Bright female images in the play by A.N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm

Some of them have long lost their relevance due to changes in historical realities. But this does not prevent us from still finding the truth of life in beautiful dialogues and characters. One of the greatest dramas that still excite the hearts of readers and fans of the theater is the play created by A. N. Ostrovsky, The Thunderstorm. The opposition of the emotional, quick-tempered and sensitive girl Katerina to the patriarchal family still finds many responses in the souls of people in our time. First of all, because it is a tragedy of human feelings, which in one form or another comes to life in every generation and in any social system.

Katerina and her entourage

Katerina Kabanova is the central character in the play "Thunderstorm". Ostrovsky portrayed her as an extremely whole person. Her very first words in a dialogue with her mother-in-law say a lot: Katya is clearly a very direct, honest girl who does not know how to prevaricate. Hearing indirect attacks in a conversation about herself, she immediately intervenes to clarify the situation. And in a fairly direct, albeit benevolent manner, to resolve the conflict face to face with its instigator. But other members of the Kabanov family are not like that. A despotic mother-in-law does not in any way need to be spoken to directly and openly. It is precisely the atmosphere of omissions, hidden hostility and the ability to subtly and imperceptibly provoke that helps her to divide and rule in her home. This is really the "dark kingdom"! An open conversation, a showdown without involving third parties and the desire to live in harmony are absolutely not in use here. The hypocritical Varvara and the timid obedient Tikhon can do nothing to change the order of things that Kabanova has established once and for all. Bringing to the stage a few heroes of the drama "Thunderstorm", Ostrovsky painted them very carefully, and endowed each with a bright recognizable character.

Were there alternatives?

Having married and fallen in love with another person, Katerina herself slammed the trap, which led her to a tragic end. But even if at the wrong time a feeling for another man did not lead her to a mental crisis and suicide, it is hard to believe that her life could have turned out happily. The inability to fit into either the existing patriarchal system, or the husband's family mired in lies and hypocrisy - all this would sooner or later lead to collapse, the metaphor of which is the impending thunderstorm. Ostrovsky masterfully created an oppressive atmosphere with just a few remarks and showed the approaching denouement of the tragedy that was brewing in the soul of the main character.

Duplicity is the only alternative

Initially brought up to sharply oppose any doublethink, Katerina is not used to hiding something and hiding from loved ones. Varvara, her husband's sister, in this sense is her complete opposite. She, by her own admission, long ago understood “what kind of house she lives in,” and learned to lie to her strict mother and spineless brother Tikhon. Katerina, on the other hand, exaggeratedly does not accept any lie - she even constantly subjects her own conscience to strict interrogations. Naturally, for her, even death is closer than a double life in which there would be a place for a lover. Ostrovsky portrayed her as extremely truthful. "Thunderstorm" in abbreviation will give an idea about the plot and characters, introduce you to the most vivid dialogues. But in order to make an objective judgment about the work, it is better to read it in full. The way the Thunderstorm was originally created. Ostrovsky, without a doubt, is an excellent playwright, and reading will give moments of pleasure to all lovers of good drama.

Two dramas by A. N. Ostrovsky are devoted to the same problem - the position of women in Russian society. Before us are the fates of three young women: Katerina, Varvara, Larisa. Three images, three destinies.
Katerina differs in character from all the characters in the drama "Thunderstorm". Honest, sincere and principled, she is not capable of deceit and falsehood, of resourcefulness and opportunism. Therefore, in a cruel world where wild and wild boars reign, her life turns out to be unbearable, impossible and ends so tragically. Katerina's protest

Against Kabanikha - this is a struggle of light, pure, human against the darkness of lies and cruelty of the "dark kingdom". No wonder Ostrovsky, who paid great attention to names and surnames, gave the heroine of "Thunderstorm" the name Ekaterina, which in Greek means "eternally pure." Katerina is a poetic nature. Unlike the rude people around her, she feels the beauty of nature and loves it. It is the beauty of nature that is natural and sincere. “I used to get up early in the morning; in the summer, so I go to the key, I wash myself, I bring some water with me and that's it, I water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers,” she says of her childhood. Her soul is constantly drawn to beauty. Dreams were filled with miracles, fabulous visions. She often dreamed that she was flying like a bird. She talks about her desire to fly several times. By this, Ostrovsky emphasizes the romantic sublimity of Katerina's soul. Married early, she tries to get along with her mother-in-law, to love her husband, but no one needs sincere feelings in the Kabanovs' house. The tenderness that overwhelms her soul finds no use for itself. Deep melancholy sounds in her words about children: “If only someone’s children! Eco grief! I don’t have children: all I would do is sit with them and amuse them. I love to talk with children very much - they are angels, after all. What a loving wife and mother she would have been under other conditions!
Katerina's sincere faith differs from Kabanikh's religiosity. For Kabanikh, religion is a dark force that suppresses the will of a person, and for Katerina, faith is a poetic world of fairy-tale images and supreme justice. “... I loved going to church to death! For sure, it used to happen that I would enter paradise, and I didn’t see anyone, and I don’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over, ”she recalls.
Captivity is Katerina's main enemy. The external conditions of her life in Kalinovo seem to be no different from those of her childhood. The same motives, the same rituals, that is, the same activities, but “everything here seems to be from bondage,” says Katerina. Bondage is incompatible with the freedom-loving soul of the heroine. “And bondage is bitter, oh, how bitter,” she says in the scene with the key, and these words, these thoughts push her to the decision to see Boris. In the behavior of Katerina, as Dobrolyubov said, a “resolute, integral Russian character” appeared, which “will withstand itself, in spite of any obstacles, and when there is not enough strength, it will die, but will not betray itself.”
Barbara is the exact opposite of Katerina. She is not superstitious, she is not afraid of thunderstorms, she does not consider it necessary to strictly observe established customs. Due to her position, she cannot openly oppose her mother and therefore cunning and deceiving her. She hopes that marriage will give her the opportunity to leave this house, to escape from the "dark kingdom". To Katerina's words that she cannot hide anything, Varvara replies: “Well, you can't do without it! You remember where you live! Our whole house is based on that. And I was not a liar, but I learned when it became necessary. Varvara despises her brother's spinelessness and resents her mother's heartlessness, but she does not understand Katerina. She is only interested in and concerned about the outer side of life. She reconciled herself and adapted to the laws of the old world around her.
Larisa, unlike Katerina, grew up and was brought up in conditions where the weak are humiliated, where the strongest survive. In her character there is no integrity that is in Katerina. Therefore, Larisa does not strive, and cannot make her dreams and desires come true. Her name means "Seagull" in Greek. This bird is associated with something white, light, piercingly screaming. And this image is fully consistent with Larisa.
Katerina and Larisa have different upbringings, different characters, different ages, but they are united by the desire to love and be loved, to find understanding, in a word, to become happy. And each goes to this goal, overcoming the obstacles created by the foundations of society.
Katerina cannot connect with her loved one and finds a way out in death.
Larisa's situation is more complicated. She was disappointed in the person she loved and stopped believing in the existence of love and happiness. Realizing that she is surrounded by lies and deceit, Larisa sees two ways out of the current situation: either the search for material values, or death. And under the circumstances, she chooses the first. But the author does not want to see her as an ordinary dependent woman, and she passes away.

You are now reading: Female images in the plays by A. N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm" and "Dowry"

* This work is not a scientific work, is not a final qualifying work and is the result of processing, structuring and formatting the collected information, intended to be used as a source of material for self-preparation of educational work.

A.N. Ostrovsky searched for the main characters of his plays The Thunderstorm and The Dowry for a very long time. He went through many options, he needed a hero who would simultaneously evoke in the reader: contempt, pity, delight and sympathy. And as the saying goes, “he who seeks will always find”, here Ostrovsky found what he wanted. And it seems to me that it was not in vain that he chose the main characters so deliberately, since they really fit these roles, even if it be the main character of the story "Thunderstorm" - Katerina, even the main character of the story "Dowry" - Larisa. They are both very interesting characters, to some extent they are even very similar, but it is impossible to say that they are the same, because they are not.

In the story "Thunderstorm" the share of the main character Katerina was not sweet to take into account. Yes, in the beginning we see a faithful wife who loves her husband, one might even say a daughter-in-law who is trying to find common language with the mother of the husband, i.e. with mother-in-law. But then, when we begin to learn more and more new things about Katerina, we begin to understand that she does not love her husband at all, she is faithful only because she knows that this is her duty. And she tries not to conflict with her mother-in-law just to make life a little easier for her, in a house where there are only scandals, and which, of course, did not pass without the presence of the grouchy mother-in-law Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova.

And now we see that only it seems that Katerina finds her happiness, falls in love. But even here she cannot be happy, since she is married and there can be no talk of anything like that. But still she goes against the rules and cheats on her husband with a young man, Boris Grigoryevich. We also see that Katerina could not live with such a sin in her soul, and publicly confessed her betrayal. Of course, almost no one understood her and treated her with disdain. Out of shame, she wants to leave with Boris, whom she loves, but he refuses her and leaves alone. And Katerina decides to commit suicide and jumps off a cliff.

As for the story "Dowry", here the main character Larisa is easier, since she is not married and is a completely free girl. But for some reason, this does not prevent her from spoiling her life, at least by the fact that she consents to marriage to someone whom she does not love a bit. And she loves her ex-fiance Paratov, who left her and left. And he returned only when Larisa was almost a married girl. And as it is not difficult to guess, of course, it spoils the life of both Larisa and her fiancé Karandyshev. Paratov deceives the naive Larisa, one might even say he simply uses her as a toy. And of course, he quits and is not at all going to marry her, as he promised her earlier. And she remains alone, unhappy and deceived. Since Larisa cheated on her fiancé, she now cannot return to him, and besides, Karandyshev himself already knows about everything and is looking for Paratov and Larisa in anger. A Larisa meanwhile, in despair, approaches the cliff and wants to commit suicide, but does not dare to do this, and exclaims: “It would be like someone killed me now ...” And some minutes pass and her desire comes true. More precisely, Larisa dies at the hands of her deceived fiancé Karandyshev.

And so, personally, I think that the plays "THE THUNDER" and "THE DOWN" are not so similar, or rather, they are similar only in that both main characters die tragically at the end of the plays. And so, in essence, these two plays are completely different and the fates of Katerina and Larisa are not at all similar.

Of course, if these events took place in our time, then perhaps the finals of the plays "G" and "B" would have developed quite differently.

Being in many ways a turning point for Russian society as a whole, the 19th century suffered many cardinal changes in all areas of public life. Since this process could not but be very significant for the Russian people, it became necessary to draw public attention to it. This function has been taken over by the literature. To raise the most pressing issues of our time, many bright, colorful characters were created. It should be noted that male images traditionally dominated in the works, reflecting the most socially active representatives of the society of that time. However, if you pay attention to the works of many Russian classics, starting with Fonvizin and Griboedov, it is impossible not to notice their interest in depicting female images. Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky was no exception. On the contrary, he created a whole series of very expressive female characters capable, according to Goncharov, “to think, speak and act as they think, speak and act themselves”, each of which is deeply typical and at the same time individual and self-valuable.
It is easy to note that, in general, Ostrovsky's work is dominated by family conflicts, in which the dominant role is played not by a man, but by a woman. The underlying motive here is often the confrontation between the old and the new. Usually it is expressed by a conflict between a strong, despotic woman of the older generation and a young, socially helpless girl (a kind of motive for the relationship between the “executioner and the victim”). This alignment is typical both for Ostrovsky's comedy "The Forest" and for his drama "Thunderstorm".
It should be emphasized that in the comedy "Forest" this conflict is revealed in a more simplified (compared to "Thunderstorm") form. The older generation is represented here by Gurmyzhskaya. Ostrovsky creates a very colorful image of a wealthy landowner, who once shone in the world, now living in the provinces. As one of the most eloquent characteristics, the author cites her imaginary penchant for charity. According to her, she is only “a clerk with her money, and every poor, every unfortunate one is their master.” Gurmyzhskaya is a characteristic type of heroine, which is a noble variant of the “tyranny” principle, so fully revealed by Ostrovsky in The Thunderstorm. In the comedy "The Forest" this motif is not so pronounced. Gurmyzhskaya lives with the knowledge of her former life and does not want to part with them. To do this, she writes out from St. Petersburg the half-educated high school student Bulanov. Ostrovsky very clearly draws a grotesque-comedy image of a careerist and a “resident”. Gurmyzhskaya falls in love with him, and Aksyusha becomes her “opponent”, according to Strakhov, “an honestly and mentally strong girl”, but in many ways inferior to Katerina from “Thunderstorm”, despite the fact that parallels in the construction of the image are clearly traced. For example, she also lives under the auspices of a strong, domineering woman, she also falls in love with a young man who is under the command of her father and wholly and completely dependent on him (it's hard not to remember Boris and Dikoy from Thunderstorm); finally, it also strives for personal freedom, for independent self-determination. However, despite some psychological sketches that are deep in their semantic load (for example, her conversation with Peter, in which she admits: “I have no tears, and there is no great longing, but, I tell you, my heart is empty here”), the image is much more simplified, devoid of the deep psychological analysis characteristic of Ostrovsky in The Thunderstorm. N. A. Dobrolyubov points out that “he does not punish either the villain or the victim.” Indeed, neither Gurmyzhskaya with Bulanov, nor Aksyusha with Peter, and other heroes receive a harsh assessment: Ostrovsky draws the attention of readers not to specific heroes, but to the social types that they represent.
The same situation can be traced in The Thunderstorm, but here a much more detailed construction of the psychological portrait is obvious. In this case, the local nobility gives way to the merchants. The role of Gurmyzhskaya is played by Kabanikha, "a typical tyrant of Russian life."
This is a very colorful figure, symbolizing one of the most significant parts of the “dark kingdom” and speaking on behalf of patriarchal principles. It represents the impersonal “we”, the old order, doomed to perish even in such a “provincial” city of Kalinov, where it still has sufficient strength. The new time frightens the Kabanikha, she feels the changes, notices that “they don’t really respect the elders today,” and tries to maintain Her authority in every way. Ostrovsky emphasizes that she is not doing this out of malice, that her trouble is that she sincerely believes that the young “know nothing, no order” and that “it’s good, whoever has elders in the house, they the house is holding on as long as they are alive.” Just like Gurmyzhskaya, Kabanikha has a strongly developed motive of imaginary charity, she welcomes “wanderers, shows them favors”, listens to their words, at the same time keeping her household in strictness and obedience.
In such conditions, the main character of "Thunderstorm" Katerina finds herself. This is an incomparably more complex (compared to Aksyusha) image, causing a lot of controversy in Russian criticism. In view of its deep internal inconsistency, modern critics tend to highlight the "light and dark sides of the soul" of Katerina. The “bright side” includes her poetry and romanticism, sincere religiosity, as well as her “complete opposition to any arrogant beginnings.” Ostrovsky draws an example of a "female energetic character." Not distinguished by a special education and striving for high ideals, Katerina has a strong sense of inner freedom. Any attempts to impose any restrictions on her turn all her strength and energy into protest. And here the “dark side” of her soul opens, indicating her connection with the “dark kingdom”. Although, according to Dobrolyubov, “Katerina does not at all belong to violent characters, never dissatisfied, loving to destroy at all costs,” she becomes the slave of her emotions. Her wounded pride and offended conceit come to the fore, pushing her onto the sinful path of adultery. It should be noted that, despite her great social dependence, in Ostrovsky it is the woman who plays the leading role in the love triangle, and the beloved does not always correspond to the deep inner decency of the heroine. This situation is observed both in "Thunderstorm" and in "Forest". Actually, Katerina's love for Boris is part of a protest against the growing oppression of the "dark kingdom", a short-term consolation for her. However, completely confused in the current situation, she acutely feels the need for liberation and, being an idealist in her soul, sees it only in death. Ostrovsky emphasizes that this is the only way out in this case, emphasizing this with the words of Boris: “There is only one thing we need to ask God for her to die as soon as possible, so that she does not suffer for a long time!”, And also a short but expressive remark by Tikhon, uttered over the dead Katerina: “It’s good for you, Katya!”
Speaking about the image of Katerina, one cannot fail to mention the figure of Varvara, who here performs the function of a carefree, windy soubrette. Ostrovsky deliberately pushes the reader to compare these two images, focuses even more on the positive features of the main character. “You are kind of tricky, God is with you!” - says Varvara, favorably emphasizing this “sophistication” with her frivolity and, albeit practical, but superficial “grip”. If we turn to the comedy “Forest”, then here the role of soubrette is played by Julitta, the housekeeper of Turmyzhskaya, but she is by no means an antipode, but, on the contrary, a double of her ardent and amorous mistress, she is also possessed by dreams (“So sometimes she will find something like a cloud,” - recognized). Gurmyzhskaya's love affair with Bulanov is emphasized by Ulita's love for Schastlivtsev.
Many female characters are satirical and grotesque in Ostrovsky. In the comedy "The Forest", according to the laws of the genre, this applies to all characters; As for the "Thunderstorm", here it was precisely the satirical female images that were one of the expressions of the comedic principle. This includes the wanderer Feklusha and the “girl” Glasha. Both images can be safely called grotesque-comedy. Feklusha is presented as a narrator of folk tales and legends, appeasing those around her with her stories about how “Saltans rule the earth” and “whatever they judge, everything is wrong”, and about lands “where all people are with dog heads”. Glasha, on the other hand, is a typical reflection of ordinary “Kalinovites”, who listen with reverence to such Feklush, confident that “it’s still good that there are good people; no, no, yes, and you will hear what is happening in the world, otherwise you would have died like fools. Both Feklusha and Glasha belong to the “dark kingdom”, dividing this world into “ours” and “alien”, into patriarchal “virtue”, where everything is “cool and decent”, and into external fuss, from which the old orders and time begin "come to belittlement." With these characters, Ostrovsky introduces the problem of absurd ignorance and lack of enlightenment of the old conservative way of life, its inconsistency with modern trends.
Thus, drawing a line under all of the above, it should be emphasized that, while firmly aware of all the changes and trends in society, Ostrovsky was nevertheless opposed to the ideas of violent transformations and saw his educational activities in a rather traditional aspect: in moral re-education, exposure of vice, the discovery of the virtue of simple and eternal life values. And an important role in the disclosure of this topic was played by such accurately selected and “written out” characters, including female ones, as dominant in many of his plays, including “Thunderstorm” and “Forest”. It was their presence that made possible such plot moves as the conflict between the old and the new generation, the confrontation or, on the contrary, the union of a strong, thoughtful personality and a carefree, but practical staff, the introduction of comedy-grotesque images, and much more, which ultimately ensured the fulfillment of the task. and made Ostrovsky one of the most prominent Russian playwrights of the 19th century.

Katerina differs in character from all the characters in the drama "Thunderstorm". Honest, sincere and principled, she is not capable of deceit and falsehood, of resourcefulness and opportunism. Therefore, in a cruel world where wild and wild boars reign, her life turns out to be unbearable, impossible and ends so tragically. Katerina's protest against Kabanikha is a struggle of the bright, pure, human against the darkness of lies and cruelty of the "dark kingdom". No wonder Ostrovsky, who paid great attention to names and surnames, gave the heroine of "Thunderstorm" the name Ekaterina, which means "eternally pure" in Greek. Katerina is a poetic nature. Unlike the rude people around her, she feels the beauty of nature and loves it. It is the beauty of nature that is natural and sincere. “I used to get up early in the morning; in the summer, I’ll go to the spring, I’ll wash myself, I’ll bring water with me and that’s it, I’ll water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers,” she says about her childhood. Her soul is constantly drawn to beauty. Dreams were filled with miracles, fabulous visions. She often dreamed that she was flying like a bird. She talks about her desire to fly several times. By this, Ostrovsky emphasizes the romantic sublimity of Katerina's soul. Married early, she tries to get along with her mother-in-law, to love her husband, but no one needs sincere feelings in the Kabanovs' house. The tenderness that overwhelms her soul finds no use for itself. Deep melancholy sounds in her words about children: “If only someone’s children! Eco grief! I don’t have children: all I would do is sit with them and amuse them. What a loving wife and mother she would have been under other conditions!

Katerina's sincere faith differs from Kabanikh's religiosity. For Kabanikh, religion is a gloomy force that suppresses the will of a person, and for Katerina, faith is a poetic world of fairy-tale images and supreme justice. “... I loved going to church to death! It’s like, it happened, I’ll 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,” she recalls.

Captivity is Katerina's main enemy. The external conditions of her life in Kalinovo seem to be no different from those of her childhood. The same motives, the same rituals, that is, the same activities, but "everything here seems to be from captivity," says Katerina. Bondage is incompatible with the freedom-loving soul of the heroine. “And bondage is bitter, oh, how bitter,” she says in the scene with the key, and these words, these thoughts push her to the decision to see Boris. In Katerina's behavior, as Dobrolyubov said, a "resolute, integral Russian character" appeared, which "will withstand itself, in spite of any obstacles, and when there is not enough strength, it will die, but will not betray itself."

Barbara is the exact opposite of Katerina. She is not superstitious, she is not afraid of thunderstorms, she does not consider it necessary to strictly observe established customs. Due to her position, she cannot openly oppose her mother and therefore cunning and deceiving her. She hopes that marriage will give her the opportunity to leave this house, to escape from the "dark kingdom". To Katerina's words that | she can't hide anything, Varvara replies: "Well, you can't do without it! You remember where you live! when needed." Varvara despises her brother's spinelessness and resents her mother's heartlessness, but she does not understand Katerina. She is only interested in and concerned about the outer side of life. She reconciled herself and adapted to the laws of the old world around her.

Larisa, unlike Katerina, grew up and was brought up in conditions where the weak are humiliated, where the strongest survive. In her character there is no integrity that is in Katerina. Therefore, Larisa does not strive, and cannot make her dreams and desires come true. Her name means "Seagull" in Greek. This bird is associated with something white, light, piercingly screaming. And this image is fully consistent with Larisa.

Katerina and Larisa have different upbringings, different characters, different ages, but they are united by the desire to love and be loved, to find understanding, in a word, to become happy. And each goes to this goal, overcoming the obstacles created by the foundations of society.

Katerina cannot connect with her loved one and finds a way out in death.

Larisa's situation is more complicated. She was disappointed in the person she loved and stopped believing in the existence of love and happiness. Realizing that she is surrounded by lies and deceit, Larisa sees two ways out of the current situation: either the search for material values, or death. And under the circumstances, she chooses the first. But the author does not want to see her as an ordinary dependent woman, and she passes away.