The image of Katerina in the play “The Thunderstorm” contrasts perfectly with the gloomy realities of Russia in the pre-reform period. At the epicenter of the unfolding drama is the conflict between the heroine, who seeks to defend her human rights, and a world in which strong, rich and powerful people rule everything.

Katerina as the embodiment of a pure, strong and bright people's soul

From the very first pages of the work, the image of Katerina in the play “The Thunderstorm” cannot but attract attention and make one feel sympathy. Honesty, the ability to feel deeply, sincerity of nature and a penchant for poetry - these are the features that distinguish Katerina herself from representatives of the “dark kingdom”. In the main character, Ostrovsky tried to capture all the beauty of the people's simple soul. The girl expresses her emotions and experiences unpretentiously and does not use distorted words and expressions common in the merchant environment. This is not difficult to notice; Katerina’s speech itself is more reminiscent of a melodic tune; it is replete with diminutive words and expressions: “sunshine”, “grass”, “rain”. The heroine shows incredible sincerity when she talks about her free life in her father’s house, among icons, calm prayers and flowers, where she lived “like a bird in the wild.”

The image of a bird is an accurate reflection of the heroine’s state of mind

The image of Katerina in the play “The Thunderstorm” perfectly resonates with the image of a bird, which in folk poetry symbolizes freedom. Talking with Varvara, she repeatedly refers to this analogy and claims that she is “a free bird that is caught in an iron cage.” In captivity she feels sad and painful.

Katerina's life in the Kabanovs' house. Love of Katerina and Boris

In the Kabanovs' house, Katerina, who is characterized by dreaminess and romance, feels like a complete stranger. The humiliating reproaches of her mother-in-law, who is accustomed to keeping all household members in fear, and the atmosphere of tyranny, lies and hypocrisy oppress the girl. However, Katerina herself, who is by nature a strong, integral person, knows that there is a limit to her patience: “I don’t want to live here, I won’t, even if you cut me!” Varvara’s words that one cannot survive in this house without deception evoke sharp rejection in Katerina. The heroine resists the “dark kingdom”; its orders did not break her will to live; fortunately, they did not force her to become like the other residents of the Kabanov house and begin to be a hypocrite and lie at every step.

The image of Katerina is revealed in a new way in the play “The Thunderstorm”, when the girl makes an attempt to escape from the “disgusted” world. She does not know how and does not want to love the way the inhabitants of the “dark kingdom” do; freedom, openness, and “honest” happiness are important to her. While Boris convinces her that their love will remain a secret, Katerina wants everyone to know about it, for everyone to see. Tikhon, her husband, however, the bright feeling awakened in her heart seems to her And just at this moment the reader comes face to face with the tragedy of her suffering and torment. From this moment on, Katerina’s conflict occurs not only with the outside world, but also with herself. It is difficult for her to make a choice between love and duty, she tries to forbid herself to love and be happy. However, the fight with her own feelings is beyond the strength of the fragile Katerina.

The way of life and laws that reign in the world around the girl put pressure on her. She strives to repent of what she has done, to cleanse her soul. Seeing the painting “The Last Judgment” on the wall in the church, Katerina cannot stand it, falls to her knees and begins to publicly repent of her sin. However, even this does not bring the girl the desired relief. Other heroes of the drama “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky are not able to support her, even her loved one. Boris refuses Katerina’s requests to take her away from here. This man is not a hero, he is simply unable to protect either himself or his beloved.

The death of Katerina is a ray of light that illuminated the “dark kingdom”

Evil is falling on Katerina from all sides. Constant bullying from her mother-in-law, tossing between duty and love - all this ultimately leads the girl to a tragic ending. Having managed to experience happiness and love in her short life, she is simply unable to continue living in the Kabanovs’ house, where such concepts do not exist at all. She sees the only way out in suicide: the future scares Katerina, and the grave is perceived as salvation from mental torment. However, the image of Katerina in the drama “The Thunderstorm”, in spite of everything, remains strong - she did not choose a miserable existence in a “cage” and did not allow anyone to break her living soul.

Nevertheless, the heroine’s death was not in vain. The girl won a moral victory over the “dark kingdom”; she managed to slightly dispel the darkness in the hearts of people, motivate them to action, and open their eyes. The life of the heroine herself became a “ray of light” that blazed in the darkness and left its glow over the world of madness and darkness for a long time.

Everything fresh, young, and talented perishes in the gloomy atmosphere of the city of Kalinov depicted by Ostrovsky in “The Thunderstorm.” It withers from violence, anger, from the dead emptiness of this life. The weak become drunkards, vicious and petty natures defeat despotism with cunning and resourcefulness. For straight, bright natures, endowed with a tireless desire for a different life, a tragic end is inevitable when confronted with the brute forces of this world.

A. N. Ostrovsky. Storm. Play

This outcome becomes inevitable for Katerina, the main character of “The Thunderstorm”. Brought up in her father's house, under the conditions of that time, locked up in the rooms of her home, the girl grew up surrounded by love in her own peculiar little world. Dreamy by nature, she found an outlet for the vague desires of a child's soul in religious contemplations and dreams; she loved church services, the lives of saints, and the stories of the praying mantis about holy places.

Her love for nature merged with religious ideas and dreams; Some kind of religious delight burns in her soul, like Joan of Arc in childhood: at night she gets up and prays fervently, at dawn she loves to pray in the garden and cry in a vague, unconscious impulse. Mental strength accumulates in her and They encourage and call her to some kind of sacrifices and deeds. She dreams of wonderfully beautiful countries, and invisible voices sing to her from above. At the same time, she discovers strength, directness and independence of character.

And this girl, full of bright spiritual strength, finds herself in the rough atmosphere of the house of the merchant Kabanova, the wife of her weak-willed, downtrodden and humiliated son, Tikhon. At first she became attached to her husband, but his lethargy, downtroddenness and his eternal desire to leave her parents’ house and lose herself in drunkenness pushed Katerina away from him. In the house, the tyrant Kabanova began to visit Katerina less and less often for her religious visions; she began to languish and get bored. A meeting with the nephew of the merchant Dikiy, Boris, decided her fate: she fell in love with Boris as was typical of her nature - strongly and deeply.

Katerina struggles with this “sinful passion” for a long time, despite the persuasion of Kabanova’s daughter, Varvara. But in the end, there is an oppressive feeling of loneliness, melancholy and emptiness of existence in the house. Kabanova and the passionate thirst for life in Katerina’s young soul resolve her hesitations. In her struggle, she seeks help from her husband, but he leaves his disgusted maternal home, where his wife is not nice to him either. The consciousness that she has violated some inviolable commandment does not leave Katerina; she cannot calmly surrender to love, like Varvara, cunning and hiding. Katerina is gnawing at the consciousness of guilt, her life is completely clouded; pure by nature, she cannot live in deception, in lies, in criminal joys.

Full of painful doubts and a thirst to throw off something unclean, to wash away some stain, one day in a thunderstorm, under the rumble of thunder, she publicly repents of her sins, giving vent to her indignant conscience. Life in Kabanova’s house after repentance becomes completely unbearable. Driven to despair, seeing that there is nowhere else to wait for salvation, Katerina rushes into the Volga and dies.

2. The image of Katerina in the play “The Thunderstorm”

Katerina is a lonely young woman who lacks human participation, sympathy, and love. The need for this draws her to Boris. She sees that outwardly he is not like other residents of the city of Kalinov, and, not being able to recognize his inner essence, considers him a person from another world. In her imagination, Boris seems to be a handsome prince who will take her from the “dark kingdom” to the fairy-tale world that exists in her dreams.

In terms of character and interests, Katerina stands out sharply from her environment. The fate of Katerina, unfortunately, is a vivid and typical example of the fate of thousands of Russian women of that time. Katerina is a young woman, the wife of the merchant son Tikhon Kabanov. She recently left her home and moved into her husband’s house, where she lives with her mother-in-law Kabanova, who is the sovereign mistress. Katerina has no rights in the family; she is not even free to control herself. With warmth and love, she remembers her parents' home and her girlhood life. There she lived at ease, surrounded by the affection and care of her mother. The religious upbringing she received in the family developed in her impressionability, daydreaming, belief in the afterlife and retribution for man's sins.

Katerina found herself in completely different conditions in her husband’s house. At every step she felt dependent on her mother-in-law, endured humiliation and insults. From Tikhon she does not meet any support, much less understanding, since he himself is under the power of Kabanikha. Out of her kindness, Katerina is ready to treat Kabanikha as her own mother. "But Katerina's sincere feelings do not meet with support from either Kabanikha or Tikhon.

Life in such an environment changed Katerina’s character. Katerina’s sincerity and truthfulness collide in Kabanikha’s house with lies, hypocrisy, hypocrisy, and rudeness. When love for Boris is born in Katerina, it seems like a crime to her, and she struggles with the feeling that washes over her. Katerina's truthfulness and sincerity make her suffer so much that she finally has to repent to her husband. Katerina's sincerity and truthfulness are incompatible with the life of the “dark kingdom”. All this was the cause of Katerina’s tragedy.

"Katerina's public repentance shows the depth of her suffering, moral greatness, and determination. But after repentance, her situation became unbearable. Her husband does not understand her, Boris is weak-willed and does not come to her aid. The situation has become hopeless - Katerina is dying. It is not Katerina's fault one specific person. Her death is the result of the incompatibility of morality and the way of life in which she was forced to exist. The image of Katerina had great educational significance for Ostrovsky’s contemporaries and for subsequent generations. He called for the fight against all forms of despotism and oppression of the human personality. expression of the growing protest of the masses against all types of slavery.

Katerina, sad and cheerful, compliant and obstinate, dreamy, depressed and proud. Such different mental states are explained by the naturalness of each mental movement of this simultaneously restrained and impetuous nature, the strength of which lies in the ability to always be itself. Katerina remained true to herself, that is, she could not change the very essence of her character.

I think that the most important character trait of Katerina is honesty with herself, her husband, and the world around her; it is her unwillingness to live a lie. She does not want and cannot be cunning, pretend, lie, hide. This is confirmed by the scene of Katerina’s confession of treason. It was not the thunderstorm, not the frightening prophecy of the crazy old woman, not the fear of hell that prompted the heroine to tell the truth. “My whole heart was exploding! I can’t stand it anymore!” – this is how she began her confession. For her honest and integral nature, the false position in which she found herself is unbearable. Living just to live is not for her. To live means to be yourself. Its most precious value is personal freedom, freedom of the soul.

With such a character, Katerina, after betraying her husband, could not stay in his house, return to a monotonous and dreary life, endure constant reproaches and “moral teachings” from Kabanikha, or lose freedom. But all patience comes to an end. It is difficult for Katerina to be in a place where she is not understood, her human dignity is humiliated and insulted, her feelings and desires are ignored. Before her death, she says: “It’s all the same whether you go home or go to the grave... It’s better in the grave...” It’s not death that she desires, but life that is unbearable.

Katerina is a deeply religious and God-fearing person. Since, according to the Christian religion, suicide is a great sin, by deliberately committing it, she showed not weakness, but strength of character. Her death is a challenge to the “dark power”, the desire to live in the “light kingdom” of love, joy and happiness.

The death of Katerina is the result of a collision of two historical eras. With her death, Katerina protests against despotism and tyranny, her death indicates the approaching end of the “dark kingdom.” The image of Katerina belongs to the best images of Russian fiction. Katerina is a new type of people in Russian reality in the 60s of the 19th century.

Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky in the play "The Thunderstorm" revealed the theme of the confrontation between good and evil. The main character is the girl Katerina, who, by the will of fate, encounters the “Dark Kingdom” of the city of Kalinov and the Kabanov Family. Criticism refers to the long-established way of life and way of life of the residents of the city of Kalinov as the “Dark Kingdom”. In this world, everything is ruled by tyranny, tyranny, and cruelty. All goals are achieved by humiliating other people. Most heroes exalt themselves by exposing the failures of others. The brightest, and one might say, the main representative of this kingdom is Kabanikha, who is trying with all her might to subjugate all members of her family; she establishes laws that no one has the right to break. By humiliation, reproaches and other moral means of pressure, Marfa Kabanova builds her social status, forces her to obey, not allowing her to go beyond what is permitted.

Katerina strives for freedom, she knows exactly what she wants and will never obey tyranny and tyranny. We can say that the girl, by her opposition to all the laws of this kingdom, pronounces a verdict on the inhuman foundations of this society.

Katerina is a complete image of a national character. Everything in her, from appearance to inner world, expresses the desire for justice, freedom and happiness. Katerina is a truly tragic heroine. From childhood, she was brought up with the best, the girl, who grew up in love and tenderness, simply could not come to terms with such a cruel life that reigned in the Kabanovs’ house: “I was like that! I lived, did not grieve about anything, like a bird in the wild. My mother doted on me, she dressed me up like a doll, she didn’t force me to work; I did whatever I wanted.” The simplicity and sincerity of the girl, inherent in all Russian people, sharply distinguishes Katerina from all other heroes of the play. The girl tries to treat everyone with kindness and understanding, not wishing harm to anyone, she lives with the hope of happiness. The girl is trying to find a common language with her husband, establish relationships and live happily, trying her best to be a gentle, loving, understanding and faithful wife. But all attempts become futile. Tikhon simply cannot understand what Katerina wants from him, he belongs completely to his mother, his every step is controlled by Marfa Kabanova, and no force can change this.

Speaking about the image of a girl, we must not forget that Katerina is an extraordinary beauty, a very modest and charming heroine. Simplicity, kindness, piety, naivety, honesty complete the image of an “earthly angel”. Katerina’s speech is not the last place in her image. The girl speaks smoothly, beautifully, her speech can be compared to a song. But no matter what her daughter-in-law was, Marfa Kabanova disliked her with all her heart. Also an integral feature is Katerina’s determination and strength of character. Not every girl is capable of such decisive actions; it cannot be said that the heroine’s act is an example, but if you think about it, you can understand that a person like Katerina will never sacrifice her principles. But no matter what her daughter-in-law was, Marfa Kabanova disliked her with all her heart, and when the girl appeared in their house and disturbed the peace of their tyrant conditions, Kabanikha decided to do everything possible to rid her son of such a wife. Life in the house of an unloved husband, pressure from her mother-in-law - all this did not make Katerina happy, and she is trying with all her might to fight it.

The pure and bright image of the girl suggests that Katerina personifies the ideal Russian woman. There is no other conclusion to be drawn here. Katerina knows how to love like no one else; for her this is the most important of feelings. She is ready to do anything for her, and despairing of finding this feeling in her husband’s soul, she falls in love with Boris, he seems to her an ideal, perfect, dear person. But Katerina gets burned again. From all these failures, unjustified hopes, unfulfilled dreams, a solution emerges that will free the heroine from everything that caused pain, and no matter how much she feels sorry for herself, the heroine is ready to pay for her mistakes.

Katerina’s character cannot be called simple, she does not allow herself to be offended, does not tolerate attacks from her mother-in-law: “Who likes to endure lies!” Katerina can be hot and emotional, which she herself says when she told Varvara a story from her childhood: “They offended me with something at home...; I ran out to the Volga, got into the boat... The next morning they found it, about ten miles away!” The girl loves the world, loves people, tries to treat everything with kindness. She is trusting and simple, dreamy and beautiful. Honesty and nobility are also very important for this girl. It’s hard for her to hide her betrayal from her husband, and when she confesses to Tikhon about her betrayal, she feels better, but she understands that nothing can be returned. “Let everyone know, let everyone see what I am doing. If I was not afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human judgment?” - this is Katerina’s life position.

The girl went against the system of tyranny and tyranny, did not obey the absurd orders of her mother-in-law and never once doubted that she was right. The girl did not betray herself and remained true to her principles. Katerina, without any doubt, was right when she followed the path that her heart told her. She remained true to herself, gained eternal freedom, soared above the entire “dark kingdom”, exposing all its vices.

It is impossible not to say that Katerina’s suicide is her victory, this girl dreamed of a bright future, great love, a happy family, but fate decreed that only this step would free her from the shackles of the “dark kingdom.” Many character traits helped the girl determine your destiny. Even though the play ends on such a tragic note, everyone understands that suicide has become a necessity for Katerina, thereby a means of achieving absolute freedom from cruelty and tyranny.

In the drama “The Thunderstorm,” Ostrovsky created a very psychologically complex image - the image of Katerina Kabanova. This young woman charms the viewer with her huge, pure soul, childish sincerity and kindness. But she lives in the musty atmosphere of the “dark kingdom” of merchant morals. Ostrovsky managed to create a bright and poetic image of a Russian woman from the people. The main storyline of the play is a tragic conflict between the living, feeling soul of Katerina and the dead way of life of the “dark kingdom”. Honest and touching Katerina turned out to be a powerless victim of the cruel orders of the merchant environment. No wonder Dobrolyubov called Katerina “a ray of light in a dark kingdom.” Katerina did not accept despotism and tyranny; Driven to despair, she challenges the “dark kingdom” and dies. This is the only way she can save her inner world from harsh pressure. According to critics, for Katerina “it is not death that is desirable, but life that is unbearable. Living for her means being yourself. Not being herself means not living for her.”

The image of Katerina is built on a folk-poetic basis. Her pure soul is fused with nature. She presents herself as a bird, the image of which in folklore is closely connected with the concept of will. “I lived, didn’t worry about anything, like a bird in the wild.” Katerina, who ended up in Kabanova’s house as if in a terrible prison, often remembers her parents’ home, where she was treated with love and understanding. Talking to Varvara, the heroine asks: “...Why don’t people fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I’m a bird.” Katerina breaks free from the cage, where she is forced to remain until the end of her days.

Religion evoked high feelings, a surge of joy and reverence in her. The beauty and fullness of the heroine’s soul were expressed in prayers to God. “On a sunny day, such a light column goes down from the dome, and smoke moves in this column, like clouds, and I see it as if angels are flying and singing in this column. And then, it happened... at night I would get up... and somewhere in the corner and pray until the morning. Or I’ll go into the garden early in the morning, when the sun is still rising, I’ll fall on my knees, pray and cry.”

Katerina expresses her thoughts and feelings in poetic folk language. The heroine's melodious speech is colored by love for the world, the use of many diminutive forms characterizes her soul. She says “sunshine”, “voditsa”, “grave”, often resorts to repetitions, as in songs: “on a good three”, “and people are disgusting to me, and the house is disgusting to me, and the walls are disgusting.” Trying to throw out the feelings boiling in her, Katerina exclaims: “Violent winds, bear with him my sadness and melancholy!”

Katerina's tragedy is that she does not know how and does not want to lie. And in the “dark kingdom” lies are the basis of life and relationships. Boris tells her: “No one will know about our love...”, to which Katerina replies: “Let everyone know, let everyone see what I do!” These words reveal the courageous, integral nature of this woman, who risks challenging ordinary morality and confronting society alone.

But, having fallen in love with Boris, Katerina enters into a struggle with herself, with her beliefs. She, a married woman, feels like a great sinner. Her faith in God is not the hypocrisy of Kabanikha, who covers up her anger and misanthropy with God. Awareness of her own sinfulness and pangs of conscience haunt Katerina. She complains to Varya: “Oh, Varya, sin is on my mind! How much I, poor thing, cried, what I didn’t do to myself! I can't escape this sin. Can't go anywhere. After all, this is not good, this is a terrible sin, Varenka, why do I love someone else?” Katerina does not think about the fact that she was violated by marrying someone she didn’t love. Her husband, Tikhon, is glad to leave home and does not want to protect his wife from her mother-in-law. Her heart tells her that her love is the greatest happiness, in which there is nothing bad, but the morality of society and the church does not forgive the free expression of feelings. Katerina struggles among unsolvable questions.

The tension in the play increases, Katerina is afraid of a thunderstorm, hears the terrible prophecies of a crazy lady, and sees a picture on the wall depicting the Last Judgment. In a darkened state of mind, she repents of her sin. Repentance from the heart according to religious laws necessarily requires forgiveness. But people have forgotten the kind, forgiving and loving God; they are left with a punishing and punishing God. Katerina does not receive forgiveness. She doesn’t want to live and suffer, she has nowhere to go, her loved one turned out to be as weak and dependent as her husband. Everyone betrayed her. The church considers suicide a terrible sin, but for Katerina it is an act of despair. It is better to end up in hell than to live in the “dark kingdom.” The heroine cannot harm anyone, so she decides to die herself. Throwing herself off a cliff into the Volga, at the last moment Katerina thinks not about her sin, but about love, which illuminated her life with great happiness. Katerina’s last words are addressed to Boris: “My friend! My joy! Goodbye!" One can only hope that God will be more merciful to Katerina than people.

• In “The Thunderstorm,” Ostrovsky shows the life of a Russian merchant family and the position of women in it. Katerina’s character was formed in a simple merchant family, where love reigned and the daughter was given complete freedom. She acquired and retained all the wonderful traits of the Russian character. This is a pure, open soul that does not know how to lie. “I don’t know how to deceive; I can’t hide anything,” she tells Varvara. In religion, Katerina found the highest truth and beauty. Her desire for the beautiful and the good was expressed in prayers. Coming out […]
• Whole, honest, sincere, she is incapable of lies and falsehood, which is why in a cruel world where wild and wild boars reign, her life turns out so tragically. Katerina’s protest against Kabanikha’s despotism is a struggle of the bright, pure, human against the darkness, lies and cruelty of the “dark kingdom”. It is not for nothing that Ostrovsky, who paid great attention to the selection of names and surnames of the characters, gave this name to the heroine of “The Thunderstorm”: translated from Greek “Ekaterina” means “eternally pure”. Katerina is a poetic person. IN […]
• Katerina Varvara Character Sincere, sociable, kind, honest, pious, but superstitious. Tender, soft, and at the same time, decisive. Rough, cheerful, but taciturn: “... I don’t like to talk a lot.” Decisive, can fight back. Temperament Passionate, freedom-loving, courageous, impetuous and unpredictable. She says about herself, “I was born so hot!” Freedom-loving, intelligent, prudent, courageous and rebellious, she is not afraid of either parental or heavenly punishment. Upbringing, […]
• “The Thunderstorm” was published in 1859 (on the eve of the revolutionary situation in Russia, in the “pre-storm” era). Its historicism lies in the conflict itself, the irreconcilable contradictions reflected in the play. It responds to the spirit of the times. "The Thunderstorm" represents the idyll of the "dark kingdom". Tyranny and silence are brought to the extreme in her. A real heroine from the people’s environment appears in the play, and it is the description of her character that receives the main attention, while the little world of the city of Kalinov and the conflict itself are described in a more general way. “Their lives […]
• “The Thunderstorm” by A. N. Ostrovsky made a strong and deep impression on his contemporaries. Many critics were inspired by this work. However, even in our time it has not ceased to be interesting and topical. Elevated to the category of classical drama, it still arouses interest. The tyranny of the “older” generation lasts for many years, but some event must occur that could break the patriarchal tyranny. Such an event turns out to be the protest and death of Katerina, which awakened other […]
• The play “The Thunderstorm” by Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky is historical for us, as it shows the life of the philistinism. "The Thunderstorm" was written in 1859. It is the only work of the “Nights on the Volga” series conceived but not realized by the writer. The main theme of the work is a description of the conflict that arose between two generations. The Kabanikha family is typical. The merchants cling to their old morals, not wanting to understand the younger generation. And since young people do not want to follow traditions, they are suppressed. I'm sure, […]
• In The Thunderstorm, Ostrovsky, using a small number of characters, managed to reveal several problems at once. Firstly, this is, of course, a social conflict, a clash between “fathers” and “children”, their points of view (and if we resort to generalization, then two historical eras). Kabanova and Dikoy belong to the older generation, who actively express their opinions, and Katerina, Tikhon, Varvara, Kudryash and Boris to the younger generation. Kabanova is sure that order in the house, control over everything that happens in it, is the key to a healthy life. Correct […]
• Let's start with Katerina. In the play "The Thunderstorm" this lady is the main character. What is the problem with this work? The problematic is the main question that the author asks in his work. So the question here is who will win? The dark kingdom, which is represented by the bureaucrats of a provincial town, or the bright beginning, which is represented by our heroine. Katerina is pure in soul, she has a tender, sensitive, loving heart. The heroine herself is deeply hostile to this dark swamp, but is not fully aware of it. Katerina was born […]
• The critical history of "The Thunderstorm" begins even before its appearance. To argue about “a ray of light in a dark kingdom,” it was necessary to open the “Dark Kingdom.” An article under this title appeared in the July and September issues of Sovremennik for 1859. It was signed with the usual pseudonym of N. A. Dobrolyubov - N. - bov. The reason for this work was extremely significant. In 1859, Ostrovsky summed up the interim result of his literary activity: his two-volume collected works appeared. "We consider it the most [...]
• Dramatic events of the play by A.N. Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm" takes place in the city of Kalinov. This town is located on the picturesque bank of the Volga, from the high cliff of which the vast Russian expanses and boundless distances open up to the eye. “The view is extraordinary! Beauty! The soul rejoices,” enthuses local self-taught mechanic Kuligin. Pictures of endless distances, echoed in a lyrical song. Among the flat valleys,” which he sings, are of great importance for conveying the feeling of the immense possibilities of the Russian […]
• Katerina is the main character of Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm”, Tikhon’s wife, Kabanikha’s daughter-in-law. The main idea of ​​the work is the conflict of this girl with the “dark kingdom”, the kingdom of tyrants, despots and ignoramuses. You can find out why this conflict arose and why the end of the drama is so tragic by understanding Katerina’s ideas about life. The author showed the origins of the heroine's character. From Katerina's words we learn about her childhood and adolescence. Here is an ideal version of patriarchal relations and the patriarchal world in general: “I lived, not about [...]
• A conflict is a clash between 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 can you decide which one is the main one? In the era of sociology 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 the result of her collision with her tyrant mother-in-law, one should […]
• In general, the history of the creation and concept of the play “The Thunderstorm” is very interesting. For some time there was an assumption that this work was based on real events that occurred in the Russian city of Kostroma in 1859. “In the early morning of November 10, 1859, Kostroma bourgeois Alexandra Pavlovna Klykova disappeared from her home and either rushed into the Volga herself, or was strangled and thrown there. The investigation revealed the silent drama that played out in an unsociable family living narrowly with commercial interests: […]
• Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky was endowed with great talent as a playwright. He is deservedly considered the founder of the Russian national theater. His plays, varied in theme, glorified Russian literature. Ostrovsky's creativity had a democratic character. He created plays that showed hatred of the autocratic serfdom regime. The writer called for the protection of the oppressed and humiliated citizens of Russia and longed for social change. Ostrovsky’s enormous merit is that he opened the enlightened [...]
• Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky was called the “Columbus of Zamoskvorechye,” a region of Moscow where people from the merchant class lived. He showed what intense, dramatic life goes on behind high fences, what Shakespearean passions sometimes boil in the souls of representatives of the so-called “simple class” - merchants, shopkeepers, small employees. The patriarchal laws of a world that is becoming a thing of the past seem unshakable, but a warm heart lives according to its own laws - the laws of love and goodness. The characters of the play “Poverty is not a vice” […]
• The love story of clerk Mitya and Lyuba Tortsova unfolds against the backdrop of life in a merchant's house. Ostrovsky once again delighted his fans with his remarkable knowledge of the world and amazingly vivid language. Unlike the earlier plays, this comedy contains not only the soulless manufacturer Korshunov and Gordey Tortsov, who boasts of his wealth and power. They are contrasted with simple and sincere people dear to the hearts of the Pochvenniks - the kind and loving Mitya and the squandered drunkard Lyubim Tortsov, who remained, despite his fall, […]
• The focus of the writers of the 19th century is on a person with a rich spiritual life and a changeable inner world. The new hero reflects the state of the individual in an era of social transformation. The authors do not ignore the complex conditioning of the development of the human psyche by the external material environment. The main feature of the depiction of the world of heroes of Russian literature is psychologism , that is, the ability to show a change in the hero’s soul. In the center of different works we see “extra […]
• The drama takes place in the Volga city of Bryakhimov. And in it, as everywhere else, cruel orders reign. The society here is the same as in other cities. The main character of the play, Larisa Ogudalova, is a homeless woman. The Ogudalov family is not rich, but, thanks to the persistence of Kharita Ignatievna, they make acquaintance with the powers that be. The mother inspires Larisa that, although she does not have a dowry, she should marry a rich groom. And Larisa for the time being accepts these rules of the game, naively hoping that love and wealth […]
• A special hero in Ostrovsky’s world, who belongs to the type of poor official with self-esteem, is Yuliy Kapitonovich Karandyshev. At the same time, his pride is hypertrophied to such an extent that it becomes a substitute for other feelings. Larisa for him is not just his beloved girl, she is also a “prize” that gives him the opportunity to triumph over Paratov, a chic and rich rival. At the same time, Karandyshev feels like a benefactor, taking as his wife a dowry-free woman, partly compromised by the relationship […]
• Literary critics called the poem “Mtsyri” a romantic epic. And this is true, because at the center of the poetic narrative is the freedom-loving personality of the protagonist. Mtsyri is a romantic hero, surrounded by “an aura of chosenness and exclusivity.” He is characterized by extraordinary inner strength and rebelliousness of spirit. This extraordinary personality is naturally adamant and proud. As a child, Mtsyri was tormented by a “painful illness” that made him “weak and flexible, like a reed.” But this is only the external side. Inside he [...]