Why is the conflict between Katerina and Kabanova inevitable? 

Did Katerina Kabanova have a way out?

The drama “The Thunderstorm,” written in 1859, at a time of social upsurge on the eve of the peasant reform, seemed to crown the first stage creative activity Ostrovsky, a cycle of his plays about the “dark kingdom”. This play was extremely popular. The drama was staged on the stages of almost all theaters in Russia: from large metropolitan theaters to theaters in small, lost towns. And it is not surprising, because Ostrovsky showed a new heroine in the play, symbolizing a protest against the old way of life, symbolizing the sprouts of a new life. And this is exactly how the play was perceived by the public. Even the censors perceived “The Thunderstorm” exactly as public play, because they demanded that Ostrovsky remove Kabanikha altogether: it seemed to them that Kabanikha was a parody of the Tsar, “Nikolai Pavlovich in a skirt.”

According to V. Lakshin, “The Thunderstorm” amazed Ostrovsky’s contemporaries with its “poetic power and dramatic story about the fate of Katerina.” The play was perceived as an exposure of merchant moral standards and arbitrariness that dominated the country.

I think that no one will argue with the fact that Katerina’s fate is truly dramatic. She, perhaps without realizing it, protested against the tyranny and despotism of the society in which she lived. Her voluntary death is precisely a challenge to this tyrant force. But was a different outcome possible?

After some reflection, one can come to the conclusion that theoretically Katerina Kabanova still had a choice. Let's try to analyze possible resolutions to the conflict of the play.

The first and, perhaps, the most desirable way is to leave with Boris. This is exactly what a poor woman hopes for when she goes to last date with a loved man. But Boris, this “educated Tikhon,” is not able to answer for his actions, is not able to take responsibility upon himself. He refuses Katerina. The last hope is crumbling.

The second way is to get a divorce. But at that time, in order to get a divorce, you could wait a very long time, and you had to go through all the authorities and experience all the humiliation. If divorce was rare in noble families(remember Anna Karenina), then for merchant family it was simply impossible.

The third way is to go to a monastery. But the husband's wife could not be accepted into the monastery. They would have found her there anyway and returned her to her husband.

The fourth and most terrible path is the path of Katerina Izmailova. Get rid of your husband and mother-in-law, kill them. But Katerina Kabanova cannot choose this path, cannot hurt another person, cannot break the fifth commandment “thou shalt not kill,” since she is unusually devout.

Katerina could not live according to Varvara’s principle: “Do whatever you want, as long as everything is sewn and covered.” Katerina's nature cannot come to terms with lies. It was impossible to simply leave her husband and return to her parents’ house; she would have been found and returned, and her shame would have fallen on the whole family.

There was one more way left - to live with Tikhon as before, because he loved her in his own way and forgave her sin. But could Katerina listen to her mother-in-law’s daily prodding and reproaches? And that’s not the main thing. With Boris Katerina experienced true love, I learned the beauty of intimacy with a loved one, the joy of being in his arms. And is it possible to live with after this? unloved husband, under Kabanikha’s heel, a husband who is not even able to protect his wife from her mother’s insults? Of course not! Having fallen in love with Boris, Katerina could no longer love anyone else. Her integral nature, following her feelings, did not even allow the thought of this. She couldn’t even think about returning to the Kabanovs’ house: “It doesn’t matter to me whether I go home or go to the grave. Yes, whether to go home or to the grave!.. It’s better in the grave... But I don’t even want to think about life... And people are disgusting to me, and the house is disgusting to me, and the walls are disgusting!.. It’s impossible to live! Sin!"

Thus, the only way out for Katerina was suicide. This decision is not a weakness at all, but a strength of her character. It is known that suicide in Christian tradition- the greatest sin. Suicides are buried outside the church fence and there is no funeral service. But this does not frighten the devout Katerina. “Will they not pray? - she exclaims. “Whoever loves will pray...” Such spiritual talent and such integrity as Katerina’s have only one reward - death.

Of course, Katerina is “a ray of light in a dark kingdom,” but with her death it does not go out. The beam made a hole among the menacing clouds - the world of the Wild and Boars. This gap is an ulcer in the “dark kingdom”. Katerina’s death serves as a silent reproach both to Boris, “blindly submitting to the will of the Wild,” and to Tikhon, “a weak-willed victim of fear of his mother.” Katerina makes the apathetic Tikhon perk up internally, who in a frenzy accuses his mother: “You ruined her! You! You!"

V. Lakshin wrote about this last scene drama: “This, although apparently fragile, victory over the fear of authority constitutes the content of perhaps the most psychologically acute and courageous scene, worthily crowning the entire drama.”

Drama A.N. Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm" was written at a time when society was most clearly main conflict era - a conflict between an individual defending his right to freedom and a society that suppresses this individual. This conflict - the main conflict of the mid-nineteenth century - was reflected in the drama in the form of Katerina’s clash with the “dark kingdom”. The essence of this conflict was very accurately described by N.A. Dobrolyubov: “In... the individual we see an already matured demand for the right and spaciousness of life arising from the depths of the whole organism.” The clash between personality and society was inevitable on the eve of radical reforms that shook everything Russian society, and Ostrovsky was the first of the Russian writers to show the tragedy of this clash.
All the heroes of the drama can be divided into two groups: these are the masters of the “dark kingdom” and their victims. The first group includes Dikoy and Kabanikha, the second group includes almost all the other characters in the drama.
The inevitability of conflict between them is felt already at the very beginning of the play. We see how Kuligin admires the beauty of the magnificent landscape opening from the high bank of the Volga, and immediately hear how he scolds his nephew Dikoy for something and “nags” his pet Kabanikh. The harmony of nature is, as it were, opposed to the “cruel morals” that reign in human society.
Savel Prokofich Dikoy, a rich merchant, feels like a master in the city. His power is based on the power of money, so he can even condescendingly pat the mayor on the shoulder. Dikoy feels his strength, his impunity in the world of the “dark kingdom” and therefore swaggers to his heart’s content over those who depend on him: over his family, Boris, and men. He can be described in one word - “tyrant”. But much more terrible than the Wild one, it seems to me, is Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova - Kabanikha. This is a type of domestic tyrant, she “like rusting iron” sharpens her son Tikhon, daughter Varvara, daughter-in-law Katerina. More than anything else, she is afraid of losing power over them, afraid that they will be able to live just fine without her petty tutelage. Kabanov and Dikoy personify in the drama those dark forces, which suppressed personality, humiliated human dignity, turned married woman into an unresponsive, downtrodden house slave.
The victims of the “dark kingdom” are Tikhon, Boris, Kudryash and Varvara. But the destructive influence of this deadening environment affected them in different ways. Tikhon is completely subordinate to his mother; he does not dare to object to her, does not dare to stand up for Katerina, although he understands that her mother is treating her unfairly. And only the death of Katerina gave rise to a momentary protest in his heart, but it was a “rebellion on his knees,” and then everything would go on as before. Boris, unlike Tikhon, grew up in a different environment (in Moscow); it's wild for him to see local customs and morals. He sincerely fell in love with Katerina; but he betrayed her, refusing to take her with him to Siberia. His betrayal was the final impetus that pushed the heroine to suicide. Kudryash, like Tikhon, grew up in Kalinov. He realized long ago that in this city only strength is valued, and he knows how to stand up for himself. Kudryash is known in the city as a rude man, and even Dikoy is afraid of him. Kudryash managed to defend his love - he runs away with Varvara. Varvara was also able to adapt to this life. She knows that everything in her mother's house is based on hypocrisy and deception, and she has learned to lie. “I wasn’t a liar before, either, but I learned when it became necessary,” she tells Katerina. Her principle is to do whatever you want, as long as everything is “sewn and covered.” But when the deception is revealed, she is forced to secretly flee with Kudryash - after all, Kabanikha will never agree to marry her to the clerk Kudryash. Varvara’s act cannot be considered a protest against the stifling orders of the “dark kingdom”; This is just a way to preserve your minimal freedom and your personality.
The “Dark Kingdom” is opposed in the drama by Katerina. Although she comes from the same merchant environment and was brought up in the same conditions as Varvara and Tikhon, but the atmosphere itself in Katerina’s family was different. It was an atmosphere of love, mutual understanding, and therefore, having found herself in Kabanova’s house, in an atmosphere of fear and deception, she feels like a bird caught in a cage. It is no coincidence that the image of a bird is connected with the image of Katerina. She says to Varvara: “ Why do people don't fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm a bird. That’s how I would run up, raise my hands and fly.” But Katerina cannot escape from the cage of the Kabanovsky house. Katerina does not accept the atmosphere of lies and deceit in the Kabanovs’ house, and therefore the heroine suffers because she is forced to deceive her husband, love secretly, and hide her feelings. But Katerina is endowed not only with a sensitive soul, but also with a strong, decisive character. “And if I get really tired of being here, they won’t hold me back by any force. I’ll throw myself out the window, throw myself into the Volga. I don’t want to live here, I won’t, even if you cut me!” Ostrovsky's heroine suffers greatly due to the fact that she was deprived of the right to love and be loved. Tikhon himself pushes Katerina away from himself, and she, unfortunately, does not have children for whose sake she would endure everything. That’s why Katerina responded so much to Boris’s love, but this love, in addition to short-term happiness, brought Katerina new suffering. She doesn't need "stolen" love. During a terrible thunderstorm, Katerina, afraid of being suddenly killed and therefore afraid of appearing before God without communion, confesses all her sins to her husband, repents before him and before people. But after this confession, the heroine’s life becomes even more unbearable. Tikhon forgave her, but Kabanikha will never forgive her for the fact that Katerina publicly confessed and “disgraced” the family. For the heroine there is only one way out - to run away with Boris, but he cowardly betrays her and advises her to “be patient.” And then there is only one way left for Katerina - to throw herself into the Volga, because returning home is even worse, worse than death, this means dooming yourself to a slow, painful death.
ON THE. Dobrolyubov wrote in the article “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom” that Katerina’s death is “a terrible challenge to the evil force itself.” The critic sees in Katerina “a protest against Kabanov’s concepts of morality.” The heroine of Ostrovsky’s play dares to challenge the entire “dark kingdom”, and in a collision with it she dies. This is what it's all about tragic poignancy Katerina’s conflict with the “dark kingdom” in the drama “The Thunderstorm”.

A.N. Ostrovsky. Storm. Conflict and composition of drama. Katerina as a tragic character.Scene. The uniqueness of the conflict. The location of "Thunderstorm" is associated with different cities. However, the location of the play cannot be correlated with any specific Volga city. Ostrovsky created a generalized image provincial town and therefore gave it a fictitious name - Kalinov. The action of the drama “The Thunderstorm” develops in the city of Kalinov, located on the high bank of the Volga. The playwright creates a closed patriarchal world: Kalinovites do not know about the existence of other lands and innocently believe the stories of wanderers such as Feklusha that there are distant countries where “Saltan Maxnut the Turkish” and “Saltan Makhnut the Persian” rule, and there are lands “where all the people have dog heads.. . for infidelity." These stories of the wanderer, who “due to her weakness did not walk far, but heard a lot,” completely satisfy the listeners. The main people of the city are tyrant merchants who try to “enslave the poor so that his labors will be free.” more money make money." They keep in complete subordination not only the employees, but also the household, who are entirely dependent on them and therefore unresponsive. Considering themselves to be right in everything, they are sure that it is on them that the light rests, and therefore they force all households to strictly follow house-building orders and rituals. Their religiosity is distinguished by the same ritualism: they go to church, observe fasts, receive strangers, generously give them gifts and at the same time tyrannize their household (“And what tears flow behind these constipations, invisible and inaudible!.” Internal, moral The side of religion is completely alien to the Wild and Kabanova, representatives of the “Dark Kingdom” of the City of Kalinov. Under the rule of the harsh, despotic Kabanikha, her household either loses their independence (Tikhon), or learns to deceive, like Varvara, to live in such a way that everything is “closeted and covered.” Although Katerina "withered" in the Kabanovsky house, but mental strength, which she was endowed with, did not allow her to completely break under the yoke of Kabanikha, to lose her sense of human dignity. And it is in these harsh conditions, where everything is “as if out of captivity,” an internal protest arises against everything that interferes with a person’s life. Kabanova herself is already beginning to feel that the ground is shaking under her feet, that “the old days are being brought out.” Age-old foundations are crumbling. She sees the awakening of new feelings, different relationships, feels the resistance of Katerina, Varvara, even her son. In addition to the Kabanovs and the Wild, “without asking them, another life grew up, with different beginnings” (N. Dobrolyubov). In the center of Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm” there is social conflict and conflict - the confrontation between the rulers of the “Dark Kingdom” and the people who depend on them, forced endure their tyranny and despotism, “endure as long as one endures.” But even among the victims of the “Dark Kingdom”, not everyone expresses their attitude towards the existing order in the same way: some believe that “it’s better to endure” so as not to provoke a new wrath of the “scold” Dikiy or Kabanova (Shapkin, Boris, Tikhon); others, no longer wanting to endure Kabanikha’s despotism, leave their parental home (Varvara). Kuligin occupies a special place in the drama, who, although he advises Shapkin and Boris to “be patient,” criticizes the morals of the city. Patriarchal foundations family life and finally comes to the direct accusation thrown at Kabanov’s face at the end of the drama: “Here is your Katerina... Her body is here, take it; but the soul is now not yours; she is now before the Judge, who is more merciful than you!” The desire to defend her human rights forces Katerina to enter into an unequal struggle with Kabanova, who personifies arbitrariness, despotism, and the defense of the immutable laws of the “Dark Kingdom.” This conflict is one of the particular manifestations of a general conflict and attracts the viewer’s attention. There are two central figures- Katerina and Kabanikha, sharply opposed to each other, the clashes between them are manifested in every action of the drama. Finally, what is especially important and what you should pay attention to when reading the play is internal conflict Katerina between a sense of duty and a passionate impulse for freedom and happiness. Critics unanimously noted the lyricism and symbolism of “The Thunderstorm”. Lyricism is created thanks to the playwright’s introduction into the play of pictures of nature, which are closely related to its ideological content: the harmony and beauty of nature are opposed to the evil, oppression, and despotism that reigns in Kalinov. Special meaning acquires in the drama the image of the Volga as the embodiment of freedom. It appears at the beginning of the play, and in Katerina’s monologue, and in the scene of the night meeting; at the end of the drama, the heroine rushes into the Volga, preferring death to life in captivity. 3the sincerity and poetry of Katerina’s monologues, folk songs, which Kuligin and Kudryash sing, give a lyrical sound to a number of scenes. The very name of the play has symbolic meaning. Thunderstorms in nature are perceived differently characters of the play: for Kuligin she is “grace”, with which “every... grass, every flower rejoices”, while the Kalinovites are hiding from her as if from “some kind of misfortune”. The thunderstorm intensifies Katerina's spiritual drama, her tension, influencing the very outcome of this drama. The thunderstorm gives the play not only emotional tension, but also a pronounced tragic flavor. At the same time, N.A. Dobrolyubov saw something “refreshing and encouraging” in the ending of the drama. It is known that Ostrovsky himself, who gave great importance title of the play, wrote to playwright N. Ya. Solovyov that if he cannot find a title for the work, it means that “the idea of ​​the play is not clear to him.” In “The Thunderstorm,” the playwright often uses the techniques of parallelism and antithesis in the system of images and directly in the plot itself , in the depiction of pictures of nature. The technique of antithesis is especially clearly manifested: in the contrast between the two main characters - Katerina and Kabanikha; in the composition of the third act, the first scene (at the gates of Kabanova’s house) and the second (night meeting in the ravine) differ sharply from each other; in the depiction of scenes of nature and, in particular, the approach of a thunderstorm in the first and fourth acts. Composition. The first act is a detailed exposition. Ostrovsky needed her in order to give initial presentation O characters, about the relationships that prevail in the city of Kalinov. The inhabitants of the city constantly feel the cruel and limitless power of the owners. Hence the word bondage so often repeated by the characters in the play. Katerina, Boris, Tikhon, Varvara talk about her. It was very important for the playwright to choose a hero through whose mouth he could give a general picture of the life and morals of the city of Kalinov. Such a person in the play is the self-taught mechanic Kuligin: it was he who wrote the words about beauty surrounding nature, it is he who is able to appreciate what is happening around him. He tells Boris about “ cruel morals" cities. Almost next to Kuligin’s monologue, the play gives the monologue of the wanderer Feklushi (“And the merchants are all pious people, adorned with many virtues!”). Kuligin gives Kabanova a different assessment: “Prude, sir! He gives money to the poor, but completely eats up his family... The fifth phenomenon reveals family relationships, which reign in Kabanova’s house. A sharp clash of characters begins to be felt in this phenomenon. One can feel the internal protest of both Tikhon, Varvara, and most importantly, Katerina. But Tikhon hides his dissatisfaction behind deceitful phrases full of humiliation, Varvara speaks “to herself,” and Katerina, “both in front of people and without people... all alone,” speaks to Kabanikha as an equal and, unlike Tikhon, even addresses her as "you". It is in Katerina that Kabanov sees his opponent. In the seventh appearance, Katerina talks about herself, about her life in parental home, and one can feel the depth and poetry of her inner world. The impressions of past years constitute a sharp contrast with the atmosphere of the Kabanovsky house (“I have completely withered in your house”). Katerina suffers both from the heavy atmosphere in Kabanikha’s house and from the consciousness of her secret love for Boris, hence the premonition of trouble. The tragic motive (“To be miserable for someone!.. To be in trouble!”) permeates the first and second acts and sounds throughout the entire play. In the first act, Ostrovsky leads the viewer from big picture morals and characters to the Kabanova family and further to emotional drama Katerina The main event of the second act is Tikhon’s farewell to Moscow, which allows the playwright to more fully reveal the house-building order that reigns in the Kabanovsky house, the psychology and characters of the characters. In the farewell scene there is a new clash between Kabanikha and Katerina. We see Tikhon’s inability not only to protect, but also to understand Katerina, whose last hopes of finding support in her husband are crumbling, hence her cry, full heartache: “Oh, my misfortune, my misfortune! Where can I, poor thing, go? Who should I grab hold of? My fathers, I am perishing!” The second act and, in particular, the scenes of Tikhon’s farewell and the subsequent monologue of Katerina with the key (scene ten) is the beginning of the drama, a turning point, followed by the development of the action. “Ah, if only the night would speed up!..” - these words of Katerina end the second act of the drama, but the third begins not with the scene of a night date, which the heroine is so waiting for, but with a conversation between Kabanikha and Feklusha at the gates of Kabanov’s house . This action is divided by the playwright into two paintings (scenes), sharply opposed to each other. The story of the wanderer Feklusha about a visit to Moscow, which Kabanov listens attentively, is colored with a gloomy foreboding - according to all signs, “ last times": in the city there is only empty bustle, "festivities and games, and an indo roar is going through the streets... they began to harness the fiery serpent." Second picture - date night Let us turn to the dialogue between Katerina and Boris. They seem to speak different languages, feel differently. The consciousness of her sinfulness does not leave Katerina, she stands “without raising her eyes,” almost does not see, does not listen to Boris. Her passionate “You” is contrasted in the dialogue with the cautious “you”. With which Boris addresses her. In Katerina’s remarks, full of deep feeling, there is a feeling of her imminent death: “Why do you want my death?”; “You ruined me” (she repeats the word ruined several times). Further, Boris’s answer: “Am I some kind of villain?”, “It was your will.” The remarks accompanying Katerina’s remarks and reflecting her state of mind are important: “With fear, but without raising her eyes,” “With excitement,” “shaking her head ", "raises his eyes and looks at Boris", "throws himself on his neck." The heroine’s remarks and remarks make it possible to feel how her state of mind is changing: from complete confusion, fear - to assertion of her right to love (“If I wasn’t afraid of a sin for you, will I be afraid of a human court?”). To Boris’s words: “No one will know about our love,” Katerina replies: “Let everyone know, let everyone see what I do!” In the name of this love, which means for her will, the fullness of life, Katerina enters into a fight with the forces of the “Dark Kingdom.” 10 days pass between the third and fourth acts, as Ostrovsky indicated in the playbill, however, the tense rhythm does not decrease. The fourth act and, in particular, events four to six, associated with Katerina’s repentance, are the climax of the drama. The first phenomena are pictures of the ignorance of the inhabitants of the city of Kalinov (a conversation between several townspeople about Lithuania falling from the sky; Dikiy’s rudeness in a conversation with Kuligin, who asks him for money for the construction sundial and lightning rod). Simultaneously with the internal, psychological tension in Katerina’s soul, the playwright enhances the external dynamics of the action, uses the technique of parallelism between state of mind heroines and phenomena occurring in nature. The rain gets heavier, a thunderstorm approaches, and people head under the arches of the ancient arch: Dikoy and Kuligin simply enter the gallery, Varvara “quickly enters,” and Katerina is already quickly running in. The action enters its climax stage. The sky becomes ominous, causing fear in the people around Katerina. In addition to the impact of the approaching thunderstorm on the heroine, the playwright also resorts to external reasons, prompting her to repent: the words of Tikhon (“Katya, repent ...”), the remarks of the Kalinovites and finally the appearance at the moment highest voltage crazy lady. The lady's words are accompanied by a clap of thunder. Katerina falls powerlessly to her knees and sees the paintings of the Last Judgment depicted on the gallery wall. Katerina's repentance - climax dramas. Her words are accompanied by a clap of thunder, and she falls unconscious into her husband's arms. Kabanikha’s imperious, triumphant voice is heard: “What, son! Where will the will lead!..” With these words the fourth act of the drama ends. In the fifth act, events are rapidly moving towards a denouement. The scenery of the first act: a public garden on the high bank of the Volga, but at dusk. The action opens with Kuligin's song about the power of love that conquers hearts, then Tikhon's story about life in the Kabanovsky house after Katerina's repentance. Further, the action is dedicated to Katerina - her sad thoughts about life, timid hope for happiness with Boris, farewell to life. Pay attention to one of the phrases in Katerina’s last monologue: “To live again? No, no, don’t... Not good! - What does this word bad mean? Living under the yoke of Kabanikha means making a compromise, submitting to the power of your mother-in-law and the laws of the “Dark Kingdom”; it means not being yourself. But for Katerina it is no longer possible to just live, live and suffer. And she leaves life unconquered. The lyrical-dramatic scene of Katerina’s farewell to life gives way to mass stage, in which anxious people are looking for a heroine. Following Tikhon, Kuligin, Kabanova, people come running. Openly and for the first time, Kuligin boldly pronounces words condemning wild boars and wild ones. For the first time in his life, Tikhon conquers his fear of his mother and throws angry words of accusation at her: “You ruined her! You! You!” Katerina’s suicide should be considered not as a stage device that enhances the impression of the play, but as a dramatic finale prepared by the entire course of the action. It’s no coincidence that Tikhon’s remark with which the drama ends: “Good for you, Katya! Why did I stay in the world and suffer!” These words make the viewer think no longer about love affair, but about Kalinov’s life in general, where “the living envy the dead.” Katerina as a tragic heroine. In terms of her character, Katerina differs sharply from that environment, from those people with whom she is forced to live. This exclusivity and originality of the heroine’s character lies the reason for the deep life drama that she experiences in the “dark kingdom” of wild and wild boars. Even for Varvara, with whom Katerina is especially close, she is “sophisticated”, “wonderful”. Her spiritual world inaccessible neither to Varvara, who sincerely pities Katerina, nor to Tikhon, nor to Boris. Katerina is a dreamy, poetic and at the same time decisive nature, possessing a sense of her own dignity. In order for the reader and viewer to understand how close the drama of his heroine is, Ostrovsky reveals its origins and, in fact, gives Katerina’s background: life in her parents’ home, her formation as a person. The whole thing appears before us life path The heroine, her thoughts and actions are largely determined by her past childhood and youth. It is no coincidence that the motive of flight that accompanies Katerina: “Why don’t people fly like birds? “And she dreams about flying: “It’s as if I’m flying, and I’m flying through the air.” She constantly strives for movement: either she tries to sail along the Volga when she was offended, or she sees herself racing in a troika. Impressive by nature, poetically inclined, Katerina listened to every word of the wanderers, who, in her words, told “different lives” or sang poems . She prays in the garden among the flowers, and in the temple on a sunny day she sees from the dome “such a bright pillar going down... as if angels are flying and singing in this pillar.” Katerina's religiosity is sincere and deep. But dreaminess and spiritual gentleness are combined with willpower, a character that knows no compromises, and the ability to take decisive action if she is “sick of” life. In the drama “The Thunderstorm,” two images are sharply contrasted - Katerina and Kabanikha. One is poetically inclined, with a “hot heart”, deeply feeling beauty, honest, truthful, humane, the other is domineering, rude, harsh, heartless, striving to subordinate everyone to her will. The name Katerina is translated from Greek language means "always clean". Her middle name is Petrovna (Peter in Greek means “stone”). Apparently, the playwright wanted to emphasize the strength of his heroine’s character with her middle name. Kabanikha’s nickname means “wild pig,” distinguished by her ferocity of character. Ostrovsky attached great importance to the role of Kabanova, considering it “one of the most important in the play.” Kabanikha is the living embodiment of despotism, a convinced guardian of the precepts of antiquity. ardent opponent everything new. In despotic power and fear, she sees the strength of family foundations, and these ossified forms of family relationships are supported only by violence and coercion. And at the same time, she clearly feels that her family has long “wanted freedom,” this is mentioned more than once in the play. Already in the initial scenes, Katerina is overwhelmed by a feeling of love that comes to her as a feeling of spiritual renewal, rebirth (“Something in It’s so extraordinary to me. It’s like I’m starting to live again..."). Love, which became for her the personification of joy, happiness, will, made the heroine acutely feel the tragic hopelessness of her situation. Therefore, next to the words: “I’m starting to live again” there is a gloomy premonition tragic ending: “I will die soon.” She perceives love for Boris as a mortal sin and seeks to suppress this feeling in herself. In the struggle between fidelity to marital duty and the desire to see her chosen one, at least for a moment, the thirst for love, happiness and freedom takes over. The love that gripped Katerina was prepared by her entire life under the yoke of the Kabanovsky house. The heroine herself does not come to the realization of her struggle against tyranny; everything she does is done according to the desire of nature. Natural aspirations (the need for happiness, the desire for will, space, freedom) force her to enter into a struggle with all morality, the foundations of the “Dark Kingdom”. The power of natural aspirations, unnoticed by Katerina herself, triumphs over all prejudices in her. She goes alone “against everyone,” “armed solely by the strength of her Feelings, the instinctive consciousness of her inalienable right to life, happiness and love...” (N. Dobrolyubov). Katerina is ready for the sake of her loved one to transgress even those concepts of sin and virtue, which were sacred to her. Inner purity and truthfulness do not allow her to lie in love, to deceive. The tragic conflict of “The Thunderstorm” lies in the irreconcilable contradiction between Katerina’s love, expressing her desire for freedom, happiness, and Kalinov’s world, suppressing a person, oppressing his soul. Depicting the spiritual drama of Katerina, her internal struggle, Ostrovsky shows the heroine’s doubts, her hesitations, the rise of feelings, and temporary retreat. Katerina's public repentance is only a temporary retreat in the fight for the right to love and be free. In the future, she will reject humility and submission to fate and prefer death to life in captivity. Although Katerina knows that suicide is a serious problem, she last moment does not think about saving her soul - all her thoughts are directed towards Boris and her last words are also addressed to him: “My friend! My joy! Goodbye!"..

Katerina and the boar are two opposite people from the same family. The boar is the mistress" dark kingdom". All the characters in this play are either victims of this kingdom, like Tikhon and Boris, or have adapted to it, like Varvara and Kudryash. Katerina is one character who has not come to terms with the place destined for her in this world.

Katerina appears to be a fragile, tender and open-to-feeling young lady, by no means as defenseless as she seems at first glance. She is strong inside, she is a fighter against this “dark kingdom”. Katerina is a girl who is able to stand up for herself, who is capable of much for the sake of her love. But she is alone in this world, and it’s hard for her, so she is looking for support. It seems to her that she finds support in Boris. And she strives for him in every possible way, no matter what. She chose him because Boris stood out among all the young people in this city, and they both had a similar situation. But in the finale, Boris abandons her, and she is left alone against the “dark kingdom.” To accept and return to Kabanikha’s home meant not to be herself. Suicide is one way out. Katerina passes away because she does not accept that very world - the world of Kabanikha, Dikiy, Tikhon and Boris. Kabanikha is a completely different person, she is the opposite of Katerina. She is completely satisfied with the world in which she lives. No one ever dared to contradict her, but then Katerina appears, unwilling to put up with Kabanikha’s rudeness, rudeness and cruelty. And therefore Katerina, with her self-esteem, constantly irritates Kabanikha. A conflict is brewing between Katerina and Kabanikha. The same conflict does not come to an explosion until there are reasons for it. And the reason is Katerina’s confession of cheating on her husband. And Katerina understands that after this her life is over, because Kabanikha will then completely bully her. And she decides to commit suicide. After the death of Katerina, Kabanikha remains satisfied, because now no one will resist her. Katerina’s death is a kind of protest against this world, a world of lies and hypocrisy, to which she could never get used to.

But Katerina and Kabanikha have something in common, because they are both capable of standing up for themselves, both do not want to put up with humiliation and insult, both a strong character. But their reluctance to be humiliated and insulted manifests itself in different ways. Katerina will never respond to rudeness with rudeness. Kabanikha, on the contrary, will try in every possible way to humiliate, offend, and bully a person who says something unpleasant in her direction.

Katerina and Kabanikha have different attitudes towards God. If Katerina’s feeling for God is something bright, holy, inviolable and highest, then for Kabanikha it is only an external, superficial feeling. Even going to church for Kabanikha is only to give the impression of a pious lady to those around her.

The most suitable comparison between Katerina and Kabanikha is something light and something dark, where Katerina is light and Kabanikha is dark. Katerina is a ray of light in " dark kingdom“But this “ray” is not enough to illuminate this darkness that in the end it fades out altogether.

Katerina is not like that. Of course, she is not alien to conventions and dogmas, but, unlike her mother-in-law, she has alive soul. The soul is loving, bright, peace-loving, submissive and patient ( perfect wife!). Patience is one of Katerina’s main virtues. She knows how to obey circumstances, but only to certain limits. She will meekly endure being kept locked up or being forced to throw herself at her husband’s feet. But when her feelings become stronger than established moral standards, then even this angelic patience comes to an end. It should be noted that Kabanikha constantly pushed Katerina to take a decisive step with her eternal grumbling for no reason. But already at the first meeting with Katerina and Kabanikha on a walk, we understand that Katerina is not the kind of person who will obey, this can be heard in her few remarks. Suicide became not a concession, not a sign of weakness or submission, but, on the contrary, a manifestation of strength. Katerina is a free soul. Her dream is to fly. It’s even strange that thoughts of flying came to the mind of a girl who grew up in an environment that was not very conducive to free thoughts. Although one can argue the other way around - the lack of external information gives freedom-loving souls enormous scope for imagination. Be that as it may, Katerina has the ability to deeply feel, dream, and fantasize. And Kabanikha suppresses this beginning in her. If Katerina had not been so decisive in nature, she would have remained under the yoke of Kabanikha and buried her dreams within herself. But the fact of the matter is that the heroine has enough determination to meet with Boris, and to publicly repent of betraying her husband, and to throw herself into the river. The ordinary conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law between Kabanikha and Katerina turns into a much more serious one - a confrontation between two different worlds. Kabanikha is a representative of the old, inert, limited world, Katerina is a new, bright one, striving for free air, away from far-fetched moral principles and conventions, j Kabanikha crawls on the ground, Katerina strives to fly. Such two personalities will never find a compromise. The conflict between Katerina and Kabanikha is eternal and will never go away as long as there are old and young, down-to-earth and dreamy, spiritually poor and spiritually rich.

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