“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 a dark kingdom” and sincerely believed that Katerina embodied the best qualities of a 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 her 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 come to terms with an 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 there is no way out of the “dark kingdom”, but Katya can no longer live here. 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.
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“Why don’t people fly like birds? You know, sometimes it seems to me that I’m a bird. When you’re standing on a mountain, you feel the urge to fly. That’s how I would run, raise my arms, and fly. How playful I was! And you withered completely..." - this is the whole of Katerina, her whole spirit, strong and thirsty, but not yet free.
Let us remember Dobrolyubov and his article “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom.” According to Dobrolyubov’s concept, Katerina’s internal conflict is between the stereotypes of patriarchal consciousness and the demands of living human nature of love and freedom. Katerina's internal conflict was described as tragic (it ends with the death of the heroine and seems insoluble). In essence, the critic has almost approached the truth. But, in my opinion, he was mistaken in placing everything on the idea of the struggle of the individual, ardent and extraordinary, with the unjust laws of society, with the cruelty of despots generated by the patriarchal way of life and the thirst for power, unquestioning submission. I was mistaken because other images serve this idea - Kuligin, Kudryash, Varvara. All of them, to one degree or another, do not accept false morality and, by force of their will, resist it.
But the idea of Katerina’s image is more philosophical than social. She is not a fighter, but a seeker. But the seeker, alas, has his eyes closed. Katerina is very religious, just extremely devout. Her painful conscientiousness, constant focus on serious moral issues, reflections on sin create a certain image of a Doukhobor, whose main moral program is the Gospel ideas about the purity and innocence of the human soul. But on the other hand, laws based on prohibition and oppression (mostly Christian commandments) simply oppress her living soul.
Katerina was born for love, like any woman. “This is how I was born, hot,” she says to Varvara. And then she tells how, as a child, she had an attack of willfulness (“They offended me with something at home,... it was too dark..., she got into the boat, and pushed it away from the shore”). Asceticism is not inherent in man initially. Katerina is no exception. The child feels his freedom until the power of prejudice takes over, until he becomes an adult. It is not for nothing that the heroine says: “I really love talking to children - they are angels,” - angels who have not known religious blindness.
In religion, Katerina found the highest truth and beauty. Her desire for the beautiful and the good was expressed in prayers sent to God. She told Varvara: “On a sunny day, such a light pillar goes down from the dome, and smoke moves in this pillar, like clouds, and I see that it used to be as if angels were flying and singing in this pillar. And then, it happened... I would get up at night ... and somewhere in a corner I pray until the morning. Or I’ll go into the garden early in the morning, just as the sun is rising, I’ll fall on my knees, pray and cry.” This is nostalgia for childhood, a bright memory that takes on a religious and mystical overtones.
Katerina is a poetic person. Her soul is constantly drawn to beauty, she loves nature: “I used to get up early: if it’s summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring some water with me and that’s it, I’ll water all the flowers in the house. I had a lot of flowers.” Katerina loves life, the life given to her by nature." She idolizes nature, its beauty, innocence and purity. But throughout the entire play, Katerina subconsciously desires death. Paradox: loving life and fighting it at the same time.
“I’m not afraid to die,” she declares to Varvara. But what is Katerina afraid of? God, his punishments, punishments for earthly sins. Question: is it possible to be afraid and at the same time sincerely love, to love with all your soul? Fear will not give birth to love, but only fanaticism, blind and terrible.
Katerina does not fight the “dark kingdom” of the social shell that surrounds her and does not oppose the “stifling” morality of the patriarchal way of life. In essence, the values of Kabanikha and Katerina in the field of morality are based on the same Christian basis - the Gospel commandments. Kabanikha’s tyranny certainly played a role, but this role was not fatal, but indirect.
Katerina was raised in the spirit of Christian morality from childhood. She deeply respects the biblical commandments. The sanctity of married life is unshakable in her eyes. Religion and faith are an integral part of her spiritual self-awareness. And yet, this is not love, there is no fear in love. But everyone around her frightens Katerina, shames her with her own beauty. But the woman is not afraid of human judgment and does not confront others. She's afraid of herself. Katerina is confused. Doubts and contradictions oppress her. Love of life, earthly love and deadly religiosity are two flames that burn her heart. And the essence of the heroine’s love is not so much in love for Boris, about which in the end she remembers nothing, but in love for freedom, for spiritual freedom, for the harmony of flesh and spirit. Katerina is afraid to die with the weight of sin. And when the sin is committed, she seeks death as relief from pain. She is sure that she has ruined her soul. But why does she call for her love, standing on the threshold of death? “Violent winds, bear my sadness and melancholy to him! My joy! My life, my soul, I love you! Respond!”
There are pagan motives. Katerina turns to the forces of nature, cries out not to the sky, but to nature. And her salvation is in Mother Earth (“There is a grave under the tree... The sun warms it, wets it with rain... birds will fly to the tree, they will sing, they will bring out children, flowers will bloom..." - this is a hymn to life). Katerina’s death is not for sin, but for the sake of life, in the name of life. Suicide is a sin: “Sin! He who loves will pray.”
Katerina’s internal conflict is resolved: “She is now before a judge who is more merciful than you!”
In Ostrovsky's drama "The Thunderstorm" there is a conflict between the old and new way of life, which formed the basis of the work. This conflict occurred between old principles and modern aspirations for freedom.
This dark world of despotism does not give ordinary people a peaceful life. Incorrigible things happen there, and invisible tears are shed. But suddenly among these people a completely different person appears, unlike those around him.
The purity and poetry of this woman misleads many people. In the world around her there is a “war” for the rights, principles and feelings of people, but Katerina is completely different and wants to change the existing world radically, even though the woman has her own personal spiritual drama.
Katerina can be described as a woman who strives for freedom and encourages those around her to achieve it. She is gentle, naive and spontaneous. Ostrovsky very wisely portrayed a real Russian woman in Katerina. The heroine is strong in character, very sincere and honest.
The writer began his story on the most beautiful bank of the Volga. By doing this, he tried to better show readers the atmosphere of life in the town, to create the atmosphere without which it would be impossible to imagine Katerina’s drama.
At first glance, the heroine’s life has nothing to do with the city, but this oppressive force of social pressure leads the woman to a cliff.
At first, Katerina did not listen to the opinions of other residents of the town of Kalinova, but she was unable to bear the weight of human judgment. The poor woman's drama is happening in front of everyone, in front of the whole city. She desperately confessed to cheating on her husband and threw herself off a cliff into the Volga.
The character of Katerina presented in the drama by the author reveals to the reader a sensitive nature that is capable of change and fight. She appears in a wide variety of personal emotional states - now she experiences quiet joy, now melancholy, now the heroine expects happiness, now she anticipates trouble, we see the confusion of Katerina’s feelings, and a rush of passion, deep despair and fearless determination to accept death.
The heroine listens to her feelings from the very beginning. She is surprised at what is happening to her: it seems to her that there is something extraordinary in her, as if she is starting to live again. Katerina gets this feeling because of her love for Boris.
Katerina at first tries to drive away thoughts about him, but it is difficult for her to do this: “... he just stands before her eyes.” She wants to “break herself,” but she can’t. All she can do is endure: “I’d rather endure as long as I can.”
Her patience is tested soon when the heroine listens to Tikhon pronounce the words of his mother. Katerina is offended by this unceremonious interference of her mother-in-law in the life of her and Tikhon. In the scene of the heroine's farewell to her husband, we hear the fear of being left alone with temptation, as well as a premonition of the irreparable that may happen after his departure. In desperation, Katerina makes a sincere attempt to find intimacy with Tikhon, but nothing comes of it.
When pronouncing a monologue with a key, Katerina first tries to distract herself, but she doesn’t succeed, and she doesn’t want to deceive herself: “To whom am I pretending!” She doesn't want to pretend to anyone, especially herself. The main phrase of the monologue is about bitter captivity, which, perhaps, pushed the heroine to the fatal step. The monologue begins with mental turmoil, and ends with the final decision to see Boris at all costs.
Standing at the gate, the heroine still doubts whether to meet her, but then decides to obey the dictates of her heart.
Katerina is not afraid of “human judgment”; her situation seems unbearable to her. Natural spiritual purity does not allow her to deceive her husband. That's why she confessed to Varvara. After her confession, Katerina remains faithful to her love for Boris.
The heroine realizes that her love is criminal, but she is ready to neglect everything and connect her life with him.
The ending of the drama is ambiguous. At first glance, it seems that he is pessimistic, since the lovers are separated, Katerina dies, but at the same time, the death of the heroine played an important role in exposing the “dark kingdom” that destroyed her. The tragic conflict between the dead way of life and Katerina’s living feelings led her to a cliff.
The main character cannot love like an ordinary person; for the sake of her beloved, she is ready to do anything, even to transgress the concepts of sin and virtue that are sacred to her. We see in Katerina not a fallen woman, but a heroine who has found the strength to fight against the outdated foundations of life, a woman who is determined to find her happiness, even if her path is unrighteous.
Character consists of the ability to work according to principles. A. N. Ostrovsky wrote many plays from the life of the merchants. They are so truthful and vivid that Dobrolyubov called them “plays of life.” In these works, the life of the merchants is described as a world of hidden, quietly sighing sorrow, a world of dull, aching pain, a world of prison-like deathly silence. And even if a senseless murmur appears, it dies away at its birth. The critic N.A. Dobrolyubov titled his article devoted to the analysis of Ostrovsky’s plays “The Dark Kingdom.” He expressed the idea that the tyranny of the merchants rests only on ignorance and humility. But a way out will be found, because the desire to exist with dignity cannot be destroyed in a person.
"...Who will be able to throw a ray of light into the ugly darkness of the dark kingdom?" - asks Dobrolyubov. The answer to that very question was the playwright’s new play “The Thunderstorm.”
Written in 1860, the play, both in its spirit and in its title, seemed to symbolize the process of renewal of society, which was shaking off the torpor of tyranny. The thunderstorm has long been the personification of the struggle for freedom. And in the play this is not only a natural phenomenon, but a dazzling image of the internal struggle that began in the dark life of a merchant.
There are many characters in the play. But the main one is Katerina. The image of this woman is not only the most complex, but it is sharply different from all others. No wonder the critic called her “a ray of light in a dark kingdom.” How is Katerina so different from other “residents” of this “kingdom”?
There are no free people in this world! Neither tyrants nor their victims are such. Here you can deceive, like Varvara, but you cannot exist in truth and conscience, without betraying your soul.
Katerina was brought up in a merchant family, she “lived at home, did not worry about anything, like a bird in the wild.” But after marriage, this free nature fell into the iron cage of tyranny.
In Katerina’s house there were always many pilgrims and praying mantises, whose stories (and the whole situation in the house) made her very religious, sincerely believing in the commandments of the church. It is not surprising that she perceives her love for Boris as a serious offense. But Katerina is a “poet” in religion. She is endowed with a vivid imagination and dreaminess. Listening to various stories, it is as if she sees them in reality. She often dreamed of paradise gardens and birds, and when she entered the church, she saw angels. Even her speech is musical and melodious, reminiscent of folk tales and songs.
However, religion, a secluded life, and the lack of outlet for her extraordinary sensitivity had a negative impact on her character. Therefore, when during a thunderstorm she heard the curses of the crazy lady, she began to pray. When she saw a drawing of “fiery hell” on the wall, her nerves could not stand it, and she confessed to Tikhon her love for Boris.
But religiosity, moreover, somehow sets off such traits of the heroine as the desire for independence and truth, courage and determination. Tyrant Wild and Kabanikha, who always reproaches and hates her relatives, are never able to understand other people. In comparison with them or with the spineless Tikhon, who only sometimes allows him to go on a spree for a few days, with her beloved Boris, who is unable to appreciate true love, Katerina’s character becomes especially attractive. She does not want and cannot deceive and directly states: “I don’t know how to deceive; I couldn’t hide anything).”
Love for Boris is everything for Katerina: longing for freedom, dreams of real life. And in the name of this love, she enters into an unequal duel with the “dark kingdom.” She does not perceive her protest as an indignation against the entire system; moreover, she does not think about it. But the “dark kingdom” is structured in such a way that any manifestation of independence, independence, and personal dignity is perceived by him as a mortal offense, as a rebellion against the foundations of the rule of tyrants. That is why the play ends with the death of the heroine: after all, she is not only lonely, but also crushed by the inner consciousness of her “sin.”
The death of a brave woman is not a cry of despair. No, this is a moral victory over the “dark kingdom” that fetters her freedom, will, and reason. Suicide, according to the teachings of the church, is an unforgivable offense. But Katerina is no longer afraid of this. Having fallen in love, she declares to Boris: “If I was not afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human judgment?” And her last words were: “My friend! My joy! Farewell!”
You can justify or blame Katerina for her fatal decision, but you cannot help but admire the integrity of her nature, her thirst for freedom, and her determination. Her death shocked even more downtrodden people like Tikhon, who to his face blames his mother for the death of his wife.
This means that Katerina’s act was really a “terrible challenge to tyrant power.” This means that in the “dark kingdom” bright natures are capable of being born, who can illuminate this “kingdom” with their life or death.
