We bring to your attention a list of the main characters of Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm".
Savel Prokofievich Dick O th - a merchant, a significant person in the city. The scammer, the shrill man, is how those who personally know him characterize him. He really does not like to give money. Whoever asked him for money, he certainly tries to swear. Tyrannizes his nephew Boris, and is not going to pay him and his sister the money from the inheritance.
Boris Grigorievich, his nephew, a young man, decently educated. Loves Katerina sincerely, with all her soul. But he is not able to decide anything on his own. There is no male initiative or strength in him. Floats with the flow. They sent him to Siberia, and he went, although in principle he could refuse. Boris confessed to Kuligin that he tolerates the quirks of his uncle for his sister, hoping that he would at least pay something from his grandmother's will for what was given to her.
Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova(Kabanikha), a rich merchant's wife, a widow is a tough, even cruel woman. Keeps the whole family under the thumb. He behaves piously in the presence of the people. Adheres to the housebuilding customs in a form distorted in terms of its concepts. But home tyrannizes how much in vain.
Tikhon Ivanovich Kabanov, her son is a mama's son. A quiet, downtrodden peasant, unable to solve anything on his own. Tikhon loves his wife, but he is afraid to show his feelings for her, so as not to anger his mother once again. Life in the house with his mother was unbearable for him, and he was glad to leave for 2 weeks. When Katerina repented, he asked his wife not to be with her mother. He understood that for her sin his mother would not only bite Katerina, but he would also bite him. He himself is ready to forgive his wife for this feeling for another. He beat her slightly, but only because his mother told him to. And only over the corpse of his wife he casts a reproach to the mother that it was she who killed Katerina.
Katerina - wife of Tikhon. The main character of "Storms". Received a good, pious upbringing. God-fearing. Even the townspeople noticed that when she prays, like a light comes from her, she becomes so peaceful at the moment of prayer. Katerina confessed to Varvara that she secretly loves another man. Varvara arranged a date for Katerina, and all 10 days, while Tikhon was away, she met with her lover. Katerina understood that this was a grave sin, and therefore, on her first laziness upon arrival, she repented to her husband. She was prompted to repentance by the unfolding thunderstorm, an old half-mad lady, who frightened everyone and everything with a fiery hell. She takes pity on Boris and Tikhon, and blames only herself for everything that happened. At the end of the play, she throws herself into a pool and dies, although suicide is the most serious sin in Christianity.
Barbara - sister of Tikhon. A lively girl, with a sly one, unlike Tikhon, she does not bend in front of her mother. Her life credo: do what you want, if only it was sewn and covered. Secretly from his mother, he meets with Curly at night. She also arranged a meeting between Katerina and Boris. In the end, when they began to lock her up, she runs away from the house with Kudryash.
Kuligin - tradesman, watchmaker, self-taught mechanic looking for a perpetuum mobile. It is no coincidence that Ostrovsky gave this hero a surname consonant with the famous mechanic - Kulibin.
Vanya Kudryash, - a young man, Dikov's clerk, Varvara's friend, a cheerful guy, cheerful, loves to sing.
Minor heroes of The Thunderstorm:
Shapkin, tradesman.
Feklusha, wanderer.
Glasha, the girl in the house of Kabanova - Glasha hid all the tricks of Varvara, supported her.
Lady with two footmen, an old woman of 70 years old, half-crazy - she scares all the townspeople with a terrible judgment.
Urban dwellers of both sexes.
The play "The Thunderstorm" is the most famous creation of Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky. Each hero of this work is a unique personality that takes its place in the character system. In this regard, the characteristic of Tikhon is noteworthy. The Thunderstorm, a play whose main conflict is based on the confrontation between the strong and the weak, is interesting for its oppressed heroes, including our character.
The play "Thunderstorm"
The play was written in 1859. The scene of the action is the fictional city of Kalinov, which stands on the banks of the Volga. Time of action - summer, the whole piece covers 12 days.
In its genre, "The Thunderstorm" belongs to the social and everyday drama. Ostrovsky paid a lot of attention to the description of the everyday life of the city, the characters of the work come into conflict with the established orders, which have long outlived their usefulness, and the despotism of the older generation. Of course, the main protest is expressed by Katerina (the main character), but her husband is not the last in the revolt, which confirms the characterization of Tikhon.
The Thunderstorm is a work that tells about human freedom, about the desire to break free from the shackles of outdated dogmas and religious authoritarianism. And all this is depicted against the background of the failed love of the main character.
Image system
The system of images in the play is based on the opposition of tyrants, who are used to commanding everyone (Kabanikha, Dikaya), and young people who want to finally find freedom and live their own minds. The second camp is headed by Katerina, only she has the courage to openly confront. However, other young characters are also striving to get rid of the yoke of decrepit and meaningless rules. But there are those who have resigned themselves, and Katerina's husband is not the last among them (below is a detailed description of Tikhon).
"Thunderstorm" depicts the world of the "dark kingdom", only the heroes themselves can destroy it or die, like Katerina, misunderstood and rejected. It turns out that the tyrants who seized power and their laws are too strong, and any revolt against them leads to tragedy.
Tikhon: characteristics
"The Thunderstorm" is a work where there are no strong male characters (with the exception of the Wild). So, Tikhon Kabanov appears only as a weak-willed, weak and intimidated man by his mother, unable to protect his beloved woman. The characterization of Tikhon from the play "The Thunderstorm" shows that this hero is a victim of the "dark kingdom", he lacks the determination to live by his own mind. Whatever he does and wherever he goes - everything happens according to the will of the mother.
Even as a child, Tikhon was used to following the orders of Kabanikha, and this habit persisted in him in his mature years. Moreover, this need to obey is so ingrained that even the thought of disobedience plunges him into horror. Here is what he himself says about this: “Yes, mamma, I don’t want to live by my own will”.
The characterization of Tikhon ("The Thunderstorm") speaks of this character as a person who is ready to endure all the mockery and rudeness of his mother. And the only thing he dares to is the desire to escape from the house to have fun. This is the only freedom and liberation available to him.
Katerina and Tikhon: characteristics
"The Thunderstorm" is a play where one of the main plot lines is love, but how close is it to our hero? Yes, Tikhon loves his wife, but in his own way, not the way Kabanikha would like. He is affectionate with her, does not want to dominate the girl, intimidate her. However, Tikhon does not at all understand Katerina and her mental suffering. His softness has a detrimental effect on the heroine. If Tikhon were a little more courageous and had at least some will and ability to fight, Katerina would not have needed to look for all this on the side - in Boris.
The characterization of Tikhon from the play "The Thunderstorm" puts him in a completely unattractive light. Despite the fact that he reacted calmly to his wife's betrayal, he was unable to protect her either from his mother or from other representatives of the "dark kingdom". He leaves Katerina alone, despite his love for her. The non-intervention of this character was largely the cause of the final tragedy. Only realizing that he had lost his beloved, Tikhon dares to openly rebel against his mother. He blames her for the death of the girl, no longer fearing her tyranny and power over him.
Images of Tikhon and Boris
The comparative characteristics of Boris and Tikhon ("The Thunderstorm") allows us to conclude that they are in many ways similar, some literary scholars even call them hero-twins. So, what do they have in common, and how are they different?
Not finding the necessary support and understanding from Tikhon, Katerina turns to Boris. What was it about him that attracted the heroine so much? First of all, he differs from other residents of the city: he is educated, graduated from the academy, dresses in a European manner. But this is only the outside, and what is inside? In the course of the narrative, it turns out that he depends on the Wild in the same way as Tikhon depends on Kabanikha. Boris is weak-willed and spineless. He says that he only keeps his inheritance, having deprived of which his sister will become a dowry. But all this seems to be an excuse: too humbly he endures all the humiliations of his uncle. Boris sincerely falls in love with Katerina, but he does not care that this love will destroy a married woman. He, like Tikhon, worries only about himself. In words, both of these heroes sympathize with the main character, but they do not have enough fortitude to help her, to protect her.
Short description
Boris Dikoy and Tikhon Kabanov are two characters who are most closely associated with the main character, Katerina: Tikhon is her husband, and Boris becomes her lover. They can be called antipodes, which stand out sharply against each other. And, in my opinion, preference in comparing them should be given to Boris, as a character of a more active, interesting and pleasant reader, while Tikhon evokes some compassion - raised by a strict mother, he, in fact, cannot make his own decisions and defend his opinion. In order to substantiate my point of view, below I will consider each character separately and try to analyze their characters and actions.
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BORIS AND TIKHON
Boris Dikoy and Tikhon Kabanov are two characters who are most closely associated with the main character, Katerina: Tikhon is her husband, and Boris becomes her lover. They can be called antipodes, which stand out sharply against each other. And, in my opinion, preference in comparing them should be given to Boris, as a character of a more active, interesting and pleasant reader, while Tikhon evokes some compassion - raised by a strict mother, he, in fact, cannot make his own decisions and defend his opinion. In order to substantiate my point of view, below I will consider each character separately and try to analyze their characters and actions.
To begin with, consider Boris Grigorievich Diky. Boris came to the city of Kalinov not on a whim - out of necessity. His grandmother, Anfisa Mikhailovna, disliked his father after he married a noble woman, and after death left her entire inheritance to her second son, Savel Prokofievich Diky. And Boris would not have cared about this inheritance if his parents had not died of cholera, leaving him with his sister orphans. Savel Prokofievich Dikoy had to pay part of Anfisa Mikhailovna's inheritance to Boris and his sister, but on condition that they were respectful to him. Therefore, throughout the play, Boris tries in every possible way to serve his uncle, not paying attention to all the reproaches, discontent and swearing, and then leaves for Siberia to serve. From this we can conclude that Boris not only thinks about his future, but also cares about his sister, who is in an even less favorable position than himself. This is expressed in his words, which he once said to Kuligin: "If I were alone, it would be okay! I would have dropped everything and left. Otherwise, I'm sorry for my sister. (...) What life was like for her here - and it's scary to imagine."
Boris spent all his childhood in Moscow, where he received a good education and manners. This also adds positive features to his image. He is modest and, perhaps, even somewhat timid - if Katerina had not responded to his feelings, if not for the complicity of Varvara and Kudryash, he would never have crossed the boundaries of what was permitted. His actions are driven by love, perhaps the first, a feeling that even the most reasonable and judicious people are unable to resist. Some shyness, but sincerity, his tender words to Katerina make Boris a touching and romantic character, full of charm that cannot leave girlish hearts indifferent.
As a person from the capital's society, from secular Moscow, Boris has a hard time in Kalinov. He does not understand local customs, it seems to him that he is a stranger in this provincial city. Boris does not fit into the local community. The hero himself says the following words about this: "... it's hard for me here, without a habit! Everyone is looking at me wildly, as if I'm superfluous here, as if I interfere with them. I don't know the local customs. I understand that this is all ours. , Russian, native, but still I will not get used to it in any way. " Boris is overcome with hard thoughts about his future fate. Youth, the desire to live desperately rebel against the prospect of staying in Kalinov: “And I, apparently, will ruin my youth in this slum.
So, we can say that Boris in Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm" is a romantic, positive character, and his rash actions can be justified by falling in love, which makes young blood boil and do completely reckless things, forgetting how they look in the eyes of society.
Tikhon Ivanovich Kabanov can be considered as a more passive character, unable to make his own decisions. He is strongly influenced by his domineering mother, Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova, he is under her thumb. Tikhon strives for will, however, it seems to me, he himself does not know what exactly he wants from her. So, having escaped to freedom, the hero acts as follows: "... and as I left, I went on a spree. I'm very glad that I got free. And he drank all the way, and drank everything in Moscow, so a lot, so, so that I can take a walk for a whole year. I never remembered about the house. " In his desire to escape "from captivity," Tikhon closes his eyes to other people's feelings, including the feelings and experiences of his own wife, Katerina: "... and with such bondage you will run away from what beautiful wife you want! Think about it: no matter what it is, but I'm still a man; all your life you live like this, as you see, you will run away from your wife. Is it my wife? " I believe that this is Tikhon's main mistake - he did not listen to Katerina, did not take her with him, and did not even take a terrible oath from her, as she herself asked in anticipation of trouble. In the events that followed, there is a share of his fault.
Returning to the fact that Tikhon is not able to make his own decisions, we can give the following example. After Katerina confesses his sin, he cannot decide what to do - listen to his mother again, who calls her daughter-in-law cunning and tells everyone that no one should believe her, or show leniency to his beloved wife. Katerina herself says about it this way: "Now he is affectionate, now he is angry, but he drinks everything." Also, in my opinion, an attempt to get away from problems with the help of alcohol also indicates Tikhon's weak character.
We can say that Tikhon Kabanov is a weak character, like a person who evokes sympathy. It is difficult to say whether he really loved his wife, Katerina, but it is safe to assume that, with his character, another life partner, more like his mother, suited him better. Brought up in strictness, without his own opinion, Tikhon needs external control, guidance and support.
So, on the one hand, we have Boris Grigorievich Dikiy, a romantic, young, self-confident hero. On the other hand, there is Kabanov Tikhon Ivanovich, a weak-willed, soft-bodied, unhappy character. Both characters, of course, are clearly expressed - in his play Ostrovsky managed to convey the full depth of these images, make him worry about each of them. But if you compare them with each other, Boris attracts more attention, he evokes sympathy and interest in the reader, while Kabanov wants to be pitied.
However, each reader himself chooses which of these characters to give their preference to. After all, as folk wisdom says, there are no comrades for taste and color.
Barbarian
Varvara Kabanova is Kabanikha's daughter, Tikhon's sister. We can say that life in Kabanikha's house morally crippled the girl. She also does not want to live according to the patriarchal laws that her mother preaches. But, despite his strong character, V. did not dare to openly protest against them. Its principle is “Do what you want, if only it is sewn and covered”.
This heroine easily adapts to the laws of the "dark kingdom", easily deceives everyone around her. It became familiar to her. V. claims that it is impossible to live otherwise: their whole house is based on deception. "And I was not a deceiver, but I learned when it became necessary."
V. was cunning while it was possible. When they began to lock her up, she fled from the house, inflicting a crushing blow on Kabanikha.
KULIGIN
Kuligin is a character who partially fulfills the functions of an exponent of the author's point of view and therefore is sometimes attributed to the type of a resonant hero, which, however, seems to be incorrect, since on the whole this hero is undoubtedly distant from the author, a rather detachment is depicted, as an unusual person, even somewhat outlandish. The list of characters says about him: "a tradesman, a self-taught watchmaker looking for a perpetuum mobile." The hero's surname transparently hints at a real person - I. P. Kulibina (1755-1818), whose biography was published in the journal of the historian M. P. Pogodin "Moskvityanin", where Ostrovsky collaborated.
Like Katerina, K. is a poetic and dreamy nature (for example, it is he who admires the beauty of the Trans-Volga landscape, complains that the Kalinovtsy are indifferent to him). He appears, singing "Among the flat valley ...", a folk song of literary origin (to the words of A. F. Merzlyakov). This immediately underlines the difference between K. and other characters associated with folk culture, he is also a bookish man, albeit a rather archaic bookishness: he tells Boris that he writes poetry “in the old-fashioned way ... The sage was Lomonosov, a nature tester ... ". Even the characterization of Lomonosov testifies to K.'s well-readness in the old books: not a "scientist", but a "sage", a "tester of nature." “You are an antique chemist with us,” Kudryash tells him. "Self-taught mechanic", - corrects K. Technical ideas of K. are also an obvious anachronism. The sundial, which he dreams of installing on Kalinovsky Boulevard, dates back to antiquity. Lightning conductor - a technical discovery of the 18th century. If K. writes in the spirit of the classics of the 18th century, then his oral stories are sustained in even earlier stylistic traditions and resemble old moralizing stories and apocrypha (“and they will begin, sir, judgment and business, and there is no end to torment. here, yes, they will go to the province, and there they are already waiting for them, but they splash their hands with joy ”- the picture of judicial red tape, vividly described by K., recalls stories about the torment of sinners and the joy of demons). All these features of the hero, of course, were given by the author in order to show his deep connection with the world of Kalinov: he certainly differs from the Kalinovites, we can say that he is a "new" person, but only his novelty has developed here, inside this world , giving rise not only to its passionate and poetic dreamers, like Katerina, but also to its "rationalists" -dreamers, its own special, home-grown scientists and humanists. K.'s main work in life is the dream of inventing a "perpetu-mobile" and receiving a million from the British for it. He intends to spend this million on the Kalinov society - "work must be given to the philistine." Listening to this story, Boris, who has received a modern education at the Commercial Academy, remarks: “It's a pity to disappoint him! What a good man! He dreams of himself - and is happy. " However, he is hardly right. K. is really a good person: kind, disinterested, delicate and meek. But he is hardly happy: his dream constantly forces him to beg for money for his inventions, conceived for the benefit of society, and it does not even occur to society that there can be any benefit from them, for them K. - a harmless eccentric, something like a city holy fool. And the main of the possible "patrons" - Dikoy, lashes out at the inventor with abuse, once again confirming both the general opinion and Kabanikhe's own admission that he is not able to part with the money. Kuligin's passion for creativity remains unsatisfied; he takes pity on his fellow countrymen, seeing in their vices the result of ignorance and poverty, but he cannot help them in anything. So, the advice he gives (to forgive Katerina, but so as not to ever remember her sin) is obviously impracticable in the Kabanovs' house, and K. hardly understands this. The advice is good, humane, since it proceeds from humane considerations, but does not in any way take into account the real participants in the drama, their characters and beliefs. For all his diligence, the creative principle of his personality, K. is a contemplative nature, devoid of any pressure. Probably, this is the only reason why the Kalinovites put up with him, despite the fact that he is different from them in everything. It seems that for the same reason it turned out to be possible to entrust him with the author's assessment of Katerina's act. “Here's your Katerina. Do what you want with her! Her body is here, take it; but the soul is not yours now: it is now before the Judge, who is more merciful than you! "
KATERINA
But the most extensive subject for discussion is Katerina - “Russian strong character”, for whom truth and a deep sense of duty are above all. First, let's turn to the childhood years of the main character, which we learn about from her monologues. As we can see, in this carefree time, Katerina was first of all surrounded by beauty and harmony, she “lived like a bird in the wild” among maternal love and fragrant nature. The young girl went to wash with a key, listened to the stories of the wanderers, then sat down to do some work, and so passed the whole day. She did not yet know the bitter life in "confinement", but everything is ahead of her, life in the "dark kingdom" is ahead. From the words of Katerina, we learn about her childhood and adolescence. The girl did not receive a good education. She lived with her mother in the village. Katerina's childhood was joyful, cloudless. Mother did not like her in her, did not force her to work on the house. Katya lived freely: she got up early, washed herself with spring water, crawled flowers, went to church with her mother, then sat down to do some work and listened to the pilgrims and praying moths, which were many in their house. Katerina had magical dreams in which she flew under the clouds. And how strongly the act of a six-year-old girl contrasts with such a quiet, happy life when Katya, offended by something, ran away from her house to the Volga in the evening, got into a boat and pushed off the shore! We see that Katerina grew up a happy, romantic, but limited girl. She was very devout and passionately loving. She loved everything and everyone around her: nature, the sun, the church, her home with wanderers, the beggars whom she helped. But the most important thing about Katya is that she lived in her dreams, apart from the rest of the world. From all that exists, she chose only that which did not contradict her nature, the rest she did not want to notice and did not notice. Therefore, the girl saw angels in the sky, and for her the church was not an oppressive and oppressive force, but a place where everything is light, where you can dream. We can say that Katerina was naive and kind, brought up in a completely religious spirit. But if she met on her way what. contradicted her ideals, then she turned into a rebellious and stubborn nature and defended herself from that stranger, stranger, who boldly disturb her soul. This was the case with the boat. After marriage, Katya's life changed a lot. From a free, joyful, sublime world in which she felt her merger with nature, the girl found herself in a life full of deception, cruelty and omission. The point is not even that Katerina did not marry Tikhon of her own free will: she didn’t love anyone at all and she didn’t care who to marry. The fact is that the girl was robbed of her old life, which she had created for herself. Katerina no longer feels such delight from attending church, she cannot do her usual things. Sad, disturbing thoughts do not allow her to calmly admire nature. Katya is left to endure, as long as she is, and to dream, but she can no longer live with her thoughts, because the cruel reality returns her to earth, where humiliation and suffering are. Katerina is trying to find her happiness in her love for Tikhon: "I will love my husband. Tisha, my dear, I will not exchange you for anyone." But sincere manifestations of this love are suppressed by Kabanikha: "What are you hanging around your neck, shameless woman? You don't say goodbye to your lover." In Katerina, there is a strong sense of external obedience and duty, which is why she forces herself to love her unloved husband. Tikhon himself, due to the tyranny of his mother, cannot really love his wife, although he probably wants to. And when he, leaving for a while, leaves Katya to walk freely, the girl (already a woman) becomes completely lonely. Why did Katerina fall in love with Boris? After all, he did not show his masculine qualities, like Paratov, did not even talk to her. Perhaps the reason is that she lacked something clean in the stuffy atmosphere of Kabanikha's house. And love for Boris was this pure, did not allow Katerina to wither away completely, somehow supported her. She went on a date with Boris because she felt like a person with pride and elementary rights. It was a rebellion against resignation to fate, against lawlessness. Katerina knew that she was committing a sin, but she also knew that it was still impossible to live further. She sacrificed the purity of her conscience to freedom and Boris. In my opinion, taking this step, Katya already felt the approaching end and, probably, thought: "Now or never." She wanted to be filled with love, knowing that there would be no other occasion. On the first date, Katerina said to Boris: "You ruined me." Boris is the reason for the discrediting of her soul, and for Katya it is tantamount to death. Sin hangs like a heavy stone on her heart. Katerina is terribly afraid of the impending thunderstorm, considering her a punishment for what she had done. Katerina was afraid of a thunderstorm ever since she began to think about Boris. For her pure soul, even the thought of love for a stranger is a sin. Katya cannot live on with her sin, and she considers repentance to be the only way to at least partially get rid of it. She confesses everything to her husband and Kabanikha. Such an act in our time seems very strange, naive. “I don’t know how to deceive; I can’t hide anything” - such is Katerina. Tikhon forgave his wife, but did she forgive herself? Being very religious. Katya is afraid of God, and her God lives in her, God is her conscience. The girl is tormented by two questions: how she will return home and look into the eyes of her husband, whom she cheated on, and how she will live with a stain on her conscience. The only way out of this situation, Katerina sees death: “No, I’m going to go home or to the grave - it’s all the same. It's better to live in the grave again? Dobrolyubov defined Katerina's character as "resolute, whole, Russian." Decisive, because she decided to take the last step, to die in order to save herself from shame and remorse. Whole, because in Katya's character everything is harmonious, one, nothing contradicts each other, because Katya is one with nature, with God. Russian, because whoever, no matter how Russian, is capable of loving so, is able to sacrifice so, so seemingly submissively endure all hardships, while remaining himself, free, not a slave. Although Katerina's life has changed, she has not lost her poetic nature: she is still fascinated by nature, she sees bliss in harmony with her. She wants to fly high, high, touch the heavenly blue and from there, from a height, send great greetings to everyone. The poetic nature of the heroine requires a different life than the one she has. Katerina strives for "freedom", but not for the freedom of her flesh, but for the freedom of her soul. Therefore, she is building another world, in which there is no lie, lawlessness, injustice, cruelty. In this world, in contrast to reality, everything is perfect: angels live here, "innocent voices are singing, it smells of cypress, and the mountains and trees, as if not the same as usual, but as they are written on images." But despite this, she still has to return to the real world, full of egoists and tyrants. And among them she is trying to find a kindred spirit. Katerina, in the crowd of "empty" faces, is looking for someone who could understand her, look into her soul and accept what she is, and not what they want to make her. The heroine is looking for and cannot find anyone. Her eyes are "cut" by the darkness and wretchedness of this "kingdom", the mind has to accept, but her heart believes and waits for the only one who will help her survive and fight for the truth in this world of lies and deceit. Katerina meets Boris, and her clouded heart says that this is the one she has been looking for for so long. But is it? No, Boris is far from ideal, he cannot give Katerina what she asks for, namely: understanding and protection. She cannot feel with Boris "like a stone wall." And the truth of this is confirmed by Boris's vile, full of cowardice and indecision: he leaves Katerina alone, throws her “to be eaten by the wolves”. These "wolves" are terrible, but they cannot frighten the "Russian soul" of Katerina. And her soul is truly Russian. And Katerina unites with the people not only communication, but also adherence to Christianity. Katerina believes in God so much that every evening she prays in her little room. She likes to go to church, look at the icons, listen to the ringing of the bell. She, like the Russian people, loves freedom. And it is precisely this love of freedom that does not allow her to come to terms with the current situation. Our heroine is not used to lying, and therefore she talks about her love for Boris to her husband. But instead of understanding, Katerina meets only a direct reproach. Now nothing keeps her in this world: Boris turned out not to be what Katerina "drew" him to herself, and life in Kabanikha's house became even more unbearable. Poor, innocent "bird imprisoned in a cage" could not withstand bondage - Katerina committed suicide. The girl still managed to "take off", she stepped from the high bank into the Volga, "spread her wings" and boldly went to the bottom. By her act, Katerina resists the "dark kingdom". But Dobrolyubov calls her a "ray" in him, not only because her tragic death revealed all the horror of the "dark kingdom" and showed the inevitability of death for those who cannot come to terms with oppression, but also because the death of Katerina will not pass and can pass without a trace for "cruel morals". After all, anger is already arising at these tyrants. Kuligin - and he reproached Kabanikha for lack of mercy, even the uncomplaining performer of his mother's wishes, Tikhon, publicly dared to throw the accusation of Katerina's death in her face. Already now, an ominous thunderstorm is brewing over all this "kingdom", capable of destroying it "to smithereens." And this bright ray, which awakened, even for one moment, the consciousness of disadvantaged, unrequited people who are materially dependent on the rich, convincingly showed that an end must come to the unrestrained robbery and self-righteousness of the Wild and the oppressive lust for power and hypocrisy of the Wild Boars. The importance of the image of Katerina is also important today. Yes, maybe many people consider Katerina an immoral, shameless cheater, but is she really to blame for this ?! Tikhon is most likely to blame, who did not pay due attention and affection to his wife, but only followed the advice of his "mama". Katerina is only to blame for the fact that she married such a weak-willed person. Her life was destroyed, but she tried to "build" a new one from the remains. Katerina boldly walked forward until she realized that there was nowhere else to go. But even then she took a courageous step, the last step over the abyss leading to another world, perhaps the best, and perhaps the worst. And this courage, thirst for truth and freedom makes us bow before Katerina. Yes, she's probably not so perfect, she has her flaws, but courage makes the heroine a subject to follow, worthy of praise.
The events in A. N. Ostrovsky's drama "The Thunderstorm" unfold on the Volga coast, in the fictional city of Kalinov. The work provides a list of the characters and their brief characteristics, but they are still not enough to better understand the world of each character and reveal the conflict of the play as a whole. There are not so many main characters in Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm".
Katerina, a girl, the main character of the play. She is quite young, she was married early. Katya was brought up exactly according to the traditions of house building: the main qualities of his wife were respect and obedience
to your spouse. At first, Katya tried to love Tikhon, but she could feel nothing but pity for him. At the same time, the girl tried to support her husband, help him and not reproach him. Katerina can be called the most modest, but at the same time the most powerful character in The Storm. Indeed, outwardly, Katya's strength of character does not appear. At first glance, this girl is weak and silent, it seems as if she is easy to break. But this is not at all the case. Katerina is the only one in the family who resists Kabanikha's attacks.
It is he who opposes, and does not ignore them, like Barbara. The conflict is rather internal. After all, Kabanikha is afraid that Katya might influence her son, after which Tikhon will cease to obey his mother's will.
Katya wants to fly and often compares herself to a bird. She literally suffocates in Kalinov's “dark kingdom”. Having fallen in love with a visiting young man, Katya created for herself an ideal image of love and possible liberation. Unfortunately, her ideas had little to do with reality. The girl's life ended tragically.
Ostrovsky in The Thunderstorm makes not only Katerina the main character. The image of Katya is contrasted with the image of Martha Ignatievna. A woman who keeps the whole family in fear and tension does not command respect. The boar is strong and despotic. Most likely, she took the "reins" after the death of her husband. Although it is more likely that in marriage, Kabanikha did not differ in submissiveness. Katya, her daughter-in-law, got the most from her. It is Kabanikha who is indirectly responsible for the death of Katerina.
Varvara is the daughter of Kabanikha. Despite the fact that over the years she has learned resourcefulness and lies, the reader still sympathizes with her. Barbara is a good girl. Surprisingly, deception and cunning do not make her look like the rest of the inhabitants of the city. She acts as she pleases and lives as she pleases. Barbara is not afraid of her mother's anger, since she is not an authority for her.
Tikhon Kabanov fully lives up to his name. He is quiet, weak, inconspicuous. Tikhon cannot protect his wife from his mother, since he himself is under the strong influence of Kabanikha. His rebellion turns out to be the most significant in the end. After all, it is the words, and not the escape of Barbara, that make readers think about the whole tragedy of the situation.
The author characterizes Kuligin as a self-taught mechanic. This character is a kind of tour guide.
In the first act, he seems to be leading us around Kalinov, talking about his morals, about the families that live here, about the social situation. Kuligin seems to know everything about everyone. His assessments of others are very accurate. Kuligin himself is a kind person who is used to living by established rules. He constantly dreams of the common good, of the perpetu mobile, of the lightning rod, of honest work. Unfortunately, his dreams were not destined to come true.
Dikiy has a clerk, Kudryash. This character is interesting because he is not afraid of the merchant and can tell him what he thinks of him. At the same time, Kudryash, just like Dikoy, tries to find benefits in everything. He can be described as a common man.
Boris comes to Kalinov on business: he urgently needs to improve relations with Dikim, because only in this case he will be able to receive the money legally bequeathed to him. However, neither Boris nor Dikoy even want to see each other. Initially, Boris seems to readers like Katya to be honest and fair. In the last scenes this is refuted: Boris is not able to decide on a serious step, to take responsibility, he simply runs away, leaving Katya alone.
One of the heroes of "The Thunderstorm" is the wanderer and the maid. Feklusha and Glasha are shown as typical inhabitants of the city of Kalinov. Their darkness and ignorance is truly striking. Their judgments are absurd, and their horizons are very narrow. Women judge morality and ethics according to some perverted, distorted concepts. “Moscow is now gulbis and merrymaking, but on the streets there is a roar, there is a groan. Why, Matushka Marfa Ignatievna, they began to harness the fiery serpent: everything, you see, for the sake of speed ”- this is how Feklusha speaks of progress and reforms, and the woman calls a car“ a fiery serpent ”. The concept of progress and culture is alien to such people, because it is convenient for them to live in an invented limited world of calmness and regularity.
This article provides a brief description of the heroes of the play "The Thunderstorm", for a deeper understanding, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the thematic articles about each character of the "Thunderstorm" on our website.
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Boris is a kind, well-educated person. It stands out sharply against the background of the merchant environment. But he is by nature a weak person. B. is forced to humiliate himself in front of his uncle, Dikim, for the hope of an inheritance that he will leave him. Although the hero himself knows that this will never happen, he, nevertheless, curses up with the tyrant, enduring his antics. B. is unable to defend himself or his beloved Katerina. In misfortune, he only rushes about and cries: “Oh, if these people knew what it is like for me to say goodbye to you! My God! God grant that someday they would be as sweet as it is for me now ... You villains! Fiends! Eh, if only there were strength! " But B. does not have this power, so he is not able to alleviate the suffering of Katerina and support her choice, taking her with him.
This heroine easily adapts to the laws of the "dark kingdom", easily deceives everyone around her. It became familiar to her. V. claims that it is impossible to live otherwise: their whole house is based on deception. "And I was not a deceiver, but I learned when it became necessary."
V. was cunning while it was possible. When they began to lock her up, she fled from the house, inflicting a crushing blow on Kabanikha.
D. is a typical tyrant. He feels his power over people and complete impunity, and therefore does what he wants. “There are no elders over you, so you are swaggering,” Kabanikha explains the behavior of D.
Every morning his wife begs those around him with tears: “Father, don’t make you angry! Dear fellows, don't make you angry! " But it's hard not to make D. angry. He himself does not know what state of mind he may find himself in the next minute.
This "cruel curse" and "shrill man" is not shy in expressions. His speech is filled with words such as "parasite", "Jesuit", "asp".
But D. “attacks” only people weaker than himself, those who cannot fight back. But D. is afraid of his clerk Kudryash, who is reputed to be rude, not to mention Kabanikha. D. respects her, moreover, she is the only one who understands him. After all, the hero sometimes himself is not happy with his tyranny, but he cannot help himself. Therefore, Kabanikha considers D. a weak person. Kabanikh and D. are united by belonging to the patriarchal system, following its laws, and concern about the upcoming changes around.
This image, in its own way, indicates the end of the patriarchal order. T. no longer considers it necessary to adhere to the old order in everyday life. But, by virtue of his character, he cannot act as he sees fit and go against his mother. His choice is an everyday compromise: “Why listen to her! She needs to say something! Well, and let her speak, and you let it go deaf ears! "
T. is a kind, but weak person, he rushes between fear of his mother and compassion for his wife. The hero loves Katerina, but not in the way that Kabanikha demands - harshly, "like a man." He does not want to prove his power to his wife, he needs warmth and affection: “Why should she be afraid? It’s enough for me that she loves me. ” But Tikhon does not receive this in the house of Kabanikha. At home he is forced to play the role of an obedient son: “Yes, mamma, I don’t want to live by my own will! Where can I live by my own will! " His only outlet is on business trips, where he forgets all his humiliations, drowning them in wine. Despite the fact that T. loves Katerina, he does not understand what is happening to his wife, what mental anguish she is experiencing. T.'s softness is one of its negative qualities. It is because of her that he cannot help his wife in her struggle with passion for Boris, he cannot alleviate the fate of Katerina even after her public repentance. Although he himself reacted to his wife's betrayal gently, not being angry with her: “Here mamma says that she must be buried alive in the ground so that she would be executed! And I love her, I'm sorry to touch her with my finger. " Only over the body of his dead wife T. decides to rebel against his mother, publicly blaming her for the death of Katerina. It is this rebellion in public that inflicts the worst blow on Kabanikha.
K. is a poetic and dreamy nature (he admires the beauty of the Volga landscape, for example). His first appearance was marked by the literary song "Among the flat valley ..." This immediately emphasizes K.'s bookishness, his education.
But at the same time, K.'s technical ideas (installing a sundial, a lightning rod, etc. in the city) are clearly outdated. This "obsolescence" emphasizes K.'s deep connection with Kalinov. He is, of course, a "new man", but he took shape inside Kalinov, which cannot but affect his attitude and philosophy of life. The main work of K.'s life is the dream of inventing a perpetual motion machine and receiving a million from the British for it. This million "antique, chemist" Kalinov wants to spend on his hometown: "work must be given to the philistine, then." In the meantime, K. is content with smaller inventions for the benefit of Kalinov. On them, he is forced to constantly beg for money from the rich people of the city. But they do not understand the benefits of K.'s inventions, ridicule him, considering him an eccentric and crazy. Therefore, Kuligov's passion for creativity remains unrealized within the walls of Kalinov. K. takes pity on his fellow countrymen, seeing in their vices the result of ignorance and poverty, but he cannot help them in anything. So, his advice to forgive Katerina and not to remember her sin anymore is impracticable in Kabanikha's house. This advice is good, it comes from humane considerations, but does not take into account the characters and beliefs of the Kabanovs. Thus, for all its positive qualities, K. is a contemplative and inactive nature. His beautiful thoughts will never grow into beautiful actions. K. will remain Kalinov's eccentric, his original attraction.
F. does not participate in the action, is not directly related to the plot, but the significance of this image in the play is very significant. Firstly (and this is traditional for Ostrovsky), she is the most important character for characterizing the environment in general and Kabanikha in particular, in general for creating the image of Kalinov. Secondly, her dialogue with Kabanikha is very important for understanding Kabanikha's attitude to the world, for clarifying her inherent tragic feeling of the collapse of her world.
Appearing on the stage for the first time immediately after Kuligin's story about the "cruel manners" of the city of Kalinov and immediately before the release of Ka-banikha, mercilessly sawing the children accompanying her, with the words "Bla-a-lepie, dear, bla-a-le-pie!" F. especially praises the Kabanovs' house for their generosity. Thus, the characterization given to Kabanikha by Kuligin is reinforced (“Prudish, sir, he closes the beggars, but ate the household altogether”).
The next time we see F. is already in the Kabanovs' house. In a conversation with the girl Glasha, she advises to look after the wretched one, “I wouldn’t pull anything,” and hears an irritated reply in response: “Who can take you apart, you are all riveting at each other.” Glasha, who has repeatedly expressed a clear understanding of people and circumstances well known to her, innocently believes F.'s stories about countries where people with dog-headed heads are "for infidelity." This reinforces the impression that Kalinov is a closed world that knows nothing about other lands. This impression is further enhanced when F. begins to tell Kabanova about Moscow and the railway. The conversation begins with F.'s assertion that "the end times" are coming. A sign of this is the ubiquitous vanity, haste, pursuit of speed. F. calls the locomotive a "fiery serpent", which they began to harness for speed: "others see nothing from the hustle and bustle, so it is shown to them by a machine, they call it a machine, and I saw him doing something like that (spreading his fingers out) with his paws. ... Well, and the groan that people of a good life hear like that. " Finally, she says that “the time has begun to come into belittling” and for our sins “everything is getting shorter and shorter”. The apocalyptic reasoning of the wanderer sympathetically listens to Kabanova, from the cue which concludes the scene, it becomes clear that she is aware of the impending doom of her world.
The name F. has become a household name for a dark bigot, under the guise of pious reasoning spreading all sorts of ridiculous fables.