Moral problems in the play by A.N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm"
- The problem of fathers and children
- The problem of self-realization
- The problem of power
- The problem of love
- Conflict between old and new
In literary criticism, the problematics of a work are the range of problems that are addressed in one way or another in the text. This may be one or more aspects that the author focuses on. In this work we will talk about the problems of Ostrovsky’s “The Thunderstorm”. A. N. Ostrovsky received a literary vocation after his first published play. “Poverty is not a vice”, “Dowry”, “Profitable Place” - these and many other works are devoted to social and everyday themes, however, the issue of the problems of the play “The Thunderstorm” needs to be considered separately.
The play was received ambiguously by critics. Dobrolyubov saw in Katerina hope for new life, Ap. Grigoriev noticed the emerging protest against the existing order, and L. Tolstoy did not accept the play at all. The plot of “The Thunderstorm,” at first glance, is quite simple: everything is based on a love conflict. Katerina secretly meets with a young man while her husband left for another city on business. Unable to cope with the pangs of conscience, the girl admits to treason, after which she rushes into the Volga.
However, behind all this everyday, everyday life, lies much larger things that threaten to grow to the scale of space. Dobrolyubov calls the “dark kingdom” the situation described in the text. An atmosphere of lies and betrayal. In Kalinov, people are so accustomed to moral filth that their resigned consent only aggravates the situation. It becomes scary to realize that it was not the place that made people like this, it was the people who independently turned the city into a kind of accumulation of vices. And now the “dark kingdom” is beginning to influence the inhabitants. After a detailed reading of the text, you can see how widely the problems of the work “The Thunderstorm” have been developed. The problems in Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm" are diverse, but at the same time they do not have a hierarchy. Each individual problem is important in its own right.
The problem of fathers and children
Here we are not talking about misunderstanding, but about total control, about patriarchal orders. The play shows the life of the Kabanov family. At that time, the opinion of the eldest man in the family was undeniable, and wives and daughters were practically deprived of their rights. The head of the family is Marfa Ignatievna, a widow. She took on male functions. This is a powerful and calculating woman. Kabanikha believes that she takes care of her children, ordering them to do as she wants. This behavior led to quite logical consequences. Her son, Tikhon, is a weak and spineless person. His mother, it seems, wanted to see him this way, because in this case it is easier to control a person. Tikhon is afraid to say anything, to express his opinion; in one of the scenes he admits that he doesn’t have his own point of view at all. Tikhon cannot protect either himself or his wife from his mother’s hysterics and cruelty. Kabanikha’s daughter, Varvara, on the contrary, managed to adapt to this lifestyle. She easily lies to her mother, the girl even changed the lock on the gate in the garden so that she could go on dates with Curly without hindrance.
Tikhon is incapable of any rebellion, while Varvara, at the end of the play, runs away from her parents' house with her lover.
The problem of self-realization
When talking about the problems of “The Thunderstorm,” one cannot fail to mention this aspect. The problem is realized in the image of Kuligin. This self-taught inventor dreams of making something useful for all residents of the city. His plans include assembling a perpeta mobile, building a lightning rod, and generating electricity. But this whole dark, semi-pagan world needs neither light nor enlightenment. Dikoy laughs at Kuligin’s plans to find an honest income and openly mocks him. After a conversation with Kuligin, Boris understands that the inventor will never invent a single thing. Perhaps Kuligin himself understands this. He could be called naive, but he knows what morals reign in Kalinov, what happens behind closed doors, what those in whose hands the power is concentrated are like. Kuligin learned to live in this world without losing himself. But he is not able to sense the conflict between reality and dreams as keenly as Katerina did.
The problem of power
In the city of Kalinov, power is not in the hands of the relevant authorities, but in those who have money. Proof of this is the dialogue between the merchant Dikiy and the mayor. The mayor tells the merchant that complaints are being received against the latter. Savl Prokofievich responds rudely to this. Dikoy does not hide the fact that he is cheating ordinary men; he talks about deception as a normal phenomenon: if merchants steal from each other, then it is possible to steal from ordinary residents. In Kalinov, nominal power decides absolutely nothing, and this is fundamentally wrong. After all, it turns out that it is simply impossible to live without money in such a city. Dikoy imagines himself almost like a priest-king, deciding who to lend money to and who not. “So know that you are a worm. If I want, I’ll have mercy, if I want, I’ll crush you,” is how Dikoy answers Kuligin.
The problem of love
In "The Thunderstorm" the problem of love is realized in the couples Katerina - Tikhon and Katerina - Boris. The girl is forced to live with her husband, although she does not feel any feelings other than pity for him. Katya rushes from one extreme to another: she thinks between the option of staying with her husband and learning to love him, or leaving Tikhon. Katya's feelings for Boris flare up instantly. This passion pushes the girl to take a decisive step: Katya goes against public opinion and Christian morality. Her feelings turned out to be mutual, but for Boris this love meant much less. Katya believed that Boris, like her, was incapable of living in a frozen city and lying for profit. Katerina often compared herself to a bird; she wanted to fly away, to break out of that metaphorical cage, but in Boris Katya saw that air, that freedom that she so lacked. Unfortunately, the girl was mistaken about Boris. The young man turned out to be the same as the residents of Kalinov. He wanted to improve relations with Dikiy in order to get money, and he talked with Varvara about the fact that it was better to keep his feelings for Katya secret for as long as possible.
Conflict between old and new
It's about resistance patriarchal way of life life with a new order that implies equality and freedom. This topic was very relevant. Let us remember that the play was written in 1859, and serfdom was abolished in 1861. Social contradictions reached their climax. The author wanted to show what the lack of reforms and decisive action can lead to. Tikhon’s final words confirm this. “Good for you, Katya! Why did I stay in the world and suffer!” In such a world, the living envy the dead.
This contradiction most strongly affected the main character of the play. Katerina cannot understand how one can live in lies and animal humility. The girl was suffocating in the atmosphere that had been created by the residents of Kalinov for a long time. She is honest and pure, so her only desire was so small and so great at the same time. Katya just wanted to be herself, to live the way she was raised. Katerina sees that everything is not at all as she imagined before her marriage. She cannot even allow herself a sincere impulse - to hug her husband - Kabanikha controlled and suppressed any attempts by Katya to be sincere. Varvara supports Katya, but cannot understand her. Katerina is left alone in this world of deceit and dirt. The girl could not bear such pressure; she finds salvation in death. Death frees Katya from the burden of earthly life, turning her soul into something light, capable of flying away from the “dark kingdom.”
We can conclude that the problems raised in the drama “The Thunderstorm” are significant and relevant to this day. These are unresolved questions of human existence that will worry people at all times. It is thanks to this formulation of the question that the play “The Thunderstorm” can be called a timeless work.
Problematics of Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" - description of problems for an essay on the topic |
Reflections on the moral dimension of the problem of relationships between generations (based on the drama by A.N. Ostrovsky “The Thunderstorm”).
Morality is the rules that determine people's behavior. Behavior (action) expresses internal state of a person, manifested through his spirituality (intelligence, development of thought) and the life of the soul (feeling).
Morality in the lives of the older and younger generations is associated with the eternal law of succession. The young take over from the old life experience and traditions, and wise elders teach the young the rules of life - “wit and reason”. However, young people are characterized by courage of thought, an unbiased view of things without reference to established opinions. It is because of this that conflicts and differences of opinion often arise between them.
Actions and life assessments of the heroes of the drama by A.N. Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm" (1859) reflects their morality.
Representatives of the merchant class of Dikaya and Kabanov are those people whose wealth and importance among the residents of the city of Kalinov determine their high position. Those around them feel the power of their influence, and this power is capable of breaking the will of dependent people, humiliating the unfortunate, and realizing their own insignificance in comparison with the “powers of this world.” Therefore, Savel Prokofievich Dikoy, “ significant person in the city” does not meet with any contradiction. He holds his family in awe, who hide “in attics and closets” during the days of his anger; loves to instill fear in people who do not dare to make a murmur about their salary; holds Boris’s nephew in a black body, having robbed him and his sister, brazenly appropriating their inheritance; denounce, insult, meek Kuligin.
Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova, known in the city for her piety and wealth, also has her own ideas about morality. For her, the desire of the younger generation for “freedom” is criminal, because what good is it that both her son’s young wife and her daughter, the “girl,” will stop “afraid” of both Tikhon and herself, the omnipotent and infallible. “They don’t know anything, there’s no order,” the old woman gets angry. “Order” and “old times” are the basis on which the Wild and Kabanovs rely. But their tyranny loses self-confidence; it is not able to stop the development of young forces. New concepts and relationships inevitably come into life and crowd out old forces, obsolete standards of life and established morality. So Kuligin, a naive man, wants to ennoble Kalinov by building a lightning rod and a sundial. And he, impudent, dares to read Derzhavin’s poems, glorifying “the mind,” before “his dignity,” the all-powerful merchant, who is on friendly terms with the mayor himself, the head of the city. And Marfa Ignatievna’s young daughter-in-law, when saying goodbye, “throws herself on her husband’s neck.” And you have to bow at your feet. And he doesn’t want to “howl” on the porch - “to make people laugh.” And the resigned Tikhon will blame his mother for his wife’s death.
Tyranny, as the critic Dobrolyubov asserts, “is hostile to the natural demands of humanity... because in their triumph it sees the approach of its inevitable death.” “Wilds and Kabanovs are shrinking and shrinking” - this is inevitable.
The younger generation is Tikhon, Katerina, Varvara Kabanov, this is Dikiy’s nephew Boris. Katerina and her mother-in-law have similar concepts about the morality of younger family members: they should be God-fearing and honor their elders - this is in the traditions of the Russian family. But further, the ideas of both of them about life, in their moral assessments, differ sharply.
Brought up in the atmosphere of a patriarchal merchant's house, in conditions of parental love, care and prosperity, young Kabanova has a character that is “loving, creative, ideal.” But in her husband’s family she faces a formidable prohibition “to live by her own will,” which comes from her stern and soulless mother-in-law. It is then that the demands of “nature,” a living, natural feeling, acquire an irresistible power over the young woman. “That’s how I was born, hot,” she says about herself. Katerina’s morality is not guided, according to Dobrolyubov, by logic and reason. “She is strange, extravagant, from the point of view of those around her,” and, fortunately, the oppression of her mother-in-law with her despotic disposition did not kill the desire for “will” in the heroine.
Will is a spontaneous impulse (“I would run up like that, raise my arms and fly”), and the desire to ride along the Volga singing, hugging each other, and fervent prayers, if the soul asks for communication with God, and even the need to “throw out the window, She’ll throw herself into the Volga” if she gets “sick of” captivity.
Her feelings for Boris are uncontrollable. Katerina is ruled by love (he’s not like everyone else - he’s the best!) and passion (“If I wasn’t afraid of sin for you, would I be afraid human court?). But the heroine, a woman with an integral, strong character, does not accept lies, and she considers split feelings, pretense, an even greater sin than her own fall.
The purity of moral feeling and pangs of conscience lead her to repentance, public recognition and, as a result, to suicide.
The conflict between generations due to different moral assessments acquires tragic features if it ends in the death of people.
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Ostrovsky was once called the “Columbus of Zamoskvorechye,” emphasizing the artistic discovery of the world of merchants in the plays of the playwright, but his plays are interesting not only for specific historical issues, but also for moral, universal ones. Yes, exactly moral problem The tics of Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm" make this work interesting for modern reader. The action of Ostrovsky's drama takes place in the city of Kalinov, which is located among the greenery of gardens on the steep bank of the Volga. “For fifty years I’ve been looking at the Volga every day and I can’t take it all in. The view is extraordinary. My soul rejoices,” Kuligin admires. It would seem that the life of the people of this city should be beautiful and joyful. Especially considering the fact that Kabanikha, a woman who personifies the entire “dark kingdom,” constantly talks about high morality. But why didn’t life in the city become a kingdom of light and joy, but turned into “a world of prison and grave silence”?
There are moral laws that are not written down anywhere, but by following which, a person is able to comprehend spiritual happiness, find light and joy on earth. How are these laws implemented in a provincial Volga town?
1. The moral laws of people's lives are replaced in Kalinov by the law of force, power and money. Dikiy’s big money frees his hands and gives him the opportunity to swagger with impunity over everyone who is poor and financially dependent on him. People are nothing to him. “You are a worm. If I want, I’ll have mercy, if I want, I’ll crush,” he says to Kuligin. We see that the basis of everything in the city is money. They are worshiped. The basis of human relationships is material dependence. Here money decides everything, and power belongs to those who have more capital . Profit and enrichment become the goal and meaning of life for most Kalinov residents. Because of money, they quarrel among themselves and harm each other: “I’ll spend it, and it will cost him a pretty penny.” Even the self-taught mechanic Kuligin, who is advanced in his views, realizing the power of money, dreams of a million in order to talk on equal terms with the rich.
2. The basis of morality is respect for elders, parents, father and mother. But this law in Kalinov is perverted , because it is replaced by a ban on freedom, on respect. Katerina suffers the most from Kabanikha’s tyranny. A freedom-loving nature, she cannot live in a family where the youngest unquestioningly submits to the elder, the wife to the husband, where any desire for freedom and manifestation of self-esteem is suppressed. “Will” for Kabanikha is a dirty word. “Wait for it! Live in freedom! - she threatens the young people. For Kabanikha, the most important thing is not the real order, but its external manifestation. E She is outraged that Tikhon, leaving home, does not order Katerina how to behave, and does not know how to order, and the wife does not throw herself at her husband’s feet and does not howl to show her love. “That’s how you respect your elders...” Kabanova says every now and then, but respect in her understanding is fear. We should be afraid, she believes.
3. The great law of morality is to live in harmony with your heart, according to your conscience. But in Kalinov, any manifestation of sincere feeling is regarded as a sin. Love is a sin. But it’s possible to go on dates in secret. When Katerina, saying goodbye to Tikhon, throws herself on his neck, Kabanikha pulls her back: “Why are you hanging on your neck, shameless one! You are not saying goodbye to your lover! He’s your husband, your boss!” Love and marriage are incompatible here. Kabanikha remembers love only when she needs to justify her cruelty: “After all, parents are strict with you out of love.” She wants to force the younger generation to live by the laws of hypocrisy, arguing that what is most important is not the true manifestation of feelings, but the external keeping up appearances. Kabanikha is outraged that Tikhon, when leaving home, does not order Katerina how to behave, and the wife does not throw herself at her husband’s feet and does not howl to show her love
4.There is no place for sincere feelings in the city . The boar is hypocritical, she only hides behind virtue and piety, in the family she is an inhuman despot and tyrant.. Kabanikha hides her true essence under the mask of righteousness, while tormenting both her children and daughter-in-law with nagging and reproaches. Kuligin gives her an apt description: “Prude, sir! He gives money to the poor, but completely eats up his family.” Lies and deceit, having become an everyday occurrence in life, cripple people’s souls.”
These are the conditions in which the younger generation of the city of Kalinov is forced to live.
5. Only one person can stand out among those who humiliate and humiliate – Katerina. The very first appearance of Katerina reveals in her not a timid daughter-in-law of a strict mother-in-law, but a person who has dignity and feels like an individual: “It’s nice for anyone to endure lies,” says Katerina in response to Kabanikha’s unfair words. Katerina is a spiritual, bright, dreamy person; she, like no one else in the play, knows how to feel beauty. Even her religiosity is also a manifestation of spirituality. The church service was filled with special charm for her: in the rays of sunlight she saw angels and felt a sense of belonging to something higher, unearthly. The motif of light becomes one of the central ones in Katerina’s characterization. “But the face seems to glow,” Boris had only to say this, and Kudryash immediately realized that he was talking about Katerina. Her speech is melodious, figurative, reminiscent of Russian folk songs: “Violent winds, bear my sadness and melancholy to him.” Katerina is distinguished by her inner freedom and passionate nature; it is no coincidence that the motif of a bird and flight appears in the play. The captivity of the Kabanovsky house oppresses her, suffocates her. “Everything seems to be out of captivity with you. I’ve completely wilted with you,” says Katerina, explaining to Varvara why she doesn’t feel happy in the Kabanovs’ house.
6. Another one is connected with the image of Katerina the moral problem of the play is the human right to love and happiness. Katerina’s impulse to Boris is an impulse to joy, without which a person cannot live, an impulse to happiness, which she was deprived of in Kabanikha’s house. No matter how hard Katerina tried to fight her love, this fight was doomed from the very beginning. In Katerina’s love, like in a thunderstorm, there was something spontaneous, strong, free, but also tragically doomed; it is no coincidence that she begins her story about love with the words: “I will die soon.” Already in this first conversation with Varvara, the image of an abyss, a cliff appears: “There will be some kind of sin! Such fear comes over me, such and such fear! It’s as if I’m standing over an abyss, and someone is pushing me there, but I have nothing to hold on to.”
7. The title of the play takes on the most dramatic sound when we feel a “thunderstorm” brewing in Katerina’s soul. The central moral problem play can be called the problem of moral choice. The collision of duty and feeling, like a thunderstorm, destroyed the harmony in Katerina’s soul with which she lived; She no longer dreams, as before, of “golden temples or extraordinary gardens”; it is no longer possible to ease her soul with prayer: “If I start to think, I won’t be able to gather my thoughts, if I’ll pray, I won’t be able to pray.” Without agreement with herself, Katerina cannot live; she could never, like Varvara, be content with thieving, secret love. The consciousness of her sinfulness weighs on Katerina, torments her more than all of Kabanikha’s reproaches. Ostrovsky's heroine cannot live in a world of discord - this explains her death. She made the choice herself - and she pays for it herself, without blaming anyone: “No one is to blame - she did it herself.”
It can be concluded that exactly moral issues Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm" makes this work interesting for the modern reader today.
2. “A poet in Russia is more than a poet” (according to the lyrics of N. A. Nekrasov). Reading by heart one of the poet's poems (at the student's choice).
The theme of the poet and poetry is traditional for Russian lyrics. It is this theme that is one of the main ones in Nekrasov’s lyrics.
N. A. Nekrasov’s ideas about the essence and purpose of poetry developed in the process of creative communication with the ideologists of revolutionary democracy N. G. Chernyshevsky, N. A. Dobrolyubov, as well as such progressive writers, like M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, L. N. Tolstoy. Nekrasov believes that the role of the poet in the life of society is so significant that it requires from him not only artistic talent, but also citizenship, activity in the struggle for civic beliefs.
1. Nekrasov repeatedly states his views for the purpose of your creativity . Thus, in the poem “Yesterday, at about six o’clock...” he says that his muse becomes the sister of all the humiliated and insulted:
There they beat a woman with a whip,
Young peasant woman...
...And I said to the Muse: “Look!
Your dear sister!
The same idea is heard in a later poem, “Muse” (1852). The poet sees from the very beginning my calling is to glorify the common people, sympathize with their suffering, express their thoughts and aspirations, and attack their oppressors with censure and merciless satire . Nekrasov's muse, on the one hand, is a peasant woman. But on the other hand hand, - fate this very floor, persecuted and persecuted by the powers of this world. Nekrasov’s muse is suffering, chanting the people and calling them to fight.
2..In a poem “The Poet and the Citizen” (1856) Nekrasov argues with representatives of the “pure art” movement, who, in his opinion, lead the reader away from pressing social problems. The poem is structured as a dialogue. This dialogue in Nekrasov is an internal dispute, a struggle in his soul as a Poet and a Citizen. The author himself tragically experienced this internal rupture and often made the same claims against himself as the Citizen did against the Poet. The citizen in the poem shames the Poet for inaction; in his understanding, the immeasurable sublimity of civil service overshadows the previous ideals of freedom of creativity, the new high goal is to die for the Fatherland: “... go and die blamelessly.”
A poet who truly loves his homeland must have a clear civic position , without hesitation to expose and condemn the vices of society, as did Gogol, on the day of whose death the poem was written. Nekrasov emphasizes that the life of a poet who has chosen such a path is immeasurably more difficult than the life of one who avoids social problems in his work. But this is the feat of a true poet: he patiently endures all adversity for the sake of his high goal. According to Nekrasov, such a poet will be appreciated only by future generations, posthumously:
They curse him from all sides,
And just seeing his corpse,
They will understand how much he has done,
And how he loved - while hating!
According to Nekrasov, without civic ideals, without active public position the poet will not be a true poet . The Poet, the protagonist of the poem “The Poet and the Citizen,” agrees with this. The dispute ends not with the victory of the Poet or the Citizen, but with a general conclusion: the role of the poet is so significant that it requires civic convictions and the fight for these convictions .
3.. In 1874 Nekrasov creates a poem "Prophet". This work, of course, continued the series in which the works of Pushkin and Lermontov already stood. . It again talks about the difficulty of the chosen path, about the divine beginning of creativity :
He hasn't been crucified yet,
But the time will come - he will be on the cross,
4. But N. A. Nekrasov sees the highest purpose of the poet in selfless service to the people . The theme of the people, the homeland becomes one of the most important topics the poet's entire work. He is sure: as long as the theme of the suffering of the people is relevant, the artist has no right to forget it. This selfless service to people is the essence of N. A. Nekrasov’s poetry. In a poem “Elegy”, (1874) In one of his most beloved poems, Nekrasov seems to sum up his work:
I dedicated the lyre to my people.
Perhaps I will die unknown to him,
But I served him - and my heart is calm...
The poet creates poems not for the sake of fame, but for the sake of conscience... Because you can only live in service to the people, and not to yourself.
« A poet in Russia is more than a poet,” these words do not belong to Nekrasov, but can rightfully be attributed to his work. A poet in Russia is, first of all, a person with an active life position. And all of Nekrasov’s work affirmed the thought: “You may not be a poet, but you must be a citizen.”
· The problem of fathers and children
· The problem of self-realization
· The problem of power
· The problem of love
· Conflict between old and new
In literary criticism, the problematics of a work are the range of problems that are addressed in one way or another in the text. This may be one or more aspects that the author focuses on.
The play was received ambiguously by critics. Dobrolyubov saw hope for a new life in Katerina, Ap. Grigoriev noticed the emerging protest against the existing order, and L. Tolstoy did not accept the play at all. The plot of “The Thunderstorm,” at first glance, is quite simple: everything is based on a love conflict. Katerina secretly meets with a young man while her husband left for another city on business. Unable to cope with the pangs of conscience, the girl admits to treason, after which she rushes into the Volga. However, behind all this everyday, everyday life, lies much larger things that threaten to grow to the scale of space. Dobrolyubov calls the “dark kingdom” the situation described in the text. An atmosphere of lies and betrayal. In Kalinov, people are so accustomed to moral filth that their resigned consent only aggravates the situation. It becomes scary to realize that it was not the place that made people like this, it was the people who independently turned the city into a kind of accumulation of vices. And now the “dark kingdom” is beginning to influence the inhabitants. After a detailed reading of the text, you can see how widely the problems of the work “The Thunderstorm” have been developed. The problems in Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm" are diverse, but at the same time they do not have a hierarchy. Each individual problem is important in its own right.
The problem of fathers and children
Here we are not talking about misunderstanding, but about total control, about patriarchal orders. The play shows the life of the Kabanov family. At that time, the opinion of the eldest man in the family was undeniable, and wives and daughters were practically deprived of their rights. The head of the family is Marfa Ignatievna, a widow. She took on male functions. This is a powerful and calculating woman. Kabanikha believes that she takes care of her children, ordering them to do as she wants. This behavior led to quite logical consequences. Her son, Tikhon, is a weak and spineless person. His mother, it seems, wanted to see him this way, because in this case it is easier to control a person. Tikhon is afraid to say anything, to express his opinion; in one of the scenes he admits that he doesn’t have his own point of view at all. Tikhon cannot protect either himself or his wife from his mother’s hysterics and cruelty. Kabanikha’s daughter, Varvara, on the contrary, managed to adapt to this lifestyle. She easily lies to her mother, the girl even changed the lock on the gate in the garden so that she could go on dates with Curly without hindrance. Tikhon is incapable of any rebellion, while Varvara, at the end of the play, runs away from her parents' house with her lover.
The problem of self-realization
When talking about the problems of “The Thunderstorm,” one cannot fail to mention this aspect. The problem is realized in the image of Kuligin. This self-taught inventor dreams of making something useful for all residents of the city. His plans include assembling a perpeta mobile, building a lightning rod, and generating electricity. But this whole dark, semi-pagan world needs neither light nor enlightenment. Dikoy laughs at Kuligin’s plans to find an honest income and openly mocks him. After a conversation with Kuligin, Boris understands that the inventor will never invent a single thing. Perhaps Kuligin himself understands this. He could be called naive, but he knows what morals reign in Kalinov, what happens behind closed doors, what those in whose hands the power is concentrated are like. Kuligin learned to live in this world without losing himself. But he is not able to sense the conflict between reality and dreams as keenly as Katerina did.
The problem of power
In the city of Kalinov, power is not in the hands of the relevant authorities, but in those who have money. Proof of this is the dialogue between the merchant Dikiy and the mayor. The mayor tells the merchant that complaints are being received against the latter. Savl Prokofievich responds rudely to this. Dikoy does not hide the fact that he is cheating ordinary men; he talks about deception as a normal phenomenon: if merchants steal from each other, then it is possible to steal from ordinary residents. In Kalinov, nominal power decides absolutely nothing, and this is fundamentally wrong. After all, it turns out that it is simply impossible to live without money in such a city. Dikoy imagines himself almost like a priest-king, deciding who to lend money to and who not. “So know that you are a worm. If I want, I’ll have mercy, if I want, I’ll crush you,” is how Dikoy answers Kuligin.
The problem of love
In "The Thunderstorm" the problem of love is realized in the couples Katerina - Tikhon and Katerina - Boris. The girl is forced to live with her husband, although she does not feel any feelings other than pity for him. Katya rushes from one extreme to another: she thinks between the option of staying with her husband and learning to love him, or leaving Tikhon. Katya's feelings for Boris flare up instantly. This passion pushes the girl to take a decisive step: Katya goes against public opinion and Christian morality. Her feelings turned out to be mutual, but for Boris this love meant much less. Katya believed that Boris, like her, was incapable of living in a frozen city and lying for profit. Katerina often compared herself to a bird; she wanted to fly away, to break out of that metaphorical cage, but in Boris Katya saw that air, that freedom that she so lacked. Unfortunately, the girl was mistaken about Boris. The young man turned out to be the same as the residents of Kalinov. He wanted to improve relations with Dikiy in order to get money, and he talked with Varvara about the fact that it was better to keep his feelings for Katya secret for as long as possible.
Alexander Nikolaevich highlighted the most important and especially pressing problem of human dignity at that time. The arguments to consider it as such are very convincing. The author proves that his play is really important, if only because the issues raised in it continue to concern the current generation many years later. Drama is addressed, studied and analyzed, and interest in it has not waned to this day.
In the 50-60s of the 19th century, the following three topics attracted the special attention of writers and poets: the emergence of various intelligentsia, serfdom and the position of women in society and family. In addition, there was another theme - the tyranny of money, tyranny and ancient authority among the merchants, under the yoke of which all family members, and especially women, were. A. N. Ostrovsky in his drama "The Thunderstorm" set the task of exposing spiritual and economic tyranny in the so-called " dark kingdom".
Who can be considered a bearer of human dignity?
The problem of human dignity in the drama "The Thunderstorm" is the most important in this work. It should be noted that there are very few characters in the play about whom one could say: “This is the Majority.” characters- either unconditionally negative heroes, or inexpressive, neutral. Dikoy and Kabanikha are idols, devoid of basic human feelings; Boris and Tikhon are spineless creatures capable of only obeying; Kudryash and Varvara are reckless people, drawn to momentary pleasures, incapable of serious experiences and reflections. Only Kuligin, an eccentric inventor, and main character Katerina stands out from this series. The problem of human dignity in the drama "The Thunderstorm" can be briefly described as the confrontation of these two heroes with society.
Inventor Kuligin
Kuligin is a rather attractive person with considerable talents, a sharp mind, a poetic soul, and a desire to selflessly serve people. He is honest and kind. It is no coincidence that Ostrovsky entrusts his assessment of the backward, limited, complacent Kalinovsky society, which does not recognize the rest of the world. However, although Kuligin evokes sympathy, he is still unable to stand up for himself, so he calmly endures rudeness, endless ridicule and insults. This is an educated, enlightened person, but these best qualities in Kalinov they are considered just a whim. The inventor is disparagingly called an alchemist. He longs for the common good, wants to install a lightning rod and a clock in the city, but the inert society does not want to accept any innovations. Kabanikha, who is the embodiment of the patriarchal world, will not take the train, even if the whole world has been using the railway for a long time. Dikoy will never understand that lightning is actually electricity. He doesn't even know that word. The problem of human dignity in the drama "The Thunderstorm", the epigraph of which can be Kuligin's remark " Cruel morals, sir, there are cruel ones in our city!”, thanks to the introduction of this character, receives deeper coverage.
Kuligin, seeing all the vices of society, remains silent. Only Katerina protests. Despite its weakness, it is still a strong nature. The plot of the play is based on tragic conflict between the way of life and the real feeling of the main character. The problem of human dignity in the drama "The Thunderstorm" is revealed in the contrast of the "dark kingdom" and the "ray" - Katerina.
"Dark Kingdom" and its victims
The inhabitants of Kalinov are divided into two groups. One of them consists of representatives of the “dark kingdom”, personifying power. This is Kabanikha and Dikoy. The other belongs to Kuligin, Katerina, Kudryash, Tikhon, Boris and Varvara. They are victims of the “dark kingdom”, feeling its brutal power, but protesting against it in different ways. Through their actions or inaction, the problem of human dignity is revealed in the drama "The Thunderstorm". Ostrovsky’s plan was to show from different sides the influence of the “dark kingdom” with its suffocating atmosphere.
Katerina's character
Interests and stands out strongly against the background of the environment in which she unwittingly found herself. The reason for the drama of life lies precisely in its special, exceptional character.
This girl is a dreamy and poetic person. She was raised by a mother who spoiled her and loved her. The heroine's daily activities as a child included caring for flowers, visiting church, embroidering, walking, and telling stories of praying mantises and wanderers. The girls developed under the influence of this lifestyle. Sometimes she plunged into waking dreams, fabulous dreams. Katerina’s speech is emotional and figurative. And this poetically minded and impressionable girl, after marriage, finds herself in Kabanova’s house, in an atmosphere of intrusive guardianship and hypocrisy. The atmosphere of this world is cold and soulless. Naturally, the conflict between Katerina’s bright world and the environment of this “dark kingdom” ends tragically.
Relationship between Katerina and Tikhon
The situation is further complicated by the fact that she married a man whom she could not love and did not know, although she tried with all her might to become faithful to Tikhon and loving wife. The heroine's attempts to get closer to her husband are frustrated by his narrow-mindedness, slavish humiliation and rudeness. Since childhood, he has been accustomed to obeying his mother in everything; he is afraid to say a word against her. Tikhon meekly endures Kabanikha’s tyranny, not daring to object or protest to her. His only desire is to get away from this woman’s care, at least for a little while, to go on a spree and drink. This weak-willed man, being one of the many victims of the “dark kingdom,” not only could not help Katerina in any way, but also simply understand her as a human being, since inner world the heroine is too tall, complex and inaccessible for him. He could not predict the drama brewing in his wife's heart.
Katerina and Boris
Dikiy's nephew, Boris, is also a victim of a sanctimonious, dark environment. In terms of his internal qualities, he is significantly higher than the “benefactors” surrounding him. The education he received in the capital at a commercial academy developed his cultural needs and views, so it is difficult for this character to survive among the Wild and Kabanovs. The problem of human dignity in the play "The Thunderstorm" also confronts this hero. However, he lacks the character to break free from their tyranny. He is the only one who managed to understand Katerina, but was unable to help her: he does not have enough determination to fight for the girl’s love, so he advises her to come to terms with her fate and leaves her, anticipating Katerina’s death. The inability to fight for happiness doomed Boris and Tikhon to suffer rather than live. Only Katerina managed to challenge this tyranny. The problem of human dignity in the play is thus also a problem of character. Only strong people can challenge the "dark kingdom". Only the main character was one of them.
Dobrolyubov's opinion
The problem of human dignity in the drama "The Thunderstorm" was revealed in an article by Dobrolyubov, who called Katerina "a ray of light in a dark kingdom." The death of a gifted young woman, a strong, passionate nature, illuminated the sleeping “kingdom” for a moment, like a ray of sunshine against the background of gloomy dark clouds. Dobrolyubov views the suicide of Katerina as a challenge not only to the Wild and Kabanovs, but also to the entire way of life in a gloomy, despotic feudal serf country.
The inevitable ending
It was an inevitable ending, despite the fact that the main character revered God so much. It was easier for Katerina Kabanova to leave this life than to endure her mother-in-law’s reproaches, gossip and remorse. She pleaded guilty publicly because she did not know how to lie. Suicide and public repentance should be regarded as actions that elevated her human dignity.
Katerina could be despised, humiliated, even beaten, but she never humiliated herself, did not commit unworthy, low actions, they only went against the morality of this society. Although, what morality can such limited, stupid people have? The problem of human dignity in the drama "The Thunderstorm" is the problem of the tragic choice between accepting or challenging society. Protest in this case threatens with serious consequences, including the need to lose one’s life.