The tragic severity of Katerina’s conflict with the “dark kingdom” (Based on A. Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm”). Katerina’s conflict with the “dark kingdom” Catherine’s conflict in the dark kingdom

In the merchant Kalinov, Ostrovsky sees a world breaking with moral traditions folk life. Only Katerina was given the opportunity in Groza to retain the fullness of viable principles in folk culture and maintain a sense of moral responsibility in the face of the trials to which this culture is subjected in Kalinov. In Ostrovsky’s Russian tragedy, two opposing cultures – rural and urban – collide, generating a powerful thunderstorm, and the confrontation between them goes back centuries. Russian history. The thunderstorm is directed to the future as much as it is directed into the depths of centuries. To understand it, you need to free yourself from the existing confusion, which dates back to Dobrolyubov’s times. Usually Domostroy, with its strict religious and moral precepts, is confused with the mores of folk, peasant Rus'.

Domostroevsky orders are attributed to the family and rural community. This is the deepest misconception. Domostroy and folk-peasant moral culture– the beginnings are largely opposite.

Behind their confrontation lies a deep historical conflict zemstvo (people's) and state principles, the conflict of the rural community with the centralizing, formal power of the state with the grand ducal court and the city. Turning to Russian history, A.S.

Khomyakov wrote that regional zemstvo life, based on antiquity and tradition, moved in a circle of simple, living and, so to speak, tangible sympathies, consisting of a whole and homogeneous element, distinguished by a special warmth of feeling, richness of words and poetic imagination, fidelity to that everyday source , from which it originated. And vice versa: the squad and the elements, striving for state unity, moving in the circle of abstract concepts...

or personal benefits and accepting the constant tide of foreignness, they were more prone to dry and rational development, to dead formality, to the acceptance of Roman Byzantium in law and everything foreign in custom. Domostroy, partly edited, and in a significant (*60) part written by the spiritual mentor of Ivan the Terrible, Silverst, was the fruit not of peasant, but of boyar culture and the highest circles of the clergy close to it. In the 19th century, he descended from here to the rich urban merchant strata. It is not difficult to notice the tragic confrontation in Groz religious culture Katerina's Domostroevskaya culture Kabanikha. The contrast between them is drawn by the sensitive Ostrovsky with amazing consistency and depth.

Thunderstorm's conflict absorbs thousand-year history Russia, and its tragic resolution reflects the almost prophetic premonitions of the national playwright. Is it by chance that vibrant rural life brings smells from the flowering Trans-Volga meadows to Kalinov? Is it by chance that Katerina stretches out her exhausted hands to this oncoming wave of refreshing space? Let us pay attention to the life sources of Katerina’s integrity, to the cultural soil that nourishes her. Without them, Katerina's character fades like cut grass.

Lesson summary on the subject
«
Literature
» Teacher of Russian language and literature Makashova N.V. .
Lesson topic
:
« Tragic poignancy Katerina's conflict with " dark kingdom».

Lesson objectives:

Methodical:
- implementation information technologies on the Literature lesson; - use of critical thinking technology in literature lessons; - dissemination of experience.
Educational:
- analysis of the image of Katerina; - definition structural elements composition of a dramatic work.
Educational:
- improving the ability and skill of analyzing a dramatic work; - development of attention and memory.
Educational:
- upbringing moral qualities for students using the example of the image of Katerina; - nurturing interest in the subject.
Lesson type:
combined.
Lesson technical equipment
: interactive board;
Methodological equipment of the lesson
: presentation, background summary on the topic: “The tragic severity of Katerina’s conflict with the “dark kingdom.”
During the classes.
Organizing time
I. Repetition of material from the previous lesson.
-Give brief description Wild and Kabanikha.
-
What is the composition of a play called?
II.Explanation of new material.
-Subject. The purpose of the lesson.
- Implementing the goal of the lesson, we must answer the problematic question:
“Is Katerina’s suicide a protest against the “dark kingdom”?

- Let's turn to the composition of the play. What is the plot of the play? (D. I, Rev. 5). What will we learn

from this action?

(Commencement
- Katerina responds with dignity and peacefully to her mother-in-law’s nagging: “You’re talking about me, Mama, in vain. Whether in front of people or without people, I am everything alone, I don’t prove anything of myself.” First clash. (D. I, Rev. 5). The conflict of the play is based on the clash between the tyrants and their victims. “The Thunderstorm” from the first events introduces the reader and viewer into an atmosphere of intense struggle.
-Do you think this is the first clash of heroes?
(No. We find the heroes at the moment when the contradictions between them have reached already of considerable severity. We understand that this is not the first time that Kabanikha has attacked to Katerina.)
-What character traits of Katerina appear in the very first remarks?
(Inability to be a hypocrite, lie, directness, self-esteem). The conflict is already outlined in the first act: Kabanikha does not tolerate self-esteem or disobedience in people, Katerina does not know how to adapt and submit.)
Conversation based on text.

-Where did these traits come from in the heroine? Why does the author only talk about Katerina?

talks in such detail, talks about her family, childhood?

Exercise.

Compare the atmosphere that surrounded Katerina in childhood and in her husband’s family. Compose

table.

-Let us turn to D.I phenomenon 7. Read how Katerina lived before her marriage.

Draw a conclusion.
(Katerina lived happily, her parents loved her)
-What is Katerina’s attitude towards religion? Is she religious? Read D.I phenomenon 7
(Katerina is religious, she loved going to church “to death” She also went out to pray in the garden) In Katerina’s worldview, Slavic pagan antiquity, rooted in prehistoric times, harmoniously merges with the democratic trends of Christian culture. Katerina’s religiosity includes sunrises and sunsets, dewy grass in flowering meadows, birds flying, butterflies fluttering from flower to flower. Along with it is the beauty of a rural church, and the expanse of the Volga, and the Trans-Volga meadow expanse. And when the heroine prays, she has an angelic smile on her face and her whole body seems to glow. Katerina experiences the joy of life in the temple. She bows to the sun in her garden, among the trees, herbs, flowers, and the morning freshness of awakening nature. “Or early in the morning I’ll go to the garden, the sun is still just rising, I’ll fall on my knees, pray and cry...”
-How is life for Katerina in the Kabanovs’ house?
(“Everything seems to be from under captivity”, “How playful I was! I completely withered with you”)

Comparative characteristics of two stages of Katerina’s life.
As a child In the Kabanov family, “She lived, didn’t worry about anything, like a bird in the wild,” “mama doted on her soul,” “didn’t force her to work.” Katerina's activities: cared for flowers, went to church, listened to wanderers and praying mantises, embroidered on velvet with gold, walked in the garden. “I’ve completely withered here,” “yes, everything here seems to be from under captivity.” The atmosphere at home is fear. “He won’t be afraid of you, and even less so of me. What kind of order will there be in the house?” Traits of Katerina: love of freedom (the image of a bird); independence; self-esteem; dreaminess and poetry (story about visiting church, about dreams); religiosity; determination (story about the action with the boat). Features of the “dark kingdom”: complete submission; renunciation of one's will; humiliation by reproaches and suspicions; lack of spiritual principles; religious hypocrisy. For Katerina, the main thing is to live in accordance with her moral convictions. For Kabanikha, the main thing is to subjugate her, not to let her live her own way. The relationships between the characters are in a state of sharp contrast and give rise to an irreconcilable conflict. -
What aspects of Katerina’s character are revealed in a conversation with Varvara?
D I, yavl. 2 (This conversation reveals the strength of Katerina’s feelings, the depth of her spiritual drama, inner strength, determination of her character. (“I don’t know how to deceive, hide- then I can’t do anything”, “I was born this way, hot”), showing a readiness to defend their independence, at least at the cost of death (“...if I get tired of it here, I won’t They won’t hold me back by any force... I’ll throw myself out the window, throw myself into the Volga...").
With these words

all further behavior of Katerina and her tragic death are predetermined.

-What do we learn about Katerina’s feelings?
D I, yavl. 7.9 (In this conversation, Katerina confesses her love for Boris for the first time. All Katerina’s thoughts focused on love for Boris, this feeling captured her entirely, about nothing else She can neither think nor speak.)
- Is Katerina happy with this feeling?
She never says that she will date Boris. -
D.II, yavl.3
,4,5 “Seeing off Tikhon.”
- Read D.II, revelations 3,4. How do the characters behave in this scene?
(First, Kabanikha reads instructions to Tikhon. With a feeling of relief, he says Tikhon replied: “Yes, mamma, it’s time.” But it turns out that's not all. Mother demands that he give instructions to Katerina on how to live without him. Tikhon understands that fulfilling the will of his mother, he humiliates his wife.
When Kabanakha’s instructions become completely offensive, Tikhon tries object to the bullying of Katerina, but the mother is adamant, and he quietly, embarrassed, as if apologizing to his wife, he says: “Don’t look at guys." The goal of Kabanakha is to lead to complete obedience of the family and, above all, wayward Katerina.) -
What significance does this scene have in the development of events?
(In the scene of Tikhon’s farewell it is revealed to what extremes despotism reaches Kabanikha, it turns out Tikhon’s complete inability not only to protect, but also to understand Katerina. This scene explains Katerina's decision to go on a date with Boris.)
-Let's try to understand why Katerina fell in love with Boris?
(Children's answers) We will find the answer in Dobrolyubov’s article: “For her, her whole life lies in this passion; all the strength of her nature, all her living aspirations merge here. What attracts her to Boris is not just the fact that she likes him, that in appearance and in speech he is not like the others around her, she is drawn to him by the need for love, which has not found a response in her husband, and by the offended feeling of a wife and woman, and the mortal melancholy of her monotonous life, and the desire for freedom, space, hot, unfettered freedom.” In Katerina’s soul, two equal and equal impulses collide with each other. In the Kabanovsky kingdom, where all living things wither and dry up, Katerina is overcome by longing for lost harmony. Her love is akin to the desire to raise your hands and fly. The heroine needs too much from her.
- Read D. II, Rev. 10. "Monologue with a key."

Exercise

How does the scene with the key show the heroine’s torment, struggle with herself and her strength?

Which

Katerina experiences feelings, how are these feelings reflected in her speech? What's it like

meaning of the scene?
(Here the victory of Katerina’s natural feeling over the dogmas of the house-building is revealed. Heroin's speech is full of short, abrupt interrogatives and exclamations. sentences, repetitions, comparisons conveying the tension of Katerina’s feelings. After the excited introduction, Katerina’s bitter thoughts about life in captivity follow. Speech becomes more restrained and balanced. Katerina disputes the initial decision is to throw the key: “What a sin is it if I look at him once, at least from afar! Yes, at least I’ll talk!.. But he himself didn’t want to.” This part of the monologue is accompanied by remarks: after thinking, silence, thinking, looks thoughtfully at the key characterizing Katerina's condition. Monologue ends strong impulse feelings: “What am I saying, that I am Am I lying? I might even die to see him.”) -
D. IV, phenomenon 3. What do we learn from the conversation between Varvara and Boris?
(After her husband’s arrival, Katerina “simply became not herself... She’s trembling all over, as if the fever hits; so pale, rushing around the house, as if looking for something. Eyes like crazy!”.)
-The action moves towards the climax. Where does Katerina’s repentance take place?

The dilapidated church is a symbol of the city of Kalinov.

- What is a climax?

Exercise.

Katerina’s condition, how the tension increases in the development of the action.
(A thunderstorm is approaching, which, according to the Kalinovites, “is being sent to us as punishment.” The gloomy flavor is enhanced by the action scene - instead of a panorama of the Volga - a narrow gallery with oppressive vaults. Katerina runs onto the stage, grabs Varvara’s hand and holds tightly. Her abrupt remarks convey extreme shock. She is wounded and Kabanikha's hints and Tikhon's affectionate joke. Previously, she was protected by her consciousness rightness. Now she is unarmed. And the caress of her husband, before whom she feels guilty, for her it is torture. When Boris and Katerina appear in the crowd, it’s as if asking for protection, “bends to Varvara.”) Prophecies are heard again: “Remember my word that this storm will not pass in vain...”. As in D. 1, a crazy lady appears; but in D. 1 her prophecies were of a generalized nature (“What, beauties? What are you doing here?.. You will all boil unquenchable in the tar!..). Then in D. IV the lady addresses Katerina directly: “Why are you hiding! There’s no point in hiding!..” Her words are accompanied by thunderclaps.
Exercise.

- How can you explain and motivate the heroine’s repentance?
(Katerina’s repentance is explained not only by the fear of God’s punishment, but also by the fact that her high morality, the heroine’s conscience rebels against the deception that has entered into her life. She said about herself: “I don’t know how to deceive, I can’t hide anything.” To Varvara’s objection: “But in my opinion: do what you want, as long as it’s sewn and covered it was,” Katerina replies: “I don’t want it that way. And what good!” For Katerina moral assessment of one’s actions and thoughts constitutes an important aspect of spiritual life. And in Katerina’s popular recognition one can see an attempt to atone for her guilt, an attempt at moral purification.)
Conclusion.
The true source of the heroine's repentance is her conscience. “What a conscience!.. What a mighty Slavic conscience!.. What moral strength... What huge, sublime aspirations, full of power and beauty,” wrote V. M. Dorosh about Katerina-Strepetova.
Analysis of action V.

Brief summary of Act V.
(We learn that Kabanikha locked Katerina in the house and is eating her; Tikhon is unable to protect his wife. Having run away from the house, Katerina finds Boris and asks to take her with him, but he refuses her.)
Conversation.
-
Could Katerina find a way to salvation in her soul and not end her life?

suicide?
(No Yes)
- Let's imagine that Katerina had the opportunity to contact

modern psychologist.
Modern psychologists use special psychological mechanisms to help overcome mental crises. One of these mechanisms is good for you
known because it can be used not only in crisis situations, but also helps make any decisions - this is the compilation of two lists. One list records the positive consequences of the decision, the other lists Negative consequences. Let's try to make two lists "for future life"Katerina, based on the text of the play. We make a table using quotes: Positive aspects “I will live, breathe, see the sky, watch the flight of birds, feel the sunshine on me...” “I will be pure before God, I will pray again, I will atone for my sins.. “They don’t let me perceive the whole world freely, freely - I’ll create my own world in the house, but if it doesn’t work out in the house, I’ll create my own world in my soul. This world cannot be taken away from me...” “If they lock me up, there will be silence, no one will interfere...” “No one will take my love away from me...” “Tikhon is weak, but I can make him happier if I will protect him from his mother...” “Kabanova is old, she will soon need my help...” “How much joy children will bring me...” Negative aspects “They will find him, drag him home by force...” “The mother-in-law will completely eat him up. ..” “I will never be free...” “Tikhon will not forgive, I will have to see his dissatisfied face again...” “I will never see Boris, again these night fears, these long nights, these long days...” So, there are more positive things in Katerina’s life. If you cover the negative column with your palm, it turns out that the heroine’s life will be filled with such expectations and hopes with which you can not only improve your existence, but also build it anew.
- Why couldn’t Katerina see these hopes and save her soul? Why

Katerina couldn't live on?
(She is not allowed by her conscience, the consciousness of her sinfulness, and also the fact that no one wants to help her. Tikhon is afraid of his mother. Katerina makes one last attempt to find help and support from a loved one. “Take me with you, out of here!” - asks She is Boris and is refused. There were only two options left for her: to return home and submit or die. She chose the latter.)
D.5 yavl.4

-Let's read Katerina's last monologue. We found out that Katerina believes in

God, she is devout, but according to Christian laws, suicide is a sin. Why

Does Katerina decide to commit suicide?
(Having gone through thunderstorm trials, the heroine is morally cleansed and leaves this sinful world with the consciousness of its righteousness: “He who loves will pray.” “Death due to sins is terrible,” people say. And if Katerina is not afraid of death, then the sins are atoned for. Her departure takes us back to the beginning of the tragedy. Death is sanctified by that full-blooded and life-loving religiosity, which entered the soul from childhood heroine: “There is a grave under the tree... The sun warms it... birds will fly to the tree, they will sing, the children will be brought out... Her death is last flash spiritualized love for God's world: trees, birds, flowers and herbs.)

When leaving, Katerina retains all the signs that, according to popular belief,

distinguished the saint: she and the dead were as alive. “And exactly, guys, it’s as if it’s alive! Only

There’s a small wound on my temple, and there’s only one drop of blood.”

Death of Katerina in popular perception- this is the death of a righteous woman. "Here's yours

Katerina,” says Kuligin. - do what you want with her! Her body is here, take it

him: but the soul is now not yours: it is now before the Judge who is more merciful

you".

The ending of the play leaves hope that God will be more merciful to her than people,

for her great suffering, for her sinful love, for her forgiveness to the world.

Problematic question.

-Can we consider Katerina’s death a protest against the “dark kingdom”?
1. Of course, everything that has been said does not give grounds to consider Katerina’s suicide a protest against the foundations and morality of the surrounding society. Her behavior has both weaknesses and strengths. Suicides are weak people. 2. Katerina’s death is a protest, a rebellion, a call to action. Varvara ran away from home, Tikhon blamed his mother for his wife’s death, Kuligin reproached her for being unmerciful.

III. Consolidation.
Generalization of material on the image of Katerina.
IV. Lesson summary.

V. Homework.
Essay: “Is Katerina’s suicide a protest against the “dark kingdom”?

On the eve of the reform of 1861, the play “The Thunderstorm” became a major public event. The most important thing in the work is Ostrovsky's discovery - folk heroic character. He put two main ideas into the basis of the play: a powerful denial of stagnation and oppression of the motionless “dark kingdom” and the emergence of a positive, bright beginning, a real heroine from among the people. All this was new compared to " natural school" In every talented written drama there is a main conflict - that main contradiction that drives the action, manifests itself in one way or another in all events, in clashes of views and feelings, passions and characters.

It is in conflicts between people, in the clash of different views, beliefs, moral ideas and in “internal” conflicts, when contradictory thoughts and feelings fight in a person’s mind, that a person and the society in which he lives are most fully revealed. What is the main conflict in The Thunderstorm? Maybe this is a contradiction between tyranny and humiliation? No. The play perfectly shows that violence is supported by humility: Tikhon’s timidity, Boris’s irresponsibility, Kuligin’s patient delicacy seem to give spirit to Kabanikha and Dikiy, allowing them to run wild as they please.

An acute, irreconcilable contradiction arises in “The Thunderstorm” when, among those oppressed by tyranny, among the yearning, servile, cunning, there is a man endowed with pride, a sense of self-esteem, unable to come to terms with life in slavery even in the face of death. The bright human element in Katerina is as natural as breathing. This is her nature, which is expressed not so much in reasoning as in spiritual subtlety, in the strength of her experiences, in her attitude towards people, in all her behavior.

The “Thunderstorm” conflict is unique. It can be viewed in two ways. Ostrovsky himself defined his work as a drama, but this is a tribute to tradition. Indeed, on the one hand, “Thunderstorm” is social drama, but on the other hand, it’s a tragedy. As for drama, this work is characterized by special attention to everyday life, the desire to convey its “density”. The writer describes in detail the city of Kalinov. This collective image Volga region cities of Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Volga, which has always symbolized Russia. That is why the landscape plays an important role in the work, described not only in the stage directions, but also in the dialogues characters. Some heroes see the beauty around them. For example, Kuligin exclaims: “The view is extraordinary! Beauty! The soul rejoices!”

The other heroes took a closer look at her and were completely indifferent. Beautiful nature, a picture of young people walking at night, songs, Katerina’s stories about childhood - all this is the poetry of Kalinov’s world. But Ostrovsky confronts her with gloomy pictures Everyday life and everyday life, with the cruel attitude of people towards each other. In this city, rudeness and poverty reign, here “you can never earn your daily bread by honest work,” here merchants “undermine each other’s trade, and not so much out of self-interest as out of envy,” here clerks have lost their human appearance, having learned for money make slander. Residents don’t see the new, don’t know about it, and don’t want to know. All information here is received from ignorant wanderers who convince people that Kalinov is the promised land.

The people of “Thunderstorm” live in a special state of the world - crisis, catastrophic. The supports holding back the old order, and the agitated life began to shake. The first action introduces us to the pre-storm atmosphere of life. Outwardly, everything is going well, but the restraining forces are too fragile: their temporary triumph only increases tension. It thickens towards the end of the first act: even nature, as in the folk tale, responds to this with a thunderstorm approaching Kalinov.

In merchant Kalinov, Ostrovsky sees a world breaking with the moral traditions of folk life. Only Katerina is given the opportunity in “The Thunderstorm” to retain the fullness of viable principles in folk culture and maintain a sense of moral responsibility in the face of the trials to which this culture is subjected in Kalinov.

In the center of this closed “dark kingdom” stands a rude and ignorant merchant woman - Kabanikha. She is a defender of the old foundations of life, rituals and customs of the city of Kalinov. She dictates moral laws to the entire city, imposes her will on everyone around her and demands unquestioning obedience. She hates everything new, so she can’t come to terms with the fact that “for the sake of speed” people invented a “fiery serpent” - a steam locomotive. Kabanikha stands up for a strong, lasting family, for order in the house, which, in her opinion, is only possible if the basis family relations there will be fear, not mutual love and respect. Freedom, according to the heroine, leads a person to moral decline.

Even the wanderers in the Kabanovs’ house are different, from among those bigots who “due to their weakness did not walk far, but heard a lot.” And they talk about “ the last times", about the imminent end of the world. Fanatic religiosity reigns here, which plays into the hands of the pillars of society, who greet living life. Dobrolyubov soulfully saw an epochal meaning in the “Thunderstorm” conflict, and in the character of Katerina - “a new phase of our people’s life.” But, idealizing free love in the spirit of the then popular ideas of female emancipation, he impoverished the moral depth of Katerina’s character. Dobrolyubov considered the hesitation of the heroine, who fell in love with Boris, the torment of her conscience, “the ignorance of a poor woman who has not received a theoretical education.” Duty, loyalty, conscientiousness, with the maximalism characteristic of revolutionary democracy, were declared “prejudices”, “artificial combinations”, “conventional instructions of the old morality”, “old rags”. It turned out that Dobrolyubov looked at Katerina’s love with the same un-Russian ease as Boris.

The question arises, how then does Katerina differ from other heroines of Ostrovsky, such as, for example, Lipochka from “My People...”: “I need a husband!... Find, find me a groom, definitely find!.. I tell you ahead, definitely find, otherwise it will be worse for you: on purpose, to spite you, I’ll secretly get an admirer, run away with the hussar, and we’ll get married on the sly.” That's for whom the “conditional onslaughts of morality” really do not have any moral authority. This girl will not be afraid of the thunderstorm; such “Protestants” don’t care about the fiery Gehenna itself!

Speaking about how “the strong Russian character is understood and expressed in The Thunderstorm,” Dobrolyubov, in the article “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom,” rightly noted Katerina’s “focused determination.” However, in determining its origins, he completely abandoned the spirit and letter of Ostrovsky’s tragedy. Is it possible to agree that “upbringing and young life gave her nothing”?

It is not difficult to notice in “The Thunderstorm” the tragic confrontation between the religious culture of Katerina and the Domostroev culture of Kabanikha. The contrast between them is drawn by the sensitive Ostrovsky with amazing consistency and depth. The “Thunderstorm” conflict absorbs the thousand-year history of Russia, and its tragic resolution reflects the almost prophetic premonitions of the national playwright.

When Katerina's fall took place, she becomes bold to the point of insolence. “I wasn’t afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human judgment?” - she says. This phrase predetermines the further development of the tragedy, the death of Katerina. The lack of hope for forgiveness pushes her to suicide, an even greater sin from the point of view of Christian morality. But for Katerina there is no difference anymore; anyway, she has already ruined her soul. Without feeling the pristine freshness inner world Katerina, you can’t understand vitality and the strength of her character. Haunted by her sin, Katerina leaves this life to save her soul.

Ostrovsky's heroine is truly a ray of light in the “dark kingdom.” What is striking about her is her fidelity to ideals, spiritual purity, and moral superiority over others. In the image of Katerina, the writer embodied best features- love of freedom, independence, talent, poetry, high moral and ethical qualities.

In the image of Katerina, Dobrolyubov saw the embodiment of “Russian living nature.” Katerina prefers to die than to live in captivity. “...This end seems joyful to us,” the critic writes, “it’s easy to understand why: it gives a terrible challenge to tyrant power, it tells it that it is no longer possible to go further, it is impossible to live any longer with its violent, deadening principles.” In Katerina we see a protest against Kabanov’s concepts of morality, a protest “carried to the end, proclaimed both under domestic torture and over the abyss into which the poor woman threw herself. She doesn’t want to put up with it, doesn’t want to take advantage of the miserable vegetation that is given to her in exchange for her living soul..." In the image of Katerina, according to Dobrolyubov, the "great national idea" - the idea of ​​liberation - was embodied. The critic considered the image of Katerina close “to the position and to the heart of every decent person in our society.”

For my long creative life Ostrovsky wrote more than fifty original plays and created the Russian national theater. According to Goncharov, Ostrovsky painted a huge picture all his life. “This picture is the Thousand-Year Monument to Russia.” At one end it ends in prehistoric time (“The Snow Maiden”), at the other it stops at the first railway station...”

Lesson 34. Topic: Katerina’s protest against the “dark kingdom.” What is the tragedy of the heroine and is her death accidental?

Goals:

1. cultivate self-esteem, the ability to objectively evaluate the actions of other people, including literary characters.
2. develop skills of coherent monologue statements.
3. teach to analyze the character's image, highlight the features of speech characteristics.

This is how I was born, hot!

(Katerina. From A.N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm”)

DURING THE CLASSES

I. ORGANIZATIONAL MOMENT

Setting the goal of the lesson: in this lesson we will talk about the image of the main character of Ostrovsky’s drama, find out what her tragedy was and think about whether her death was accidental?

II. CONVERSATION WITH THE CLASS

A) At home you should have described Katerina. What are her character traits?

Katerina does not know how to lie or be a hypocrite, she is not inclined to deceive anyone, to pretense, she is characterized by meekness and fidelity. But for all her meekness, she is a fighter: she cannot and does not want to submit to the inhabitants of the “dark kingdom”, she does not want to adapt to life through lies. All her feelings and motives are sincere and open.

The meaning of the name “Katerina” should also be taken into account.

Catherine - the name has ancient Greek roots and comes from the word “katharios”, which means “pure”, “purebred”, “immaculate”, “impeccable”, “simple”, “purest”. All meanings of the name are implemented in the character's character.

While reading, you noticed Katerina’s attitude to work, to religion, to family life. What can you say about this?

Living in her parents’ house, Katerina loved to work and do handicrafts, but this work was “not under pressure.” Katerina’s attitude towards faith and religiosity largely boil down to a feeling of religious ecstasy in church, when the heroine is impressed by the external side of the Christian religion: ritualism.

I wanted to find love and harmony in family life, but this does not work. She doesn’t love her husband (although she tries), because “there’s nothing to love him for,” but she regrets. It should also be taken into account that Katerina did not marry for love, but, like most girls of that time, because Tikhon was a fairly profitable match.

So, we have identified and recorded the main character traits of Katerina: meekness, inability to lie, manifestation of self-esteem; we talked about her attitude to work, religion and family, now let's talk aboutWhat was Katerina's life like in her parents' house before her marriage?(d. 1, appearance 7)

“like a bird in the wild,” “mama doted on her soul,” “didn’t force me to work,” she did needlework, looked after flowers, went to church, listened to the stories of pilgrims and pilgrims, and walked in the garden.

Katerina talks about flying more than once, comparing herself to a bird. What could this mean?

She wants freedom. And flight in this sense is the flight of the soul. Katerina is also a freedom-loving person.

What new qualities can we identify by analyzing her monologue (D. 1, Rev. 7)?Dreaminess, poetry.

B) Why can we call Katerina a poetic person?She talks about visits to church, about her dreams, talks with enthusiasm, using means of expression folk poetic language, vernacular; her speech is enlivened by various intonations, which is a manifestation of emotions, impressions of what she saw, Katerina does not seek to hide everything in herself, she is open to this world, there are also many rhetorical questions and exclamations in her speech, often sentences are unfinished, the speech is similar to a song in its melody, a work of folk art.

IN) Life in the husband's house (2, 3, 10).How is life for Katerina in the Kabanovs’ house?

“I’m completely withered here,” “yes, everything here seems to be from under captivity,” “it’s stuffy.” The atmosphere reigning in the Kabanovs' house is fear. Everything is based on the orders of the mother-in-law, who is characterized by hypocrisy and hypocrisy.

We see how the girl’s life changes dramatically. How the atmosphere of her husband’s house and the entire city of Kalinov has a detrimental effect on her.

Why does Katerina pay attention to Boris? Is it only because of the unbearably harsh living conditions, because of the endless oppression of the mother-in-law?

Katerina feels the need to love - to be loved and to give her love to someone. But she doesn’t feel such feelings for her husband, just like he himself, they don’t have children, although she dreams of children.

He pays attention to Boris because he is different from other residents of the city of Kalinov. He is intelligent, somewhat timid, educated, different from his ignorant husband. And all the thirst for love, independence, will is manifested in Katerina’s love for Boris.

What interferes with Katerina on the path to happiness, what stops her?Prejudice, reluctance to lie, cheat, commit sin.

Did Katerina overcome them? What artistic detail is a symbol of her mental struggle, the struggle with herself?

She defeated all prejudices by agreeing to meet with Boris. But this was not easy for Katerina. Symbol internal struggle is the key to the gate.

Let's see how the heroine's struggle with herself went. Provide quotes to prove this.

On the one hand, she did not want to meet Boris, she did not want to break the oath given to her husband. (“This is ruin!”, “Quit!”), but her thirst for love and freedom takes over (“Apparently fate itself wants this.”, “Why am I deceiving myself!”) Thus, we can say,that love for Boris is a manifestation of will. Refusal of it (love) would imply complete submission to the world of Kabanovs and Wild.

But does Katerina gain freedom?

On the one hand, yes, she is free to do what her “hot heart” calls for, and on the other, the voice of conscience does not leave the heroine, having embarked on the path of treason, she, a pure nature, has already died. But even so, one cannot fail to note one more feature of Katerina - determination (“I don’t want to live here, I won’t, even if you cut me!”).

Thus, we can say that having fallen in love with Boris, agreeing to meet with him, she has already declared her protest against the musty moral foundations of the Kalinovsky society, she is already saying that there is no turning back. Will she be able to return to her former slave, “stuffy” life again?!

G) Why does Katerina repent? (D. 4, Rev. 6)

Why does she reveal her secret to everyone, because she has a living example of unpunished deception before her eyes (Varvara)?

In a conversation with Varvara, Katerina says: “I don’t know how to deceive, I can’t hide anything.”“I was born this way, hot” - what does this phrase mean?

Katerina is a hero guided by her heart. Therefore, he belongs to a number of Ostrovsky’s characters called “warm hearts.”

In Christianity, repentance is purification. Sometimes some of us go to church for confession, to repent of our sins, which the Lord will forgive, and cleansing will come to us. Does purification come to Katerina?

Katerina repents before her husband, before her mother-in-law, but it doesn’t make her feel any better - cleansing doesn’t come, because she still loves Boris and is unable to change her feelings.

How is Boris behaving?He seems to remain aloof from the drama that happened. His behavior is rational, does not make rash conclusions and does not make rash decisions. He was unable to help Katerina change her life, free her from the oppression of the “dark kingdom”.

Let us turn to the scene of the last meeting between Katerina and Boris (no. 5, episode 3). Here everyone shows their qualities to a greater extent.

Boris is weak-willed. He meekly submits to his uncle's will, fearing to lose his favor and, consequently, his share of the inheritance. He goes to say goodbye to “the place,” but not to Katerina. He calls himself a “free bird” - the complete opposite of Katerina. And Boris does not risk his freedom for her. In addition, he complains about fate: “It would be better for me to run away then.” He doesn’t want to take Katerina with him, she would be a burden for him in this situation, because Katerina suffers for two people, and he suffers solely for himself. The young woman’s determination (“Let everyone know, let everyone see what I’m doing. If I wasn’t afraid of sin for you, should I be afraid of human judgment!”) emphasizes the weakness and cowardice of her chosen one: “If only they wouldn’t find us here!”

Boris leaves Katerina with the words “I would die sooner.” Why does he say this, does he, who is immensely loved by Katerina, really wish her death?

Boris also sees the hopelessness of her situation. He rejects one chance to save her - to take her with him. Katerina cannot leave her husband, since at that time she could have been returned through the police.

What remains for Katerina? Live in your husband's house, be despised by everyone?

D) Let's turn to the resolution of the conflict. Katerina dies.How do you feel about her death? Is this the only way out?Please note that she was a religious girl, and suicide is the most terrible sin! Doesn’t even this stop the heroine of Ostrovsky’s play?

The death of the heroine is a protest. Since staying alive would mean reconciling yourself, suppressing your feelings, giving up your will, becoming a slave to tyrants, erasing your self-esteem - becoming a weak-willed creature.

Thus, Katerina’s death is a protest against the “dark kingdom”, it is an affirmation of the power of human freedom.

Let’s draw a conclusion, based on everything that was discussed today in class: what is Katerina’s tragedy, is her death accidental?

Katerina could not come to terms with and obey the laws of the “dark kingdom”. Having embarked on the path of treason, she had already died. This state of affairs is not for her pure soul. Suicide is both victory and punishment. We can condemn the heroine, we can sympathize with her, but she had no other choice.

LESSON CONCLUSION

(on record): tragic ending dramas are Katerina’s protest against Kabanov’s concepts of morality, this is an affirmation of the power of human freedom, his victory over prejudices, this is an affirmation of will and self-esteem. Katerina’s tragedy is not that while her husband was alive, she gave her heart to another person, but that she had no one else to give to the feeling that was burning her. She fell in love with Boris in the “desolation”. It is not the forbidden love for Boris that destroys her, but the search for it. Katerina’s death is an inevitable outcome for the “warm heart.”

III. HOMEWORK.

Group assignments:

1. First group: analysis of the scene of the 1st date (d3, episode 3) and conclusion.
2. Second group: analysis of the thunderstorm scene (D.4 yavl1,4,6), its symbolic meaning.
3. Third group: analysis d.5 – phenomenon 2

Katerina's death - protest or humility, a feat of the soul or its confusion, weakness?

Whole, honest, sincere, she is incapable of lies and falsehood, which is why in a cruel world where wild and wild boars reign, her life turns out so tragically. Katerina’s protest against Kabanikha’s despotism is a struggle of the bright, pure, human against the darkness, lies and cruelty of the “dark kingdom”. It is not for nothing that Ostrovsky, who paid great attention to the selection of names and surnames of the characters, gave this name to the heroine of “The Thunderstorm”: translated from Greek “Ekaterina” means “eternally pure”.

Katerina is a poetic person. Unlike the rude Kalinovites, she feels the beauty of nature and loves it. “I used to get up early; If it’s summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring some water with me and that’s it, I’ll water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers,” she says about her childhood. Her soul is constantly drawn to beauty. Her dreams were filled with wonderful, fabulous visions. She often dreamed that she was flying like a bird. She talks about her desire to fly several times. With these repetitions, the playwright emphasizes the romantic sublimity of Katerina’s soul and her freedom-loving aspirations. Married early, she tries to get along with her mother-in-law and fall in love with her husband, but in the Kabanovs’ house sincere feelings no one needs. And the gentle, poetic Katerina “withered completely” in this gloomy atmosphere. Like a proud bird that cannot live in a cage, she dies in Kabanikha’s house.

Katerina’s poetry and spiritual purity are manifested in her every word. “Where should I go, poor thing? Who should I grab hold of? My fathers, I am perishing!” - she says, saying goodbye to Tikhon. With what natural simplicity and accuracy these words convey her condition! The tenderness that fills her soul finds no outlet. Deep human longing resounds in her dream of children: “If only there were someone’s children! Eco woe! I don’t have children: I would still sit with them and amuse them. I really like talking to children - they are angels.” Which loving wife and she would have been a mother in different conditions!

Katerina is religious. Given her impressionability, the religious feelings instilled in her in childhood firmly took possession of her soul. But how different is Katerina’s sincere, childishly pure religiosity from Kabanikha’s sanctimonious religiosity! For Kabanikha, religion is a dark force that suppresses the will of man, but for Katerina it is the poetic world of fairy-tale images. “...To death I loved going to church! Exactly, it happened that I would enter heaven, and I didn’t see anyone, and I didn’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over,” she recalls. In Kalinov, no one prayed as sincerely as Katerina. “Oh, Curly, how she prays, if only you would look! What an angelic smile she has on her face, and her face seems to glow,” says Boris, and Kudryash immediately unmistakably determines that we are talking about Katerina.

And at the same time. religion is a cage in which the “dark kingdom” locked Katerina’s soul. After all, the fear of “sin” torments her even more than Kabanikha’s oppression. And the fact that she was able to overcome him testifies to Katerina’s moral strength.

At the heart of Katerina’s protest against the oppression of the “dark kingdom” is a natural desire to defend the freedom of her personality. Bondage is the name of her main enemy. Outwardly, the living conditions in Kalinov are no different from the environment of Katerina’s childhood. The same prayers, the same rituals, the same activities, but “here,” the heroine notes, “everything seems to be from under captivity.” Bondage is incompatible with her freedom-loving soul. “And bondage is bitter, oh, how bitter!” - she says in the scene with the key, and this thought leads her to the decision to see Boris. With all her being, Katerina felt that living in the “dark kingdom” was worse than death. And she chose death over captivity. “Sad, bitter is such liberation,” wrote Dobrolyubov, “but what to do when there is no other way out.”

In Katerina’s behavior, according to Dobrolyubov, a “decisive, integral Russian character” was revealed, which “will withstand itself, despite any obstacles, and when there is not enough strength, it will die, but will not change itself.” Dobrolyubov noted that the character of Katerina, which constitutes “a step forward not only in Ostrovsky’s dramatic activity, but also in all of our literature,” reflects a new phase in the development of Russian folk life. There is a need for people of decisive character who would translate the general demand for truth and right into decisive action. Katerina was the first type of such a person in Russian literature. Therefore, Dobrolyubov compared it with a ray of light, illuminating not only the horrors of the “dark kingdom”, but also the signs of its imminent end.

The great Russian actress Glikeria Nikolaevna Fedotova spoke about stage embodiment image of Katerina: “I’ve been playing this role since I was young, but only now I understand how to play it. And I didn’t understand at all before that Katerina is a ray of light in a dark kingdom. And it is necessary that through every word, every movement, this shining ray should be visible somewhere, which strives to break through the darkness. And let Katerina, not finding the road to a bright and joyful life, die: it is not helplessness, not sadness or inner devastation that leads to this end. On the contrary - a bright impulse. And only now he has no way out of the dark kingdom, but someday, soon there will be... This is how Ostrovsky conceived Katerina, this is how she should be played.” Wonderful Russian actresses L. P. Nikulina-Kositskaya - the first performer of the role of Katerina, P. A. Strepetova, M. N. Ermolov - left unforgettable, creatively original portraits of Katerina in the history of Russian theater.

Katerina’s protest against Kabanikha’s despotism was not only personal in nature, in the context of the struggle against serfdom, it had great revolutionary significance, although Katerina herself acted completely unconsciously, defending only the freedom of her own personality.