The main character of the work is Katerina, tragic fate which is described by the author in the play.

Katerina appears as a writer in the form of a beautiful nineteen-year-old girl who got married early. IN early childhood Katerina lived happily with her family, surrounded by maternal love and worries, being free in their movements and passion for church life. The nature of the girl is vulnerable, sensitive and emotional, capable of real, sincere feelings.

The writer characterizes Katerina as a kind, sympathetic, sincere young woman who does not know how to deceive, hypocrisy, and has a charming smile.

Once in her husband's house, Katerina is faced with rejection of her as the wife of her son by her mother-in-law, the cruel and greedy merchant Kabanikha, who turns the life of young people into an unbearable existence.

The gambling desire of the Kabanikha to subjugate her will to all household members, which is on the verge of insanity, is completely directed to the daughter-in-law who has appeared in the house.

The son, slaughtered from childhood by the Kabanikhoy, tired of the tyranny of his mother, but not making attempts to change the situation in the house and constantly complaining about an unhappy life, is not able to protect Katerina from the humiliation and nit-picking of the Kabanikh.

Katerina strives to create a happy and prosperous family, she is very religious and afraid to commit a righteous sin. A passionate feeling of love flares up in Katerina's soul for another man, the nephew of the merchant Wild Boris, who reciprocates her feelings. But the woman is afraid of heavenly punishment for perfect treason and, due to her susceptibility, takes the sudden onset of bad weather in the form of a thunderstorm as a sign of God.

The girl is distinguished by inner purity and sincere honesty not only in relation to herself, but also to others. Therefore, Katerina decides to confess her feelings for Boris to her husband. Having opened up in treason, the girl learns that Boris is not ready to accept her as a wife and does not feel love for her at all.

Katerina begins to realize that Boris is for her a symbol of freedom, dreams of happy life, and, shedding hope, a desperate girl decides to commit suicide by throwing herself from the steep bank of the river.

Revealing the image of the main character of the play, the writer depicts the inner strength of a girl who decides to commit a mortal sin for the sake of the desire for a new life, to get rid of the world of the dark kingdom towards true and true love.

Option 2

Kabanova Katerina Petrovna - the heroine from the play by A.N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm".

Catherine in the play is eighteen years old. Born and raised in the city of Kalinov. Her parents loved her very much. In childhood, Katerina had a lot interesting people, So. how wanderers often came to them and told different stories. She was very religious: every week her mother dressed up in beautiful dresses and took her to church. The girl loved being there.

Katerina Petrovna's character is fighting, fair, kind. Once, as a child, she was offended by something at home. Angry, she got into a boat and sailed far from home. She was married off early. Perhaps because of her character.

Tikhon, her husband, is a timid, calm man. His mother puts pressure on him all the time and tries in every possible way to offend Katerina. Because of this main character forced to defend herself all the time because her husband does not. The main character did not want to put up with the foundations of that family: humiliation, submission, insults. She is the only one who resisted this.

Married Catherine was unhappy. In the house, she normally communicated only with Tikhon's sister, Varenka, who felt sorry for her brother's wife. Katerina began to languish in this family. But one day a young man, Boris, came to their city. The girl immediately drew attention to him, so. as in her opinion he was like no one else. They began to meet when the husband went away on business and did not take his wife with him, even though she begged him. But Katerina was very religious and was afraid to die with sin in her soul. She was not afraid of death, she was only afraid to stand before God with all her sins. Katerina Petrovna confessed to her betrayal.

After that, her life became even worse: at home, constant insults, sometimes beatings, everyone turned away from her. She was ready to run away with Boris because she loved him. Boris was sent to Siberia. He also loved Katerina, but did not take him with him, because he did not want to quarrel with his uncle, on whom his inheritance depended.

At that time, women did not have the opportunity to live independently. If Katerina had run away alone, she would have been caught and severely beaten as punishment. She had only two choices: either return to her husband's house, where she would not have a place to live, or throw herself into the Volga River. She chose the second.

When her dead body was pulled out, many realized (and some already knew) that she was the only person in that area who was worthy of respect.

Composition The image and characteristics of Katerina

Subject female destiny in a harsh society, one of the most striking themes revealed in the works of Ostrovsky. "Thunderstorm" also refers to the cycle of these works. The main character of the play is a collective image.

Katerina is a girl from a decent family who married Tikhon, she loves him, but his mother always teaches her. She doesn’t even let her say goodbye to her husband when he leaves for Moscow.

Katerina is a poor, unhappy married woman, whose image is the image of many girls of that time. She understands that she will spend her whole life in this kingdom of darkness, where she is not loved, although she tries to be a good wife, where she will never become a free bird, which Barbara tells about, but she also does not understand her.

She is the only one light soul in that city. Katerina, even when she fell in love with Boris, experienced feelings of shame and considered herself guilty of this, asked her husband to take her with him, as if she felt that something bad, irreparable would happen.

But Tikhon does not listen to her, he goes on about his mother. Tikhon does not even dare to object to her, and does not stand up for her, although Katerina herself did not become silent, and answered Kabanikha that she offended her in vain.

The author also shows the honesty of the main character, when she is unable to keep her husband in deceit, in front of a terrible riot of the elements, tells him everything about them and Boris. At the same time, the author also emphasizes her bright soul, which is unable to endure the humiliation of Kabanikh, the indifference of her previously beloved husband, and the cowardice of her lover.

She knows that the only way to be released from these shackles is death. The last hope fades when Boris refuses to take her with him.

Although he has every reason to do this, if he truly loved her. But Boris is a coward. main feature the author emphasizes this character at the beginning, when Boris lives with his uncle and endures all the insults and humiliations, and in front of everyone, in the most crowded place, namely on the river embankment, on the main boulevard of the city.

Boris, when he says goodbye to Katerina, feels that something will happen, but he is afraid and Katerina will never see him again.

Her only way to freedom is death, and now, jumping, she feels absolutely happy, and free, now she is a bird!

Option 4

The work "Thunderstorm" by Ostrovsky occupies a special place in the writer's work due to the image of the main character.

Katerina is different from the rest of the "Dark Kingdom" people in that she includes all kindness. However, fate does not spoil her. From her words, we learn that she did not receive an education, since she did not have the opportunity for this. The heroine lived in a village in poverty. But her childhood was carefree. Her mother did not force her to work, and therefore Katerina had a lot of time to do what she liked. It is clearly seen that the girl grew up happy and romantic, loving everything around her. But most importantly, she lived in dreams, isolated from the existing world. Especially Katerina loved to visit the temple and admire the angels. Yes, you can count her as well. But sometimes a contradictory nature woke up in her soul, and she went against some actions.

When Katerina got married, she changed a lot. From a bright world, devoid of deceit and injustice, she falls into the sphere of deceit, cruelty and deceit. And the reason was not at all that her life partner was a man whom she did not even love. It's just that the girl was torn out of the bright and kind world, where she had been for a long time. And now she does not give much pleasure to go to church. A girl cannot go about her daily activities the way she did before marriage. She is always in a sad and depressed state, which prevents her from even admiring the beauties of nature. She has to endure and suffer, and the girl can no longer live with her thoughts, since reality returns her to the place where there is humiliation and insult. The girl is trying to love her husband, but all her feelings are suppressed by the Kabanikha. Because of her humility, she tries to show her feelings towards Tikhon, but he does not appreciate it. Then Katerina becomes quite lonely.

And the heroine cannot live in her husband's house, pretending. A woman has a conflict with her mother-in-law. She frightens the Boar with her sincerity and purity. Katerina did not howl in the house after her husband left, as Kabanikha wanted. And what courage one had to have to express one's feelings to Boris. Running away from the hated house, Katerina seeks to find support from Boris, but she encounters a weak-willed and weak person. The woman remains completely alone, and she can only leave this terrible world. It seems to me that only a person with strong character. For us, Katerina embodies a simple, bright and Russian soul, which encourages us to fight against rudeness, ignorance, tyranny, which are still present.

If you had the opportunity to choose your own housing, you should stay in a spacious house. It must have a large living room so that the whole family can get together and talk at least once a week

The Thunderstorm was published in 1860. Difficult times. The country smelled of revolution. Traveling along the Volga in 1856, the author made sketches of the future work, where he tried to depict most accurately the merchant world of the second half of the 19th century. There is an unresolvable conflict in the play. It was he who led to the death of the main character, who could not cope with her emotional state. The image and characterization of Katerina in the play "Thunderstorm" is a portrait of a strong, extraordinary personality, forced to exist in a small patriarchal city. The girl could not forgive herself for betrayal, giving herself up to human lynching, not even hoping to earn forgiveness. For which she paid with her life.

Katerina Kabanova is the wife of Tikhon Kabanov. Daughter-in-law of Kabanikhi.

Image and characteristics

After marriage, Katerina's world collapsed. Her parents spoiled her, cherished her like a flower. The girl grew up in love and with a sense of boundless freedom.

“My mother did not have a soul in me, dressed me up like a doll, did not force me to work; I do what I want".

As soon as she found herself in her mother-in-law's house, everything changed. The orders, the laws are the same, but now from a beloved daughter, Katerina has become a subordinate daughter-in-law, whom her mother-in-law hated with every fiber of her soul and did not even try to hide her attitude towards her.

When she was very young, she was given to a strange family.

“Young people gave you in marriage, you didn’t have to walk in the girls; your heart hasn't left yet."

So it should be, for Katerina it was normal. For love in those days, no one built a family. Endure - fall in love. She is ready to submit, but with respect and love. In the house of the husband about such concepts did not know.

“Was I like that! I lived, didn’t grieve about anything, like a bird in the wild ... "

Catherine is free-spirited. Resolute.

“This is how I was born, 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!

She is not one of those who submit to tyrants. She is not afraid of dirty intrigues from Kabanova. For her, freedom is everything. Do not follow idiotic orders, do not bend under the influence of others, but do what your heart desires.

Her soul languished in anticipation of happiness and mutual love. Tikhon, Katerina's husband, loved her, in his own way, as best he could, but his mother's influence on him, setting him against his young wife, was too strong. He preferred to suppress problems with alcohol, and he ran away from conflicts in the family on long-distance business trips.

Katerina was often alone. They did not make children with Tikhon.

"Eco woe! I don’t have children: all I would do was sit with them and amuse them. I love to talk with children very much - they are angels, after all.

The girl was increasingly sad about her worthless life, praying in front of the altar.

Catherine is religious. Going to church is like a holiday. There she rested her soul. As a child, she heard angels singing. She believed that God would hear prayers everywhere. When it was not possible to go to the temple, the girl prayed in the garden.

A new round of life is associated with the arrival of Boris. She understands that passion for a strange man is a terrible sin, but she cannot cope with it.

“After all, this is not good, this is a terrible sin, Varenka, why do I love another?”

She tried to resist, but she did not have enough strength and support:

“It’s as if I’m standing over an abyss, but there’s nothing for me to hold on to.”

The feeling was too strong.

Sinful love raised a wave inner fear for your act. The stronger her love for Boris grew, the more she felt sinfulness. She clutched at the last straw, calling out to her husband with a request to take her with him, but Tikhon was a narrow-minded person and could not understand his wife's mental suffering.

Bad dreams, an irreversible premonition of impending disaster drove Katerina crazy. She felt the coming of retribution. With each peal of a thunderstorm, it seemed to her that God was throwing arrows at her.

Tired of the internal struggle, Katerina publicly confesses to her husband in treason. Even in this situation, the spineless Tikhon was ready to forgive her. Boris, having learned about her repentance, under pressure from his uncle, leaves the city, leaving his beloved to the mercy of fate. Katerina did not receive support from him. Unable to bear the mental anguish, the girl rushes into the Volga.

- this nature is not malleable, not bending. It has a highly developed personality, it has a lot of strength, energy; her rich soul demands freedom, breadth, - she does not want to secretly "steal" joy from life. She can not bend, but break. (See also the article The image of Katerina in the play "Thunderstorm" - briefly.)

A. N. Ostrovsky. Storm. Play. Series 1

Katerina received a purely national upbringing, worked out by the ancient Russian pedagogy of Domostroy. All her childhood and youth she lived locked up, but the atmosphere of parental love softened this life - besides, the influence of religion prevented her soul from hardening in suffocating loneliness. On the contrary, she did not feel bondage: “she lived - she didn’t grieve about anything, like a bird in the wild!”. Katerina often went to churches, listened to the stories of wanderers and pilgrims, listened to the singing of spiritual verses - she lived carefree, surrounded by love and affection ... And she grew up a beautiful, tender girl, with a fine spiritual organization, a big dreamer ... Raised in a religious way, she lived exclusively in a circle religious beliefs; her rich imagination was nourished only by those impressions that she drew from the life of the saints, from legends, apocrypha and those moods that she experienced during the service ...

“...until death, I loved to go to church! - she later recalled her youth in a conversation with her husband's sister Varvara. - Exactly, I used to go into paradise ... And I don’t see anyone, and I don’t remember the time, and I don’t hear when the service is over. Mamma used to say that everyone used to look at me, what was happening to me! And, you know, on a sunny day, such a light pillar goes down from the dome and smoke goes up in this pillar, like clouds. And I see, it used to be, a girl, I would get up at night - we also had lamps burning everywhere - but somewhere, in a corner and pray until the morning. Or I’ll go into the garden early in the morning, just as soon as the sun rises, I’ll fall on my knees, pray and cry, and I myself don’t know what I’m praying for and what I’m crying about!

From this story it is clear that Katerina was not just a religious person - she knew moments of religious "ecstasy" - that enthusiasm, which the holy ascetics were rich in, and examples of which we will find in abundance in the lives of the saints ... Like them, Katerina matured "visions" and wonderful dreams.

“And what dreams I had, Varenka, what dreams! Or golden temples, or some extraordinary gardens... And everyone sings invisible voices, and smells of cypress... Both the mountains and the trees, as if not the same as usual, but as they are written on the images!

From all these stories of Katerina it is clear that she is not quite an ordinary person... Her soul, squeezed by the old way of life, seeks space, does not find it around her, and is carried away "woe", to God... Many such natures in the old days went into "asceticism"...

But sometimes, in relations with relatives, the energy of her soul broke through - she did not go "against people" but, indignant, protesting, she left then "from people"...

“I was born so hot! She tells Barbara. - 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! ..

Eh, Varya, you don't know my character! Of course, God forbid this happens! 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!”

From these words it is clear that the calm, dreamy Katerina knows impulses that are difficult to cope with.

In the drama "Thunderstorm" Ostrovsky created a very psychologically complex image - the image of Katerina Kabanova. This young woman disposes the viewer with her huge, pure soul, childlike sincerity and kindness. But she lives in the musty atmosphere of the "dark kingdom" of merchant morals. Ostrovsky managed to create a bright and poetic image of a Russian woman from the people. Main story line the plays are a tragic conflict between the living, feeling soul of Katerina and the dead way of life of the “dark kingdom”. Honest and touching Katerina turned out to be a disenfranchised victim of the cruel orders of the merchant environment. No wonder Dobrolyubov called Katerina "a ray of light in a dark kingdom." Katerina did not reconcile herself to despotism and tyranny; driven to despair, she challenges the "dark kingdom" and dies. Only in this way can she save herself from the rough pressure of her inner world. According to critics, for Katerina “not death is desirable, but life is unbearable. To live for her means to be herself. Not to be herself means not to live for her.

The image of Katerina is built on a folk-poetic basis. Her pure soul is merged with nature. She presents herself as a bird, the image of which in folklore is closely connected with the concept of will. “I lived, didn’t grieve about anything, like a bird in the wild.” Katerina, who ended up in Kabanova's house, as in a terrible prison, often remembers her parents' house, where she was treated with love and understanding. Talking to Varvara, the heroine asks: "... Why do people do not fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm a bird." Katerina is torn to freedom from the cage, where she is forced to remain until the end of her days.

Religion evoked high feelings, a surge of joy and reverence in her. The beauty and fullness of the heroine's soul were expressed in prayers to God. “On a sunny day, such a bright pillar goes down from the dome, and smoke walks in this pillar, like clouds, and I see, it used to be that angels in this pillar fly and sing. And then, it happened ... I would get up at night ... but somewhere in a corner and pray until the morning. Or early in the morning I’ll go to the garden, as soon as the sun rises, I’ll fall on my knees, pray and cry.”

Katerina expresses her thoughts and feelings in poetic folk language. The melodious speech of the heroine is colored by love for the world, the use of many diminutive forms characterizes her soul. She says “sunshine”, “voditsa”, “grave”, often resorts to repetitions, as in the songs: “on a troika on a good one”, “people are disgusting to me, and the house is disgusting to me, and the walls are disgusting.” Trying to throw out the feelings seething in her, Katerina exclaims: “Wild winds, transfer my sadness and longing to him!”

The tragedy of Katerina is that she does not know how and does not want to lie. And in the "dark kingdom" lies are the basis of life and relationships. Boris tells her: "No one will know about our love ...", to which Katerina replies: "Let everyone know, let everyone see what I'm doing!" These words reveal the courageous, wholesome nature of this woman, who risks challenging philistine morality, confronting society alone.

But, having fallen in love with Boris, Katerina enters into a struggle with herself, with her convictions. She, a married woman, feels like a great sinner. Her faith in God is not the hypocrisy of Kabanikha, who covers up her malice and misanthropy with God. Awareness of one's own sinfulness, pangs of conscience haunt Katerina. She complains to Varya: “Ah, Varya, sin is on my mind! How much I, poor thing, cried, what I did not do to myself! I can't get away from this sin. Nowhere to go. After all, this is not good, this is a terrible sin, Varenka, that I love another? Katerina does not think about the fact that they committed violence against her, giving her in marriage to the unloved. Her husband, Tikhon, is happy to leave home and does not want to protect his wife from her mother-in-law. Her heart tells her that her love is the greatest happiness, in which there is nothing wrong, but the morality of society and the church does not forgive the free manifestation of feelings. Katerina wrestles with unresolvable questions.

The tension in the play is growing, Katerina is afraid of a thunderstorm, hears the terrible prophecies of a crazy lady, sees a picture on the wall depicting doomsday. In the darkening of her mind, she repents of her sin. Repentance from a pure heart according to religious laws necessarily requires forgiveness. But people have forgotten the kind, forgiving and loving God, they still have a punishing and punishing God. Katerina does not receive forgiveness. She does not want to live and suffer, she has nowhere to go, her beloved turned out to be as weak and dependent as her husband. Everyone betrayed her. The church considers suicide a terrible sin, but for Katerina it is an act of despair. It is better to be in hell than to live in the "dark kingdom". The heroine cannot harm anyone, so she decides to die herself. Throwing herself off a cliff into the Volga, Katerina at the last moment thinks not about her sin, but about love, which illuminated her life with great happiness. Last words Katerina turned to Boris: “My friend! My joy! Goodbye!" One can only hope that God will be more merciful to Katerina than people.

• In The Thunderstorm, Ostrovsky shows the life of a Russian merchant family and the position of a woman in it. The character of Katerina was formed in a simple merchant family, where love reigned and her daughter was given complete freedom. She acquired and retained all the beautiful features of the Russian character. This is a pure, open soul that does not know how to lie. “I don’t know how to deceive; I can’t hide anything,” she says to Varvara. In religion Katerina found the highest truth and beauty. Her desire for the beautiful, the good, was expressed in prayers. Coming out […]
• Whole, honest, sincere, she is not capable of lies and falsehood, therefore, in a cruel world where wild and wild boars reign, her life is so tragic. Katerina's protest against the despotism of Kabanikha is the struggle of the bright, pure, human against the darkness, lies and cruelty of the "dark kingdom". No wonder Ostrovsky, who paid great attention to the selection of names and surnames actors, gave such a name to the heroine of "Thunderstorm": translated from Greek, "Catherine" means "eternally pure." Katerina is a poetic nature. IN […]
• Katerina Varvara Character Sincere, sociable, kind, honest, pious, but superstitious. Gentle, soft, at the same time, decisive. Rude, cheerful, but taciturn: "... I don't like to talk a lot." Determined, can fight back. Temperament Passionate, freedom-loving, bold, impetuous and unpredictable. She says about herself “I was born so hot!”. Freedom-loving, smart, prudent, bold and rebellious, she is not afraid of either parental or heavenly punishment. Upbringing, […]
• Thunderstorm was published in 1859 (the day before revolutionary situation in Russia, in the "pre-storm" era). Its historicism lies in the conflict itself, the irreconcilable contradictions reflected in the play. She responds to the spirit of the times. "Thunderstorm" is an idyll of the "dark kingdom". Tyranny and silence are brought in it to the limit. In the play, a real heroine from the people's environment appears, and it is the description of her character that is given the main attention, and the little world of the city of Kalinov and the conflict itself are described more generally. "Their life […]
• The Thunderstorm by A. N. Ostrovsky made a strong and deep impression on his contemporaries. Many critics were inspired by this work. However, in our time it has not ceased to be interesting and topical. Raised to the category of classical drama, it still arouses interest. The arbitrariness of the "older" generation lasts for many years, but some event must occur that could break the patriarchal tyranny. Such an event is the protest and death of Katerina, which awakened other […]
• The play by Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm" is historical for us, as it shows the life of the bourgeoisie. "Thunderstorm" was written in 1859. It is the only work of the cycle "Nights on the Volga" conceived, but not realized by the writer. The main theme of the work is a description of the conflict that arose between two generations. The Kabanihi family is typical. The merchants cling to their old ways, not wanting to understand the younger generation. And because the young do not want to follow the traditions, they are suppressed. I'm sure, […]
• In "Thunderstorm" Ostrovsky, operating with a small number of characters, managed to uncover several problems at once. Firstly, it is, of course, a social conflict, a clash of "fathers" and "children", their points of view (and if we resort to generalization, then two historical epochs). Kabanova and Dikoy belong to the older generation, actively expressing their opinion, and Katerina, Tikhon, Varvara, Kudryash and Boris belong to the younger one. Kabanova is sure that order in the house, control over everything that happens in it, is the key to a good life. Correct […]
• Let's start with Catherine. In the play "Thunderstorm" this lady is the main character. What is the problem with this work? The issue is the main question that the author asks in his creation. So the question here is who will win? The dark kingdom, which is represented by the bureaucrats of the county town, or the bright beginning, which is represented by our heroine. Katerina is pure in soul, she has a tender, sensitive, loving heart. The heroine herself is deeply hostile to this dark swamp, but is not fully aware of it. Katerina was born […]
• The critical history of "Thunderstorm" begins even before its appearance. To argue about "a ray of light in the dark realm", it was necessary to open the "Dark Realm". An article under this title appeared in the July and September issues of Sovremennik in 1859. It was signed by the usual pseudonym of N. A. Dobrolyubova - N. - bov. The reason for this work was extremely significant. In 1859, Ostrovsky summed up the interim literary activity: his two-volume collected works appear. "We consider it the most [...]
• Dramatic events of the play by A.N. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" are deployed in the city of Kalinov. This town is located on the picturesque bank of the Volga, from the high steepness of which the vast Russian expanses and boundless distances open up to the eye. “The view is extraordinary! Beauty! The soul rejoices, ”the local self-taught mechanic Kuligin admires. Pictures of endless distances, echoed in a lyrical song. In the midst of the flat valley," which he sings, have great importance to convey a sense of the immense possibilities of the Russian […]
• Katerina - main character Ostrovsky's drama "Thunderstorm", wife of Tikhon, daughter-in-law of Kabanikhi. The main idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe work is the conflict of this girl with " dark kingdom", the kingdom of tyrants, despots and ignoramuses. You can find out why this conflict arose and why the end of the drama is so tragic by understanding Katerina's ideas about life. The author showed the origins of the character of the heroine. From the words of Katerina, we learn about her childhood and adolescence. Here is an ideal version of patriarchal relations and the patriarchal world in general: “I lived, not about […]
• A conflict is a clash of two or more parties that do not coincide in their views, attitudes. There are several conflicts in Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm", but how to decide which one is the main one? In the era of sociologism in literary criticism, it was believed that social conflict was the most important thing in a play. Of course, if we see in the image of Katerina a reflection of the spontaneous protest of the masses against the shackling conditions of the “dark kingdom” and perceive the death of Katerina as the result of her collision with the tyrant mother-in-law, […]
• In general, the history of the creation and the idea of ​​the play “Thunderstorm” are very interesting. For some time there was an assumption that this work was based on real events that took place in the Russian city of Kostroma in 1859. “In the early morning of November 10, 1859, the Kostroma bourgeois Alexandra Pavlovna Klykova disappeared from the house and either threw herself into the Volga, or was strangled and thrown there. The investigation revealed a dull drama that played out in an unsociable family living with narrowly trading interests: […]
• Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky was endowed with a great talent as a playwright. He is deservedly considered the founder of the Russian national theater. His plays, varied in subject matter, glorified Russian literature. Creativity Ostrovsky had a democratic character. He created plays in which hatred for the autocratic-feudal regime was manifested. The writer called for the protection of the oppressed and humiliated citizens of Russia, longed for social change. The great merit of Ostrovsky is that he opened the enlightened […]
• Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky was called the "Columbus of Zamoskvorechye", a district of Moscow where people from the merchant class lived. He showed what a tense, dramatic life goes on behind high fences, what Shakespearean passions sometimes seethe in the souls of representatives of the so-called "simple class" - merchants, shopkeepers, petty employees. The patriarchal laws of the world that is fading into the past seem unshakable, but a warm heart lives according to its own laws - the laws of love and kindness. Heroes of the play "Poverty is not a vice" […]
• The love story of the clerk Mitya and Lyuba Tortsova unfolds against the backdrop of life merchant's house. Ostrovsky once again delighted his fans with his remarkable knowledge of the world and surprisingly vivid language. Unlike earlier plays, in this comedy there is not only the soulless factory owner Korshunov and Gordey Tortsov, who boasts of his wealth and power. They are opposed by simple and sincere people, kind and loving Mitya, and the squandered drunkard Lyubim Tortsov, who, despite his fall, […]
• The focus of the writers of the 19th century is a person with a rich spiritual life, a changeable inner world. The new hero reflects the state of the individual in the era of social transformations. The authors do not ignore the complex conditionality of the development of the human psyche by the external material situation.
• The action of the drama takes place in the Volga city of Bryakhimov. And in it, as elsewhere, cruel orders reign. The society here is the same as in other cities. The main character of the play, Larisa Ogudalova, is a dowry. The Ogudalov family is not rich, but, thanks to the perseverance of Kharita Ignatievna, he makes acquaintance with the powers that be. Mother inspires Larisa that, although she does not have a dowry, she should marry a rich groom. And Larisa, for the time being, accepts these rules of the game, naively hoping that love and wealth […]
• A special hero in the world of Ostrovsky, adjoining the type of a poor official with a sense of his own dignity, is Karandyshev Julius Kapitonovich. At the same time, pride in him is so hypertrophied that it becomes a substitute for other feelings. Larisa for him is not just a beloved girl, she is also a “prize” that makes it possible to triumph over Paratov, a chic and rich rival. At the same time, Karandyshev feels like a benefactor, taking as his wife a dowry, partly compromised by […]
• Hero Portrait Social status Character traits Relations with other heroes Khor Bald, short, broad-shouldered and stocky old man. Reminds me of Socrates: a high, knobby forehead, small eyes and a snub nose. The beard is curly, the mustache is long. Movement and manner of speaking with dignity, slowly. He speaks little, but "understands to himself." A quitrent peasant pays quitrent without redeeming his freedom. He lives apart from other peasants, in the middle of the forest, settling down in a cleared and developed clearing. […]

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 drawn an ideal version of patriarchal relations and the patriarchal world in general. The main motive of her story is the motive of all-penetrating mutual love: “I lived, didn’t grieve about anything, like a bird in the wild, what I want, it happened, I do it.” 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 completely “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, but 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 it should be in patriarchal world, where she should love not the personality of a particular person, but precisely the “function”: father, husband, mother-in-law, etc.), but another person who is not related to 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 Trans-Volga expanses is discussed in Kuligin’s conversations, then in K.’s words addressed to Varvara, the motive of a bird and flight appears (“Why don’t people fly? .. You know, sometimes it seems to me that I’m a bird. flew"). 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. is saved from a painful life in captivity by 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."