Katerina- the main character, wife of Tikhon, daughter-in-law of Kabanikhi. The image of K. - the most important discovery of Ostrovsky - the discovery of a strong man born in the patriarchal world folk character with an awakening sense of identity. In the plot of the play, K. is the protagonist, Kabanikha is the antagonist in a tragic conflict. Their relationship in the play is not an everyday feud between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, their fates expressed the clash of two historical eras, which determines the tragic nature of the conflict. It is important for the author to show the origins of the character of the heroine, for which, in the exposition, contrary to the specifics of the dramatic kind, K. is given a lengthy story about life as a girl. Here is the ideal version patriarchal relations and the patriarchal world in general. The main motive of her story is the motive of the all-pervading mutual love: “I lived, I didn’t grieve about anything, like a bird in the wild, I used to do what I want.” But it was a “will” that did not at all conflict with the age-old way of a closed life, the whole circle of which is limited to domestic work, and since K. is a girl from a wealthy merchant family, this is needlework, sewing with gold on velvet; since she works with the wanderers, then, most likely, we are talking about embroideries for the temple. This is a story about a world in which it does not occur to a person to oppose himself to the general, since he still does not separate himself from this community. That is why there is no violence and coercion. The idyllic harmony of patriarchal family life (perhaps it was precisely the result of her childhood impressions that remained forever in her soul) for K. is unconditional moral ideal. But it lives in an era when the very spirit of this morality - the harmony between the individual and the moral ideas of the environment - has disappeared and the ossified form is based on violence and coercion. Sensitive K. catches this in her family life in the Kabanovs' house. After listening to the story of the daughter-in-law's life before marriage, Varvara (Tikhon's sister) exclaims in surprise: "But it's the same with us." “Yes, everything here seems to be from bondage,” K. drops, and this is the main drama for her.
It is very important for the whole concept of the play that it is here, in the soul of a woman who is quite “Kalinovskaya” in terms of upbringing and moral ideas, that a new attitude to the world is born, a new feeling, still unclear to the heroine herself: “... Something bad is happening to me, some kind of miracle! .. Something in me is so unusual. I’m just starting to live again, or I don’t know.” This is a vague feeling, which K., of course, cannot explain rationalistically - the awakening feeling of personality. In the soul of the heroine, naturally, in accordance with the whole range of concepts and sphere of life of a merchant's wife, it takes the form of individual, personal love. Passion is born and grows in K., but this passion is highly spiritualized, infinitely far from the thoughtless striving for hidden joys. K. perceives awakened love as a terrible, indelible sin, because love for a stranger for her, married woman, there is a violation of moral duty, the moral commandments of the patriarchal world for K. are full of primordial meaning. With all her heart she wants to be pure and impeccable, her moral demands on herself do not allow compromise. Having already realized her love for Boris, she resists it with all her might, but does not find support in this struggle: “it’s as if I’m standing over an abyss and someone is pushing me there, but there’s nothing for me to hold on to.” Indeed, everything around her is already a dead form. For K., the form and ritual in themselves do not matter - she needs the very essence of human relations, once clothed in this ritual. That is why it is unpleasant for her to bow at the feet of the departing Tikhon and she refuses to howl on the porch, as the guardians of customs expect from her. Not only external forms of domestic use, but even prayer becomes inaccessible to her as soon as she feels the power of sinful passion over herself. N. A. Dobrolyubov was wrong when he asserted that K.'s prayers became boring. On the contrary, K.'s religious sentiments intensify as her mental storm grows. But it is precisely the discrepancy between her sinful internal state and what religious commandments require of her, and does not allow her to pray, as before: K. is too far from the hypocritical gap between the external performance of rituals and worldly practice. With her high morality, such a compromise is impossible. She feels fear of herself, of the desire for will that has grown in her, inseparably merged in her mind with love: “Of course, God forbid this should happen! And if it gets too cold for me here, they won't hold me back by any force. I'll throw myself out the window, I'll throw myself into the Volga. I don’t want to live here, so I won’t, even if you cut me!”
K. was given in marriage young, her family decided her fate, and she accepts this as a completely natural, common thing. She enters the Kabanov family, ready to love and honor her mother-in-law (“For me, mother, everything is the same as my own mother, what are you ...” - she says to Kabanikha in act I, and she does not know how to lie), expecting in advance that her husband will be master over her, but also her support and protection. But Tikhon is not suitable for the role of the head of a patriarchal family, and K. speaks of her love for him: “I feel sorry for him very much!” And in the fight against illegal love for Boris K., despite her attempts, she fails to rely on Tikhon.
"Thunderstorm" is not a "tragedy of love", but rather a "tragedy of conscience". When the fall is over, K. no longer retreats, does not feel sorry for himself, does not want to hide anything, saying to Boris: “If I am not afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid human court!" The consciousness of sin does not leave her at the moment of intoxication with happiness and takes possession of her with great force when happiness is over. K. repents publicly without hope of forgiveness, and it is the complete absence of hope that pushes her to commit suicide, a sin even more serious: “Anyway, I have ruined my soul.” It is not Boris's refusal to take her with him to Kyakhta, but the complete impossibility of reconciling his love for him with the demands of his conscience and his physical aversion to his home prison that kills K.
To explain the character of K., it is not the motivation that is important (radical criticism condemned K. for her love for Boris), but free will, the fact that she suddenly and inexplicably for herself, contrary to her own ideas about morality and order, fell in love with Boris not a “function” (as this is supposed in the patriarchal world, where she must love not the personality of a particular person, but precisely the “function”: father, husband, mother-in-law, etc.), but another person who is not connected with her in any way. And the more inexplicable her attraction to Boris, the clearer that the point is precisely in this free, unpredictable willfulness of individual feeling. And this is precisely the sign of the awakening of the personal principle in this soul, all the moral foundations of which are determined by patriarchal morality. Therefore, K.'s death is predetermined and irreversible, no matter how the people on whom she depends behave: neither her self-consciousness, nor her whole way of life allows the personal feeling that has awakened in her to be embodied in everyday forms. K. is not a victim of anyone personally from those around her (whatever she herself or other characters in the play may think about it), but of the course of life. The world of patriarchal relations dies, and the soul of this world leaves life in torment and suffering, crushed by the ossified form of worldly ties that has lost its meaning, and passes a moral judgment on itself, because in it the patriarchal ideal lives in its primordial content.
In addition to the exact socio-historical characterization, "Thunderstorm" has both a clearly expressed lyrical beginning and powerful symbolism. Both of these are primarily (if not exclusively) associated with the image of K. Ostrovsky consistently correlates fate and speech with the plot and poetics of lyrical songs about female lobe. In this tradition, K.'s story about free life as a girl, a monologue before last date with Boris. The author consistently poeticizes the image of the heroine, using for this even such a means, unconventional for a dramatic kind, as a landscape, which is first described in the remark, then the beauty of the Volga expanses is discussed in Kuligin's conversations, then in the words of K. addressed to Varvara, the motif of a bird and flight appears (" Why do people don't fly?.. You know, sometimes I think I'm a bird. When you stand on a mountain, you are drawn to fly. That's how I would have run up, raised my hands and flew away. In the finale, the motif of the flight is tragically transformed into a fall from the Volga steep, from the very mountain that beckoned to fly. And K. saves K. from a painful life in captivity, the Volga, symbolizing distance and freedom (recall the story of K; about her childhood rebellion, when she, offended, got into a boat and sailed along the Volga - an episode from the biography of Ostrovsky's close friend, actress L. P. Kositskaya , the first performer of the role of K.).
The lyricism of "Thunderstorm" arises precisely because of the closeness of the world of the heroine and the author. The hopes for overcoming social discord, rampant individualistic passions, the cultural gap between the educated classes and the people on the basis of the resurrection of ideal patriarchal harmony, which Ostrovsky and his friends in the Moskvityanin magazine had in the 1850s, did not stand the test of modernity. The “Thunderstorm” was a farewell to them, reflecting the state of the people's consciousness at the turn of the epochs. The lyrical nature of The Thunderstorm was deeply understood by A. A. Grigoriev, himself a former Muscovite, saying about the play: "... as if not a poet, but a whole people created here."
On the example of the life of a single family from the fictional city of Kalinov, Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm" shows the whole essence of the outdated patriarchal structure of Russia in the 19th century. Katerina is the main character of the work. She is opposed to all other actors of the tragedy, even from Kuligin, who also stands out among the inhabitants of Kalinov, Katya is distinguished by the power of protest. The description of Katerina from "Thunderstorm", the characteristics of other characters, the description of the life of the city - all this adds up to a revealing tragic picture, conveyed photographically accurately. The characterization of Katerina from the play "Thunderstorm" by Ostrovsky is not limited to the author's commentary in the list of characters. The playwright does not evaluate the actions of the heroine, relieving himself of the duties of an omniscient author. Thanks to this position, each perceiving subject, whether a reader or a viewer, can himself evaluate the heroine based on his moral convictions.
Katya was married to Tikhon Kabanov, the son of a merchant. It was given out, because then, according to the house building, marriage was more the will of the parents than the decision of young people. Katya's husband is a pitiful sight. The irresponsibility and infantilism of the child, bordering on idiocy, led to the fact that Tikhon is not capable of anything other than drunkenness. In Marfa Kabanova, the ideas of tyranny and hypocrisy inherent in the entire "dark kingdom" were fully embodied.
Katya strives for freedom, comparing herself with a bird. It is hard for her to survive in conditions of stagnation and slavish worship of false idols. Katerina is truly religious, every trip to church seems like a holiday for her, and as a child, Katya often fancied that she heard angelic singing. Sometimes, Katya prayed in the garden, because she believed that the Lord would hear her prayers anywhere, not only in the church. But in Kalinovo, the Christian faith was deprived of any inner content.
Katerina's dreams allow her to briefly escape from the real world. There she is free, like a bird, free to fly wherever she wants, not obeying any laws. “And what dreams I had, Varenka,” continues Katerina, “what dreams! Or golden temples, or unusual gardens, and invisible voices sing, and the smell of cypress, and the mountains and trees seem not to be the same as usual, but as they are written on the images. And it’s like I’m flying, and I’m flying through the air. ” However, in Lately Katerina became inherent in a certain mysticism. Everywhere she begins to see imminent death, and in her dreams she sees the evil one, who warmly embraces her, and then destroys her. These dreams were prophetic.
Katya is dreamy and gentle, but along with her fragility, Katerina's monologues from The Thunderstorm show resilience and strength. For example, a girl decides to meet Boris. She was overcome by doubts, she wanted to throw the key from the gate into the Volga, thought about the consequences, but nevertheless took an important step for herself: “Throw the key! No, not for anything! He is mine now ... Come what may, and I will see Boris! Katya is disgusted with the Kabanikh's house, the girl does not like Tikhon. She thought about leaving her husband and, having received a divorce, live honestly with Boris. But there was nowhere to hide from the tyranny of the mother-in-law. With her tantrums, Kabanikha turned the house into hell, cutting off any opportunity for escape.
Katerina is surprisingly perceptive towards herself. The girl knows about her character traits, about her decisive disposition: “I was born like that, hot! I was still six years old, no more, so I did it! They offended me with something at home, but it was towards evening, it was already dark; I ran out to the Volga, got into the boat and pushed it away from the shore. The next morning they already found it, ten miles away! Such a person will not submit to tyranny, will not be subject to dirty manipulations by the Kabanikh. It is not Katerina's fault that she was born at a time when the wife had to unquestioningly obey her husband, she was an almost disenfranchised application, the function of which was childbearing. By the way, Katya herself says that children could be her joy. But Katya has no children.
The motif of freedom is repeated many times in the work. An interesting parallel is Katerina - Barbara. Sister Tikhon also strives to be free, but this freedom must be physical, freedom from despotism and mother's prohibitions. At the end of the play, the girl runs away from home, finding what she dreamed of. Katerina understands freedom differently. For her, this is an opportunity to do as she wants, to take responsibility for her life, not to obey stupid orders. This is the freedom of the soul. Katerina, like Varvara, gains freedom. But such freedom can only be achieved by suicide.
In the work of Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm", Katerina and the characteristics of her image were perceived differently by critics. If Dobrolyubov saw in the girl a symbol of the Russian soul, tormented by the patriarchal housing construction, then Pisarev saw a weak girl who herself drove herself into such a situation.
Artwork test
Infringed in the rights and early married. Most of the marriages of that time were calculated for profit. If the chosen one was from a wealthy family, this could help to get a high rank. To marry, though not for a beloved young man, but for a wealthy and rich man, was in the order of things. There was no such thing as divorce. Apparently, from such calculations, Katerina was also married to a rich young man, a merchant's son. Married life did not bring her happiness or love, but, on the contrary, became the embodiment of hell, filled with the despotism of her mother-in-law and the lies of the people around her.
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This image in Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm" is the main and at the same time the most controversial. She differs from the inhabitants of Kalinov in her strength of character and self-esteem.
Katerina's life in her parents' house
The formation of her personality was greatly influenced by her childhood, which Katya likes to remember. Her father was a wealthy merchant, she did not feel the need, mother's love and care surrounded her from birth. Her childhood passed cheerfully and carefree.
The main features of Katherine can be called:
- kindness
- sincerity;
- openness.
Her parents took her to church with them, and then she walked and devoted her days to her favorite work. Passion for the church began in childhood with attending church services. Later, it was in the church that Boris would pay attention to her.
When Katerina was nineteen years old, she was given in marriage. And, although, in her husband's house there is everything the same: both walks and work, this no longer gives Katya such pleasure as in childhood.
The former lightness is no longer there, only duties remain. The feeling of support and love of the mother helped her to believe in the existence higher powers. Marriage, which separated her from her mother, deprived Katya of the main thing: love and freedom.
Composition on the topic “the image of Katerina in the Thunderstorm” would be incomplete without getting to know her surroundings. This:
- husband Tikhon;
- mother-in-law Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova;
- husband's sister Barbara.
The person who causes her suffering in family life is her mother-in-law Marfa Ignatievna. Her cruelty, control over the household and subordinating them to her will also apply to her daughter-in-law. The long-awaited wedding of her son did not make her happy. But Katya manages to resist her influence thanks to the strength of her character. This scares the Kabanikha. With all the power in the house, she cannot allow Katerina to influence her husband. And he reproaches his son for loving his wife more than his mother.
In conversations between Katerina Tikhon and Marfa Ignatievna, when the latter openly provokes her daughter-in-law, Katya behaves extremely dignified and friendly, not allowing the conversation to turn into a skirmish, answers briefly and to the point. When Katya says that she loves her like her own mother, the mother-in-law does not believe her, calling it a pretense in front of others. Nevertheless, Katya's spirit cannot be broken. Even in communication with her mother-in-law, she addresses her with “You”, showing by this that they are on the same level, while Tikhon addresses her mother exclusively with “You”.
Katerina's husband cannot be considered either positive or negative characters. In fact, he is a child tired of the control of the parent. However, his behavior and actions are not aimed at changing the situation, all his words end with complaints about his existence. Sister Varvara reproaches him for being unable to stand up for his wife.
In communication with Varvara, Katya is sincere. Varvara warns her that life in this house is impossible without lies, and helps arrange a meeting with her lover.
The connection with Boris is fully revealed by the characterization of Katerina from the play "Thunderstorm". Their relationship develops rapidly. Arriving from Moscow, he fell in love with Katya, and the girl reciprocates his feelings. Although the status of a married woman worries him, he is unable to refuse dates with her. Katya struggles with her feelings, does not want to violate the laws of Christianity, but during her husband's departure, she secretly goes on dates.
After the arrival of Tikhon, on the initiative of Boris, the dates are stopped, he hopes to keep them a secret. But this is contrary to the principles of Katerina, she cannot lie either to others or to herself. The thunderstorm that has begun pushes her to tell about the betrayal, in this she sees a sign from above. Boris wants to go to Siberia, but refuses to take her with him to her request. He probably does not need her, there was no love on his part.
And for Katya, he was a sip fresh air. Having appeared in Kalinov from a foreign world, he brought with him a sense of freedom, which she lacked so much. The rich imagination of the girl appropriated to him those features that Boris never had. And she fell in love, but not with a person, but with her idea of him.
The break with Boris and the inability to connect with Tikhon ends tragically for Katerina. The realization of the impossibility of living in this world prompts her to throw herself into the river. In order to break one of the strictest Christian prohibitions, Katerina needs to have great willpower, but the circumstances leave her no choice. read our article.
<…>We can trace it [ female energy character] development on Katerina's personality.
First of all, “you are struck by the extraordinary originality of this character. There is nothing external, alien in him, but everything comes out somehow from within him; every impression is processed in it and then grows organically with it. We see this, for example, in Katerina's ingenuous story about her childhood and about life in her mother's house. It turns out that her upbringing and young life did not give her anything; in her mother's house it was the same as at the Kabanovs: they went to church, sewed with gold on velvet, listened to the stories of wanderers, dined, walked in the garden, again talked with pilgrims and prayed themselves ... Having listened to Katerina's story, Varvara, her sister her husband, remarks with surprise: “yes, it’s the same with us.” But the difference is determined by Katerina very quickly in five words: “yes, everything here seems to be from bondage!” And further conversation shows that in all this appearance, which is so common with us everywhere, Katerina was able to find her own special meaning, apply it to her needs and aspirations, until the heavy hand of Kabanikha fell upon her. Katerina does not at all belong to violent characters, never satisfied, loving to destroy at all costs ... On the contrary, this character is predominantly creative, loving, ideal. That is why she tries to comprehend and ennoble everything in her imagination;<…>She tries to harmonize any external dissonance with the harmony of her soul, she covers any shortcoming from the fullness of her inner forces. Rude, superstitious stories and senseless ravings of wanderers turn in her into golden, poetic dreams of the imagination, not frightening, but clear, kind. Her images are poor, because the materials presented to her by reality are so monotonous; but even with these meager means, her imagination works tirelessly and carries her into new world, quiet and bright. It is not the rites that occupy her in the church: she does not hear at all what is being sung and read there; she has other music in her soul, other visions, for her the service ends imperceptibly, as if in one second. She looks at the trees, strangely drawn on the images, and imagines a whole country of gardens, where all such trees and all this bloom, smell fragrant, everything is full of heavenly singing. And then she will see on a sunny day, how “from the dome such a bright pillar goes down and smoke is walking in this pillar, like clouds,” and now she already sees, “as if angels in this pillar are flying and singing.” Sometimes she will imagine - why shouldn't she fly too? and when she stands on a mountain, she is drawn to fly like that: she would run like that, raise her hands, and fly. She is strange, extravagant from the point of view of others; but this is because it cannot in any way accept their views and inclinations. She takes materials from them, because otherwise there is nowhere to take them from; but does not draw conclusions, but searches for them herself, and often does not come to what they rest on. We also notice a similar attitude to external impressions in another environment, in people who, by their upbringing, are accustomed to abstract reasoning and who are able to analyze their feelings. The whole difference is that with Katerina, as a direct, living person, everything is done according to the inclination of nature, without a distinct consciousness, while for people who are theoretically developed and strong in mind leading role plays logic and analysis. Strong minds are precisely distinguished by that inner strength that enables them not to succumb to ready-made views and systems, but to create their own views and conclusions on the basis of living impressions. They do not reject anything at first, but they do not stop at anything, but only take everything into account and process it in their own way. Katerina also presents us with analogous results, although she does not resonate and does not even understand her own feelings, but is led by nature. In the dry, monotonous life of my youth, in coarse and superstitious terms environment she was constantly able to take what agreed with her natural aspirations for beauty, harmony, contentment, happiness. In the conversations of wanderers, in prostrations and lamentations, she saw not a dead form, but something else, to which her heart was constantly striving. On the basis of them, she built her own ideal world, without passions, without need, without grief, a world devoted entirely to goodness and pleasure. But what is the real good and true pleasure for a person, she could not determine for herself; this is why these sudden impulses of some kind of unconscious, indistinct aspirations, which she recalls: what I pray and what I cry about; so they will find me. And what I prayed for then, what I asked for, I don’t know; I don’t need anything, I had enough of everything. ” The poor girl, who has not received a broad theoretical education, who does not know everything that is going on in the world, who does not understand well even her own needs, cannot, of course, give herself an account of what she needs. For the time being, she lives with her mother, in complete freedom, without any worldly care, until the needs and passions of an adult have yet been identified in her, she does not even know how to distinguish her own dreams, her inner world from external impressions. Forgetting herself among the praying women in her rainbow thoughts and walking in her bright kingdom, she keeps thinking that her contentment comes precisely from these praying women, from the lamps lit in all corners of the house, from the lamentations resounding around her; with her feelings, she animates the dead environment in which she lives, and merges with it inner world his soul.<…>
In the gloomy surroundings of the new family, Katerina began to feel the lack of appearance, which she had thought to be content with before. Under the heavy hand of the soulless Kabanikh there is no scope for her bright visions, just as there is no freedom for her feelings. In a fit of tenderness for her husband, she wants to hug him, the old woman shouts: “What are you hanging around your neck, shameless? Bow down at your feet!" She wants to be left alone and mourn quietly, as she used to, and her mother-in-law says: “why don’t you howl?” She is looking for light, air, wants to dream and frolic, water her flowers, look at the sun, the Volga, send her greetings to all living things - and she is kept in captivity, she is constantly suspected of impure, depraved plans. She still seeks refuge in religious practice, in church attendance, in soul-saving conversations; but even here he does not find the former impressions. Killed by daily work and eternal bondage, she can no longer dream with the same clarity of angels singing in a dusty pillar illuminated by the sun, she cannot imagine the gardens of Eden with their unperturbed look and joy. Everything is gloomy, terrifying around her, everything breathes cold and some irresistible menace; and the faces of the saints are so strict, and the church readings are so formidable, and the stories of the wanderers are so monstrous... They are still the same in essence, they have not changed in the least, but she herself has changed: she no longer wants to build aerial visions, and certainly not satisfies her that indefinite imagination of bliss, which she enjoyed before. She matured, other desires woke up in her, more real; knowing no other career but her family, no other world than the one that has developed for her in the society of her town, she, of course, begins to recognize from all human aspirations that which is most inevitable and closest to her - the desire for love and devotion. . In the old days, her heart was too full of dreams, she did not pay attention to the young people who looked at her, but only laughed. When she married Tikhon Kabanov, she did not love him either, she still did not understand this feeling; they told her that every girl should get married, showed Tikhon as her future husband, and she went for him, remaining completely indifferent to this step. And here, too, a peculiarity of character is manifested: according to our usual concepts, she should be resisted if she has a decisive character; but she does not think of resistance, because she does not have sufficient grounds for this. She has no special desire to get married, but there is no aversion from marriage either; there is no love in her for Tikhon, but there is no love for anyone else either. She doesn't care for the time being, which is why she lets you do whatever you want with her. One cannot see in this either impotence or apathy, but one can only find a lack of experience, and even too much readiness to do everything for others, taking little care of oneself. She has little knowledge and a lot of gullibility, which is why until the time she does not show opposition to others and decides to endure better than to do it in spite of them.
But when she understands what she needs and wants to achieve something, she will achieve her goal at all costs: then the strength of her character, not wasted in petty antics, will fully manifest itself. At first, according to the innate kindness and nobility of her soul, she will make every possible effort not to violate the peace and the rights of others, in order to get what she wants with the greatest possible observance of all the requirements that are imposed on her by people who are somehow connected with her; and if they manage to take advantage of this initial mood and decide to give her complete satisfaction, then it is good for both her and them. But if not, she will stop at nothing: law, kinship, custom, human judgment, the rules of prudence - everything disappears for her before the power of inner attraction; she does not spare herself and does not think about others. This was precisely the exit presented to Katerina, and another could not be expected in the midst of the situation in which she finds herself.
Dobrolyubov N.A. "A Ray of Light in a Dark Realm"
Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm" was written a year before the abolition of serfdom, in 1859. This work stands out among the other plays of the playwright due to the character main character. In The Thunderstorm, Katerina is the main character through which the conflict of the play is shown. Katerina is not like other residents of Kalinov, she is distinguished by a special perception of life, strength of character and self-esteem. The image of Katerina from the play "Thunderstorm" is formed due to the combination of many factors. For example, words, thoughts, environment, actions.
Childhood
Katya is about 19 years old, she was married early. From Katerina's monologue in the first act, we learn about Katya's childhood. Mommy "didn't have a soul" in her. Together with her parents, the girl went to church, walked, and then did some work. Katerina Kabanova recalls all this with light sadness. An interesting phrase of Varvara that "we have the same thing." But now Katya does not have a feeling of lightness, now "everything is done under duress." In fact, life before marriage practically did not differ from life after: the same actions, the same events. But now Katya treats everything differently. Then she felt supported, felt alive, she dreamed amazing dreams about flights. “And now they dream,” but only much less often. Before her marriage, Katerina felt the movement of life, the presence of some higher forces in this world, she was devout: “how she loved to go to church with passion!
" From the early childhood Katerina had everything she needed: mother's love and freedom. Now, by the will of circumstances, she is cut off from her native person and deprived of her freedom.
Environment
Katerina lives in the same house with her husband, her husband's sister and mother-in-law. This circumstance alone does not contribute to a happy family life. However, the situation is worsened by the fact that Kabanikha, Katya's mother-in-law, is a cruel and greedy person. Greed here should be understood as a passionate, bordering on insanity, desire for something. The boar wants to subordinate everyone and everything to his will. One experience with Tikhon went well for her, the next victim was Katerina. Despite the fact that Marfa Ignatievna was waiting for her son's wedding, she is unhappy with her daughter-in-law. Kabanikha did not expect that Katerina would be so strong in character that she could silently resist her influence. The old woman understands that Katya can turn Tikhon against her mother, she is afraid of this, so she tries in every possible way to break Katya in order to avoid such a development of events. Kabanikha says that his wife has long become dearer to Tikhon than his mother.
“Boar: Al wife takes you away from me, I don’t know.
Kabanov: No, mother!What are you, have mercy!
Katerina: For me, mother, it’s all the same that your own mother, that you, and Tikhon loves you too.
Kabanova: You, it seems, could be silent if you are not asked. What did you jump out in the eyes of something to poke! To see, or what, how you love your husband? So we know, we know, in the eyes of something you prove it to everyone.
Katerina: You are talking about me, mother, in vain. With people, that without people, I’m all alone, I don’t prove anything from myself ”Katerina's answer is quite interesting for several reasons. She, unlike Tikhon, addresses Marfa Ignatievna as you, as if putting herself on a par with her. Katya draws Kabanikhi's attention to the fact that she does not pretend and does not try to seem like someone she is not. Despite the fact that Katya fulfills the humiliating request to kneel before Tikhon, this does not speak of her humility. Katerina is offended by false words: “Who cares to endure in vain?” - with this answer, Katya not only defends herself, but also reproaches the Kabanikha with lies and slander.
Katerina's husband in The Thunderstorm appears to be a gray man. Tikhon is like an overgrown child who is tired of his mother's care, but at the same time does not try to change the situation, but only complains about life. Even his sister, Varvara, reproaches Tikhon with the fact that he cannot protect Katya from the attacks of Marfa Ignatievna. Barbara is the only person who is at least a little interested in Katya, but still she inclines the girl to the fact that she will have to lie and squirm in order to survive in this family.
Relationship with Boris
In The Thunderstorm, the image of Katerina is revealed through love line. Boris came from Moscow on business related to receiving an inheritance. Feelings for Katya flare up suddenly, as do the girl's reciprocal feelings. This is love at first sight. Boris is worried that Katya is married, but he continues to look for meetings with her. Katya, realizing her feelings, tries to give them up. Treason is contrary to the laws of Christian morality and society. Barbara helps the lovers meet. For ten whole days, Katya secretly meets with Boris (while Tikhon was away). Having learned about the arrival of Tikhon, Boris refuses to meet with Katya, he asks Varvara to persuade Katya to keep quiet about their secret meetings. But Katerina is not such a person: she needs to be honest with others and herself. She is afraid of God's punishment for her sin, therefore she regards the raging thunderstorm as a sign from above and talks about betrayal. After that, Katya decides to talk to Boris. It turns out that he is going to leave for Siberia for a few days, but he cannot take the girl with him. It is obvious that Boris does not really need Katya, that he did not love her. But Katya did not like Boris either. More precisely, she loved, but not Boris. In The Thunderstorm, Ostrovsky's image of Katerina endowed her with the ability to see the good in everything, endowed the girl with a surprisingly strong imagination. Katya thought up the image of Boris, she saw in him one of his features - the rejection of Kalinov's reality - and made it the main one, refusing to see other sides. After all, Boris came to ask for money from Wild, just as other Kalinovites did. Boris was for Katya a person from another world, from the world of freedom, the one that the girl dreamed of. Therefore, Boris himself becomes a kind of embodiment of freedom for Katya. She falls in love not with him, but with her ideas about him.
The drama "Thunderstorm" ends tragically. Katya rushes into the Volga, realizing that she cannot live in such a world. And there is no other world. The girl, despite her religiosity, commits one of the worst sins of the Christian paradigm. It takes a lot of willpower to make such a decision. Unfortunately, in those circumstances, the girl had no other choice. Surprisingly, Katya maintains inner purity even after committing suicide.
A detailed disclosure of the image of the main character and a description of her relationship with others actors The play will be useful for 10 classes when preparing for an essay on the topic “The image of Katerina in the play “Thunderstorm””.
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