Some of them have long lost their relevance due to changing historical realities. But this does not prevent us from still finding life's truth in wonderful dialogues and characters. One of greatest dramas, which still excite the hearts of readers and theater fans, is the play created by A. N. Ostrovsky, “The Thunderstorm”. The confrontation of the emotional, hot-tempered and sensitive girl Katerina with the patriarchal family even today finds many responses in the souls of people. First of all, because this is a tragedy of human feelings, which in one form or another comes to life in every generation and under any social system.
Katerina and her entourage
Katerina Kabanova - central character plays "The Thunderstorm". Ostrovsky portrayed her as an extremely integral person. Her very first words in a dialogue with her mother-in-law say a lot: Katya is clearly a very direct, honest girl who does not know how to bend her heart. When she hears indirect attacks about herself, she immediately intervenes to clarify the situation. And in a fairly direct, albeit friendly manner, resolve the conflict face to face with its instigator. But the rest of the Kabanov family is not like that. An oppressive mother-in-law in no way needs to be spoken to directly and openly. What helps her divide and rule in her home is precisely the atmosphere of omissions, hidden hostility and the ability to subtly and imperceptibly provoke. That's really true" dark kingdom"! An open conversation, sorting out relationships without involving third parties and the desire to live in harmony are absolutely not in use here. The hypocritical Varvara and the timid, obedient Tikhon can do nothing to change the order of things established by Kabanova once and for all. Bringing the few heroes of the drama “The Thunderstorm” onto the stage, Ostrovsky painted them very carefully and endowed each with a bright, recognizable character.
Were there alternatives?
Having married and fallen in love with another person, Katerina herself slammed the trap, which led her to a tragic end. But even if the ill-timed feeling for another man had not led her to a mental crisis and suicide, it is hard to believe that her life could have turned out happily. The inability to fit into either the existing patriarchal system or the husband’s family, mired in lies and hypocrisy - all this would sooner or later lead to collapse, the metaphor of which is the impending thunderstorm. Ostrovsky skillfully created a depressing atmosphere with just a few remarks and showed the approaching denouement of the tragedy that was brewing in the soul of the main character.
Duplicity is the only alternative
Initially brought up to sharply oppose any doublethink, Katerina was not used to hiding something from loved ones. Varvara, her husband's sister, in this sense is her complete opposite. She, by her own admission, long ago realized “what kind of house she lives in,” and learned to lie to her strict mother and spineless brother Tikhon. Katerina exaggeratedly does not accept any lies - she constantly subjects even her own conscience to strict interrogations. Naturally, for her even death turns out to be closer than a double life in which there would be a place for a lover. Ostrovsky portrayed her so extremely truthfully. “The Thunderstorm” in abbreviation will give an idea of the plot and characters, and will introduce you to the most striking dialogues. But in order to make an objective judgment about the work, it is better to read it in full version. The way “The Thunderstorm” was originally created. Ostrovsky, without a doubt, is an excellent playwright, and reading will give moments of pleasure to all lovers of good drama.
Collection of essays: Women's images in the plays by A. N. Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm" and "Dowry"
Two dramas by A. N. Ostrovsky are devoted to the same problem - the position of women in Russian society. Before us are the fates of three young women: Katerina, Varvara, Larisa. Three images, three destinies.
Katerina differs in character from all the characters in the drama “The Thunderstorm”. Honest, sincere and principled, she is not capable of deception and falsehood, resourcefulness and opportunism. Therefore, in a cruel world where wild and wild boars reign, her life turns out to be unbearable and impossible and it ends so tragically. Katerina’s protest against Kabanikha is a struggle of the bright, pure, human against the darkness of lies and cruelty of the “dark kingdom.” It is not for nothing that Ostrovsky, who paid great attention to names and surnames, gave the heroine of “The Thunderstorm” the name Ekaterina, which translated from Greek means “eternally pure.” Katerina is a poetic person. Unlike the rude people around her, she feels the beauty of nature and loves it. It is nature that is natural and sincere. “I used to get up early in the morning; in the summer, I’d go to the spring, wash myself, bring some water with me and that’s it, I’d water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers,” she says about her childhood. Her soul is constantly reaching out to beauty. Her dreams were filled with miracles, fabulous visions. She often dreamed that she flies like a bird. She speaks about the desire to fly several times. With this, Ostrovsky emphasizes the romantic sublimity of Katerina’s soul. Married early, she tries to get along with her mother-in-law, to love her husband. but in the Kabanovs’ house no one needs sincere feelings. The tenderness that fills her soul finds no application. Deep melancholy sounds in her words about children: “If only there were someone’s children! Eco woe! I don’t have any children: I would still sit with them and amuse them. I really like talking to children - they are angels.” Which loving wife and she would have been a mother in different conditions!
Katerina’s sincere faith differs from Kabanikha’s religiosity. For Kabanikha, religion is a dark force that suppresses the will of man, and for Katerina, faith is a poetic world fairy tale images and supreme justice. “... I loved going to church to death! Surely, it used to be that I would enter heaven, and I didn’t see anyone, and I didn’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over,” she recalls.
Bondage - main enemy Katerina. The external conditions of her life in Kalinov seem to be no different from the environment of her childhood. The same motives, the same rituals, that is, the same activities, but “everything here seems to be from under captivity,” says Katerina. Captivity is incompatible with the freedom-loving soul of the heroine. “And captivity is bitter, oh, so bitter,” says she is in the scene with the key, and these words, these thoughts push her to the decision to see Boris. Katerina’s behavior, as Dobrolyubov said, revealed a “decisive, integral Russian” who “will withstand himself, despite any obstacles, and when his strength is not enough, he will die, but will not betray himself.”
Varvara is the complete opposite of Katerina. She is not superstitious, is not afraid of thunderstorms, and does not consider strict adherence to established customs obligatory. Due to her position, she cannot openly oppose her mother and therefore is cunning and deceives her. She hopes that marriage will give her the opportunity to leave this house, to break out of the “dark kingdom.” To Katerina’s words that she doesn’t know how to hide anything, Varvara replies: “Well, you can’t live without it! Remember where you live! Our whole house rests on this. And I was not a liar, but I learned when it became necessary.” Varvara despises her brother’s spinelessness and is indignant at her mother’s heartlessness, but she cannot understand Katerina. She is only interested and concerned about the external side of life. She resigned herself and adapted to the laws of the old world around her.
Larisa, unlike Katerina, grew up and was raised in conditions where the weak are humiliated, where the strongest survive. Her character does not have the integrity that Katerina has. Therefore, Larisa does not strive, and cannot, realize her dreams and desires. Her name translated from Greek means “Seagull”. This bird is associated with something white, light, piercingly screaming. And this image fully corresponds to Larisa.
Katerina and Larisa have different upbringings, different characters, different ages, but they are united by the desire to love and be loved, to find understanding, in a word, to become happy. And each one goes towards this goal, overcoming the obstacles created by the foundations of society.
Katerina cannot connect with her loved one and finds a way out in death.
Larisa's situation is more complicated. She became disillusioned with her loved one and stopped believing in the existence of love and happiness. Realizing that she is surrounded by lies and deception, Larisa sees two ways out of this situation: either search material assets, or death. And given the circumstances, she chooses the first. But the author does not want to see her as an ordinary dependent woman, and she leaves this life.
Two dramas by A. N. Ostrovsky are devoted to the same problem - the position of women in Russian society. Before us are the fates of three young women: Katerina, Varvara, Larisa. Three images, three destinies.
Katerina is different in character from everyone else characters drama “The Thunderstorm”. Honest, sincere and principled, she is not capable of deception and falsehood, of resourcefulness and opportunism. Therefore, in a cruel world where wild and wild boars reign, her life turns out to be unbearable, impossible and ends so tragically. Katerina's protest
Against Kabanikha is a struggle of the bright, pure, human against the darkness of lies and cruelty of the “dark kingdom”. No wonder Ostrovsky, who paid great attention to names and surnames, gave the heroine of “The Thunderstorm” the name Ekaterina, which translated from Greek means “eternally pure.” Katerina is a poetic person. Unlike the rude people around her, she feels the beauty of nature and loves it. It is the beauty of nature that is natural and sincere. “I used to get up early in the morning; In the summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring some water with me, and that’s it, I’ll water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers,” she says about her childhood. Her soul is constantly drawn to beauty. The dreams were filled with miracles and fabulous visions. She often dreamed that she was flying like a bird. She talks about her desire to fly several times. With this, Ostrovsky emphasizes the romantic sublimity of Katerina’s soul. Married early, she tries to get along with her mother-in-law and love her husband, but in the Kabanovs’ house no one needs sincere feelings. The tenderness that fills her soul finds no application. Deep melancholy sounds in her words about children: “If only there were someone’s children!” Eco woe! I don’t have any children: I would still sit with them and amuse them. I really like talking to children – they are angels.” What a loving wife and mother she would have been under different conditions!
Katerina’s sincere faith differs from Kabanikha’s religiosity. For Kabanikha, religion is a dark force that suppresses the will of man, and for Katerina, faith is the poetic world of fairy-tale images and supreme justice. “... I loved going to church to death! Exactly, it happened that I would enter heaven, and I didn’t see anyone, and I didn’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over,” she recalls.
Bondage is Katerina’s main enemy. The external conditions of her life in Kalinov seem to be no different from the environment of her childhood. The same motives, the same rituals, that is, the same activities, but “everything here seems to be from under captivity,” says Katerina. Bondage is incompatible with the freedom-loving soul of the heroine. “And captivity is bitter, oh, so bitter,” she says in the scene with the key, and these words, these thoughts push her to the decision to see Boris. In Katerina’s behavior, as Dobrolyubov said, a “decisive, integral Russian character” was revealed, which “will withstand itself, despite any obstacles, and when there is not enough strength, it will die, but will not change itself.”
Varvara is the complete opposite of Katerina. She is not superstitious, is not afraid of thunderstorms, and does not consider strict adherence to established customs obligatory. Due to her position, she cannot openly oppose her mother and therefore is cunning and deceives her. She hopes that marriage will give her the opportunity to leave this house, to escape from the “dark kingdom.” To Katerina’s words that she doesn’t know how to hide anything, Varvara replies: “Well, but you can’t live without it!” Remember where you live! Our whole house rests on this. And I was not a liar, but I learned when it became necessary.” Varvara despises her brother’s spinelessness and is indignant at her mother’s heartlessness, but she cannot understand Katerina. She is only interested and concerned about the external side of life. She resigned herself and adapted to the laws of the old world around her.
Larisa, unlike Katerina, grew up and was raised in conditions where the weak are humiliated, where the strongest survive. Her character does not have the integrity that Katerina has. Therefore, Larisa does not strive, and cannot, realize her dreams and desires. Her name means “Seagull” in Greek. This bird is associated with something white, light, and piercingly screaming. And this image fully matches Larisa.
Katerina and Larisa have different upbringings, different characters, different ages, but they are united by the desire to love and be loved, to find understanding, in a word, to become happy. And each one goes towards this goal, overcoming the obstacles created by the foundations of society.
Katerina cannot connect with her loved one and finds a way out in death.
Larisa's situation is more complicated. She became disillusioned with her loved one and stopped believing in the existence of love and happiness. Realizing that she is surrounded by lies and deception, Larisa sees two ways out of this situation: either the search for material values, or death. And given the circumstances, she chooses the first. But the author does not want to see her as an ordinary dependent woman, and she leaves this life.
You are currently reading: Female images in A. N. Ostrovsky’s plays “The Thunderstorm” and “Dowry”
Two dramas by A. N. Ostrovsky are devoted to the same problem - the position of women in Russian society. Before us are the fates of three young women: Katerina, Varvara, Larisa. Three images, three destinies.
Katerina differs in character from all the characters in the drama “The Thunderstorm”. Honest, sincere and principled, she is not capable of deception and falsehood, of resourcefulness and opportunism. Therefore, in a cruel world where wild and wild boars reign, her life turns out to be unbearable, impossible and ends so tragically. Katerina’s protest against Kabanikha is a struggle of the bright, pure, human against the darkness of lies and cruelty of the “dark kingdom”. No wonder Ostrovsky, who paid great attention to names and surnames, gave the heroine of “The Thunderstorm” the name Ekaterina, which translated from Greek means “eternally pure.” Katerina is a poetic person. Unlike the rude people around her, she feels the beauty of nature and loves it. It is the beauty of nature that is natural and sincere. “I used to get up early in the morning; In the summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring some water with me, and that’s it, I’ll water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers,” she says about her childhood. Her soul is constantly drawn to beauty. The dreams were filled with miracles and fabulous visions. She often dreamed that she was flying like a bird. She talks about her desire to fly several times. With this, Ostrovsky emphasizes the romantic sublimity of Katerina’s soul. Married early, she tries to get along with her mother-in-law and love her husband, but in the Kabanovs’ house no one needs sincere feelings. The tenderness that fills her soul finds no application. Deep melancholy sounds in her words about children: “If only there were someone’s children!” Eco woe! I don’t have any children: I would still sit with them and amuse them. I really like talking to children - they are angels.” What a loving wife and mother she would have been under different conditions!
Katerina’s sincere faith differs from Kabanikha’s religiosity. For Kabanikha, religion is a dark force that suppresses the will of man, and for Katerina, faith is the poetic world of fairy-tale images and supreme justice. “... I loved going to church to death! Exactly, it happened that I would enter heaven, and I didn’t see anyone, and I didn’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over,” she recalls.
Bondage is Katerina's main enemy. The external conditions of her life in Kalinov seem to be no different from the environment of her childhood. The same motives, the same rituals, that is, the same activities, but “everything here seems to be from under captivity,” says Katerina. Bondage is incompatible with the freedom-loving soul of the heroine. “And captivity is bitter, oh, so bitter,” she says in the scene with the key, and these words, these thoughts push her to the decision to see Boris. In Katerina’s behavior, as Dobrolyubov said, a “decisive, integral Russian character” was revealed, which “will withstand itself, despite any obstacles, and when there is not enough strength, it will die, but will not change itself.”
Varvara is the complete opposite of Katerina. She is not superstitious, is not afraid of thunderstorms, and does not consider strict adherence to established customs obligatory. Due to her position, she cannot openly oppose her mother and therefore is cunning and deceives her. She hopes that marriage will give her the opportunity to leave this house, to escape.
Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky is a Russian playwright whose work has become the most important stage development of Russian national theater. During his life he wrote many worthy works, but the dramas “The Thunderstorm” and “Dowry” became the most widely known. Both plays are devoted to the problem of the position of women in society, which is played out on the two most significant female images of the works: Larisa Ogudalova and Katerina Kabanova.
Katerina is sincere, open and bright man, which stands out sharply against the background of the society in which she is forced to live.
She was brought up on love, mutual understanding and respect for her neighbor, which she cannot achieve from her current family in relation to herself. Katerina cannot get along in the situation in which she found herself after her marriage, and in the end her hostility towards her own married life results in a protest against the patriarchal way of life.
By nature, Larisa Ogudalova is a proud, rather reserved, but unusually friendly girl. Larisa is unhappy in love, in which she is similar to Katerina Kabanova; she also cannot find support and participation in her family, which leads to the brewing of the heroine’s internal conflict. Her mother, Kharita Ignatievna, cares only about her daughter’s future well-being, trying to find a richer groom, but despite all her efforts, Larisa, unexpectedly for herself, agrees to marry a poor official. She is ashamed of her future husband and humiliated by his attempts to compare with Paratov, for whom she still has tender feelings. In Larisa’s soul there is a terrible struggle between the desire to come to terms with the fate of the wife of a minor official and the dream of a beautiful and bright life.
Despite the similarity of the situations in which both girls find themselves, their protest and reaction to what is happening is expressed differently. Larisa is indifferent and only sometimes does she make individual remarks that betray her dislike for bourgeois life. Throughout the play we see little of any emotion that Larissa shows. Katerina, on the other hand, reacts most vividly to the situation around her; she is frank with the reader from the very beginning. Perhaps that is why she comes out more decisively with her protest than Ogudalova the younger. She repents of what she has done and, no longer able to continue such a life, throws herself into the water, which Larisa herself, although she dreams of death, does not dare to do.
Thus, internal conflict, brewing in both heroines, which later turns into a protest against society, has a different basis. In the case of Katerina, this is a protest of the victim of tyranny against the tyrants themselves; Larisa is against “trade” human feelings and consumer attitude towards the individual. Both girls, who so passionately strived for freedom, eventually achieve it, but at what cost?
