“The Thunderstorm” by A. N. Ostrovsky made a strong and deep impression on his contemporaries. Many critics were inspired by this work. However, even in our time it has not ceased to be interesting and topical. Elevated to the category of classical drama, it still arouses interest.
The tyranny of the “older” generation lasts for many years, but some event must occur that could break the patriarchal tyranny. Such an event turns out to be the protest and death of Katerina, which awakened other representatives of the younger generation.
Let's take a closer look at the characteristics of the main characters.
| Characters | Characteristic | Examples from the text |
| "Older" generation. | ||
| Kabanikha (Kabanova Marfa Ignatievna) | A wealthy merchant widow imbued with Old Believer beliefs. “Everything is under the guise of piety,” according to Kudryash. Forces you to honor rituals and blindly follow old customs in everything. Home tyrant, head of the family. At the same time, he understands that the patriarchal structure is collapsing, covenants are not being kept - and therefore he enforces his authority in the family even more harshly. “Prude,” according to Kuligin. He believes that one must pretend to be decent in front of people at all costs. Her despotism is main reason family breakdown. | Action 1, phenomenon 5; Action 2, phenomenon 3, 5; Act 2, phenomenon 6; Act 2, phenomenon 7. |
| Dikoy Savel Prokofievich | Merchant, tyrant. I’m used to intimidating everyone, taking things unceremoniously. Scolding is what brings him true pleasure; there is no greater joy for him than humiliating people. Violating human dignity, he experiences incomparable pleasure. If this “scold” encounters someone whom he does not dare to scold, he takes it out on his family. Rudeness is an integral part of his nature: “he can’t breathe without scolding someone.” Swearing is also a kind of defense for him as soon as money comes up. He is stingy and unfair, as evidenced by his behavior towards his nephew and niece. | Act 1, phenomenon 1 - conversation between Kuligin and Kudryash; Act 1, scene 2 - conversation between Dikiy and Boris; Act 1, scene 3 - words about it by Kudryash and Boris; Action 3, phenomenon 2; Action 3, phenomenon 2. |
| Young generation. | ||
| Katerina | Tikhon's wife does not contradict her husband and treats him kindly. Initially, traditional humility and obedience to her husband and elders in the family are alive in her, but acute feeling injustice allows one to step towards “sin”. She says about herself that she is “unchangeable in character both in public and without them.” As a girl, Katerina lived freely; her mother spoiled her. He fervently believes in God, which is why he has a hard time worrying about his sinful love outside of marriage for Boris. She is dreamy, but her worldview is tragic: she anticipates her death. “Hot”, fearless since childhood, she challenges Domostroevsky morals with both her love and her death. Passionate, having fallen in love, gives her heart without a trace. He lives by emotions rather than by reason. She cannot live in sin, hiding and hiding like Varvara. That’s why he confesses his connection to Boris to his husband. She shows courage, which not everyone is capable of, defeating herself and throwing herself into the pool. | Act 1, phenomenon 6; Action 1, phenomenon 5; Act 1, phenomenon 7; Action 2, phenomenon 3, 8; Action 4, phenomenon 5; Action 2, phenomenon 2; Act 3, scene 2, scene 3; Act 4, phenomenon 6; Action 5, phenomenon 4, 6. |
| Tikhon Ivanovich Kabanov. | Son of Kabanikha, husband of Katerina. Quiet, timid, submissive to his mother in everything. Because of this, he is often unfair to his wife. I’m glad to get out from under my mother’s heel at least for a little while, to get rid of the constantly consuming fear, which is why I’m going to the city to get drunk. In his own way, he loves Katerina, but cannot resist his mother in anything. As a weak nature, devoid of any will, he envies Katerina’s determination, remaining “to live and suffer,” but at the same time he shows a kind of protest, blaming his mother for Katerina’s death. | Act 1, phenomenon 6; Action 2, phenomenon 4; Action 2, phenomenon 2, 3; Action 5, phenomenon 1; Action 5, phenomenon 7. |
| Boris Grigorievich. | Dikiy's nephew, Katerina's lover. A well-mannered young man, an orphan. For the sake of the inheritance left by his grandmother to him and his sister, he involuntarily endures the scolding of the Wild. " Good man“According to Kuligin, he is not capable of decisive action. | Action 1, phenomenon 2; Action 5, phenomenon 1, 3. |
| Varvara. | Sister Tikhon. The character is more lively than his brother. But, just like him, he does not openly protest against arbitrariness. Prefers to condemn his mother quietly. Practical, down to earth, doesn't have her head in the clouds. He secretly meets with Kudryash and sees nothing wrong in bringing Boris and Katerina together: “do whatever you want, as long as it’s done well and covered.” But she also does not tolerate arbitrariness over herself and runs away from home with her beloved, despite all the outward humility. | Action 1, phenomenon 5; Action 2, phenomenon 2; Action 5, phenomenon 1. |
| Curly Vanya. | Wild's clerk has a reputation as a rude man, in his own words. For Varvara’s sake he is ready to do anything, but he believes that married women should stay at home. | Action 1, phenomenon 1; Act 3, scene 2, phenomenon 2. |
| Other heroes. | ||
| Kuligin. | A tradesman, a self-taught mechanic, is looking for a perpetuum mobile. Original, sincere. Preaches common sense, enlightenment, reason. Versatile. As an artist, he enjoys the natural beauty of nature, looking at the Volga. He writes poetry, in his own words. Stands up for progress for the benefit of society. | Action 1, phenomenon 4; Action 1, phenomenon 1; Action 3, phenomenon 3; Action 1, phenomenon 3; Action 4, phenomenon 2, 4. |
| Feklusha | A wanderer who adapts to Kabanikha’s concepts and seeks to frighten those around her with a description of an unrighteous way of life outside the city, suggesting that they can live happily and in virtue only “in the promised land” of Kalinov. A hanger-on and a gossip. | Action 1, phenomenon 3; Action 3, phenomenon 1. |
- Katerina Varvara Character Sincere, sociable, kind, honest, pious, but superstitious. Tender, soft, and at the same time, decisive. Rough, cheerful, but taciturn: “... I don’t like to talk a lot.” Decisive, can fight back. Temperament Passionate, freedom-loving, courageous, impetuous and unpredictable. She says about herself, “I was born so hot!” Freedom-loving, intelligent, prudent, courageous and rebellious, she is not afraid of either parental or heavenly punishment. Upbringing, […]
- In “The Thunderstorm,” Ostrovsky shows the life of a Russian merchant family and the position of women in it. Katerina’s character was formed in a simple merchant family, where love reigned and the daughter was given complete freedom. She acquired and retained all the wonderful traits of the Russian character. This is a pure, open soul that does not know how to lie. “I don’t know how to deceive; I can’t hide anything,” she tells Varvara. In religion Katerina found the highest truth and beauty. Her desire for the beautiful and the good was expressed in prayers. Coming out […]
- In The Thunderstorm, Ostrovsky, operating with a small number of characters, managed to reveal several problems at once. Firstly, this is, of course, social conflict, the clash of “fathers” and “children”, their points of view (and if we resort to generalization, then two historical eras). Kabanova and Dikoy belong to the older generation, who actively express their opinions, and Katerina, Tikhon, Varvara, Kudryash and Boris to the younger generation. Kabanova is sure that order in the house and control over everything that happens in it are the key right life. Correct […]
- “The Thunderstorm” was published in 1859 (on the eve of the revolutionary situation in Russia, in the “pre-storm” era). Its historicism lies in the conflict itself, the irreconcilable contradictions reflected in the play. It responds to the spirit of the times. "The Thunderstorm" represents the idyll of the "dark kingdom". Tyranny and silence are brought to the extreme in her. A real heroine from the people's environment appears in the play, and it is the description of her character that receives the main attention, while the little world of the city of Kalinov and the conflict itself are described in a more general way. “Their lives […]
- The play “The Thunderstorm” by Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky is historical for us, as it shows the life of the philistinism. "The Thunderstorm" was written in 1859. It is the only work of the “Nights on the Volga” series conceived but not realized by the writer. The main theme of the work is a description of the conflict that arose between two generations. The Kabanikha family is typical. The merchants cling to their old morals, not wanting to understand the younger generation. And since young people do not want to follow traditions, they are suppressed. I'm sure, […]
- Let's start with Katerina. In the play "The Thunderstorm" this lady - main character. What is the problem? of this work? The problematic is the main question that the author asks in his work. So the question here is who will win? The dark kingdom, which is represented by the bureaucrats of a provincial town, or the bright beginning, which is represented by our heroine. Katerina is pure in soul, she has a gentle, sensitive, loving heart. The heroine herself is deeply hostile to this dark swamp, but is not fully aware of it. Katerina was born […]
- A conflict is a clash between two or more parties that do not coincide in their views and worldviews. There are several conflicts in Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm,” but how can you decide which one is the main one? In the era of sociology in literary criticism, it was believed that social conflict was the most important in the play. Of course, if we see in the image of Katerina a reflection of the spontaneous protest of the masses against the constraining conditions of the “dark kingdom” and perceive Katerina’s death as the result of her collision with her tyrant mother-in-law, one should […]
- Dramatic events of the play by A.N. Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm" takes place in the city of Kalinov. This town is located on the picturesque bank of the Volga, from the high cliff of which the vast Russian expanses and boundless distances open up to the eye. “The view is extraordinary! Beauty! The soul rejoices,” enthuses local self-taught mechanic Kuligin. Pictures of endless distances, echoed in a lyrical song. Among the flat valleys,” which he hums, have great value to convey a sense of the immense possibilities of Russian […]
- Katerina – main character Ostrovsky's drama "The Thunderstorm", Tikhon's wife, Kabanikha's daughter-in-law. The main idea of the work is the conflict of this girl with the “dark kingdom”, the kingdom of tyrants, despots and ignoramuses. You can find out why this conflict arose and why the end of the drama is so tragic by understanding Katerina’s ideas about life. The author showed the origins of the heroine's character. From Katerina's words we learn about her childhood and adolescence. Here is an ideal version of patriarchal relations and the patriarchal world in general: “I lived, not about [...]
- In general, the history of the creation and concept of the play “The Thunderstorm” is very interesting. For some time there was an assumption that this work was based on real events that occurred in the Russian city of Kostroma in 1859. “In the early morning of November 10, 1859, Kostroma bourgeois Alexandra Pavlovna Klykova disappeared from her home and either rushed into the Volga herself, or was strangled and thrown there. The investigation revealed the silent drama that played out in an unsociable family living narrowly with commercial interests: […]
- In the drama "The Thunderstorm" Ostrovsky created a very complex psychologically image - the image of Katerina Kabanova. This young woman charms the viewer with her huge, pure soul, childish sincerity and kindness. But she lives in the musty atmosphere of the “dark kingdom” merchant morals. Ostrovsky managed to create a bright and poetic image of a Russian woman from the people. Main storyline plays are tragic conflict the living, feeling soul of Katerina and the dead way of life of the “dark kingdom”. Honest and […]
- Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky was endowed with great talent as a playwright. He is deservedly considered the founder of the Russian national theater. His plays, varied in theme, glorified Russian literature. Ostrovsky's creativity had a democratic character. He created plays that showed hatred of the autocratic serfdom regime. The writer called for the protection of the oppressed and humiliated citizens of Russia and longed for social change. Ostrovsky’s enormous merit is that he opened the enlightened [...]
- The critical history of "The Thunderstorm" begins even before its appearance. To argue about “a ray of light in a dark kingdom,” it was necessary to open the “Dark Kingdom.” An article under this title appeared in the July and September issues of Sovremennik for 1859. It was signed with the usual pseudonym of N. A. Dobrolyubova - N. - bov. The reason for this work was extremely significant. In 1859, Ostrovsky sums up the interim results literary activity: his two-volume collected works appear. "We consider it the most [...]
- 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”. No wonder Ostrovsky, who is very great attention paid attention to the selection of names and surnames characters, gave this name to the heroine of “Thunderstorms”: translated from Greek “Ekaterina” means “eternally pure”. Katerina is a poetic person. IN […]
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- How I wash the floors In order to wash the floors clean, and not pour water and smear the dirt, I do this: I take a bucket from the pantry that my mother uses for this, as well as a mop. I pour hot water into a basin and add a tablespoon of salt to it (to kill germs). I rinse the mop in the basin and squeeze it thoroughly. I wash the floors in each room, starting from the far wall towards the door. I look into all the corners, under the beds and tables, this is where the most crumbs, dust and other evil spirits accumulate. Having washed each […]
- At the ball After the ball The hero’s feelings He is “very much” in love; admired by the girl, life, the ball, the beauty and grace of the surrounding world (including interiors); notices all the details on a wave of joy and love, is ready to be moved and cry at any trifle. Without wine - drunk - with love. He admires Varya, hopes, trembles, happy to be chosen by her. Light, does not feel his own body, “floats”. Delight and gratitude (for the feather from the fan), “cheerful and contented,” happy, “blessed,” kind, “an unearthly creature.” WITH […]
- I've never had my own dog. We live in the city, the apartment is small, the budget is limited and we are too lazy to change our habits, adapting to the dog’s “walking” regime... As a child, I dreamed of a dog. She asked me to buy a puppy or take anyone from the street. I was ready to look after, give love and time. Parents kept promising: “When you grow up...”, “When you go to fifth grade...”. I went through the 5th and 6th, then I grew up and realized that no one would ever let a dog into the house. We agreed on cats. Since then […]
- The love story of clerk Mitya and Lyuba Tortsova unfolds against the backdrop of life in a merchant's house. Ostrovsky in once again delighted his fans with his remarkable knowledge of the world and amazingly vivid language. Unlike the earlier plays, this comedy contains not only the soulless manufacturer Korshunov and Gordey Tortsov, who boasts of his wealth and power. They are contrasted with those dear to the hearts of the soil people, simple and sincere people- kind and loving Mitya and the wasted drunkard Lyubim Tortsov, who remained, despite his fall, […]
Katerina is an outwardly fragile, tender and open-to-feeling young woman, not at all as defenseless as she seems at first glance. She is strong inside, she is a fighter against this." dark kingdom" Katerina is a girl who is able to stand up for herself, who is capable of much for the sake of her love. But she is alone in this world, and it’s hard for her, so she is looking for support. It seems to her that she finds support in Boris. And she strives for him in every possible way, no matter what. She chose him because Boris stood out from all the young people in this city, and they both had a similar situation. But in the finale, Boris abandons her, and she is left alone against the “dark kingdom.” To accept and return to Kabanikha’s house meant not to be herself. Suicide is the only way out. Katerina passes away because she does not accept this world - the world of Kabanikha, Dikiy, Tikhon and Boris. Kabanikha is a completely different person, she is the opposite of Katerina. She is completely satisfied with the world in which she lives. No one ever dared to contradict her, but then Katerina appears, unwilling to put up with Kabanikha’s rudeness, rudeness and cruelty. And therefore Katerina, with her self-esteem, constantly irritates Kabanikha. A conflict is brewing between Katerina and Kabanikha. This conflict does not explode until there are reasons for it. And the reason is Katerina’s confession of cheating on her husband. And Katerina understands that after this her life is over, because Kabanikha will then completely bully her. And she decides to commit suicide. After the death of Katerina, Kabanikha remains satisfied, because now no one will resist her. Katerina’s death is a kind of protest against this world, a world of lies and hypocrisy, to which she could never get used to. But Katerina and Kabanikha have something in common, because they are both capable of standing up for themselves, both do not want to put up with humiliation and insult, both strong character. But their reluctance to be humiliated and insulted manifests itself in different ways. Katerina will never respond to rudeness with rudeness. Kabanikha, on the contrary, will try in every possible way to humiliate, offend, and bully a person who says something unpleasant in her direction. Katerina and Kabanikha have different attitudes towards God. If Katerina’s feeling for God is something bright, holy, inviolable and highest, then for Kabanikha it is only an external, superficial feeling. Even going to church for Kabanikha is only to make the impression of a pious lady on those around her. The most suitable comparison between Katerina and Kabanikha is something light and something dark, where Katerina is light and Kabanikha is dark. Katerina is a ray of light in “ dark kingdom" But this “ray” is not enough to illuminate this darkness that in the end it fades out altogether. The hero's mental flabbiness and the heroine's moral generosity are most obvious in the scene of their last date. Katerina’s hopes are in vain: “If only I could live with him, maybe I would see some kind of joy.” “If only”, “maybe”, “some kind”... Little consolation! But even here she finds the strength to think not about herself. This is Katerina asking her beloved for forgiveness for the troubles she has caused him. Boris couldn’t even imagine such a thing. He won’t really be able to save or even feel sorry for Katerina: “Who knew that we should suffer so much with you for our love! It would be better for me to run then!” But didn’t she remind Boris of the price to pay for loving married woman folk song performed by Kudryash, didn’t Kudryash warn him about this: “Eh, Boris Grigoryich, stop annoying me! Isn’t that what you told Boris? Alas, the hero simply did not hear any of this. Dobrolyubov soulfully saw an epoch-making meaning in the “Thunderstorm” conflict, and in the character of Katerina - “a new phase of our folk 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, and the burning 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. Explaining the reasons for the heroine’s nationwide repentance, we will not repeat, following Dobrolyubov’s words, about “superstition,” “ignorance,” and “religious prejudices.” We will not see cowardice and fear of external punishment in Katerina’s “fear”. After all, such a look turns the heroine into a victim of the dark kingdom of the Boars. The true source of the heroine’s repentance lies elsewhere: in her sensitive conscience. “It’s not so scary that it will kill you, but that death will suddenly find you as you are, with all your sins, with all your evil thoughts. I’m not afraid to die, but when I think that I’ll suddenly appear before God as I am here with you, after this conversation, that’s what’s scary.” “My heart really hurts,” says Katerina in a moment of confession. “Whoever has fear, there is also God,” echoes her folk wisdom. From time immemorial, “fear” was understood by the Russian people as a heightened moral self-awareness. IN " Explanatory dictionary V. I. Dahl “fear” is interpreted as “consciousness of moral responsibility.” This definition corresponds state of mind heroines. Unlike Kabanikha, Feklushi and other heroes of “The Thunderstorm,” Katerina’s “fear” is the inner voice of her conscience. Katerina perceives the thunderstorm as the chosen one: what is happening in her soul is akin to what is happening in the stormy skies. This is not slavery, this is equality. Katerina is equally heroic both in her passionate and reckless love affair and in her deeply conscientious public repentance. “What a conscience!.. What a mighty Slavic conscience!.. What moral strength... What huge, sublime aspirations, full of power and beauty,” wrote V. M. Doroshevich about Katerina Strepetova in the scene of repentance. And S.V. Maksimov told how he happened to sit next to Ostrovsky during the first performance of “The Thunderstorm” with Nikulina-Kositskaya in the role of Katerina. Ostrovsky watched the drama in silence, absorbed in himself. But in that “pathetic scene when Katerina, tormented by remorse, throws herself at the feet of her husband and mother-in-law, repenting of her sin, Ostrovsky, all pale, whispered: “It’s not me, not me: it’s God!” Ostrovsky, obviously, did not believe that he could write such an amazing scene.” It’s time for us to appreciate not only the love, but also the repentant impulse of Katerina. Having gone through the stormy trials, the heroine is morally cleansed and leaves this sinful world with the consciousness of her rightness: “He who loves will pray.” “Death due to sins is terrible,” people say. And if Katerina is not afraid of death, then her sins have been atoned for. Her departure takes us back to the beginning of the tragedy. Death is sanctified by the same full-blooded and life-loving religiosity that has entered the heroine’s soul since childhood. “There is a grave under the tree... The sun warms it... birds will fly to the tree, they will sing, they will bring out the children...” Katerina dies surprisingly. Her death is the last flash of spiritualized love for God's world: trees, birds, flowers and herbs. Monologue about the grave - awakened metaphors, folk mythology with her belief in immortality. A person, dying, turns into a tree growing on a grave, or into a bird making a nest in its branches, or into a flower that gives a smile to passers-by - these are the constant motives folk songs about death. When leaving, Katerina retains all the signs that, according to popular belief, distinguished the saint: she is dead as if she were alive. “And exactly, guys, like alive! There’s only a small wound on the temple, and there’s only one drop of blood.”
In "The Thunderstorm" Varvara and Katerina are truly two female images. These two girls embody two different approaches to life, to the world, to the rules of the game. However, it would be a mistake to contrast the images of Katerina and Varvara in The Thunderstorm. For a number of reasons, these two heroines are best viewed inextricably linked. The actions of one hero more colorfully illustrate the character of the other, as if shading it, and vice versa. These characters are interesting in themselves, but with the analysis and detailed comparative characteristics of Katerina and Varvara from Ostrovsky’s “The Thunderstorm,” new facets of each image are revealed. By comparing the heroines of “The Thunderstorm,” you can much better understand the character traits of each character.
What can the reader say about Varvara and Katerina when he first sees the heroines in the most familiar setting: Tikhon obediently agrees with his mother, and Kabanikha blames Katerina for everything, simultaneously complaining about life? Girls behave differently. You can notice that all of Varvara’s remarks are accompanied by a remark “to herself.”
That is, the girl expresses her opinion and dissatisfaction with the current situation, but prefers that no one knows about her thoughts: “Kabanova. Elders are not very respected these days. Varvara (to herself). I won’t respect you, of course!”, “Varvara (to herself). I found a place for instructions to read.” Katerina is not afraid to speak openly about her feelings. Katya feels offended by groundless accusations of something she didn’t do: “You’re in vain saying this about me, Mama. Whether in front of people or without people, I’m still alone, I don’t prove anything of myself.”
Although it is more logical to assume that it is the daughter, that is, Varvara, who will voice complaints to her mother. Nevertheless, when Kabanikha leaves, Varvara, unlike Katerina, attacks Tikhon: what kind of husband is this who cannot protect his wife from the tyranny of her mother-in-law. Varvara is disgusted to look at Tikhon, she understands how pathetic and lack of initiative he is. She feels sorry for Katya, who is forced to live with Tikhon. It is a mistake to believe that Katya does not notice Tikhon’s shortcomings, but she is above self-pity. And it’s not pity that she needs from Varvara.
Here another side of the characters is revealed, the images of Katerina and Varvara in “The Thunderstorm” are revealed in a new way. It’s not so much about strength of character and personal qualities, but about spiritual depth. All residents of Kalinov are opposed to the image of Katerina on the principle of pettiness - breadth of soul. Varvara is different from the Kalinovites, but still it is impossible to talk about the same deep understanding of the world. Katya feels the world incredibly subtly, every breath, every ray of the sun. She is religious, so Christian images and symbols (for example, angels and singing) are of great importance in her worldview.
Varvara, who was brought up differently, cannot understand all metaphysics, she is not able to immerse herself in the sphere of the immanent, she is not allowed to feel like a free bird locked in a cage. No, Varvara does not feel the world so well, but she knows life very well. Kabanikha’s daughter has no illusions about the people around her; she decides to play by the proposed rules, while saving face. Her main principle- so that everything would be “closet” and no one would find out anything. Varvara seems much older than Katerina precisely because of such a pragmatic and even somewhat cynical attitude towards life, which is not characteristic of the girl’s young age. There is a feeling that Varvara does not need sympathy, because she is able to stand up for herself. But Katerina, fragile and tender, only needs understanding, which no one is able to give her. Varvara listens, but does not hear Katya’s monologues. And life before the wedding with Kabanov seems to Varvara the same as after marriage: Varvara does not understand the tragedy of the loss of inner freedom.
Katerina tends to reflect more on the topic of relationships and feelings. Love for Boris initially frightens Katya, so the girl tries to abandon the experiences that have arisen. For Varvara, such a situation is, in principle, impossible, because if she likes a young man, she goes out with him, and if she likes another, then, accordingly, she goes out with him. She has learned to hide it, so she offers this option to Katya. But Katerina refuses. She understands the responsibility that betrayal and lies entail. It’s hard for Varvara to see the girl’s suffering, so she arranges a meeting with Boris on Katya’s behalf.
It should be mentioned that it was Varvara who came up with a way to sneak out of the house unnoticed in the evening. She changed the lock on the gate and talked the maid into it. It is unlikely that Katerina would have done so many manipulations and resorted to so many tricks. For a long time, the girl could not decide to simply go out to her lover and look him in the eyes.
Varvara tried to the last to persuade Katya not to talk about secret meetings with Boris, but Katya was determined to confess to what she had done. Girls look at this situation with different points vision. For Varvara, the main thing was her own happiness, which could have been cut short. And by keeping silent, secret meetings could continue. Katya Kabanova thought differently. For her, these were not just night walks with someone she liked. Katya had to make a difficult choice, realizing that deception and betrayal are sins both in Christianity and in society. Further lies and hiding her feelings could worsen the heroine's internal discord. The girl could not live in harmony with herself, knowing that she was deceiving everyone, including herself.
Girls strive for freedom, but for Varvara freedom of movement is more important, freedom that is realized in the material world, while Katerina strives for freedom of spirit. At the end of the play, the author removes both heroines from the work. Katerina throws herself into the Volga, thus gaining freedom. Varvara runs away from home. Why is Varvara’s path impossible for Katerina? Because it would still be a lie to oneself, not the acquisition of long-awaited freedom, but an escape. Katerina would be haunted by the ghosts of the past and would be tormented by her conscience.
Work test
Katerina is an outwardly fragile, tender and open-to-feeling young woman, not at all as defenseless as she seems at first glance. She is strong inside, she is a fighter against this “dark kingdom”. Katerina is a girl who is able to stand up for herself, who is capable of much for the sake of her love. But she is alone in this world, and it’s hard for her, so she is looking for support. It seems to her that she finds support in Boris. And she strives for him in every possible way, no matter what. She chose him because Boris stood out from all the young people in this city, and they both had a similar situation. But in the finale, Boris abandons her, and she is left alone against the “dark kingdom.” To accept and return to Kabanikha’s house meant not to be herself. Suicide is the only way out. Katerina passes away because she does not accept this world - the world of Kabanikha, Dikiy, Tikhon and Boris. Kabanikha is a completely different person, she is the opposite of Katerina.
She is completely satisfied with the world in which she lives. No one ever dared to contradict her, but then Katerina appears, unwilling to put up with Kabanikha’s rudeness, rudeness and cruelty. And therefore Katerina, with her self-esteem, constantly irritates Kabanikha. A conflict is brewing between Katerina and Kabanikha. This conflict does not explode until there are reasons for it. And the reason is Katerina’s confession of cheating on her husband. And Katerina understands that after this her life is over, because Kabanikha will then completely bully her. And she decides to commit suicide. After the death of Katerina, Kabanikha remains satisfied, because now no one will resist her. Katerina’s death is a kind of protest against this world, a world of lies and hypocrisy, to which she could never get used to.
But Katerina and Kabanikha have something in common, because they are both able to stand up for themselves, both do not want to put up with humiliation and insult, both have a strong character. But their reluctance to be humiliated and insulted manifests itself in different ways. Katerina will never respond to rudeness with rudeness. Kabanikha, on the contrary, will try in every possible way to humiliate, offend, and bully a person who says something unpleasant in her direction.
Katerina and Kabanikha have different attitudes towards God. If Katerina’s feeling for God is something bright, holy, inviolable and highest, then for Kabanikha it is only an external, superficial feeling. Even going to church for Kabanikha is only to make the impression of a pious lady on those around her.
The most suitable comparison between Katerina and Kabanikha is something light and something dark, where Katerina is light and Kabanikha is dark. Katerina is a ray of light in the “dark kingdom”. But this “ray” is not enough to illuminate this darkness that in the end it fades out altogether.
The hero's mental flabbiness and the heroine's moral generosity are most obvious in the scene of their last date. Katerina’s hopes are in vain: “If only I could live with him, maybe I would see some kind of joy.” “If only”, “maybe”, “some”.
“would”, “maybe”, “some kind”... Little consolation! But even here she finds the strength to think not about herself. This is Katerina asking her beloved for forgiveness for the troubles she has caused him. Boris couldn’t even imagine such a thing. He won’t really be able to save or even feel sorry for Katerina: “Who knew that we should suffer so much with you for our love! It would be better for me to run then!” But didn’t the folk song sung by Kudryash remind Boris of the retribution for loving a married woman, didn’t Kudryash warn him about the same: “Eh, Boris Grigoryich, stop annoying me!.. After all, this means you want to ruin her completely.. “During the poetic nights on the Volga, didn’t Katerina herself talk about this to Boris? Alas, the hero simply did not hear any of this.
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, and the burning 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.
Explaining the reasons for the heroine’s nationwide repentance, we will not repeat, following Dobrolyubov’s words, about “superstition,” “ignorance,” and “religious prejudices.” We will not see cowardice and fear of external punishment in Katerina’s “fear”. After all, such a look turns the heroine into a victim of the dark kingdom of the Boars. The true source of the heroine’s repentance lies elsewhere: in her sensitive conscience. “It’s not so scary that it will kill you, but that death will suddenly find you as you are, with all your sins, with all your evil thoughts. I’m not afraid to die, but when I think that I’ll suddenly appear before God as I am here with you, after this conversation, that’s what’s scary.” “My heart really hurts,” says Katerina in a moment of confession. “Whoever has fear, there is God,” echoes popular wisdom. From time immemorial, “fear” was understood by the Russian people as a heightened moral self-awareness.
In V. I. Dahl’s Explanatory Dictionary, “fear” is interpreted as “consciousness of moral responsibility.” This definition corresponds to the heroine’s state of mind. Unlike Kabanikha, Feklushi and other heroes of “The Thunderstorm,” Katerina’s “fear” is the inner voice of her conscience. Katerina perceives the thunderstorm as the chosen one: what is happening in her soul is akin to what is happening in the stormy skies. This is not slavery, this is equality. Katerina is equally heroic both in her passionate and reckless love affair and in her deeply conscientious public repentance. “What a conscience!.. What a mighty Slavic conscience!.. What moral strength... What huge, sublime aspirations, full of power and beauty,” V. wrote about Katerina Strepetova in the scene of repentance.
V. M. Doroshevich wrote about Katerina Strepetova in the scene of repentance. And S.V. Maksimov told how he happened to sit next to Ostrovsky during the first performance of “The Thunderstorm” with Nikulina-Kositskaya in the role of Katerina. Ostrovsky watched the drama in silence, absorbed in himself. But in that “pathetic scene when Katerina, tormented by remorse, throws herself at the feet of her husband and mother-in-law, repenting of her sin, Ostrovsky, all pale, whispered: “It’s not me, not me: it’s God!” Ostrovsky, obviously, did not believe that he could write such an amazing scene.” It’s time for us to appreciate not only the love, but also the repentant impulse of Katerina. Having gone through the stormy trials, the heroine is morally cleansed and leaves this sinful world with the consciousness of her rightness: “He who loves will pray.”
“Death due to sins is terrible,” people say. And if Katerina is not afraid of death, then her sins have been atoned for. Her departure takes us back to the beginning of the tragedy. Death is sanctified by the same full-blooded and life-loving religiosity that has entered the heroine’s soul since childhood. “There is a grave under the tree... The sun warms it... birds will fly to the tree, they will sing, they will bring out the children...”
Katerina dies amazingly. Her death is the last flash of spiritualized love for God's world: trees, birds, flowers and herbs. Monologue about the grave - awakened metaphors, folk mythology with its belief in immortality. A person, dying, turns into a tree growing on a grave, or into a bird making a nest in its branches, or into a flower that gives a smile to passers-by - these are the constant motifs of folk songs about death. When leaving, Katerina retains all the signs that, according to popular belief, distinguished the saint: she is dead as if she were alive. “And exactly, guys, like alive! There’s only a small wound on the temple, and there’s only one drop of blood.”