PLAY HISTORY

The play was started by Alexander Ostrovsky in July 1859 and finished on 9 October. The manuscript of the play is kept in the Russian State Library.

In 1848, Alexander Ostrovsky went with his family to Kostroma, to the Shchelykovo estate. The natural beauty of the Volga region amazed the playwright and then he thought about the play. For a long time it was believed that the plot of the Thunderstorm drama was taken by Ostrovsky from the life of the Kostroma merchants. Kostroma residents at the beginning of the 20th century could accurately point to the place of Katerina's suicide.

In his play, Ostrovsky raises the problem of the turning point in public life that occurred in the 1850s, the problem of changing social foundations.

The names of the characters in the play are endowed with symbolism: Kabanova is an overweight, heavy woman; Kuligin is a "kuliga", a swamp, some of its features and name are similar to the name of the inventor Kulibin; the name Katerina means "pure"; Varvara opposed to her - " barbarian».

THE MEANING OF THE TITLE OF THUNDERSTORM DRAMA

The title of Ostrovsky's drama "The Thunderstorm" plays an important role in understanding this play. The image of a thunderstorm in Ostrovsky's drama is unusually complex and ambiguous. On the one hand, a thunderstorm is a direct participant in the action of the play, on the other hand, a symbol of the idea of \u200b\u200bthis work. In addition, the image of a thunderstorm has so many meanings that it illuminates almost all facets of the tragic collision in the play.

The thunderstorm plays an important role in the composition of the drama. In the first act - the plot of the work: Katerina tells Varvara about her dreams and hints at her secret love. Almost immediately after this, a thunderstorm is approaching: "... there is no way a thunderstorm is coming ..." At the beginning of the fourth act, a thunderstorm is also gathering, foreshadowing a tragedy: "Oh, remember my words that this thunderstorm will not pass in vain ..."

And a thunderstorm breaks out only in the scene of Katerina's confession - at the climax of the play, when the heroine speaks of her sin to her husband and mother-in-law, not ashamed of the presence of other townspeople. The thunderstorm is directly involved in the action as a real phenomenon of nature. It influences the behavior of the characters: after all, it is during a thunderstorm that Katerina confesses her sin. They even talk about a thunderstorm as if it were alive (“The rain is dripping, no matter how the thunderstorm gathers?”, “And so it creeps on us, and it creeps like a living thing!”).

But the thunderstorm in the play also has a figurative meaning. For example, Tikhon calls the swearing, abuse and antics of his mother a thunderstorm: "How do I know now that there won't be any thunderstorm over me for two weeks, there are no shackles on my legs, so do I care about my wife?"

The following fact is also noteworthy: Kuligin is a supporter of the peaceful eradication of vices (he wants to ridicule bad manners in the book: "I wanted to portray all this in verse ..."). And it is he who offers the Wild to make a lightning rod ("a copper plate"), which serves here as an allegory, because a soft and peaceful opposition to vices by exposing them in books is a kind of lightning rod.

In addition, a thunderstorm is perceived differently by all characters. So, Dikoy says: "A thunderstorm is sent to us as punishment." Dikoy declares that people should be afraid of thunderstorms, but his power and tyranny are based precisely on people's fear of him. Boris's fate is evidence of this. He is afraid not to receive an inheritance and therefore obeys the Wild. Hence, this fear is beneficial to the Wild. He wants everyone to be afraid of the storm, as well as himself.

But Kuligin treats a thunderstorm differently: "Now every blade of grass, every flower rejoices, but we are hiding, we are afraid, just what misfortune!" He sees life-giving power in a thunderstorm. It is interesting that not only the attitude to thunderstorms, but also the principles of Dikiy and Kuligin are different. Kuligin condemns the way of life of Dikiy, Kabanova and their mores: "Cruel manners, sir, in our city, cruel! .."

So the image of a thunderstorm turns out to be associated with the disclosure of the characters of the characters in the drama. Katerina is also afraid of a thunderstorm, but not like Dikoy. She sincerely believes that a thunderstorm is God's retribution. Katerina does not talk about the benefits of a thunderstorm, she is not afraid of punishment, but of sins. Her fear is associated with deep, strong faith and high moral ideals. Therefore, in her words about the fear of a thunderstorm, there is not self-righteousness, like the Wild one, but rather repentance: “It's not that it’s scary that it will kill you, but that death will suddenly find you, as you are, with all your sins, with all evil thoughts ... "

The heroine herself also resembles a thunderstorm. Firstly, the theme of a thunderstorm is connected with the feelings, state of mind of Katerina. In the first act, a thunderstorm gathers, as if a harbinger of tragedy and as an expression of the heroine's troubled soul. It was then that Katerina confesses to Varvara that she loves another - not her husband. The thunderstorm did not disturb Katerina during her meeting with Boris, when she suddenly felt happy. A thunderstorm appears whenever storms rage in the soul of the heroine herself: the words "With Boris Grigorievich!" (in the scene of Katerina's confession) - and again a "thunderclap" is heard according to the author's remarks.

Secondly, the recognition of Katerina and her suicide was a challenge to the forces of the "dark kingdom" and its principles ("sewn-covered"). Love itself, which Katerina did not hide, her desire for freedom is also a protest, a challenge that thundered over the forces of the "dark kingdom" like a thunderstorm. Katerina's victory is that rumors about Kabanikha, her role in the suicide of her daughter-in-law, will not be able to hide the truth. Even Tikhon begins to protest weakly. “You ruined her! You! You!" he shouts to his mother.

So, Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" produces, despite its tragedy, a refreshing, encouraging impression, about which Dobrolyubov spoke: “... the end (of the play) ... seems to us gratifying, it is easy to understand why: it presents a terrible challenge to the tyrant force. .. "

Katerina does not adapt to Kabanova's principles, she did not want to lie and listen to someone else's lies: "You are talking about me, mamma, in vain you are saying this ..."

A thunderstorm also does not obey anything and anyone - it happens both in summer and in spring, not being limited by the season, like precipitation. No wonder in many pagan religions the main god is the thunderer, the lord of thunder and lightning (thunderstorms).

As in nature, the thunderstorm in Ostrovsky's play combines destructive and creative power: "The storm will kill!", "This is not a storm, but grace!"

So, the image of a thunderstorm in Ostrovsky's drama is polysemantic and ambiguous: he, symbolically expressing the idea of \u200b\u200bthe work, at the same time directly participates in the action. The image of a thunderstorm illuminates almost all facets of the play's tragic collision, which is why the meaning of the title becomes so important for understanding the play.

"Thunderstorm" by A.N. Ostrovsky is a significant and powerful work of the Russian It attracts attention with the most interesting events taking place in the play and its complex problems. The drama itself has been filmed more than once and enjoyed considerable success with the audience. The image of the city of Kalinov, in which the action takes place, symbolizes an enchanted vicious circle, from which it is impossible to escape without injuring the soul and heart.

The history of Ostrovsky's "Storm"

I. S. Turgenev spoke about this work very positively, with special trepidation and delight emphasized the enormous talent of A. N. Ostrovsky. The history of the creation of Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" goes back to the socio-political situation in the country in the fifties - sixties of the XIX century. It was a turning point in history and social thought. During that period, more and more accusatory literature began to appear, and the work of A.N. Ostrovsky had a time. Topics that were popular at that time and caused considerable controversy: serfdom, the position of women in society and the raznochinny intelligentsia. A.N. Ostrovsky in "The Thunderstorm" raises an equally relevant topic - domestic tyranny, the domination of money over life and the value of a person.

The year of writing the drama is considered to be 1859, at the same time the first performances of the play appeared in the best and Petersburg. The work appeared in print a year later (1860). The history of Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm" shows that the work fully reflected the socio-political thought of that time.

The meaning of the name

If we turn to the semantic load of the drama, then its name reflects the basic state of the main characters. The entire city of Kalinov lives in tension, which also happens when expecting a thunderstorm as a natural phenomenon: stuffiness reigns everywhere, there is not enough fresh air. The life of urban dwellers is just as painful: many are depressed, under the yoke of domestic tyranny. The thunderstorm should bring relief and release. The heroes are looking for a way out of a difficult situation, but they do not know how to act independently, to listen to the voice of their own heart. In depicting such characters, A.N. Ostrovsky ("The Thunderstorm"). The story of the drama underscores the impossibility of solving the problem peacefully and the futility of such attempts.

Compositional and ideological component

The drama consists of five acts, with ten days elapsing between the third and fourth acts. The entire play can be conditionally divided into four parts: agonizing anticipation, accompanied by longing and suffering, preparation for the denouement. The death of Katerina causes a lot of controversy among researchers. Could she continue to live in the society that surrounded her, or not? The history of Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm" proves that the author wanted to show a strong personality capable of rising above the circumstances of his own life, therefore he endows the main character with integrity of nature, unbending will and

Indeed, the death of Katerina is a foregone conclusion. If she had not died by her own decision, she would have been crushed by the cruel morals that reign in the city of Kalinov. She would have to break her freedom-loving nature and adapt to the order of society. All her inner being, her soul opposed these orders. Therefore, death for her becomes a way out, deliverance from oppressive suffering and fear. Katerina's heart is a free bird, which she sets free.

Katerina

He painstakingly paints a difficult picture of life the main characterOstrovsky ("The Thunderstorm"). Analysis of this work shows that before marriage, Katerina lived in a loving family, where everyone respected each other's personal choice and freedom. With her marriage, Katerina lost touch with her family and lost her freedom. That is why she is so lonely and sickening in the Kabanovs' house, that is why she cannot get used to its foundations, she recollects about the past: “Was I like this? I lived, did not grieve about anything, like a bird in the wild! "

Is the main character strong or weak? Did she have a choice? What was the decisive event that prompted her to commit suicide? The inability to change her life, to be close to her loved one, the inability to find a way out of the current situation, her own desire for freedom led her to this action. We see that suicide is committed out of despair, this is not a deliberate and cold-blooded decision, but it is deliberate. In relation to herself, to her dreams, the heroine commits weakness, while she did not submit to the society that condemns her, and by suicide emphasizes her individuality of character.

"Dark kingdom"

This includes the representatives of the old society with its rigid moral foundations. These are Savel Prokofievich Dikoy, Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova. These people will never change: old habits and worldview are so ingrained in them that they find the meaning of life in teaching young people, cursing modern customs.

Dikoy takes pleasure in tyrannizing his household: no one dares to say a word to him. He is dissatisfied with literally everything, and no one can please him. Kabanova (Kabanikha) imposes her will on her son and daughter-in-law, categorically refuses to accept someone else's point of view, different from her own.

Tikhon Kabanov

The son of Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova, a weak and weak-willed person. She will not leave a step from mama's word, I cannot make an independent decision. Ostrovsky draws him defenseless, cowardly. "Thunderstorm", the characterization of the hero testifies to this, emphasizes the adaptive qualities of Tikhon's character and his complete dissolution under the will of his mother.

Barbara, sister of Tikhon

Unmarried girl, daughter of Kabanova. Its motto is the statement: "Do what you want, but in such a way that it is sewn and covered."

Ostrovsky does not particularly distinguish it. "Thunderstorm", the analysis of the work testifies to this, in every possible way opposes the willful nature of Barbara and the purity of Katerina's soul. Varvara achieves her goal with cunning and freethinking, and Katerina prefers the truth in everything.

Boris

Nephew of the Wild, lives in his house out of mercy. The young guy is used to listening to the expression of discontent and the admonition of his uncle, but if you pay attention, you can see how deeply he is hurt by the Dikiy's reproaches, how unpleasant lies and hypocrisy are to him. Boris's inability to resist the will of the powerful Wild is underscored by the work "The Thunderstorm". Ostrovsky sympathizes with Boris. The hero's natural delicacy does not allow him to argue with his uncle, to defend his point of view. One way or another, but Boris is also a victim cruel morals, dominating in the city of Kalinov.

The images in Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm" are particularly diverse: Kabanikha, Dikoy, Varvara, Tikhon, Boris - all, as one, can adapt. Some suppress, others obey. Katerina is opposed to all of them - a young woman who has retained the integrity of her nature and strength of mind. Thus, the work "Thunderstorm" turns out to be very ambiguous. Ostrovsky justifies Katerina for her weakness in that she sacrifices her life, but gives her courage and selflessness. The author depicts not only a special case, but the death of Russia, its inability to live according to the old orders, which lead to collapse.

Introduction

A. N. Ostrovsky is very modern as truly talented painter... He never left the complex and painful issues of society. Ostrovsky is a very sensitive writer who loves his land, his people, its history. His plays attract with amazing moral purity, genuine humanity.

One of the masterpieces of Ostrovsky and all Russian drama is the play "The Thunderstorm". After all, the author himself evaluates it as a creative success. In The Thunderstorm, according to Goncharov, “the picture of national life and customs has settled down with unparalleled artistic fullness and fidelity,” in this capacity, the play was a passionate challenge to the despotism and ignorance that reigned in pre-reform Russia.

Very clearly and expressively depicts the Ostrovsky corner of the "dark kingdom", where before our eyes the opposition between darkness and ignorance, on the one hand, and beauty and harmony, on the other, is gaining strength. The masters of life here are tyrants. They oppress people, tyrannize in their families and suppress every manifestation of living and healthy human thought. Already at the first acquaintance with the characters of the drama, the inevitability of a conflict between two opposing sides becomes obvious. Because both among the adherents of the old order and among the representatives of the new generation, both truly strong and weak characters are striking.

Based on this, the purpose of my work will be a detailed study of the characters of the main characters of the drama by AN Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm".

History of creation and plot of the drama "Thunderstorm"

Drama A.N. Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm" first saw the light not in print, but on stage: on November 16, 1859, it premiered at the Maly Theater, and on December 2, at the Alexandrinsky Theater. The drama was printed in the first issue of the Library for Reading magazine of the next year, 1860, and in March of the same year it was published as a separate edition.

The Thunderstorm was written quickly: it began in July and ended on October 9, 1859. And it took shape, matured in the consciousness and imagination of the artist, apparently, for many years ...

What a sacrament - creation artistic image? When you think about The Thunderstorm, you remember a lot of things that could have been the impetus for writing a drama. Firstly, the very trip of the writer along the Volga, which opened to him a new, unheard-of world of Russian life. The play says that the action takes place in the city of Kalinov on the banks of the Volga. The conditional town of Kalinov has absorbed the real signs of provincial life and customs of those cities that were well known to Ostrovsky from his Volga journey - and Tver, and Torzhok, and Kostroma, and Kineshma.

But a writer can be struck by some detail, a meeting, even a story he heard, just a word or an objection, and this sinks into his imagination, secretly ripens and grows there. He could see on the banks of the Volga and talk with some local bourgeois, reputed to be an eccentric in the town, because he likes to "scatter the conversation", to speculate about the local customs, etc., and in his creative imagination, future faces and characters could gradually emerge heroes of the "Thunderstorm", which we have to study.

In its most general formulation, the thematic core of The Thunderstorm can be defined as a clash between new trends and old traditions, between the aspirations of oppressed people for the free manifestation of their spiritual needs. The inclinations, interests, and the social and family order that prevailed in pre-reform Russia.

Characterizing the representatives of old traditions and new tendencies, Ostrovsky deeply and fully reveals the essence of life relations and the entire structure of the pre-reform reality. In the words of Goncharov, in "The Thunderstorm" "a broad picture of national life and customs has settled down."

A. N. Ostrovsky was a prominent literary figure. He changed a lot in the staging of plays, and his works are distinguished by realism, the views of which the writer adhered to. One of its most famous works - the play "The Thunderstorm", the analysis of which is presented below.

The history of the play

Analysis of "The Thunderstorm" should begin with the history of its writing, because the circumstances of that time played an important role in the creation of the plot. The play was written in 1859 during Ostrovsky's journey across the Volga region. The writer observed and explored not only the beauties of nature and the sights of the Volga cities.

He was no less interested in the people he met on the trip. He studied their characters, everyday life, the history of their lives. Alexander Nikolaevich made notes, and then based on them he created his own work.

But the history of Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" has different versions. For a very long time, it was believed that the writer took the plot for the play from real life. There was a girl in Kostroma who, unable to withstand the oppression of her mother-in-law, threw herself into the river.

The researchers found many matches. This happened in the same year in which the play was written. Both girls were young and were married at a very early age. Both were oppressed by their mothers-in-law, and their husbands were weak of character. Katerina had an affair with the nephew of the most influential person in the city, and a poor girl from Kostroma had an affair with a postal worker. Unsurprisingly, due to so many coincidences, for a long time, everyone believed that the plot was based on real events.

But more detailed research has refuted this theory. Ostrovsky sent the play to print in October, and the girl dropped a month later. Therefore, the plot could not be based on the life story of this Kostroma family. However, perhaps thanks to his observation, Alexander Nikolaevich was able to predict this sad end. But there is a more romantic version of the story of the play.

Who was the prototype for the main character?

In the analysis of "The Thunderstorm", one can also indicate that there was a lot of controversy about who the image of Katerina was copied from. There was also a place for the writer's personal drama. Both Alexander Nikolaevich and Lyubov Pavlovna Kositskaya had families. And this served as an obstacle to the further development of their relationship.

Kositskaya was a theater actress, and many believe that she is the prototype of Katerina in Ostrovsky's The Thunderstorm. Later Love Pavlovna will play her role. The woman herself was from the Volga region, and the playwright's biographers wrote that "Katerina's Dream" was recorded from the words of Kositskaya. Lyubov Kositskaya, like Katerina, was a believer and loved the church very much.

But "The Thunderstorm" is not only a drama about personal relationships, it is a play about the growing conflict in society. In that era, there were already people who wanted to change the old order, but the ossified "house-building" society did not want to obey them. And this opposition is reflected in Ostrovsky's play.

The play takes place in the fictional Volga town of Kalinov. The inhabitants of this town are people accustomed to deception, tyranny and ignorance. Several people from the Kalinovsky society stood out for their desire to better life - this is Katerina Kabanova, Boris and Kuligin.

The young girl was married to the weak-willed Tikhon, whose severe and oppressive mother constantly oppressed the girl. Kabanikha established very harsh rules in her house, so all members of the Kabanov family did not like her and were afraid of her. During Tikhon's departure on business, Katerina secretly meets with Boris, an educated young man who came from another city to visit his uncle, the Wild, a man of the same tough disposition as Kabanikha.

When her husband returned, the young woman stopped seeing Boris. She feared punishment for her act because she was devout. Despite all the persuasions, Katerina confessed everything to Tikhon and his mother. The boar began to tyrannize the young woman even more. Uncle sent Boris to Siberia. Katerina, having said goodbye to him, threw herself into the Volga, realizing that she could no longer live in tyranny. Tikhon accused his mother that it was because of her relationship that his wife decided to take such a step. it summary "Thunderstorms" by Ostrovsky.

Brief description of the characters

The next point in the analysis of the play is the characterization of the heroes of Ostrovsky's The Storm. All the characters turned out to be memorable, with vivid characters. The main character (Katerina) is a young woman, brought up on the orders of house building. But she understood the rigidity of these views and strove for a better life, where all people would live honestly and do the right thing. She was devout and loved to go to church and pray.

Kabanova Marfa Ignatievna is a widow, a wealthy merchant's wife. She adhered to the foundations of house building. She had a tough disposition, established a tyrannical order in the house. Tikhon - her son, a weak-willed man, loved to drink. He understood that his mother was unfair to his wife, but he was afraid to go against her will.

Boris, an educated young man, came to Dikoy to give him part of the inheritance. Impressive, does not accept the laws of the Kalinov society. Wild - influential person, everyone was afraid of him, because they knew how severe he was. Kuligin is a philistine who believes in the power of science. Tries to prove to others the importance of scientific discoveries.

This is a characteristic of Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorms" characters who played a significant role in the plot. They can be divided into two small societies: old-fashioned and those who believed that change was necessary to create better conditions.

A ray of light in the play

In the analysis of "Thunderstorms" it is worth highlighting the main female image - Katerina Kabanova. It is a reflection of what tyranny and a despotic attitude can do to a person. A young woman, although she grew up in an "old" society, unlike the majority, sees all the injustice of such an order. But Katerina was honest, did not want and did not know how to deceive, and this is one of the reasons why she told her husband everything. And those people who surrounded her are accustomed to deceiving, fearing, tyrannizing. And the young woman could not accept it, all her spiritual purity opposed it. Because of the inner light and the desire to live honestly, the image of Katerina from Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" was compared to "a ray of light in the dark kingdom."

And the only joys in her life were prayer and love for Boris. Unlike all those who talked about faith, Katerina believed in the power of prayer, she was very afraid to commit a sin, so she could not meet with Boris. The young woman understood that after her act, her mother-in-law would torment her even more. Katerina saw that in this society no one wanted to change, and she could not live among injustice, misunderstanding and without love. Therefore, throwing herself into the river seemed to her the only way out. As Kuligin later said, she found peace.

Thunderstorm image

In the play, some of the important episodes are associated with a thunderstorm. According to the plot, Katerina was very afraid of this natural phenomenon. Because people believed that a thunderstorm would punish a sinful person. And all these clouds, thunder - all this only intensified the depressing situation in the Kabanovs' house.

In the analysis of The Thunderstorm, it should also be noted that it is highly symbolic that all episodes with this natural phenomenon are associated with Katerina. This is a reflection of her inner peace, the tension in which she was, the storm of feelings that raged inside her. Katerina was afraid of this intensity of feelings, so she was very worried when there was a thunderstorm. Also, thunderstorm and rain are a symbol of purification, when a young woman threw herself into the river, she found peace. Just like nature seems cleaner after rain.

The main idea of \u200b\u200bthe play

What is the main meaning of Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm"? The playwright sought to show how unjustly society is organized. How can they oppress the weak and defenseless, that people are not left with any choice. Perhaps Alexander Nikolaevich wanted to show that society should reconsider its views. The meaning of Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm" is that one cannot live in ignorance, lies and obstinacy. We must strive to become better, to be more tolerant of people, so that their life does not resemble " dark kingdom"like Katerina Kabanova.

Personal conflict

The play shows the growth of Katerina's internal conflict. On the one hand, there is an understanding that it is impossible to live in tyranny, love for Boris. And on the other hand, a strict upbringing, a sense of duty and fear of committing a sin. A woman cannot come to one decision. Throughout the play, she meets Boris, but does not even think about leaving her husband.

The conflict is growing, and the impetus for the sad death of Katerina was the separation from Boris and the intensified persecution by her mother-in-law. But personal conflict is not the most important place in the play.

Social issue

In the analysis of "The Thunderstorm" it should be noted that the playwright tried to convey the mood of society, which was at that time. People understood that changes were needed, that the old system of society should give way to a new, enlightened one. But the people of the old order did not want to admit that their views had lost their strength, that they were ignorant. And this struggle between the "old" and "new" was reflected in the play by A. Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm".

Creative story "Thunderstorms"

Ostrovsky came to an artistic synthesis of the dark and light beginnings of merchant life in the Russian tragedy "The Thunderstorm" - the pinnacle of his mature work. The creation of "The Thunderstorm" was preceded by the playwright's expedition along the Upper Volga, undertaken on the instructions of the Naval Ministry in 1856-1857. She revived and revived in memory youthful impressions, when in 1848 Ostrovsky first went with his household on a fascinating journey to his father's homeland, to the Volga city of Kostroma and further, to the Shchelykovo estate acquired by his father. The result of this trip was Ostrovsky's diary, which reveals a lot in his perception of the life of provincial, Volga region Russia. The Ostrovskys set off on April 22, on the eve of Yegoriev's day. “It’s springtime, holidays are frequent,” says Kupava to Tsar Berendey in Ostrovsky’s “spring tale” The Snow Maiden. The journey coincided with the most poetic time of the year in the life of a Russian. In the evenings, in ritual spring songs that sounded outside the outskirts, in groves and valleys, the peasants turned to birds, curly willows, white birches, to the silky green grass. On Yegoryev's day, they walked around the fields, "called out to Yegoriy," asked him to keep the cattle from predatory animals. Following Yegoryev's day, there were holidays of green Christmastide (Russian week), when they led round dances in the villages, arranged a game with burners, burned fires and jumped over the fire. The path of the Ostrovskys lasted a whole week and went through the ancient Russian cities: Pereslavl-Zalessky, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Kostroma. The Upper Volga region opened up for Ostrovsky as an inexhaustible source of poetic creativity. “Merya begins from Pereyaslavl,” he writes in his diary, “the land, abundant in mountains and waters, and the people are tall, and beautiful, and smart, and frank, and obligatory, and a free mind, and a soul wide open. These are my beloved fellow countrymen, with whom I seem to get along well. Here you will not see a little bent man or a woman dressed as an owl, who continually bows and says: “But father, but father ...” “And everything goes crescendo,” he continues further, “and cities, and views, and weather, and country buildings, and girls. We've got eight beauties on our way. " "On the meadow side, the views are amazing: what kind of villages, what kind of buildings, just like you are driving not across Russia, but along some promised land." And now the Ostrovskys are in Kostroma. “We are standing on the steepest mountain, under our feet is the Volga, and on it ships go back and forth, sometimes in sails, sometimes in barge haulers, and one charming song haunts us irresistibly. Here comes a bark, and charming sounds can be heard from afar; nearer and nearer, the song grows and poured, at last, at the top of its voice, then little by little it began to subside, and meanwhile another bark came up and the same song grew. And there is no end to this song ... And on the other side of the Volga, directly opposite the city, there are two villages; and one is especially picturesque, from which the most curly grove stretches right up to the Volga, the sun at sunset climbed into it somehow miraculously, from the roots, and did many miracles. I was exhausted, looking at this ... Exhausted, I returned home and for a long, long time could not sleep. A kind of despair took possession of me. Will the painful impressions of these five days be fruitless for me? " Such impressions could not be fruitless, but they defended and matured for a long time in the soul of the playwright and poet, before such masterpieces of his work as "The Thunderstorm" and then "The Snow Maiden" appeared. The great influence of the "literary expedition" along the Volga on the subsequent work of Ostrovsky was well said by his friend S.V. Maximov: “An artist with a strong talent was not able to miss a favorable opportunity ... He continued to observe the characters and outlook of indigenous Russian people, hundreds of them came out to meet him ... The Volga gave Ostrovsky abundant food, showed him new themes for dramas and comedies and inspired him to of them, which are the honor and pride of Russian literature. From the veche, once free, Novgorod suburbs breathed of that transitional time when the heavy hand of Moscow fettered the old will and sent the governor in tight-knit mittens on long, ragged paws. I dreamed of the poetic "Dream on the Volga", and the "voivode" Nechay Grigorievich Shalygin rose from the grave alive and active with his adversary, a free man, a runaway daredevil posad Roman Dubrovin, in all that truthful atmosphere old Russia, which can only be imagined by the Volga, at the same time both pious, and robber, well-fed and little bread ... Outwardly beautiful Torzhok, jealously guarding his Novgorod antiquity to the strange customs of girlish freedom and strict seclusion of married people, inspired Ostrovsky to deeply poetic "Thunderstorm "With the playful Varvara and artistically graceful Katerina." For quite a long time it was believed that Ostrovsky took the plot of "The Thunderstorm" from the life of the Kostroma merchants, which was based on the Klykovs case, which was sensational in Kostroma at the end of 1859. Until the beginning of the 20th century, Kostroma residents proudly pointed to the place of Katerina's suicide - a gazebo at the end of a small boulevard, which in those years literally hung over the Volga. They also showed the house where she lived - next to the Church of the Assumption. And when "The Thunderstorm" was first staged on the stage of the Kostroma Theater, the artists made up "like the Klykovs".

Kostroma ethnographers later examined the Klykovskoye Deed in the archives and, with documents in hand, came to the conclusion that Ostrovsky used this story in his work on The Thunderstorm. The coincidences were almost literal. A.P. Klykova was married at sixteen to a gloomy and unsociable merchant family, consisting of old parents, a son and an unmarried daughter. The mistress of the house, stern and obstinate, depersonalized her husband and children with her despotism. She forced the young daughter-in-law to do any dirty work, refused her requests to see her relatives.

At the time of the drama, Klykova was nineteen years old. In the past, she was brought up in love and in the hall of the soul in her doted grandmother, she was cheerful, lively, cheerful. Now she was in an unkind and alien family. Her young husband, Klykov, a carefree and apathetic person, could not protect his wife from the oppression of his mother-in-law and treated them indifferently. The Klykovs had no children. And then another man stood in the way of the young woman, Maryin, an employee in the post office. Suspicions began, scenes of jealousy. It ended with the fact that on November 10, 1859, the body of A.P. Klykova was found in the Volga. A long trial began, which received wide publicity even outside the Kostroma province, and none of the Kostroma residents doubted that Ostrovsky used the materials of this case in the "Groza".

Many decades passed before Ostrovsky's researchers determined that The Thunderstorm was written before Klykova, the merchant from Kostroma, threw herself into the Volga. Ostrovsky began work on "The Thunderstorm" in June - July 1859 and finished on October 9 of the same year. The play was first published in the January 1860 issue of the Library for Reading magazine. The first performance of The Thunderstorms took place on November 16, 1859 at the Maly Theater, at the benefit performance of S. Vasiliev with L.P. Nikulina-Kositskaya as Katerina. The version about the Kostroma source of the "Groza" turned out to be far-fetched. However, the very fact of this amazing coincidence says a lot: it testifies to the sagacity of the national playwright, who caught the growing conflict between the old and the new in merchant life, a conflict in which Dobrolyubov not without reason saw "something refreshing and encouraging", and the famous theatrical figure S.A. ... Yuriev said: Ostrovsky did not write "Thunderstorm" ... Volga wrote "Thunderstorm". "