Thunderstorm is the attitude of heroes to the city. "Thunderstorm" (main characters). Main characters

Federal Agency for Education of the Russian Federation

Gymnasium No. 123

on literature

speech characteristic heroes in the drama of A.N. Ostrovsky

"Thunderstorm".

Work completed:

10th grade student "A"

Khomenko Evgenia Sergeevna

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Teacher:

Orekhova Olga Vasilievna

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Grade…………………….

Barnaul-2005

Introduction………………………………………………………

Chapter 1. Biography of A. N. Ostrovsky……………………..

Chapter 2

Chapter 3. Speech characteristics of Katerina………………..

Chapter 4

Conclusion……………………………………………………

List of used literature……………………….

Introduction

Ostrovsky's drama "Thunderstorm" is the most significant work of the famous playwright. It was written during a period of social upsurge, when the foundations of serfdom were cracking, and a thunderstorm was really gathering in a stuffy atmosphere. Ostrovsky's play takes us to a merchant environment, where the house-building order was most stubbornly maintained. Inhabitants provincial town they live a life closed and alien to public interests, in ignorance of what is going on in the world, in ignorance and indifference.

It is to this drama that we turn now. The problems that the author touches upon in it are very important for us. Ostrovsky raises the problem of a turning point in public life that occurred in the 50s, a change in social foundations.

After reading the novel, I set myself the goal of seeing the features of the speech characteristics of the characters and finding out how the speech of the characters helps to understand their character. After all, the image of a hero is created with the help of a portrait, with the help of artistic means, with the help of characteristics of actions, speech characteristics. Seeing a person for the first time, by his speech, intonation, behavior, we can understand him inner world, some vital interests and, most importantly, his character. The speech characteristic is very important for a dramatic work, because it is through it that one can see the essence of a particular character.

In order to better understand the character of Katerina, Kabanikha and Dikoy, it is necessary to solve the following tasks.

I decided to start with the biography of Ostrovsky and the history of the creation of "Thunderstorm", in order to understand how the talent of the future master of the speech characteristics of the characters was honed, because the author very clearly shows the whole global difference between the positive and negative characters of his work. Then I will consider the speech characteristics of Katerina and make the same characterization of Diky and Boar. After all this, I will try to draw a definite conclusion about the speech characteristics of the characters and their role in the drama "Thunderstorm"

While working on the topic, I got acquainted with the articles by I. A. Goncharov “Review of the drama “Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky” and N. A. Dobrolyubov “Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom”. Moreover, I studied the article by A.I. Revyakin "Features of Katerina's speech", where the main sources of Katerina's language are well shown. I found various material about the biography of Ostrovsky and the history of the creation of the drama in the textbook Russian literature of the 19th century by V. Yu. Lebedev.

To deal with theoretical concepts (hero, characterization, speech, author), I was helped by an encyclopedic dictionary of terms, published under the guidance of Yu. Boreev.

Despite the fact that many critical articles and responses of literary critics are devoted to Ostrovsky's drama "Thunderstorm", the speech characteristics of the characters have not been fully studied, therefore it is of interest for research.

Chapter 1. Biography of A. N. Ostrovsky

Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky was born on March 31, 1823 in Zamoskvorechye, in the very center of Moscow, in the cradle of glorious Russian history, about which everyone was talking about, even the names of Zamoskvoretsky streets.

Ostrovsky graduated from the First Moscow Gymnasium and in 1840, at the request of his father, entered the law faculty of Moscow University. But studying at the university did not please him, a conflict arose with one of the professors, and at the end of the second year, Ostrovsky quit "due to domestic circumstances."

In 1843, his father appointed him to serve in the Moscow conscientious court. For the future playwright, this was an unexpected gift of fate. The court considered the complaints of fathers against unlucky sons, property and other domestic disputes. The judge delved deeply into the case, carefully listened to the disputing parties, and the scribe Ostrovsky kept records of cases. Plaintiffs and defendants in the course of the investigation uttered such things that are usually hidden and hidden from prying eyes. It was a real school of knowledge of the dramatic aspects of merchant life. In 1845, Ostrovsky moved to the Moscow Commercial Court as a clerical officer of the table "for cases of verbal violence." Here he encountered peasants, urban philistines, merchants, and petty nobility who were engaged in trade. Judged "according to conscience" of brothers and sisters arguing about the inheritance, insolvent debtors. A whole world of dramatic conflicts unfolded before us, all the discordant richness of the living Great Russian language sounded. I had to guess the character of a person by his speech warehouse, by the features of intonation. The talent of the future “auditory realist”, as Ostrovsky called himself, was brought up and honed - a playwright, a master of the speech characterization of characters in his plays.

Having worked for the Russian stage for almost forty years, Ostrovsky created a whole repertoire - about fifty plays. The works of Ostrovsky still remain on the stage. And after a hundred and fifty years it is not difficult to see the heroes of his plays nearby.

Ostrovsky died in 1886 in his beloved Trans-Volga estate Shchelykovo, which is in the dense forests of Kostroma: on the hilly banks of small winding rivers. For the most part, the life of the writer proceeded in these core places of Russia: where from a young age he could observe the primordial customs and mores, still little affected by contemporary urban civilization, and hear the native Russian speech.

Chapter 2

The creation of "Thunderstorm" was preceded by an expedition of the playwright along the Upper Volga, undertaken on the instructions of the Moscow Ministry in 1856-1857. She revived and resurrected his youthful impressions when in 1848 Ostrovsky first went with his family on an exciting journey to his father's homeland, to the Volga city of Kostroma and further, to the Shchelykovo estate acquired by his father. The result of this trip was Ostrovsky's diary, which reveals a lot in his perception of provincial Volga Russia.

For quite a long time, it was believed that Ostrovsky took the plot of The Thunderstorm from the life of the Kostroma merchants, that it was based on the Klykov case, which made a sensation in Kostroma at the end of 1859. Until the beginning of the 20th century, Kostroma residents pointed to the place of Katerina's murder - a gazebo at the end of a small boulevard, which in those years literally hung over the Volga. They also showed the house where she lived - next to the Church of the Assumption. And when the "Thunderstorm" was for the first time on the stage of the Kostroma Theater, the artists made up "under the Klykovs."

Kostroma local historians then thoroughly examined the Klykovo case in the archive and, with documents in their hands, came to the conclusion that it was this story that Ostrovsky used in his work on Thunderstorm. The coincidences were almost literal. A.P. Klykova was extradited at the age of sixteen to a gloomy, unsociable merchant family, consisting of old parents, a son and an unmarried daughter. The mistress of the house, severe and obstinate, depersonalized her husband and children with her despotism. She forced her young daughter-in-law to do any menial work, she provided her with requests to see her relatives.

At the time of the drama, Klykova was nineteen years old. In the past, she was brought up in love and in the hall of the soul in her, a doting grandmother, she was cheerful, lively, cheerful. Now she was unkind and a stranger in the family. Her young husband, Klykov, a carefree man, could not protect his wife from the harassment of his mother-in-law and treated her indifferently. The Klykovs had no children. And then another man stood in the way of the young woman, Maryin, who works in the post office. Began suspicions, scenes of jealousy. It ended with the fact that on November 10, 1859, the body of A.P. Klykova was found in the Volga. A long legal process began, which received wide publicity even outside the Kostroma province, and none of the Kostroma residents doubted that Ostrovsky had used the materials of this case in Groz.

Many decades passed before researchers established for sure that The Thunderstorm was written before the Kostroma merchant Klykova rushed into the Volga. Ostrovsky began working on The Thunderstorm in June-July 1859 and finished on October 9 of the same year. The play was first published in the January 1860 issue of The Library for Reading. The first performance of "Thunderstorm" on stage took place on November 16, 1859 at the Maly Theater, in the benefit performance of S. V. Vasiliev with L. P. Nikulina-Kositskaya in the role of Katerina. The version about the Kostroma source of the "Thunderstorm" turned out to be far-fetched. However, the very fact of an amazing coincidence speaks volumes: it testifies to the foresight of the national playwright, who caught the growing conflict between the old and the new in merchant life, a conflict in which Dobrolyubov saw “what is refreshing and encouraging” for a reason, and the famous theater figure S. A. Yuryev said: “Thunderstorm” was not written by Ostrovsky ... “Thunderstorm” was written by Volga.

Chapter 3

The main sources of Katerina's language are folk vernacular, folk oral poetry and ecclesiastical literature.

The deep connection of her language with folk vernacular is reflected in vocabulary, figurativeness, and syntax.

Her speech is full of verbal expressions, idioms of folk vernacular: “So that I don’t see either my father or my mother”; "did not have a soul"; "Calm my soul"; “how long to get into trouble”; "to be sin," in the sense of unhappiness. But these and similar phraseological units are generally understood, commonly used, clear. Only as an exception in her speech are morphologically incorrect formations: “you do not know my character”; "After this conversation, then."

The figurativeness of her language is manifested in the abundance of verbal and visual means, in particular comparisons. So, in her speech there are more than twenty comparisons, and all the other characters in the play, taken together, have a little more than this number. At the same time, her comparisons are widespread, folk character: “it’s like dove me”, “it’s like a dove is cooing”, “it’s like a mountain has fallen off my shoulders”, “it burns my hands, like coal”.

Katerina's speech often contains words and phrases, motifs and echoes of folk poetry.

Turning to Varvara, Katerina says: "Why don't people fly like birds? .." - etc.

Yearning for Boris, Katerina in the penultimate monologue says: “Why should I live now, well, why? I don’t need anything, nothing is nice to me, and the light of God is not nice!

Here there are phraseological turns of folk-colloquial and folk-song character. So, for example, in the assembly folk songs, published by Sobolevsky, we read:

No way, no way it is impossible to live without a dear friend ...

I will remember, I will remember about the dear, the white light is not nice to the girl,

Not nice, not nice white light ... I'll go from the mountain to the dark forest ...

Going out on a date with Boris, Katerina exclaims: “Why did you come, my destroyer?” In a folk wedding ceremony, the bride greets the groom with the words: "Here comes my destroyer."

In the final monologue, Katerina says: “It’s better in the grave ... There is a grave under the tree ... how good ... The sun warms her, wets her with rain ... in the spring, grass grows on it, so soft ... birds will fly to the tree, they will sing, they will bring out children, flowers will bloom: yellow , red ones, blue ones ... ".

Here everything is from folk poetry: diminutive-suffixal vocabulary, phraseological turns, images.

For this part of the monologue in oral poetry, direct textile correspondences are also abundant. For example:

... They will cover with an oak board

Yes, they will be lowered into the grave

And covered with damp earth.

You are ant grass,

More scarlet flowers!

Along with folk vernacular and the arrangement of folk poetry in the language of Katerina, as already noted, ecclesiastical literature had a great influence.

“Our house,” she says, “was full of wanderers and pilgrims. And we’ll come from the church, sit down for some work ... and the wanderers will begin to tell where they were, what they saw, different lives, or they sing poems ”(d. 1, yavl. 7).

Possessing a relatively rich vocabulary, Katerina speaks freely, drawing on various and psychologically very deep comparisons. Her speech is flowing. So, such words and phrases are not alien to her literary language like: a dream, thoughts, of course, as if all this happened in one second, something so unusual in me.

In the first monologue, Katerina talks about her dreams: “What dreams I had, Varenka, what dreams! Or golden temples, or some extraordinary gardens, and everyone sings invisible voices, and it smells of cypress, and mountains and trees, as if not the same as usual, but as they are written on the images.

These dreams, both in content and in the form of verbal expression, are undoubtedly inspired by spiritual verses.

Katerina's speech is original not only lexico-phraseologically, but also syntactically. It consists mainly of simple and compound sentences, with predicates at the end of the phrase: “So the time will pass before lunch. Here the old women would fall asleep and lie down, and I would walk in the garden… It was so good” (d. 1, yavl. 7).

Most often, as is typical for the syntax of folk speech, Katerina connects sentences through conjunctions a and yes. “And we’ll come from the church ... and the wanderers will begin to tell ... Otherwise it’s like I’m flying ... And what dreams I had.”

Katerina's floating speech sometimes takes on the character of a folk lament: “Oh, my misfortune, misfortune! (Crying) Where can I, poor thing, go? Who can I grab onto?"

Katerina's speech is deeply emotional, lyrically sincere, poetic. To give her speech emotional and poetic expressiveness, diminutive suffixes are also used, so inherent in folk speech (key, water, children, grave, rain, grass), and amplifying particles (“How did he feel sorry for me? What words did he say?” ), and interjections (“Oh, how I miss him!”).

Lyrical sincerity, poetry of Katerina's speech is given by epithets that come after defined words (golden temples, unusual gardens, crafty thoughts), and repetitions, so characteristic of the oral poetry of the people.

Ostrovsky reveals in Katerina's speech not only her passionate, tenderly poetic nature, but also strong-willed power. Willpower, Katerina's determination are set off by syntactic constructions of a sharply assertive or negative nature.

Chapter 4

Kabanikhi

In Ostrovsky's drama "Thunderstorm", Dikoy and Kabanikh are representatives of the "Dark Kingdom". One gets the impression that Kalinov is fenced off from the rest of the world by the highest fence and lives some kind of special, closed life. Ostrovsky focused on the most important, showing the wretchedness, the savagery of the customs of the Russian patriarchal life, because all this life only stands on the usual, outdated laws, which, obviously, are completely ridiculous. The "Dark Kingdom" tenaciously clings to its old, well-established. This is standing in one place. And such a standing is possible if it is supported by people who have power and authority.

A more complete, in my opinion, idea of ​​a person can be given by his speech, that is, the usual and specific expressions inherent only to this hero. We see how Wild, as if nothing had happened, just like that can offend a person. He does not put in anything not only those around him, but even his relatives and friends. His household live in constant fear of his wrath. Wild in every possible way mocks his nephew. It is enough to recall his words: “I told you once, I told you twice”; "Don't you dare meet me"; you will get everything! Is there enough space for you? Wherever you go, here you are. Pah you damned! Why are you standing like a pillar! Are you being told or not?" Wild frankly shows that he does not respect his nephew at all. He puts himself above everyone around him. And no one offers him the slightest resistance. He scolds everyone over whom he feels his power, but if someone scolds him himself, he will not be able to answer, then hold on, all at home! On them, the Wild will take all his anger.

Wild - a "significant person" in the city, a merchant. Here's how Shapkin says about him: For no reason will a person be cut off.

“The view is extraordinary! The beauty! The soul rejoices! ”- exclaims Kuligin, but against the background of this beautiful landscape, a bleak picture of life is drawn, which appears before us in The Thunderstorm. It is Kuligin who gives an accurate and clear description of the life, customs and customs that prevail in the city of Kalinov.

So, like Wild, Kabanikha is distinguished by selfish inclinations, she thinks only of herself. Residents of the city of Kalinov talk about Dikoy and Kabanikh very often, and this makes it possible to obtain rich material about them. In conversations with Kudryash, Shapkin calls Diky "a scolder", while Kudryash calls him a "shrill peasant". The boar calls Wild a "warrior". All this speaks of the grumpiness and nervousness of his character. Reviews about Kabanikh are also not very flattering. Kuligin calls her "a hypocrite" and says that she "clothes the poor, but completely ate her home." This characterizes the merchant from a bad side.

We are struck by their heartlessness in relation to people dependent on them, their unwillingness to part with money in settlements with workers. Recall what Dikoy says: “I was talking about a fast, about a great one, and then it’s not easy and slip a little man, he came for money, he carried firewood ... I sinned: I scolded, so scolded ... I almost nailed it.” All relationships between people, in their opinion, are built on wealth.

The boar is richer than the Wild Boar, and therefore she is the only person in the city with whom the Wild Boar must be polite. “Well, don’t open your throat very much! Find me cheaper! And I love you!"

Another feature that unites them is religiosity. But they perceive God, not as someone who forgives, but as someone who can punish them.

Kabanikha, like no other, reflects the whole commitment of this city to old traditions. (She teaches Katerina, Tikhon how to live in general and how to behave in a particular case.) Kabanova tries to seem kind, sincere, and most importantly an unhappy woman, tries to justify her actions with her age: “Mother is old, stupid; well, you young people, smart, should not exact from us fools. But these statements are more like irony than sincere confession. Kabanova considers herself the center of attention, she cannot imagine what will happen to the whole world after her death. The boar is blindly devoted to her old traditions to the point of absurdity, forcing all households to dance to her tune. She makes Tikhon say goodbye to his wife in the old way, causing laughter and a feeling of regret among those around him.

On the one hand, it seems that the Wild is rougher, stronger and, therefore, scarier. But, looking closer, we see that Wild is only capable of screaming and rampaging. She managed to subdue everyone, keeps everything under control, she even tries to manage people's relationships, which leads Katerina to death. The boar is cunning and smart, unlike the Wild Boar, and this makes her more scary. In the speech of Kabanikhi, hypocrisy and duality of speech are very clearly manifested. She talks to people very boldly and rudely, but at the same time, while communicating with him, she wants to seem kind, sensitive, sincere, and most importantly, an unhappy woman.

We can say that Dikoy is completely illiterate. He says to Boris: “Fail you! I don't want to talk to the Jesuit with you." Dikoy uses in his speech "with the Jesuit" instead of "with the Jesuit". So he also accompanies his speech with spitting, which finally shows his lack of culture. In general, throughout the drama, we see him sprinkle his speech with abuse. “What are you doing here! What the hell is the water one here! ”, Which shows him as an extremely rude and ill-mannered person.

Wild is rude and straightforward in his aggressiveness, he does things that sometimes cause bewilderment and surprise among others. He is able to offend and beat a peasant without giving him money, and then, in front of everyone, stand in front of him in the dirt, asking for forgiveness. He is a brawler, and in his rampage he is able to throw thunder and lightning at his household, hiding from him in fear.

Therefore, we can conclude that Diky and Kabanikha cannot be considered typical representatives of the merchant class. These characters in Ostrovsky's drama are very similar and differ in egoistic inclinations, they think only of themselves. And even their own children, to some extent, seem to be a hindrance to them. Such an attitude cannot decorate people, which is why Dikoy and Kabanikha evoke persistent negative emotions in readers.

Conclusion

Speaking of Ostrovsky, in my opinion, we can rightfully call him an unsurpassed master of words, an artist. The characters in the play "Thunderstorm" appear before us as living, with bright embossed characters. Each word spoken by the hero reveals some new facet of his character, shows him from the other side. The character of a person, his mood, attitude towards others, even if he does not want it, are manifested in speech, and Ostrovsky, a true master of speech characteristics, notices these features. The style of speech, according to the author, can tell the reader a lot about the character. Thus, each character acquires its own individuality, unique flavor. This is especially true for drama.

In Ostrovsky's Thunderstorm, we can clearly distinguish goodie Katerina and two negative characters Wild and Kabanikh. Of course, they are representatives of the "dark kingdom". And Katerina is the only person who tries to fight them. The image of Katerina is drawn brightly and vividly. The main character speaks beautifully, figurative folk language. Her speech abounds in subtle semantic nuances. Katerina's monologues, like a drop of water, reflect her entire rich inner world. In the speech of the character, even the attitude of the author towards him appears. With what love, sympathy, Ostrovsky treats Katerina, and how sharply he condemns the tyranny of Kabanikh and Diky.

He draws Kabanikha as a staunch defender of the foundations of the "dark kingdom". She strictly observes all the orders of patriarchal antiquity, does not tolerate the manifestation of personal will in anyone, and has great power over others.

As for Wild, Ostrovsky was able to convey all the anger and anger that boils in his soul. All households are afraid of the wild, including nephew Boris. He is open, rude and unceremonious. But both powerful heroes are unhappy: they do not know what to do with their unrestrained character.

In Ostrovsky's drama "Thunderstorm", with the help of artistic means, the writer managed to characterize the characters and create bright picture that time. "Thunderstorm" is very strong in its impact on the reader, the viewer. The dramas of the heroes do not leave indifferent the hearts and minds of people, which not every writer succeeds. Only a true artist can create such magnificent, eloquent images, only such a master of speech characteristics is able to tell the reader about the characters only with the help of their own words, intonations, without resorting to any other additional characteristic.

List of used literature

1. A. N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm". Moscow "Moscow worker", 1974.

2. Yu. V. Lebedev "Russian literature of the nineteenth century", part 2. Enlightenment, 2000.

3. I. E. Kaplin, M. T. Pinaev "Russian Literature". Moscow "Enlightenment", 1993.

4. Yu. Borev. Aesthetics. Theory. Literature. Encyclopedic Dictionary of Terms, 2003.

The action of the play "Thunderstorm" takes place in the fictional town of Kalinov, which is collectively all provincial towns of that time.
There are not so many main characters in the play "Thunderstorm", each must be said separately.

Katerina is a young woman married without love, "in a strange direction", God-fearing and pious. IN parental home Katerina grew up in love and care, prayed and enjoyed life. Marriage for her turned out to be a difficult test, which her meek soul opposes. But, despite outward timidity and humility, passions boil in Katerina's soul when she falls in love with a strange man.

Tikhon - Katerina's husband, a kind and gentle person, loves his wife, pities her, but, like all households, obeys his mother. He does not dare to go against the will of the "mother" throughout the play, as well as openly tell his wife about his love, since the mother forbids this, so as not to spoil his wife.

Kabanikha - the widow of the landowner Kabanov, mother of Tikhon, mother-in-law of Katerina. A despotic woman, in whose power the whole house is, no one dares to take a step without her knowledge, fearing a curse. According to one of the heroes of the play, Kudryash, Kabanikh - “a hypocrite, she gives to the poor, but eats homemade food.” It is she who tells Tikhon and Katerina how to build their family life in the best traditions of Domostroy.

Varvara is Tikhon's sister, an unmarried girl. Unlike her brother, she obeys her mother only for the sake of appearances, while she herself secretly runs on dates at night, inciting Katerina to do so. Its principle is that you can sin if no one sees, otherwise you will spend your whole life next to your mother.

The landowner Dikoy is an episodic character, but personifying the image of a “tyrant”, i.e. those in power who are sure that money gives the right to do whatever your heart desires.

Boris, Diky's nephew, who arrived in the hope of receiving his share of the inheritance, falls in love with Katerina, but cowardly runs away, leaving the woman he seduced.

In addition, Kudryash, Wild's clerk, is participating. Kuligin is a self-taught inventor, constantly trying to introduce something new into the life of a sleepy town, but is forced to ask Wild for money for inventions. The same, in turn, being a representative of the "fathers", is sure of the futility of Kuligin's undertakings.

All the names and surnames in the play are "speaking", they tell about the character of their "masters" better than any actions.

She herself vividly shows the confrontation between the "old" and "young". The former actively resist all sorts of innovations, complaining that young people have forgotten the orders of their ancestors and do not want to live "as expected." The latter, in turn, are trying to free themselves from the yoke of parental orders, they understand that life is moving forward, changing.

But not everyone decides to go against the parental will, someone - because of the fear of losing their inheritance. Someone - accustomed to obey their parents in everything.

Against the backdrop of flourishing tyranny and precepts of Domostroy, the forbidden love of Katerina and Boris blossoms. Young people are drawn to each other, but Katerina is married, and Boris depends on his uncle for everything.

The heavy atmosphere of the city of Kalinov, the pressure of the evil mother-in-law, the thunderstorm that has begun, force Katerina, tormented by remorse because of her betrayal of her husband, to confess everything in public. The boar rejoices - she turned out to be right in advising Tikhon to keep his wife "strict". Tikhon is afraid of his mother, but her advice to beat his wife so that she knows is unthinkable for him.

The explanation of Boris and Katerina further aggravates the situation of the unfortunate woman. Now she has to live away from her beloved, with her husband, who knows about her betrayal, with his mother, who will now definitely exhaust her daughter-in-law. Katerina's piety leads her to think that there is no more reason to live, the woman throws herself off a cliff into the river.

Only after losing the woman he loves does Tikhon realize how much she meant to him. Now he will have to live all his life with the understanding that his callousness and obedience to his tyrant mother led to such an ending. Last words plays become the words of Tikhon, uttered over the body of his dead wife: “It’s good for you, Katya! And why in the world did I stay to live and suffer!

The play "Thunderstorm" is the most famous creation of Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky. Each hero of this work is a unique personality that takes its place in the system of characters. Noteworthy in this regard is the characteristic of Tikhon. The Thunderstorm, a play whose main conflict is based on the confrontation between the strong and the weak, is interesting for its oppressed heroes, including our character.

The play "Thunderstorm"

The play was written in 1859. The scene is the fictional city of Kalinov, which stands on the banks of the Volga. Time of action - summer, the whole work covers 12 days.

According to its genre, "Thunderstorm" refers to the social drama. Ostrovsky paid much attention to the description of the everyday life of the city, the characters of the work come into conflict with the established orders, which have long become obsolete, and the despotism of the older generation. Of course, Katerina expresses the main protest ( main character), but not the last place in the rebellion is occupied by her husband, which is confirmed by the characteristics of Tikhon.

"Thunderstorm" is a work that tells about human freedom, about the desire to break out of the shackles of outdated dogmas, religious authoritarianism. And all this is depicted against the backdrop of the failed love of the main character.

Image system

The system of images in the play is built on the opposition of tyrants who are used to commanding everyone (Kabanikha, Dikoy), and young people who want to finally find freedom and live by their own mind. Katerina leads the second camp, only she has the courage to open confrontation. However, other young characters also strive to get rid of the yoke of dilapidated and meaningless rules. But there are those who reconciled, and not the last among them is Katerina's husband (below is a detailed description of Tikhon).

"The Thunderstorm" draws the world of the "dark kingdom", only the heroes themselves can destroy it or die, like Katerina, misunderstood and rejected. It turns out that the petty tyrants who seized power and their laws are too strong, and any rebellion against them leads to tragedy.

Tikhon: characteristic

"Thunderstorm" is a work where there are no strong male characters (with the exception of Wild). So, Tikhon Kabanov appears only as a weak-willed, weak and intimidated by his mother man, unable to protect his beloved woman. The characterization of Tikhon from the play "Thunderstorm" shows that this hero is a victim of the "dark kingdom", he lacks the determination to live with his own mind. Whatever he does and wherever he goes - everything happens according to the will of the mother.

As a child, Tikhon was accustomed to follow the orders of the Kabanikh, and this habit remained in him in his mature years. Moreover, this need to obey is so ingrained that even the thought of disobedience plunges him into horror. Here is what he himself says about this: “Yes, mama, I don’t want to live by my own will.”

The characteristic of Tikhon ("Thunderstorm") speaks of this character as a person who is ready to endure all the mockery and rudeness of his mother. And the only thing he dares to do is the desire to break out of the house to have a spree. This is the only freedom and liberation available to him.

Katerina and Tikhon: characteristics

"Thunderstorm" is a play where one of the main storylines is love, but how close is it to our hero? Yes, Tikhon loves his wife, but in his own way, not in the way that Kabanikha would like. He is affectionate with her, does not want to dominate the girl, intimidate her. However, Tikhon does not understand Katerina and her mental suffering at all. His softness has a detrimental effect on the heroine. If Tikhon had been a little more courageous and possessed at least some will and ability to fight, Katerina would not have needed to look for all this on the side - in Boris.

The characterization of Tikhon from the play "Thunderstorm" exposes him in a completely unattractive light. Despite the fact that he reacted calmly to his wife's betrayal, he was unable to protect her either from his mother or from other representatives of the "dark kingdom". He leaves Katerina alone despite his love for her. The non-intervention of this character was largely the cause of the final tragedy. Only realizing that he lost his beloved, Tikhon ventures into an open rebellion against his mother. He accuses her of the death of the girl, no longer fearing her tyranny and power over him.

Images of Tikhon and Boris

A comparative description of Boris and Tikhon ("The Thunderstorm") allows us to conclude that they are similar in many respects, some literary critics even call them twin heroes. So, what do they have in common, and how are they different?

Not finding the necessary support and understanding from Tikhon, Katerina turns to Boris. What was it about him that attracted the heroine so much? First of all, he differs from other residents of the city: he is educated, graduated from the academy, dresses in a European manner. But that's just the outside, what's on the inside? In the course of the story, it turns out that he depends on the Wild in the same way as Tikhon depends on the Boar. Boris is weak-willed and spineless. He says that he keeps only his inheritance, having lost it, his sister will become a dowry. But all this seems like an excuse: he endures all the humiliations of his uncle too humbly. Boris sincerely falls in love with Katerina, but he does not care that this love will destroy a married woman. He, like Tikhon, worries only about himself. In words, both of these heroes sympathize with the main character, but they do not have enough fortitude to help her, protect her.

He opened the "locks" of two rich merchant houses in the city of Kalinov - the houses of Kabanova and Savel Dikgo.

Boar. Domineering and cruel, the old woman Kabanova is a living personification of the rules of false, sanctimonious "piety": she knows them well, she herself fulfilled them and steadily demands their implementation from others. These rules are as follows: the younger in the family must submit to the elder; they are not entitled to his opinion, their wishes, mine world - they must be "impersonal", they must be mannequins. Then they should be “afraid”, live in fear.” If there is no fear in life, then, in her opinion, the world will cease to stand. When Kabanova convinces her son, Tikhon, to act on his wife with "fear", he says that he does not want Katerina to be "afraid" of him at all - it is enough for him if she "loves" him. “Why be afraid? - she exclaims, - Why be afraid? Yes, you're crazy, right? You will not be afraid - me and even more so! What is the order in the house will be? After all, you, tea, live with her in law? Ali, do you think the law means nothing? Finally, the third rule is not to introduce anything "new" into life, to stand for the old in everything - in views on life, in human relations, customs and rituals. She laments that "the old man is being brought out." “What will happen when the old people die? How the light will stand, I don’t know!” she says with complete sincerity.

A. N. Ostrovsky. Thunderstorm. Spectacle

These are the views of Kabanova, and her cruel nature is reflected in the way they are implemented. She crushes everyone with her lust for power; she does not know pity and condescension for anyone. She not only “monitors” the fulfillment of her rules, she invades with them into someone else’s soul, finds fault with people, “sharpenes” them for no reason, for no reason ... And all this is done with the full consciousness of her “right”, with the consciousness of "necessity" and with constant concerns about external deanery ...

The despotism and tyranny of Kabanikha is much worse than that shown by Gordey Tortsov in the play " Poverty is not a vice", or Wild. They do not have any support outside themselves, and therefore it is still possible, although rarely, skillfully playing on their psychology, to force them to become ordinary people for a while, as We love Tortsov with his brother. But there is no force that would bring down Kabanova: in addition to her despotic nature, she will always find support and support for herself in those foundations of life that she considers an inviolable shrine.

Savel Wild. Another “tyrant” of this drama is not like that - the merchant Savyol Diky. This is the brother of Gordey Tortsov: - rude, always drunk, who considers himself entitled to scold everyone because he is rich, Wild is despotic not “on principle”, like Kabanov, but out of a whim, a whim. There are no reasonable grounds for his actions - this is unbridled, devoid of any logical grounds, arbitrariness. Wild, according to the apt definition of the Kalinovites, is a “warrior”: in his own words, he has, “there is always a war going on at home.” "You are a worm! If I want - I will have mercy, if I want - I will crush! - here, the basis of his relationship with those people who are weaker, or poorer than him. A characteristic echo of antiquity was expressed by one feature of him - having scolded the peasant during his shit - he "in the yard, in the mud bowed to him, - in front of everyone ... bowed!"... This "nationwide repentance" expressed in him a glimpse of respect for some higher moral order of things established by antiquity.

Tikhon Kabanov. In the Kabanova family, the younger generation is represented by her son Tikhon, daughter-in-law Katerina and daughter Varvara. The influence of the old woman Kabanova was reflected in different ways on all these three faces.

Tikhon is a completely weak-willed, weak creature, impersonal by his mother.. He, an adult man, obeys her like a boy, and, being afraid of disobeying her, is ready to humiliate and insult his beloved wife. His striving for freedom is expressed in pitiful, cowardly drunkenness on the side and the same cowardly hatred of his own home ...

Barbara Kabanova. Barbara is a more courageous nature than her brother. But even she can not afford an open struggle with her mother, face klitsu. And she wins her freedom by deceit and cunning. By "deanery", by hypocrisy, she covers up her wild life. Oddly enough, girls in the city of Kalinovo looked through their fingers at such a life: “when to take a walk, if not in girls!” - says Kabanova herself. "Sin is not a problem, rumor is not good!" - they said in Famusov's circle. The same point of view is here: publicity, according to Kabanova, is the worst thing.

Varvara also tried to arrange for Katerina the same "deceitful happiness" that she herself enjoyed with a clear conscience. And this led to a terrible tragedy.

Feklush. The pilgrim-prayer Feklusha represents in The Thunderstorm the exact opposite of the inquisitive mechanic Kuligin. Silly and cunning, an ignorant old woman, she pronounces an accusation against the whole new cultural life - glimpses of which disturb dark kingdom with its novelty. The whole world, with its vanity, seems to her to be the "kingdom of the flesh", the "kingdom of the Antichrist". Whoever serves "the world" serves the devil and destroys the soul. From this point of view, she converges with Kabanikha and with many other inhabitants of Kalinov and the entire “dark kingdom” depicted by Ostrovsky.

In Moscow - life is teeming, they are fussing, in a hurry, as if they are looking for something - says Feklusha, and contrasts this "vanity" with the peace and silence of Kalinov, who was sinking into sleep at sunset. Feklusha explains the reasons for the “city fuss” in the old fashioned way: the devil invisibly scattered the “seeds of tares” into human hearts, and people moved away from God and serve him. Any novelty frightens Feklusha into her like-minded people - she considers the steam locomotive a “fire-breathing snake”, and the old woman Kabanova agrees with her ... And at this time, here, in Kalinovo, Kuligin dreams of perpetuum mobile ... What an inconsistent conflict of interests and worldviews !

Boris. Boris Grigorievich, Dikoi's nephew, is an educated young man who listens to Kuligin's enthusiastic speeches with a slight, polite smile, because he does not believe in perpetuum mobile. But, despite his education, culturally, he is lower than Kuligin, who is armed with both faith and strength. Boris does not apply his education to anything, and he has no strength to fight life! He, without a struggle with his conscience, captivates Katerina and, without a struggle with people, leaves her to the mercy of her fate. He - weak person, and Katerina was carried away by him simply because "in the wilderness, even Thomas is a nobleman." Some gloss of culture, cleanliness and decency in manners, that's what made Katerina idealize Boris. Yes, and it was unbearable for her to live, if there were no Boris, she would idealize another.

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The play by Alexander Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm" is a real legacy for future generations. Despite the fact that it was written almost two centuries ago, its plot touches upon the pressing problems of our turbulent times. The same problems of daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, husband and wife, mother and children... The events of the work take place on the banks of the river called the Volga, in the fictional city of Kalinovo. There, in this, at first glance, a quiet place, a real drama develops, the fault of which is ordinary people. But in order to understand what happened, you need to get acquainted with the characters of the play and determine the role that each of them plays in the work.

Local self-taught mechanic Kuligin

This character appears from the very beginning of the play. He is a self-taught mechanic who is a kind of tour guide. By nature, Kuligin - good person who is accustomed to act according to established rules. Speaking of others and evaluating their manners, he is very precise in his judgments. He constantly dreams of the common good, of a lightning rod, of a perpetual mobile, of honest work, but, alas, his cherished desires are not destined to come true.

Vanya Kudryash - Beloved Varya

This minor character, whom the author described as kind and sincere. Despite the simple appearance, Vanya is a fighter in life and always brings what he started to the end. Any business in his hands is arguable. By nature, Ivan is not a romantic, but a practitioner, from this point of view he looks at life.

Dear readers! We suggest that you familiarize yourself with A. Ostrovsky on actions and phenomena.

He is a strong, smart, well-built guy who is loved by Varvara Kabanova. A bright and kind feeling arises between them, although in order to avoid scandals from Varvara's mother, these relations have to be carefully hidden.

Boris - Diky's nephew

Boris is the nephew of Savl Prokopich Wild, a domineering, cruel and greedy man. The author endowed this hero with a contradictory character, on the one hand describing him as young, educated, well-read, fashionable, on the other hand, cowardly and weak-willed, who never learned to defend his own point of view despite external circumstances. Knowing that his inheritance is in the hands of Uncle Saul the Wild, Boris tries to please him in everything, despite reproaches and ridicule.

Having fallen in love with Katya Kabanova, who has a mutual feeling for this guy, the young man does not value this relationship, and at the time when the slightest problems arise, he does not try to protect the girl, but immediately backs down, fearing that their relationship will be made public.

Thus, we can conclude that Boris is not so much a positive as a negative character in Alexander Ostrovsky's play The Thunderstorm.

Wild - a representative of the "dark kingdom"

Savl Prokofievich Wild is a wealthy merchant who is the most respected and influential person in the city. However, he is picky, angry, ignorant, and cruel. This set negative qualities greatly outweighs the external significance of Wild, whose name also speaks for itself - all his behavior is wild, unnatural.

It does not matter to him what others think about this or that issue, Dikoy considers his own opinion to be the only correct one. He stops at nothing, arrogantly taking away with impudence what is acquired by overwork. Cursing and cursing with everyone, this hero enjoys. He yells at his workers, who come for their due salary, raises his voice at family members who get the most from the character of Savl Prokofich. Knowing that the fate of his nephew is in his hands, he abuses his powers in relation to Boris, because he is ready to fulfill any of his requirements in order to receive an inheritance. On an equal footing, Dikoy can only communicate with Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova, who, surprisingly, understands his nature. Savl Prokopyich personifies the customs of a small provincial town. With the help of this image, the author wanted to show the reader the need for changes in the views and behavior of society at that time.

Boar - the negative character of the play

The image of Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is presented in the play as one of the most negative. This is a rich merchant's wife, a widow. A despotic and wayward woman, she keeps the whole house in fear, offending both her own son and daughter, and her daughter-in-law, who suffers the most. “I must do what my mother says,” she orders her weak-willed son Tikhon, and he obeys the demands of a despotic parent. Achieving order to the smallest detail, Kabanikha acts by violent means, forcing everyone to be afraid of her. You will not be afraid, and even more so me. What kind of order will it be in the house? .. ”- she is perplexed.

In addition, Marfa Ignatievna is a hypocritical and cold-blooded old woman who loves to read morality to her children, while not doing what she herself advises. Kabanova is used to getting her way only with reproaches and threats, she does not know such feelings as love and compassion. She mistakenly believes that children should honor their parents so much that their opinion is not taken into account. Indirectly, Kabanova becomes main reason the terrible death of her daughter-in-law Katerina, but does not realize this.

Tikhon, son of Kabanova

There is an expression " Sissy". It is the best suited to Tikhon Kabanov, the son of Marfa Ignatievna.

Accustomed from childhood to live in complete submission to a strict mother, he grew up weak-willed and spineless.

This shows up throughout his life. Having no opinion of his own, Tikhon cannot make even the simplest decisions, being terribly afraid of the condemnation of his strict mother, who, without realizing it, brought up an infantile loser in her son, dissolving nurses at the slightest danger - and the worst thing, they lived with the conviction that such upbringing is the only correct one.

We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the play by A. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”

Only once, at the end of the play, when a tragedy occurred with his wife Katerina, Tikhon exclaimed, reproaching his mother: “Mother, you ruined her! you, you, you…” And here it is shown that even a person driven into a dead end is able to defend his position. It’s just a pity, late he realized what a treasure and treasure his wife was for him.

Varvara - Tikhon's sister

Varvara Kabanova is the sister of Tikhon and the daughter of Marfa Ignatievna. Reading the play, the reader may notice the contrast between brother and sister. She, unlike the lack of initiative Tikhon, is lively and courageous, able to make decisions on her own. Varya managed, unlike her brother, to adapt to the character of an overly demanding and capricious mother; learned to lie, to be hypocritical, to dodge where necessary, to ignore her orders.

To eliminate obstacles to meeting her beloved, Varvara simply changed the lock. Thus, she secured herself from unnecessary outbursts of her mother's anger. As they say, both the wolves are full and the sheep are safe.

This girl is, firstly, practical, secondly, cheerful, and thirdly, smart and insightful. In addition, she is the only one in the family who supports Katerina and gives her good advice. In the work, the attitude “do what you want, the main thing is that no one finds out anything” is realized in the image of Barbara.

Katerina - the main character of the play

In A. Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm", the image of Katerina is the key. This girl is going through a difficult fate, and, unfortunately, her life ends tragically. But to understand the character of the heroine, you need to trace storyline author from the beginning.

Only childhood was happy for Katerina, when she, like a sponge, absorbed in herself the good that was instilled by loving parents, went to church with great joy.

And then a thunderstorm struck in the girl's life. She got married. Unfortunately, unsuccessful. For a weak-willed and spineless person, for whom his mother's orders are more important than normal and healthy relationships in his own family.

All dreams of a happy and strong family collapsed, life went downhill. The fierce mother-in-law Marfa Ignatievna began to act with the girl according to her already proven methods of violence and endless reproaches, which were unacceptable to Katerina. No matter how hard the daughter-in-law tried to smooth out the situation in her family, nothing worked. The mother-in-law continued to nag with or without reason, and the weak-willed husband still obeyed his mother.

Katerina wholeheartedly opposes such hypocritical and senseless behavior, this contradicts her bright and sincere nature, but the girl cannot resist the orders established in the Kabanova family. She does not love her husband, but she regrets, and this is not enough to create a strong family. And then Katerina indulges in a feeling of love for another - Dikiy's nephew, Boris. And since then, even bigger problems have begun - pangs of conscience, haunting day or night, a constant question in my soul: “Should I confess my guilt?” “The whole is trembling, as if her fever beats; so pale, rushing around the house, just looking for what, - says the sister of her husband Varvara about the state of Katerina. - Eyes like a lunatic! This morning she began to cry, and sobs. My fathers! what should I do with her?"

And, finally, Katerina takes a decisive step, telling her mother-in-law and her husband about her sin in relation to Boris: “Mother! Tikhon! I am a sinner before God and before you! Didn't I swore to you that I wouldn't look at anyone without you! Remember, remember! And do you know what I, dissolute, did without you? On the very first night I left home ... And all ten nights I walked with Boris Grigorievich.

After that, a real tragedy plays out: reproaches and abuse from the mother-in-law, who incites her son to beat her daughter-in-law, unbearable mental pain and, finally, a fatal decision - to rush into the Volga. Alas, Katerina's life was cut short at a young age. Some understand and do not condemn her for this act, some, on the contrary, believe that only a weak-willed person could commit suicide. But be that as it may, Katerina will remain in the eyes of many readers a positive heroine, that is, the best of all the characters in the play.