THE PROBLEM OF REPENTANCE IN A. N. OSTROVSKY’S PLAY “THE STORM”.
In Ostrovsky’s tragedy “The Thunderstorm,” problems of morality were widely raised. Using the example of the provincial town of Kalinov, he showed the prevailing morals there. He depicted the cruelty of people living the old fashioned way, according to Domostroy, and the riotousness of the younger generation. All the characters of the tragedy are grouped into two parts. Those who believe that you can receive forgiveness for any sin if you then repent, and the other part believes that sin follows punishment and there is no salvation from it. Here one of the most important problems of man in general and “Thunderstorm” in particular arises.
Repentance as a problem appeared a very long time ago. Then, when a person believed in what is higher power, and was afraid of her. He began to try to behave in such a way as to appease God with his behavior. People gradually developed ways to appease God through certain actions or deeds. All violations of this code were considered displeasing to God - sin. At first, people simply made sacrifices to the gods, sharing with them what they had. The apogee of this relationship is human sacrifice. In contrast to this, monotheistic religions arise, that is, those recognizing one god. These religions abandoned sacrifice and created codes defining standards of human behavior. These codices became shrines as they were believed to be inscribed by the powers of the gods. Examples of such books are the Christian Bible and the Muslim Koran.
Violation of oral or written norms is a sin and must be punished. If at first a person was afraid of being killed on the spot, then later he begins to fear for his afterlife. A person begins to worry about where his soul will go after death: eternal bliss or eternal suffering. One could get to blessed places for righteous behavior, then there is observance of norms, and sinners end up in a place where they will suffer forever. This is where repentance arises, because rare person could live without committing sins, and to cross out his life because of a few sins was scary for everyone. Therefore, it becomes possible to save yourself from punishment by begging God’s forgiveness. Thus, any person, even the last sinner, receives hope of salvation if he repents.
In “The Thunderstorm” the problem of repentance is most acutely posed. The main heroine of the tragedy, Katerina, is in terrible pangs of conscience. She is torn between her legal husband and Boris, righteous life and fall. She cannot forbid herself to love Boris, but she executes herself in her soul, believing that by doing this she is rejecting God, since a husband is to his wife as God is to the church. Therefore, by cheating on her husband, she betrays God, which means she loses all possibility of salvation. She considers this sin unforgivable and therefore denies the possibility of repentance for herself. Katerina is a very pious woman; since childhood she has been accustomed to pray to God and even seen angels, which is why her torment is so strong. These sufferings bring her to the point that she, fearing God’s punishment, personified in the form of a thunderstorm, throws herself at her husband’s feet and confesses everything to him, putting her life in his hands. People react to this recognition in different ways, revealing their attitude towards the possibility of repentance. Kabanova offers to bury her alive in the ground, that is, she believes that there is no way to forgive her. Tikhon, on the contrary, forgives Katerina, that is, he believes that she will receive forgiveness from God.
Katerina believes in repentance because she fears that she will die suddenly, not because her life will be interrupted, but because she is afraid to appear before God unrepentant, with all her sins.
People's attitude towards the possibility of repentance is manifested during a thunderstorm. A thunderstorm represents the wrath of God, and therefore people, when they see a thunderstorm, try to avoid it. Some people behave in a special way. For example, Kuligin wants to build lightning rods and save people from thunderstorms, so he believes that people can be saved from God’s punishment if they repent, then God’s wrath will disappear through repentance, just as lightning goes into the ground through a lightning rod. Dikoy believes that it is impossible to hide from the wrath of God, that is, he does not believe in the possibility of repentance. Although it should be noted that he can repent, since he throws himself at the man’s feet and asks for forgiveness from him for cursing him.
Pangs of conscience drive Katerina to the point where she begins to think about suicide. Suicide in Christianity is one of the most serious sins. Man seemed to reject God therefore, the suicides had no hope of salvation. Here the question arises:
How could such a devout Katerina commit suicide, knowing that by doing so she was ruining her soul? Maybe she didn’t really believe in God at all? But this can be contrasted with that she considered her soul already ruined and simply did not want to live further in such torment, without hope of salvation. Hamlet's question arises before her - to be or not to be? To endure torment on earth and know the evil that exists here, or to commit suicide and end your torment on earth. But no one knows exactly what happens after death and whether it will be worse. Katerina is driven to despair by the attitude of people towards her and the torments of her conscience, so she rejects the possibility of salvation. But in the denouement it turns out that she has hope of salvation, since she does not drown in the water, but breaks into an anchor. The anchor is similar to part of the cross, where the base represents the Holy Grail - the cup with the blood of the Lord. The Holy Grail symbolizes salvation. And Katerina is bleeding from her head. Thus, there is hope that she was forgiven and saved.
As you know, man is a social being, he cannot live outside of society; on the other hand, the well-being of society as a whole depends on each individual person. Thinkers of all times have thought about the problem of this interaction: philosophers, historians, sociologists... And of course, it is reflected in fiction. We have selected 5 arguments for the final essay in the direction of “Man and Society” from the play by A.N. Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm".
- Family is the first and most important social group which a person falls into. Katerina, who grew up in an atmosphere of love and care, after marriage finds herself in the Kabanov family, where tyranny reigns. The head of the family, the wealthy merchant Marfa Ignatievna, nicknamed Kabanikha, demands unquestioning obedience from those around her and torments them with nagging and reproaches. And if Kabanikha’s children, Varvara and Tikhon (Katerina’s husband), are accustomed to this, then for Katerina life in such an environment is unbearable. The same atmosphere of suppression and humiliation reigns throughout Kalinov, therefore in in this example the individual has nowhere to escape from the pernicious society. Despair and loneliness push the poor woman to betrayal and then to suicide.
- Katerina’s protest is directed not only against the order in the Kabanov family. She deliberately commits two grave sins, going against the moral foundations of an entire society. At the same time, she is more afraid of God's judgment than of man's; and who would “throw a stone at her” if everyone around her is sinful? And if society itself accepts the difficult situation in which the heroine was found as the norm? Therefore, the question of Katerina’s personal guilt, on the one hand, and the influence of social circumstances, on the other, remains open. However, using this example, we can clearly say how society can influence a person: provoke a fruitless rebellion, drive him to despair, deprive him of moral support, and all this in order to crush individuality.
- What kind of society are the residents of Kalinov? Using this city as an example, Ostrovsky depicts the customs and customs of the Russian philistinism. At first glance, its main feature is loyalty to the traditional way of life, but in reality it turns into deep backwardness (it’s not for nothing that N.A. Dobrolyubov calls this place a “dark kingdom”). In this regard, the conversation between Dikoy and Kuligin is indicative: Dikoy: “What do you think a thunderstorm is, huh? Well, speak up!” Kuligin: “Electricity.” Dikoy (stomping his foot): “What kind of beauty is there! Why aren't you a robber? A thunderstorm is being sent to us as punishment...” The worst thing is that such a society produces similar people, breeding ignorance and inhibiting the development of both each individual person and the entire state. This means that society can not only develop, but also throw a person back to the hypocrisy and stupidity of the old ways.
- Let us pay attention to what social positions the main characters of the play occupy. Dikoy and Kabanikha are typical representatives of “ dark kingdom"and his stronghold. What is characteristic of them? “To rob orphans, relatives, nephews, to beat up his family so that they don’t dare say a word about anything he does there” - this is how the rich behave, but despite this, they are respected. The poor work day and night and sleep three hours a day. What about the children of wealthy people? They, being young, “walk”, and then either continue to endure the oppression of “wild” and “boar”, or go into best places(like Varvara and Kudryash). So it turns out that there is no one to change the existing order, and tyrants and tyrants remain the most influential citizens. Individuals might be able to change society, but no one dares to take risks, because everyone values their peace of mind. Even Katerina achieved nothing with her “single picket”, because no one wanted to support her, and one in the field is not a warrior.
- Not only Katerina, but also the self-taught mechanic Kuligin can be called a “ray of light in the dark kingdom.” He is the only one who is trying to bring at least a modicum of civilization into Kalinov’s dense life: installing clocks on the boulevard, attaching lightning rods to houses... Moreover, Kuligin is a real altruist, he does not demand any reward for his work and is even ready to spend funds from his own inventions for the good people. Unfortunately, he is unable to overcome the established for many years orders. Using the example of Kuligin A.N. Ostrovsky shows: in a conflict with society, an individual cannot emerge victorious.
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And N. Ostrovsky, after the appearance of his first major play received literary recognition. Ostrovsky's dramaturgy became a necessary element of the culture of his time; he retained the position of the best playwright of the era, the head of the Russian dramatic school, despite the fact that at the same time A.V. Sukhovo-Kobylin was working in this genre. M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, A. F. Pisemsky, A. K. Tolstoy and L. N. Tolstoy. The most popular critics viewed his works as a true and profound reflection of modern reality. Meanwhile, Ostrovsky, following his original creative way, often baffled both critics and readers.
Thus, the play “The Thunderstorm” came as a surprise to many. L.N. Tolstoy did not accept the play. The tragedy of this work forced critics to reconsider their views on Ostrovsky’s dramaturgy. A.P. Grigoriev noted that in “The Thunderstorm” there is a protest against the “existing”, which is terrible for its adherents. Dobrolyubov, in his article “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom,” argued that the image of Katerina in “The Thunderstorm” “breathes on us with new life.”
Perhaps for the first time, scenes of family, “private” life, the arbitrariness and lawlessness that were hitherto hidden behind the thick doors of mansions and estates, were shown with such graphic power. And at the same time, this was not just an everyday sketch. The author showed the unenviable position of the Russian woman in merchant family. Immense power The tragedy was given special truthfulness and skill by the author, as D.I. Pisarev rightly noted: “The Thunderstorm” is a painting from life, which is why it breathes truth.”
The tragedy takes place in the city of Kalinov, which is located among the greenery of gardens on the steep bank of the Volga. “For fifty years I have been looking at the Volga every day - I can’t get enough of everything. The view is extraordinary! Beauty! My soul rejoices,” Kuligin admires. It would seem. and the life of the people of this city should be beautiful and joyful. However, the life and customs of the rich merchants created “a world of prison and deathly silence.” Savel Dikoy and Marfa Kabanova are the personification of cruelty and tyranny. The order in the merchant's house is based on the outdated religious dogmas of Domostroy. Dobrolyubov says about Kabanikha that she “gnaws at her sacrifice, long and relentlessly.” She forces her daughter-in-law Katerina to bow at her husband’s feet when he leaves, scolds her for “not howling” in public when seeing off her husband.
Kabanikha is very rich, this can be judged by the fact that the interests of her affairs go far beyond Kalinov; on her instructions, Tikhon travels to Moscow. She is respected by Dikoy, for whom the main thing in life is money. But the merchant's wife understands that power also brings obedience to those around her. She seeks to kill any manifestation of resistance to her power in the home. The boar is hypocritical, she only hides behind virtue and piety, in the family she is an inhuman despot and tyrant. Tikhon does not contradict her in anything. Varvara has learned to lie, hide and dodge.
Main character Katerina's plays are marked strong character, she is not used to humiliation and insults and therefore conflicts with her cruel old mother-in-law. In her mother’s house, Katerina lived freely and easily. In the Kabanov House she feels like a bird in a cage. She quickly realizes that she cannot live here for long.
Katerina married Tikhon without love. In Kabanikha’s house, everything trembles at the mere imperious cry of the merchant’s wife. Life in this house is hard for young people. And then Katerina meets a completely different person and falls in love. For the first time in her life, she experiences deep personal feeling. One night she goes on a date with Boris. Whose side is the playwright on? He is on Katerina’s side, because a person’s natural aspirations cannot be destroyed. Life in the Kabanov family is unnatural. And Katerina does not accept the inclinations of those people with whom she ended up. Hearing Varvara's offer to lie and pretend. Katerina replies: “I don’t know how to deceive, I can’t hide anything.”
Katerina’s directness and sincerity evokes respect from both the author, the reader, and the viewer. She decides that she can no longer be a victim of a soulless mother-in-law, she cannot languish behind bars. She's free! But she saw a way out only in her death. And one could argue with this. Critics also disagreed about whether Katerina was worth paying for her freedom at the cost of her life. So, Pisarev, unlike Dobrolyubov, considers Katerina’s act senseless. He believes that after Katerina’s suicide everything will return to normal, life will go on as usual, and the “dark kingdom” is not worth such a sacrifice. Of course, Kabanikha brought Katerina to her death. As a result, her daughter Varvara runs away from home, and her son Tikhon regrets that he did not die with his wife.
It is interesting that one of the main, active images of this play is the image of the thunderstorm itself. Symbolically expressing the idea of the work, this image directly participates in the action of the drama as a real natural phenomenon, enters into action at its decisive moments, and largely determines the actions of the heroine. This image is very meaningful; it illuminates almost all aspects of the drama.
So. Already in the first act, a thunderstorm broke out over the city of Kalinov. It broke out as a harbinger of tragedy. Katerina already said: “I will die soon,” she confessed to Varvara her sinful love. In her mind, the mad lady's prediction that the thunderstorm would not pass in vain, and the feeling of her own sin with a real thunderclap had already been combined. Katerina rushes home: “It’s still better, everything is calmer, I’m at home - to the images and pray to God!”
After this, the storm subsides for a short time. Only in Kabanikha’s grumbling are its echoes heard. There was no thunderstorm that night when Katerina felt free and happy for the first time after her marriage.
But the fourth, climactic act, begins with the words: “The rain is falling, as if a thunderstorm is not gathering?” And after that the thunderstorm motif never ceases.
The dialogue between Kuligin and Dikiy is interesting. Kuligin talks about lightning rods (“we have frequent thunderstorms”) and provokes the wrath of Dikiy: “What other kind of electricity is there? Well, how come you’re not a robber? A thunderstorm is sent to us as punishment so that we can feel it, but you want poles and some kind of horns.” then, God forgive me, defend yourself. What are you, a Tatar, or what?” And in response to the quote from Derzhavin, which Kuligin cites in his defense: “I decay with my body in dust, I command thunder with my mind,” the merchant does not find anything to say at all, except: “And for these words, send you to the mayor, so he will will ask!"
Undoubtedly, in the play the image of a thunderstorm takes on special meaning: This is a refreshing, revolutionary beginning. However, reason is condemned in the dark kingdom, it is faced with impenetrable ignorance, supported by stinginess. But still, the lightning that cut through the sky over the Volga touched the long-silent Tikhon and flashed over the destinies of Varvara and Kudryash. The thunderstorm shook everyone up thoroughly. Inhuman morals will come to an end sooner or later. The struggle between the new and the old has begun and continues. This is the meaning of the work of the great Russian playwright.
In literary criticism, the problematics of a work are the range of problems that are addressed in one way or another in the text. This may be one or more aspects that the author focuses on. In this work we will talk about the problems of Ostrovsky’s “The Thunderstorm”. A. N. Ostrovsky received a literary vocation after his first published play. “Poverty is not a vice,” “Dowry,” “Profitable Place” - these and many other works are devoted to social and everyday themes, but the issue of the problems of the play “The Thunderstorm” needs to be considered separately.
The play was received ambiguously by critics. Dobrolyubov saw in Katerina hope for new life, Ap. Grigoriev noticed the emerging protest against the existing order, and L. Tolstoy did not accept the play at all. The plot of “The Thunderstorm,” at first glance, is quite simple: everything is based on a love conflict. Katerina secretly meets with a young man while her husband left for another city on business. Unable to cope with the pangs of conscience, the girl admits to treason, after which she rushes into the Volga. However, behind all this everyday, everyday life, lies much larger things that threaten to grow to the scale of space. Dobrolyubov calls the “dark kingdom” the situation described in the text. An atmosphere of lies and betrayal. In Kalinov, people are so accustomed to moral filth that their resigned consent only aggravates the situation. It becomes scary to realize that it was not the place that made people like this, it was the people who independently turned the city into a kind of accumulation of vices. And now the “dark kingdom” is beginning to influence the inhabitants. After a detailed reading of the text, you can see how widely the problems of the work “The Thunderstorm” have been developed. The problems in Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm" are diverse, but at the same time they do not have a hierarchy. Each individual problem is important in its own right.
The problem of fathers and sons
Here we are not talking about misunderstanding, but about total control, about patriarchal orders. The play shows the life of the Kabanov family. At that time, the opinion of the eldest man in the family was undeniable, and wives and daughters were practically deprived of their rights. The head of the family is Marfa Ignatievna, a widow. She took on male functions. This is a powerful and calculating woman. Kabanikha believes that she takes care of her children, ordering them to do as she wants. This behavior led to quite logical consequences. Her son, Tikhon, is a weak and spineless person. His mother, it seems, wanted to see him this way, because in this case it is easier to control a person. Tikhon is afraid to say anything, to express his opinion; in one of the scenes he admits that he doesn’t have his own point of view at all. Tikhon cannot protect either himself or his wife from his mother’s hysterics and cruelty. Kabanikha’s daughter, Varvara, on the contrary, managed to adapt to this lifestyle. She easily lies to her mother, the girl even changed the lock on the gate in the garden so that she could go on dates with Curly without hindrance. Tikhon is incapable of any rebellion, while Varvara, at the end of the play, runs away from her parents' house with her lover.
The problem of self-realization
When talking about the problems of “The Thunderstorm,” one cannot fail to mention this aspect. The problem is realized in the image of Kuligin. This self-taught inventor dreams of making something useful for all residents of the city. His plans include assembling a perpeta mobile, building a lightning rod, and generating electricity. But this whole dark, semi-pagan world needs neither light nor enlightenment. Dikoy laughs at Kuligin’s plans to find an honest income and openly mocks him. After a conversation with Kuligin, Boris understands that the inventor will never invent a single thing. Perhaps Kuligin himself understands this. He could be called naive, but he knows what morals reign in Kalinov, what happens behind closed doors, which represent those in whose hands power is concentrated. Kuligin learned to live in this world without losing himself. But he is not able to sense the conflict between reality and dreams as keenly as Katerina did.
The problem of power
In the city of Kalinov, power is not in the hands of the relevant authorities, but in those who have money. Proof of this is the dialogue between the merchant Dikiy and the mayor. The mayor tells the merchant that complaints are being received against the latter. Savl Prokofievich responds rudely to this. Dikoy does not hide the fact that he is cheating ordinary men; he talks about deception as a normal phenomenon: if merchants steal from each other, then it is possible to steal from ordinary residents. In Kalinov, nominal power decides absolutely nothing, and this is fundamentally wrong. After all, it turns out that it is simply impossible to live without money in such a city. Dikoy imagines himself almost like a priest-king, deciding who to lend money to and who not. “So know that you are a worm. “If I want, I’ll have mercy, if I want, I’ll crush” - this is how Dikoy answers Kuligin.
The problem of love
In "The Thunderstorm" the problem of love is realized in the couples Katerina - Tikhon and Katerina - Boris. The girl is forced to live with her husband, although she does not feel any feelings other than pity for him. Katya rushes from one extreme to another: she thinks between the option of staying with her husband and learning to love him, or leaving Tikhon. Katya's feelings for Boris flare up instantly. This passion pushes the girl to take a decisive step: Katya goes against public opinion and Christian morality. Her feelings were mutual, but for Boris this love meant much less. Katya believed that Boris, like her, was incapable of living in a frozen city and lying for profit. Katerina often compared herself to a bird, she wanted to fly away, to break out of that metaphorical cage, and in Boris Katya saw that air, that freedom that she so lacked. Unfortunately, the girl was mistaken about Boris. The young man turned out to be the same as the residents of Kalinov. He wanted to improve relations with Dikiy in order to receive money, and he talked with Varvara that it was better to keep his feelings for Katya secret for as long as possible.
Conflict between old and new
We are talking about the resistance of the patriarchal way of life to the new order, which implies equality and freedom. This topic was very relevant. Let us remember that the play was written in 1859, and serfdom was abolished in 1861. Social contradictions reached its apogee. The author wanted to show what the lack of reforms and decisive action can lead to. Tikhon’s final words confirm this. “Good for you, Katya! Why did I stay in the world and suffer!” In such a world, the living envy the dead.
This contradiction most strongly affected the main character of the play. Katerina cannot understand how one can live in lies and animal humility. The girl was suffocating in the atmosphere that had been created by the residents of Kalinov for a long time. She is honest and pure, so her only desire was so small and so great at the same time. Katya just wanted to be herself, to live the way she was raised. Katerina sees that everything is not at all as she imagined before her marriage. She cannot even allow herself a sincere impulse - to hug her husband - Kabanikha controlled and suppressed any attempts by Katya to be sincere. Varvara supports Katya, but cannot understand her. Katerina is left alone in this world of deceit and dirt. The girl could not bear such pressure; she finds salvation in death. Death frees Katya from the burden of earthly life, turning her soul into something light, capable of flying away from the “dark kingdom.”
We can conclude that the problems raised in the drama “The Thunderstorm” are significant and relevant to this day. These are unresolved questions of human existence that will worry people at all times. It is thanks to this formulation of the question that the play “The Thunderstorm” can be called a timeless work.
Work test
Arbitrariness, on the one hand, and non-
sufficient awareness of one's rights
personalities - on the other; here's the basics
the foundations on which everything rests
the disgrace of relationships, developing
We're mostly comedies
Ostrovsky.
N.L. Dobrolyubov
The theme of the conflict between the individual and society in literature is one of the eternal ones. Throughout the 19th-20th centuries, writers reveal this problem in their works, trying to bring
each reader its essence. For example, in the comedy “Woe from Wit” by Griboyedov and the novel “Fathers and Sons” by Turgenev, the confrontation between the “past century” and the “present century” is described.
Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm” also reveals a conflict between the individual and society. Let's take a closer look at it.
The first, the so-called dark kingdom, includes Kabanikha, the widow, and Dikoy, the merchant.
Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is a widow with two children: Varvara and Tikhon. Kabanikha relies on ancient customs in everything and tries to instill them to the younger generation. She is rude, her speech is leisurely and monotonous, her movements are slow; living feelings awaken in her only when the conversation concerns the ways of antiquity, which she fiercely defends. Kabanova is one of the complex heroes. Her dictated demands are not created out of whim, these are just ancient principles that, in her opinion, must be fulfilled. So, for example, her very first appearance is accompanied by the words: “If you want to listen to your mother, then when you get there, do as I ordered you.”
Kabanova doesn't like it when someone opposes her. She sees a rival in Katerina, Tikhon’s wife, and does everything to disgrace her: “Yes, I didn’t even want to talk about you; and so, by the way, I had to.”
Unlike Kabanikha’s tyranny, Dikiy’s willfulness is no longer strengthened by anything, and is not justified by any rules. The moral foundations in his soul are shaken.
He is the richest and most noble man in the city, but this “warrior” is not happy with himself, a victim of his own self-will: “I understand this; What are you going to tell me to do with myself when my heart is like this!”
Money makes it possible for the Wild One to humiliate the poor and people financially dependent on him. “So, are you going to sue me or something? - he declares to Kuligin. - So know that you are a worm. If I want, I’ll have mercy, if I want, I’ll crush.”
Kabanikha and Dikiy are connected by many common features: ignorance, hypocrisy^ hypocrisy. These heroes love to rule, but the “borders of their domain” are not endless. There are also those who oppose them: Katerina, Kuligin, Varvara, Kudryash, Boris...
They all feel the tyranny of the Wild and Kabanikha in the same way, but they protest against this force in different ways.
One of these victims of the “dark kingdom” is Boris, Dikiy’s nephew, who arrived in Kalinov under duress. He is different from everyone else living in the city: he wears foreign clothes, “he doesn’t know the local customs.” His broad views on life are also different. So, for example, Boris says about Kuligin: “It’s a pity to disappoint him! Which good man! He dreams for himself and is happy. And it looks like I’m going to waste my youth.” The Wild One's nephew is smart; understands that he can’t achieve anything here, this is his world. This is exactly how, I think, Boris’s passive perception of evil is explained.
Another victim of the “dark kingdom” is Varvara, the daughter of Kabanikha. This heroine in the drama “The Thunderstorm” is shown as smart, cunning and cheerful. She got used to living in Kabanova’s house according to her principle: “Do what you want, as long as it’s safe and covered.”
Varvara does not want to endure her mother's tyranny. She says about her (“to herself”): “I won’t respect you, of course.”
The girl has a freedom-loving soul that cannot be crushed or trampled. Varvara’s reckless love for Kudryash only makes her stronger against the “dark kingdom.”
For a long time, the couple in love could not muster up the courage to run away, but Katerina’s act pushed them to take a decisive step.
I agree with the opinion of A. A. Revyakin that the departure of Varvara and Kudryash is an open protest against the Kalinovsky system: “For all her cunning, adaptability and moral primitiveness, Varvara could not withstand domestic tyranny. She ran away from her mother's house."
Speaking about open protests against the “dark kingdom”, one cannot fail to mention Tikhon, Katerina’s husband.
Kabanov Tikhon Ivanovich is the son of Kabanikha. On the one hand, it is kind, loving husband, who “can’t even shout at his wife.” On the other hand, he is quiet and cannot protect Katerina from her mother’s vain slander. Tikhon is hard pressed by Kabanikha, but he cannot resist her, and sometimes even blames his wife for everything (about his mother): “She kept pestering: “Get married, get married, I would at least look at you as a married man.” And now he eats, doesn’t let anyone pass - everything is for you (Katerina).”
Tikhon loved to drink in the company of Dikiy, and when he left on business, he took the whole year off. Having gotten to know him better, Katerina was never able to love her husband.
In the last act, when Katerina passed away, Tikhon, doomed to torment, for the first time openly declared his protest against the “dark kingdom”: “Mama, you ruined her!!! You, you, you..."
In the drama “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky, there “lives” a hero who is higher and more morally gifted than Varvara or Boris - Kuligin. He is an observer and does not enter into any of the kingdoms. Kuligin is an unusual and outlandish person. He is “a tradesman, a self-taught watchmaker, looking for a perpetuum mobile.” Kuligin is a dreamy man, but his fantasies are unrealizable. This character is not the main one, and yet it is he who pities Boris when he learns about his past, and Tikhon when he talks about his wife’s betrayal. At the end of the drama, it was Kuligin who found Katerina’s body with the words: “Here is your Katerina. Do what you want with her! Her body is here, take it, but her soul is now not yours: it is now before a judge who is more merciful than you!” I think these words are a conclusion from many of his “observations”.
And yet, of all the characters in “The Thunderstorm,” in the foreground, undoubtedly, Katerina, “a ray of light,” as Dobrolyubov called her.
This girl grew up all her life surrounded by love and affection. She was used to this environment: nature, church and freedom. In freedom, her character was formed: kind, affectionate, pure, sincere, honest, hardworking. Since childhood, she was accustomed to going to church with her mother. And so she was given in marriage to an unknown man, so young and so free. Katerina found herself alone in a cruel world. The heroine tries to love her husband, but all in vain. It was then that she meets a man who is not like Kalinov’s society, Boris. She falls in love with him sincerely, and if not for his stupidity, then in the end Katerina would have left with him and not died.
And yet I think that Katerina did not lose with her death, but on the contrary, she defeated the world of the Wild and Boars. The “ray of light” did not go out, but remained shining.
I believe that “The Thunderstorm” is one of the proofs of Ostrovsky’s high skill as an artist. Despite the complexity of the plot, Ostrovsky was able to realistically portray the characters. Even in such an image as Dikoy, there is a small positive trait. He was able to admit his mistakes. And all thanks to Ostrovsky’s talent.
The conflict of the “dark kingdom” with its “victims” in “The Thunderstorm” is expressed clearly and vividly. And, in my opinion, it was not only Katerina who was the “ray of light”. Each of the “victims”: Varvara, Kuligin, Tikhon, and Boris flashed over “ dark kingdom"at least a little.
Ostrovsky's drama is structured in such a way that the confrontation between society and the individual is always in the foreground. And therefore, all the actions of the heroes point to this still existing problem.