Genre conflict play thunderstorm. Family and social conflict in the drama “The Thunderstorm”

this is a clash of two or more parties that do not coincide in their views and worldviews. There are several conflicts in Ostrovsky's play The Thunderstorm, but how to decide which one is the main one? In the era of sociologism in literary criticism, it was believed that social conflict was the most important in the play. Of course, 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 a result of her collision with her tyrant mother-in-law, the genre of the play should be defined as a social and everyday drama. Drama is a work in which the public and personal aspirations of people, and sometimes their lives themselves, are under the threat of death from external forces beyond their control. The play also contains a generational conflict between Katerina and Kabanikha, the new always comes on the heels of the old, the old does not want to give in to the new . But the play is much deeper than it might seem at first glance. After all, Katerina, first of all, fights with herself, and not with Kabanikha, the conflict develops not around her, but in herself. Therefore, the play The Thunderstorm can be defined as a tragedy.

A tragedy is a work in which there is an insoluble conflict between the personal aspirations of the hero and the super-personal laws of life that occur in the mind of the protagonist. In general, the play is very similar to ancient tragedy the chorus is replaced by some extra-plot characters, the denouement ends with the death of the main character, like the ancient tragedy except the immortal Prometheus. The death of Katerina is the result of a collision of two historical eras.

Some of the characters in the play seem to differ from the times in which they live. For example, Kuligin is a man of the 18th century, he wants to invent a sundial, which was known back in the antiquity, or a perpetuum mobile, which is a distinctive feature of the Middle Ages, or a lightning rod. He himself reaches with his mind something that has already been invented a long time ago, but he only dreams about it. He quotes Lomonosov and Derzhavin - this is also a human trait

13. Depiction of the “dark kingdom” in the play by A.N. Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm".

In order to show the contradictions between rudeness and honor, between ignorance and dignity, the play shows two generations: people of the older generation, the so-called “dark kingdom,” and people of a new trend, more progressive, who do not want to live by old laws and customs.

Dikoy and Kabanova are typical representatives of the “dark kingdom”. It was in these images that Ostrovsky wanted to show the ruling class in Russia at that time.

Dikoy and Kabanova are that very “dark kingdom”, relics, supporters of the foundations of this “dark kingdom”. That's who they are, these Wild and Kabanovs, stupid, ignorant, hypocritical, rude. They preach the same peace and order. This is a world of money, anger, envy and hostility. They hate everything new and progressive.

A. N. Ostrovsky’s idea was to expose the “dark kingdom” using the images of Dikiy and Kabanova. He denounced all rich people for lack of spirituality and meanness. Mainly in secular society Russia of the 19th century had such Wild and Kabanovs, as the author showed us in his drama “The Thunderstorm”.

A. N. Ostrovsky was the successor and continuer of realistic traditions in Russian literature. In his works, the playwright reflected contemporary reality, typical types and images of that time, showed the existing orders, their crisis and the contradictions that arose in society in connection with this. One of Ostrovsky’s most striking works is the tragedy “The Thunderstorm,” in which the author raised the problem of the existence of a free individual in the conditions of a patriarchal house-building society.

Dramatic works are always built on conflict, and in such an original, multifaceted play as “The Thunderstorm”, the nature of the problem raised, the abundance characters and the complexity of the image system causes the presence of several conflicts. The tragedy describes the life of the provincial Volga town of Kalinov, living in better provisions“Domostroya”. Kalinovsky society is outdated and is experiencing a crisis, a breakdown, as a result of which it is itself conflicting: older generation(Dikoy, Kabanikha) teaches the younger ones (Boris, Tikhon, Varvara, Katerina), and does it in such an obvious, undisguised form that the whole city knows about the relationships in their families, although, for example, Kabanova prefers to tyrannize her neighbors not in public, but at home (as Kudryash says: “Well, at least that one, at least, is all under the guise of piety, but this one (Dikoy) has broken loose!”). The conflict between “fathers and sons” is not the only one: disagreements arise both between representatives of the older generation (conversation between Dikiy and Kabanikha, act three, scene two) and among young people - for example, Varvara is annoyed by Tikhon’s downtroddenness and submissiveness (“It’s boring for me to look- then on you,” she says). These minor contradictions keep society in a state of tension and irritation; conflicts in Kalinov’s world are, in principle, static and do not have such a pronounced development as main conflict tragedy - conflict main character, Katerina, and the Kalinovsky society.

The beginning of this conflict can be considered Katerina’s wedding and her move to the Kabanovs’ house. From the usual environment of universal love, harmony, and religiosity, the main character finds herself in an atmosphere of deceit, deceit, and tyranny. Katerina is not like any of the members of this society: her sincerity and artlessness are contrasted with the crudely simple resourcefulness of Varvara, the breadth and passion of her nature are contrasted with the weakness and humility of Tikhon; sensitivity, subtlety, vividness of perception of the surrounding world - Kabanikha’s stupid dogmatism. Not accustomed to being limited in anything, Katerina longs for inner freedom, but freedom here appears not as a conscious necessity, but as a spontaneous, unreasonable thirst for independence, the opportunity to give vent to her passion, and Katerina finds an outlet for her feelings in her love for Boris. In the soul of the main character, a conflict of feelings and duty arises: on the one hand, love captures her completely and requires spiritual food for development; on the other hand, Katerina, who has absorbed the basics since childhood Christian teaching, it’s strange to even think about the possibility of cheating on your husband.

In essence, the internal conflict is a consequence of the social one: the contradictions in Katerina’s soul are caused by the discrepancy between her moral demands and the inability of the surrounding world to satisfy them. A sharp boost to development internal conflict gives Tikhon's departure: Katerina feels that her husband's absence could serve as a reason for betrayal, she is afraid of her weakness and asks her husband to stay. In a conversation with Varvara, she describes her condition as follows: “It’s as if I’m standing over an abyss, and someone is pushing me there, but I have nothing to hold on to.” But Tikhon leaves, and Kalinovsky’s peace with new strength begins to drag Katerina into the abyss of lies and deception. Varvara gives her the key - a symbol of sin, and Katerina already feels drawn into this dirty world, but does not find the strength to get out of it. Ten days of festivities with Boris fly by, and Tikhon, who returns, finds his wife changed: “She’s shaking all over, as if she’s got a fever.” ; so pale, rushing around the house, as if looking for something." Katerina is tormented by her conscience: having externally accepted the laws of Kalinov society, cheating on her husband, lying to him and her mother-in-law, she has not changed internally, retaining her moral principles and self-esteem in her soul. The culmination of the internal, And social conflict is the scene in the garden when Katerina publicly admits to treason, unable to restrain herself any longer, ready for anything. The scene is accompanied by a thunderstorm, a natural element, a harbinger of tragedy, but at the same time bringing purification, deliverance from mental burden. However sincere confession and repentance in the eyes of the Kalinovites do not serve as mitigating factors, and Kabanikha, with new zeal, begins to tyranny not only Katerina, but also Tikhon (for mistreating his wife). The impossibility of staying in this world, full of misunderstanding and cruelty, terrible remorse, the departure of her beloved push Katerina to a terrible step, and the denouement of both conflicts was the suicide of the main character. The ending can be interpreted in different ways: N.A. Dobrolyubov, who called Katerina “a ray of light in dark kingdom”, saw in her death a denial of the Domostroevsky laws of Kalinov society, stifling any manifestations sincere feeling. On the other hand, suicide is always the highest form of selfishness, because according to religious norms, one can atone for sin only through prolonged suffering, prayer, and humility. Then Katerina had to stay in the Kabanovs’ house and humbly accept all the barbs and insults. But if we take into account the deep mental tragedy heroine, if you try to get into her position, it becomes clear that there is no other way out cruel society The city of Kalinov was not left to her by suicide - a natural outcome of the mental contradictions that tormented Katerina, internal conflict, as well as social conflict - the impossibility of coexistence of an individual thirsting for freedom and a deaf patriarchal house-building society.

A. N. Ostrovsky’s contribution to Russian drama is invaluable: following the traditions of realism, he not only created a number of bright, colorful images, not only captured characteristic paintings, but also explored the psychological origins of conflicts in Russian society mid-19th century, and was also an innovator in the stage design of the play: he expanded the scope of the action (in “The Thunderstorm” - a garden, a ravine, a street, a square, etc.), made extensive use of the landscape and crowd scenes. Greatest Creations Ostrovsky, original and innovative, are included in the treasury of not only Russian, but also world literature.

Conflict is the main one driving force dramatic work. The conflict unfolds through the plot and can be realized on several different levels. Whether it is a confrontation of interests, characters or ideas, the conflict is resolved in the finale of the work. The essence of the conflict can also be determined by literary era(realism and postmodernism, for example, are characterized by Various types conflicts). In realism, the conflict will be hidden in the depiction of social unrest and exposure of the vices of society. As an example, the article will consider the main conflict in Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm”.
The work was written in 1859, several years before the abolition of serfdom. Ostrovsky wanted to show how much society is corroding itself from the inside just because the way of life remains the same. Patriarchal orders hinder progress, and corruption and servility destroy the human element in a person. In the description of such an atmosphere lies the main conflict of “The Thunderstorm”.

So, as a rule, the conflict is realized at the character level. To do this, pairs or groups of characters must be identified. We should start with the most striking confrontation: the couple Katya - Kabanikha. These women had to live together due to circumstances. The Kabanov family is quite rich, Marfa Ignatievna herself is a widow. She raised a son and daughter. Kabanikha constantly manipulates her son, causing scandals and hysterics. A woman believes that only her opinion has the right to exist, so everything must correspond to her ideas. She humiliates and insults the rest of the family. Varvara gets the least of it, because the daughter lies to her mother.

Katya was married off early to Tikhon Kabanov, Kabanikha’s son. Katya naively believed that her life before marriage would not be much different from her new life, but the girl was wrong. Pure Katya is not able to understand how you can lie to your mother, as Varvara does, how you can hide your thoughts and feelings from someone, how you can not protect the right to own opinion. The order of this family is alien to her, but because of the patriarchal foundations that reigned at that time, the girl had no choice.

Here the conflict is realized at the internal level. These characters are too different, but at the same time both women have the same a strong character. Katerina resists the corrupting influence of Kabanikha. Marfa Ignatievna understands that she is faced with a strong rival who can “turn” Tikhon against his mother, and this is not part of her plans.

In the pair Boris - Katerina it is realized love conflict. A girl falls in love with a newcomer to the city young man. Boris seems to Katya like herself, unlike the others. Boris, like Katerina, is annoyed by the atmosphere of the city. They both don't like that everything here is built on fear and money. The feelings of young people flare up quite quickly: one meeting was enough for them to fall in love with each other. Tikhon's departure allows the lovers to meet secretly and spend time together. Katya says that for the sake of Boris she commits a sin, but since she was not afraid of sin, then she is not afraid of condemnation from people. The girl does not understand why their meetings should be hidden. She wanted to confess everything to her husband so that later she could be honest with Boris, but the young man dissuades her from such an act. It is more convenient for Boris to meet secretly and not take responsibility. Of course they couldn't be together. Their love is tragic and fleeting. The situation takes an unexpected turn when Katya realizes that Boris is actually the same as all the other residents: pathetic and petty. And Boris doesn’t try to deny it. After all, he came to the city only to improve relations with his uncle (only in this case could he receive an inheritance).

The pair Kuligin - Dikoy will help determine the main conflict of the drama "The Thunderstorm" by Ostrovsky. Self-taught inventor and merchant. All power in the city seems to be concentrated in the hands of the Wild One. He is rich, but only thinks about increasing capital. He is not afraid of threats from the mayor, he deceives ordinary residents, steals from other merchants, and drinks a lot. Dikoy constantly swears. There was room for insults in every one of his remarks. He believes that people who are lower than him on the social ladder are unworthy of talking to him, they deserve their miserable existence. Kuligin strives to help people; all his inventions should benefit society. But he is poor, and there is no way to earn money by honest work. Kuligin knows about everything that happens in the city. " Cruel morals in our city". Kuligin cannot resist or fight this.

The main conflict of the drama “The Thunderstorm” unfolds within the main character. Katya understands how strong the gap is between ideas and reality. Katerina wants to be herself, free, light and pure. But it’s impossible to live like that in Kalinov. In this struggle, she risks losing herself, giving up, and not withstanding the onslaught of circumstances. Katya chooses between black and white, gray does not exist for her. The girl understands that she can either live the way she wants or not live at all. The conflict ends with the death of the heroine. She could not commit violence against herself, kill herself for the sake of social order.

There are several conflicts in the play "The Thunderstorm". The main one is the confrontation between man and society. Added to this conflict is the conflict of generations, the conflict of old and new. The conclusion is that fair man cannot survive in a society of liars and hypocrites.

Features of the conflict in A.N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm”
Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm" raises the problem of a turning point in public life that occurred in the 50s of the 19th century, changes in social foundations, as well as the problem of the position and role of women in the family and society.
In the play "The Thunderstorm" several conflicts can be distinguished. On the one hand, two ways of life are shown, the old, “Domostroevsky” and the new, represented by the younger generation. Therefore, we can say that the play is dedicated to the social conflict of generations, where the new steps on the heels of the old, the old does not want to give in to the new. Relationship between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, woman's bondage in merchant family can also be seen as part of a social conflict. But the play is much more complex than it might seem at first glance. After all, Katerina is struggling with herself, different sides of her personality are in conflict. This spiritual conflict. In this respect, “The Thunderstorm” is close to tragedy in its genre. Let's try to understand all these conflicts separately.
Representatives of the old time, the era of “Domostroy” are Kabanova and Dikoy. The names alone describe the characters of these people. Kabanova is the last guardian of the “house-building” way of life in the city. She adheres to the old orders and views and seeks to impose them on her household: “... no order, they don’t know how to say goodbye. This is how the old days come to be... What will happen, how the old people will die, how the light will remain, I don’t know. Well, at least it’s good that I won’t see anything.” The boar is despotic and self-willed, demanding complete submission. And she achieved this primarily from her own son, who does not dare to go against the will of his mother. It makes her want to hold on even more. old world the belief that incredible things are happening outside Kalinov, there is “just sodomy”, people in the bustle do not notice each other, they are harnessing a “fiery serpent” and the devil himself walks among them, unnoticed by anyone. Dikoy also adheres to the old order. For him, the main thing in life is money and wealth; it is not for nothing that, having become rich, he can even “pat the mayor on the shoulder.”
Kabanikha and Dikiy are contrasted in the play by Kuligin, a man of progressive views, an inventor. Each of the opponents tries to defend their ideals. Wild church superstition is in his arsenal. Kuligin defends his human dignity with references to the authority of Lomonosov and Derzhavin. Symbolic in this regard is the scene of Kuligin’s argument with Dikiy. If we look at her more closely, we will see in those arguing not just a greedy merchant and a talented self-taught mechanic, but a person zealously defending patriarchal foundations, and a person trying to overthrow them. From this point of view, the roles of Kuligin and Dikiy are very important. This is the essence of social conflict.
Another conflict is spiritual. It develops inside the main character of the play - Katerina. Katerina grew up in a world where love, kindness, and tenderness reigned. Katerina’s mother “doted on her soul.” The girl went to church, listened to praying prayers, and lived in unity with nature. Katerina was raised in such a way that she cannot violate moral and moral laws, any deviation from them leads her into confusion. From this world, Katerina found herself in a completely different environment, where people care about different values. Katerina’s mother-in-law, Kabanikha, pretends that her family is a model of prosperity: her daughter-in-law and son fear and respect her, Katerina is afraid of her husband.
But in fact, she doesn’t care what happens in reality, only appearances are important to her. The old way of life is destroyed within Katerina herself. Varvara, the representative, also plays a big role here. younger generation, but the bearer of other views, different from the views of Katerina. It is Varvara who encourages Katerina to go on a date with Boris. Without Varvara, it is unlikely that Katerina would have decided to do this. Varvara’s world is much simpler; she can turn a blind eye to everything. Following this very simplified morality, Varvara does not see anything reprehensible in Katerina’s meetings with Boris. For Katerina, cheating on her husband is something shameful; she then cannot look him in the eye. But Tikhon, her husband, does not correspond to her ideas about an ideal spouse. A husband is a support, a support, a ruler. Tikhon does not live up to Katerina’s expectations. This disappointment leads her to Boris. This new feeling for Katerina is a sin; it gives rise to remorse. If she had continued to live in patriarchal world, this wouldn't have happened. And if Tikhon had insisted on his own and taken her with him, she would have forgotten about Boris forever. Katerina’s tragedy is that this pure nature, with high moral requirements, does not know how to adapt to life. Katerina was unable to live further, having once violated the moral laws of Domostroy. Tormented by reproaches of conscience, she confesses everything to her husband, but even in her husband’s forgiveness she does not find relief from mental suffering. This is the essence of spiritual conflict.
Thus, the play shows two main conflicts - social and spiritual. The death of Katerina proves her moral superiority over the “dark kingdom” and ignorant people.

Ostrovsky wrote his play “The Thunderstorm” back in 1859, even before serfdom was abolished. In his work, the author shows how society eats itself from the inside, living according to an established way of life and touches on several conflicts.

Drama Thunderstorm conflict and placement of characters

In the drama "Thunderstorm", which deals with conflicts of different nature, the auto made an arrangement of the characters, dividing them into those who happily live in patriarchal Kalinov and those who do not agree with its foundations and laws. We include Kabanikha and Dikiy among the first, who by nature are despots, tyrants, representatives of the “Dark Kingdom.” The second group includes the younger generation, where Varvara leaves home, Tikhon becomes weak-willed, and Katerina, in spite of everything, in spite of despotism, decides to commit suicide, just not to live by the rules that contradict her as an individual. The heroine with a new outlook on life does not want to accept Domodedovo morals. Thus, with the help of a small number of characters who live in Kalinov on the banks of the Volga, the author reveals several unique conflicts in the drama “The Thunderstorm,” among them a family conflict, which manifests itself in Katerina’s clash with her mother-in-law.

Social conflict in the drama The Thunderstorm

The author also touched upon social conflict in the drama "The Thunderstorm", which is represented by a collision different worldviews, where the old fights the new, where the merchant and the merchant's wife are generalized images of the tyranny and ignorance that flourished in those times. They are opponents of progress, everything new is perceived with hostility. They want to keep everyone on a short leash so that their “dark kingdom” does not collapse. However, the new worldview that Katerina has is an alternative to the old one. It is different from the views, foundations, traditions that are adhered to in the dark kingdom. Katerina is a generalized character of a different mindset, with a different character, which is already beginning to emerge in a rotten society and becomes a ray of light in this dark world.

What is the main conflict of the drama The Thunderstorm?

Among the social and family conflicts, the main conflict can be identified. What is the main conflict of the drama "The Thunderstorm"? I believe that the main thing here is the conflict that unfolds within the heroine herself. This is a confrontation between the individual and society. Here we see that Katerina wants to be herself, free, life among violence is unacceptable to her, but in Kalinov it is impossible to do otherwise. Here it’s either this way or not at all. But the heroine does not put up with this situation, and if it is impossible to live as she wants, it is better to die. She could not kill the freedom-loving personality in herself for the sake of the established order.

Why did the author choose this title for his work? Probably because the depicted life in Kalinov is in a pre-storm state, in a state when a catastrophe is coming. This is a thunderstorm, as a harbinger of future changes, a thunderstorm, as a spontaneous feeling that arose between Katerina and Boris, a thunderstorm is a disagreement with the foundations. And to emphasize the dead life of the Kalinovites, the author uses the image and description of beautiful nature.