Wild and Kabanikha. Characteristics of the heroes of the drama A.N.
Work:
Kabanikha (Kabanova Marfa Ignatievna) - "a rich merchant's wife, widow", mother-in-law of Katerina, mother of Tikhon and Varvara.
K. is a very strong and domineering person. She is religious, but does not believe in forgiveness and mercy. This heroine all consists exclusively of earthly affairs and interests. She is interested in the observance of the patriarchal order and form. From people it requires, first of all, the strict fulfillment of the rite and rank. The emotional side, feelings are of interest to K. in the last place.
K. is unhappy with her family, especially her son and his wife. She nags them all the time. K. finds fault with the imaginary cooling of her son towards her, makes jealous remarks to his wife. According to K., the correct family structure is based on the fear of the younger before the elders. “Fear” and “order” are the main things in the household for K. Therefore, the heroine does not feel like a tyrant: “Because of love, parents are strict with you, because of love they scold you, everyone thinks to teach good.” But K. feels that the old way of life is being violated, she is one of the last keepers of it: “This is how the old thing is brought out ... What will happen, how the elders will die, ... I don’t know”. This realization gives the tragedy to her figure. K. is not a petty fool, she condemns her godfather Dikiy for tyranny and treats him as a weak person. K. - the personification of the patriarchal way of life, the keeper of the traditions of the ancestors. According to the heroine, it is not her business to argue whether they are good or bad. It is necessary to live as the fathers bequeathed - this is a guarantee of the preservation of life and world order in general. At the end of the play, K. is experiencing his "thunderstorm". Katerina publicly confesses her sin, her son rebel against her in public, Barbara escapes from their homes. K.'s world perishes, and with it she herself.
Kabanova Marfa Ignatievna (Kabanikha) is the central heroine of the play, mother of Tikhon and Varvara, mother-in-law of Katerina. The list of characters says about her: a rich merchant's wife, a widow. In the system of the characters of the play - the antagonist of the main character, Katerina, contrasting with which is of decisive importance for understanding the meaning of the play. The similarity of the heroines can be seen both in their belonging to the world of patriarchal ideas and values, and in the scale and strength of characters. Both of them are maximalists, they will never come to terms with human weaknesses, they do not allow the possibility of any compromise. The religiosity of both also has one thing in common: both of them do not believe in forgiveness and do not remember about mercy. However, these are the features of similarity, creating a basis for comparison and emphasizing the essentially significant antagonism of the heroines. They represent, as it were, two poles of the patriarchal world. Katerina - his poetry, spirituality, impulse, dreaminess, the spirit of the patriarchal way of life in its ideal meaning. The boar is all chained to the earth and earthly affairs and interests, she is the guardian of order and form, defends the way of life in all its petty manifestations, demanding the strict execution of the rite and rank, without caring in the least about the inner essence of human relations (see her rude response to Katerina's words about the fact that the mother-in-law is like her own mother; all the teachings to her son).
K. in the play is characterized not only by her own speeches and actions, but also discussed by other characters. For the first time, the wanderer Feklusha speaks about her: “I am so happy, so, mother, I am so happy! For our failure to provide them with even more bounties, and especially the house of the Kabanovs. " Before this remark - Kuligin's judgment: “Prude, sir! She clothe the beggars, but she ate the household altogether. " Soon after these preliminary characteristics, K. emerges from Vespers, accompanied by her family, whom she constantly nags, nagging at the imaginary cooling of her son towards her, showing jealous hostility towards his young wife and distrust of her sincere words (“For me, mamma, all the same, that your own mother, that you. Yes, and Tikhon loves you "). From this conversation we learn that, in K.'s opinion, the correct family order and domestic order are kept on the fear of the younger before the elders, she tells Tikhon about his relationship with his wife: “You will not be afraid, and even more so. What kind of order will it be in the house? " Thus, if the key words in Katerina's ideas about a happy and prosperous life in the house are “love” and “will” (see her story about life as a girl), then in K.'s ideas they are fear and command. This can be seen especially clearly in the scene of Tikhon's departure, when K. forces his son to strictly follow the rules and "order his wife" how to live without him. K. has no doubts about the moral correctness of the hierarchical relations of "patriarchal life, but there is no longer any confidence in their inviolability. On the contrary, she feels herself almost the last guardian of the correct world order (" This is how old things are deduced ... What will be I don’t know how the elders will die, how the light will stand ”), and the expectation that chaos will come with her death lends tragedy to her figure. sometimes, out of love, they scold you, everyone thinks to teach good. ”If Katerina already feels in a new way, not in Kalinov's way, but does not realize this, then K., on the contrary, still feels quite the same, but clearly sees that her world is dying. Of course, this awareness is clothed in completely "Kalinov-sky", medieval forms of common philosophizing, mainly in apocalyptic expectations. All this reveals her dialogue with Feklusha, the peculiarity of which is that he characterizes first of all K.'s attitude, although “ pronounces "these reflections of Feklusha, and K. strengthens himself, wants to assure the interlocutor that they really have" heaven and silence "in the city, but at the end of the scene her true thoughts are fully revealed in the last two remarks, as if sanctioning Feklusha's apocalyptic reasoning:" And it will be worse than that, dear, "- and in response to the words of the wanderer:" We just would not live to see this "- K. weightily casts: "Maybe we will live." It is impossible to accept the very often encountered definition of K. as "tyrants". Petty tyranny is not the order of the patriarchal world, but the riot of willfulness of an imperious person who, in his own way, also violates the correct order and ritual. K. condemns his godfather, the Wild, a real tyrant (unlike K. herself, who strictly adheres to the rules and regulations), and treats with contempt his rampage and complaints about his family as a manifestation of weakness. The strength of K.'s character is not doubted by those around him (“Our hostess would have been after him, she would have stopped him soon,” notes the maid Glasha in response to Boris, who complains about the wildness of the Wild). K. herself, no matter how much she sharpened children for disrespect and disobedience, it would never occur to outsiders to complain about disorder in her house. And therefore, for her, the public confession of Katerina is a terrible blow, which will soon be joined by the rebellion of her son, again open in public, not to mention the escape from the house of Barbara's daughter. Therefore, in the finale of The Storm, not only the death of Katerina, but also the downfall of K. Of course, the antagonist of the tragic heroine does not evoke sympathy.
The boar is the central character in the drama by A. N. Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm" (1859). K. belongs to those imperious and strong natures who perceive themselves to be the keepers of "order", primordial norms and rules of life: Kukushkina ("A profitable place"), Ulanbekova ("Foster child"), Murzavetskaya ("Wolves and Sheep"), Mavra Tarasovna (“Truth is good, but happiness is better”). The owner herself (“a rich merchant's wife, a widow”), Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova runs the house, relying on the old laws of everyday life and custom. "Order" for her is a means of curbing a free life, the only defense of the "home space" from the chaos of "will." K. feels like a guardian of the "law" and therefore lives his life calmly, firmly and faithfully, eradicating any hint of insubordination of his family. K.'s cruelty is manifested in the habit of managing a "thunderstorm", not knowing love, doing without mercy, not suspecting the possibility of forgiveness. The Old Testament harshness emanates from K.'s wish to the sinned daughter-in-law: "Bury the living in the earth so that she may be executed." Nothing can shake K.'s confidence in the correctness of her philosophy of life: neither the flight of her daughter from a disgusting house, nor the suicide of her daughter-in-law, whom she "crushed", nor the sudden accusations of the hitherto weak-willed and wordless son: "Mamma, it was you who ruined her." She judges Katerina mercilessly and says without regret: "It is a sin to cry about her." Kuligin's reminders about God, a merciful judge, are useless - K. does not respond to them in any way. But on the other hand, according to custom, “bows low to the people” for a favor in search of a poor suicide. K. is "fierce", "cool" in the observance of "antiquity" - and all "under the guise of piety." K.'s monumental image is a living embodiment of "cruel morals", about which Boris says: "I understand that all this is Russian, dear, but still I will not get used to it in any way." K. is revealed in the play as an honest and terrible in its sequence the defender of the graceless "law", not enlightened by Christian love. The further development of this image in Russian drama was Vassa Zheyaznova M. Gorky. The first performer of the role of K. - N.V. Rykalova (1859). Other performers include F.V. Shevchenko (1934), V.N. Pashennaya (1962).
As you know, there are several types of heroes in classical works and fairy tales. In this article, we will talk about a pair of antagonist - protagonist. This opposition will be examined on the example of the play by Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm". The main character of this play, in other words, the protagonist, is a young girl Katerina Kabanova. She is opposed, that is, is the antagonist, Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova. Using the example of comparisons and analysis of actions, we will give a more complete description of Kabanikha in the play "The Thunderstorm".
To begin with, let's turn to the list of characters: Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova (Kabanikha) - an old merchant's wife, a widow. Her husband died, so the woman had to single-handedly raise two children, manage the household and do business. Agree, this is quite difficult at the present time. Despite the fact that the nickname of the merchant is indicated in brackets, the author never calls her that. The text contains remarks from Kabanova, not Kabanikha. With a similar technique, the playwright wanted to emphasize that people call a woman so among themselves, but they personally address her with respect. That is, in fact, the residents of Kalinov do not like this person, but they are afraid of him.
Initially, the reader learns about Martha Ignatievna from the lips of Kuligin. The self-taught mechanic calls her "the hypocrite who ate everyone at home." Kudryash only confirms these words. Further, a wanderer, Feklusha, appears on the scene. Her judgment about Kabanikh is exactly the opposite: a quote. As a result of this disagreement, additional interest arises in this character. Marfa Ignatievna appears on the stage already in the first act, and the reader or viewer is given the opportunity to be convinced of the veracity of Kuligin's words.
The boar is not happy with the way her son behaves. She teaches him to live, despite the fact that the son is already an adult and has been married for a long time. Marfa Ignatievna shows herself as a grumpy, imperious woman. Her daughter-in-law Katerina behaves differently. In general, it is quite interesting to trace the similarities and differences of these characters throughout the play.
In theory, both Kabanikha and Katerina should love Tikhon. For one he is a son, for another - a husband. However, neither Katya nor Marfa Ignatievna have true love for Tikhon. Katya takes pity on her husband, but does not love him. And Kabanikha treats him as a guinea pig, as a creature on which you can break your aggression and test methods of manipulation, hiding behind maternal love. Everyone knows that for every mother, the most important thing is the happiness of her child. But Marfa Kabanova in The Thunderstorm is not at all interested in Tikhon's opinion. Through years of tyranny and dictatorship, she was able to teach her son that the absence of her own point of view is quite normal. Even observing how carefully and, in some moments, tenderly Tikhon treats Katerina, Kabanikha is always trying to destroy their relationship.
Many critics argued about the strength or weakness of Katerina's character, but no one doubted the strength of Kabanikha's character. This is a truly cruel person who tries to subdue those around him. She would have to rule the state, and so she has to waste her "talents" on a family and a provincial town. Varvara, daughter of Martha Kabanova, chose pretense and lies as a way to coexist with an oppressive mother. Katerina, on the contrary, resolutely opposes her mother-in-law. They seemed to have taken two positions, truth and lie, defending them. And in their conversations that Kabanikha should not categorically accuse Katya of mistakes and various sins, the struggle between light and darkness, truth and the "dark kingdom", of which Kabanikha is a representative, appears through the everyday background.
Katerina and Kabanikha are Orthodox Christians. But their faith is completely different. For Katerina, faith that comes from within is much more important. For her, the place of prayer is not important. The girl is devout, she sees the presence of God in the whole world, and not only in the building of the church. The religiosity of Martha Ignatievna can be called externalized. For her, rituals and strict adherence to the rules are important. But behind all this obsession with practical manipulation, faith itself disappears. Also for Kabanikha it turns out to be significant to observe and maintain old traditions, despite the fact that many of them are already outdated: “You will not be afraid, and even more so. What kind of order will it be in the house? After all, you, tea, live with her in law. Ali, do you think the law means nothing? Yes, if you are holding such stupid thoughts in your head, you would at least not chat in front of her, but in front of your sister, in front of a girl. " The characterization of Kabanikha in Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm" is impossible without mentioning her almost manic attention to detail. Tikhon, the son of Kabanova Sr. And Marfa Ignatievna worries that they enter the threshold without bowing, not as great-grandfathers taught. Her behavior resembles that of the priestesses of a dying cult, who are trying with all their might to support life in it with the help of external paraphernalia.
Katerina Kabanova was a somewhat suspicious girl: in the "prophecies" of the half-witted lady, she fancied her own destiny, and in a thunderstorm, the girl saw the Lord's punishment. The boar is too mercantile and down-to-earth for this. She is closer to the material world, practicality and utility. Kabanova is not afraid of thunder and thunder at all, she just does not want to get wet. While the inhabitants of Kalinov are talking about the raging elements, Kabanikha grumbles and expresses his displeasure: “Look what raceies he threw up. There is something to listen to, nothing to say! Now the times have come, some teachers have appeared. If the old man thinks like that, what can we demand from the young! ”,“ Don't judge yourself when you are older! They know more than you do. Old people have all the signs. The old man will not say a word to the wind. "
The image of Kabanikha in the play "The Thunderstorm" can be called a kind of generalization, a conglomeration of negative human qualities. It is difficult to call her a woman, a mother, and indeed a person in principle. Of course, she is far from the dummies of the city of Foolov, but her desire to subjugate and rule killed all human qualities in Martha Ignatievna.
Product test
Kabanova, or as she is called - Kabanikha - is one of the main characters in Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm". Marfa Ignatievna is a wealthy merchant's wife and also a widow. She has two children: son Tikhon and daughter Varvara. Her son Tikhon lives in her house with his wife Katerina.
The boar is presented as an evil, envious and hypocritical woman who seemingly hates everything around her. Her favorite pastime is reading morality to her son and daughter, and she generally keeps Katherine in awe. Her appearance alone is formidable and fearless.
It is not in vain that the writer endows the head of the family with such a strange nickname. It fully conveys the character of the heroine. Assessing her actions, we can confidently call her heartless.
Her biggest offense is that she raised her son to be a weak-willed and spineless person. He cannot take a step without asking her. Thus, he cannot and does not even try to protect his wife from the attacks of his mother-in-law. On the part of Kabanikha, the reader sees an ordinary jealousy of his own son.
Her image is contradictory: she believes in God, but does evil, gives alms, but offends her loved ones. She skillfully plays in front of those around her: she pretends to be incomprehensible, calls herself old and haggard, but at the same time is full of determination to teach others.
Naturally, the image of Kabanova is the prototype of Catherine, her opposite. Although, there is still something in common between them. They both respect the old days, but they understand it differently. For the mother-in-law, antiquity is what the youth should subdue. Her attitude says that old people should order, and young people should obey unquestioningly. Katerina has different ideas. For her, antiquity is love and care for one's neighbor, it is mercy and compassion not only for the elderly, but also for everyone around. Katerina is a victim of Kabanikha, who endures bullying and abuse, while Varvara only pretends to listen to her mother, in fact holding only her own views.
After reading the play, the reader realizes that it was Kabanikha who contributed to the death of Katerina. She threatened to settle scores with her life, obviously running away from her mother-in-law's attacks. Maybe Kabanikha did not want such a denouement, but the desire to break her daughter-in-law prevailed in any case. As a result, the Kabanova family is crumbling. The daughter blamed her mother for Katerina's death and left home, while Tikhon falls into a binge.
Option 2
We all know Ostrovsky's dramatic play "The Thunderstorm", in which there is an interesting heroine - Kabanikha (Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova).
The boar is presented in the form of a rich merchant's wife. Marfa Ignatievna is a widowed woman for a long time.
This woman can be described as a lover of showing her strength. Power and fortitude are the main features of the Kabanikha image.
From everyone Marfa Ignatievna requires obligatory obedience, including from relatives. She is almost always unhappy with them. Every day she scolds and educates them, she is especially unhappy with her son and Katerina. Kabanikha requires people to perform rituals and rites. She believes that it is important to keep family order at bay.
Kabanikha loves to do different things and the main interests are expressed in the implementation of the established procedures.
Kabanikha and Katerina have a slight similarity in that both are not capable of reconciling weak character traits. The second similarity is expressed in religiosity, both worship her, while not believing in forgiveness. This is where the similarity of their character traits ends.
Differences in characters are expressed in the fact that she is spiritualized and a dreamer, the second lover of maintaining order in the little things. For Katerina, the first place is - love and will, for Kabanikha - the execution of orders.
Kabanikha feels like a guardian of order, believing that with her death, chaos will come in the world and at home. No one doubts that the lady has an imperious character, which she periodically shows to everyone.
Kabanikha herself, no matter how much she scolded her children for being disobedient, never complains about them. Therefore, when the daughter-in-law openly confesses in public, this is unacceptable for her and turns out to be a terrible blow to her pride, to which was added the rebellion of her son, in addition to these troubles, one more thing is added - the daughter's escape from her home.
At the end of the play, the author shows the collapse of the imperious, at first glance, indestructible world of Kabanikha. For her, a terrible blow that everything went out of control of the lady. Of course, the reader does not sympathize with her, because this is her fault. What she deserved is what she got.
In conclusion, I would like to note that the image of Martha Ignatievna personifies the patriarchal way of life. She claims that it is not her business, good or bad, but it must be observed.
The ending of the play is tragic: Katerina dies, the son riots, the daughter runs away from home. With all the events taking place in the play, Kabanikha's world collapses, along with her.
Essay on the theme of the boar
One of the main characters in The Thunderstorm is Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova. The people called her Kabanikha. The wealthy merchant's wife and widow had two children, Varvara and Tikhon, who had Catherine in his wives. She was a typical older generation who enjoys giving instruction and reading notation. For her, the most important priority in life was to observe the customs and orders established in society. She disliked her children, kept the whole house at bay, and often hurt people.
The author of the play describes her heroine as a formidable, strict, evil, cruel and heartless woman. She did not neglect to display hypocrisy. In public, she tried to behave decently. She helped the poor, but at the same time she offended her own children and her daughter-in-law Ekaterina. She often left everyone to pray to God. But that didn't help her live a holy life. Her children believed that there was only one way to survive in their mother's house, by learning to cheat. Martha Ignatievna preferred to keep her Son at bay. She was often jealous of his young wife. In her instructions, she repeatedly repeated that young people should respect the elderly. In fact, she only had herself. It was not so important for her that others should be obeyed. She just liked to keep everyone at bay and feel like she was holding everything in her hands. Kabanikha strictly observed traditions and forced young people to do the same.
The heroine was a very harsh woman. You could often hear her scolding and criticizing everyone around. In her character one could observe despotism, which was the result of her blind trust in the prevailing customs. Her severity was also expressed in relation to her own daughter-in-law. She cut off every word of Catherine and made poisonous remarks. She condemned her daughter-in-law for being kind to her husband. In her opinion, a woman should be afraid of her husband enough to feel like his work.
As a result, with her behavior and attitude to life, Kabanikha strangled all living things around her. Her children were unhappy. The fate of each of them is not attractive to readers. Perhaps everyone who has read the play wondered whether it is worth being such a stern admirer of man-made traditions.
Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky wrote his play "The Thunderstorm" in 1859. The plot revolves around a confrontation between generations. The older generation has always kept to the old morals, experiences and customs. They refused to understand the young. And those, on the contrary, never tried to follow the traditions established over the centuries. Therefore, the elders tried to re-educate their will. This problem, which Ostrovsky described in his play, will forever remain significant as long as fathers and children exist. Parents want their children to be like them and to follow their paths.
Several interesting compositions
- The image and characteristics of Tyburtia in the story In a bad society Korolenko composition
The work "In a Bad Society" was written by the writer during the years that he spent in exile, and immediately after publication, brought the author unprecedented fame. The heroes of the story have real prototypes
- The image and characteristics of the Baron in the play At the bottom of Gorky composition
The Baron is an adult man, one of the residents of the flophouse, who also works as a pimp. To such a life, according to him, he was led by a series of misfortunes, because of which he was penniless
- Composition The role of books in human life
The book plays an important role in human life. It is from books that we draw the most necessary knowledge, we receive important information; sometimes, just reading a book, you get unprecedented impressions, warmth, wonderful life lessons.
- Dubrovsky and Troekurov comparative composition of the composition
Dubrovsky and Troekurov are two personalities, two human destinies, who have a lot in common. For example, the fact that they belong to the noble family and the pre-revolutionary era of the nineteenth century
- Composition My native Russian language reasoning
Since ancient times, people exchange thoughts, express their emotions and convey information not only with gestures, but also with the help of language. After all, only a person can write and read, this is one of the main differences between us and animals.
The boar is very rich. This can be judged because her commercial affairs go beyond Kalinov (on her behalf, Tikhon traveled to Moscow), that Dikoy respects her. But Kabanikha's affairs are of little interest to the playwright: in the play she is assigned a different role. If Dick shows the brute force of tyranny, then Kabanikha is the spokesman for the ideas and principles of the "dark kingdom". She understands that some money is not yet given to the authorities, another indispensable condition is the obedience of those who have no money. And she sees her main concern in preventing any possibility of disobedience. She "eats" her household in order to kill their will, any ability to resist. With Jesuitical sophistication, she drains their souls out of them, insults their human dignity with unsubstantiated suspicions. She skillfully uses various techniques to assert her will.
Kabanikha knows how to speak in a benevolent and instructive way (“I know, I know that my words are not to your liking, but what can I do, I’m not a stranger to you, my heart hurts about you”), and hypocritically groveling (“Mother is old , stupid; well, you, young people, smart, should not exact from us, fools "), and command powerfully (" Look, remember! Cut your nose on your nose! "," Bow down at your feet! "). Kabanikha tries to show her religiosity. Words: “Oh, grave sin! How long is it to sin! "," Only one sin! " - constantly accompany her speech. She supports superstitions and prejudices, strictly observes ancient customs. It is not known whether Kabanikha believes in Feklusha's ridiculous tales and the omens of the townspeople, she herself does not say anything like that. But it resolutely suppresses all manifestations of free thought. She condemns Kuligin's statements against prejudices and superstitions, and she supports the superstitious prophecies of the townspeople that “this storm will not pass in vain” and edifyingly tells her son: “Do not judge yourself when you are older! They know more than you do. Old people have all the signs. The old man will not say a word to the wind. " Both in religion and in ancient customs, she sees the main goal: to push a person, to keep him in eternal fear. She understands that only fear can keep people in subjection, prolong the shaken domination of tyrants. In response to Tikhon's words, why should his wife be afraid of him, Kabanova exclaims in horror: “How, why be afraid! How, why be afraid! Are you crazy, or what? They will not be afraid of you, and even less so. What kind of order will it be in the house? After all, you, tea, live with her in law. Ali, do you think the law means nothing? " She defends the law according to which the weak should fear the strong, according to which a person should not have his own will. As the faithful guardian of this order, she instructs her household in full view of the crowd of townspeople. After Katerina's confession, she loudly, triumphantly says to Tikhon: “What, son! Where will the will lead! I said that you didn't want to listen. So I waited! "
The imperious and rude Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova or Kabanikha is one of the central female characters in Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm".
Characteristics of the heroine
(Faina Shevchenko as Kabanikha, dramatic production, 1934)
Kabanikha is a wealthy merchant's wife and widow who lives in the provincial town of Kalinovo with her daughter, son and wife. She alone manages all the affairs of the family and does not accept any objections, has a very strong and domineering nature. For her, the main concepts in the family structure, which she demands to strictly fulfill, are “fear” and “order”.
Despite the fact that she is religious and a zealous Christian, she is far from spiritual life, and is exclusively interested in earthly and pressing problems. She is a very hypocritical, cold-blooded and cunning old woman who in public gives alms to the poor, and at home she offends and tyrannizes children and daughter-in-law. She costs nothing to offend or humiliate a person, she is tough and harsh, she likes to keep people in fear, so it is better to manage and subordinate them to her will.
(Illustration by Gerasimov S, B, detgiz 1950)
Kabanikha is a typical representative of the old patriarchal way of life, orders and customs are first of all important for her, she simply does not take into account the feelings and desires of loved ones and thinks that she has the full moral right to humiliate them, “read morals” and manage them in every possible way. Moreover, justifying herself by parental care and love for children, she does not at all consider herself a tyrant and firmly believes that she is acting for the good. Kabanikha is sure that she is not at all obliged to reason whether she is acting right or not, the main thing is to live according to the behest of the fathers and strictly follow their instructions, then peace and order will reign everywhere. According to her, only aged people have sufficient intelligence and wisdom, young people must do everything according to their instruction, they themselves cannot make any decisions.
The quiet and submissive daughter-in-law Katerina, whom she hates with all her heart and is furiously jealous of her son, suffers most from the tyranny of the evil Kabanikha. His mother considers him a rag, and the manifestations of affection towards the young wife are weakness; before he leaves, she advises him to scold Katerina as strictly as possible, so that he is afraid and respected. Changes in the behavior of her daughter-in-law do not escape her, and she suspects her of cheating on her husband. When Tikhon returns, his mother brings Katerina to the point that she confesses everything. The boar is completely satisfied, because she turned out to be right in everything - an affectionate attitude towards his wife cannot lead to anything good.
The image of the heroine in the work
The image of the Kabanikha, a tyrant and tyrant in a female guise, symbolizes the customs and moral foundations that reigned in the merchant society in Russia in the 19th century. Mired in outdated dogmas and unshakable traditions, they have the strength and financial capabilities to make the state better, but not possessing sufficient self-awareness and bogged down in inertia and hypocrisy, they cannot decide on this.
At the end of the work, the spiteful and cruel Kabanikha is waiting for her own "thunderstorm" and the complete collapse of her world: daughter-in-law Katerina confesses her feelings for another man, her son publicly revolts against her, daughter runs away from home. It all ends very sadly: Katerina, under the pressure of shame and morality, driven by Kabanikha to complete despair, throws herself off the cliff into the river, her daughter finds salvation in her escape, and son Tikhon finally throwing away all the years of humiliation and indulgence in whims of his mother finally tells the truth: “You ruined her !You!".
In his work, Ostrovsky created a terrible and gloomy fictional city of Kalinov, the real embodiment of a cruel and inhuman attitude towards people. This is the kingdom of darkness, where such monsters as the merchant Kabanikha and her godfather Dikoy reign supreme. Sometimes rare rays of light and kindness, such as Katerina, make their way there, but having expressed their protest against the terrible and dark kingdom, they die, unable to withstand the unequal struggle against the dominance of evil and cruelty. And yet the kingdom of darkness will sooner or later be scattered, and people in Kalinovo will live a new, happy life.