance and indifference. Their range of interests is limited to household chores. 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 complete type of tyrant merchant, whose meaning of life is to amass capital by any means. The main theme of the thunderstorm is the clash between new trends and old traditions, between the oppressed and the oppressors, between the desire of people for the free manifestation of their human rights, spiritual needs, and the prevailing social and family order in Russia.
If we consider “The Thunderstorm” as a social and everyday drama, then the resulting conflict looks quite simple: it is, as it were, external, social; the audience's attention is equally distributed between the characters, all of them, like checkers on a board, play almost identical roles necessary to create the plot outline, they confuse and then, flashing and rearranging, as in tag, help resolve confusing plot. If the system of characters is laid out in such a way that the conflict arises and is resolved, as it were, with the help of all the characters. Here we are dealing with an everyday drama; its conflict is simple and easy to guess.
Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” raises the problem of turning point public life that occurred in the 50s, a change in social foundations. The author cannot be absolutely impartial, but it is very difficult for him to express his position - the author's position is revealed in remarks, of which there are not very many and they are not expressive enough. There is only one option left - the author’s position is presented through a certain character, through composition, symbolism, etc.
The names in the play are very symbolic. Talking names, used in “The Thunderstorm”, are an echo of the classic theater, the features of which were preserved in the late 60s of the 19th century.
The name Kabanova vividly depicts us as overweight, difficult character a woman, and the nickname “Kabanikha” complements this unpleasant picture.
The author characterizes the wild as a wild, unrestrained person.
The name Kuligin has many meanings. On the one hand, it is in tune with Kulibin, a self-taught mechanic. On the other hand, “kuliga” is a swamp.
For a long time V critical literature either one or the other conflict was considered. But the author gave the work more deep meaning- This is a people's tragedy.
Dobrolyubov called Katerina “a ray of light in a dark kingdom,” but later, a few years later, Ostrovsky himself gave such people the name “warm heart.” Indeed, this is a conflict between a “hot heart” and the surrounding icy environment. And like a thunderstorm physical phenomenon trying to melt this ice. Another meaning put by the author into a thunderstorm symbolizes the wrath of God, and everyone who is afraid of a thunderstorm is not ready to accept death and stand before the judgment of God, or thinks so. But the author puts his words into Kuligin’s mouth. “The judge is more merciful than you,” he says. In this way he characterizes his attitude towards this society. And this ending expresses hope. Ostrovsky divides all his time in Kalinov, like the play, into day and night. During the day, people play the faithful, living according to “Domostroy,” and at night they take off their masks. Young people go out and have fun, and the elders turn a blind eye to it. Author's position is expressed partly in Kuligin’s monologues, partly it can be understood from the opposition of Katerina and Kabanikha. The author’s position is expressed in the composition. The composition features two possible options climax and denouement.
Of course, the play is written on a social and everyday theme: it is characterized by Special attention the author’s focus on depicting the details of everyday life, the desire to accurately convey the atmosphere of the city of Kalinov, its “ cruel morals" The fictional city is described in detail and in many ways. The landscape concept plays an important role, but a contradiction is immediately visible here: Kuligin speaks of the beauty of the distances beyond the river, the high Volga cliff. “Nothing,” Kudryash objects to him. Pictures of night walks along the boulevard, songs, picturesque nature, Katerina’s stories about childhood - this is the poetry of Kalinov’s world, which collides with the everyday cruelty of the inhabitants, stories about “naked poverty.” The Kalinovites have preserved only vague legends about the past - Lithuania “fell from the sky to us”, news from big world The wanderer Feklusha brings them. Undoubtedly, such attention by the author to the details of the characters’ everyday life makes it possible to talk about drama as a genre of the play “The Thunderstorm”.
Another feature characteristic of drama and present in the play is the presence of a chain of intra-family conflicts. At first it is a conflict between the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law behind the locks of the house gate, then the whole city learns about this conflict, and from an everyday one it develops into a social one. The expression of conflict in the actions and words of the characters, characteristic of drama, is most clearly shown in the monologues and dialogues of the characters. So, we learn about Katerina’s life before marriage from a conversation between young Kabanova and Varvara: Katerina lived “not worried about anything,” like a “bird in the wild,” spending the whole day in pleasures and household chores. We know nothing about the first meeting of Katerina and Boris, or how their love began. In his article, N.A. Dobrolyubov considered the insufficient “development of passion” to be a significant omission, and said that this is why the “struggle between passion and duty” is designated “not quite clearly and strongly” for us. But this fact does not contradict the laws of drama.
The originality of the “Thunderstorms” genre is also manifested in the fact that, despite the gloomy, tragic overall coloring, the play also contains comic and satirical scenes. Feklushi’s anecdotal and ignorant stories about the Saltans, about lands where all the people “have dog heads,” seem ridiculous to us. After the release of “The Thunderstorm,” A.D. Galakhov wrote in a review of the play that “the action and the catastrophe are tragic, although many places excite laughter.”
In 1859, and at the same time, it was staged with success on the capital's stages. The playwright's play, without losing its relevance, is performed in many modern theaters all over the world. This means that this work is still capable of arousing interest among viewers and readers. This means that the topics that Ostrovsky raised continue to concern society today.
The action of the play takes place on the eve of turning points; literally a year and a half remains until the famous Peasant Reform of 1861, which led to the abolition serfdom. Within society, a future turning point can already be felt, a silent protest of the enslaved part of the population against the usual patriarchal way of life, the power of merchants and landowners. This growing crisis can be compared to the atmosphere before a thunderstorm.
A thunderstorm is brewing. People of the old way, ignorant and rude representatives, as the critic Dobrolyubov put it, of the “dark kingdom” perceive the impending disaster as punishment for those who decided to disobey the “slave-owning” laws by which they still live most of society of the country. Progressive people, which included Ostrovsky and Dobrolyubov, see in a thunderstorm positive sign, believing that this phenomenon should illuminate the most hidden corners of the old world. The thunderstorm should cool down the stuffy situation in the country.
So, one of the central themes of the work is the confrontation between the “dark kingdom” and people, enslaved, dissatisfied with this state of affairs. The main characters representing old world, are the merchant's wife Kabanikha and the merchant Dikoy. The defining character traits of Kabanikha are cruelty, deceit, hypocrisy, and hypocrisy. To assert her power, she can use the most various techniques. For her, the main thing is to feel the humility of others. Moreover, to outsiders she may seem like an example of piety and kindness.In Dikiy, on the contrary, the brute force of tyranny is fully shown. Money and power made him practically the king of the city. He does whatever he sees fit with people, and often his actions are guided by ordinary whims.Young people rebel against the old order: Katerina, Tikhon, Kudryash, Boris, Kuligin, Varvara. But they do it alone, so for each of them such a protest ends sadly.
In addition to the fight against the “dark kingdom”, the play contains another theme - the theme of love.
The motive of Katerina’s love for Boris runs through the entire work. This love turns out to be the main character's first real feeling. Katerina never had a shortage of admirers, but she was not interested in them. As the heroine herself stated in a conversation with Varvara, she only laughed at them. Katerina married Tikhon by agreement of her parents and of her own free will - Kabanikha’s son did not cause any rejection in her. Everything was turned upside down by her meeting with a visiting young man, Boris, whose appearance, in which one could feel the capital’s education and well-groomed appearance, stood out favorably against the background of local society. But the object of her sighs turned out to be a weak-willed and timid person, who was constantly frightened by the thought that someone would find out about their romance. Ultimately, he betrayed Katerina by refusing to take her to Siberia, where his uncle Dikoy had sent him. And this act predetermined the death of the main character. Despite the betrayal, Katerina continued to love him until the very end.
If we talk about love, then we can talk about the relationship between Varvara and Kudryash. The feelings they have for each other can hardly be called passionate. Rather, they were united by a hidden protest against the patriarchal urban way of life, a desire to escape from the “dark kingdom.” In the end, they fulfill their dream and run away from the city.
In addition to the struggle with the old world and the theme of love, other problems are also addressed in the plays: the problem of relationships between generations, the problem of lies and truth, sin and repentance, etc.
" The main idea of the work is the conflict of this girl 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 the playwright Ostrovsky. From Katerina's words we learn about her childhood and adolescence. The girl did not receive a good education. She lived with her mother in the village. Katerina's childhood was joyful and cloudless. Her mother “doted on her” and did not force her to do housework.
Katya lived freely: she got up early, washed herself with spring water, climbed flowers, went to church with her mother, then sat down to do some work and listened to wanderers and praying mantises, of which there were many in their house. Katerina had magical dreams in which she flew under the clouds. And how strongly contrasted with such a quiet, happy life is the action of a six-year-old girl, when Katya, offended by something, ran away from home to the Volga in the evening, got into a boat and pushed off from the shore! ... We see that Katerina grew up as a happy, romantic, but limited girl. She was very devout and passionately loving. She loved everything and everyone around her: nature, the sun, the church, her home with wanderers, the beggars whom she helped. But the most important thing about Katya is that she lived in her dreams, apart from the rest of the world. From everything that existed, she chose only that which did not contradict her nature; the rest she did not want to notice and did not notice. That’s why the girl saw angels in the sky, and for her the church was not an oppressive and oppressive force, but a place where everything is light, where you can dream. We can say that Katerina was naive and kind, brought up in a completely religious spirit. But if she encountered something on her way that contradicted her ideals, then she turned into a rebellious and stubborn nature and defended herself from that extraneous, stranger that boldly disturbed her soul. This was the case with the boat. After marriage, Katya's life changed a lot. From a free, joyful, sublime world in which she felt united with nature, the girl found herself in a life full of deception, cruelty and desolation.
The point is not even that Katerina married Tikhon against her will: she didn’t love anyone at all and she didn’t care who she married. The fact is that the girl was robbed of her former life, which she created for herself. Katerina no longer feels such delight from visiting church; she cannot do her usual activities. Sad, anxious thoughts do not allow her to calmly admire nature. Katya can only endure as long as she can and dream, but she can no longer live with her thoughts, because cruel reality returns her to earth, to where there is humiliation and suffering. Katerina is trying to find her happiness in her love for Tikhon: “I will love my husband. Silence, 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 woman, you’re not saying goodbye to your lover.” Katerina has a strong sense of external humility and duty, which is why she forces herself to love her unloved husband. Tikhon himself, because of his mother’s tyranny, cannot truly love his wife, although he probably wants to. And when he, leaving for a while, leaves Katya to walk around to his heart's content, the girl (already a woman) becomes completely lonely. Why did Katerina fall in love with Boris? After all, he did not exhibit his masculine qualities, like Paratov, and did not even talk to her. Probably the reason was that she lacked something pure in the stuffy atmosphere of Kabanikha’s house. And love for Boris was this pure, did not allow Katerina to completely wither away, somehow supported her. She went on a date with Boris because she felt like a person with pride and basic rights. It was a rebellion against submission to fate, against lawlessness. Katerina knew that she was committing a sin, but she also knew that it was still impossible to live any longer.
She sacrificed the purity of her conscience to freedom and Boris. In my opinion, when taking this step, Katya already felt the approaching end and probably thought: “It’s now or never.” She wanted to be satisfied with love, knowing that there would be no other opportunity. On the first date, Katerina told Boris: “You ruined me.” Boris is the reason for the disgrace of her soul, and for Katya this is tantamount to death. Sin hangs like a heavy stone on her heart. Katerina is terribly afraid of the approaching thunderstorm, considering it a punishment for what she did. Katerina has been afraid of thunderstorms ever since she started thinking about Boris. For her pure soul, even the thought of loving a stranger is a sin. Katya cannot live any longer with her sin, and she considers repentance to be the only way to at least partially get rid of it. She confesses everything to her husband and Kabanikha. Such an act seems very strange and naive in our time. “I don’t know how to deceive; I can’t hide anything,” that’s Katerina. Tikhon forgave his wife, but did she forgive herself, being very religious. Katya fears God, but her God lives in her, God is her conscience. The girl is tormented by two questions: how will she return home and look into the eyes of the husband she cheated on, and how will she live with a stain on her conscience.
Katerina sees death as the only way out of this situation: “No, I don’t care whether I go home or go to the grave... It’s better in the grave... To live again No, no, don’t... it’s not good.” Haunted by her sin, Katerina leaves life to save her soul . defined Katerina’s character as “decisive, integral, Russian.” Decisive, because she decided to take the last step, to die in order to save herself from shame and remorse. Whole, because in Katya’s character everything is harmonious, one, nothing contradicts each other, because Katya is one with nature, with God. Russian, because who, if not a Russian person, is capable of loving so much, capable of sacrificing so much, so seemingly obediently enduring all hardships, while remaining himself, free, not a slave.
