The play “The Thunderstorm” occupies a special place in Ostrovsky’s work. In this play, the playwright most vividly depicted the “world of the dark kingdom,” the world of tyrant merchants, the world of ignorance, tyranny and despotism, and domestic tyranny.
The action in the play takes place in a small town on the Volga - Kalinov. Life here, at first glance, represents a kind of patriarchal idyll. The entire city is surrounded by greenery, an “extraordinary view” opens beyond the Volga, and on its high banks there is a public garden where residents of the town often stroll. Life in Kalinov flows quietly and slowly, there are no shocks, no exceptional events. News from big world The wanderer Feklusha brings to the town, telling the Kalinovites tales about people with dog heads.
However, in reality, not everything is so good in this small, abandoned world. This idyll is already destroyed by Kuligin in a conversation with Boris Grigorievich, Dikiy’s nephew: “ Cruel morals, sir, in our city, they are cruel! In the philistinism, sir, you will see nothing but rudeness and stark poverty... And whoever has money... tries to enslave the poor so that his labors will be free more money make money." However, there is no agreement between the rich: they “are at enmity with each other”, “they scribble malicious slander”, “they are suing”, “they are undermining trade”. Everyone lives behind oak gates, behind strong bars. “And they don’t lock themselves away from thieves, but so that people don’t see how they eat their own family and tyrannize their family. And what tears are flowing behind these locks, invisible and inaudible!.. And what, sir, behind these locks is dark debauchery and drunkenness!” - exclaims Kuligin.
One of the richest influential people The merchant Savel Prokofievich Dikoy is in the city. The main features of the Wild are rudeness, ignorance, hot temper and absurdity of character. “Look for another scolder like ours, Savel Prokofich! He will never cut off a person,” Shapkin says about him. The whole life of the Wild One is based on “swearing”. Neither financial transactions, nor trips to the market - “he doesn’t do anything without swearing.” Most of all, Dikiy gets it from his family and his nephew Boris, who came from Moscow.
Savel Prokofievich is stingy. “...Just mention money to me, it will ignite my entire inner being,” he tells Kabanova. Boris came to his uncle in the hope of receiving an inheritance, but actually fell into bondage to him. Savel Prokofievich does not pay him a salary, constantly insults and scolds his nephew, reproaching him for laziness and parasitism.
Dikoy repeatedly quarrels with Kuligin, a local self-taught mechanic. Kuligin is trying to find a reasonable reason for Savel Prokofievich’s rudeness: “Why, sir Savel Prokofievich, honest man Do you want to offend? To which Dikoy replies: “I’ll give you a report, or something!” I don’t give an account to anyone more important than you. I want to think about you like that, and I do! For others you fair man, and I think that you are a robber, that’s all... I say that you are a robber, and that’s the end. So, are you going to sue me or something? So you know that you are a worm. If I want, I’ll have mercy, if I want, I’ll crush.”
“What theoretical reasoning can survive where life is based on such principles! The absence of any law, any logic - this is the law and logic of this life. This is not anarchy, but something much worse...” wrote Dobrolyubov about Dikiy’s tyranny.
Like most Kalinovites, Savel Prokofievich is hopelessly ignorant. When Kuligin asks him for money to install a lightning rod, Dikoy declares: “A thunderstorm is sent to us as punishment, so that we can feel it, but you want to defend yourself with poles and rods.”
Dikoy represents the “natural type” of the tyrant in the play. His rudeness, rudeness, and bullying of people are based, first of all, on his absurd, unbridled character, stupidity and lack of opposition from other people. And only then on wealth.
It is characteristic that practically no one offers active resistance to Dikiy. Although it is not so difficult to calm him down: during the transport he was “scolded” by an unfamiliar hussar, and Kabanikha is not shy in front of him. “There are no elders over you, so you are showing off,” Marfa Ignatievna bluntly tells him. It is characteristic that here she is trying to fit the Wild One into her vision of the world order. Kabanikha explains Dikiy’s constant anger and temper with his greed, but Savel Prokofievich himself does not even think of denying her conclusions. “Who doesn’t feel sorry for their own goods!” - he exclaims.
Much more complex in the play is the image of Kabanikha. This is an exponent of the “ideology of the dark kingdom”, which “created for itself a whole world of special rules and superstitious customs.”
Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is a rich merchant’s wife, a widow, cultivating the orders and traditions of antiquity. She is grumpy and constantly dissatisfied with those around her. She gets it from her, first of all, from her family: she “eats” her son Tikhon, reads endless moral lectures to her daughter-in-law, and tries to control her daughter’s behavior.
Kabanikha zealously defends all the laws and customs of Domostroy. A wife, in her opinion, should be afraid of her husband, be silent and submissive. Children must honor their parents, unquestioningly follow all their instructions, follow their advice, and respect them. None of these requirements, according to Kabanova, are met in her family. Marfa Ignatievna is dissatisfied with the behavior of her son and daughter-in-law: “They know nothing, no order,” she argues alone. She reproaches Katerina for not knowing how to see her husband off “in the old-fashioned way” - therefore, she doesn’t love him enough. “Another good wife, having seen her husband off, howls for an hour and a half and lies on the porch...” she lectures her daughter-in-law. Tikhon, according to Kabanova, is too gentle in his treatment of his wife and is not sufficiently respectful towards his mother. “They don’t really respect elders these days,” says Marfa Ignatievna, reading instructions to her son.
Kabanikha is fanatically religious: she constantly remembers God, sin and retribution; wanderers often visit her house. However, Marfa Ignatievna’s religiosity is nothing more than pharisaism: “A bigot... She gives tribute to the poor, but completely eats up her family,” Kuligin notes about her. In her faith, Marfa Ignatievna is stern and unyielding; there is no place for love, mercy, or forgiveness in her. So, at the end of the play she does not even think about forgiving Katerina for her sin. On the contrary, she advises Tikhon to “bury his wife alive in the ground so that she will be executed.”
Religion, ancient rituals, pharisaical complaints about his life, playing on filial feelings - Kabanikha uses everything to assert her absolute power in the family. And she “gets her way”: in the harsh, oppressive atmosphere of domestic tyranny, Tikhon’s personality is disfigured. “Tikhon himself loved his wife and would be ready to do anything for her; but the oppression under which he grew up has so disfigured him that no strong feeling, no decisive desire can develop in him. He has a conscience, a desire for good, but he constantly acts against himself and serves as a submissive instrument of his mother, even in his relations with his wife,” writes Dobrolyubov.
The simple-minded, gentle Tikhon lost the integrity of his feelings, the opportunity to show the best features of his nature. Family happiness was initially closed to him: in the family where he grew up, this happiness was replaced by “Chinese ceremonies.” He cannot show his love for his wife, and not because “a wife should be afraid of her husband,” but because he simply “doesn’t know how” to show his feelings, which have been cruelly suppressed since childhood. All this led Tikhon to a certain emotional deafness: he often does not understand Katerina’s condition.
Depriving her son of any initiative, Kabanikha constantly suppressed his masculinity and at the same time reproached him for his lack of masculinity. Subconsciously, he strives to make up for this “lack of masculinity” through drinking and rare “partying” “in the wild.” Tikhon cannot realize himself in any business - probably his mother does not allow him to manage affairs, considering his son unsuitable for this. Kabanova can only send her son on an errand, but everything else is under her strict control. It turns out that Tikhon is deprived of both his own opinion and his own feelings. It is characteristic that Marfa Ignatievna herself is to some extent dissatisfied with her son’s infantilism. This comes through in her intonations. However, she probably does not realize the extent of her involvement in this.
Varvara’s life philosophy was also formed in the Kabanov family. Her rule is simple: “do what you want, as long as it’s safe and covered.” Varvara is far from Katerina’s religiosity, from her poetry and exaltation. She quickly learned to lie and dodge. We can say that Varvara, in her own way, “mastered” the “Chinese ceremonies”, perceiving their very essence. The heroine still retains spontaneity of feelings and kindness, but her lies are nothing more than reconciliation with Kalinov’s morality.
It is characteristic that in the finale of the play both Tikhon and Varvara, each in their own way, rebel against “mama’s power.” Varvara runs away from home with Kuryash, while Tikhon openly expresses his opinion for the first time, reproaching his mother for the death of his wife.
Dobrolyubov noted that “some critics even wanted to see in Ostrovsky a singer of broad natures,” “they wanted to assign arbitrariness to the Russian person as a special, natural quality of his nature - under the name “breadth of nature”; they also wanted to legitimize trickery and cunning among the Russian people under the name of sharpness and slyness." In the play "The Thunderstorm" Ostrovsky debunks both of these phenomena. Arbitrariness comes out as "heavy, ugly, lawless", he sees in it nothing more than tyranny and cunning, which turn out not to be cleverness, but to vulgarity. , the other side of tyranny.
1) The drama “thunderstorm” is a verdict on the “dark kingdom”:
Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky in the play "The Thunderstorm" revealed the theme of the confrontation between good and evil. The main character is the girl Katerina, who, by the will of fate, encounters the “Dark Kingdom” of the city of Kalinov and the Kabanov Family. Criticism refers to the long-established way of life and way of life of the residents of the city of Kalinov as the “Dark Kingdom”. In this world, everything is ruled by tyranny, tyranny, and cruelty. All goals are achieved by humiliating other people.
Most heroes exalt themselves by exposing the failures of others. The brightest, and one might say, the main representative of this kingdom is Kabanikha, who is trying with all her might to subjugate all members of her family; she establishes laws that no one has the right to break. By humiliation, reproaches and other moral means of pressure, Marfa Kabanova builds her social status, forces you to obey, not allowing you to go beyond what is permitted. Katerina strives for freedom, she knows exactly what she wants and will never obey tyranny and tyranny. We can say that the girl, by her opposition to all the laws of this kingdom, pronounces a verdict on the inhuman foundations of this society.
2) Image of Katerina
2.1) Folk character traits:
Katerina is a complete image of a national character.
Everything about her, from her appearance to inner world, expresses the desire for justice, freedom and happiness. Katerina is a truly tragic heroine. From childhood, she was brought up with the best, the girl, who grew up in love and tenderness, simply could not come to terms with such a cruel life that reigned in the Kabanovs’ house: “I was like that! I lived, did not grieve about anything, like a bird in the wild. My mother doted on me, she dressed me up like a doll, she didn’t force me to work; I did whatever I wanted.” The simplicity and sincerity of the girl, inherent in all Russian people, sharply distinguishes Katerina from all other heroes of the play. The girl tries to treat everyone with kindness and understanding, not wishing harm to anyone, she lives with the hope of happiness.
A) External charm and modesty:
Speaking about the image of a girl, we must not forget that Katerina is an extraordinary beauty, a very modest and charming heroine. Simplicity, kindness, piety, naivety, honesty complete the image of the “earthly angel”. Katerina's speech takes last place in her image. The girl speaks smoothly, beautifully, her speech can be compared to a song.
B) Aesthetic talent:
The pure and bright image of the girl suggests that Katerina personifies the ideal Russian woman. There is no other conclusion to be drawn here. Katerina knows how to love like no one else; for her this is the most important of feelings. She is ready to do anything for her, and despairing of finding this feeling in her husband’s soul, she falls in love with Boris, he seems to her an ideal, perfect, dear person. But Katerina gets burned again. From all these failures, unjustified hopes, unfulfilled dreams, a solution emerges that will free the heroine from everything that caused pain, and no matter how much she feels sorry for herself, the heroine is ready to pay for her mistakes. The girl loves the world, loves people, tries to treat everything with kindness. She is trusting and simple, dreamy and beautiful. Honesty and nobility are also very important for this girl. It’s hard for her to hide her betrayal from her husband, and when she confesses to Tikhon about her betrayal, she feels better, but she understands that nothing can be returned. “Let everyone know, let everyone see what I am doing. If I was not afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human judgment?” - this is life position Katerina.
C) Rebellion and strength of character:
By humiliation, reproaches and other moral means of pressure, Marfa Kabanova builds her social status, forces her to obey, not allowing her to go beyond what is permitted. Katerina strives for freedom, she knows exactly what she wants and will never obey tyranny and tyranny. Life in the house of an unloved husband, pressure from her mother-in-law - all this did not make Katerina happy, and she is trying with all her might to fight it. Katerina's character cannot be named
simple, she does not allow herself to be offended, does not tolerate attacks from her mother-in-law: “Who is happy to endure lies!”
Katerina can be hot and emotional, which she herself says when she told Varvara a story from her childhood: “They offended me with something at home...; I ran out to the Volga, got into the boat... The next morning they found it, about ten miles away!” The girl went against the system of tyranny and tyranny, did not obey the absurd orders of her mother-in-law and never once doubted that she was right. The girl did not betray herself and remained true to her principles. Katerina, without any doubt, was right when she followed the path that her heart told her. She remained true to herself, gained eternal freedom, soared above the entire “dark kingdom”, exposing all its vices.
2.2) Katerina has a loving, ideal character
A) Poetic daydreaming:
It is impossible not to say that Katerina’s suicide is her victory, this girl dreamed of a bright future, great love, a happy family, but fate decreed that only this step would free her from the shackles of the “dark kingdom”
B) Moral purity:
Katerina knows how to love like no one else; for her this is the most important of feelings. She is ready to do anything for her, and despairing of finding this feeling in her husband’s soul, she falls in love with Boris, he seems to her an ideal, perfect, dear person. But Katerina gets burned again. From all these failures, unjustified hopes, unfulfilled dreams, a solution emerges that will free the heroine from everything that caused pain, and no matter how much she feels sorry for herself, the heroine is ready to pay for her mistakes.
B) Internal independence:
Many character traits helped the girl determine her destiny. Even though the play ends on such a tragic note, everyone understands that suicide has become a necessity for Katerina, thereby a means of achieving absolute independence and freedom from cruelty and tyranny.
D) Peacefulness:
The girl tries to treat everyone with kindness and understanding, not wishing harm to anyone, she lives with the hope of happiness. She loves the world, opens her soul to meet it.
D) Credibility:
The heroine is gullible, because she believes in something that is not in the world bad people, she trusts all her innermost thoughts to Varvara, tries to trust Tikhon, and without memory trusts Boris out of love.
E) Kindness, nobility:
No matter how those around her, her mother-in-law, treat Katerina, the girl does not hate them, she hopes that the power of good will destroy the tyranny of the Dark Kingdom, she reaches out to everyone, tries to help, but no one understands the girl’s good intentions. Whatever the daughter-in-law, Marfa Kabanova disliked her with all her heart, and when the girl appeared in their house and disturbed the peace of their tyrant conditions, Kabanikha decided to do everything possible to rid her son of such a wife. Life in the house of an unloved husband, pressure from her mother-in-law - all this did not make Katerina happy, and she is trying with all her might to fight it. Katerina’s nobility is manifested in her attitude to the current situation, she does not aggravate conflicts, she remains true to her principles.
Effective preparation for the Unified State Exam (all subjects) -
Essay text:
Look for another scolder like ours, Savel Prokofich!.. Kabanikha is also good.
A. Ostrovsky. Storm
In his drama “The Thunderstorm,” A. N. Ostrovsky vividly and vividly depicted the “dark kingdom” of the Russian province, suppressing the best human feelings and aspirations. The author was not only the first to introduce the word “tyrant” into literature, but also developed artistic form the very phenomenon of tyranny, when people in power act arbitrarily, at their own whim, without regard for others.
In the drama "The Thunderstorm" the phenomenon of tyranny is described using the example of the images of "significant persons" of the city of Kalinov, Diky and Kabanikha.
For the Wild, the main goal in life, the only law is “the law is money. Rude, greedy, ignorant, the Wild is a coward over every penny.” He is the richest man in the city, but everything is not enough for him, because he is sure that money is power. And this attitude allows him to cruelly exploit people and at the same time place himself above everyone else: “So you know that you are a worm. If I want, I will have mercy, if I want, I will crush.” In accumulating money, Dikoy does not choose his means: he appropriates the inheritance of his nephews, mocking them, and shamelessly cheats the poor men working for him: “he will not disappoint a single one.” He operates on the principle: “I have a lot of people every year... I won’t pay them a penny more per person, but I make thousands out of this, so it’s good for me!” Dikoy is used to thinking only about himself.
It’s not for nothing that they say about this merchant: “He spends his whole life OCHQ-ia on swearing.” As a human being, Wild simply does not know how to speak: he screams, swears, and does not give life to others. Rude and unceremonious, he is aware of his lack of dignity and often insults the poor and powerless: “They must submit to me...” However, in front of THEM, who is able to rebuff him, in front of strong personalities or in front of people who have more money, The wild one pushes and retreats. Darkness, lack of culture, limited mental horizons are traits that characterize the merchant far from the best.
Kabanikha is an ardent defender of the old foundations of life and customs of the “dark kingdom”. Conservatism of views and hatred of everything new is her distinctive features: “That’s how the old man goes out. I don’t even want to go to another house. But if you go up, you’ll spit, but get out quickly. What will happen, how the old people will die, how the light will stay on, I don’t know.” ".
The strong, domineering, despotic character of Kabanikha in combination with the most serious attitude to the house-building order makes the life of the household in her family unbearable. She raised her son to be spineless, weak, devoid of independence, a slavishly submissive mother.
Shterinsky will. But Kabanikha wants to make him the “master” of his family, whose wife not only unquestioningly
but he obeys, but he is also afraid. Therefore, she not only suppresses the will of her son, but also torments, finds fault with, and constantly reproaches her daughter-in-law.
Kabanikha strictly adheres to customs and rituals, many of which are outdated and have become ridiculous; For her, the main thing is adherence to form, despite the fact that living people suffer from her inertia and ignorance.
Hypocrisy and hypocrisy are typical character traits of Kabanikha. She knows how to cover up her actions with a mask of submission to God’s will: “A hypocrite, sir. He gives good things to the poor, but eats up his family.” However, Kabanikha’s religiosity is external, a tribute to tradition.
The unlimited power of wild and wild boars suffocates the city, about the life of which Dobrolyubov wrote: “The existence of every law, every logic is the law and logic of this life.”
Even today we often encounter tyrants in life. They can be distinguished by the fact that “the tyrant is always trying to prove that no one can tell him and that he will do whatever he wants.” I think that the only way to combat tyranny is the development of the internal qualities of each person, the revival of true culture in one’s own heart.
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A. N. Ostrovsky's play “The Thunderstorm” was written in 1859. In the same year, it was staged in theaters in Moscow and St. Petersburg and for many years now has not left the stages of all theaters around the world. During this time, the play underwent many interpretations, which were sometimes strikingly different from each other. This, it seems to me, is explained by the depth and symbolism of the play.
The plot of the play centers on the conflict of Katerina’s feelings, main character, with the way of life of the city of Kalinov. Dobrolyubov also pointed out that throughout the entire play, readers think “not about a love affair, but about the whole life.” This means that the accusatory notes touched on a variety of aspects of Russian life. The drama pronounces a verdict on the “dark kingdom” and, consequently, on the socio-political system that it supported.
The play takes place in the provincial town of Kalinov, located on the banks of the Volga River. In this place, everything is so monotonous and stable that even news from other cities and from the capital does not reach here. Residents in the city are closed, distrustful, hate everything new and blindly follow the Domostroevsky way of life, which has long since become obsolete.
Ostrovsky calls adherents of the old way of life the “dark kingdom,” to which Dikoy and Kabanikha belong. Another group of characters includes Katerina, Kuligin, Tikhon, Boris, Kudryash and Varvara. These are victims of the “dark kingdom”, oppressed, equally feeling the influence of the Wild and Kabanikha, but expressing their protest against them in different ways.
Representatives of the first camp are distinguished by rare tyranny, tyranny, fanatical adherence to antiquity, and reluctance to accept anything new. The scary thing is that they are the most important people in the city, everything depends on them. Therefore, disobedience to house building rules was practically impossible.
Dikoy is depicted as a complete tyrant. He swaggers in front of his nephew, in front of his family, but retreats in front of those who are able to fight back. The speech of the Wild One is difficult to confuse with the speech of other characters. This is how he speaks to Boris: “What the hell, I came here to beat you up! Parasite! Get lost." With almost the same words he insults Dikoy and Kuligin: “Why are you bothering me with all this nonsense!.. You should have first found out whether I’m in the mood to listen to you, a fool, or not.” Dikoy behaves differently with Kabanova. It is from her that the tyrant seeks reassurance: “Talk to me so that my heart will go away.” It is in Kabanikha that Dikoy sees a kindred spirit who can understand and support him. No wonder they call each other “godfather” and “godfather”.
Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is a strong and powerful character. She is an ardent supporter of the Domostroev order. Kabanikha is sincerely upset that she life principles become a thing of the past, young people live by their own wits. It seems to her that if her foundations collapse, the end of the world will come: “I don’t know what will happen, how the old people will die, how the world will stand.” That’s why Kabanikha tyrannizes everyone around her. And these qualities, together with a strong and domineering character, make life in her house simply unbearable. Under the yoke of Marfa Ignatievna are, first of all, the children of Kabanikha and her daughter-in-law Katerina.
Varvara and Tikhon, in my opinion, can be called victims of the “dark kingdom.” The younger generation, which is trying to resist the old order, which is “a ray of light in a dark kingdom,” includes Katerina and Kuligin.
Katerina – central character drama "The Thunderstorm". In terms of character and interests, she stands out sharply from the environment into which she found herself. This exclusivity is the reason for the deep life drama that the heroine had to experience in the kingdom of the Wild and Boars. The girls of her society were not given education in those days. The book was replaced by stories of idle wanderers and praying mantises. Hence her dreaminess and impressionability. Dobrolyubov defined Katerina’s character as “loving and ideal.”
Katerina is a woman not only passionate, but also strong character. She is the only one of all the characters in the play who is capable of a complete break with the environment and life that has disgusted her. Her suicide seemed to momentarily illuminate the endless darkness of the “dark kingdom.” In her tragic death, according to the critic, “a terrible challenge was given to tyrant power... In Katerina we see a protest against Kabanov’s concepts of morality, a protest brought to the end, proclaimed both under domestic torture and over the abyss into which the poor woman threw herself.”
Thus, Ostrovsky in the drama “The Thunderstorm with the help of images” younger generation showed that the time had come for the awakening of the individual, hinting at the inevitability of the struggle against the autocratic-serf system. And although the protest of Katerina and Kuligin is doomed to failure, the mortal wound to the “dark kingdom” has already been inflicted. And even Kabanikha begins to realize this doom. “Old times are coming to an end,” she declares gloomily. So in the drama “The Thunderstorm,” Ostrovsky pronounced a harsh verdict on the outdated and hated past, on the socio-political system that supported the “dark kingdom.”
In many of his dramas, Ostrovsky depicted social injustice, human vices and negative aspects. Poverty, greed, an uncontrollable desire to be in power - these and many other themes can be traced in the plays “We Will Count Our Own People,” “Poverty is Not a Vice,” and “Dowry.” “The Thunderstorm” should also be considered in the context of the above works. The world described by the playwright in the text was called the “dark kingdom” by critics. It seems like a kind of swamp from which it is impossible to find a way out, which sucks a person in more and more, killing his humanity. Such victims " dark kingdom"In "The Thunderstorm" at first glance there is very little.
The first victim of the “dark kingdom” is Katerina Kabanova. Katya is a frequent and honest girl. She was married off early, but she never managed to love her husband. Despite this, she still tries to find in him positive sides in order to maintain good relationships and the marriage itself. Katya is terrorized by Kabanikha, one of the brightest representatives of the “dark kingdom”. Marfa Ignatievna insults her daughter-in-law, trying with all her might to break her. However, it is not only the confrontation of characters that makes Katerina a victim. This, of course, is the circumstances. In the “dark kingdom” an honest life is a priori impossible. Everything here is built on lies, pretense and flattery. The one who has money is strong. Power in Kalinov belongs to the rich and merchants, for example, Dikiy, whose moral standard is very low. Merchants deceive each other, steal from ordinary residents, seeking to enrich themselves and increase their influence. The motive of lying is often found when describing everyday life. Varvara tells Katya that only lies hold the Kabanov family together, and Boris is surprised by Katya’s desire to tell Tikhon and Marfa Ignatievna about their secret relationship. Katerina often compares herself to a bird: the girl wants to escape from this place, but there is no way. " Dark Kingdom"will find Katya anywhere, because it is not limited to the boundaries of a fictional city. No exit. Katya makes a desperate and final decision: either live honestly or not at all. “I live, I suffer, I don’t see any light for myself. And I won’t see it, you know!” The first option, as mentioned earlier, is impossible, so Katya chooses the second. The girl commits suicide not so much because Boris refuses to take her to Siberia, but because she understands: Boris turned out to be the same as the others, and a life full of reproaches and shame cannot continue. “Here is your Katerina. Her body is here, take it; but the soul is now not yours: it is now before a judge who is more merciful than you!” – with these words, Kuligin gives the girl’s body to the Kabanov family. In this remark, the comparison with the supreme judge is important. It makes the reader and viewer think about how rotten the world of the “dark kingdom” is, that even Last Judgment turns out to be more merciful than the court of “tyrants”.
Tikhon Kabanov also turns out to be a victim in “The Thunderstorm”. The phrase with which Tikhon appears in the play is very noteworthy: “How can I, Mama, disobey you!” His mother's despotism makes him a victim. Tikhon himself is kind and, to some extent, caring. He loves Katya and feels sorry for her. But the mother’s authority is unshakable. Tikhon is a weak-willed mama's boy, whom Marfa Ignatievna's excessive care has made him sick and spineless. He doesn’t understand how one can resist Kabanikha’s will, have his own opinion, or anything else. “Yes, Mama, I don’t want to live by my own will. Where can I live by my own will!” - this is how Tikhon answers his mother. Kabanov is used to drowning his melancholy in alcohol (he often drinks with Dikiy). His character is emphasized by his name. Tikhon is unable to understand the force internal conflict his wife, cannot help her, however, Tikhon has a desire to break out of this cage. For example, he is glad that he is leaving for a short 14 days, because all this time he has a chance to be independent. There will be no “thunderstorm” over him in the form of a controlling mother. Tikhon’s last phrase suggests that the man understands: it is better to die than to live such a life, but Tikhon cannot decide to commit suicide.
Kuligin is shown as a dreaming inventor who advocates for the public good. He constantly thinks about how to improve the life of the city, although he perfectly understands that none of the residents of Kalinov need this. He understands the beauty of nature, quotes Derzhavin. Kuligin is more educated and higher than ordinary people, however, he is poor and lonely in his efforts. Dikoy only laughs at him when the inventor talks about the benefits of a lightning rod. Savl Prokofievich does not believe that money can be earned honestly, so he openly mocks and threatens Kuligin. Perhaps Kuligin understood the true motives for Katya’s suicide. But he is making attempts to soften the contradictions and find a compromise. He has no choice either this way or not at all. The young man does not see active method resist the “tyrants”.
The victims in the play “The Thunderstorm” are several characters: Katerina, Kuligin and Tikhon. Boris cannot be called a victim for two reasons: firstly, he came from another city, and secondly, in fact, he is just as deceitful and two-faced as the rest of the inhabitants of the “dark kingdom”.
The given description and list of victims of the “dark kingdom” can be used by 10th grade students when writing an essay on the topic “Victims of the dark kingdom in the play “The Thunderstorm”.”
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