Moral issues in Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm"
Ostrovsky was once called the “Columbus of Zamoskvorechye”, emphasizing the artistic discovery of the world of merchants in the plays of the playwright, but today such works as “Dowry”, “Our People – We Will Be Numbered”, “Talents and Admirers”, “Forest” and other plays are interesting not only specific historical issues, but also moral, universal ones. I would like to talk in more detail about the play “The Thunderstorm”.
It is symbolic that in 1859, on the eve of the social upsurge that would lead in 61 to the abolition of serfdom, a play called “The Thunderstorm” appeared. Just as the title of the play is symbolic, its moral issues, in the center of which are the problems of external and internal freedom, love and happiness, the problem of moral choice and responsibility.
The problem of external and internal freedom becomes one of the central ones in the play. “Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel,” says Kuligin already at the beginning of the play.
Only one person is given the ability to stand out from the background of those who humiliate and humiliate – Katerina. The very first appearance of Katerina reveals in her not a timid daughter-in-law of a strict mother-in-law, but a person who has dignity and feels like an individual: “It’s nice for anyone to endure lies,” says Katerina in response to Kabanikha’s unfair words. Katerina is a spiritual, bright, dreamy person; she, like no one else in the play, knows how to feel beauty. Even her religiosity is also a manifestation of spirituality. The church service was filled with special charm for her: in the rays of sunlight she saw angels and felt a sense of belonging to something higher, unearthly. The motif of light becomes one of the central ones in Katerina’s characterization. “And the face seems to glow,” Boris had only to say this, and Kudryash immediately realized that he was talking about Katerina. Her speech is melodious, figurative, reminiscent of Russian folk songs: “Violent winds, bear with him my sadness and melancholy.” Katerina is distinguished by her inner freedom and passionate nature; it is no coincidence that the motif of a bird and flight appears in the play. The captivity of the Kabanovsky house oppresses her, suffocates her. “Everything seems to be out of captivity with you. I’ve completely wilted with you,” says Katerina, explaining to Varvara why she doesn’t feel happy in the Kabanovs’ house.
Another moral problem of the play is connected with the image of Katerina - human right to love and happiness. Katerina’s impulse to Boris is an impulse to joy, without which a person cannot live, an impulse to happiness, which she was deprived of in Kabanikha’s house. No matter how hard Katerina tried to fight her love, this fight was doomed from the very beginning. In Katerina’s love, like in a thunderstorm, there was something spontaneous, strong, free, but also tragically doomed; it is no coincidence that she begins her story about love with the words: “I will die soon.” Already in this first conversation with Varvara, the image of an abyss, a cliff appears: “There will be some kind of sin! Such fear comes over me, such and such fear! It’s as if I’m standing over an abyss, and someone is pushing me there, but I have nothing to hold on to.”
The title of the play takes on the most dramatic sound when we feel a “thunderstorm” brewing in Katerina’s soul. The central moral problem play can be called the problem of moral choice. The collision of duty and feeling, like a thunderstorm, destroyed the harmony in Katerina’s soul with which she lived; She no longer dreams, as before, of “golden temples or extraordinary gardens”; it is no longer possible to ease her soul with prayer: “If I start to think, I won’t be able to gather my thoughts, if I’ll pray, I won’t be able to pray.” Without agreement with herself, Katerina cannot live; she could never, like Varvara, be content with thieving, secret love. The consciousness of her sinfulness weighs on Katerina, torments her more than all of Kabanikha’s reproaches. Ostrovsky's heroine cannot live in a world of discord - this explains her death. She made the choice herself - and she pays for it herself, without blaming anyone: “No one is to blame - she did it herself.”
We can conclude that it is precisely the moral problematics of Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” that makes this work interesting for the modern reader even today.
Alexander Nikolaevich highlighted the most important and especially pressing problem of human dignity at that time. The arguments to consider it as such are very convincing. The author proves that his play is really important, if only because the issues raised in it continue to concern the current generation many years later. Drama is being addressed, studied and analyzed, and interest in it has not waned to this day.
In the 50-60s of the 19th century Special attention writers and poets were attracted by the following three themes: the emergence of a diverse intelligentsia, serfdom and the position of women in society and family. In addition, there was another theme - the tyranny of money, tyranny and ancient authority among the merchants, under the yoke of which all family members, and especially women, were. A. N. Ostrovsky in his drama "The Thunderstorm" set the task of exposing spiritual and economic tyranny in the so-called " dark kingdom".
Who can be considered a bearer of human dignity?
The problem of human dignity in the drama "The Thunderstorm" is the most important in this work. It should be noted that there are very few characters in the play about whom one could say: “This is a worthy person.” Majority characters- either unconditionally negative heroes, or inexpressive, neutral. Dikoy and Kabanikha are idols, devoid of basic human feelings; Boris and Tikhon are spineless creatures capable of only obeying; Kudryash and Varvara are reckless people, drawn to momentary pleasures, incapable of serious experiences and reflections. Only Kuligin, an eccentric inventor, and main character Katerina stands out from this series. The problem of human dignity in the drama "The Thunderstorm" can be briefly described as the confrontation of these two heroes with society.
Inventor Kuligin
Kuligin is a rather attractive person with considerable talents, a sharp mind, a poetic soul, and a desire to selflessly serve people. He is honest and kind. It is no coincidence that Ostrovsky entrusts his assessment of the backward, limited, complacent Kalinovsky society, which does not recognize the rest of the world. However, although Kuligin evokes sympathy, he is still unable to stand up for himself, so he calmly endures rudeness, endless ridicule and insults. This is an educated, enlightened person, but these best qualities in Kalinov they are considered just a whim. The inventor is disparagingly called an alchemist. He longs for the common good, wants to install a lightning rod and a clock in the city, but the inert society does not want to accept any innovations. Kabanikha, who is the embodiment of the patriarchal world, will not take the train, even if the whole world has been using the railway for a long time. Dikoy will never understand that lightning is actually electricity. He doesn't even know that word. The problem of human dignity in the drama "The Thunderstorm", the epigraph of which can be Kuligin's remark " Cruel morals, sir, there are cruel ones in our city!”, thanks to the introduction of this character, receives deeper coverage.
Kuligin, seeing all the vices of society, remains silent. Only Katerina protests. Despite its weakness, it is still a strong nature. The plot of the play is based on tragic conflict between the way of life and the real feeling of the main character. The problem of human dignity in the drama "The Thunderstorm" is revealed in the contrast of the "dark kingdom" and the "ray" - Katerina.
"Dark Kingdom" and its victims
The inhabitants of Kalinov are divided into two groups. One of them consists of representatives of the “dark kingdom”, personifying power. This is Kabanikha and Dikoy. The other belongs to Kuligin, Katerina, Kudryash, Tikhon, Boris and Varvara. They are victims of the “dark kingdom”, feeling its brutal power, but protesting against it in different ways. Through their actions or inaction, the problem of human dignity is revealed in the drama "The Thunderstorm". Ostrovsky’s plan was to show from different sides the influence of the “dark kingdom” with its suffocating atmosphere.
Katerina's character
Interests and stands out strongly against the background of the environment in which she unwittingly found herself. The reason for the drama of life lies precisely in its special, exceptional character.
This girl is a dreamy and poetic person. She was raised by a mother who spoiled her and loved her. The heroine's daily activities as a child included caring for flowers, visiting church, embroidering, walking, and telling stories of praying mantises and wanderers. The girls developed under the influence of this lifestyle. Sometimes she plunged into waking dreams, fabulous dreams. Katerina’s speech is emotional and figurative. And this poetically minded and impressionable girl, after marriage, finds herself in Kabanova’s house, in an atmosphere of intrusive guardianship and hypocrisy. The atmosphere of this world is cold and soulless. Naturally, the conflict between Katerina’s bright world and the environment of this “dark kingdom” ends tragically.
Relationship between Katerina and Tikhon
The situation is further complicated by the fact that she married a man whom she could not love and did not know, although she tried with all her might to become faithful to Tikhon and loving wife. The heroine's attempts to get closer to her husband are frustrated by his narrow-mindedness, slavish humiliation and rudeness. Since childhood, he has been accustomed to obeying his mother in everything; he is afraid to say a word against her. Tikhon meekly endures Kabanikha’s tyranny, not daring to object or protest to her. His only wish- at least for a while to escape from under the care of this woman, go on a spree, drink. This weak-willed man, being one of the many victims of the “dark kingdom,” not only could not help Katerina in any way, but also simply understand her as a human being, since inner world the heroine is too tall, complex and inaccessible for him. He could not predict the drama brewing in his wife's heart.
Katerina and Boris
Dikiy's nephew, Boris, is also a victim of a sanctimonious, dark environment. According to their own internal qualities he is significantly higher than the “benefactors” surrounding him. The education he received in the capital at a commercial academy developed his cultural needs and views, so it is difficult for this character to survive among the Wild and Kabanovs. The problem of human dignity in the play "The Thunderstorm" also confronts this hero. However, he lacks the character to break free from their tyranny. He is the only one who managed to understand Katerina, but was unable to help her: he does not have enough determination to fight for the girl’s love, so he advises her to come to terms with her fate and leaves her, anticipating Katerina’s death. The inability to fight for happiness doomed Boris and Tikhon to suffer rather than live. Only Katerina managed to challenge this tyranny. The problem of human dignity in the play is thus also a problem of character. Only strong people can challenge the "dark kingdom". Only the main character was one of them.
Dobrolyubov's opinion
The problem of human dignity in the drama "The Thunderstorm" was revealed in an article by Dobrolyubov, who called Katerina "a ray of light in a dark kingdom." The death of a gifted young woman, strong, passionate nature illuminated the sleeping “kingdom” for a moment, like a ray of sunshine against the background of gloomy dark clouds. Dobrolyubov views the suicide of Katerina as a challenge not only to the Wild and Kabanovs, but also to the entire way of life in a gloomy, despotic feudal serf country.
The inevitable ending
It was an inevitable ending, despite the fact that the main character revered God so much. It was easier for Katerina Kabanova to leave this life than to endure her mother-in-law’s reproaches, gossip and remorse. She pleaded guilty publicly because she did not know how to lie. Suicide and public repentance should be regarded as actions that elevated her human dignity.
Katerina could be despised, humiliated, even beaten, but she never humiliated herself, did not commit unworthy, low actions, they only went against the morality of this society. Although, what morality can such limited, stupid people have? The problem of human dignity in the drama "The Thunderstorm" is a problem tragic choice between accepting or challenging society. Protest in this case threatens with serious consequences, including the need to lose one’s life.
The play “The Thunderstorm” was written in the second half of the 50s of the 19th century, when the country was on the threshold of socio-political and social changes. Naturally, Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky could not help but react to these changes. During this difficult period, in addition to “The Thunderstorm,” the playwright wrote the plays “Dowry,” “Profitable Place,” and others, in which he reflected his view of what was happening. In “The Thunderstorm,” A. N. Ostrovsky raises not so much social as moral problems. The playwright shows us how previously unknown feelings suddenly awaken in a person and how her attitude to the surrounding reality changes. The conflict between Katerina and the “dark kingdom”, shown by the playwright, is a confrontation between the laws of Domostroy and the desire for freedom and happiness. The thunderstorm in the play is not just a natural phenomenon, and the symbol state of mind heroines. Katerina grew up and was formed as a person in the terrible conditions of Domostroy, but this did not stop her from opposing Kalinovsky society. For Ostrovsky it was important to show that where any manifestation of freedom is destroyed, a strong character may emerge, striving for his own happiness. Katerina strives for freedom with all her heart. This is especially clearly visible thanks to her story to Varvara about her childhood, when she lived in an atmosphere of love and understanding. But Katerina does not yet fully understand that new attitude towards the world, which will lead her to a tragic end: “There is something so extraordinary about me. It’s like I’m starting to live again.” Having fallen in love with Boris, she considers her feelings sinful. Katerina sees this moral crime and says that she has “already destroyed her soul.” But somewhere inside she understands that there is nothing immoral in the pursuit of happiness and love. However, Kabanikha, Dikoy and others like them consider Katerina’s act to be exactly this: after all, she, married woman, violated moral standards by falling in love with Boris and starting to meet him secretly. However, what prompted her to do this? Since childhood, Katerina was an independent, freedom-loving person. She lived in her mother’s house like a free bird. But then she finds herself in her husband’s house, where a completely different atmosphere reigns. She says: “Yes, everything here seems to be from under captivity.” In words, the mother-in-law strives to comply with moral principles, but in reality, she “has completely eaten up the family.” Kabanikha does not recognize anything new, does not allow Tikhon to live by his own mind, and oppresses his daughter-in-law. It doesn’t matter to her what’s in Katerina’s soul, as long as customs are respected. “She is strange, extravagant, from the point of view of those around her, but this is because she cannot accept their views and inclinations,” Dobrolyubov wrote about Katerina in his article “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom.” Tikhon also does not understand Katerina’s soul. This is a weak-willed person who is completely subservient to his mother. His only joy is to get out of the house and walk for a few days. Kabanova's daughter Varvara does not argue with her mother, but deceives her by running away at night to walk with Kudryash. Thus, behind external piety, cruelty, lies, and immorality are hidden. And the Kabanovs are not the only ones who live like this. “Cruel morals in our city,” says Kuligin. Katerina strives for freedom and happiness. She could love her husband, but he is completely indifferent to her spiritual needs and her feelings. He loves her in his own way, but cannot understand. He does not see the full depth of Katerina’s despair when she, having fallen in love with Boris, rushes to him, to Tikhon, asking him to take her with him. Tikhon pushes his wife away, dreaming of walking free, and Katerina is left alone. A painful moral struggle takes place within her. Raised in a religious family, she considers it a great sin to cheat on her husband. But the desire to live life to the fullest, the desire to decide one’s own destiny, to be happy, takes precedence over moral principles. However, with the arrival of Tikhon, Katerina’s moral suffering begins. No, she does not repent that she fell in love, she suffers that she is forced to lie. Lies are contrary to her honest, sincere nature. Even earlier, she confesses to Varvara: “I don’t know how to deceive, I can’t hide anything.” That is why she confesses to Kabanikha and Tikhon her love for Boris. But the moral problem is not solved. Katerina remains in her husband’s house, but for her this is tantamount to death: “Whether going home or going to the grave is the same... It’s better in the grave.” Boris, who turned out to be a weak man, subordinate to his uncle Dikiy, refuses to take her with him to Siberia. Her life becomes unbearable. So what is immoral? Live with an unloved husband, lie, pretend or openly protest against bigotry and violence? Katerina is a “husband’s wife”; according to the laws of society, she does not have the right to decide her own fate. There is no way out for her. And she decides to take a terrible step. “And if I’m really tired of being here, no force can hold me back. I’ll throw myself out the window, throw myself into the Volga,” Katerina previously told Varvara. This is what happened, she could not stand the oppression and oppression in Kabanikha’s house. According to Christian laws, suicide is a terrible sin. But, according to Katerina, an even greater sin is to live in lies and pretense. Kuligin, shocked by the death of Katerina, throws in the face of her oppressors: “Here is your Katerina. Do what you want with her! Her body is here, but her soul is no longer yours: she is now before a judge who is more merciful than you!” These words justify her suicide. God will be more merciful to the unfortunate woman, because everything that happened is not her fault, but the unjust, immoral structure of society. Katerina's soul is pure and sinless. Before her death, she thinks only about her love - the only joy in her bitter life. And therefore, despite tragic ending, in “The Thunderstorm,” according to Dobrolyubov, “there is something refreshing and encouraging,” and Katerina’s very character “blows on us new life“, which is revealed to us in her very death,” it is not without reason that the critic called her “a ray of light in a dark kingdom.”
Throughout its creative path A. N. Ostrovsky created a number of realistic works in which he depicted the contemporary reality and life of the Russian province. One of them is the play "The Thunderstorm". In this drama, the author showed a wild, deaf society county town Kalinov, living according to the laws of Domostroy, and contrasted him with the image of a freedom-loving girl who did not want to come to terms with Kalinov’s norms of life and behavior. One of the most important problems raised in the work is the problem of human dignity, especially relevant in mid-19th century, during the crisis of the outdated, obsolete orders that then reigned in the provinces.
The merchant society shown in the play lives in an atmosphere of lies, deceit, hypocrisy, and duplicity; within the walls of their estates, representatives of the older generation scold and lecture their household members, and behind the fence they pretend to be courteous and benevolent, putting on cute, smiling masks. N. A. Dobrolyubov, in the article “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom,” applies the division of the heroes of this world into tyrants and “downtrodden individuals.” Tyrants - the merchant Kabanova, Dikoy - are powerful, cruel, considering themselves the right to insult and humiliate those who depend on them, constantly tormenting their household with reprimands and quarrels. For them, the concept of human dignity does not exist: in general, they do not consider their subordinates to be people.
Constantly humiliated, some representatives younger generation They lost their self-esteem, became slavishly submissive, never arguing, never objecting, and having no opinion of their own. For example, Tikhon is a typical “downtrodden personality,” a person whose mother, Kabanikha, crushed his already not very spirited attempts to demonstrate character since childhood. Tikhon is pitiful and insignificant: he can hardly be called a person; drunkenness replaces all the joys of life for him, he is incapable of strong, deep feelings, the concept of human dignity is unknown and inaccessible to him.
Less "downtrodden" personalities are Varvara and Boris, they have to a greater extent freedom. Kabanikha does not forbid Varvara to go for a walk (“Walk before your time comes, you’ll still have enough”), but even if reproaches begin, Varvara has enough self-control and cunning not to react; she does not let herself be offended. But again, in my opinion, she is driven more by pride than by self-esteem. Dikoy publicly scolds Boris, insulting him, but thereby, in my opinion, he humiliates himself in the eyes of others: a person who brings family squabbles and quarrels into public view is unworthy of respect.
But Dikoy himself and the population of the city of Kalinov adhere to a different point of view: Dikoy scolds his nephew - which means the nephew depends on him, which means Dikoy has a certain power - which means he is worthy of respect.
Kabanikha and Dikoy are unworthy people, tyrants, corrupted by the unlimited power of their home, mentally callous, blind, insensitive, and their life is dull, gray, filled with endless lectures and reprimands to their family. They do not have human dignity, because the person who has it knows the value of himself and others and always strives for peace and peace of mind; tyrants are constantly trying to assert their power over people, often mentally richer than themselves, provoking them into quarrels and exhausting them with useless discussions. The person who gives them knows the value of himself and others and always strives for peace and peace of mind; tyrants are constantly trying to assert their power over people, often mentally richer than themselves, provoking them into quarrels and exhausting them with useless discussions. Such people are not loved or respected, they are only feared and hated.
This world is contrasted with the image of Katerina - a girl from merchant family, who grew up in an atmosphere of religiosity, spiritual harmony and freedom. Having married Tikhon, she finds herself in the Kabanovs’ house, in an unfamiliar environment, where lying is the main means of achieving something, and duplicity is the order of the day. Kabanova begins to humiliate and insult Katerina, making her life impossible. Katerina is a mentally vulnerable, fragile person; Kabanikha’s cruelty and heartlessness hurt her painfully, but she endures without responding to insults, and Kabanova keeps provoking her into a quarrel, jabbing and humiliating her dignity with every remark. This constant bullying is unbearable. Even the husband is unable to stand up for the girl. Katerina's freedom is sharply limited. “Everything here is somehow out of bondage,” she says to Varvara, and her protest against the insult to human dignity results in her love for Boris - a man who, in principle, simply took advantage of her love and then ran away, and Katerina, not If she could withstand further humiliation, she would commit suicide. province tragedy dignity hypocritical
None of the representatives of Kalinovsky society knows the sense of human dignity, and no one can understand and appreciate it in another person, especially if it is a woman, by Domostroevsky standards --- housewife, obeying her husband in everything, who can, in extreme cases, beat her. Not noticing this in Katerina moral value, The world of the city of Kalinov tried to humiliate her to its level, to make her a part of itself, to drag her into a web of lies and hypocrisy, but human dignity is one of the innate and ineradicable qualities, it cannot be taken away, which is why Katerina cannot become like these people and, Seeing no other way out, she throws herself into the river, finally finding in heaven, where she has been striving all her life, the long-awaited peace and quiet.
The tragedy of the play "The Thunderstorm" lies in the intractability of the conflict between a person with a sense of self-worth and a society in which no one has any idea about human dignity. "The Thunderstorm" is one of Ostrovsky's greatest realistic works, in which the playwright showed the immorality, hypocrisy and narrow-mindedness that reigned in provincial society in the mid-19th century.
Reflections on the moral dimension of the problem of relationships between generations (based on the drama by A.N. Ostrovsky “The Thunderstorm”).
Morality is the rules that determine people's behavior. Behavior (action) expresses the internal state of a person, manifested through his spirituality (intelligence, development of thought) and the life of the soul (feeling).
Morality in the lives of the older and younger generations is associated with the eternal law of succession. The young take over from the old life experience and traditions, and wise elders teach the young the rules of life - “wit and reason.” However, young people are characterized by courage of thought, an unbiased view of things without reference to established opinions. It is because of this that conflicts and differences of opinion often arise between them.
Actions and life assessments of the heroes of the drama by A.N. Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm" (1859) reflects their morality.
Representatives of the merchant class of Dikaya and Kabanov are those people whose wealth and importance among the residents of the city of Kalinov define them high position. Those around them feel the power of their influence, and this power is capable of breaking the will of dependent people, humiliating the unfortunate, realizing their own insignificance in comparison with “ strongmen of the world this." Therefore, Savel Prokofievich Dikoy, “a significant person in the city,” does not encounter any contradictions in anyone. He holds his family in awe, who hide in “attics and closets” during the days of his anger; loves to instill fear in people who do not dare to make a murmur about their salary; holds Boris’s nephew in a black body, having robbed him and his sister, brazenly appropriating their inheritance; denounce, insult, meek Kuligin.
Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova, known in the city for her piety and wealth, also has her own ideas about morality. For her, the desire of the younger generation for “freedom” is criminal, because what good is it that both her son’s young wife and her daughter, the “girl,” will cease to be “afraid” of both Tikhon and herself, the omnipotent and infallible. “They don’t know anything, there’s no order,” the old woman gets angry. “Order” and “old times” are the basis on which the Wild and Kabanovs rely. But their tyranny loses self-confidence; it is not able to stop the development of young forces. New concepts and relationships inevitably come into life and crowd out old forces, obsolete standards of life and established morality. So Kuligin, a naive man, wants to ennoble Kalinov by building a lightning rod and a sundial. And he, impudent, dares to read Derzhavin’s poems, glorifying “the mind,” before “his dignity,” the all-powerful merchant, who is on friendly terms with the mayor himself, the head of the city. And Marfa Ignatievna’s young daughter-in-law, when saying goodbye, “throws herself on her husband’s neck.” And you have to bow at your feet. And he doesn’t want to “howl” on the porch - “to make people laugh.” And the resigned Tikhon will blame his mother for his wife’s death.
Tyranny, as the critic Dobrolyubov asserts, “is hostile to the natural demands of humanity... because in their triumph it sees the approach of its inevitable death.” “Wilds and Kabanovs are shrinking and shrinking” - this is inevitable.
The younger generation is Tikhon, Katerina, Varvara Kabanov, this is Dikiy’s nephew Boris. Katerina and her mother-in-law have similar concepts about the morality of younger family members: they should be God-fearing and honor their elders - this is in the traditions of the Russian family. But further, the ideas of both of them about life, in their moral assessments, differ sharply.
Brought up in the atmosphere of a patriarchal merchant house, in conditions parental love, care and prosperity, young Kabanova has a character that is “loving, creative, ideal.” But in her husband’s family she faces a formidable prohibition “to live by her own will,” which comes from her stern and soulless mother-in-law. It is then that the demands of “nature,” a living, natural feeling, acquire an irresistible power over the young woman. “That’s how I was born, hot,” she says about herself. Katerina’s morality is not guided, according to Dobrolyubov, by logic and reason. “She is strange, extravagant, from the point of view of those around her,” and, fortunately, the oppression of her mother-in-law with her despotic disposition did not kill the desire for “will” in the heroine.
Will is a spontaneous impulse (“I would run up like that, raise my arms and fly”), and the desire to ride along the Volga singing, hugging each other, and fervent prayers, if the soul asks for communication with God, and even the need to “throw out the window, She’ll throw herself into the Volga” if she gets “sick of” captivity.
Her feelings for Boris are uncontrollable. Katerina is ruled by love (he is not like everyone else - he is the best!) and passion (“If I was not afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human judgment?”). But the heroine, a woman with integrity, strong character, does not accept lies, and she considers split feelings, pretense, an even greater sin than her own fall.