History of writing
Ostrovsky begins work on the play in the summer of 1859 and finishes it in just 2 months. The author decided to write this dramatic work after a perfect trip along the Volga.
The city of Kalinova, where the events of this drama takes place, is based on Tver, Ostashkovo and Torzhok, and details were added to other nearby settlements. Ostrovsky was a researcher: before writing an essay, he wrote down observations about the life of ordinary people in a notebook, and then used these notes in the work.
Some believed that the storyline of "The Thunderstorm" was based on real events. Allegedly, a girl named Alexandra lived in Kostroma; her body was found in the Volga. She also did not have a good relationship with her mother-in-law. She was 16 years old, while Katerina in the work is 19.
Both women suffered from their relatives . They had no children. Both also had lovers: Alexandra had a postal worker, Katerina had Boris.
But all the actions in the work were written a month earlier than it happened in reality, so after a while the disputes were stopped. People even believed that the writer managed to “predict the future” in the play, and this caused the excitement to flare up with renewed vigor.
The work contains 2 groups of residents of the city of Kalinova.
The first group in “The Thunderstorm” is the tyrants:
- Kabanikha;
- Wild.
They symbolize the overwhelming power of the “dark kingdom”. These are the enemies of the new system.
The second group includes:
- Katerina;
- Tikhon;
- Kuligin;
- Varvara;
- Curly;
- Boris.
These are the victims of tyrants in the play “The Thunderstorm”, depressed, feeling the power of the “dark kingdom”, but expressing exposure and protest in different ways.
Ostrovsky himself defines what the word “tyrant” means in the play “The Thunderstorm”: “If a person doesn’t listen to anyone: you’re even bothering him with a stake on his head, but he does everything in his own way... This is a cool-hearted, powerful and wild person.”
Which indicates the fragility of tyrant power in the play by A.N. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm"?
In the play "The Thunderstorm" Ostrovsky creates a reality characteristic of his time. A.N. Dobrolyubov called this work the most daring for that time. Here “the mutual relations of tyranny and voicelessness are brought... to tragic consequences...”.
The entire society in the small town of Kalinov is built on the principle of subordination of the weak to the strong, the rich to the poor. But the main problem is that everything is ruled by tyrants who do not know the boundaries between justice and lawlessness. The patriarchal nature of the city's society makes people narrow-minded and spineless.
This is Tikhon Kabanov, Katerina’s husband, who has come to terms with this state of affairs. He obeys his mother in everything, who can be called a “tyrant in a skirt.” Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova (or simply Kabanikha) does not know the boundaries of what is permitted, what cannot be done in relation to other people. She boldly uses her unlimited power as a mistress. Such is the rich merchant Dikoy.
As representatives of the past century, tyrants cannot accept new life and are trying with all their might to hold on to the passing time. For them, everything new is vicious, violating centuries-old patriarchal relationships.
Despite the “fossilization” of Kalinovsky society, Ostrovsky sees changes in it. And the very first harbinger of change is the main character of the play, Katerina. She found the strength to resist tyranny and proclaim new ideals of real life. For this heroine, existence in the “dark kingdom” is worse than death.
Ostrovsky believes that a new time has come for true feelings, and false asceticism should become a thing of the past.
The image of Feklusha is symbolic, whose role in the play is small, but, nevertheless, deep and voluminous. Although she is a representative of a patriarchal society, it is still Feklusha who anticipates the imminent death of the “dark kingdom”. She says to Kabanikha: “The last times, Mother Marfa Ignatievna, by all accounts, the last.”
The image of Kuligin is also not accidental in the play, since this man cannot accept the laws of the city of Kalinov, he is almost the only one who understands Katerina and sees the true reason for her suicide. It is no coincidence that it is Kuligin who utters accusatory words, holding the body of the dead Katerina in his arms. But, according to Dobrolyubov, Kuligin is not capable of outright protest, which Katerina was capable of. The main character is a “strong Russian character,” because she was able to go to the end in her protest.
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Thus, Ostrovsky poses in his play the problem of a crisis of patriarchal consciousness, which is being replaced by a completely different perception of reality.
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Description of the Wild
Dikoy is a wealthy merchant. He has money, but it’s hard for him to part with it. In Kalinov he is a respected and authoritative person who is feared. The main reason is wealth; he is the wealthiest in the city.
The image of the Wild is completely integral . Throwing, doubts, and hesitations are not typical for him. He does not seek the meaning of life, does not strive for heights, and is not tormented by his conscience. The merchant walks through life with a firm step, without worrying that he will crush someone.
Moreover, he is ignorant and uneducated. Political and social events, science, and painting are not interesting to him. In addition, Dikoy claims that all this is unworthy of respect, ridiculous, useless. He lives following superstitions and prejudices. This is especially evident when Kuligin turns to Dikiy for help in installing a lightning rod.
The population of the city is afraid of thunderstorms, which is why this idea appears. But the merchant ridicules Kuligin, saying that the thunderstorm is a sign of God, and it is necessary to live correctly. It is useless to fight this with poles and furrows.
Money is the only thing that means in life for Diky . If they came to him, he will not give them back. Even workers have to beg for wages from him. But this doesn’t always work out, and if it does, you’ll have to listen to a lot of abuse.
The main feature of the Wild is rudeness, which can be seen throughout the entire play. Abuse pours out of his mouth all the time. He is not at all shy in his statements and insults people without remorse.
The Wild One's tyranny manifests itself in everything. But his family suffers from this more than others. He simply hounded Boris's nephew. Because he depends on the rich man financially. The merchant's wife, driven to despair, trembles before him and begs everyone not to anger her husband. But fulfilling this request is almost impossible. The Wild's aggression is often unexplained. He may not like a person’s look or an ordinary word - and the swearing begins.
Tyranny and Ignorance in A. N. Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm”
1. Realism of the drama “The Thunderstorm”. 2. Portrait of Savel Prokofievich Dikiy. 3. Kabanikha is the head of the “dark kingdom”. 4. The end of the power of tyranny and ignorance in A. N. Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm”
The idea of creating the drama “The Thunderstorm” came to Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky in 1859 after a long trip to the Volga cities. It is generally accepted that the prototype of the main character of this play, Katerina Kabanova, was a real-life woman, Alexandra Klykova. The story of her life was very similar to the fate of Katerina. Of interest is the fact that Ostrovsky completed his work about a month before Klykova drowned herself in the Volga, unable to withstand the bullying of her relatives. This circumstance, of course, indicates that the author very clearly and realistically showed in the drama “The Thunderstorm” the severe conflict occurring between different generations in the same merchant family.
Tyranny and ignorance in A. N. Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm” are shown by the author with the help of two very vivid images - Savel Prokofievich Dikiy and Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova (“Kabanikha”), the mother-in-law of the main character.
Dikoy is one of the typical representatives of the provincial wealthy merchant class. This is a person who has certain rights in the city and believes that he is allowed, if not everything, then a lot. This fact is evidenced by his following statement:
Kuligin. Why, sir, Savel Prokofievich, would you like to offend an honest man?
Wild. I'll give you a report or something! I don’t give an account to anyone more important than you...
Further, Ostrovsky points out that tyranny and unworthy behavior of the Dikiy is not a vicious quality at all, but a natural property of his “ardent, self-willed heart.” The trouble with Savel Prokofievich is that he makes no attempt to curb his indomitable temper, and therefore he does whatever he wants with impunity.
People around him perceive Savel Prokofievich ambiguously. For example, Kuligin claims that Dikiy should give in to everything so as not to run into rudeness, but Kudryash quite reasonably objects to him: “... who will please him if his whole life is built on swearing? And most of all because of the money; Not a single calculation is complete without swearing...”
But no capital, no means can help enrich the spiritual life of the Wild. Despite his unshakable conviction that he is right, he quickly tucks his tail between his legs when, by chance, he encounters a more significant person. At the same time, he is not at all alien to self-criticism: for example, having shouted during Lent at an innocent peasant who brought him firewood, he publicly apologized to the offended person so as not to take sin on his soul. But this “kind” deed is just another whim of a rich tyrant, and not sincere repentance.
Savel Prokofievich’s life is built around money, capital - in his opinion, everything good can be bought, and money should be given “just like that” only in exceptional cases. He himself speaks directly about this: “I’ll give it, I’ll give it, but I’ll scold you.”
Unlike Dikiy, Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova, whom others call “Kabanikha,” adheres to the established norms of the old morality, or rather, its worst side. Observing the rules and laws of Domostroy, she scrupulously selects only those that are beneficial to her, without paying attention to the rest. Unfortunately, she does not comply with the most important, key law - you cannot condemn people who accidentally sin, you should first of all think about your own sins and take care of it. Kabanikha finds negative sides in everything - even at the moment of Katerina’s farewell to her husband, who is leaving on business at the end of the week, the unkind mother-in-law finds a reason for a malicious remark: “Why are you hanging on your neck, shameless one! 11th you say goodbye to your lover! He is your husband, your boss! Don't you know the order? Bow down at your feet!” At the same time, Marfa Ignatievna treats her son too harshly, imposing her own views, not allowing him to live independently.
Perhaps such despotism, the desire for unlimited power over the household, was not the main character trait of Kabanova. She tried with all her might to maintain strict order in the house, to manage not only the household, but also human relationships. Unfortunately, due to its ignorance, it is not able to delicately resolve emerging conflicts, further aggravating the tense situation with its dictatorship. The opinions of strangers are indifferent to her; she does not know how to learn from her own mistakes.
The tragic denouement of the drama “The Thunderstorm” is the suicide of Katerina, tired of the constant oppression of her mother-in-law, emotional stress, constant excuses due to fictitious sins and “wrong” actions. This is not just a departure from a hateful life, but first of all an unconscious challenge to the force of tyranny and ignorance that rules the world around us, a protest against the imposed false “morality”. And even Katerina’s downtrodden husband, Tikhon, who is depressed by his mother, understands this. Bending over the body of his drowned wife, he says: “Good for you, Katya! Why did I stay in the world and suffer!” He begins to understand the depravity and insincerity of the relationships that reign in his family, but his soft, weak-willed character does not allow him to decide to take a serious action, to resist psychological pressure.
Tikhon’s words make us understand that life in the “dark kingdom,” where tyranny and ignorance rule, is worse than death. Otherwise, how can living people envy those who have passed away, especially suicides (after all, according to the laws of the Orthodox Church, voluntary “escape” from life is one of the most serious sins)? And the very existence of this vicious circle is nearing its end. A normal person cannot exist in an atmosphere of oppression, resentment, ignorance and false morality, which means that liberation from the power of Kabanikha and others like her is approaching.
The meaning of the merchant in the work
To expose the image of the Wild One, one needs to remember another of his features. The richest man in town is really just a coward . He behaves rudely only with people who cannot resist him, who are morally weaker than him.
If you come across a person who is ready to “fight back,” the tyrant and boor “puts his tail between his legs.” For example, the merchant’s relationship with Kudryash, who is not afraid of him and also responds with rudeness, so Dikoy prefers not to communicate with him. He treats the imperious Kabanikha with respect. Around these people, the aggressiveness of the moneybag disappears.
Dikoy is a representative of the “dark kingdom”. He is the opposite of the “light kingdom”, which wins if a person fights back. The image of Diky, to whom the writer gave the corresponding surname, prompts these considerations.
Tyrants in Russian life and in Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” rule society. The work was created at a time when there were many of them in Russia.
The character of the Dikiy does not have a specific prototype - he is based on thousands of rich people who were drowning in luxury and ignorance, dragging the country to the bottom, into the realm of rudeness and stupidity.
