Dikoy - 'tyrant of Russian life'. The strength and weakness of tyrants drawn in a thunderstorm. Dikoy and Kabanikha - “The Tyrants of Russian Life How the tyranny of a wild thunderstorm is manifested”

08.03.2020

WORKBOOK

in the discipline "Literature"

for independent work

students Icourse _______

groups________

Compiled by: literature teacher Ryabinina E.N.

Moscow

2015

Preface.

In broad terms, the concept of cultural behavior includes all aspects of a person’s internal and external culture: etiquette, everyday culture, organization of personal time, hygiene, aesthetic tastes in the choice of consumer goods, work culture. Particular attention should be paid to the culture of speech: the ability to speak and listen, to conduct a conversation is an important condition for mutual understanding, checking the truth or falsity of one’s opinions and ideas. Speech is the most meaningful, capacious and expressive means of communication.

A high speech culture presupposes a high culture of thinking, because immature thoughts cannot be expressed in a clear, accessible form. Speech culture is an integral part of a person’s general culture, the ability to accurately and expressively convey one’s thoughts. Language reflects the state of morality in society.

Clear expression of one’s thoughts, precise choice of words, and richness of speech shape a person’s thinking and his professional skills in all areas of human activity. Academician D.S. Likhachev rightly notes that “Our language is the most important part of our general behavior in life. And by the way a person speaks, we can immediately and easily judge who we are dealing with: we can determine the degree a person’s intelligence, the degree of his psychological balance, the degree of his possible “complexity”...

Learning good, calm, intelligent speech takes a long time and carefully - listening, remembering, noticing, reading and studying. But even though this is difficult, it is necessary, necessary. Our speech is the most important part not only of our behavior (as I already said), but also of our personality, our soul, mind, our ability not to succumb to the influences of the environment if it “addicts”.

Every person should write well as well as speak well. Speech, written or oral, characterizes him to a greater extent than even his appearance or ability to behave. Language reflects a person’s intelligence, his ability to think accurately and correctly, his respect for others, his “neatness” in the broad sense of the word.”

At present, when the requirements for the level of humanitarian education are becoming higher, and the number of hours devoted to the study of literature in secondary specialized educational institutions is decreasing, it is necessary to look for new forms of organizing the cognitive process.

One of them is extracurricular independent work.

The student acts as a researcher of a work of art.

In the course of performing work, the student acquires not only new knowledge, but also new ways of cognitive activity, because along with the information obtained as a result of research work, he also learns the path by which this information can be obtained.

Another important factor in favor of independent extracurricular work is that the student can choose the pace of work that suits him and dwell longer on tasks that particularly interest him.

In addition, assignments selected for extracurricular independent work can be used as homework for students. Also, the materials of the manual will help students and students who missed classes for one reason or another to restore their knowledge on topics in full.

The proposed tasks are correlated with the Federal State Educational Standard for Secondary Vocational Education in Literature.

Our language is a vital part of our overall behavior and life. And by the way a person speaks, we can immediately and easily judge who we are dealing with: we can determine the degree of a person’s intelligence, the degree of his psychological balance, the degree of his possible complexities. Our speech is the most important part not only of our behavior, but also of our soul, mind, and our ability not to succumb to environmental influences.

The purpose of the workbook is to develop oral and written speech of students of the College of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, mastering skills and techniques for understanding the information contained in the text.

Topic 1.

A.N. Ostrovsky

“He revealed to the world a man of a new formation: a merchant-Old Believer and a merchant-capitalist, a merchant in an army coat and a merchant in a “troika”, traveling abroad to do his business. Ostrovsky opened wide the door to a world hitherto locked behind high fences from the prying eyes of others.”

V. G. Marantsman

“The Thunderstorm” is a play about an awakening, protesting personality. The play is based on impressions from a trip along the Volga as part of an ethnographic expedition to study the life of the inhabitants of the Volga region. Katerina, remembering her childhood, talks about sewing on velvet with gold. The writer could see this craft in the city of Torzhok, Tver province.

Task 1. Explain the meaning of the words:

ignorance_____________________________________________________________

despotism______________________________________________________________

denounce_______________________________________________________________

tyrant ________________________________________________________________

prude _________________________________________________________________

The meaning of the title of the play "The Thunderstorm".

Thunderstorm in nature (action 4) - a physical phenomenon, external, independent of the heroes.

Thunderstorm in Katerina's soul - from the gradual confusion caused by love for Boris, to the pangs of conscience from betraying her husband and to the feeling of sin before people,

pushed to repentance.

Thunderstorm in society - a feeling among people who advocate the immutability of the world of something incomprehensible. Awakening of free feelings in a world of unfreedom. This process is also shown gradually. At first there are only touches: there is no proper respect in the voice, there is no decorum, then - disobedience.

A thunderstorm in nature is an external cause that provoked both a thunderstorm in Katerina’s soul (it was she who pushed the heroine to confession) and a thunderstorm in society, which was dumbfounded because someone went against it.

Conclusion. Meaning of the title:

a thunderstorm in nature is refreshing,

a thunderstorm in the soul - cleanses,

a thunderstorm in society illuminates.

Task 2. Explain the name of the play “The Thunderstorm” using the following syntactic structures

The title of the play “The Thunderstorm” has both a direct and ___________________________________

All the characters in the play are afraid of thunderstorms, except _______________________________________

Katerina is afraid of thunderstorms because _____________________________________________________

Dikaya and Kabanikha seem like a thunderstorm, whom_________________________________

Katerina’s action became a thunderstorm because _________________________________

Task 3. Write down examples of speech characteristics of various characters in the drama “The Thunderstorm”

Wild

Kabanikha

Katerina

__________________________

Task 4. Write a description of one of the representatives of the “dark kingdom” using a thematic dictionary: suppress the desire for will; exploit; keep on guard; humiliate, mock; demand unconditional obedience; defend old “Domostroevsky” customs; superstition; backwardness; hypocrisy; hypocrisy; fear of the new; despotism; tyranny based on the power of money.

Task 5. Write out quotes from N.A. Dobrolyubov’s article “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom” that prove the critic’s belief that Katerina is a “decisive, integral Russian character.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Task 6. With the help of N.A. Dobrolyubov’s article “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom,” reveal the main features of tyrants and explain the nature of this social phenomenon.

Task 7. What character traits of Katerina are manifested in the first remarks? Why did Katerina choose death over life?Prove that Katerina's death is a protest.Is this a strength or weakness of character?

Task 8. Fill out the table by answering the questions: Where did these traits come from in the heroine? Why does the author only talk about Katerina in such detail, talk about her family, childhood? How was Katerina raised? What kind of atmosphere surrounded her in childhood and in her husband’s family?

As a child

In the Kabanov family

Katerina's life: _______________________

________________________________________

Katerina's classes: _____________________

________________________________________

Traits of Katerina: _______________________

________________________________________

For Katerina the main thing is:___________________

________________________________________

Katerina's life:________________________

________________________________________

Atmosphere at home :________________________

________________________________________

Principles of the Kabanov house: ______________

________________________________________

________________________________________

For Kabanikha, the main thing is:___________________

________________________________________

The relationships between the characters are in a state of sharp contrast and give rise to an irreconcilable conflict.

Task 9. Fill out the table “Masters of Life and Victims” using quotes from the text.

"Masters of Life"

"Victims"

Wild: «

Kuligin: «

Kabanikha: «

Varvara: «

Curly: «,

Tikhon: «

Feklusha: «

Boris: «

Task 10. Why were Kudryash and Feklusha among the “masters of life”?

Exercise 11. How does the city of Kalinov appear in the perception of Feklushi? ___________________________________________________________________________________

Task 12. How is it different from the residents of the city of Kuligin? ______________________

Task 13. What is the complexity of Katerina’s internal state? ____

Task 14. How are the heroine’s torment, struggle with herself and her strength shown in the scene with the key and the scenes of the date and farewell to Boris? _________________________

Homework for the lesson

1. Select quotation material to characterize Dikiy and Kabanova.
2. What impression did the central figures of “The Thunderstorm” – Dikaya and Kabanov – make on you? What brings them together? Why do they manage to “tyrannize”? What is their power based on?

Dikoy and Kabanova

From the very first scenes of “The Thunderstorm” we find ourselves in the gloomy and stuffy atmosphere of a special world, which, with the light hand of N.A. Dobrolyubov, received the name “dark kingdom”. This phraseological unit is of fairy-tale origin, but the merchant world of “The Thunderstorm” is devoid of that poetic, mysterious and captivating quality that is usually characteristic of a fairy tale. “Cruel morals” reign here, the characteristics of which are developed in the third scene of the first act by Kuligin.

Exercise

Let's turn to the text. Using material prepared at home, characterize Dikiy and Kabanova. What assessment is given to them already in the first pages of the play?

Answer

The names of Dikiy and Kabanova are already heard in the exhibition.

“Look for another scolder like ours, Savel Prokofich!” - says Shapkin. And then he adds: “Kabanikha is also good.”

Kudryash clarifies: “Well, at least that one, at least, is all under the guise of piety, but this one has broken free.”

Kuligin (points to the side). Look, brother Kudryash, who is waving his arms like that?

Curly. This? This is Dikoy scolding his nephew.

K u l i g i n. Found a place!

Curly. He belongs everywhere. He's afraid of someone! He got Boris Grigoryich as a sacrifice, so he rides it.

Shapkin. Look for another scolder like ours, Savel Prokofich! There's no way he'll cut someone off.

Curly. Shrill man!

Shapkin. Kabanikha is also good.

Already the first appearance of the Wild One on stage reveals his nature.

Exercise

Read how Dikoy talks to Boris.

Answer

PHENOMENA SECOND

Wild. Did you come here to beat the hell out? Parasite! Get lost!

Boris. Holiday; what to do at home.

Wild. You will find a job as you want. I told you once, I told you twice: “Don’t you dare come across me”; you're itching for everything! Not enough space for you? Wherever you go, here you are! Ugh, damn you! Why are you standing like a pillar? Are they telling you no?

Boris. I’m listening, what else should I do!

Dikoy (looking at Boris). Fail! I don’t even want to talk to you, the Jesuit. (Leaving.) I imposed myself!

Question

How does Dikiy’s speech characterize him?

Answer

Rude and unceremonious. His speech cannot be confused with the language of the other characters in "The Thunderstorm". She characterizes the Wild as an extremely rude and ignorant person. He doesn't want to know anything about science, culture, inventions that improve life.

Exercise

Find the place in the text where Kuligin asks for money for a lightning rod.

Answer

P.267 d. IV, yavl. II

Kuligin's proposal to install a lightning rod infuriates him. By his behavior he fully justifies the name given to him. “Like he broke the chain!” - Kudryash characterizes him.

Question

Does Dikoy behave rudely to everyone? Let's watch him talk to Kabanova?

Answer

P.253 d.III, yavl. II

Dikoy behaves differently with Kabanova, although out of habit he is rude to her: “What the hell are you doing here! Why the hell is there a merman!” However, she quickly tamed him: “Well, don’t let your throat loose! Find something cheaper! me! And I’m dear to you!” Let's pay attention to how they call each other: godfather, godfather. This is how people usually addressed people they knew well. There are almost no stage directions in this scene; the dialogue is conducted calmly and peacefully.

Question

Can any of the other characters from "The Thunderstorm" stand up to the Wild One?

Answer

Yes, Curly.

Shapkin. There is no one to calm him down, so he fights!

Curly. We don’t have many guys like me, otherwise we would have taught him not to be naughty.

Shapkin. What would you do?

Curly. They would have given a good beating.

Shapkin. How is this?

Curly. Four or five of us in an alley somewhere would talk to him face to face, and he would make a cry to no one, just walk and look around.

Shapkin. No wonder he wanted to give you up as a soldier.

Curly. I wanted it, but I didn’t give it, so it’s all the same, nothing. He won’t give me up: he senses with his nose that I won’t sell my head cheap. He's the one who's scary to you, but I know how to talk to him.

Shapkin. Oh?

Curly. What's here: oh! I am considered a rude person; Why is he holding me? Therefore, he needs me. Well, that means I’m not afraid of him, but let him be afraid of me.

Shapkin. It's as if he doesn't scold you?

Curly. How not to scold! He can't breathe without it. Yes, I don’t let it go either: he is the word, and I am ten; he will spit and go. No, I won’t slave to him.

Conclusion

The wild one swaggers in front of his nephew, in front of his family, and does not retreat in front of those who are able to fight back. It turns out that the limit of a tyrant’s power depends on the degree of obedience of those around him.

Teacher's comment

The behavior of Dikiy and Kabanova can be characterized by the word that Ostrovsky introduced into literature - “tyrants.” In one of his plays, he gave an explanation for this concept: “A tyrant - it’s called, if a person doesn’t listen to anyone, you’ll even bother him with a stake on his head, but he’s all his own.”

Ostrovsky not only introduced the word “tyrant” into literature, but also artistically developed the phenomenon of tyranny itself, revealing on what soil it arises and develops. What does this word mean? Tyrants are usually called those who act on their own whim, arbitrarily, without regard for others.

Dikoy is depicted in only three scenes, but the playwright created a complete image, a type of tyrant.

Kabanova is present in many scenes of the play; she is given much more time in the work than Dikiy: she is one of those who actively moves the action, bringing it closer to the tragic denouement.

Exercise

Describe Kabanova.

Answer

Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is perceived as a strong and powerful character. She is outwardly calm and in control of herself. But measuredly, monotonously, without raising her voice, she exhausts her family with her endless moralizing.

Kabanikha is very rich. This can be judged by the fact that her trade affairs extend beyond Kalinov (on her instructions, Tikhon traveled to Moscow). Dikoy respects her. But this does not interest the playwright.

Question

What do you think is her role in the play?

Answer

Kabanikha is an exponent of the ideas and principles of the “dark kingdom”. She understands that money alone does not give power, another indispensable condition is the obedience of those who do not have money. And she sees her concern in suppressing any possibility of disobedience.

Question

How does Kabanikha treat her children? Can we say that Kabanova loves her children?

Answer

She declares her love for children. Perhaps she herself even believes that she loves them. She speaks kindly to Varvara. Knowing how unsweet the fate of a married woman is, he allows her to walk around to her heart's content.

She experiences maternal jealousy towards Tikhon. She doesn't like the way Tikhon treats Katerina. It seems to her that Katerina took her son away from her.

Kabanikha’s “love” for her children is only a hypocritical mask for asserting personal power. Her “concern” drives Tikhon into complete stupor and runs away from Varvara’s house.

Question

How does Kabanova influence those around her?

Answer

She skillfully uses various techniques to assert her will. Kabanikha can speak in a friendly and instructive way (“I know, I know that you don’t like my words, but what can I do, I’m not a stranger to you, my heart aches for you”), and hypocritically become poor (“Mother is old”) , stupid; well, you, young people, smart, shouldn’t exact from us, fools”), and command imperiously (“Look, remember! Cut your nose!”, “Bow at your feet!”). Kabanikha’s hypocrisy is manifested in the frequent use of church expressions: “Oh, a grave sin! What a long time to sin!”; "Only one sin!"

Question

How can you describe Kabanova’s nature in one word?

Answer

Powerful, despotic.

Question

Is Dikoy despotic?

Answer

The image of the Wild One sometimes looks comical: the contradiction of his behavior with reason and his painful reluctance to part with money look too ridiculous.

Question

Who is truly tyrannical in the play?

Answer

The boar, with her cunning, hypocrisy, and cold cruelty, is truly terrible.

Question

What do you think is more dangerous for public morality: tyranny or despotism? Why?

Answer

Despotism. The play shows stagnation, standing still. The consequences of this are terrible and sometimes unpredictable. First of all, it hits a person, either dulling him, turning him into a thoughtless performer, or forcing him to deceive, adapt, or causing a feeling of protest in him. Stagnation is then possible when it is supported by people in power. These in Kalinov are Dikoy and Kabanova.

Conclusion

The power of Dikiy and Kabanova is based on the uncomplaining obedience of their loved ones and money. No one can answer the tyrants. The inhabitants of the city of Kalinov do not want to change the existing state of affairs, so Dikoy and Kabanova continue to tyrannize with impunity. If the situation in Kalinov remains the same, then the tyranny will continue for a long time. Dikoy and Kabanova are the rulers of the “dark kingdom”: They cannot live otherwise, so their efforts are directed towards one goal. This goal is to maintain one’s power.

Homework

1. Collect material to characterize Varvara, Kudryash, Boris, Tikhon, Kuligin.
2. In a few words, give a brief description of each of them.

Tyrant bosses are quite common. They make you want to cry and hide somewhere far away. We are lucky if we have the opportunity to change jobs.

When a tyrant lives in a family, it’s much worse. You can’t hide from it, you can’t run away and you can’t do anything. Although, having figured out what tyranny is based on, you can solve the problem of such a person’s behavior.

Who is this tyrant?

The most intemperate among us will answer briefly and clearly. A tyrant is a completely sick comrade.

Only this answer is wrong. A tyrant is a person who has power over other people. Fulfills his own whims, regardless of the desires of others. A tyrant takes pleasure in humiliating others. He rises above others, humiliating them.

Let's remember Ostrovsky

More precisely, his work called “The Thunderstorm”. There is a certain Savl Prokofievich Dikoy there. His surname speaks volumes, and his personality matches it.

This Dikoy was a real tyrant. A wealthy merchant with as much money as there are leaves on the trees. This man was taken seriously. And this fact impressed Saul. Dikoy decided that money solves everything. This was partly true. Few people could give the mayor a familiar pat on the shoulder. But this was not difficult for Savl Prokofievich.

The merchant treated his subordinates cruelly. He delayed his salary, sometimes paying mere pennies. The workers tried to be indignant, but Dikoy began to rage. He shouted that they were worms and that he would want and destroy everyone at once.

The family got it even worse from the rich. Tyranny is a terrible character trait from which everyone around a person suffers. So Dikiy’s family had to suffer. How many times have they run away from home or holed up in the attic when their dear husband and father was rowdy.

Why was Savl Prokofievich a tyrant? Yes, because he had money in his hands. And he believed that he had the right to everything. Deep down, Dikoy is a cowardly person who becomes discouraged when he is rebuffed. True, no one risked doing this except Kabanikha.

Who is Kabanikha?

The tyranny of the Wild and Kabanikha is different. If he is a rich coward, then she is an ardent defender of antiquity. Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is a vivid image of ignorance, hypocrisy and obscurantism. It would seem that this woman is a believer. Words such as “grave sin,” for example, slip into her speech. But her concepts of life have nothing to do with true faith. And words are used for one purpose: to force the interlocutor to obey.

Kabanova completely refuses to accept any innovations. She lives the old fashioned way and teaches others the same. Her tyranny is the imposition of her worldview on her family. Tikhon’s son was depressed to such an extent that he was afraid to say a word. Almost immediately, Kabanikha shouted at him, reproached him, and made sarcastic remarks. I ate my daughter-in-law Katerina. And when she died, Kabanikha did not feel guilty.

If Dikoy is a coward and a fool, then Kabanova, for all her ignorance, is cunning and smart. She is an excellent manipulator who knows how to suppress the will of other people. Dikoy himself is afraid of Marfa Ignatievna. She is able to fight back. No one risks competing with her, everyone is afraid.

Despotism and tyranny are the main character traits of Kabanikha. Evil and cunning, living her own way, not wanting to change anything, she is an example of a dark fanatic for whom there are no points of view other than her own.

Troekurov

Now let’s look at Troekurov’s tyranny. This is the hero of the novel "Dubrovsky". It is not worth mentioning who wrote it.

Kirill Petrovich Troekurov is a typical tyrant. He and Dikoy are two pairs of boots. Both are greedy for money and believe that capital is everything. Passion for money and unlimited power, these are the main features of both characters.

But if Dikoy was cowardly, then Troekurov was a rather decisive person. He is distinguished by his excellent cruelty. And the one who is poorer than him is a nonentity in the eyes of Kirill Petrovich.

Because of his cruelty, he took the life of Andrei Gavrilovich Dubrovsky. But they were once comrades. Troekurov did not like that Dubrovsky did not curry favor with him. He was too proud and self-sufficient. This infuriated Kirill Petrovich. And he took away the estate from Andrei Gavrilovich.

Dubrovsky fell ill from such permissiveness. Yes, he never recovered from the illness. But this was not enough for Troekurov. He ruined the life of his daughter Masha. Tyranny is a disgusting trait that the rich man possessed. Having learned that his daughter is in love with Vladimir Dubrovsky, the son of Troekurov’s former comrade, the tyrant father forcibly marries her. Thus, the fate of Masha and Vladimir is broken.

If there is a tyrant nearby

Literature is a good thing. But what to do in real life when you have to deal with tyranny?

If it's a boss who thinks everything is about money, don't be afraid to stand up to him. It is difficult, but possible, to put such a person in his place. Let him know that you will not tolerate boorish treatment of yourself. When things get really tough, quit. It's better to lose your job than your nerves and health.

If tyranny is a typical trait of someone close to you, do not give in to their pressure. They are trying to convince you how bad you are: you offend a relative, do not listen to him, think you are smarter. Admit it - yes, I'm bad. Don't let guilt build up in you. This is all the tyrant needs. Feel free to defend your interests and stand up for your life position.

Conclusion

The main features of tyranny are boundless cruelty towards others, suppression of the will of others and manipulation of people. Tyrants are most often rich people. They believe that money gives them power over others.

If possible, try to avoid such people. And if you have to collide, then put them in their place. Let them know that money is not a reason to humiliate others.

Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova appears on stage in the fifth scene, but first we hear Kuligin’s story about the rights of the Kalinovites, where in merchant houses, behind high fences, behind heavy locks, tears are flowing, dark deeds are happening. “Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel!” - Kuligin says to Boris.
Indeed, Kabanikha is, first of all, a hypocrite, covering up and justifying all her actions with the ideals of patriarchal, church, Domostroevskaya antiquity, the customs and orders of which she strictly observes. Kabanikha demands, for example, that Katerina must “howl” when parting with her husband, and that she not hug him, but bow at her husband’s feet.
The new order seems absurd and even funny to her. Kabanikha wants to force everyone to live the old fashioned way and does not tolerate manifestations of “her will” or her initiative in anyone around her: “What does youth mean?... What will happen, how the elders will die, how the light will stand, I don’t know.” As a true guardian of antiquity, Marfa Ignatievna is superstitious, but she has ostentatious piety. She does not miss a single church service, gives money to the poor, welcomes strangers into her home, but her despotism in home life is even worse than the despotism of the Wild One. This “cruel scolder”, “shrill man” is outwardly very formidable. Every morning his wife begs those around her with tears: “Fathers, don’t make me angry! Darlings, don’t make me angry!” But Savel Prokofievich himself does not know what disposition he might end up in in a minute. However, Dikoy will shout, swear, even beat him in the heat of the moment, and then cool down. And Kabanikha mocks her victims systematically, day after day, torturing them in cold blood, annoyingly, undermining them, “like rusting iron.” With her callousness, she brings the family to complete collapse: Katerina dies, Varvara leaves home, and Tikhon, an essentially kind, albeit weak-willed person, loses all ability to think and live independently. The family, as Tikhon put it, “fell apart.”
Kabanikha is as conservative as Dikoy. If Dikoy cannot understand that there is no sin in the lightning rod, then Kabanikha cannot come to terms with the fact that “for the sake of speed” people invented a “fiery serpent” - a steam locomotive. “Even if you shower me with gold, I won’t go,” she decisively declares in response to Feklusha’s message about the “car.”
An inexorable enemy of everything new, Kabanikha, however, already has a presentiment that the old days are coming to an inevitable end, that difficult times are coming for her. “We just wouldn’t live to see this,” Feklusha says fearfully, pointing out that “due to the sins” of people, the days are already becoming shorter and shorter. “We may live,” Marfa Ignatievna declares with gloomy exasperation.
Kabanikha is typical as a representative of the despotic way of life of the “dark kingdom”. And at the same time, she is not like the Wild One in everything. This is a more complex nature. First of all, she is smarter than the Wild One. While Savel Prokofievich acts more “gut”, like brute physical and monetary force, Kabanikha acts as a kind of theoretician of the old way of life, fanatically defending house-building. Unlike the unbridled Wild One, wild in his antics and lacking self-control, she is restrained, outwardly impassive and stern.
This is the only person in the city with whom Dikoy somehow reckons. He does not dare to scold Kabanikha, since from the very first words he receives a rebuff and quickly gives up:
Dikoy: What are you doing? What the hell else is there for a merman?
Kabanova: Well, don’t let your voice loose! Find me cheaper! And I am dear to you! Go your way wherever you please!...
Dikoy: Wait, godfather, wait! Don't be angry!...
It turns out that “stopping” the Wild One is not so difficult: he humbles himself at the slightest resistance. The trouble is that he encounters almost no resistance.
Also, the language of Kabanikha is richer and more complex than the language of the Wild. Sometimes rude expressions also slip into it, but they are not characteristic of her speech. Marfa Ignatievna’s authority is reflected not in curses, but in the commanding tone of her speech: “To your feet, to your feet!” A noticeable imprint on her speech was left by the atmosphere of “piety” and ancient rituals that she maintains in her home. Wanderers and beggars establish a constant connection between Kabanikha and the folk dialect, which is why her speech contains both proverbs and figurative expressions of folk speech. All this makes Marfa Ignatievna’s language uniquely colorful, although it does not soften the general appearance of this imperious, stern, unyielding guardian of the foundations of the “dark kingdom.”
It has already been said above that Kabanikha is different from Wild. However, they have common features that allow us to talk about their tyranny. Despotism, unbridled arbitrariness, ignorance, rudeness, hypocrisy, soulless defense of outdated orders and customs - these are the features of the internal appearance of Kabanikha and Dikiy, which characterize these characters as typical representatives of the “dark kingdom”.

The play “The Thunderstorm” occupies a special place in Ostrovsky’s work. In this play, the playwright most vividly depicted the “world of the dark kingdom,” the world of tyrant merchants, the world of ignorance, tyranny and despotism, and domestic tyranny.

The action in the play takes place in a small town on the Volga - Kalinov. Life here, at first glance, represents a kind of patriarchal idyll. The entire city is surrounded by greenery, an “extraordinary view” opens beyond the Volga, and on its high banks there is a public garden where residents of the town often stroll. Life in Kalinov flows quietly and slowly, there are no shocks, no exceptional events. News from the big world is brought to the town by the wanderer Feklusha, who tells the Kalinovites tales about people with dog heads.

However, in reality, not everything is so good in this small, abandoned world. This idyll is already destroyed by Kuligin in a conversation with Boris Grigorievich, Dikiy’s nephew: “Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel! In the philistinism, sir, you will see nothing but rudeness and stark poverty... And whoever has money... tries to enslave the poor so that he can make even more money from his free labors.” However, there is no agreement between the rich: they “are at enmity with each other”, “they scribble malicious slander”, “they are suing”, “they are undermining trade”. Everyone lives behind oak gates, behind strong bars. “And they don’t lock themselves away from thieves, but so that people don’t see how they eat their own family and tyrannize their family. And what tears are flowing behind these locks, invisible and inaudible!.. And what, sir, behind these locks is dark debauchery and drunkenness!” - exclaims Kuligin.

One of the richest, most influential people in the city is the merchant Savel Prokofievich Dikoy. The main features of the Wild are rudeness, ignorance, hot temper and absurdity of character. “Look for another scolder like ours, Savel Prokofich! He will never cut off a person,” Shapkin says about him. The whole life of the Wild One is based on “swearing”. Neither financial transactions, nor trips to the market - “he doesn’t do anything without swearing.” Most of all, Dikiy gets it from his family and his nephew Boris, who came from Moscow.

Savel Prokofievich is stingy. “...Just mention money to me, it will ignite my entire inner being,” he tells Kabanova. Boris came to his uncle in the hope of receiving an inheritance, but actually fell into bondage to him. Savel Prokofievich does not pay him a salary, constantly insults and scolds his nephew, reproaching him for laziness and parasitism.

Dikoy repeatedly quarrels with Kuligin, a local self-taught mechanic. Kuligin is trying to find a reasonable reason for Savel Prokofievich’s rudeness: “Why, sir Savel Prokofievich, would you like to offend an honest man?” To which Dikoy replies: “I’ll give you a report, or something!” I don’t give an account to anyone more important than you. I want to think about you like that, and I do! For others, you are an honest person, but I think that you are a robber - that’s all... I say that you are a robber, and that’s the end. So, are you going to sue me or something? So you know that you are a worm. If I want, I’ll have mercy, if I want, I’ll crush.”

“What theoretical reasoning can survive where life is based on such principles! The absence of any law, any logic - this is the law and logic of this life. This is not anarchy, but something much worse...” wrote Dobrolyubov about Dikiy’s tyranny.

Like most Kalinovites, Savel Prokofievich is hopelessly ignorant. When Kuligin asks him for money to install a lightning rod, Dikoy declares: “A thunderstorm is sent to us as punishment, so that we can feel it, but you want to defend yourself with poles and rods.”

Dikoy represents the “natural type” of the tyrant in the play. His rudeness, rudeness, and bullying of people are based, first of all, on his absurd, unbridled character, stupidity and lack of opposition from other people. And only then on wealth.

It is characteristic that practically no one offers active resistance to Dikiy. Although it is not so difficult to calm him down: during the transport he was “scolded” by an unfamiliar hussar, and Kabanikha is not shy in front of him. “There are no elders over you, so you are showing off,” Marfa Ignatievna bluntly tells him. It is characteristic that here she is trying to fit the Wild One into her vision of the world order. Kabanikha explains Dikiy’s constant anger and temper with his greed, but Savel Prokofievich himself does not even think of denying her conclusions. “Who doesn’t feel sorry for their own goods!” - he exclaims.

Much more complex in the play is the image of Kabanikha. This is an exponent of the “ideology of the dark kingdom”, which “created for itself a whole world of special rules and superstitious customs.”

Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is a rich merchant’s wife, a widow, cultivating the orders and traditions of antiquity. She is grumpy and constantly dissatisfied with those around her. She gets it from her, first of all, from her family: she “eats” her son Tikhon, reads endless moral lectures to her daughter-in-law, and tries to control her daughter’s behavior.

Kabanikha zealously defends all the laws and customs of Domostroy. A wife, in her opinion, should be afraid of her husband, be silent and submissive. Children must honor their parents, unquestioningly follow all their instructions, follow their advice, and respect them. None of these requirements, according to Kabanova, are met in her family. Marfa Ignatievna is dissatisfied with the behavior of her son and daughter-in-law: “They know nothing, no order,” she argues alone. She reproaches Katerina for not knowing how to see her husband off “in the old-fashioned way” - therefore, she doesn’t love him enough. “Another good wife, having seen her husband off, howls for an hour and a half and lies on the porch...” she lectures her daughter-in-law. Tikhon, according to Kabanova, is too gentle in his treatment of his wife and is not sufficiently respectful towards his mother. “They don’t really respect elders these days,” says Marfa Ignatievna, reading instructions to her son.

Kabanikha is fanatically religious: she constantly remembers God, sin and retribution; wanderers often visit her house. However, Marfa Ignatievna’s religiosity is nothing more than pharisaism: “A bigot... She gives tribute to the poor, but completely eats up her family,” Kuligin notes about her. In her faith, Marfa Ignatievna is stern and unyielding; there is no place for love, mercy, or forgiveness in her. So, at the end of the play she does not even think about forgiving Katerina for her sin. On the contrary, she advises Tikhon to “bury his wife alive in the ground so that she will be executed.”

Religion, ancient rituals, pharisaical complaints about his life, playing on filial feelings - Kabanikha uses everything to assert her absolute power in the family. And she “gets her way”: in the harsh, oppressive atmosphere of domestic tyranny, Tikhon’s personality is disfigured. “Tikhon himself loved his wife and would be ready to do anything for her; but the oppression under which he grew up has so disfigured him that no strong feeling, no decisive desire can develop in him. He has a conscience, a desire for good, but he constantly acts against himself and serves as a submissive instrument of his mother, even in his relations with his wife,” writes Dobrolyubov.

The simple-minded, gentle Tikhon lost the integrity of his feelings, the opportunity to show the best features of his nature. Family happiness was initially closed to him: in the family where he grew up, this happiness was replaced by “Chinese ceremonies.” He cannot show his love for his wife, and not because “a wife should be afraid of her husband,” but because he simply “doesn’t know how” to show his feelings, which have been cruelly suppressed since childhood. All this led Tikhon to a certain emotional deafness: he often does not understand Katerina’s condition.

Depriving her son of any initiative, Kabanikha constantly suppressed his masculinity and at the same time reproached him for his lack of masculinity. Subconsciously, he strives to make up for this “lack of masculinity” through drinking and rare “partying” “in the wild.” Tikhon cannot realize himself in any business - probably his mother does not allow him to manage affairs, considering his son unsuitable for this. Kabanova can only send her son on an errand, but everything else is under her strict control. It turns out that Tikhon is deprived of both his own opinion and his own feelings. It is characteristic that Marfa Ignatievna herself is to some extent dissatisfied with her son’s infantilism. This comes through in her intonations. However, she probably does not realize the extent of her involvement in this.

Varvara’s life philosophy was also formed in the Kabanov family. Her rule is simple: “do what you want, as long as it’s safe and covered.” Varvara is far from Katerina’s religiosity, from her poetry and exaltation. She quickly learned to lie and dodge. We can say that Varvara, in her own way, “mastered” the “Chinese ceremonies”, perceiving their very essence. The heroine still retains spontaneity of feelings and kindness, but her lies are nothing more than reconciliation with Kalinov’s morality.

It is characteristic that in the finale of the play both Tikhon and Varvara, each in their own way, rebel against “mama’s power.” Varvara runs away from home with Kuryash, while Tikhon openly expresses his opinion for the first time, reproaching his mother for the death of his wife.

Dobrolyubov noted that “some critics even wanted to see in Ostrovsky a singer of broad natures,” “they wanted to assign arbitrariness to the Russian person as a special, natural quality of his nature - under the name “breadth of nature”; they also wanted to legitimize trickery and cunning among the Russian people under the name of sharpness and slyness." In the play "The Thunderstorm" Ostrovsky debunks both of these phenomena. Arbitrariness comes out as "heavy, ugly, lawless", he sees in it nothing more than tyranny and cunning, which turn out not to be cleverness, but to vulgarity. , the other side of tyranny.