The heroine of the work is a thunderstorm. "Thunderstorm" (main characters). Dikoy is a representative of the "dark kingdom"

The play "The Thunderstorm" is set in the fictional town of Kalinov, which is a collective image of all provincial towns of that time.
There are not so many main characters in the play "The Thunderstorm", each must be said separately.

Katerina is a young woman, given in marriage without love, “to the wrong side,” God-fearing and pious. In the parental home, Katerina grew up in love and care, prayed and enjoyed life. Marriage turned out to be a difficult test for her, which her meek soul opposes. But, despite the outward timidity and submissiveness, passions boil in Katerina's soul when she falls in love with someone else's man.

Tikhon is Katerina's husband, a kind and gentle person, he loves his wife, takes pity on her, but, like everyone at home, obeys his mother. He does not dare to go against the will of "mama" throughout the play, just as openly to tell his wife about his love, since the mother forbids this, so as not to spoil his wife.

Kabanikha is the widow of the landowner Kabanov, mother of Tikhon, mother-in-law of Katerina. A despotic woman, in whose power the whole house is, no one dares to step without her knowledge, fearing a curse. According to one of the heroes of the play, Kudryash, Kabanikh - "a hypocrite, he gives to the poor, and eats at home" It is she who points out to Tikhon and Katerina how to build their family life in the best traditions of Domostroi.

Varvara is Tikhon's sister, an unmarried girl. Unlike her brother, she obeys her mama only for show, while she herself secretly runs on dates at night, inciting Katerina to do this. Its principle is that you can sin if no one sees, otherwise you will sit around your mother all your life.

The landowner Dikoy is an episodic character, but personifies the image of a "tyrant", ie a powerful person who is sure that money gives the right to do whatever his heart desires.

Boris, the Dikiy's nephew, who came hoping to get his share of the inheritance, falls in love with Katerina, but faint-heartedly escapes, leaving the woman seduced by him.

In addition, Kudryash, the Wild's clerk, is involved. Kuligin is a self-taught inventor, constantly trying to introduce something new into the life of a sleepy town, but he is forced to ask Dikiy for money for inventions. The same, in turn, being a representative of the "fathers", is convinced of the futility of Kuligin's undertakings.

All the names and surnames in the play are “speaking”, they tell about the character of their “masters” better than any actions.

Itself vividly shows the confrontation between the "old" and "young". The former actively resist all sorts of innovations, complaining that young people have forgotten the orders of their ancestors, do not want to live "as expected." The latter, in turn, try to free themselves from the oppression of parental orders, understand that life is moving forward, changing.

But not everyone dares to go against the parental will, someone out of fear of losing inheritance. Someone - accustomed to obey their parents in everything.

The forbidden love of Katerina and Boris blossoms against the background of blooming petty tyranny and housebuilding precepts. Young people are drawn to each other, but Katerina is married, and Boris depends on his uncle in everything.

The heavy atmosphere of the city of Kalinov, the pressure of the evil mother-in-law, and the thunderstorm that has begun force Katerina, tormented by remorse for betraying her husband, to confess everything publicly. Kabanikha rejoices - she was right in advising Tikhon to keep his wife "strict." Tikhon is afraid of his mother, but her advice to beat his wife so that she knows is unthinkable for him.

Boris and Katerina's explanation further aggravates the unfortunate woman's position. Now she has to live away from her beloved, with her husband, who knows about her betrayal, with his mother, who will now definitely harass her daughter-in-law. Katerina's fear of God leads her to the idea that there is no more need to live, the woman rushes off the cliff into the river.

Only after losing his beloved woman, Tikhon realizes how much she meant to him. Now he will have to live his whole life with the understanding that his callousness and obedience to the tyrant mother led to such an ending. The last words of the play are Tikhon's words spoken over the body of his deceased wife: “Good for you, Katya! And why in the world was I left to live and suffer! "

The play "The Thunderstorm" by the famous Russian writer of the 19th century, Alexander Ostrovsky, was written in 1859 on the wave of social upsurge on the eve of social reforms. It became one of the author's best works, opening the eyes of the whole world to the mores and moral values \u200b\u200bof the then merchant class. It was first published in the journal "Library for Reading" in 1860 and due to the novelty of its subject matter (descriptions of the struggle of new progressive ideas and aspirations against old, conservative foundations) immediately after publication caused a wide public response. She became the topic for writing a large number of critical articles of that time ("A ray of light in the dark kingdom" by Dobrolyubov, "Motives of the Russian Drama" by Pisarev, criticism of Apollo Grigoriev).

Writing history

Inspired by the beauty of the Volga region and its endless expanses during a trip with his family to Kostroma in 1848, Ostrovsky began writing the play in July 1859, after three months he finished it and sent it to the court of St. Petersburg censorship.

Having worked for several years in the office of the Moscow Conscientious Court, he knew very well what the merchants were in Zamoskvorechye (the historical district of the capital, on the right bank of the Moskva River), more than once on duty with what was happening behind the high fences of the merchants' choir , namely with cruelty, tyranny, ignorance and various superstitions, illegal transactions and scams, tears and suffering of others. The plot of the play was based on the tragic fate of the daughter-in-law in the wealthy merchant family Klykovs, which happened in reality: a young woman threw herself into the Volga and drowned, unable to withstand the oppression of the imperious mother-in-law, tired of her husband's spinelessness and secret passion for the postal worker. Many believed that it was the stories from the life of the Kostroma merchants that became the prototype for the plot of the play written by Ostrovsky.

In November 1859, the play was performed on the stage of the Maly Academic Theater in Moscow, in December of the same year at the Alexandrinsky Drama Theater in St. Petersburg.

Analysis of the work

Story line

In the center of the events described in the play is the well-to-do merchant family of the Kabanovs living in the fictional Volga city of Kalinov, a kind of peculiar and closed world symbolizing the general structure of the entire patriarchal Russian state. The Kabanov family consists of an imperious and cruel tyrant woman, and in fact the head of the family, a wealthy merchant and widow of Marfa Ignatievna, her son, Tikhon Ivanovich, weak-willed and spineless against the background of the heavy temper of his mother, daughter Varvara, who learned to resist the despotism of her mother by deceit and cunning and also the daughter-in-law of Katerina. A young woman who grew up in a family where she was loved and pitied, suffers in the house of an unloved husband from his weakness and claims of his mother-in-law, in fact, having lost her will and becoming a victim of the cruelty and tyranny of Kabanikha, left to the mercy of fate by her rag-husband.

Out of hopelessness and despair, Katerina seeks consolation in her love for Boris the Diky, who also loves her, but is afraid to disobey his uncle, the wealthy merchant Savyol Prokofich Diky, because the financial situation of him and his sister depends on him. Secretly, he meets with Katerina, but at the last moment betrays her and escapes, then at the direction of his uncle he leaves for Siberia.

Katerina, being brought up in obedience and submission to her husband, tormented by her own sin, confesses everything to her husband in the presence of his mother. She makes the life of her daughter-in-law completely unbearable, and Katerina, suffering from unhappy love, reproaches of conscience and cruel persecution of the tyrant and despot Kabanikha, decides to end her torment, the only way in which she sees salvation is suicide. She throws herself off a cliff into the Volga and tragically dies.

Main characters

All the characters in the play are divided into two opposing camps, some (Kabanikha, her son and daughter, the merchant Dikoy and his nephew Boris, the servants of Feklusha and Glasha) are representatives of the old, patriarchal way of life, others (Katerina, a self-taught mechanic Kuligin) are new, progressive.

A young woman, Katerina, the wife of Tikhon Kabanov, is the central heroine of the play. She was brought up in strict patriarchal rules, in accordance with the laws of the Old Russian Domostroi: a wife must obey her husband in everything, respect him, fulfill all his requirements. At first, Katerina tried with all her might to love her husband, to become a submissive and good wife for him, however, due to his complete spinelessness and weakness of character, she can only feel pity for him.

Outwardly, she looks weak and silent, but in the depths of her soul there is enough willpower and perseverance to resist the tyranny of her mother-in-law, who is afraid that her daughter-in-law may change her son Tikhon and he will stop obeying the will of his mother. Katerina is cramped and stuffy in the dark kingdom of life in Kalinovo, she literally suffocates there and in dreams she flies away like a bird away from this terrible place for her.

Boris

Having fallen in love with the visiting young man Boris, the nephew of a wealthy merchant and businessman, she creates in her head the image of an ideal lover and a real man, which is completely untrue, breaks her heart and leads to a tragic ending.

In the play, the character of Katerina is not opposed to a specific person, her mother-in-law, but to the entire patriarchal order of the time.

Kabanikha

Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova (Kabanikha), like the tyrant merchant Dikoy, who tortures and insults his relatives, does not pay wages and deceives his workers, are bright representatives of the old, bourgeois way of life. They are distinguished by stupidity and ignorance, unjustified cruelty, rudeness and rudeness, complete rejection of any progressive changes in the ossified patriarchal way of life.

Tikhon

(Tikhon, in the illustration near Kabanikha - Marfa Ignatievna)

Throughout the play, Tikhon Kabanov is characterized as a quiet and weak-willed person who is under the full influence of a despotic mother. Distinguished by a gentle nature, he makes no attempt to protect his wife from the attacks of his mother.

At the end of the play, he finally does not stand up and the author shows his rebellion against tyranny and despotism, it is his phrase at the end of the play that leads readers to a definite conclusion about the depth and tragedy of the situation.

Features of compositional construction

(Fragment from a dramatic production)

The work begins with a description of Kalinov, a city on the Volga, whose image is a collective image of all Russian cities of that time. The landscape of the Volga expanses depicted in the play contrasts with the musty, dull and gloomy atmosphere of life in this city, which is emphasized by the dead isolation of the life of its inhabitants, their underdevelopment, dullness and wild ignorance. The author described the general state of city life as if before a thunderstorm, when the old, dilapidated way of life is shaken, and new and progressive trends, like a gust of frenzied thunderstorm winds, will carry away outdated rules and prejudices that prevent people from living normally. The period in the life of the inhabitants of the city of Kalinov described in the play is just in a state when everything looks calm outwardly, but this is only a calm before the coming storm.

The genre of the play can be interpreted as a social drama, as well as a tragedy. The first is characterized by the use of a thorough description of living conditions, the maximum transfer of its "density", as well as the alignment of characters. Readers' attention should be distributed among all participants in the production. The interpretation of the play as a tragedy suggests its deeper meaning and thoroughness. If we see in the death of Katerina as a consequence of her conflict with her mother-in-law, then she looks like a victim of a family conflict, and all the unfolding action in the play for a real tragedy seems small and insignificant. But if we consider the death of the main character as a conflict of a new, progressive time with a dying, old era, then her act is interpreted in the best possible way in the heroic key characteristic of a tragic narrative.

The talented playwright Alexander Ostrovsky gradually creates a real tragedy from the social and everyday drama about the life of the merchant class, in which, with the help of a love-everyday conflict, he showed the onset of an epochal turning point in the minds of the people. Ordinary people realize the awakening sense of their own dignity, begin to relate to the world around them in a new way, want to decide their own destinies and fearlessly express their will. This nascent desire enters into irreconcilable contradiction with the real patriarchal order. The fate of Katerina acquires a social historical meaning, expressing the state of national consciousness at the turning point of two eras.

Alexander Ostrovsky, who in time noticed the doom of the decaying patriarchal foundations, wrote the play "The Thunderstorm" and opened the eyes of the entire Russian public to what was happening. He depicted the destruction of the usual, outdated way of life, with the help of the polysemantic and figurative concept of a thunderstorm, which, gradually increasing, will sweep everything from its path and open the way for a new, better life.

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The play by Alexander Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm" is a real legacy for future generations. Despite the fact that it was written almost two centuries ago, its plot touches on the pressing problems of our turbulent times. The same problems of the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, husband and wife, mother and children ... The events of the work take place on the coast of a river called the Volga, in the fictional city of Kalinov. There, in this seemingly quiet place, a real drama is developing, the fault of which is ordinary people. But to understand what happened, you need to get to know the characters in the play and determine the role that each of them plays in the work.

Local self-taught mechanic Kuligin

This character has been featured from the very beginning of the play. He is a self-taught mechanic who is a kind of tour guide. By nature, Kuligin is a kind person who is used to acting according to the established rules. Talking about others and evaluating their morals, he is very accurate in his judgments. He constantly dreams of the common good, of a lightning rod, of a perpetual mobile, of honest work, however, alas, his cherished desires are not destined to come true.

Vanya Kudryash - Varya's beloved

This is a minor character that the author has described as kind and sincere. Despite his simple appearance, Vanya is a fighter in life and always brings what he started to the end. Any business in his hands is arguable. By nature, Ivan is not a romantic, but a practitioner, from this point of view he looks at life.

Dear Readers! We suggest that you familiarize yourself with A. Ostrovsky on actions and phenomena.

He is a strong, intelligent, well-built guy who is loved by Varvara Kabanova. A light and kind feeling arises between them, although in order to avoid scandals on the part of Varvara's mother, this relationship must be carefully hidden.

Boris - Diky's nephew

Boris is the nephew of Savl Prokopich the Wild, a powerful, cruel and greedy man. The author endowed this hero with a contradictory character, on the one hand, describing him as young, educated, well-read, fashionable, on the other, cowardly and weak-willed, who never learned to defend his own point of view despite external circumstances. Knowing that his inheritance is in the hands of his uncle Saul the Wild, Boris tries to please him in everything, in spite of reproaches and ridicule.

Having fallen in love with Katya Kabanova, who has a mutual feeling for this guy, the young man does not value this relationship, and at a time when the slightest problems arise, he does not try to protect the girl, but immediately backtracks, fearing that their relationship will be made public.

Thus, we can conclude that Boris is not so much a positive as a negative character in the play by Alexander Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm".

Dikoy is a representative of the "dark kingdom"

Savl Prokofievich Dikoy is a wealthy merchant who is the most respected and influential person in the city. However, he is picky, angry, ignorant, and cruel. This set of negative qualities greatly outweighs the external significance of Dikiy, whose name also speaks for itself - all of his behavior is wild, unnatural.

It does not matter to him what others think about this or that issue, Dikoy considers his own opinion to be the only correct one. He does not stop at anything, brazenly taking away in earnest what he has acquired by back-breaking labor. With everyone swearing, scolding, this hero gets pleasure. He shouts at his employees, who come for the due salary, raises his voice to the family members, who get the most from the character of Savl Prokofich. Knowing that the fate of his nephew is in his hands, he abuses his powers in relation to Boris, because in order to receive an inheritance, he is ready to fulfill any of his demands. Dikaya can communicate on an equal footing only with Martha Ignatievna Kabanova, who, surprisingly, understands his nature. Savl Prokopich personifies the customs of a small provincial town. With this image, the author wanted to show the reader the need for changes in the views and behavior of society at that time.

Kabanikha is a negative character in the play

The image of Martha Ignatievna Kabanova is presented in the play as one of the most negative. This is a rich merchant's wife, a widow. An oppressive and wayward woman, she keeps the whole house in fear, offending both her own son and daughter, and her daughter-in-law, who suffers the most. “I must do what the mother says,” she orders her weak-willed son Tikhon, and he obeys the demands of the despotic parent. Seeking order to the smallest detail, Kabanikha acts violently, making everyone afraid of her. They will not be afraid of you, and even less so. What kind of order will it be in the house? .. ”- she wonders.

In addition, Marfa Ignatievna is a hypocritical and cold-blooded old woman who loves to read morality to her children, while not doing what she herself advises. Kabanova is used to achieving her goal only by reproaches and threats, she is not aware of such feelings as love and compassion. She mistakenly believes that children should respect their parents so much that their opinions are not taken into account. Indirectly, Kabanova becomes the main reason for the terrible death of her daughter-in-law Katerina, but does not realize it.

Tikhon, son of Kabanova

There is an expression "mama's son". It fits perfectly with Tikhon Kabanov, the son of Marfa Ignatievna.

From childhood accustomed to living in complete submission to a strict mother, he grew up weak-willed and spineless.

This manifests itself throughout his life. Without his own opinion, Tikhon cannot make even the simplest decisions, in panic fear of the condemnation of his strict mother, who, without realizing it, brought up in her son an infantile loser, who would dissolve nurses at the slightest danger - and the worst thing, they lived with the conviction that something like that education is the only correct one.

We suggest you familiarize yourself with the play by A. Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm"

Only once, at the end of the play, when a tragedy occurred with his wife Katerina, Tikhon exclaimed, reproaching his mother: “Mamma, you ruined her! you, you, you ... ”And here it is shown that even a stumped person is able to defend his position. It’s a pity, he later realized what a precious and treasure his wife was.

Varvara - sister of Tikhon

Varvara Kabanova is Tikhon's sister and daughter of Marfa Ignatievna. As the reader becomes familiar with the play, the contrast between brother and sister can be seen. She, in contrast to the lack of initiative Tikhon, is lively and courageous, able to make decisions on her own. Varya was able, unlike her brother, to adapt to the nature of an overly demanding and wayward mother; learned to lie, hypocrite, dodge where necessary, ignore her orders.

To eliminate obstacles to meeting her beloved, Barbara simply changed the lock. Thus, she protected herself from unnecessary outbursts of her mother's anger. As they say, the wolves are fed and the sheep are safe.

This girl is, firstly, practical, secondly, cheerful, and thirdly, intelligent and perceptive. In addition, she is the only one in the family who supports Katerina and gives her good advice. In the work, the attitude “do what you want, the main thing is that no one learns anything” is realized in the image of Barbara.

Katerina is the main character of the play

In A. Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm", the image of Katerina is key. This girl is going through a difficult fate, and, unfortunately, her life ends tragically. But to understand the character of the heroine, you need to trace the author's storyline from the very beginning.

Only childhood was happy for Katerina, when she, like a sponge, absorbed the good that was instilled by loving parents, with great joy she went to church.

And then a thunderstorm struck in the girl's life. She got married. Unfortunately, unsuccessful. For a weak-willed and spineless person, for whom mother's orders are more important than normal and healthy relationships in his own family.

All dreams of a happy and strong family collapsed, life went downhill. The fierce mother-in-law Marfa Ignatievna began to act with the girl according to her already proven methods of violence and endless reproaches, which were unacceptable for Katerina. No matter how hard the daughter-in-law tried to smooth out the situation in her family, nothing worked. The mother-in-law continued to nag about and without reason, and the weak-willed husband still obeyed his mother.

With all her soul, Katerina internally opposes such a hypocritical and meaningless behavior, this contradicts her bright and sincere nature, but the girl cannot resist the orders established in the Kabanova family. She does not love her husband, but regrets, and this is not enough to create a strong family. And then Katerina indulges in a feeling of love for another - Diky's nephew, Boris. And since then, even bigger problems begin - pangs of conscience, haunted neither day nor night, a constant question in my soul: "Should I confess my guilt?" “Everything trembles, as if her fever was beating; so pale, rushing about the house, exactly what she is looking for, - says the sister of her husband Varvara about the state of Katerina. - Eyes like a madman! This morning she began to cry, and she is crying. My priests! what should I do with her? "

And finally, Katerina takes a decisive step by telling her mother-in-law and husband about her sin towards Boris: “Mother! Tikhon! I am a sinner before God and before you! Didn't I swear to you that I wouldn't look at anyone without you! Remember, remember! Do you know what I, dissolute, did without you? On the first night I left home ... And all ten nights I walked with Boris Grigorievich. "

After that, a real tragedy is played out: reproaches and swearing from the mother-in-law, who urges her son to beat her daughter-in-law, unbearable mental pain and, finally, the fatal decision - to rush into the Volga. Alas, Katerina's life ended at a young age. Some understand and do not condemn her for this act, some, on the contrary, believe that only a weak-willed person could commit suicide. But, be that as it may, Katerina will remain in the eyes of many readers a positive heroine, that is, the best of all the characters in the play.

Without a doubt, The Thunderstorm (1859) is the pinnacle of Alexander Ostrovsky's drama. The author shows the most important changes in the social and political life of Russia using the example of family relations. That is why his creation needs a detailed analysis.

The process of creating the play "The Thunderstorm" is connected in many ways with the past periods in the work of Ostrovsky. The author is attracted by the same problems as in the “Muscovite” plays, but the image of the family receives a different interpretation (the novelty was the denial of the stagnation of patriarchal life and the oppression of Domostroi). The appearance of a light, kind beginning, a natural heroine is an innovation in the author's work.

The first thoughts and sketches of The Thunderstorms appeared in the summer of 1859, and already at the beginning of October the writer had a clear idea of \u200b\u200bthe whole picture. The work was greatly influenced by a journey along the Volga. An ethnographic expedition was organized under the patronage of the Maritime Ministry to study the customs and customs of the indigenous population of Russia. Ostrovsky also took part in it.

The city of Kalinov is a collective image of different Volga cities, which are simultaneously similar to each other, but have their own distinctive features. Ostrovsky, as an experienced researcher, entered all his observations about the life of the Russian province and the specifics of the behavior of residents in his diary. On the basis of these records, the characters of "The Thunderstorms" were later created.

The meaning of the name

A thunderstorm is not only a revelry of the elements, but also a symbol of the collapse and purification of the stagnant atmosphere of a provincial town, where the medieval orders of Kabanikha and the Wild ruled. This is the meaning of the title of the play. With the death of Katerina, which occurred during a thunderstorm, the patience of many people is exhausted: Tikhon rises against the tyranny of his mother, Varvara escapes, Kuligin openly blames the inhabitants of the city for what happened.

For the first time, Tikhon spoke about a thunderstorm during the farewell ceremony: "... For two weeks there will be no thunderstorm over me." By this word he meant the oppressive atmosphere of his home, where an oppressive mother rules the ball. “A thunderstorm is sent to us as punishment,” says Dikoy to Kuligin. The tyrant understands this phenomenon as punishment for his sins, he is afraid to pay for the unfair treatment of people. The boar is in solidarity with him. The punishment for sin in thunder and lightning is seen by Katerina, whose conscience is also not clear. God's righteous wrath - this is another role of a thunderstorm in Ostrovsky's play. And only Kuligin understands that in this natural phenomenon only a flash of electricity can be found, but his advanced views cannot yet get along in a city that needs purification. If you need more information on the role and meaning of thunderstorms, you can read on this topic.

Genre and direction

"The Thunderstorm" is a drama, according to A. Ostrovsky. This genre defines a heavy, serious, often everyday plot, close to reality. Some reviewers have mentioned a more precise wording: a domestic tragedy.

If we talk about the direction, then this play is absolutely realistic. The main indicator of this, perhaps, is the description of the customs, habits and everyday aspects of the existence of the inhabitants of the provincial Volga cities (detailed description). The author attaches great importance to this, carefully describing the realities of the life of the heroes and their images.

Composition

Exposition: Ostrovsky draws the image of a city and even a world in which heroes live and future events unfold.
This is followed by the outset of Katerina's conflict with the new family and society as a whole and the internal conflict (dialogue between Katerina and Varvara).
After the outset, we see the development of the action, during which the heroes seek to resolve the conflict.
Closer to the finale, the conflict comes to the point when problems require urgent resolution. The climax is Katerina's last monologue in Act 5.
This is followed by a denouement, which shows the insolubility of the conflict on the example of the death of Katerina.

Conflict

There are several conflicts in The Thunderstorm:

First, it is a confrontation between tyrants (Dikaya, Kabanikha) and victims (Katerina, Tikhon, Boris, etc.). This is a conflict between two worldviews - old and new, obsolete and freedom-loving characters. This conflict is highlighted.
On the other hand, action exists thanks to a psychological conflict, that is, an internal one - in Katerina's soul.
The social conflict gave rise to all the previous ones: Ostrovsky begins his work with the marriage of an impoverished noblewoman and a merchant. This tendency was widespread during the time of the author. The ruling aristocratic class began to lose power, becoming poorer and ruined by idleness, wastefulness and commercial ignorance. But the merchants gained momentum due to lack of principle, assertiveness, business acumen and nepotism. Then some decided to improve matters at the expense of others: the nobles passed off refined and educated daughters for rude, ignorant, but rich sons from the merchant's guild. Because of this discrepancy, the marriage of Katerina and Tikhon is initially doomed to failure.

The essence

Raised in the best traditions of aristocracy, the noblewoman Katerina, at the insistence of her parents, married an uncouth and soft-bodied drunkard Tikhon, who belonged to a wealthy merchant family. His mother oppresses her daughter-in-law, imposing the false and ridiculous orders of Domostroy on her: to sob for show before her husband leaves, to humiliate herself in front of us in public, etc. The young heroine finds sympathy with the daughter of Kabanikha, Barbara, who teaches a new relative to hide her thoughts and feelings, secretly acquiring the joys of life. During her husband's departure, Katerina falls in love and begins dating Diky's nephew, Boris. But their dates end in separation, because the woman does not want to hide, she wants to run away with her beloved to Siberia. But the hero cannot risk taking her with him. As a result, she still repent of her sins to her husband and mother-in-law, and receives a severe punishment from Kabanikha. Realizing that conscience and domestic oppression do not allow her to live on, she rushes into the Volga. After her death, the younger generation revolts: Tikhon reproaches his mother, Varvara escapes with Kudryash, etc.

Ostrovsky's play combines features and contradictions, all the pros and cons of the feudal Russia of the 19th century. The town of Kalinov is a collective image, a simplified model of Russian society, described in detail. Looking at this model, we see "a necessary need for people who are active and energetic." The author shows that an outdated worldview only gets in the way. It spoils first family relationships, and later does not allow cities and the whole country to develop.

The main characters and their characteristics

The work has a clear system of characters, into which the images of the heroes fit.

First, there are the oppressors. Dikoy is a typical tyrant and a wealthy merchant. From his insults, relatives scatter to the corners. Dikaya's servants are cruel. Everyone knows that it is impossible to please him. Kabanova is the embodiment of the patriarchal way of life, the outdated Domostroi. A rich merchant's wife, a widow, she constantly insists on observing all the traditions of her ancestors and herself clearly follows them. We have described them in more detail in this.
Secondly, they have adapted. Tikhon is a weak man who loves his wife, but cannot find the strength to protect her from the oppression of his mother. He does not support the old orders and traditions, but he sees no reason to go against the system. Such is Boris, who tolerates the machinations of his rich uncle. This disclosure is devoted to their images. Varvara is the daughter of Kabanikha. She takes her trick, living a double life. During the day, she formally obeys conventions, at night she walks with Kudryash. Deceit, resourcefulness and cunning do not spoil her cheerful, adventurous disposition: she is also kind and responsive to Katerina, tender and caring in relation to her beloved. The whole is devoted to the characteristics of this girl.
Katerina stands apart, the characterization of the heroine is different from everyone else. This is a young, intelligent noblewoman, whom her parents surrounded with understanding, care and attention. Therefore, the girl is accustomed to freedom of thought and speech. But in marriage, she faced cruelty, rudeness and humiliation. At first she tried to come to terms, to love Tikhon and his family, but nothing came of it: Katerina's nature resisted this unnatural union. She then tried on the role of a hypocritical mask that has a secret life. This also did not suit her, because the heroine is distinguished by directness, conscience and honesty. As a result, out of despair, she decided to go to rebellion, admitting a sin and then committing a more terrible one - suicide. We wrote more about the image of Katerina in the dedicated to her.
Kuligin is also a special hero. He expresses the author's position, bringing a bit of progressiveness into the archaic world. The hero is a self-taught mechanic, he is educated and intelligent, in contrast to the superstitious inhabitants of Kalinov. We also wrote a short about his role in the play and his character.

Topics

The main theme of the work is Kalinov's life and customs (we have dedicated a separate one to her). The author describes a provincial province in order to show people that they do not need to cling to the remnants of the past, they need to understand the present and think about the future. And the inhabitants of the Volga town are frozen out of time, their life is monotonous, false and empty. It is spoiled and hindered in the development of superstition, conservatism, as well as the unwillingness of tyrants to change for the better. Such a Russia will continue to vegetate in poverty and ignorance.
Love and family are also important topics here, as the problems of upbringing and generational conflict are raised along the way. The influence of the family on certain characters is very important (Katerina is a reflection of the upbringing of her parents, and Tikhon grew up so spineless due to the tyranny of his mother).
The theme of sin and repentance. The heroine stumbled, but realized her mistake in time, deciding to reform and repent of what she had done. From the point of view of Christian philosophy, this is a highly moral decision that uplifts and justifies Katherine. If you are interested in this topic, read our about it.

Problematic

Social conflict leads to social and personal problems.

Ostrovsky, firstly, denounces tyranny as a psychological phenomenon in the images of Dikiy and Kabanova. These people played with the fate of their subordinates, trampling on the manifestations of their individuality and freedom. And because of their ignorance and despotism, the younger generation becomes as vicious and useless as what has already become obsolete.
Second, the author condemns weakness, obedience and selfishness with the help of the images of Tikhon, Boris and Varvara. By their behavior, they only condone the tyranny of the masters of life, although they could together turn the tide in their favor.
The problem of the contradictory Russian character, conveyed in the image of Katerina, can be called personal, albeit inspired by global upheavals. A deeply religious woman, in search and finding herself, goes to treason, and then to suicide, which contradicts all Christian canons.
Moral issues associated with love and devotion, education and tyranny, sin and repentance. Heroes cannot distinguish one from the other, these concepts are intricately intertwined with each other. Katerina, for example, is forced to choose between loyalty and love, and Kabanikha does not see the difference between the role of a mother and the power of a dogmatist, she is driven by good intentions, but she embodies them to the detriment of everyone.
Tragedy of conscience is quite important. For example, Tikhon had to make a decision - to defend his wife from his mother's attacks or not. Katerina also made a deal with her conscience when she became close to Boris. You can read more about this.
Ignorance. The inhabitants of Kalinov are stupid and not educated, they believe fortune-tellers and wanderers, and not scientists and professionals in their field. Their worldview is turned to the past, they do not strive for a better life, so there is no need to be surprised at the savagery of manners and ostentatious hypocrisy of the main persons of the city.

Meaning

The author is convinced that the desire for freedom is natural, despite certain setbacks in life, and tyranny and hypocrisy are ruining the country and the talented people in it. Therefore, your independence, craving for knowledge, beauty and spirituality must be defended, otherwise the old order will not go anywhere, their falsity will simply cover the new generation and make it play by its own rules. This idea is reflected in the position of Kuligin, Ostrovsky's original voice.

The author's position in the play is clearly expressed. We understand that Kabanikha, although she preserves traditions, is not right, just as the rebellious Katerina is also wrong. However, Katerina had potential, she had a mind, she had purity of thoughts, and the great people personified in her can still be reborn, throwing off the shackles of ignorance and tyranny. You can find out more about the meaning of the drama in on this topic.

Criticism

The Thunderstorm became the subject of bitter controversy among critics in both the 19th and 20th centuries. In the 19th century, Nikolai Dobrolyubov (article "A ray of light in a dark kingdom"), Dmitry Pisarev (article "Motives of the Russian Drama") and Apollon Grigoriev wrote about it from opposite positions.

I.A.Goncharov praised the play and expressed his opinion in a critical article of the same name:

In the same drama, a broad picture of national life and customs settled down, with unparalleled artistic, fullness and fidelity. Every face in drama is a typical character snatched directly from the environment of popular life.

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The events in AN Ostrovsky's drama "The Thunderstorm" unfold on the Volga coast, in the fictional city of Kalinov. The work provides a list of 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 her 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 Varvara. 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, 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 makes not only Katerina the main character in The Thunderstorm. 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 obedience. 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 city's inhabitants. She does 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 Varvara, that make readers think about the whole tragedy of the situation.

The author describes 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 according to 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 in that he is not afraid of the merchant and can tell him what he thinks of him. At the same time, Kudryash, like Dikoy, tries to find benefits in everything. He can be described as a common person.

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 want to even 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 Storm" 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 the streets are roaring, and 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 calm and measuredness.

This article provides a brief description of the heroes of the play "Thunderstorm", for a deeper understanding, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the thematic articles about each character in the "Thunderstorm" on our website.