"Thunderstorm" is one of the most famous works Ostrovsky. The play was written by the author at a time when society was hiding in anticipation of impending changes. A clear conflict emerged between conservatives living under the old laws and the world younger generation, representing a progressive force. We will talk about one of these representatives of youth, who is not afraid of change and goes towards it. The image and characterization of Vanya Kudryash in the play “The Thunderstorm” are not as bright as those of the main characters. He is a minor character, but without him the work would not have turned out so complete. Ivan's kindness and sincerity attracts the reader from the first minutes. He is a fighter in life, despite his rustic appearance, which is so contrary to his character.

Ivan Kudryash is a young guy. Beloved of Varvara Kabanova, daughter of Kabanikha.

Image and characteristics

Ivan is a young, stately and strong young man. Works for Dikiy as a clerk.

The only one who is not afraid and can fight back the merchant, keeping the urban population in fear.

“...I feel in my nose that I won’t sell my head cheap. He’s the one who’s scary to you, but I know how to talk to him...”

Rude. Ivan is not one of those who grovel and fawn. He will answer, he will answer, it won’t seem like much. His speech is simple, but understandable to everyone.

“I’m considered a rude person, why is he holding me? Therefore, he needs me. Well, that means I’m not afraid of him, but let him be afraid of me.”

The wild one is happy with everything. The landowner turns a blind eye to Ivan’s rudeness, not paying attention to the ambitious guy. Forgives everything. Doesn't punish, doesn't drive away. Apparently they both need each other. This benefits Curly, he doesn’t have to show heroism trying to prove something.

Lively. Fearless. Nothing can intimidate Ivan. Fear is unusual for him. He will rebuff anyone who tries to raise their voice at him. He doesn't mince words.

“He is the word, I am ten; he'll spit and go. No, I won’t kowtow to him.”

“I’m for mine... and I don’t even know what I’ll do! I’ll rip your throat out!”

Talented. Ivan is musically gifted. The guy does not let go of the guitar, constantly playing some melodies and humming something under his breath.

“...strums a few chords on the guitar.”

With such talent, he belongs in music conservatory, and instead of real music connoisseurs, you have to entertain the local audience.

Windy. Despite the fact that Ivan has a girlfriend, the guy still looks at others. He knows this weakness, but he can’t do anything. You can't go against nature.

“I’m too crazy for girls...”

Simple. Kudryash is distinguished by his simplicity; what he thinks is what he says. Expresses feelings frankly, without falsehood or pretense.

Freedom-loving. The worst thing for Ivan is to lose his freedom, which the guy values ​​very much. His entire gut protests against slavery and blind submission.

Purposeful. Brings what he starts to completion. Doesn't give in to circumstances. Goes forward towards your dream.

Relationship with Varvara. Ivan and Varvara have been dating for a long time. It is unclear how serious their feelings are. Maybe this is pampering, maybe the couple will start a family in the future. Time will show. There is a certain coldness at their secret meetings. Varya is constantly attacked by yawning from boredom. The guy is also reserved. Showing feelings is not typical for him. He treats everything with a degree of cold indifference. Ivan does not stand on ceremony in his conversation with Varya, being rude.

“What took you so long? Still waiting for you! You know what I don’t like!”

They look more like bosom friends than passionate lovers. At the end of the work, the young people run away from home together. Ivan did not abandon Varvara, as Boris did. Once again proving that he is capable of action and is used to confirming his words with deeds.

Conscientious. Kudryash was very worried when he learned that Boris was interested in Katerina. A married woman. He thought it was not human.

I feel sorry for the guys from the bottom of my heart. After much deliberation, despite remorse, he eventually agrees, participating with Varvara in organizing a meeting between the young people.

“Why do living, creative, kind and decent people painfully retreat before the shapeless gray mass that fills the world?” - this phrase would become a wonderful epigraph to one of Ostrovsky’s works. The conflict of the tragedy is realized at several levels. Firstly, the playwright showed the flawed nature of the established order, the conflict between the patriarchal system and the new, free life. This aspect is realized at the level of such characters as Kuligin and Katerina. In short, the existence, and even more so the coexistence of feeling, fair people, striving for spiritual enrichment and honest work is impossible next to the angry, deprived and deceitful inhabitants of Kalinov. Moreover, it is necessary to make a reservation that Kalinov is a fictional space, which means the space becomes conditional. Secondly, Katerina’s emotional drama in “The Thunderstorm” is shown.

In this case, we are talking about conflict within the character. These types of conflicts are always interesting, because contradictions make images alive and multifaceted. Ostrovsky managed to create a character that caused completely opposite opinions among critics. Dobrolyubov called the main character of the play “a ray of light in dark kingdom"and sincerely believed that Katerina embodied the most best qualities Russian person. But Pisarev entered into a debate with Dobrolyubov, saying that Katerina’s problems were far-fetched and solvable. However, both critics were somehow interested in the emotional drama of Katerina Kabanova.

Katya lives with her husband, his sister and mother-in-law. The family appears on stage for the first time in this composition. The fifth phenomenon begins with a conversation between Marfa Ignatievna and her son. Tikhon supports his mother in everything, agrees even with outright lies. Katya's husband, Tikhon Kabanov, is a weak and weak-willed person. He is tired of his mother’s hysterics, but instead of expressing his opinion at least once or protecting his wife from cruelty and evil words, Tikhon goes to have a drink with Dikiy. Tikhon looks like an adult child. He loves Katya because he feels inner strength in her, but his feelings are not mutual: Katya feels only pity for Tikhon.

Varvara seems to be the only person who is at least somehow interested in Katerina. She worries about Katya and tries to help her. However, Varvara does not understand how subtly Katerina feels this world, Varvara is practical, she does not understand why it is so difficult for Katerina to learn to “be a white lie,” why Katya wants to become a bird, why she feels approaching death.

Katya herself appreciates the moments when she manages to be alone. She regrets that she does not have children, because then she would love and care for them. The happiness of motherhood would allow Katya to realize herself as a woman, as a mother and as a person, because she would be in charge of raising her. Katya's childhood was carefree. She had everything she could have dreamed of: loving parents, going to church, freedom and a sense of life. Before her marriage, Katya felt truly alive, and now she dreams of becoming a bird in order to fly away from this place, which deprived the girl of her inner lightness.

So, Katya lives in a house with a mother-in-law who is prone to tyranny and manipulation, and a husband who obeys his mother in everything, cannot protect his wife, and loves to drink. In addition to this, there is no person around the girl with whom she could share her experiences, who would not just listen to her, but would hear her. Agree, it is quite difficult to live in such an environment, considering that education and self-esteem do not allow one to respond to aggression with aggression.

The situation gets worse with the appearance of Boris, or rather, Katya’s feelings for Boris. The girl had a huge need to love and give her love. Perhaps in Boris Katya saw someone to whom she could give unrealized feelings. Or she saw in him an opportunity to finally be herself. Most likely, both. The feelings of young people flare up suddenly and develop rapidly. It was very difficult for Katerina to decide to meet with Boris. She thought for a long time about her husband, about her feelings towards Tikhon, about what everything could lead to. Katya rushed from one extreme to another: either resign herself to being unhappy family life, forgetting Boris, or divorce Tikhon in order to be with Boris. And yet the girl decides to go out into the garden where her lover was waiting for her. “Let everyone know, let everyone see what I do! If I wasn’t afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human judgment?” - this was Katya’s position. She neglects the laws of Christianity, committing a sin, but the girl is firmly confident in her decision. Katya takes responsibility for her life: “Why feel sorry for me? I went for it myself.” The secret meetings, which lasted ten days, end with the arrival of Tikhon. Katya is afraid that the truth about her betrayal will soon become known to her husband and mother-in-law, so she wants to tell them herself. Boris and Varvara try to persuade the girl to remain silent. A conversation with Boris opens Katya's eyes: Boris is the same person as all those from whom she dreamed of escaping. The collapse of illusions was very painful for Katerina. In this case, it turns out that the exit from “ dark kingdom“No, but Katya can’t live here anymore. Gathering all her strength, Katya decides to end her life.

Katerina’s emotional drama from Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” consists of the discrepancy between real life and desires, the collapse of hopes and illusions, the awareness of the hopelessness and immutability of the situation. Katerina could not live in a world of ignoramuses and deceivers; the girl was torn by the contradiction of duty and feelings. This conflict turned out to be tragic. 

Vanya Kudryash is a carrier folk character- this is a person of integrity, courage and cheerfulness, who can always stand up for himself and for his feelings. This hero appears in the very beginning scene, introducing readers, together with Kuligin, to the orders and morals of Kalinov and its inhabitants. He is not afraid of life or such city tyrants as Dikoy, for whom he works. Moreover, he is even ready to wean Dikiy from being “mischievous” - only “we don’t have enough guys like me.” The worst thing for him is to lose his freedom and fall into slavery of people like Dikoy.

They have a sincere relationship with Varvara; they constantly make secret dates with each other. Also thanks to this pair they tie love relationship between Boris and Katerina. Despite his simple origins, Kudryash’s personality, unlike Boris, is distinguished by his nobility of character, kindness and sensitivity to other people’s troubles. So, for example, having learned from Boris that he had made a date with a married woman, Kudryash begins to persuade her to leave, since he could “completely ruin her.” Another one of his positive quality– he is able to fight for his love. He does not leave Varvara, but runs away with her.

Varvara and Kudryash are “victims” of tyrants, but they are not passive, because they take an active position.

Varvara is the daughter of the merchant widow Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova. The girl does not openly oppose her mother when she reads instructions and sharpens her family like rusty iron. Varvara only pretends to listen to her mother, but she herself acts in her own way. For example, when the Kabanov family is walking along the boulevard and Marfa Ignatyevna complains that “they don’t really respect their elders these days,” Varvara says to herself: “They won’t respect you, of course!” She does not argue with her mother when a conversation “close to her heart” comes up, she only grumbles to herself again: “I found a place for instructions to read.”

The frivolous, cheerful and carefree girl is not distinguished by painful conscientiousness and concentration on serious moral issues, and does not bother thinking about sin, as Katerina does. Her brother’s wife, with her moral vacillations, seems “sophisticated” to Varvara. The philosophy of life of Kabanikha’s daughter is simple: “... do what you want, as long as it’s sewn and covered.” She adapts to the circumstances in which she finds herself, claiming that the whole house is based on deception, which means you can’t live without deception.

Vanya Kudryash is as cheerful and carefree as his friend Varvara. He works as a clerk for Dikiy and is very proud that he does not give in to this “scold”: “...he is the word, and I am ten; he’ll spit and go.” On what is Kudryash’s confidence based that he, Vanya Kudryash, would never “slave” to his boss? Ivan knows that the rich merchant needs him, like a clerk, a literate person. However, when the tradesman Shapkin suggests stepping aside so that the “shrill man” does not get attached, Vanya Kudryash wisely agrees.

Thus, both Varvara and Vanya Kudryash know how to “step aside” in time to avoid the “thunderstorm”. These are not very complex characters, not inclined to dramatize the situation and able to adapt to circumstances. Love line These characters develop parallel to the history of the relationship between Katerina and Boris. If Katerina’s love for Boris is strong passion, and tragedy, then the connection between Kudryash and Varvara resembles the relationship between spouses who have long been accustomed to each other. It seems that they spend time together out of boredom. The author's remarks indicate this: “Varvara lay down on the shoulder of Kudryash, who, not paying attention, was quietly playing.” Saying goodbye to her beloved, Varvara “yawns, then kisses him coldly, like someone he has known for a long time.”

If love story Katerina and Boris ends tragically, while Varvara and Kudryash face a rather happy ending: they flee the city together. We learn about this from Tikhon’s story to Kuligin: “Mama sharpened and sharpened Varvara; but she couldn’t stand it and she was like that - she took it and left... They say that she ran away with Kudryash and Vanka, and they won’t find him anywhere either.”

Both Varvara and Kudryash, despite all their recklessness of character, are kind in their own way, capable of understanding and sympathizing with another person. For example, Kabanikha’s daughter understands that Katerina does not love her husband and guesses that her daughter-in-law is in love with Boris. But the frivolous girl cannot comprehend the depth of Katerina’s character, her high conscientiousness. Arranging her daughter-in-law on a date with Boris, she does not think about what is pushing her to death. The girl lives one day at a time, unlike Katerina, she is not afraid of thunderstorms as punishment for sins. She does not condemn her brother’s wife for her “illegal” love, confessing to her: “I am worse than you.” Varvara convinces Katerina that there is nothing wrong if she sees Boris: “What a desire to dry up! Even if you die of melancholy, they will feel sorry for you! Well, just wait. So what a shame it is to torture yourself!” Frivolous Varvara does not understand that she life position completely unacceptable and even destructive for Katerina.

Kudryash, on the contrary, warns Boris against meeting with married woman: “That means you want to ruin her completely, Boris Grigorievich!”

Varvara and Vanya Kudryash - minor characters plays. What role do they play in The Thunderstorm?

The playwright shows skill in creating various psychological types. Not all “victims” of the “dark kingdom” are the same, not all passively bear the oppression of “tyrants”. Kudryash and Varvara are active natures. Of course, they do not have the strength and depth of Katerina’s character; they do not enter into open conflict with the owners of the city, but prefer to adapt to circumstances. But their escape from Kalinov indicates that the “children” are not going to endure the pressure and oppression of their “fathers”; they are defending their freedom and independence.

In addition, the reckless relationship between Varvara and Kudryash highlights the tragedy of Katerina’s love for Boris. These pairs are correlated according to the principle of “simplicity - complexity”, “lightness - drama” of relationships.

The skill of A. N. Ostrovsky lies in the fact that he created bright, psychologically reliable characters.

The system of images in the drama by A.N. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”.

Image of the Wild.

In Ostrovsky’s comedy “At Someone Else’s Feast, a Hangover,” the meaning of the word “tyrant” is defined this way: “A tyrant is what it’s called if a person doesn’t listen to anyone: you’re at least amusing him with a stake on his head, but he’s all his own... This is a wild, powerful person, cool heart."

Such a tyrant, whose behavior is guided only by unbridled tyranny and stupid stubbornness, is Savel Prokofievich Dikoy. Dikoy demands the unquestioning obedience of those around him, who will do anything to avoid angering him. It’s especially hard for his family: at home, Dikoy goes wild without any control, and family members, fleeing the rage, hide in attics and closets all day long. In the end, Dikoy hounded Boris Grigorievich’s nephew, knowing that he was completely financially dependent on him.

Dikaya is not at all shy with strangers, over whom he can “show off” with impunity; the traits of tyranny are especially clearly manifested in him in a conversation with Kulibin.

Kulibin turns to Dikiy with a request to give 10 rubles to build a sundial for the city.

Wild: Or maybe you want to steal; who knows you!...

Kulibin: For what, sir, Savel Prokofievich, honest man do you want to offend?

Wild: Am I going to give you a report? I don’t give an account to anyone more important than you. I want to think about you, and I think so. For others you fair man, but I think that you are a robber, that’s all. Did you want to hear this from me? So listen: I say that I’m a robber, and that’s the end! Why are you going to sue me or something? So you know that you are a worm. If I want, I will have mercy, if I want, I will crush.

Dikoy feels his strength and power - the power of capital. For the sake of money, Dikoy is ready to commit any fraud and deception. Here is one of his tricks: “I have a lot of people every year... I won’t pay them a penny extra per person, but I make thousands out of that, so it’s good for me!”

Money is his passion. Parting with them, if they have already ended up in his pocket, is painful for Dikiy. “In his house, no one dares say a word about his salary: he’ll scold him for all he’s worth.” Dikoy himself speaks about this best: “What are you going to tell me to do with myself when my heart is like this? After all, I already know what I have to give, but I can’t do everything with goodness! I will give, give, and curse. Therefore, if you even mention money to me, it will ignite my entire inner being...” “A shrill man,” is how Kudryash characterizes Diky for his rudeness.

Dikoy gives in only to those who are able to fight back. Once on a transport, on the Volga, he did not dare to contact a passing hussar, and then again took out his resentment at home, dispersing everyone to attics and closets. He restrains his temper even in front of Kabanikha, seeing in her his equal.

Another reason that helped tyranny flourish (besides the power of money) was ignorance. Dikiy’s ignorance is especially clearly manifested in the scene of his conversation with Kulibin regarding the construction of a lightning rod. Dikoy shouts at Kulibin: “What kind of elation is there? Well, how come you’re not a robber! A thunderstorm is sent to us as punishment, so that we feel...”

A person’s language, manner of speaking and the very intonation of speech usually indicate a person’s character. This is fully confirmed in the language of the Wild. His speech is always rude and full of abusive expressions and epithets: robber, worm, parasite, fool, etc. And the distortion of them foreign words(Jesuit, elicism) only emphasizes his ignorance.

Despotism, unbridled arbitrariness, ignorance, rudeness - these are the features that characterize the image of the tyrant Wild, a typical representative of the “Dark Kingdom”.

The image of Kabanikha.

The image of the stern and domineering Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova (Kabanikha) allows us to get acquainted with another type of representative of the “dark kingdom”, as typical as Wild, but even more sinister and gloomy.

“Prude, sir! He gives money to the poor, but completely eats up his family,” - this is how Kulibin correctly and aptly defines the character of Kabanikha.

Indeed, Kabanikha is, first of all, a hypocrite, covering up and justifying her actions with the ideals of Domostroev’s antiquity. Kabanikha strictly observes all the customs and orders of this patriarchal antiquity. She demands, for example, that Katerina must “howl” when parting with her husband and that she not hug him, but bow at his feet.

The new order seems absurd and even funny to her. She wants to force everyone to live the old fashioned way and does not tolerate manifestations of her will or initiative in anyone around her. “...They don’t know anything, no order,” she thinks about the young people, “I don’t know what will happen, how the old people will die, how the light will remain.”

Like a true guardian of antiquity, Kabanikha is superstitious. She has ostentatious piety. She doesn't miss a single one church service, gives money to the poor, welcomes wanderers like Feklusha into his house. But her despotism in domestic life is even heavier than the despotism of the Wild.

The wild one will scream, swear, even beat him in the heat of the moment, and then cool down, but Kabanikha tortures and pursues his victims day after day, torturing him in cold blood, persistently, sharpening “iron like rust.” She brought Katerina to the grave, because she did not leave Varvara’s house, and Tikhon lost the ability to think and live independently. The family, as Tikhon put it, “fell apart.”

Kabanikha is as ignorant as Dikoy. She cannot come to terms with the fact that “for the sake of speed” people invented a “fiery serpent” - a steam locomotive. “Even if you shower me with gold, I won’t go,” she resolutely declares.

However, Kabanikha already has a presentiment that the old days are coming to an inevitable end, that difficult times are coming for her.

The boar is smarter than the wild one. Unlike the unbridled, wild in his antics and lacking self-control, she is restrained, outwardly impassive and stern. This is the only person in the city with whom Dikoy somehow reckons. She acts as a kind of theorist of the old way of life.

And her language is richer and more complex than the language of the Wild. Sometimes rude expressions also slip into it, but they are not characteristic of her speech. Kabanikha’s authority is reflected not in curses, but in the commanding tone of her speech (“To your feet! To your feet!”, “Well, talk some more!”). A noticeable imprint on her speech was left by the atmosphere of “piety” and ancient rituals that she maintains in her home. Kabanikha’s speech contains both proverbs and figurative phrases folk speech. All this makes Kabanikha’s language uniquely colorful, although it does not soften the general appearance of this imperious, stern, unyielding guardian of the foundations of the “dark kingdom.”

Despotism, hypocrisy, ignorance, soulless defense of outdated orders and customs - these are the features of Kabanikha’s internal appearance, making her, along with the Wild One, a harsh and even more terrible guardian of the foundations of the “dark kingdom”.

Boris's image.

Boris Grigorievich serves in Dikiy's house. This is a young man, decently educated. He was brought up in a cultured family (his father, Dikiy's brother, married a noblewoman), studied at the Moscow Commercial Academy, but his father and mother suddenly died, and he left Moscow to live with his uncle in the hope of receiving money bequeathed by his grandmother from him.

Unfortunately for Boris, his grandmother, bequeathing the money, conditioned its receipt on respect for his uncle, i.e. to the Wild. And thus Boris became completely dependent on Dikiy. Knowing the character of the Wild, Kabanikha rightly says to Boris: “This means, sir, that you will never see the inheritance.”

Boris “lives in the nephews” of Dikiy, i.e. is in the undivided power of his uncle, serves him without any salary, hoping only for his favors. But he most likely will not see these mercies.

Boris Grigorievich, according to his internal data, is a dull, “insignificant” person, although not without “a certain degree of spiritual nobility” (Dobrolyubov), responsiveness, good-heartedness, modesty, simplicity and delicacy in dealing with people. But not devoid of spiritual nobility, he is distinguished by timidity, passivity, spinelessness, and lack of will.

With his timidity and spinelessness, he destroys himself and his loved ones. He becomes lost and retreats before the harshness that surrounds him. Realizing that Dikoy does not recognize his respect, no matter how hard he tries to show it, and therefore will not leave anything in his will, and if he leaves, then perhaps “some little,” Boris still lives with him, justifying himself with pity to Sister. To the complaint of the suffering and dearly loved Katerina to take her with him, he refuses, having neither the strength nor the determination to end his dependence on his uncle and start independent life. Driven and beaten down by his tyrant uncle, even in the last minutes of parting with Katerina, he cannot overcome his slavish fear: “They wouldn’t find us here!”

According to Dobrolyubov’s fair remark, “Boris is not a hero, he is far from worth Katerina, and she fell in love with him more in solitude. He has had enough “education” and can’t cope with the old way of life, nor with his heart, nor with common sense, he walks around as if lost. On his first date with Katerina, when he talks about what awaits her for this, Boris interrupts her with the words: “Well, what should we think about it, fortunately we’re good now.” And at the last meeting he cries... In a word, this is one of those extraordinary people who do not know how to do what they understand and do not understand what they do. Education took away from him the strength to do dirty tricks, it is true, but it also did not give him the strength to resist the dirty tricks that others do; it has not even developed in him the ability to behave in such a way as to remain alien to everything nasty that swarms around him, no, not only does he not resist, he submits to other people’s nasty things, he willy-nilly participates in them and must accept all their consequences ."

Boris undoubtedly deceived the hopes of Katerina, who had the right to expect and was expecting help and support from him.

Ordinary in his natural abilities, devoid of intelligence and strong will, and genuine feeling, Boris finds himself crushed by the despotic conditions of the Wild.

Submitting to the tyranny of the Wild One, he not only failed to save Katerina, but also destroyed himself, turning, despite his education, into a simple clerk, into a submissive executor of the Wild One’s will.

Boris is a man who, instead of overcoming and conquering obstacles, gives in to them and adapts to environment, losing his face, sacrificing his human dignity.

In this pitiful role of a colorless man, submissive to despotic tyranny, both Boris himself and his environment are to blame.

Image of Kudryash

Kudryash is the complete opposite of Boris. Kudryash is Wild's clerk. This is a man of a sharp, observant mind, a strong-willed disposition, a peculiar sense of self-esteem and rough simplicity. In his own way, kind and honest, he, foreseeing the sad consequences of her hobby for Katerina, warns Boris: “Eh, Boris Grigorievich, stop annoying me!” Kudryash is not only kind and honest, but also bold in his actions and bold in his tongue. Having met Boris at the place of his usual meetings with Varvara and suspecting him of being a rival, he tells him: “On this path, don’t meet me at night, so that, God forbid, some sin does not happen... I am for my own, but I don’t know what I’ll do it, I’ll rip your throat out!” (III,2). He doesn't let his master down either. About the Wild he says: “He is the word, and I am the ten; he’ll spit and go.” Sparing Varvara from domestic tyranny, Kudryash, without hesitation, leaves hometown together with her.

Kudryash does not approve of the unbridled self-will of the people who rule in life: “Somehow they understand conversion.” He condemns their cruelty. He is ready to pull them back, to intimidate some Wild One in a dark alley: “We don’t have enough guys to stand up to me, otherwise we would teach him to stop being naughty.”

However, the curly man's dissatisfaction is personal and private character. He did not reach the point of serious public protest. The most he can do is criticize bad actions. Condemning bad people, he does not see the vicious social foundations behind them. That is why Dikoy, enduring his rebellion and insolence, keeps him with him. They need each other.

Kudryash's protest is aimed mainly at protecting his own personality. Feeling within himself a “strength shimmering through his veins,” underdeveloped, he is carried away by the exploits of youthful “revelry” and reckless “dashing.” He is somewhat akin to the reckless driver Kudryavich from Koltsov’s song, who has

With joy - fun

The curls curl like hops;

Without any care

They don't split hairs.

On time and just right

Speeches flow like honey

And from morning to night

Songs are sung.

But one cannot interpret the image of Kudryash only as a songwriter, joker-guitarist. As in Koltsov’s “The Daredevil,” dissatisfaction with those around him awoke in him, and a desire to realize it. Curly, depending on the conditions of his existence, can go in two different directions. life paths. He can, moving from master to master, grow discontent in himself and come to an understanding of life based on exploitation, on the power of some and the enslavement of others. But it is also quite possible that he will return with Varvara to Kalinov, receive Kabanikha’s forgiveness, become her chief clerk, and then, together with Tikhon, the heir to a huge fortune. With this turn of events, he may turn out to be a clever merchant, somewhat ennobled in comparison with the Wild, but essentially defending the same social foundations.

Image of Varvara.

Varvara - the daughter of Kabanikha - is shown to be kind, like Tikhon, but unlike him, she is more intelligent, intelligent, courageous, and willful! Barbara is spiritually primitive. Its primitivism is a direct product of the inert merchant world.

In Kabanikha’s house, which relied on deception and adherence to the external ritual side of moral and everyday principles, there were no conditions for internal growth and moral improvement. “And I,” declares Varvara, “was not a liar, but I learned when it became necessary.” Varvara is guided in all her actions and actions by the instinct of self-preservation and everyday practicality. Morally unpretentious, she follows the principle developed by the sanctimonious and predatory environment that raised her: “Do what you want, as long as it’s sewn and covered.”

Based on this principle, she allows herself more than what was allowed by everyday customs: “What a desire to dry out.”

She walks with Curly, hiding from her mother. She also took the initiative to arrange Katerina’s “criminal” meeting with Boris.

The environment of predation and despotism that surrounded her from childhood instilled in her the traits of rudeness and swagger. It is possible that, highlighting precisely these features of Kabanikha’s daughter, Ostrovsky called her Varvara, which means “rude” in Greek. And according to Dahl’s dictionary, the comic “barbarize” means “to celebrate, revel, walk.”

The environment of that time limited inner world Barbarians had a close circle of sensual interests, but did not completely close the possibilities for her spiritual development. She was on the street, she observed other customs, met other people.

Varvara sympathizes with Katerina, despises her brother’s spinelessness and is indignant at the gross tactlessness of her heartless mother, who does not leave her loved ones alone, even on the street. “I found a place for instructions to read,” she says “to herself” about her mother.

For all her cunning, adaptability and moral primitiveness, Varvara could not withstand domestic tyranny. She runs away from her mother's house.

Before Varvara, the path is open to both good and evil. There are undoubtedly good inclinations in her. So, she admits her moral shortcomings to Katerina (“I’m worse than you”). She is no stranger to kindness and compassion. Freed from the corrupting influence of her mother, she will most likely develop best sides of your nature.

Image of Tikhon.

Tikhon Ivanovich Kabanov is a merchant’s son, modest, kind, but very narrow-minded, timid, weak-willed, spineless by nature, and besides, completely beaten by his oppressive mother.

Both his mother and Kudryash “honor” him as a “fool,” but this is unfair. Often he judges much more sensibly than Kabanikha. So to the mother’s question: “Will you exchange your wife for me?” - he answers sharply: “Why should I change? I love both of them." To her reproach: “Will your wife be afraid of you after this?” - he again wisely says: “Why should she be afraid? It’s enough for me that she loves me.”

Tikhon sees Katerina’s torment and feels sorry for her, sympathizes with her. This shows his deep humanity.

True to the way of old, Kabanikha raised her son according to the precepts of “Domostroy,” which she understood only as precepts of fear and punishment.

She weakened Tikhon. Powerless to fight against the despotic tyranny of his mother, Tikhon decided to unquestioningly carry out her orders. But all his efforts are in vain: he cannot predict all the manifestations of her tyranny. He exclaims bitterly: “I don’t know what kind of unfortunate person I was born into the world that I can’t please you with anything.”

Exhausted by constant reproaches, reproaches, moralizing, which have the nature of bullying, deprived of any manifestation of independence, Tikhon tries to drown out his bitterness with wine.

Ostrovsky wanted to emphasize the unrequited humility and modesty of Kabanikha’s son even by his very name, calling him Tikhon. But how thick has the atmosphere of arbitrariness and violence become in the depicted reality, if a storm of indignation rises even in the hearts of the meekest and most meek! All the time, Tikhon, who remained an uncomplaining victim, driven to despair by the death of Katerina, forgetting timidity and fear, turns into an accuser: in front of all the people, he throws cruel but fair words of condemnation in the face of his mother: “Mama, you ruined her. You, you, you.”

Like everyone else characters“Thunderstorms”, Tikhon is a typical person in the world of socio-economic and family despotism. Remembering his trip to Nizhny in the early 60s, the famous provincial actor and director P.M. Medvedev said: “My traveling companion was the living Tikhon. “And I, brother, Kuligin, just as I left, I went on a spree.” This young merchant was truly like that. How much torment I suffered with him, drunk, only God knows! On the way, he told me about the severity of his father, about his beaten wife, in a word - the story of “The Thunderstorm”.